Archive for February, 2009
« Previous EntriesLou Donaldson / Bobby Hutcerson - LIVE!!!
Submitted by this SHAPE OF JAZZ
Definitely the most exciting event (for me) of the festival was the chance to see Lou Donaldson and Bobby Hutcherson live at the Crystal Ballroom. This double billed event (with the exception of McCoy Tyner on the previous weekend) was the biggest highlight of earlier generation Blue Note artists.
Artistic Director [...]
Is the future in community radio?
Submitted by Jazz Suite
At least once a year my wife and I travel to Cape May New Jersey to detox from all the annoyances life throws at us. We stay at the beautiful Albert Stevens Inn, where Jim & Lenanne Labrusciano feed us delicious breakfasts and give us the inside dope on what to see [...]
Miles at Antibes
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
As we approach the fiftieth of Kind of Blue, maybe it’s good to return to the roots of this blog: Miles Davis and his magnificent quintets of the fifties and sixties. I got into serious collecting when I discovered the great Prestige recordings Workin’, Steamin’, Relaxin’, and Cookin’. These great platters [...]
Pere Soto teaches Foxy to Shred!
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
Last weekend Pere Soto made some incredible Paella and after dinner he gave our Pomeranian Foxy a music lesson. Foxy has been studying with Pere for several years now and she become quite the shredding Pom. In the next lesson video Foxy will shred on piano, drums, and congas.
Visit 1800blogger [...]
And so today, my world, it smiles
Submitted by Secret Society
We are down to serious crunch time with the mixing of Infernal Machines — I crashed on the studio couch Sunday night (er, well, more like Monday around 7 AM, when I finally collapsed from exhaustion), and will likely do so again more than once before we are finished. But I did want [...]
Conversation with Lou Donaldson
Submitted by this SHAPE OF JAZZ
The second talk I attended for the 2009 Portland Jazz Festival was a conversation with Lou Donaldson at the PCPA Art Bar. It was moderated by Larry Appelbaum of JazzTimes for a piece called “Before and After.” Appelbaum described this to the audience as a blind fold test where tracks [...]
Duke Ellington: The jazz, the stamp, and the quarter
Written by Michael Vass
What do you think of when you think of Duke Ellington?
Some will instantly hear any number of jazz music selections created by this great musician and performer. Other may reflect on the Presidential Medal of Freedom he received in 1969, or the Legion of Honor from France (both are the highest honors [...]
2009 Portland Jazz Festival
Submitted by this SHAPE OF JAZZ
The 2009 Portland Jazz Festival rapped up last night. With the theme celebrating 70 years of Blue Note Records, and featuring artists both past and present, there was bound to have a little something for nearly every jazz fan. I was only able to see one concert this year, but–in [...]
Kind of Blue Turns Fifty
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
March 2nd will mark the fiftieth anniversary of Kind of Blue, Miles Davis’ most perfect recording, and maybe the most perfect in the history of jazz. I plan to return to this theme. For now, here is a post I wrote two years ago.
NPR has a new series, Jazz Profiles, that [...]
Know your Co-Conspirators: Jon Wikan
Submitted by Secret Society
(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein)
And now, the thrilling conclusion of our 18-part series, Know Your Co-Conspirators, in which we have been introducing you to the musicians involved in the making of our debut recording, Infernal Machines. Your final co-conspirator is the engine of the band, drummer and percussionist Jon Wikan.
Jon was born in Petersburg, [...]
Invisible touch
Submitted by Secret Society
The NYT Arts Beat blog can’t avoid unburying the lede:
He may not particularly need the money, but the tenor Plácido Domingo has been named the winner of the first Birgit Nilsson Prize, which bestows its recipient with a $1 million award for outstanding achievement in classical music, the Birgit Nilsson Foundation said [...]
Page Three Odds & Ends
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
Roswell Rudd’s ruddy trombone is a big part of the Avant Garde scene, or so I gather. I only recently discovered him, while crawling along the discography of Steve Lacy. I picked up Regeneration, a very interesting album with a very interesting cast. With Lacy’s soprano sax on board, you would [...]
Know your Co-Conspirators: Seneca Black
Submitted by Secret Society
Our profile series featuring the musicians of Infernal Machines is almost complete. The penultimate installment features our indispensable lead trumpet player, Seneca Black.
Seneca grew up in a musical family in Florida. He first picked up the trumpet at age 9, having being inspired by one of his sisters. He graduated from the [...]
Know your Co-conspirators: James Hirschfeld
Submitted by Secret Society
(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein)
We continue our ongoing profile of the musicians involved in the making of Infernal Machines with a look at trombonist James Hirschfeld.
In addition to playing trombone, James also plays tuba, melodica, percussion, and an “electronic valve instrument” which he built himself. He plays in the Respect Sextet, a group he [...]
A stark reminder
Submitted by Jazz Suite
Gerry Niewood, 64, and Coleman Mellett, 33, scheduled to perform with the jazz musician Chuck Mangione, lost their lives last week when their Continental flight from Newark crashed on approach to the Buffalo airport, killing all 49 aboard and one on the ground.
The New York Times ran this piece remembering these two [...]
PDX Jazz Festival gigs
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
The PDX Jazz Festival started last weekend and runs through this next weekend. This Friday, Feb. 20th I’ll be playing at the Tugboat with a sextet that I put together. This group will perform music from several of my ongoing projects, including some originals by Pere Soto from our Oasis [...]
Booker Ervin’s Brilliant Bop
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
Booker Telloferro Ervin was one of those jazz geniuses who don’t quite make it into the Borders Jazz section. But that’s all the more fun for collectors. He recorded a number of albums titled with puns: Blues Book, Song Book, Freedom Book, and Space Book. A good jazz library will have [...]
Louis Bellson dies
Submitted by Jazz Suite
Drummer Louis Bellson passed away on Valentine’s Day. You can read more on his career here and here. He pioneered the double-bass-drum set-up. He was one of the good ones.
“Not only is Louie Bellson the world’s greatest drummer…he is the world’s greatest musician!” –Duke Ellington
Obviously, Duke thought highly of him. So did [...]
RIP Louie Bellson
Submitted by Secret Society
I am far from an expert on Louie Bellson’s career but he sounds great on those records with Ellington’s band. Also, the before-its-time double kick drum thing? Kind of badass.
Other places…
Marc Myers (JazzWax)
When Louie joined Duke Ellington’s band, there was no music to read, nor was there a drum book. Everyone in the [...]
Know your Co-conspirators: Tom Goehring
Submitted by Secret Society
(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein)
Our ongoing series profiling the musicians involved with the making of Infernal Machines continues! Today’s featured co-conspirator is Tom Goehring.
Originally from Mystic, Connecticut, Tom came to NYC back in 1980 to attend Columbia University, where he studied Political Science. But while in college, he was also regular at Barry Harris’ [...]
Transcription of Coltrane’s solo on Crescent
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
Someone wrote to ask me if I had a a transcription of Trane’s solo on Crescent (one of my favorite albums of all-time). My buddy Nate happened to have it in one of the Andrew White transcription books that he copied from the Berklee library. Andrew White is a an [...]
Big Bands, Small Combos, & Duets
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
The difference between big band jazz and the small combo (3 to 9 musicians) is analogous to the difference between a novel and a short story. In the former, the larger picture usually subsumes most of the individual elements, with the exception of a central character or two. The main character [...]
They can put somebody else in his place and restore the state
Submitted by Secret Society
SearchandRestore.com is now live. They aim to be the OhMyRockness of the contemporary NYC jazz scene, with show picks, full listings, interviews, very helpful venue info, streaming audio, and such like. I know a lot of people who read this blog have been clamoring for a website like this, so you should [...]
RIP Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett
Submitted by Secret Society
Saxophonist Gerry Niewood was among those who perished aboard Continental Flight 3407 on Thursday night. I had the good fortune to have Gerry perform my music in the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and in a few Secret Society rehearsals he was gracious enough to sub in. Others — like Society saxophonist Sam [...]
Sexy Results
Submitted by Secret Society
I was encouraged at the outcry from the arts community over the Coburn Amendment, but I honestly did not expect this:
House and Senate negotiators on the bill dropped the language prohibiting stimulus funds from going to museums, theatres, and arts centers which was included in the version of the bill passed by [...]
