4 <b>Dec. 13:</b> Sonny Greer (1895-1982), Jackie Davis (1920), Ben Tucker (1930), Reggie Johnson (1940), Mark Elf (1949) <b>Dec. 14:</b> Budd Johnson (1910-1984), Clark Terry (1920), Cecil Payne (1922-2007), Phineas Newborn Jr. (1931-1989), Leo Wright (1933-1991), John Lurie (1952), Dan Barrett (1955) <b>Dec. 15:</b> John Hammond (1910-1987), Stan Kenton (1911-1979), Gene Quill (1927-1989), Barry Harris (1929), Curtis Fuller (1934), Dannie Richmond (1935-1988), Eddie Palmieri (1936) <b>Dec. 16:</b> Andy Razaf (1895-1973), Turk Murphy (1916-1987), Johnny Hammond Smith (1933-1997), Joe Farrell (1937-1986), John Abercrombie (1944), Rene McLean (1946), Robben Ford (1951) <b>Dec. 17:</b> Sy Oliver (1910-1988), Walter Booker (1933-2006) <b>Dec. 18:</b> Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952), Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (1917-1988), Harold Land (1928-2001), Wadada Leo Smith (1941) <b>Dec. 19:</b> Lu Watters (1911-1989), Bob Brookmeyer (1929), Bobby Timmons (1935-1974), Milcho Leviev (1937), Lenny White (1949), Eric Marienthal (1957) true 261 2009-12-13T13:53:19-05:00 false 25437 true 89 2009-12-13T00:00:00-05:00 2009-12-13T00:00:00-05:00

Wadada Leo Smith, Bob Brookmeyer among those celebrating this week

35826 2009-12-13T14:03:16-05:00

4 Louis Armstrong fans with a penchant for history will be delighted about an upcoming event which will allow guests to roam the halls of Satchmo’s abode and gaze at authentic furniture and collectibles the late trumpeter once owned. The book party for the recently released <i>Pops – A Life of Louis Armstrong</i> by Terry Teachout (Houghton Mifflin), will be held inside Armstrong’s home of nearly three decades. The event will take place on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010 at 2 p.m. at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and will include a reading by Teachout. The traditional two-family home located in the Queens neighborhood of Corona is now a National Historic Landmark and museum open to the public. <i>Pops</i> was written by Teachout, a drama critic for the <i>Wall Street Journal</i>, and was released this month to great acclaim. It was named to one of the <I>New York Times</i>’ lists of top 10 best books of the year, and was chosen as one of December’s “Best of the Month” picks by <a href=http://www.amazon.com/Best-Books-of-the-Month/b?ie=UTF8&node=390919011/>Amazon</a>. “This is the most definitive and complete autobiography to date on Louis Armstrong,” said Deslyn Dyer, the Armstrong Museum’s assistant director. “Terry does justice in telling the real Louis Armstrong story because he listened to Louis talk about his own life. Louis was the main source.” In the research process for the book, Teachout spent countless hours listening to the nearly 650 reel-to-reel tape recordings Armstrong made throughout his lifetime. The recordings captured everyday activities such as dinner with his wife or musings about life, in addition to the musician’s experiences on the road and his personal tributes to friends. Armstrong kept and catalogued every recording in his Queens home, and even created a collage for the cover of each tape. “He was incredibly creative and that did not stop when he put down his horn,” Dyer said. Teachout was the first to use the recordings—which have been archived at Queens College since 1994—as a primary resource. (To see detailed reproductions of Armstrong’s tape-box collages, pick up Steven Brower’s new book, <a href=http://www.amazon.com/Satchmo-Wonderful-World-Louis-Armstrong/dp/081099528X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260550518&sr=8-1><i>Satchmo: The Wonderful World and Art of Louis Armstrong</i></a> [Abrams].) “It’s a very intimate personal experience,” Dyer said of listening to the tapes. “You really are a fly on the wall.” Shortly after they wed, Armstrong and his fourth wife Lucille moved into the Queens home in 1943 and lived there until Armstrong’s passing in 1971. No one has resided in the home since the Armstrongs. “When you walk in you are thrown back in time to the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s because the house has remained pretty much untouched,” Dyer said. The home is registered as a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark. After Lucille Armstrong’s death in 1983, the estate and its contents were willed to the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, with the request that the home be given to the City of New York. The home and activities of the museum are currently administrated by Queens College. The event is free, but due to limited space, reservations are required. In addition to guided tours of the home and Armstrong’s den—where many of his home recordings took place—New Orleans-style refreshments will be served. Guests will have the opportunity to purchase <i>Pops</i> at the event. E-mail requests for reservations can be sent to reservations@louisarmstronghouse.org or over the phone at (718) 478-8274. Additional information and directions to the museum can be found on the <a href=http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/>Louis Armstrong House Museum Web site</a>. true 19299 2009-12-11T12:23:29-05:00 true 25433 true 89 2009-12-11T00:00:00-05:00 2009-12-11T00:00:00-05:00

New Orleans-style treats and reading by author Terry Teachout will round out Jan. 9 event

2009-12-11T12:34:21-05:00

4 Among a host of other world-renowned musicians, 25-year-old jazz sensation Esperanza Spalding will perform at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway today. Spalding is a bassist and vocalist from Portland, Ore. and considered a prodigy in the jazz world. The two-hour event, hosted by Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith, will be shown live today at 1 p.m. on <a href=http://www.cnn.com/live/>CNN</a>. The show will begin at 8 p.m. local time in Oslo. Spalding will join fellow American artists Toby Keith, Wyclef Jean and Donna Summer at the concert. The group is rounded out with British singer Natasha Bedingfield, Irish pop group Westlife, Norweigen vocalist and violinist Alexander Rybak, Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, Amadou & Mariam from Mali, and Chinese pianist Lang Lang. The concert follows a ceremony yesterday where President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. (Spalding also performed at the Nobel ceremony, following President Obama’s acceptance speech.) Obama is not scheduled to attend today’s concert. Spalding has released two solo albums and a handful of collaborative disks, and has worked with jazz musicians such as saxophonist Joe Lovano, vibraphonist Dave Samuels and bassist Stanley Clarke. Spalding taught herself how to play the violin when she was four years old, after watching classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma perform on the children’s program <i>Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood</i>. "That was when I realized that I wanted to do something musical,” Spalding said on her Web site. “It was definitely the thing that hipped me to the whole idea of music as a creative pursuit.” The young musician from a multi-lingual home played violin for the next 10 years in the Chamber Music Society of Oregon, which consists of both children and adults. At age 15 she switched to the bass because it opened up “non-classical avenues” for her to travel, such as blues, hip-hop and funk. When she was 16, Spalding enrolled in the music program at Portland State University. At 20 she was an instructor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and set the bar for the youngest faculty member in the prestigious school’s history. Spalding was also the 2005 recipient of the Boston Jazz Society Scholarship for outstanding musicianship. true 19299 2009-12-11T12:46:33-05:00 false 25434 true 89 2009-12-11T00:00:00-05:00 2009-12-11T00:00:00-05:00

Bass phenom to play Nobel concert today

2009-12-12T21:48:12-05:00

4 Jack Rose, a guitarist and composer considered a foremost proponent of John Fahey’s American Primitive school, died Dec. 5 in Philadelphia of an apparent heart attack. Rose was 38. While his fan base fell more in line with the indie-rock, folk and experimental-music scenes, much of the guitarist’s repertoire was culled stylistically from ragtime, early jazz and prewar blues. As an onstage presence Rose was modest, at times even diffident, though his technique on six- and 12-string dreadnought guitars and acoustic lap steel was rarely less than authoritative. He demonstrated a mastery of Piedmont-style fingerpicking on rags and East Coast blues, as well as expertise in open-tuned slide playing. Like Fahey, who was, along with Robbie Basho, his most conspicuous inspiration, Rose was a determined student of musics far outside of American folk and blues, and his compositions and performances reflected minimalism and Carnatic music. Indeed, his fingerstyle work on Indian ragas—gently tempered yet unerring and blindingly fast—was something that needed to be experienced in a live setting. He had a terrific sense of suspense and knew precisely how to turn these modal exercises into breathtaking climaxes. But Rose’s greatest gift may have been his taste. Fingerstyle acoustic guitar splintered into different aesthetics following John Fahey’s groundbreaking work in the 1960s, and some of those avenues yielded music that was mawkish and corny despite its impressive technical achievements. (Compare Fahey’s Takoma Records catalog to much of the guitar music on Windham Hill.) Rose seemed to have a knack for cherry picking only the most genuine, timeless influences. Much about Rose and his music suggested an almost curmudgeonly longing for the past: He tuned his guitars by ear and amplified them with microphones rather than pickups; in 2005 he released a 78-rpm record under his “Dr. Ragtime” alias in an edition of six pressings. But his eclectic musical interests and willingness to compose kept him at a safe distance from blues revivalism. “Jack could talk about Charley Patton and Yazoo Records and obscure ragtime artists for hours,” said Rose’s friend (and former <I>JazzTimes</I> associate editor) Scott Verrastro. “The man lived and breathed the history of prewar blues, but he didn’t mold his personality after some unknown 1928 bottleneck player from Georgia. He simply paid homage to his heroes by writing some of the most pristine, breathtaking acoustic music of the past 50 years.” Born and raised in Virginia, Rose first made his name in the 1990s with the Richmond-based band Pelt, a trio whose noise- and drone-laden albums for the VHF label were well-received in the indie- and avant-rock communities. He eventually moved to Philadelphia and began his career as a solo acoustic artist early in the 2000s with limited CD-R releases. By decade’s end Rose harbored an impressive discography with albums on labels like VHF and Eclipse, in addition to many highly collectible vinyl-only releases. (He recently signed with Chicago indie Thrill Jockey, home of postrock band Tortoise and avant-jazzers like Fred Anderson, Bill Dixon and Rob Mazurek.) Recommended are 2004’s <I>Raag Manifestos</I> (Eclipse), 2005’s <I>Kensington Blues</I> (VHF) and anything Rose recorded as Dr. Ragtime. The guitarist also contributed tracks to volumes one and two of Tompkins Square’s <I>Imaginational Anthem</I> compilations, the definitive documents of next-generation American Primitive music. Rose is survived by his wife, Laurie. true 292 2009-12-12T21:47:48-05:00 true 25436 true 89 2009-12-11T00:00:00-05:00 2009-12-11T00:00:00-05:00

Philadelphia-based acoustic picker was a master of ragtime and prewar blues

2009-12-13T01:05:05-05:00

4 The legendary and influential saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. died of a heart attack on December 11, 1999, about this time 10 years ago. Bassist Gerald Veasley was performing with Washington at a taping of <I>The Early Show</I> on CBS in NYC, when the saxophonist collapsed in the green room. His death was a shock to the jazz and music world and a particularly tough blow for Veasley who had grown close personally to Washington and his family. Veasley had performed off and on with Washington for over 12 years. On Friday, December 11, Veasley will present a <A HREF= http://www.berksjazzfest.com/#Remembering_Grover_Washington_Jr.> special holiday tribute to Grover Washington Jr.</a> at the Miller Center for the Arts in Reading, Pa. The concert will feature Veasley with his band, as well as special guest Eric Darius on saxophone. Although he’s participated in a few tributes to Grover on record and in performance (including one at his own Jazz Base nightclub in Reading), Veasley was a reluctant tribute organizer, finding the whole business just too painful. Recently a fan badgered him and reminded him that it had been 10 years since Grover died and that he should do something to keep Grover’s music alive. Knowing that Grover’s birthday was also coming up on December 16 and that Grover loved holiday music, Veasley decided to move ahead with a show to remember his mentor. Washington had a tremendous influence on Veasley both professionally and personally. “One of the main things I admired about him professionally was that he was so appreciative of other musicians. You know, I’m not always that way. After a concert, often a young musician would come up and hand Grover a tape or CD of himself. Now Grover didn’t just accept the tape. Often, on the bus afterwards he would put the tape or CD on. When I asked him why he bothered, he told me, “Everyone has a story, you just have to listen.’ As a musician that contributed to who he was as a man. You can’t separate the two. He was humble, but he also played his heart out every night.” Veasley also learned about the importance of developing your own voice as a musician. “The one thing that becomes a musician’s Holy Grail is to have a recognizable sound. That’s what we’re all striving for. You hear Al Green or Betty Carter and with a few notes, you know it’s them. With instrumentalists, it’s harder. But if you hear a few notes of Grover, you know it’s him. When we performed on bills with singers, Grover would almost always close the show. Partially, acts didn’t want to follow him, but it was like he was a singer himself.” As to his legacy, Veasley sees Washington as more than someone who created a virtual genre of jazz by combining R&B influences with jazz. “People can’t pigeonhole him. On his last CD, he was playing jazz interpretations of opera. He played straight-ahead. He was a complete musician who was open to anything.” At the concert on December 11, Veasley and company will be performing some of Washington’s most well-known songs as well as some holiday songs that Washington loved. “When I was rehearsing Grover’s holiday songs with my band, I found myself wondering why I didn’t know the arrangements. Then I realized it was because we never got to tour with that material.” Apparently, that was one more thing that Washington had plans for but that didn’t come to fruition because of his tragic death. Veasley still sees Christine Washington, Grover’s widow and manager who also resides in Philadelphia, on a regular basis and is very pleased that she will be in attendance at the tribute concert in Reading. “I was over at their house recently to hear the mixes of a live album that will be coming out and as we listened, I sat there crying. The pain of that loss is still there for me. It’s like a big hole.” Eric Darius has the difficult challenge of filling that hole at least temporarily as the saxophonist in the concert. “Eric was in high school when Grover came through for a performance. Eric, who had studied Grover’s music and was devoted to it, wasn’t feeling well and decided at the last minute not to go to the show, thinking ‘I’ll just catch him next time.’ And, of course, there wasn’t a next time.” Darius grew up to be a successful smooth jazz artist and now will get a chance to pay tribute to one of his musical heroes. For tickets to the show, go to the <A HREF= http://www.berksjazzfest.com/washingtontickets.html> Berks Jazz Fest web site</a>. true 129 2009-12-10T13:55:13-05:00 false 25414 true 89 2009-12-10T14:00:00-05:00 2009-12-10T14:00:00-05:00

Performance celebrating Grover Washington, Jr. at Miller Center for the Arts in Reading, Pa to feature Eric Darius

2009-12-11T12:58:34-05:00

4 Willie "Face" Smith, alto saxophonist, arranger, and one of the unsung heroes of the Cleveland jazz scene passed away on December 1, 2009 from cancer. A close friend and disciple of Tadd Dameron (also from Cleveland), Willie in the 1940s and 50s played alongside Dameron, Benny Bailey, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. He also contributed his sound and ideas to the bands of Lionel Hampton, Scatman Carruthers, the Motown explosion of the 1960s, and Brother Jack McDuff's Heating System in the 70s. Most recently Willie’s orchestrations can be heard on my Grammy-winning Blue Note release <I>52nd Street Themes</I>" (2000) as well as <I>On This Day: At the Vanguard</I> (2003) and in concert with the Joe Lovano Nonet. Smith has also contributed his insights on Tadd Dameron in a soon to be released book <I>Dameronia</I> written by Paul Combs for The University of Michigan press. Willie was one of my mentors and teachers and a true natural Be Bop master. By Joe Lovano true 11174 2009-12-09T14:26:05-05:00 false 25412 true 89 2009-12-09T14:00:00-05:00 2009-12-09T14:00:00-05:00

Joe Lovano remembers Smith, one of his mentors and a longtime associate of Tadd Dameron.

2009-12-09T14:26:59-05:00

4 New Yorkers looking for a spirited holiday performance to attend with family or friends will surely find just that in two Jazz at Lincoln Center events this week: “Red Hot Holiday Stomp” (Dec. 10-12), a New Orleans-style holiday concert, and “Kim Burrell: A Gospel Christmas” (Dec. 11-12). The annual “Red Hot Holiday Stomp” will be led by trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and all performances will take place in the Rose Theater. Directed by Wynton Marsalis in past years, this is Gordon’s second year at the helm. Gordon will be joined by Victor Goines on tenor saxophone, Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson on alto saxophone, and Marcus Printup on trumpet, in addition to piano, banjo, baritone saxophone, bass, drums and vocal accompaniment. “The order of the day is to just have fun,” Gordon said. “The show is about celebrating the holidays in New Orleans style. It is very festive and celebratory.” Standard holiday tunes will be played, in addition to some New Orleans-style celebration music. Gordon said the festive mood starts onstage, where the musicians will often incorporate singing and stepping into their performance. Marching up the aisles while playing instruments would also not be out of the ordinary. A Georgia-native, Gordon said the concert is a great chance for many fellow musicians to come together and play as a group around the holidays. “It is a lot of fun because I get to play with musicians I am familiar with,” Gordon said. “If people want to enjoy some holiday music and have a good time, they should come and check out the show.” Four shows are set for “Red Hot Holiday Stomp” in the Rose Theater; Dec. 10, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m., with a matinee on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $30 to $120. A limited number of $10 “Hot Seats” are available to the general public on Wednesday at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office. Kim Burrell, a Houston, Texas-based musician whose style is categorized as “jazz gospel,” will be joined by an extensive ensemble, including six background vocalists and a 13-piece orchestra, for a Christmas-themed performance in the Allen Room. Her show is set to include such classics as “Little Drummer Boy,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Silent Night.” Burrell will perform on Dec. 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $55 or $65 tickets are available. Tickets for all shows are available for purchase at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office. The box office is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500 or on the <a href=http://jalc.org/>JALC Web site</a>. true 19299 2009-12-09T11:52:42-05:00 false 25409 true 89 2009-12-09T00:00:00-05:00 2009-12-09T00:00:00-05:00

Wycliffe Gordon, Kim Burrell to appear Thursday through Sunday

2009-12-11T12:24:01-05:00

4 Pat Metheny has announced the upcoming release of his intriguing <I>Orchestrion Project</I> on Nonesuch Records on January 26, 2010. The project features Metheny solo on guitar along with a large ensemble of acoustic instruments—including several pianos, drum kit, marimbas, “guitar-bots,” dozens of percussion instruments and even cabinets of carefully tuned bottles—all of which are played via the technology of solenoid switches and pneumatics. In a press release received at JT, Metheny explained the genesis of the project. “As the instruments started to trickle in from the various inventors,” Metheny said, “the experience of writing for them and figuring out what might be possible with them provided a self-imposed challenge that proved to be difficult and time-consuming, but absolutely exhilarating. I am excited to share this project. If nothing else, this has turned out to be something unique. And in the process of developing all this music and these instruments and discovering what they can do and what they are good at, I learned so much. It feels like progress and has gotten some notes out of me that I didn’t know were there. But the surprise was just how far I was able to go with it all. Within this new environment, I found something in there that took me to some new places.” In addition, the guitarist will take his “instruments” on an extensive tour of performances throughout the U.S. <B>Tour Dates for Pat Metheny & the Orchestrion Project:</B> April 6 Morgantown, WV Creative Arts Center April 7 Chapel Hill, NC UNC Chapel Hill April 8 Atlanta, GA Ferst Center for the Arts April 9 Clearwater, FL Ruth Echerd Hall April 10 Miami, FL Fillmore April 11 Gainesville, FL Phillips Center April 13 Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theatre April 14 Austin, TX Paramount Theatre April 16 Santa Fe, NM Lensic Performing Arts Center April 17 Mesa, AZ Mesa Arts Center April 18 Tucson, AZ Fox Tucson Theatre April 19 Los Angeles, CA Disney Concert Hall April 20 Santa Barbara, CA Campbell Hall UCSB April 21 San Diego, CA Spreckels Theatre April 23 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Resort Theatre April 24 San Francisco, CA Zellerbach Hall April 25 Napa, CA Napa Valley Opera House April 26 Santa Cruz, CA Civic Auditorium April 28 Portland, OR Alladin Theater April 29 Olympia, WA Washington Center for the Performing Arts April 30 Seattle, WA Meany Hall May 1 Vancouver, BC Centre for Performing Arts May 2 Eugene, OR Silva Concert Hall May 4 Salt Lake City, UT Kingsbury Hall May 5 Denver, CO Paramount Theater May 7 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater May 8 St. Louis, MO Touhill Performing Arts Center May 9 St. Paul, MN Fitzgerald Theater May 10 Chicago, IL Orchestra Hall May 12 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theater May 13 Toronto, ON Massey Hall May 14 Detroit, MI Music Hall May 15 Lorain, OH The Palace May 16 Poughkeepsie, NY Bardavon Theatre May 18 Philadelphia, PA Keswick Theatre May 19 Bethesda, MD Music Center at Strathmore May 20 Boston, MA Orpheum May 21-22 New York, NY Town Hall true 129 2009-12-08T12:29:53-05:00 false 25406 true 89 2009-12-08T12:20:00-05:00 2009-12-08T12:20:00-05:00

Guitarist to release <I>Orchestrion</I> on Nonesuch on January 26. Solo tour starts April 6.

2009-12-09T11:56:17-05:00

4 Latin Grammy-winning Cuban vocalist Omara Portuondo has been granted a rare travel visa in order to perform five shows over the course of two weeks in the United States. She is the first Cuban artist to be allowed this privilege in the last six years. Portuondo, an original member of the Buena Vista Social Club group, will give performances in New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia and Miami. The tour follows her recent Grammy nomination for <i>Gracias</i> (World Village/Montuno), her 2008 recording which earned her a Latin Grammy in the same year. Pianist Roberto Fonseca will open for Portuondo throughout the tour, in support of his new album <i>Akokan</i> (Enja), which is scheduled for release in the U.S. early next year. The travel visa was granted to Portuondo in order for her to perform the 2010 tour dates, as well as a small selection of performances on the West Coast this past fall. The visa also allowed her to attend the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on Nov. 5, where she won for Best Contemporary Tropical Album and also presented an award. Portuondo was the first current Cuban resident to receive an award on stage at the award show. “Any time barriers can be broken through cultural exchanges is great for art,” Jim Walsh at Big Hassle Media said via email. “Music and jazz through its history has always been an important part of bridging cultural divides.” Portuondo was the first Cuban artist in six years to be awarded a temporary travel visa, attributed to looser restrictions on travel between Cuba and the United States under the Barack Obama presidential administration. “Omara…will draw fans of Latin and jazz music from all races. Her own solo career and her involvement with the Buena Vista Social Club have made her a huge following of fans here in the states,” Walsh said. Born in Havana in 1930, the 79-year-old Portuondo started her career as a dancer, joining the dance company at the Cabaret Tropicana during her teen years. Soon after she launched a singing career, and has since worked with several groups as well as releasing a myriad of solo projects over her half-century-long career. Fellow Cuban Roberto Fonseca, born in Havana in 1975, has been recording as a solo artist since 1998, and has toured with Portuondo in the past. Tickets for the New York City, Washington, D.C., Miami and Glendale performances can be purchased on <a href=http://www.ticketmaster.com/search?tm_link=tm_header_search&q=omara+portuondo/>Ticketmaster</a> and range from $38.50 to $65 depending on the performance. Tickets for the Cambridge show can be purchased at <a href=http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=3711&perfcode=NWM501&perfsubcode=2010/>The Harvard Box Office</a>. Tickets for this venue range between $27 and $42. <b>Winter, 2010 Lineup</b> Feb. 23 at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, Pa. Feb. 24 at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Feb. 26 at the Harvard University Sanders Theater in Cambridge, Mass. Feb. 27 at the Town Hall in New York City March 3 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Cleason Theater in Miami true 19299 2009-12-07T14:03:06-05:00 false 25405 true 89 2009-12-07T14:00:00-05:00 2009-12-07T14:00:00-05:00

Cuban jazz artist awarded U.S. travel visa and will perform shows over two-week period n US, in support of her Grammy-nominated recording <i>Gracias</i>

2009-12-08T12:32:08-05:00

4 <b>Dec. 6:</b> Armand Hug (1910-1977), Dave Brubeck (1920), Bob Cooper (1925-1993), Eddie Gladden (1937-2003), Jay Leonhart (1940), Miroslav Vitous (1947), Harvie S. (1948) <b>Dec. 7:</b> Teddy Hill (1909-1978), Louis Prima (1911-1978), Matthew Shipp (1960) <b>Dec. 8:</b> Jimmy Smith (1925-2005) <b>Dec. 9:</b> Bob Scobey (1916-1963), Donald Byrd (1932), Jimmy Owens (1943), Kip Hanrahan (1954) <b>Dec. 10:</b> Ray Nance (1913-1976), Bob Cranshaw (1932), Don Sebesky (1937), Franco Ambrosetti (1941), Michael Lang (1941), Paul Hardcastle (1957) <b>Dec. 11:</b> Lou Rawls (1935-2006), McCoy Tyner (1938) <b>Dec. 12:</b> Eddie Barefield (1909-1991), Frank Sinatra (1915-1998), Joe Williams (1918-1999), Bob Dorough (1923), Dodo Marmarosa (1925-2002), Toshiko Akiyoshi (1929), John Hicks (1941-2006), Grover Washington Jr. (1943-1999), Tony Williams (1945-1997) true 261 2009-12-06T21:11:57-05:00 false 25402 true 89 2009-12-06T00:00:00-05:00 2009-12-06T00:00:00-05:00

McCoy Tyner, Dave Brubeck among those celebrating this week

2009-12-07T14:04:32-05:00

4 It began as a simple and intimate weekend festival 20 years ago. The Annual VF Outlet Berks Jazz Fest is celebrating its 20th anniversary next year, with a recently released lineup of jazz, blues, and contemporary acts. The growing music festival now spans 10 days, from March 19–28, 2010. Presented by the Berks Arts Council, the fest promises more than 130 events at various venues, clubs and restaurants throughout Reading and Berks County, Pa. To sweeten the event for longtime attendees, several of the artists who performed during the first fest in 1991 will be returning this year. Returning performers include Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, and Turtle Island Quartet with special guest Cyrus Chestnut. Some of the more hyped performances this year include Chris Botti at the Reading Eagle Theater and Poncho Sanchez at the Crowne Plaza Reading, both on Friday, March 19; and Keiko Matsui on Saturday, March 27 at the Miller Center of the Arts. Unique ensemble shows presenting this year are the Music of Grover Washington Jr. featuring Jason Miles, Gerald Albright, Walter Beasley, Chante Moore, Randy Brecker, Jeff Golub, Ada Rovatti, Buddy Williams, Ralph MacDonald and Neal Jason. The U.S. Air Force Satellite Jazz Ensemble with opening act Berks High School All-Star Jazz Band, and Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Concert with opening act Berks High School All-Star Chorus, will both be giving free concerts, on March 23 and 28, respectively. Tickets for individual concerts go on Sale Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Sovereign Center box office in Reading, or online at <a href=http://berksjazzfest.com/purchase.htm/>Berks Jazz Fest</a> or <a href=http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/16820/?search_redirect=berks jazz fest&tm_link=tm_homeA_header_search>Ticketmaster</a>. Admission prices vary between shows. For additional artist information and a complete schedule of concerts, visit <a href=http://berksjazzfest.com/index.htm/>Berks Jazz Fest</a>. For more information on the Berks Arts Council, a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to promoting the arts in Greater Reading, visit <a href=http://www.berksarts.org/>Berks Arts Council</a>. In Addition to Jazz Fest, the Berks Arts Council presents the Bandshell Concert Series, Greater Reading Film Festival, the Pagoda Awards, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Re-Granting Program and Artists Services. true 19299 2009-12-04T16:31:14-05:00 false 25399 true 89 2009-12-04T17:00:00-05:00 2009-12-04T17:00:00-05:00

Jazz festival based in Reading, Pa. area, celebrates 20th anniversary in March 2010

2009-12-06T21:14:58-05:00

4 Howard Levy, the Chicago-based pianist and harmonica player, announced today that he is launching his own harmonica school, albeit of the virtual category. The Howard Levy Harmonica School will be open for business by Dec. 1, 2009. The former Flecktone is partnering with ArtistWorks, an online video exchange company who create video-based instructional subscription sites. Among their other music instruction sites are the Andreas Oberg Guitar Universe and the Jimmy Bruno Guitar Institute. School? Universe? Institute? Pretty highfalutin names for institutions with neither walls nor infrastructure, but rather with html code and interactive screens. What gives? <i>JT</i> reached Levy at his home in Chicago after he'd just gotten back from a three-month reunion tour with the Flecktones. He said that Patricia and David Butler, the owners of ArtistWorks, contacted him about the program. “They had already done one with [banjoist] Tony Trischka, who was Bela Fleck’s teacher,” said Levy. “They were looking for a harmonica player who could do it and my name came up.” Indeed, it’s hard to think of anyone more qualified to give instructions in the art of harmonica playing, even though Levy himself never studied the instrument in a school. In that regard, he’s perhaps the prototypical student for ArtistWorks. “They picked those instruments because they knew that you can’t go to any school to get certification. There’s no competition from institutes of higher learning.” Levy had done instructional videos before, but they tended to simply illustrate how he played rather than instruct other players of all different levels. In order to establish a comprehensive program, Levy and ArtistWorks had to record hundreds of “units” of instruction. “I filmed eight hours a day for five days to get the material” said Levy, sighing. “We needed to go from the most rudimentary to the most advanced so that it would be applicable to <I>any</I> harmonica player.” Users of the service can subscribe for three months and view the video units, ranging from three to seven minutes, as often as they like. The units are laid out progressively. But isn’t something lost in translation here? “We’re going to be allow students to upload a video to me and then I do a video in response, and those exchanges will constitute a sort of master class,” Levy explained. How do you compensate for not being there with the student? “Sure, it’s not the same as being there in the same room. But the price of three months' access to all of this material [approximately $60] is less than one hour of a private lesson with me. And it’s not realistic for people to travel to where I am.” How many students can he take on? More or less than in real life? “That’s a good question,” he said, laughing. “I don’t know if I’m going to be chained to my computer or just wondering if anyone will do it. But the potential is there for me to help so many more students.” He added sardonically that harmonica players are known for their frugality. “Hey, it’s an instrument that costs less than its instructional manual!” For Levy, the bigger issue is what he called the “invisibility of the instrument,” in that you can’t really see how it’s played, because the technique is completely internal within the mouth. “When you want to teach someone how to bend a note on a guitar, you can show them how the string moves. They can see that. To bend a note with a harmonica, it’s more abstract. They have to feel that for themselves.” Levy said that just doing all the lesson units he learned plenty about the harmonica and his own playing. “People would often ask me stuff like ‘How do you get that vibrato?’ and I realized that I didn’t know! So I tried to figure things like that out.” He also believes in learning from his students. “When I have a student who does something a different way, it makes me wonder if there’s a different approach there I need to learn,” added Levy. The school is said to be the first online portal for harmonica instruction, and who are we to argue with that claim? One thing for sure, Levy is widely accepted as one of the most gifted and accomplished harmonica players in the world, so whatever insight a novice can pick up is probably very useful. Levy is also a successful jazz pianist and his latest CD, <I>Tonight and Tomorrow</I>, is currently being released on the Chicago Sessions label. He also has two CDs on which he plays a lot of harmonica including <I>Alone & Together</I> and <I>Time Capsules</I>. The latter features his group Acoustic Express, whose instrumentation and approach is loosely based on the Hot Club style. Both CDs are available at <A HREF=http://levyland.com> Levy’s Web site</a>. For more information about the Howard Levy Harmonica School, you can go to the <A HREF=http://howardharmonica.com> school’s Web site</a>. Other instructional programs can be found at the <A HREF=http://artistworks.com> ArtistWorks Web site</a>. true 129 2009-11-30T19:17:23-05:00 false 25375 true 89 2009-12-03T12:00:00-05:00 2009-12-03T12:00:00-05:00

Founding member of the Flecktones to offer instruction online for budding harmonica students at all levels

52952 2009-12-04T21:12:16-05:00

4 The nominations for the Grammy Awards were announced tonight and jazz had its usual fortunate hopefuls, plus some more thanks to a migration into categories like Pop Instrumental and Traditional Pop Vocal (please parse that one for us). In any event, congratulations to the nominees. You know, it’s an honor just to be nominated, right? And if any of you need a date to the ceremony, I’m available. On two conditions. I wear what I want to wear and I can bet on the winners like I do every year. And, as radio hosts Bobby Jackson, Matt Abramovitz and Tom the Jazzman can tell you, it’s dangerous to bet against me when it comes to Grammy picks. They can also testify to my stunted fashion sense. For the racing sheet, I mean, complete list of Grammy nominations, go to the <A HREF=http://www.grammy.com/grammy_awards/52nd_show/list.aspx> NARAS and Grammy web site</a>. And, if it seems like a lot of categories, that’s because there are 109 of them. It’s like going to an elementary school graduation. Grammy Nominations (selected jazz-related categories) Category 9 Best Pop Instrumental Performance (For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, without vocals. Singles or Tracks only.) Besame Mucho Herb Alpert Track from: Anything Goes — Live [Concord Jazz] Throw Down Your Heart Béla Fleck Track from: Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 — Africa Sessions [Rounder] The Fire Imogen Heap Track from: Ellipse [RCA Records / Megaphonic Records] Phoenix Rise Maxwell Track from: Blacksummers' Night [Columbia] Funk Joint Marcus Miller Track from: Marcus [Concord Jazz/3 Dueces Records] Category 10 Best Pop Instrumental Album (For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.) In Boston Chris Botti [Columbia] Legacy Hiroshima [Heads Up International] Potato Hole Booker T. Jones [Anti] Modern Art The Rippingtons Featuring Russ Freeman [Hear Music] Down The Wire Spyro Gyra [Heads Up International] Field 3 — Traditional Pop Category 14 Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.) A Swingin' Christmas Tony Bennett [Columbia] Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden Michael Bublé [143/Reprise] Your Songs Harry Connick, Jr. [Columbia] Liza's At The Palace Liza Minnelli [Hybrid Recordings] American Classic Willie Nelson [Blue Note] Category 27 Best Urban/Alternative Performance (For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.) Daykeeper The Foreign Exchange Track from: Leave It All Behind [Hard Boiled Records] All Matter Robert Glasper & Bilal Track from: Double Booked [Blue Note] Pearls India.Arie & Dobet Gnahore Track from: Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics [Soulbird/Universal Republic] A Tale Of Two Eric Roberson, Ben O'Neill & Michelle Thompson Track from: Music Fan First [Blue Erro Soul] Blend Tonex Track from: Unspoken [Battery Records] Field 10 — Jazz Category 44 Best Contemporary Jazz Album (For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.) Urbanus Stefon Harris & Blackout [Concord Jazz] Sounding Point Julian Lage [Emarcy/Decca] At World's Edge Philippe Saisse [E1 Music] Big Neighborhood Mike Stern [Heads Up International] 75 Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate [Heads Up International] Category 45 Best Jazz Vocal Album (For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.) No Regrets Randy Crawford (& Joe Sample) [PRA Records] Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music Of Coltrane And Hartman Kurt Elling [Concord Jazz] So In Love Roberta Gambarini [Groovin' High/Emarcy] Tide Luciana Souza [Verve] Desire Tierney Sutton (Band) [Telarc Jazz] Category 46 Best Improvised Jazz Solo (For an instrumental jazz solo performance. Two equal performers on one recording may be eligible as one entry. If the soloist listed appears on a recording billed to another artist, the latter's name is in parenthesis for identification. Singles or Tracks only.) Dancin' 4 Chicken Terence Blanchard, soloist Track from: Watts (Jeff "Tain" Watts) [Dark Key Music] All Of You Gerald Clayton, soloist Track from: Two-Shade [ArtistShare] Ms. Garvey, Ms. Garvey Roy Hargrove, soloist Track from: Emergence [Groovin' High/Emarcy] On Green Dolphin Street Martial Solal, soloist Track from: Live At The Village Vanguard [CamJazz] Villa Palmeras Miguel Zenón, soloist Track from: Esta Plena [Marsalis Music] Category 47 Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group (For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.) Quartet Live Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow & Antonio Sanchez [Concord Jazz] Brother To Brother Clayton Brothers [ArtistShare] Five Peace Band — Live Chick Corea & John McLaughlin Five Peace Band [Concord Records] Remembrance John Patitucci Trio [Concord Jazz] The Bright Mississippi Allen Toussaint [Nonesuch] Category 48 Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album (For large jazz ensembles, including big band sounds. Albums must contain 51% or more INSTRUMENTAL tracks.) Legendary Bob Florence Limited Edition [MAMA Records] Eternal Interlude John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble [Sunnyside] Fun Time Sammy Nestico And The SWR Big Band [Hänssler Classic] Book One New Orleans Jazz Orchestra [World Village] Lab 2009 University Of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band [North Texas Jazz] Category 49 Best Latin Jazz Album (Vocal or Instrumental.) Things I Wanted To Do Chembo Corniel [Chemboro Records] Áurea Geoffrey Keezer [ArtistShare] Brazilliance X 4 Claudio Roditi [Resonance Records] Juntos Para Siempre Bebo Valdés And Chucho Valdés [Sony Music/Calle 54] Esta Plena Miguel Zenón [Marsalis Music] Field 15 — World Music Category 74 Best Traditional World Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental.) Ancient Sounds Rahim Alhaj And Amjad Ali Khan [UR Music] Double Play Liz Carroll & John Doyle [Compass Records] Douga Mansa Mamadou Diabate [World Village] La Guerra No John Santos Y El Coro Folklórico Kindembo [Machete Records] Drum Music Land Ten Drum Art Percussion Group [Wind Music] Category 75 Best Contemporary World Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental.) Welcome To Mali Amadou & Mariam [Nonesuch] Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 — Africa Sessions Béla Fleck [Rounder] Day By Day Femi Kuti [Mercer Street Records] Seya Oumou Sangare [Nonesuch] Across The Divide: A Tale Of Rhythm & Ancestry Omar Sosa [Half Note Records] Field 21 — Composing/Arranging Category 84 Best Instrumental Composition (A Composer's Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.) Borat In Syracuse Paquito D'Rivera, composer (Paquito D'Rivera Quintet) Track from: Jazz-Clazz [Timba Records] Counting To Infinity Tim Davies, composer (Tim Davies Big Band) Track from: Dialmentia [Origin Records] Fluffy Bob Florence, composer (Bob Florence Limited Edition) Track from: Legendary [MAMA Records] Ice-Nine Steve Wiest, composer (University Of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band) Track from: Lab 2009 [North Texas Jazz] Married Life (From Up) Michael Giacchino, composer (Michael Giacchino) Track from: Up — Soundtrack [Walt Disney Records] Category 85 Best Instrumental Arrangement (An Arranger's Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.) Emmanuel Jeremy Lubbock, arranger (Chris Botti & Lucia Micarelli) Track from: In Boston [Columbia] Hope Vince Mendoza, arranger (Jim Beard With Vince Mendoza & The Metropole Orchestra) Track from: Revolutions [Sunny Side Records] Slings And Arrows Vince Mendoza, arranger (Chuck Owen & The Jazz Surge) Track from: The Comet's Tail: Performing The Compositions Of Michael Brecker [MAMA Records] Up With End Credits (From Up) Michael Giacchino, arranger (Michael Giacchino) Track from: Up — Soundtrack [Walt Disney Records] West Side Story Medley Bill Cunliffe, arranger (Resonance Big Band) Track from: Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute To Oscar Peterson [Resonance Records] Category 86 Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) (An Arranger's Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.) A Change Is Gonna Come David Foster & Jerry Hey, arrangers (Seal) Track from: Soul [143/Warner Bros.] Dedicated To You Laurence Hobgood, arranger (Kurt Elling) Track from: Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music Of Coltrane And Hartman [Concord Jazz] In The Still Of The Night Thomas Zink, arranger (Anne Walsh) Track from: Pretty World [AtoZink Music] My One And Only Thrill Vince Mendoza, arranger (Melody Gardot) Track from: My One And Only Thrill [Verve] Quiet Nights Claus Ogerman, arranger (Diana Krall) Track from: Quiet Nights [Verve] Field 23 — Album Notes Category 89 Best Album Notes The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935–1946) Dan Morgenstern, album notes writer (Louis Armstrong) [Mosaic Records] Dance-O-Mania: Harry Yerkes And The Dawn Of The Jazz Age, 1919–1923 Mark Berresford, album notes writer (The Happy Six) [Rivermont Records] Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson — Music From The Film Douglas Brinkley & Johnny Depp, album notes writers (Various Artists) [Legacy Recordings] My Dusty Road Ed Cray & Bill Nowlin, album notes writers (Woody Guthrie) [Rounder] Origins Of The Red Hot Mama, 1910–1922 Lloyd Ecker & Susan Ecker, album notes writers (Sophie Tucker) [Archeophone Records] Field 24 — Historical Category 90 Best Historical Album The Complete Chess Masters (1950–1967) Andy McKaie, compilation producer; Erick Labson, mastering engineer (Little Walter) [Hip-O Select/Geffen Records] My Dusty Road Scott Billington, Michael Creamer & Bill Nowlin, compilation producers; Doug Pomeroy, mastering engineer (Woody Guthrie) [Rounder] Origins Of The Red Hot Mama, 1910–1922 Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer (Sophie Tucker) [Archeophone Records] Take Me To The Water: Immersion Baptism In Vintage Music And Photography 1890–1950 Steven Lance Ledbetter & Jim Linderman, compilation producers; Robert Vosgien, mastering engineer (Various Artists) [Dust-To-Digital] Woodstock — 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm Cheryl Pawelski, Mason Williams & Andy Zax, compilation producers; Dave Schultz, mastering engineer (Various Artists) [Rhino] Category 107 Best Classical Crossover Album (Award to the Artist(s) and/or to the Conductor.) A Company Of Voices: Conspirare In Concert Craig Hella Johnson, conductor; Conspirare (Tom Burritt, Ian Davidson & Bion Tsang) [Harmonia Mundi] Jazz-Clazz Paquito D'Rivera Quintet (Trio Clarone) [TIMBA Records] The Melody Of Rhythm Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer (Detroit Symphony Orchestra) [E1 Music] QSF Plays Brubeck Quartet San Francisco [Violinjazz Recordings] Twelve Songs By Charles Ives Theo Bleckmann; Kneebody [Winter & Winter] Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs Of Joy And Peace Yo-Yo Ma (Odair Assad, Sergio Assad, Chris Botti, Dave Brubeck, Matt Brubeck, John Clayton, Paquito d'Rivera, Renée Fleming, Diana Krall, Alison Krauss, Natalie McMaster, Edgar Meyer, Cristina Pato, Joshua Redman, Jake Shimabukuro, Silk Road Ensemble, James Taylor, Chris Thile, Wu Tong, Alon Yavnai & Amelia Zirin-Brown) [Sony Classical] Category 109 Best Long Form Music Video (For video album packages consisting of more than one song or track. Award to the Artist and to the Video Director/Producer of at least 51% of the total playing time.) In Boston Chris Botti Jim Gable, video director; Bobby Colomby, video producer [Columbia] Johnny Cash's America (Johnny Cash) Robert Gordon & Morgan Neville, video directors; Robert Gordon & Morgan Neville, video producers [Columbia/Legacy] Anita O'Day — The Life Of A Jazz Singer (Anita O'Day) Robbie Cavolina & Ian McCrudden, video directors; Robbie Cavolina, Melissa Davis & Ian McCrudden, video producers [AOD Productions] Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy World Tour Live Keith Urban Chris Hicky, video director; Blake Morrison, video producer [Capitol Nashville] The Beatles Love — All Together Now (Various Artists) Adrian Wills, video director; Martin Bolduc & Jonathan Clyde, video producers [Apple/Capitol] true 129 2009-12-03T00:38:51-05:00 false 25391 true 89 2009-12-03T00:00:00-05:00 2009-12-03T00:00:00-05:00

No jazz artist able to top Beyonce’s 10 nominations or Taylor Swift’s 8 nods

2009-12-10T14:25:07-05:00

4 <p>Tenor saxophone great Sonny Rollins and his band will take the stage this month to benefit the Clearwater environmental organization, a non-profit that over the course of 40 years has helped restore health and beauty back into the Hudson River. The concert will be held at the Tarrytown Music Hall on Dec. 6 at 2 p.m., and is presented by Jazz Forum Arts. <p>The Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist, who turned 79 in September and still keeps up an active tour schedule, is a lifelong New Yorker and has resided in an old farmhouse in Columbia County, N. Y. since 1972. The area is within sight of the Hudson River, which is the main focus of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. <p>Rollins is also an ardent environmentalist, releasing an album titled <i>Global Warming</i> (Milestone, 1998), which featured performances by Rollins with Stephen Scott, Bob Cranshaw and Idris Muhammad, among others. <p>Clearwater is a non-profit, member-supported corporation whose mission is to preserve and protect the Hudson River. Founded in the late 1960’s by a vision folk musician Pete Seeger and a group of community activists had about restoring the river, Clearwater has since gained national recognition for its activism regarding PCB clean-up and its leadership and involvement in the passage of the Clean Water Act. <p>“This cause for the health of the Hudson River and its people that Mr. Seeger has taken on is such an important one,” said Rollins' guitarist Bobby Broom, via e-mail. “It’s something for me to think that he’s been at this since I was six years old.” <p>The <i>Clearwater</i>, built to the specifications of the Dutch sloops of the 18th and 19th centuries, travels to towns and cities along the Hudson, New York Harbor, and Long Island Sound. The 106-foot long ship currently hosts on-board environmental education programs that serve more than 15,000 students annually. The organization also educates over 200 teachers each year through SUNY New Paltz, Pace University and other institutions. <p>“I think that [Rollins] and Mr. Seeger are like-minded, thoughtful activists. I’m glad to see that my elders are still so vital and happy to be able to be a small part of this along with them,” said Broom. <p>General admission tickets range from $75 to $100 and can be purchased at <a HREF=http://www.tarrytownmusichall.org>Tarrytown Music Hall</a>. A limited number of premium tickets will be available for a $500 purchase price, and include a post-performance meet and greet with Rollins. All ticket buyers will receive a one year complimentary membership to Clearwater, granted they are not currently a member.</p> true 19299 2009-12-02T13:42:11-05:00 false 25388 true 89 2009-12-02T13:00:00-05:00 2009-12-02T13:00:00-05:00

Legendary saxophonist making concert appearance in support of Clearwater, New York-based environment organization dedicated to Hudson River preservation.

2009-12-03T13:56:44-05:00

4 On Sunday, December 6, 2009, friends and associates of Philadelphia bassist Charles Fambrough will gather together at the Clef Club in that city to play his music and pay tribute to his legacy. Fambrough, who performed with Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis among others, has been suffering from kidney failure and is received dialysis. The concert will also serve as a benefit to assist Fambrough’s family with the escalating medical bills. Among the artists scheduled to appear are John Blake, Jr., Joe Ford, Orrin Evans, Mike Boone, Justin Faulkner, Jason Shatil, Dwayne Burno, Denise King, Duane Eubanks and others. The concert is the first in a series called The Philadelphia Artist Deserving of Wider Recognition Concert Series and was organized by pianist Evans, a Philadelphia native who has been saluting deserving and often unheralded artists from the area with extensive posts on his Facebook page. Evans said that the decision to do this concert came about because he wanted to strengthen the connection between Philly jazz’s past and present. “I wanted to do something special to salute Philly jazz musicians,” said Evans. “I love the Eubanks and McBride families but sometimes it seems that they’re the only ones who get celebrated around here. We haven’t always honored our own. I figured the time was right to start with Broski [Fambrough’s nickname] who has been important to a lot of us younger musicians.” When he first met Fambrough, Evans was working as the music consultant for a club in Philadelphia called Blue Moon Café, doing booking and sound. “It was also the first time I met Ralph Peterson, Uri Caine and Steve Wilson. They were supposed to play with the bassist Kevin Bruce Harris, but Charles subbed for him. I couldn’t believe that all of a sudden I was responsible for the sound for these great musicians. I was really blown away.” Since that time, the two played together at numerous shows around Philadelphia, as well as with Sean Jones and developed a close personal and musical bond. Fambrough is perhaps best known for being the bassist in the same Art Blakey band that featured the Marsalis brothers. He went on to play extensively with both Wynton and Branford. Fambrough was also a member of the McCoy Tyner group that featured fellow Philadelphians John Blake on violin and Joe Ford on saxophone. Both Blake and Ford will be performing at the benefit on Sunday at the Clef Club. Evans said that the first part of the concert will feature a house band of Blake, Ford, Shatil (and Evans) on piano, Mike Boone on bass and Justin Faulkner on drums. That group will be performing Fambrough’s compositions. The rest of the concert will be a celebration of the music that the various players shared over the years. Evans has plans to continue these concerts to recognize many past Philadelphia local musicians who may not have gotten their due. “Part of the reason for this is to give props to these guys and expose them to a wider audience, but I also want to expose them to younger musicians who may not have gotten the chance to see them. I was lucky enough to see or know people like Shirley Scott, Arthur Harper and Billy James. I want younger musicians to know about people like Bootsie Barnes or Edgar Bateman. This is a great way to do that.” The benefit concert takes place from 3 pm to 6 pm on Sunday. The Clef Club is located at the corner of Broad and Fitzwater Streets, at the southern tip of the downtown arts district in Philadelphia, Pa. The phone number is (215) 893-9912. The ticket price is $15 and all proceeds go to Fambrough’s family. For those who are outside the Philadelphia area or unable to attend Sunday’s benefit, donations to assist with Fambrough’s medical bills can be sent to: 88 Keys Production ATT. Fambrough PO Box 6510 Phila Pa 19138. Checks should be made payable to “Dolores Fambrough,” the bassist’s spouse. true 129 2009-12-01T12:48:39-05:00 false 25380 true 89 2009-12-02T08:00:00-05:00 2009-12-02T08:00:00-05:00

Concert on Sunday, December 6, 2009 to benefit bassist who has been on dialysis

2009-12-03T01:03:24-05:00

4 On December 3-6, 2010 at the Iridium jazz club in New York City, the music from Art Blakey’s <I>Golden Boy</I> album will be performed to celebrate Blakey’s 90th birthday. Although the album title is associated more with Sammy Davis Jr than Art Blakey, The Jazz Messengers’ <I>Golden Boy</I> was apparently one of Blakey’s favorite recordings. Back in 1963, Blakey got bandmembers Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton and Curtis Fuller to do arrangements of material from the Broadway musical that had just opened with Sammy Davis Jr in the lead as reluctant boxer Joe Bonaparte, whose hands end up being used for violence and destruction rather than healing and creativity. The play was originally written by Clifford Odets in 1937 with the lead character as an Italian-American, but Hillard Elkins mounted a production with African-Americans in the lead and asked Odets to revise it as a musical, with Charles Strouse writing the music. Although Odets died before the production was finished, the musical became both a popular and critical success and its issues of race and violence struck a nerve with a public that was witnessing the power and complexity of the Civil Rights movement. The Jazz Messengers at that time featured perhaps Blakey’s most famous lineup with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Shorter on saxophones, Fuller on trombone, Walton on piano and Reggie Workman on bass. In order to play the more intricate arrangements for the recording, the core group was expanded into a large ensemble by adding Lee Morgan on second trumpet, Charles Davis on baritone sax, Julius Watkins on French horn, and Bill Barber on tuba. Released in 1963 on the Colpix label as <I>Selections from the Film Golden Boy</I>, the album did not seem to benefit from the enormous success of the musical, perhaps because the large jazz band arrangements were was so different than the music in the show or perhaps because the music was a departure from that group’s current style and repertoire. In any case, the album became one of the more obscure titles in Blakey’s long and varied discography. It has never been released on CD. Trumpeter, composer and arranger David Weiss was asked to put together a tribute to Blakey. “I thought of <I>Golden Boy</I>, an album that always intrigued me,” said Weiss. “And I also remembered that Blakey was often quoted as saying it was his favorite record. Now this stuff has never been performed live and for a Blakey recording, rather obscure. I thought bringing this stuff back to life would be more interesting, fitting tribute than rehashing “Blues March” or other Blakey signature tunes that would never sound right without Blakey behind the drums. It is also a great record and has examples of some of the earliest attempts of great composers like Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton and Curtis Fuller writing for a larger ensemble. Wayne Shorter's arrangements are particularly incredible and show his writing for a larger ensemble already at an advanced stage.” Weiss painstakingly transcribed the music from the original recording for a tribute performance at Iridium in 2008. For the shows this week, the group will include original arranger and bandmember Fuller, along with an all-star collection of players, several of whom played with Blakey over the years: Louis Hayes (drums), Mulgrew Miller (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Donald Harrison (alto sax), Javon Jackson (tenor sax), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Steve Davis (trombone), Howard Johnson (tuba), Mark Taylor (French horn) and Jason Marshall (baritone sax). Shows are at 8:30 and 10:30 pm each night. The Iridium Jazz Club is located at 1650 Broadway (at 51st Street). The phone number is (212) 582-2121. For more information about the shows, go to <A HREF=http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com> Iridium’s web site</a>. true 129 2009-12-01T15:55:46-05:00 false 25381 true 89 2009-12-01T17:00:00-05:00 2009-12-01T17:00:00-05:00

Alumni from Blakey’s band to perform material from <I>Golden Boy</I>

2009-12-02T13:44:55-05:00