tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70019971985509025242024-03-12T16:47:42.595-07:00Bright MomentsThe Web Log of the Redwood Jazz Alliance in Humboldt County, CaliforniaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger242125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-45861847530327032112020-06-15T12:17:00.002-07:002020-06-17T12:36:31.952-07:00News of Past Guests, Pandemic EditionThe performing arts world is at a virtual standstill. But there's so much happening "virtually" that it can be hard to keep up.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Since March 17th, NPR has been keeping a calendar, updated daily, of "<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/17/816504058/a-list-of-live-virtual-concerts-to-watch-during-the-coronavirus-shutdown" target="_blank">Virtual Concerts to Watch During the Coronovirus Shutdown</a>." The calendar covers musical performances in all genres, including a series of live streams from New York's storied jazz club, the <a href="https://villagevanguard.com/" target="_blank">Village Vanguard</a>. That series opened this past weekend with a pair of shows by a group that was slated to play the RJA's 2020-21 season: the Billy Hart Quartet with Ethan Iverson, Mark Turner, and Ben Street. The next three scheduled shows--cover charge $7 (no drink minimum!)--will feature RJA veterans: </div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Pianist Vijay Iyer with his new trio (June 20th & 21st)</li>
<li>Bassist Joe Martin (Anat Cohen, David Berkman Trio) and his quartet (June 27th & 28th)</li>
<li>Saxophonist Joe Lovano and his Trio Fascination (July 4th & 5th)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br />
Other <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/arts/music/jazz-smalls-coronavirus-concerts.html" target="_blank">New York area jazz institutions with live streams and/or archived shows</a>--some free, some not--include:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://www.smallslive.com/" target="_blank">Small's</a> (browse for such RJA alumni as Helen Sung, Omer Avital, Melissa Aldana, Anat Cohen, Joe Martin, Gilad Hekselman, Ari Hoenig, and Manuel Valera)</li><li><a href="https://www.jazzgallery.org/tjgonline" target="_blank">The Jazz Gallery</a> (their "Words and Music" series is ticketed, as are the archives for their "<a href="https://www.jazzgallery.org/the-lockdown-sessions" target="_blank">Lockdown Sessions</a>," featuring RJA vets like Theo Bleckmann, Melissa Aldana, Miguel Zenon, Dayna Stephens, Camila Meza, Walter Smith III, Marcus Gilmore, Mark Turner, and Fabian Almazan)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP108sGgYT_TlG2YRColGcg" target="_blank">Jazz at Lincoln Center</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/firehouse12records" target="_blank">Firehouse 12</a> in New Haven, CT, whose Spring 2020 performance series has been replaced with weekly archival performances including Marty Ehrlich &
Myra Melford, Ralph Alessi’s This Against That, The Claudia Quintet, The David
Berkman Quartet, Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts, and The Ben Allison Quartet</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br />
Want to watch or listen to what other past RJA guests have been up to during the quarantine?</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Here's Humboldt County's own <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CpbeQAjE_8&feature=emb_logo" target="_blank">Michael Moore</a>, playing in a duo with guitarist Rogerio Bicudo, as part of a series curated by Amsterdam's Concertgemaal.<br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_CpbeQAjE_8" width="100%"></iframe></li>
<li>Since March 19th, multi-reedist Ben Goldberg (Plays Monk, Myra Melford's Be Bread, Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom) has been keeping a daily "<a href="https://ben-goldberg--bag-production-records.bandcamp.com/album/plague-diary" target="_blank">Plague Diary</a>"--i.e., writing a new piece every day and adding it to a digital album-in-progress on Bandcamp, which you can stream and/or download on a pay-what-you-like basis. Bay Area music journalist Andrew Gilbert profiled Goldberg for a long piece in the San Francisco <i>Classical Voice </i>("<a href="https://www.sfcv.org/article/covid-confidential-ben-goldbergs-notes-from-a-pandemic-0" target="_blank">Covid Confidential: Ben Goldberg's Notes from a Pandemic</a>"), and Jeffrey Siegel interviewed him about the project for his long-running <i><a href="https://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-747-socially-distancing-with-ben-goldberg">Straight No Chaser</a> </i>podcast.<br /><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2568099323/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://ben-goldberg--bag-production-records.bandcamp.com/album/plague-diary">PLAGUE DIARY by Ben Goldberg</a></iframe></li>
<li>At the end of May, Goldberg also took part in this year's (Virtual) <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/637882580" target="_blank">Hyde Park Jazz Festival</a>, as did Bay Area bassist, composer, educator and bandleader <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/637836584" target="_blank">Marcus Shelby</a>.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, on Earth Day, pianist Fabian Almazan and bassist Linda May Han Oh kicked off their own online festival, the Biophilia Records Fest, showcasing artists associated with the label, which like founder and director Almazan is committed not only to music but also to social and environmental justice. (Last week, trumpeter Dave Douglas spoke to Almazan on his <i><a href="https://greenleafmusic.com/anftd-80-fabian-almazan/" target="_blank">A Noise from the Deep</a> </i>podcast.) Most of the events charged a <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/o/biophilia-records-30142827058" target="_blank">nominal admission fee</a> (you can still buy an all-access pass to watch the recorded video streams for just $20), but two of them can be viewed for free, including the May 9th performance by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v1GdDOHBH0" target="_blank">Linda May Han Oh</a>.<br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0v1GdDOHBH0" width="100%"></iframe></li>
<li>NPR's <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/11/814612538/bassist-linda-may-han-oh-is-a-musician-rooted-in-curiosity" target="_blank">Jazz Night in America</a> </i>devoted a second episode to Oh on March 13th--a follow-up to a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/16/761194725/watch-bassist-linda-may-han-oh-perform-her-dynamic-new-project-aventurine" target="_blank">concert film</a> of her "Aventurine" project broadcast on the program last fall. Or maybe it was a prelude to the May 22 episode of its new "Alone Together Duets" series featuring...<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/21/860116967/fabian-almazan-and-linda-may-han-oh-alone-together-duets" target="_blank">Fabian Almazan and Linda May Han Oh</a>! </li>
</ul>
<div>
<br />
Speaking of Dave Douglas: drummer Rudy Royston has been a fixture on Douglas's Greenleaf Music label for years now, and on June 19th he's releasing a new album, <i>PaNOptic</i>, whose proceeds will go to the <a href="https://www.grammy.com/musicares/get-help/musicares-coronavirus-relief-fund" target="_blank">MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund</a>. You can <a href="https://rudyroyston.bandcamp.com/album/panoptic" target="_blank">pre-order now</a>--and Rudy's statement about the album, which you can find both there and <a href="https://greenleafmusic.com/rudy-royston-on-musicares-and-panoptic/" target="_blank">here</a>, is worth reading.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Other musicians helping fellow musicians include pianist Fred Hersch, who with bassist & vocalist Esperanza Spalding have released <a href="https://esperanzaspaldingfredhersch.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">an EP of duets recorded live at the Village Vanguard in October 2018</a>, as a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America and its efforts to support musicians during the pandemic. (Hurry, as the album is on sale for the month of June <i>only</i>.) Hersch has also done a series of at-home concerts which you can still stream from his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/fredherschmusic/videos/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, and he's released a number of <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/7w7DFqQNjVMW5NRvjM8JPx" target="_blank">singles on Spotify</a>, duets with friends like Anat Cohen and Miguel Zenón. He talks about all of this and more on the podcast <i><a href="https://soundcloud.com/speaking-of-the-arts/episode57" target="_blank">Speaking of the Arts</a>.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Royston and Hersch are among the few musicians we know who are feeling relatively fortunate so far, but so many others in the performing arts universe have simply been devastated, as gigs, festivals, and venues have shut down for the foreseeable future--in some cases perhaps permanently. So how else can you support musicians? Well, you can start by buying their music. Almost anyone you could name who has played for the RJA--and if your memory needs refreshing, you can page back through our <a href="http://www.reninet.com/~rja/" target="_blank">old website</a> as well as our <a href="https://www.redwoodjazzalliance.org/" target="_blank">new one</a>--has a presence on <a href="https://bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>, where you can buy CDs, LPs, and downloads, and be assured that most of the proceeds will go directly to the artists. (In fact, since the start of the pandemic, Bandcamp has periodically donated its share of sales back to the artists and labels who sell their music and merchandise on the platform. This coming Friday, June 19th, its share will go to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.)</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Tenor saxophonist Michael Blake, for instance--who would have joined us this fall with his new chamber-jazz project--has bought up the rights to most of his back catalogue, including albums by two projects that have already played for the RJA, <a href="https://michaelblake.bandcamp.com/album/blake-tartare" target="_blank">Blake Tartare</a> and <a href="https://michaelblake.bandcamp.com/album/tiddy-boom" target="_blank">Tiddy Boom</a>.</li>
<li>Guitarist Jeff Parker, who was also meant to be part of our 2020-21 season, has gotten great reviews for his album <i><a href="https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/suite-for-max-brown" target="_blank">Suite for Max Brown</a></i>, which came out in January. (See, e.g., <a href="https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/jeff-parker-suite-for-max-brown-nonesuch-international-anthem/" target="_blank">Britt Robson's review</a> in the May issue of <i>Jazz Times</i>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/02/10/804476677/jazz-guitarist-jeff-parker-crosses-musical-genres-on-suite-for-max-brown" target="_blank">Kevin Whitehead's review</a> for <i>Fresh Air</i> with Terry Gross, or <a href="https://downbeat.com/news/detail/jeff-parker-shifting-mentality" target="_blank">Gary Fukushima's interview</a> for <i>DownBeat</i>.)<br /><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1020863419/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/suite-for-max-brown">Suite for Max Brown by Jeff Parker</a></iframe></li>
<li>And alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's new album, <i><a href="https://rudreshmahanthappa1.bandcamp.com/album/hero-trio" target="_blank">Hero Trio</a></i> (the other two heroes are drummer Rudy Royston and bassist François Moutin), is the occasion of a <a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/rudresh-mahanthappa-being-a-hero-is-hard-work/" target="_blank"><i>Jazz Times </i>cover story</a> by Nate Chinen, who also premiered a video of the trio on WBGO's <i><a href="https://www.wbgo.org/post/can-rudresh-mahanthappas-hero-trio-save-world-find-out-weeks-take-five#stream/0" target="_blank">Take Five</a></i>. And for you players out there, Mahanthappa contributed to the "Reed School" feature in the May issue of <i>DownBeat </i>with a lesson on "<a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2020/DB20_05/66-67.html" target="_blank">Crafting Improvised Lines from 3-Note & 4-Note Cells</a>."<br /><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2392339962/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://rudreshmahanthappa1.bandcamp.com/album/hero-trio">Hero Trio by Rudresh Mahanthappa</a></iframe></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Those are just three examples. As for artists whose new releases <i>don't </i>appear on Bandcamp? Find and preview them on streaming platforms, then ask People's Records (Arcata) or The Works (Eureka) to order them for you. Here are some suggestions:</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire's new album on Blue Note, <i><a href="http://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/ambrose-akinmusire-on-the-tender-spot-of-every-calloused-moment/" target="_blank">on the tender spot of every calloused moment</a></i>, got a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/08/852322126/ambrose-akinmusires-new-album-is-a-circle-in-time-right-back-to-his-first-jazz-s" target="_blank">featured review from Nate Chinen on NPR Music</a>. Akinmusire also spoke about it to the Jazz Gallery's <i><a href="https://www.jazzspeaks.org/different-branches-ambrose-akinmusire-speaks/" target="_blank">Jazz Speaks</a>.</i></li>
<li>A quartet version of Dayna Stephens's new project, whose trio album <i>Liberty </i>got a <a href="https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/liberty" target="_blank">"Hot Box" review from Suzanne Lorge </a>in the April issue of <i>DownBeat</i>, would have led off the 2020-21 RJA season in September. (We're committed to rescheduling.) Kevin Whitehead also reviewed the album for NPR's <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/06/851321404/saxophonist-dayna-stephens-liberty-feels-right-for-the-way-we-re-living" target="_blank"><i>Fresh Air </i>with Terry Gross</a>.</li>
<li>Speaking of <i>DownBeat</i>: the first and final artists of our most recent (truncated) season recent also got some love in the pages of that hallowed magazine: Alex Rodriguez gave Reverso's <i><a href="https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/the-melodic-line" target="_blank">The Melodic Line</a></i> a 4-star review in the April issue, while <i><a href="https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/puertos-music-from-international-waters" target="_blank">Puertos </a></i>by the Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra got 5 stars from James Hale in the March issue. The <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2020/DB20_06/default.html" target="_blank">June issue</a> saw two more RJA vets as the recipients of "Hot Box" reviews: tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery (Tom Harrell Quintet), for <i>The Humble Warrior</i>, and Liberty Ellman (Myra Melford's Snowy Egret) for <i>Last Desert</i>. That same issue includes reviews of <i>All For Now </i>by Gary Versace (Rudy Royston's Flatbed Buggy, John Abercrombie Organ Trio, Matt Wilson's Arts & Crafts) and <i>Planet B </i>by Jasper Høiby (Phronesis), as well as a "Blindfold Test" by Walter Smith III (Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet).</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br />
Finally, as long as you're perusing those magazines (or their websites), why not check out <a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/overdue-ovation-hank-roberts-is-back-in-the-game/" target="_blank">Ted Panken's "Overdue Ovation" for cellist Hank Roberts</a> (Rudy Royston's Flatbed Buggy) in the March <i>Jazz Times</i>, or <i>DownBeat</i>'s <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2020/DB20_05/26-27.html" target="_blank">May 2020 cover story</a> on drummer Antonio Sánchez and vocalist Thania Alexa, who also performed an "<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/851962953/thana-alexa-and-antonio-sanchez-alone-together-duets" target="_blank">Alone Together Duet</a>" for NPR's <i>Jazz Night in America</i>.</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ot_QihxE2w4" width="560" youtube-src-id="ot_QihxE2w4"></iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That should be enough to get you going, right? Check back for updates when you're finished. And if there's nothing new, then <a href="https://brightmomentsjazz.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">scroll back through some old posts</a> and catch up on things you may have missed!</div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-89973253382956063562019-12-30T18:46:00.001-08:002020-01-03T15:09:50.852-08:00News of Past Guests, New Year 2020 EditionWhere did the holidays go? Let's catch up quick for Auld Lang Syne, shall we?<br />
<br />
In the jazz mediasphere:<br />
<ul>
<li>In "<a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/chris-lightcap-two-become-one/" target="_blank">Two Become One</a>" (<i>Jazz Times </i>December 2019), Jeff Tamarkin writes about bassist Chris Lightcap's "supergroup," Super-Bigmouth.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, in the November <i>Jazz Times</i>, Shaun Brady gives clarinetist/multi-reedist Ben Goldberg an "<a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/overdue-ovation-ben-goldberg/" target="_blank">Overdue Ovation</a>."</li>
<li>And way back in October, <i>Jazz Times </i>writer Geoffrey Himes profiled guitarist Ben Monder in "<a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/the-understated-appeal-of-ben-monder/" target="_blank">The Understated Appeal of Ben Monder</a>."</li>
<li>For the December issue of <i>DownBeat</i>, drummer Antonio Sánchez subjected himself to the "Blindfold Test"--and passed with flying colors. The print version hasn't yet been made available online, but you can listen to it as it was recorded at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival:</li>
</ul>
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/694381651&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
A lot of people have sworn off the hoary "Top 10 List" this year, but...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Jazz Times </i>compiled its writers' <a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/year-in-review-top-50-albums-2019/" target="_blank">Top 50 picks for 2019</a>, and that list reads like a Who's Who of RJA alumni: Camila Meza's <i>Ámbar </i>(#4), Tom Harrell's <i>Infinity </i>(#6), Johnathan Blake's <i>Trion </i>(#9), Linda May Han Oh's <i>Aventurine</i> (#10), Dave Douglas/Uri Caine/Andrew Cyrille's <i>Devotion</i> (#12), the Fabian Almazan Trio's <i>This Land Abounds With Life </i>(#13), Miguel Zenón's <i>Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera </i>(#16), Ralph Alessi's <i>Imaginary Friends </i>(#17), the Anat Cohen Tentet's <i>Triple Helix </i>(#18), Melissa Aldana's <i>Visions </i>(#22), Frank Kimbrough's <i>Monk's Dreams </i>(#25), Ryan Keberle & Catharsis' <i>The Hope I Hold </i>(#26), Tyshawn Sorey & Marilyn Crispell's <i>The Adornment of Time </i>(#27), Fred Hersh & WDR Big Band's <i>Begin Again </i>(#36), and Allison & Miller's Boom Tic Boom's <i>Glitter Wolf </i>(#37).</li>
<li>The Ottawa <i>Citizen</i>'s Peter Hum, one of the smartest, most sympathetic jazz writers around, also includes Meza, Oh, Almazan, and Blake (3, 2, 4, and 16) in his year-end list, along with Ben Monder's <i>Day After Day </i>(14) and Jason Palmer's <i>Rhyme and Reason </i>(15).</li>
<li>Those names--and other past RJA guests (Parlour Game, Noah Preminger, Scott Robinson)--show up again and again on other lists (<i>LA Times</i>, NextBop.com, <i>AllAbout Jazz</i>, the Jazz Journalists' Association, <i>PopMatters</i>, the Chicago <i>Tribune</i>). See for yourself <a href="https://news.allaboutjazz.com/rounding-up-the-best-jazz-of-2019-lists.php" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
</ul>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-24647121722419759752019-09-06T22:33:00.001-07:002019-10-11T22:08:10.164-07:00News of Past Guests, Fall 2019 Edition<br />
Let's start with bassist Linda May Han Oh, who performed her double-quartet chamber jazz project "Aventurine" on the September 19th episode of NPR's <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/16/761194725/watch-bassist-linda-may-han-oh-perform-her-dynamic-new-project-aventurine" target="_blank">Jazz Night in America</a>.</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MWuvYeAdlYw" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
The album, which we previewed in a previous post (and which you can get on <a href="https://lindamayhanoh.bandcamp.com/album/aventurine" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>) is getting great buzz.<br />
<br />
Pianist Helen Sung, meanwhile, contributed to the episode of the NPR series <i>Turning the Tables: 8 Women Who Changed American Popular Music </i>devoted to piano icon <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/07/31/743415843/turning-the-tables-8-women-who-invented-american-popular-music">Mary Lou Williams</a>. Her video segment is entitled "<a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/11/758071915/how-to-swing-like-mary-lou-williams-featuring-helen-sung" target="_blank">How to Swing Like Mary Lou Williams</a>."<br />
<br />
In a recent newsletter, Helen also mentions how proud she is to be part of the album <i>Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage </i>(released August 30th) where she "joins the Karrin Allyson Sextet (and some very special guests!) to perform creatively reimagined songs from the Suffragette Movement." <i>Billboard </i>wrote about the project <a href="https://sable.madmimi.com/c/17299?id=57980.3058.1.e505e08613e10e98974db9c132a9915b">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Speaking of iconic pianists: Fred Hersch, renowned for his intimate trio work, has a new big band album (with Hamburg, Germany's NDR Bigband), <i>Begin Again</i>, that was recently <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/08/21/753081396/pianist-fred-hersch-scales-up-the-intimacy-on-begin-again" target="_blank">reviewed by Kevin Whitehead</a> on NPR's <i>Fresh Air </i>with Terry Gross.<br />
<br />
A week or so later, Whitehead <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/05/757881902/clarinetist-ben-goldberg-unites-jazz-and-poetry-on-good-day-for-cloud-fishing" target="_blank">also reviewed</a> a new record by Ben Goldberg (Plays Monk, Myra Melford's Be Bread), <i><a href="https://pyroclasticrecords.com/release/good-day-for-cloud-fishing/" target="_blank">A Good Day for Cloud Fishing</a></i>, built around the poetry of Dean Parks and featuring guitarist Nels Cline and cornetist Ron Miles. (You can buy the album from a number of online venues, including <a href="https://bengoldbergpyroclastic.bandcamp.com/album/good-day-for-cloud-fishing" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>.)<br />
<div>
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/757881902/757963375" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe></div>
<div>
And speaking of big bands: our first guest of the 2019-20 season, <a href="https://www.redwoodjazzalliance.org/events/emilio-solla-amp-bien-sur" target="_blank">Emilio Solla</a>, has a special talent for writing and arranging for large ensembles. He debuted his own big band, the Tango Jazz Orchestra, at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola earlier this year, and now his debut big band <i>album </i>has dropped. It's called <i>Puertos: Music from International Waters</i>, and you can get it from all the usual online vendors, including the artist-friendly <a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/emiliosollatangojazzorchestra" target="_blank">CD Baby</a> (want a high-resolution format? try <a href="https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/puertos-music-from-international-waters-emilio-solla-tango-jazz-orchestra-emilio-solla/vyixx9vgwee2b" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>).<br />
<br />
Other new albums:<br />
<ul>
<li>Tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger's 15th album as a leader, <i>Zigsaw: Music of Steve Lampert</i>, is available for pre-order (CD or download) at <a href="https://www.noahpreminger.com/music-shop-albums">his website</a>. It includes the talents of John O'Gallagher, Jason Palmer, Kris Davis, Rob Schwimmer, Kim Cass, and Rudy Royston.</li>
<li>Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón's latest is dedicated to a legendary Puerto Rican singer, <i><a href="https://miguelzenon.bandcamp.com/album/sonero-the-music-of-ismael-rivera" target="_blank">Sonero: The Music of Ismail Rivera</a>. </i>(Miguel also did his first "<a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/before-after-miguel-zenon/" target="_blank">Before and After</a>" listening session for the September issue of <i>Jazz Times</i>.)<br /><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3836397955/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://miguelzenon.bandcamp.com/album/sonero-the-music-of-ismael-rivera">Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera by Miguel Zenón</a></iframe></li>
<li>Saxophonists (and longtime friends) Donny McCaslin and David Binney team up with fellow reedmen Dave Liebman and Samuel Blais for a sax quartet project called <i><a href="https://sunnysidezone.com/album/four-visions" target="_blank">Four Visions</a></i>:</li>
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=902495402/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://sunnysidezone.com/album/four-visions">Four Visions by Dave Liebman, Dave Binney, Donny McCaslin & Samuel Blais</a></iframe>
<li>Bassist Chris Lightcap (who was recently interviewed for the <a href="https://burningambulance.com/2019/09/13/ba-podcast-46-chris-lightcap/" target="_blank">Burning Ambulance podcast</a> and the Jazz Gallery's "<a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/superbigmouth-chris-lightcap-speaks/" target="_blank">Jazz Speaks</a>" series) combines his ensembles Bigmouth and Superette into a large ensemble called--you guessed it--SuperBigmouth, featuring two tenors, two guitarists, and two drummers. "With whatever band Lightcap is leading," says the <i>New York Times</i>, "he strikes a masterly balance between urgent, punctuated bass playing and smooth, sighing melodies on top." "SuperBigmouth commingles prog rock, spiritual jazz and the indie-lounge vibes of Stereolab, resulting in something altogether new." You can pre-order--and listen--<a href="https://chrislightcappyroclastic.bandcamp.com/album/superbigmouth" target="_blank">on Bandcamp</a>: <iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3882273810/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://chrislightcappyroclastic.bandcamp.com/album/superbigmouth">SuperBigmouth by Chris Lightcap</a></iframe></li>
<li>Bassist Ben Allison's new disc is the second with his collective trio "The Easy Way," featuring saxophonist Ted Nash and guitarist Steve Cardenas; it's called <i>Somewhere Else: West Side Story Songs</i> (<a href="https://benallison.com/the-easy-way" target="_blank">preview </a>| <a href="https://benallison.com/store/somewhere-else-cd" target="_blank">order</a>)</li>
<li>Guitarist Joel Harrison teams up with Anupam Shobakhar and the Talujon Percussion Quartet for <i>Still Point: Turning World</i> (order & preview on <a href="https://joel-harrison.bandcamp.com/album/still-point-turning-world" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>):<br /><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2614860349/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://joel-harrison.bandcamp.com/album/still-point-turning-world">Still Point: Turning World by Joel Harrison</a></iframe></li>
<li>Guitarist Rez Abbasi, meanwhile, is coming out with <i>two </i>new albums, one a soundtrack for the 1929 silent film <i><a href="https://rezabbasi.bandcamp.com/album/a-throw-of-dice" target="_blank">A Throw of the Dice</a> </i>(<a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/rez-abbasi-soundtrack-throw-of-dice" target="_blank">interview </a>in <i>DownBeat</i>), the other a collaboration with French harpist Isabelle Olivier, <i>Oasis</i>. Here's a preview track:<br /><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/692079805&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe></li>
<li>Drummer Harris Eisenstadt has a new live album with his quartet Canada Day (pre-order it at <a href="https://cleanfeed-records.com/product/canada-day-quartet-live/" target="_blank">Clean Feed Records</a>), as well as a new studio album with his <i>other </i>quartet Old Growth Forest (pre-order it--and preview it--on <a href="https://oldgrowthforestii.bandcamp.com/album/old-growth-forest-ii" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>)</li>
<li>Drummer Dan Weiss (who has played for the RJA multiple times as a sideman) returns as leader of a "Trio +1" with <i><a href="https://sunnysidezone.com/album/utica-box" target="_blank">Utica Box</a></i></li>
<li>Drummer Gerald Cleaver (Michael Formanek Quartet) leads his band "Violet Hour" (which includes Chris Lightcap) on a live date for Firehouse 12 Records entitled, strangely enough, <i><a href="https://sunnysidezone.com/album/live-at-firehouse-12" target="_blank">Live at Firehouse 12</a> </i></li>
<li>And pianist Uri Caine has written an oratorio, <i><a href="https://www.uricaine.com/" target="_blank">The Passion of Octavius Catto</a></i>, dedicated to the 19th-century Philadelphia civil rights activist. Order it from Caine's website with the link above, or from <a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/uricaine1" target="_blank">CDBaby</a>. Here's a <a href="https://www.audaud.com/uri-caine-the-passion-of-octavius-catto/" target="_blank">review</a>, and here's a promotional video:</li>
</ul>
<iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/259750038" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-57422823832665418152019-05-28T20:31:00.002-07:002019-08-20T08:25:50.101-07:00News of Past Guests, Summer 2019 Edition<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
As we first put fingers to keyboard, it was the day after Memorial Day, and that's the <i>unofficial </i>start of summer, right? Besides, <a href="https://brightmomentsjazz.blogspot.com/2019/04/news-of-past-guests-spring-2019-edition.html" target="_blank">our Spring post</a> was getting so packed that Blogger told us we'd exceeded the limit on "tags." So put on your shorts and sandals, grab a gin & tonic, and let's go:</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
At the Jazz Gallery's <i><a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/navigating-an-underwater-cave-tony-malaby-speaks/" target="_blank">Jazz Speaks</a> </i>blog, saxophonist Tony Malaby (Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth) talks about his new collective trio with guitarist Ben Monder (Theo Bleckmann) and drummer Nasheet Waits (Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy).<br />
<br />
<i>Jazz Speaks </i>also spoke with saxophonist <a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/inner-worlds-camila-meza-speaks/" target="_blank">Melissa Aldana</a>, as did <i>Burning Ambulance</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="200px" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://embed.simplecast.com/8fadbac5" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
In the August issue of <i>DownBeat </i>you'll find this year's installment of the magazine's prestigious Critics Poll--which, like similar polls by <i>Jazz Times </i>critics and the Jazz Journalists Association (see our <a href="https://brightmomentsjazz.blogspot.com/2019/04/news-of-past-guests-spring-2019-edition.html" target="_blank">Spring Update</a>), lauds plenty of RJA veterans. For instance? <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2019/DB1908/single_page_view/28.html" target="_blank">Cécile McLorin Salvant</a> (whom we presented in 2014 in collaboration with Center Arts) took both Female Vocalist and Jazz Artist of the Year. The <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2019/DB1908/single_page_view/42.html" target="_blank">Fred Hersch Trio</a>: Jazz Group of the Year. Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet. Miguel Zénon: alto sax. Anat Cohen: clarinet. Regina Carter: violin. Brian Blade (Joel Harrison and Spirit House): drums. Adam O'Farrill (Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls): rising star trumpet. Dayna Stephens: rising star tenor sax. Allison Miller: rising star drums.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
The <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2019/DB1907/_art/DB1907.pdf" target="_blank">July <i>DownBeat</i></a> had feature articles on Melissa Aldana and clarinetist Anat Cohen, a four-star "Hot Box" featured review of Fabian Almazan's <i>This Land Abounds with Life</i>, and a profile of vocalist and guitarist Camila Meza (Ryan Keberle & Catharsis). Not to be outdone, the July <i>Jazz Times</i> includes a cover story on saxophonist Chris Potter, a feature on multi-reedist Marty Ehrlich, an interview with multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson, and a "Before and After" listening session with saxophonist Dayna Stephens.<br />
<br />
On May 31, Meza released her fifth album as a leader and her first on Sony Masterworks, <i><a href="https://www.sonymusicmasterworks.com/artist/camila-meza/" target="_blank">Ámbar</a></i>. In April, <i>DownBeat</i> previewed a tune from the album as part of its online "<a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/premiere-camila-meza-milton-nascimento-ambar" target="_blank">First Listen</a>" series, while back in 2018 <i><a href="https://vimeo.com/253697846" target="_blank">The Pace Report</a> </i>interviewed Meza (and recorded her in performance) when she debuted her Nectar Orchestra at the APAP conference in New York:<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/253697846" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Chilean-born guitarist-vocalist-composer-bandleader also came in for special praise from NPR's "<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2019/06/05/729744735/essential-new-music-slow-burning-soul-dance-floor-heat-and-revelatory-jazz" target="_blank">Alt.Latino</a>" recently, after she appeared with her new project on NPR's <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/05/30/728342917/chilean-singer-songwriter-camila-meza-sets-a-brooklyn-loft-aglow" target="_blank">Jazz Night in America</a></i>:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EEsdtJtgqrY" width="560"></iframe></div>
<br />
Meza also continues her work with Keberle's Catharsis on <i><a href="https://ryankeberlecatharsis.bandcamp.com/album/the-hope-i-hold?mc_cid=cbd25679a0&mc_eid=7c3094aa71" target="_blank">The Hope I Hold</a></i>, due out June 28. Here's a video of the album's first single, "Despite the Dream":</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ccsf6w5Aw1M" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Elsewhere in print: in the July/August <i>Jazz Times</i>, Andrew Gilbert writes about vocalist Claudia Villela's recent travails and her latest album ("<a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/claudia-villela-encantada/" target="_blank">Into the Fire, and Out Again</a>"). And in the <a href="http://downbeat.com/magazine/2019-06" target="_blank">June <i>DownBeat</i></a>, Suzanne Lorge had a short feature ("<a href="http://www.suzannelorge.com/new-blog/2019/4/18/antonio-sanchez" target="_blank">Sanchez's Borderless Music</a>") on drummer Antonio Sánchez and Migration's <i><a href="http://www.camjazz.com/labels/cam-jazz/antonio-sanchez/8052405143549-lines-in-the-sand-cd.html" target="_blank">Lines in the Sand</a></i>, a timely album about border issues, as well as a long profile ("<a href="http://www.suzannelorge.com/new-blog/2019/4/18/linda-may-han-oh" target="_blank">Seeking Unity</a>") of bassist Linda May Han Oh (about whom Steve Futterman also said nice things in a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/night-life/linda-may-han-oh" target="_blank">recent issue of the </a><i><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/night-life/linda-may-han-oh" target="_blank">New Yorker</a></i>), while Bill Milkowski highlighted guitarist Ben Monder's <i><a href="https://benmonder.bandcamp.com/album/day-after-day" target="_blank">Day After Day</a>, </i>a double album (one solo, one trio) of imaginative covers.<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2896289487/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 120px; width: 100%;"></iframe><br />
<br />
More drummer news: Johnathan Blake (Omer Avital Quintet), featured on the <i><a href="http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-686-a-conversation-with-johnathan-blake" target="_blank">Straight No Chaser</a> </i>podcast, just released his third album as a leader, <i><a href="https://johnathanblake1.bandcamp.com/releases" target="_blank">Trion</a></i>, a double live set with two other RJA alums, tenor saxophonist Chris Potter and bassist Linda May Han Oh (each of whom has recent new releases of their own; see our Spring 2019 update):<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1365995491/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://johnathanblake1.bandcamp.com/album/trion">Trion by Johnathan Blake</a></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
And drummer Allison Miller was interviewed for both <i><a href="https://burningambulance.com/2019/07/19/ba-podcast-42-allison-miller/" target="_blank">Burning Ambulance</a></i>, and <i><a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/jenny-scheinman-parlour-game-allison-miller" target="_blank">DownBeat</a></i>, where she spoke (among other things) about "Parlour Games," her quartet co-led with Jenny Scheinman. (See our previous update). And drummer--well, multi-instrumentalist--Tyshawn Sorey (Myra Melford's Snowy Egret) was recetnly the object of praise (Steve Smith, "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/classical-music/tyshawn-sorey-5" target="_blank">Composer Portrait</a>") and the subject of a profile (Alex Ross, "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/22/the-shape-shifting-music-of-tyshawn-sorey" target="_blank">The Shape-Shifting Music of Tyshawn Sorey</a>") in <i>The New Yorker</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5cc7045ba21d1c027f7316a3//w_2400,h_1577,c_limit/190401_r33977_rd-2400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5cc7045ba21d1c027f7316a3//w_2400,h_1577,c_limit/190401_r33977_rd-2400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Miscellaneous new releases:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, <i><a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/marcusshelbyorchestra" target="_blank">Transitions</a></i></li>
<li>David Berkman Sextet, <i>Six of One</i>:</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sz9E-8BCUA4" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-76464050363504610362019-04-06T10:52:00.000-07:002019-05-28T19:53:38.762-07:00News of Past Guests, Spring 2019 EditionSpring can really hang you up the most. But let's not dwell on that. Instead, let's get right to it, shall we? In no particular order:<br />
<br />
A belated discovery: last summer, saxophonist Michael Blake wrote a brilliant profile/appreciation of tubaist extraordinaire Marcus Rojas (Dave Douglas's Brass Ecstasy) for <i><a href="https://www.allaboutjazz.com/marcus-rojas-dancing-with-a-tree-marcus-rojas-by-michael-blake.php" target="_blank">All About Jazz</a></i>.<br />
<br />
In other tenor sax news: Noah Preminger has a new album, <i>After Life</i>, with Jason Palmer, Kim Cass, Max Light, and Rudy Royston; you can order it <a href="https://www.noahpreminger.com/buy/after-life" target="_blank">here</a>. While you're at it, go to <a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jasonpalmer" target="_blank">CD Baby</a> and check out trumpeter Palmer's new double-CD, <i>Rhyme and Reason</i>. (Listen to a track on Soundcloud, first, if you like:)<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/530260350&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
At CD Baby you can also find Preminger's <i><a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/noahpreminger5" target="_blank">Chopin Project</a> </i>CD, part of his "Dead Composers Society" project, co-led with drummer Rob Garcia. And by the way: there's a profile of Preminger, "<a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/noah-preminger-perpetual-motion" target="_blank">Perpetual Motion Machine</a>," by Dan Ouellette in the April issue of <i>DownBeat</i>.<br />
<br />
There's also a new one from multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson (Ryan Keberle and Catharsis), <i>Tenormore</i>, with Helen Sung, Martin Wind, and Dennis Mackrel. It's available <a href="https://arborsrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/scott-robinson-tenormore" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PTX8sgfINww" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Keberle's Catharsis itself (with Robinson, Camila Meza, Jorge Roeder, and Eric Doob) will see the release <i>The Hope I Hold</i> on June 28. Read all about it at <a href="https://greenleafmusic.com/artists/ryan-keberle/the-hope-i-hold/" target="_blank">Greenleaf Records</a> (and read an interview with Keberle at <i><a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/the-hope-i-hold-ryan-keberle-speaks/" target="_blank">Jazz Speaks</a></i>).<br />
<br />
And tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana just unveiled her <i>Visions</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1290680880/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://melissaaldana.bandcamp.com/album/visions">Visions by Melissa Aldana</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Meanwhile, you can listen to drummer Bill Stewart's latest, <i>Band Menu</i>, with Walter Smith III and Larry Grenadier, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/search?q=bill%20stewart%20band%20menu" target="_blank">on Soundcloud</a> before purchasing it <a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/billstewart" target="_blank">at CD Baby</a> (where you can also find also saxophonist Miguel Zenón's Grammy-nominated <i><a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/miguelzenon4" target="_blank">Yo Soy La Tradición</a></i>, featuring the Spektral Quartet).<br />
<br />
Guitarist Joel Harrison assembled an all-star crew of RJA veterans (including David Binney, Uri Caine, Chris Tordini, Stephan Crump, Brian Blade, and Allison Miller, with guest spots by Nels Cline and Theo Bleckmann, among others) for <i>Angel Band</i>, the third volume of his "Free Country" series, featuring jazz-inflected arrangements of classic country tunes. <a href="https://joelharrison.com/product/angel-band-free-country-volume-3-cd/" target="_blank">Buy it</a> from Joel; watch a promo video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vx4zDU_LDA" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Trumpeter Ralph Alessi has reconvened his quintet This Against That for his third outing on ECM, <i><a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/ralph-alessi-reconvenes-longstanding-ensemble-for-imaginary-friends" target="_blank">Imaginary Friends</a>. </i>(Fly Trio bassist Larry Grenadier, meanwhile, has done a solo session for ECM entitled <i>The Gleaners</i>.)<br />
<br />
Trumpeter Dave Douglas, meanwhile, has <i>three </i>new releases on his Greenleaf label: <i><a href="https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/brazen-heart-live-at-jazz-standard-complete" target="_blank">Brazen Heart</a>: Live at Jazz Standard</i> (capturing a five-night run with his most recent quintet), <i><a href="https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/uplift-twelve-pieces-for-positive-action-in-2018-preview" target="_blank">UPLIFT: Twelve Pieces for Positive Action in 2018</a> </i>(with frequent partner Joe Lovano and the twin guitars of Julian Lage and Mary Halvorson), and <i><a href="https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/devotion" target="_blank">Devotion</a></i>, a trio record with Uri Caine and Andrew Cyrille.<br />
<br />
Antonio Sanchez and Migration's <i><a href="http://www.camjazz.com/home/8052405143549-lines-in-the-sand-cd.html" target="_blank">Lines in the Sand</a></i>, says jazz writer Brian Morton, "makes its strong point" about xenophobia and immigration "without surrendering even a fraction of its musicality." Hear more in this NPR story:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/688839525/688839526" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
Bassist Linda May Han Oh talks to <i><a href="https://burningambulance.com/2019/02/08/ba-podcast-34-linda-may-han-oh/" target="_blank">Burning Ambulance</a> </i>about many things, including her latest album, <i><a href="https://lindamayhanoh.bandcamp.com/album/aventurine" target="_blank">Aventurine</a></i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2363392023/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://lindamayhanoh.bandcamp.com/album/aventurine">Aventurine by Linda May Han Oh</a></iframe><br />
<br />
And finally (in the "new releases" department, anyway):<br />
<ul>
<li>Anat Cohen Tentet, <i><a href="https://anzicstore.com/album/triple-helix" target="_blank">Triple Helix</a></i></li>
<li>Joe Martin (Anat Cohen), <i><a href="https://sunnysidezone.com/album/toil-e" target="_blank">Étoilée</a> </i>(interview with <a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/etoilee-joe-martin-speaks/" target="_blank"><i>Jazz Speaks</i></a> | profile by Ken Micallef in <i><a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/joe-martin-into-the-luminous/" target="_blank">Jazz Times</a></i>)</li>
<li>Tom Harrell, <i><a href="http://www.jazzdepot.com/t_harrell/7321.html" target="_blank">Infinity</a></i> (review by Kevin Whitehead on NPR's <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/04/15/713495986/jazz-trumpeter-tom-harrell-proves-to-be-a-thinking-persons-soloist-on-infinity" target="_blank">Fresh Air</a></i>)</li>
<li>Chris Potter, <i><a href="https://chrispotterjazz.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Circuits</a> </i>(feature story in <i><a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/chris-potter-rewires-his-circuits" target="_blank">DownBeat</a> </i>| <i>Jazz Times </i>| EPK on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN2HmSSs8E4" target="_blank">YouTube</a>)</li>
<li>Craig Taborn (Michael Formanek) and Vijay Iyer, <i><a href="https://www.ecmrecords.com/catalogue/1542706203/the-transitory-poems-vijay-iyer-craig-taborn" target="_blank">The Transitory Poems</a> </i>(short feature in <i><a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/vijay-iyer-craig-taborn-build-something-majestic-on-ecm-album" target="_blank">DownBeat</a></i>)</li>
</ul>
Shall we talk awards? The <a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/year-in-review-top-50-albums-2018/" target="_blank"><i>Jazz Times </i>Critics Picks</a> put albums by a bunch of RJA vets in its Top 10 albums of 2018: Ambrose Akinmusire (<i>Origami Harvest</i>, #2), Myra Melford's Snowy Egret (<i>The Other Side of Air</i>, #3), Cecile McLorin Salvant (<i>The Window</i>, #5), Ron Miles (with Joshua Redman, Scott Colley, and Brian Blade in <i>Still Dreaming</i>, #6), and Miguel Zenón (<i>Yo Soy La Tradicion</i>, #10). More recently, the <a href="https://www.jjajazzawards.org/p/2019-winners.html" target="_blank">Jazz Journalists Association</a> recognized Linda May Han Oh as Up and Coming Musician of the Year and Bassist of the Year, Cecile McLorin Salvant as Female Vocalist of the Year, Scott Robinson as Multi-Reeds Player of the Year and Player of the Year of Instruments Rare in Jazz, Miguel Zenon as Alto Saxophonist of the Year, Chris Potter as Tenor Saxophonist of the Year, Anat Cohen as Clarinetist of the Year, and Brian Blade as Traps Drummer of the Year.<br />
<br />
That same issue of <i>Jazz Times</i> (February 2019) had a long-overdue profile of Myra Melford by Matthew Kassel, "<a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/myra-melford-both-sides-now/" target="_blank">Both Sides Now</a>."<br />
<br />
Speak of the devil: Melford herself penned a remembrance of the late <a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/tributes-and-obituaries/myra-melford-remembers-cecil-taylor/" target="_blank">Cecil Taylor</a>--and vocalist Rene Marie pays tribute to <a href="https://jazztimes.com/features/tributes-and-obituaries/rene-marie-remembers-aretha-franklin/" target="_blank">Aretha Franklin</a>--in the March issue of <i>Jazz Times</i>.<br />
<br />
In addition to being an important composer and bandleader, Melford is of course an integral component of Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom--and Miller, who is "blowing up" these days, almost deserves a section of this post all her own. To begin with, here's a great mid-career profile by Suzanne Lorge in the February issue of <i>DownBeat</i>, "<a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/allison-millers-life-of-juxtapositions" target="_blank">Allison Miller's Life of Contradictions</a>." Of course Boom Tic Boom's latest, <i>Glitter Wolf</i>, has been out for a few months now, but Miller is just as busy these days with a new band co-led by BTB member Jenny Scheinman, Parlour Games, whose debut is set for release on <a href="https://royalpotatofamily.com/product/jenny-scheinman-allison-miller-parlour-game/" target="_blank">Royal Potato Family</a> in June. (You can listen to a teaser track when you hit that pre-order link.)humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-42345442683558287022018-12-22T09:43:00.000-08:002019-01-01T17:17:28.097-08:00News of Past Guests, Holiday 2018 EditionIt's been a while since we did a roundup of our past guests' recent activity, and after such a long pause, it's hard to catch up. What follows, then, is more selective than comprehensive.<br />
<br />
December is, among other things, the "Best Of" season. NPR's "50 Best Albums of 2018" include the new record by Myra Melford's Snowy Egret, <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/671206573/the-50-best-albums-of-2018-page-1" target="_blank">The Other Side of Air</a></i>, as well as Ambrose Akinmusire's <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/671206637/the-50-best-albums-of-2018-page-2" target="_blank">Origami Harvest</a>. </i>(In his "<a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/12/20/677908282/nate-chinens-favorite-albums-of-2018" target="_blank">Favorite Albums of 2018</a>," former <i>New York Times </i>and <i>Jazz Times </i>jazz writer Nate Chinen, now Director of Editorial Content for NPR's flagship jazz station WBGO in Newark, New Jersey, also favored Akinmusire and Melford, as well as Cécile McLorin Salvant and Dan Weiss.)<br />
<br />
The <i>New York Times</i>'s "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/arts/music/best-jazz.html" target="_blank">The Best Jazz of 2018</a>" likewise includes Akinmusire and Melford, along with albums by Justin Brown (Akinmusire's longtime friend and drummer), Allison Miller (with Carmen Staaf), the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, and Cécile McLorin Salvant.<br />
<br />
Salvant is also included among <i>Rolling Stone</i>'s (well, veteran jazz critic Hank Shteamer's) <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/20-best-jazz-albums-of-2018-766864/" target="_blank">20 Best Jazz Albums of 2018</a>, together with Dan Weiss's <i>Starebaby </i>and <i>Still Dreaming</i>, Joshua Redman's all-star tribute to the band Old and New Dreams, whose lineup also includes RJA alumni Ron Miles, Scott Colley, and Brian Blade.<br />
<br />
Ambrose Akinmusire and Myra Melford are also high atop the <a href="https://jazztimes.com/departments/criticspicks/year-in-review-top-50-albums-2018/" target="_blank"><i>Jazz Times </i>Top 50</a>, with Salvant, Still Dreaming, and Miguel Zenon not far behind. (Other RJA vets on the list: David Virelles, Tyshawn Sorey, Dan Weiss, Noah Preminger, Martin Wind, Gilad Hekselman, and Chris Lightcap.) At the <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/jazzblog/2018s-jazz-list-bliss" target="_blank">Ottawa <i>Citizen</i></a>, Peter Hum singles out Frank Kimbrough, Ben Wendel (Linda Oh's Sun Pictures), Noah Preminger (with Frank Carlberg), and Myra Melford.<br />
<br />
Finally, Dave Sumner's "<a href="https://daily.bandcamp.com/2018/12/18/the-best-bandcamp-jazz-albums-of-2018/" target="_blank">Best Jazz Albums of 2018</a> [on Bandcamp]" include both the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble's <i><a href="https://newamsterdamrecords.bandcamp.com/album/all-can-work" target="_blank">All Can Work</a> </i>and Anat Cohen & Fred Hersch's <i><a href="https://anzic.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-healdsburg" target="_blank">Live in Healdsburg</a></i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Recent Interviews:</b><br />
<i>Jazz Speaks</i> spoke to <a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/bridges-jamie-baum-speaks/" target="_blank">Jamie Baum</a>, <i>The Jazz Session</i> hung with <a href="http://thejazzsession.com/2018/11/01/the-jazz-session-467-helen-sung/" target="_blank">Helen Sung</a> (so did WBGO's <i><a href="http://www.wbgo.org/post/pianist-helen-sung-waxes-poetic-sung-words-salon-sessions#stream/0" target="_blank">Salon Sessions</a></i>), and <i>Straight No Chaser </i>chased down <a href="http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-642-a-conversation-with-ben-allison" target="_blank">Ben Allison</a> and <a href="http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-643-a-conversation-with-rudy-royston" target="_blank">Rudy Royston</a>. Royston was plugging a new album, <i>Flatbed Buggy</i>, which had a featured review in <i><a href="https://greenleafmusic.com/downbeat-featured-review-for-flatbed-buggy/" target="_blank">DownBeat</a></i> and an Editor's Pick in <i><a href="https://greenleafmusic.com/rudy-roystons-flatbed-buggy-is-a-rolling-stone-editors-pick/" target="_blank">Rolling Stone</a>.</i> Sung, meanwhile, was touting her collection of settings of Dana Gioia poems, <i><a href="https://myiesstore.com/helensung/product/sung-with-words-digital-download/" target="_blank">Sung With Words</a></i>, which was also featured on NPR's <i>First Listen </i>in the week preceding its release.<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1937361860/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://rudyroyston.bandcamp.com/album/flatbed-buggy">Flatbed Buggy by Rudy Royston</a></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I8spvbraW6g" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Other notable new releases include Frank Kimbrough's magisterial, multi-volume set of the complete compositions of Thelonious Monk, <i>Monk's Dreams</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1228956120/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://frankkimbrough.bandcamp.com/album/monks-dreams-the-complete-compositions-of-thelonious-sphere-monk">Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk by Frank Kimbrough</a></iframe><br />
<br />
and Miguel Zenón's collaboration with the Spektral Quartet, <i>Viejo</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ooHSAeswMuE" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
At WBGO, Nate Chinen <a href="http://www.wbgo.org/post/miguel-zen-n-premieres-video-viejo-his-stunning-new-chamber-album#stream/0" target="_blank">previewed </a><i>Viejo</i>--and in his onlin "Take 5" column, he featured first <a href="http://www.wbgo.org/post/myra-melford-rudy-royston-marquis-hill-expand-your-horizons-take-five#stream/0" target="_blank">Rudy Royston and Myra Melford</a>, then <a href="http://www.wbgo.org/post/new-music-five-composers-behind-drums-tyshawn-sorey-allison-miller#stream/0" target="_blank">Tyshawn Sorey and Allison Miller</a>.<br />
<br />
And speaking (once more!) of Allison Miller: the Thanksgiving episode of NPR's <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/11/21/669962702/women-in-jazz-for-artemis-its-bigger-than-a-cause" target="_blank">Jazz Night in America</a></i> showcased the supergroup "Artemis," with Allison Miller, Anat Cohen, and Cecile McLorin Salvant.<br />
<br />
<br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-19795409605531667302018-09-16T21:07:00.001-07:002018-09-16T23:17:39.186-07:00We Have VoiceEarlier this year, the <a href="http://wehavevoice.org/english" target="_blank">We Have Voice</a> Collective, a "new group of female and non-binary musicians in jazz and experimental music" (see stories in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/arts/music/we-have-voice-jazz-women-metoo.html" target="_blank"><i>New York Times</i></a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/04/30/607142770/a-map-to-the-line-and-how-not-to-cross-it-a-code-of-conduct-for-the-performing-a" target="_blank">on NPR</a>), invited music festivals, presenters, venues, educational institutions, record labels, media outlets, and other members of the music industry/ecosystem to adopt a new <a href="https://too-many.org/" target="_blank">Code of Conduct</a> promoting safe(r) workspaces in the performing arts.<br />
<br />
The Code calls for "zero tolerance of harassment of any kind, including but not limited to sexual harassment and bullying."<br />
<br />
The Redwood Jazz Alliance is proud to join dozens of other organizations in committing to uphold this Code of Conduct. It's a no-brainer. Time is indeed up.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVCK8pikaTylDzlmSESx8a48b9jjg8qQx7TTsJviltVr5FjNJgj7tVt55_DbIIkA3QxEmJoIvBkhq-uiFGURM3WqRMEB8gGTcxTQp-Yr42BXrMTkXXEcqKw_bmaUwUx7qxAL2AqXfVg4/s1600/wehavevoice_codeofconduct_bw%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="826" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVCK8pikaTylDzlmSESx8a48b9jjg8qQx7TTsJviltVr5FjNJgj7tVt55_DbIIkA3QxEmJoIvBkhq-uiFGURM3WqRMEB8gGTcxTQp-Yr42BXrMTkXXEcqKw_bmaUwUx7qxAL2AqXfVg4/s640/wehavevoice_codeofconduct_bw%255B1%255D.png" width="494" /></a></div>
<br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-27826295569796463392018-05-27T11:55:00.000-07:002018-07-25T19:39:01.985-07:00News of Past Guests, Summer 2018 EditionI think we begin virtually every other post this way: "It's been a while." (You get busy, right? There are distractions--things going on in the world.)<br />
<br />
There's a lot we've missed over the past five or six months, and we won't bother trying to catch up. But here's what's new right now (we began this post on May 27th, and have added to it since then).<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.jjajazzawards.org/p/2018.html?utm_source=Chamber+Music+America+Master+List&utm_campaign=0e5e2ecfca-CMA_Accent_May_21_2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f58b189251-0e5e2ecfca-238173193" target="_blank">2018 Jazz Journalists Association Awards</a> were announced a couple of weeks ago, and if you've been following the Redwood Jazz Alliance for a while, you'll recognize a lot of these names:<br />
<ul>
<li>Musician of the Year: Matt Wilson</li>
<li>Record of the Yard: Matt Wilson's <i>Honey and Salt: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg</i></li>
<li>Female Vocalist of the Year: Cecile McLorin Salvant</li>
<li>Jazz Band of the Year: Vijay Iyer Sextet</li>
<li>Trumpeter of the Year: Tom Harrell</li>
<li>Alto Saxophonist of the Year: Miguel Zenon</li>
<li>Tenor Saxophonist of the Year: Chris Potter</li>
<li>Baritone Saxophonist of the Year: Claire Daly</li>
<li>Clarinetist of the Year: Anat Cohen</li>
<li>Pianist of the Year: Fred Hersch</li>
<li>Bassist of the Year: Linda May Han Oh</li>
<li>Player of Instruments Rare in Jazz of the Year: Gary Versace (accordion)</li>
</ul>
More of the same in the annual <i>DownBeat </i>Critics Poll, whose results were published in the August issue:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Jazz Artist of the Year: Vijay Iyer</li>
<li>Jazz Group of the Year: Vijay Iyer Sextet</li>
<li>Female Vocalist: Cecile McLorin Salvant</li>
<li>Jazz Album: Cecile McLorin Salvant's <i>Dreams and Daggers</i></li>
<li>Trumpet: Ambrose Akinmusire</li>
<li>Alto Saxophone: Rudresh Mahanthappa</li>
<li>Clarinet: Anat Cohen</li>
<li>Rising Star Drums: Johnathan Blake</li>
<li>Rising Star Composer: Tyshawn Sorey</li>
</ul>
<br />
Ryan Keberle <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ryankeberlemusic/videos/1678273562219713/?mc_cid=c76f0fc93a&mc_eid=6c41d7503d" target="_blank">posted to his Facebook page</a> a couple of videos shot by an audience member at his season-ending April 16 show with Catharsis at the Arcata Playhouse.<br />
<br />
In advance of his new book <i>Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century</i>, former <i>New York Times </i>writer Nate Chinen (now with WGBO and NPR) shares some entries from his list of "The 129 Essential Albums of the Twenty-First Century (So Far)." You can read his very smart assessments of <a href="https://www.playingchangesbook.com/essentialalbums/2018/5/29/ben-allison-peace-pipe-2002" target="_blank">Ben Allison's </a><i><a href="https://www.playingchangesbook.com/essentialalbums/2018/5/29/ben-allison-peace-pipe-2002" target="_blank">Peace Pipe</a> </i>(2002); the first outing of <a href="https://www.playingchangesbook.com/essentialalbums/2018/5/15/the-claudia-quintet-the-claudia-quintet-2001" target="_blank">John Hollenbeck's </a><i><a href="https://www.playingchangesbook.com/essentialalbums/2018/5/15/the-claudia-quintet-the-claudia-quintet-2001" target="_blank">The Claudia Quintet</a> </i>(2001); the eponymous debut by <a href="https://www.playingchangesbook.com/essentialalbums/2018/5/4/1-jim-blacks-alasnoaxis-alasnoaxis-2000" target="_blank">AlasNoAxis</a> (2000) the quartet led by drummer Jim Black (Endangered Blood); <i><a href="https://www.playingchangesbook.com/essentialalbums/2018/5/7/2-brian-blade-fellowship-perceptual-2000" target="_blank">Perceptual </a></i>(2000) by the Brian Blade Fellowship (Blade appeared here with Joel Harrison and Spirit House); and <i><a href="https://www.playingchangesbook.com/essentialalbums/2018/5/29/tim-berne-science-friction-2002" target="_blank">Science Friction</a></i> (2002) by alto saxophonist Tim Berne, a member of the Michael Formanek Quartet.<br />
<br />
Lots happening these days at New York's Jazz Gallery (one of our presenting partners for Fabian Almazan under a Chamber Music America/Doris Duke Foundation grant)--which means lots of artists speaking to the Gallery's "Jazz Speaks" blog. For instance: <a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/bop-trio-johnathan-blake-and-chris-potter-speak/" target="_blank">Johnathan Blake, Linda May Han Oh, and Chris Potter</a> dish about their "BOP" Trio. <a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/across-genres-across-generations-joel-harrison-speaks/" target="_blank">Joel Harrison</a> comments on his 8th annual Alternative Guitar Summit. And <a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/playing-by-heart-melissa-aldana-speaks/" target="_blank">Melissa Aldana</a><i> </i>talks about her new commissioned piece, "Visions: For Frida Kahlo." (Aldana, who just recorded an album entitled <i>Doubtless </i>with her new quartet, also took her first "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/melissa.aldana.3958/photos/a.274567789345003.1073741830.273745752760540/1227834707351635/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Blindfold Test</a>" in the July issue of <i>DownBeat</i>.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AldanaKahlo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AldanaKahlo.jpg" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="800" height="295" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Speaking of tenor saxophonists: the prolific Noah Preminger has yet another new album out--his third in twelve months, by our count--this one with his "Dead Composers Club" co-led by Rob Garcia (and featuring Nate Radley and Kim Cass). It's <i>The Chopin Project</i>, the DCC's take on Chopin nocturnes, preludes, and etudes. <a href="https://www.noahpreminger.com/buy/chopin-project-wav" target="_blank">Buy it directly from Noah</a>; preview a couple of tracks right here:<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/386194445&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/373183550&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Walter Smith III (Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet) has just released his fifth disc as a leader, <i>TWIO</i>, with guest spots from big dogs Joshua Redman and Christian McBride:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2403411428/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://music.whirlwindrecordings.com/album/twio">TWIO by Walter Smith III</a></iframe><br />
<br />
And Donny McCaslin, still in the process of reinventing his sound, post-Bowie, releases a new single, "What About the Body," on June 13th. NPR's <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2018/06/12/618302355/new-mix-m-ward-david-bowie-saxophonist-donny-mccaslin-sad-baxter-more" target="_blank">All Songs Considered</a> </i>thinks it's the most exciting example of "art rock" they've heard in a good long while.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, young trumpeter Adam O'Farrill (Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls) takes a leap forward on a new album, <i>El Maquesh</i>, with his group Stranger Days. Hear <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/06/04/616798616/trumpeter-adam-o-farrill-stakes-out-his-own-turf-on-stranger-days" target="_blank">Kevin Whitehead's review</a> on NPR's <i>Fresh Air with Terry Gross</i>, and hear some tracks on Bandcamp:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=935302193/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://adamofarrill.bandcamp.com/album/el-maquech">El Maquech by Adam O'Farrill</a></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
Much more to come; stay tuned.humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-35036879112703604562017-11-18T08:23:00.000-08:002017-12-20T09:57:28.269-08:00News of Past Guests, Holiday 2017 EditionNo, you're not going to find our list of favorite holiday jazz records here (although we can recommend a few good ones, starting with albums by Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Etienne Charles, the Manhattan Brass, Thomas Marriott, the Respect Sextet, Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O, and John Zorn and the Dreamers).<br />
<br />
We can also point you towards this year's edition of NPR's <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/12/15/570475826/a-jazz-piano-christmas-2017" target="_blank">A Jazz Piano Christmas</a></i>, which features RJA veteran Helen Sung (along with Joanne Brackeen, Marcia Ball and Abelita Mateus):<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/570475826/570477731" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe><br />
And speaking of NPR: this is also the season for the venerable <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/12/20/571631251/the-2017-npr-music-jazz-critics-poll" target="_blank">NPR Jazz Critics Poll</a>, a survey of 130+ jazz journalists, trendsetters, and opinion makers from around the world, curated by <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/12/20/571631251/the-2017-npr-music-jazz-critics-poll" target="_blank">Francis Davis</a>, who began the poll back at the <i>Village Voice</i>. As usual, the list is bursting with names that should be familiar to RJA audiences: the Top 10 picks include pianist Vijay Iyer (#1); drummer Tyshawn Sorey (#3; see below), who performed here with Myra Melford's Snowy Egret; pianist Craig Taborn (#4), of the Michael Formanek Quartet; vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant (#6); drummer Matt Wilson (#8); and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire (#10). (You'll recognize a lot of those bandleaders' sidemen, too.) Keep scrolling through the Top 50 and you'll also find saxophonists Rudresh Mahanthappa, Chris Potter, Noah Preminger, and Miguel Zenón; trumpeters Ron Miles and Kirk Knuffke (Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom); pianists Fred Hersch, Billy Childs, and Matt Mitchell (of Rez Abbasi's Invocation); guitarist Rez Abbasi; and bassist Linda May Han Oh. Pianist Fabian Almazan, who'll arrive in March with his "Rhizome" project, is in there, too.<br />
<br />
Now: if you're looking for some new music to give to a jazz lover in your life, then read on.<br />
<br />
In our <a href="http://brightmomentsjazz.blogspot.com/2017/09/news-of-past-guests-fall-2017-edition.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, we mentioned fresh albums by RJA alumni Fred Hersch, David Virelles (David Binney Quartet), Antonio Sanchez, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Rez Abbasi, and Dave Douglas (with brass quartet The Westerlies). Earlier this year, there were releases by Shao Way Wu, Linda May Han Oh, Matt Wilson, Miguel Zenón, Ryan Keberle & Catharsis, Vijay Iyer, Ambrose Akinmusire, Omer Avital, Ben Allison, David Binney, Phronesis, Chris Potter, Noah Preminger, Matt Stevens (Linda Oh's Sun Pictures), and Cécile McLorin Salvant...and there must be others we've missed. (In addition to the Jazz Critics' Poll, NPR also put albums by Miguel Zenón, Vijay Iyer, and Ron Miles among its <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/12/12/568400855/the-50-best-albums-of-2017" target="_blank">50 best records of the year</a>--of any genre.) Now, in the final weeks of 2017, there's been a slew of new discs. In no particular order:<br />
<br />
Tom Harrell, <i><a href="http://www.jazzdepot.com/t_harrell/7301.html" target="_blank">Moving Picture</a> </i>(includes sound samples):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.zyxmusic.com/images/product_images/popup_images/632375730123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://www.zyxmusic.com/images/product_images/popup_images/632375730123.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
NPR editor and former <i>New York Times </i>and <i>Jazz Times </i>columnist Nate Chinen's <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/12/14/570561785/nate-chinens-top-10-actually-21-albums-of-2017" target="_blank">second favorite album of 2017</a> is Ron Miles's <i>I Am a Man </i>(with Jason Moran, Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan, and Brian Blade). Watch a film by Mimi Chakarova, below; there's a nice early review--with an old interview--by Peter Hum at the <i><a href="http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/jazzblog/ron-miles-cd-reviewed" target="_blank">Ottawa Citizen</a></i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/207517821" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Harris Eisenstadt Nonet, <i>Recent Developments</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/300950800&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Uri Caine and Lutoslawski Quartet, <i><a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/uricainelutoslawskiquart" target="_blank">Space Kiss</a></i>:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Spj75jySgtc" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Chris Speed (Endangered Blood) Trio (featuring bassist Chris Tordini and Bad Plus drummer Dave King), <i>Platinum on Tap</i>:</div>
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=873483277/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://intaktrec.bandcamp.com/album/platinum-on-tap">Platinum on Tap by Chris Speed Trio</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Yet another album, <i>Pathways</i>, from Dave Douglas (this one with his sextet):<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3392474326/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/pathways">Pathways by Dave Douglas Sextet</a></iframe><br />
<br />
The Anat Cohen Tentet, <i>Happy Song</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1287717698/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://anzicstore.com/album/happy-song">Happy Song by Anat Cohen Tentet</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Mark Guiliana (Chris Potter's Underground) Jazz Quartet (featuring Fabian Almazan, appearing at Fulkerson Recital Hall next March), <i>Jersey</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3649621610/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://markguiliana.bandcamp.com/album/jersey">Jersey by Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet</a></iframe><br />
<br />
A big band album from Double-Wide<i> </i>trombonist Alan Ferber, <i>Jigsaw</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3999839187/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://sunnysidezone.com/album/jigsaw">Jigsaw by Alan Ferber Big Band</a></iframe><br />
And finally, MacArthur "genius" Tyshawn Sorey, <i>Verisimilitude</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1952058313/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 120px; width: 653px;"></iframe><br />
<br />
<i>New Yorker </i>classical music critic and blogger Alex Ross only half-facetiously named Sorey "<a href="http://www.therestisnoise.com/2017/12/apex-2017.html" target="_blank"><i>The Rest Is Noise</i> Person of the Year</a>." Unsurprisingly, <i>Verisimilitude </i>is also showing up on all sorts of 2017 "Best" lists. Here's a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/arts/music/tyshawn-sorey-verisimilitude-interview.html" target="_blank"><i>New York Times </i>profile</a> of Sorey by Giovanni Russonello that you may have missed when it appeared last summer.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-21578394340106290682017-09-16T08:04:00.000-07:002017-10-21T19:12:51.362-07:00News of Past Guests, Fall 2017 EditionAs we start this post, it's just after Labor Day, so we've put away our white shoes--and begun a new season of concerts and workshops. (Big love to Matt Wilson and Honey & Salt! And to the Dayna Stephens Quartet featuring Billy Childs! Next up: John Ellis and Double-Wide on November 10th.) And even though we posted the first edition of this update before summer was officially over on September 21st, we thought it was time for an autumnal edition of the news.<br />
<br />
The saddest event we have to report is the death of guitarist <a href="http://www.redwoodjazzalliance.org/abercrombie.html" target="_blank">John Abercrombie</a> on August 22. Our deep condolences to his family, friends, and fellow musicians.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/John_abercrombie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/John_abercrombie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Here are remembrances from:<br />
<ul>
<li>Peter Hum, <i><a href="http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/jazzblog/rip-john-abercrombie" target="_blank">Ottawa Citizen</a></i></li>
<li>Tom Cole, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/08/23/545617197/john-abercrombie-jazz-guitarist-dies-at-72" target="_blank">NPR</a></li>
<li>Nate Chinen, <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/08/23/545611872/john-abercrombie-wry-and-exploratory-jazz-guitarist-dies-at-72" target="_blank">The Record</a> </i>(NPR/WBGO)</li>
</ul>
<div>
In happier news: Eureka-born bassist Trevor Dunn (Nels Cline Singers, Endangered Blood) completed a prestigious weeklong residency at John Zorn's soon-to-be-former East Village mecca for new music, <a href="http://www.thestonenyc.com/" target="_blank">The Stone</a>. (It's moving across town to The New School.) <i>The New Yorker </i>commented: "Quiet as it's kept, except among the freethinking musicians who depend on his imaginative anddaring playing, the bassist Dunn has been an M.V.P. for both new-jazz and experimental-rock outfits for some four decades now. . . ."<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, pianist Fred Hersch spoke with <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/09/14/550966011/musician-fred-hersch-recounts-a-life-in-and-out-of-jazz-in-his-new-memoir" target="_blank">Fresh Air</a></i>'s Terry Gross about his new memoir, <i>Good Things Happen Slowly</i> and his new solo album, <i>Open Book:</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/550966011/551027177" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe><br />
Hersch is everywhere these days: read <a href="http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/jazzblog/fred-hersch-plays-leaves-of-grass-at-jazz-at-lincoln-center-concert-review" target="_blank">Peter Hum's review</a> of a rare performance of Hersch's Walt Whitman song cycle <i>Leaves of Grass </i>at Lincoln Center. Elsewhere, at <i>PopMatters</i>, to be exact, <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/review/david-virelles-gnosis/" target="_blank">Andy Jurk reviews a new album</a> on ECM, <i>Gnosis</i>, by young pianist David Virelles (heard in Arcata in 2011 with the David Binney Quartet). Here's a taste of that album:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/beG8YevmhQc" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
At NPR Music, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/10/04/555170030/antonio-s-nchez-brings-electronics-and-politics-to-bad-hombre" target="_blank">Nate Chinen talks</a> to drummer (and composer of the soundtrack to <i>Birdman</i>) Antonio Sanchez about his new album <i>Bad Hombre. </i>The story includes a streaming track from the album. Sanchez was also guest DJ on a recent edition of NPR's <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2017/10/19/558639532/alt-latino-guest-dj-antonio-sanchez-jazz-drummer-musical-activist" target="_blank"><i>Alt.Latino </i>podcast</a>, and he's on the cover the drummer-centric November issue of <i><a href="http://jazztimes.com/" target="_blank">Jazz Times</a></i>.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, NPR Music's "<a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/10/09/555845582/first-listen-rudresh-mahanthappas-indo-pak-coalition-agrima" target="_blank">First Listen</a>" recently streamed Rudresh Mahanthappa's new album, <i>Agrima</i> (with his "Indo-Pak Coalition," featuring Rez Abbasi and Dan Weiss, RJA veterans all) in its entirety, ahead of its mid-October release. Not coincidentally, Mahanthappa is on the cover of the <a href="http://downbeat.com/magazine/2017-11" target="_blank">November <i>DownBeat</i></a>, which also includes interviews with <a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/qa-with-rez-abbasi-silence-is-golden" target="_blank">Rez Abbasi</a> and <a href="http://downbeat.com/news/detail/interview-with-linda-may-han-oh-identity-and-history" target="_blank">Linda May Han Oh</a>. Abbasi, too, has a new album, <i><a href="http://music.whirlwindrecordings.com/album/unfiltered-universe" target="_blank">Unfiltered Universe</a></i>, with Iyer, Mahanthappa, Weiss, and others:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1628987290/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://music.whirlwindrecordings.com/album/unfiltered-universe">Unfiltered Universe by Rez Abbasi</a></iframe><br />
<br />
And Iyer, whose new sextet album <i><a href="https://www.ecmrecords.com/catalogue/1496997544/far-from-over-vijay-iyer-sextet" target="_blank">Far From Over</a> </i>appeared late this summer to rave reviews (see our previous post), was the focus of the latest <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/10/18/558549535/at-ojai-music-festival-vijay-iyer-showcases-improvisation" target="_blank">Jazz Night in America</a> </i>on NPR, which featured performances from the recent Ojai festival that Iyer directed.<br />
<br />
Cécile McLorin Salvant, a big winner in this year's <i>DownBeat </i>Critics Poll (see our last post once again), was the subject of a great cover story by Phillip Lutz, "<a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2017/DB1710/_art/DB1710.pdf" target="_blank">True Character</a>," in the October issue of <i>DownBeat.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Another RJA genius: drummer-percussionist/composer/polymath Tyshawn Sorey (Myra Melford's Snowy Egret) has been named a 2017 MacArthur Fellow. Coverage at <i><a href="https://jazztimes.com/news/tyshawn-sorey-macarthur-fellow/" target="_blank">Jazz Times</a> </i>and <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/10/11/556828177/tyshawn-sorey-a-musical-shapeshifter-wins-macarthur-genius-prize" target="_blank">NPR</a>, and a profile (including a video) at the <a href="https://www.macfound.org/fellows/1000/" target="_blank">MacArthur Foundation</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.macfound.org/media/photos/Sorey_2017_hi-res-download_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://www.macfound.org/media/photos/Sorey_2017_hi-res-download_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Around 100 pages of the latest issue of the journal <i>Music & Literature </i>are devoted to saxophonist Mark Turner (of the trio Fly). There are appreciations from twenty fellow musicians, an interview with writer and critic Ben Ratliff, and transcriptions of Turner's music. You can purchase it <a href="http://www.musicandliterature.org/no-8" target="_blank">at the journal's website</a>.<br />
<br />
Finally, elsewhere at NPR, you can listen to a rebroadcast of an appearance by trumpeter Dave Douglas on <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/08/29/216905971/dave-douglas-on-piano-jazz" target="_blank">Marian McPartland's </a><i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/08/29/216905971/dave-douglas-on-piano-jazz" target="_blank">Piano Jazz</a> </i>way back in 2000--a publicity warm-up, perhaps, for the release of Douglas's new album (with Anwar Marshall and The Westerlies), <i><a href="https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/little-giant-still-life" target="_blank">Little Giant, Still Life</a></i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2175089384/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/little-giant-still-life">Little Giant Still Life by Dave Douglas</a></iframe><br />
<br />
(You can also watch a <a href="https://www.greenleafmusic.com/little-giant-interviews/" target="_blank">series of interviews</a> about the album with Dave, The Westerlies, and drummer Anwar Marshall at the Greenleaf Music website.)<br />
<br /></div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-72987648230408910162017-07-25T05:06:00.001-07:002017-08-29T08:13:13.055-07:00News of Past Guests, Summer 2017 Edition<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
As usual, RJA alumni are well represented in <i>DownBeat</i>'s annual International Critics Poll, a survey of 155 prominent jazz writers from around the world. Rudresh Mahanthappa topped the alto saxophone column (Miguel Zenón was second) and Anat Cohen, the clarinet, while breakout singer Cécile McLorin Salvant was the runaway winner of the Female Vocalist category. Noah Preminger was named Rising Star tenor saxophonist; and Fred Hersch, Nels Cline, and Matt Wilson all had albums among the year's top 10 (#3, 5, and 8, respectively).</div>
</div>
<br />
Speaking of Matt Wilson: the new album from his "Honey and Salt" project, <i>Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg</i>, gets a five-star review from <i>DownBeat</i>'s Jim Macnie. (His colleague John Murph calls it a "stunning, melodically enriched, jazz-inflected avant-country album.")<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here's a promotional video:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BBaUKIM47tk?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
and a preview track:</div>
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/313788623&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Ambrose Akinmusire, who finished close behind Wadada Leo Smith as the critics' choice for trumpeter of the year, has a new double-live album, <i><a href="http://www.bluenote.com/artists/ambrose-akinmusire/a-rift-in-decorum-live-at-the-village-vanguar" target="_blank">A Rift in Decorum</a></i>, on Blue Note:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/319595990&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
As it happens, Akinmusire is the subject of a cover story in the <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2017/DB1709/default.html" target="_blank"><i>September </i>issue of <i>DownBeat</i></a>, which also contains a feature story on Wilson, who leads off the <a href="http://redwoodjazzalliance.org/2017-18.html" target="_blank">2017-18 RJA season</a> on September 12. (That same issue also spotlights Fred Hersch, who releases his 11th solo album, <i>Open Book</i>, and publishes a memoir, <i>Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life in and Out of Jazz</i>, in September; and David Berkman's co-led New York Standards Quartet. The August issue of <i>Jazziz</i>, meanwhile, sports a <a href="https://www.greenleafmusic.com/ryan-keberle-featuring-in-jazziz-magazine/" target="_blank">feature on Ryan Keberle</a>, who returns with his band Catharsis to round out the upcoming RJA season in April 2018.)<br />
<br />
Also in September, Cécile McLorin Salvant (see above) will have a 2-CD set, <i>Dreams and Daggers</i>, which you can pre-order--and preview--from her label, <a href="https://www.mackavenue.com/artists/cecile-mclorin-salvant" target="_blank">Mack Avenue</a>. At the end of August, Vijay Iyer brings out <i>Far from Over</i>, a sextet date, on ECM. (Kevin Whitehead reviewed it on NPR's <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/08/23/545385490/pianist-vijay-iyer-combines-complicated-rhythms-with-modern-style-on-far-from-ov" target="_blank">Fresh Air with Terry Gross</a>, </i>while Iyer discussed the album with Scott Simon on <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/08/26/545890108/vijay-iyer-on-jazz-s-history-of-defiance-his-influences-and-playing-in-a-sextet" target="_blank">Weekend Edition Saturday</a>.</i>) And in October, Iyer's former collaborator Rudresh Mahanthappa releases a new album, <i>Agrima</i>, with his trio "Indo-Pak Coalition" (featuring Rez Abbasi and Dan Weiss):<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/332885951&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Two other records quietly appeared earlier this summer: Omer Avital and Avi Avital's (no relation) <i>Avital Meets Avital</i>, on Deutsche Grammophon, and guitarist Joel Harrison's <i><a href="https://whirlwindrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/the-other-river" target="_blank">The Other River</a></i>, on Whirlwind Recordings.<br />
<br />
Finally, drummer Tyshawn Sorey, part of Myra Melford's "Snowy Egret" project, was the subject of <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/10/tyshawn-sorey-defeats-preconceptions" target="_blank">an appreciative profile by Alex Ross</a> in <i>The New Yorker </i>and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/arts/music/tyshawn-sorey-verisimilitude-interview.html?_r=0" target="_blank">another by Giovanni Russonello</a> in <i>The New York Times</i>.<br />
<br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-30692902351563086132017-03-15T08:17:00.002-07:002017-06-12T16:49:15.418-07:00News of Past Guests, Spring 2017 Edition<br />
Our first item this time is a sad one: (Dutch) jazz giant Misha Mengelberg, co-founder of the legendary <a href="http://redwoodjazzalliance.org/icp.htm" target="_blank">ICP Orchestra</a>--our second guest ever, back in April 2007--has died after a long illness.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.muziekencyclopedie.nl/action/image/upload/-1/-1/false/8351" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.muziekencyclopedie.nl/action/image/upload/-1/-1/false/8351" height="" width="550" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Misha Mengelberg (R) with Han Bennink</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Plenty of other people have written and spoken about Mengelberg more eloquently than we could, beginning with Kevin Whitehead on NPR's <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/03/08/519231870/remembering-dutch-jazz-pianist-and-composer-misha-mengelberg" target="_blank">Fresh Air</a> </i>with Terry Gross:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="225" scrolling="no" src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/519231870/519256633" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Continue with pianist Ethan Iverson at <i><a href="https://ethaniverson.com/2017/03/03/the-great-mengelberg/" target="_blank">Do the Math</a></i>, then check obituaries in the <i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/arts/music/misha-mengelberg-dead-dutch-jazz-pianist-composer.html?_r=0" target="_blank">New York Times</a> </i>and the (London) <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/08/misha-mengelberg-obituary" target="_blank">Guardian</a></i>. And read an interview with Arcata's own <a href="http://www.redwoodjazzalliance.org/mmintvw.htm" target="_blank">Bob Doran</a>.</div>
<br />
In happier news: Linda May Han Oh is on the cover of April's <i><a href="https://jazztimes.com/issues/april-2017/" target="_blank">Jazz Times</a></i>, and she has a new album, <i>Walk Against the Wind</i>, on Fabian Almazan's new Biophilia label:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3958768367/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://lindamayhanoh.bandcamp.com/album/walk-against-wind">Walk Against Wind by Linda May Han Oh</a></iframe><br />
<br />
(You might also want to check out a profile of Oh, "<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/music/almost-famous-almost-broke-how-does-a-jazz-musician-make-it-in-new-york-now-8768844" target="_blank">Almost Famous, Almost Broke</a>," that appeared last summer in the <i>Village Voice</i>.)<br />
<br />
Meanwhile Dayna Stephens, whose album <i><a href="https://daynastephens.net/music/gratitude/" target="_blank">Gratitude</a> </i>is also just out, was interviewed by <i><a href="https://burningambulance.com/2017/04/10/interview-dayna-stephens/" target="_blank">Burning Ambulance</a>, </i>drummer Dafnis Prieto spoke for the Jazz Gallery's "<a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/roots-and-tributes-dafnis-prieto-speaks/" target="_blank">Jazz Speaks</a>" feature, Cecile McLoren Salvant was the subject of a profile in <i><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/22/cecile-mclorin-salvants-timeless-jazz" target="_blank">The New Yorker</a></i>, trumpeter Cuong Vu sat down with <i><a href="http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-574-a-conversation-with-cuong-vu" target="_blank">Straight No Chaser</a></i>, Chris Potter talked to Ted Panken about his new ECM album <i>The Dreamer Is the Dream </i>in the June issue of <i><a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2017/DB1706/single_page_view/42.html" target="_blank">DownBeat</a></i>, and trombonist Ryan Keberle, who also has a new release (with his band Catharsis), was on Leo Sidran's <i><a href="http://www.third-story.com/listen/ryan-keberle" target="_blank">Third Story</a> </i>podcast. Hear a track from Keberle's <i>Find the Common, Shine a Light</i> right here:<br />
<br />
<iframe align="center" seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1095902177/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://ryankeberlecatharsis.bandcamp.com/album/find-the-common-shine-a-light">Find The Common, Shine A Light by Ryan Keberle & Catharsis</a></iframe><br />
<br />
And: check out a video interview with Catharsis vocalist Camila Meza (a fine songwriter and bandleader in her own right) for the Jazz Gallery's "<a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/the-power-of-sound-camila-meza-speaks/" target="_blank">Jazz Speaks</a>."<br />
<br />
Finally in the new releases department: go track down David Binney's <i><a href="https://www.crisscrossjazz.com/album/1392.html" target="_blank">The Time Verses</a></i>, the first album with his core quartet (Jacob Sacks, Eivind Opsvik, Dan Weiss), since 2009.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<img src="https://www.crisscrossjazz.com/album/img/1392.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-12066333262987188682017-01-17T09:21:00.002-08:002017-02-15T19:29:55.442-08:00News of Past Guests, New Year 2017 EditionI don't know that "happy" is an adjective we're ready to apply to 2017. But some of us on the RJA board started the new year off right, anyway, with a visit to New York for <a href="http://www.winterjazzfest.com/" target="_blank">Winter JazzFest</a>. Our old friend Donny McCaslin was part of this year's lineup--as well as a recent visitor to NPR's Tiny Desk:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="338" scrolling="no" src="http://www.npr.org/templates/event/embeddedVideo.php?storyId=508382112&mediaId=508385300" width="600"></iframe><br />
<br />
--and an interviewee of Dave Sumner at the <a href="https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/01/17/donny-mccaslin-bowie-blackstar-interview/" target="_blank">Bandcamp Daily</a> blog.<br />
<br />
Across the pond, Phronesis have announced a forthcoming album, <i><a href="https://phronesistrio.bandcamp.com/album/the-behemoth-hd-24bit-96khz" target="_blank">The Behemoth</a></i>, to be released in March. The name might have something to do with the fact that the trio are backed by the Frankfurt Radio Bigband, arranged and conducted by Julian Argüelles. Here's a preview track, "Zieding":<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3391287140/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://phronesistrio.bandcamp.com/album/the-behemoth-hd-24bit-96khz">The Behemoth [HD] [24Bit 96kHz] by Phronesis</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Noah Preminger also has a new album, <i>Meditations on Freedom</i>--a protest album of sorts, with tunes that respond passionately to our difficult times. He talks about it on the <i><a href="http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-559-noah-preminger-takes-a-stand" target="_blank">Straight, No Chaser</a> </i>podcast, and you can buy the digital download or the CD <a href="https://www.noahpreminger.com/buy/noah-preminger-meditations-on-freedom-wav" target="_blank">at Noah's website</a>.<br />
<br />
It's the season for new sax albums, evidently. Miguel Zenón's <em>Típico</em> was recently featured on NPR's "<a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/02/02/512682680/first-listen-miguel-zen-n-t-pico" target="_blank">First Listen</a>." You can't hear it there any more, but you can listen to one track below and another <a href="https://soundcloud.com/miguel-zenon/cantor" target="_blank">on Soundcloud</a>. Then buy the album from <a href="https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/miguelzenon1" target="_blank">CD Baby</a> (where the artist gets a much more generous cut of the purchase price than at most other digital outlets).<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/303859650&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Finally, Linda May Han Oh is leaving Dave Douglas's Greenleaf Music label and joining Fabian Almazan's Biophilia label. Preview her forthcoming album, <i>Walk Against the Wind</i>, below:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3958768367/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://lindamayhanoh.bandcamp.com/album/walk-against-wind">Walk Against Wind by Linda May Han Oh</a></iframe><br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-40265371761155265972016-12-12T19:07:00.000-08:002016-12-21T23:33:45.181-08:00News of Past Guests, 2016 Holiday EditionJust in time for the holidays--well, just in time for the solstice<i>--</i>pianist Frank Kimbrough has released a beautiful trio album, <i>Solstice </i>(Pirouet), with bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Jeff Hirschfield. Here's the title track:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/287562489&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Pianist Uri Caine, meanwhile, has a new trio with bassist Mark Helias and drummer Clarence Penn--and a new album, <i><a href="http://www.popmatters.com/review/uri-caine-calibrated-thickness/" target="_blank">Calibrated Thickness</a></i>, with cornetist Kirk Knuffke guesting on several tracks. (Buy and listen to samples at <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/uricainetrio" target="_blank">CDBaby</a>.)<br />
<br />
And speaking of trio albums, drummer Allison Miller plays a big part in <i>two </i>of them just out. The first, <i>Swivel</i>, is by the collective Honey Ear Trio, with bassist Rene Hart, saxophonist Jeff Lederer (now filling founding member Erik Lawrence's shoes), and guest trumpeter Kirk Knuffke. Two tracks here:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2154453508/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://honeyeartrio.bandcamp.com/album/swivel">Swivel by Honey Ear Trio</a></iframe><br />
<br />
And then there's <i>Lean</i>, with saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh and bassist Simon Jermyn. Here's a taste of their eponymous debut:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3032237556/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://lean2.bandcamp.com/album/lean">Lean by Lean ( Jerome Sabbagh / Allison Miller / Simon Jermyn )</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Miller's group Boom Tic Boom (with RJA vets Myra Melford, Ben Goldberg, Kirk Knuffke, Jenny Scheinman, and Todd Sickafoose) released a video from a recording, made back in May, of their upcoming appearance on WBGO's <i>The Checkout</i>:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4_tQZ34DOy8?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
(As it happens, Boom Tic Boom bandmate Myra Melford appeared on the <a href="https://www.wbgo.org/checkoutjazz/life-carries-me-this-way-myra-melford" target="_blank">November 21 edition</a> of <i>The Checkout</i>, performing solo and talking about her own band Snowy Egret.)<br />
<br />
Guitarist Rez Abbasi appeared in a live webcast from New York City's <a href="http://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/rez-abbasis-invocation-performance-2" target="_blank">Asia Society</a> on Friday, December 16 with his band Invocation, featuring fellow RJA veterans Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, Johannes Weidenmuller, and Dan Weiss. The concert of music from the band's upcoming release <i>Unfiltered Universe</i> was previewed with a <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/music/with-his-band-invocation-guitarist-rez-abbasi-puts-an-indian-spin-on-jazz-9457831" target="_blank">profile and interview in the <i>Village Voice</i></a>, and you can <a href="http://asiasociety.org/new-york/live-webcast" target="_blank">watch an archive of the webcast</a> (the band comes on around 12'30"):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images1.villagevoice.com/imager/u/745xauto/9457840/screen_shot_2016-12-14_at_11.20.14_am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images1.villagevoice.com/imager/u/745xauto/9457840/screen_shot_2016-12-14_at_11.20.14_am.png" height="" width="550" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Finally: the <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2016/12/21/506093073/the-2016-npr-music-jazz-critics-poll" target="_blank">2016 Jazz Critics Poll</a>, facilitated as always by Francis Davis and hosted (for the 4th year in a row) by NPR, may be dominated by what Davis calls the "avant elders." But the Top 10 also include records by past guests Vijay Iyer, Michael Formanek, Nels Cline, and Matt Wilson. Keep going into the top 50 and you'll see Tyshawn Sorey, Tom Harrell, Fred Hersch, Donny McCaslin, Frank Kimbrough, Melissa Aldana, The Cookers, Jeff Parker, and Allison Miller. (Rene Marie tops the special "Vocal" category; Camila Meza is #3.) We--and 139 of the world's most knowledgeable jazz writers--can't be wrong. Right? Happy Holidays!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-69700752073909397152016-09-11T09:32:00.001-07:002016-09-14T18:06:18.705-07:00News of Past Guests, Fall 2016 Edition<div style="text-align: left;">
Phronesis bassist Jasper Høiby has a new album, <i>Fellow Creatures</i>, on Edition Records; "Bird Is the Worm" blogger <a href="https://daily.bandcamp.com/2016/09/02/jasper-hoiby-interview/" target="_blank">Dave Stapleton interviewed Høiby</a> for the indie download site Bandcamp, where you can hear and buy the album. Here's a video for the track "Little Song for Mankind":</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/35wzGCdN3b4?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
On <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/09/08/493086166/guitarist-nels-cline-on-lovers-an-album-25-years-in-the-making" target="_blank"><i>Fresh Air </i>with Terry Gross</a>, guitarist Nels Cline talks about his "with strings" album, <i>Lovers</i>:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/493086166/493153474" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe><br />
Cline's Blue Note debut is also the subject of a feature story in the September <i>DownBeat </i>and a featured interview in the September <i>Jazz Times</i>.<br />
<br />
Myra Melford (along with our November 2016 guest, Helen Sung, and others) will be part of "<a href="http://www.jazz.org/events/t-5193/Handful-of-Keys-A-Century-of-Jazz-Piano-Jazz-at-Lincoln-Center-Orchestra-Wynton-Marsalis/" target="_blank">Handful of Keys: A Century of Jazz Piano</a>" at Jazz at Lincoln Center on September 22. JALC promises to make the concert available on its "<a href="http://livestream.com/jazz?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MKTG17ThisMonthatJazz:September&utm_content=version_B" target="_blank">Livestream</a>" page.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Elsewhere in JALC webspace: Sheila Jordan goes crate-digging:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HTqYqIgy9kw?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
And speaking of brilliant vocalists: back at the end of August, Cécile McLorin Salvant was featured on NPR's <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/event/music/491556926/cecile-mclorin-salvant-and-sullivan-fortner" target="_blank">Jazz Night In America</a></i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/491556926/491558723" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-67764019070311133572016-07-18T20:24:00.000-07:002016-08-16T22:05:59.985-07:00News of Past Guests, Summer 2016 EditionJazz critic Kevin Whitehead has a smart appreciation of Matt Wilson's <i>Big Happy Family </i>on NPR's <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/06/15/482153414/jazz-drummer-matt-wilsons-big-happy-family-is-heartfelt-and-harmonious" target="_blank">Fresh Air with Terry Gross</a>:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /><iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/482153414/482182925" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe></i>
And in other drummer news: Allison Miller talks with Drew Miller about <i>Otis Was a Polar Bear </i>on his <a href="http://wingwalkermusic.com/blog/2016/5/podcast-season-2-episode-1-allison-miller" target="_blank"><i>Wing Walker Music </i>podcast</a>.<br />
<br />
RJA veterans included in <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2016/DB1607/_art/DB1607.pdf" target="_blank"><i>DownBeat</i>'s July</a> feature story, "25 for the Future" include saxophonist Melissa Aldana; drummers Marcus Gilmore (Vijay Iyer Trio), Tyshawn Sorey (Myra Melford's Snowy Egret), Justin Brown (Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet) and Mark Guiliana (Donny McCaslin Group); and guitarist Matthew Stevens (Linda Oh's Sun Pictures).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Downbeat" height="640" src="https://jazzyoutoo.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/4b99b9f5-68ea-4b49-b99f-94dbefac889c.jpg?w=620&h=831" width="477" /><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Meanwhile, as usual, our past guests are well represented in the 64th annual <i>DownBeat International Critics Poll</i>, whose winners include Vijay Iyer (Jazz Artist of the Year), Ambrose Akinmusire (Trumpet), Anat Cohen (Clarinet), Regina Carter (Violin), and Cécile McLorin Salvant (Female Vocalist). "Rising Stars" include Tim Lefebvre (Electric Bass), Mark Guiliana (Drums), and Liberty Ellman (Guitar). 142 writers, journalists, and critics from around the world participated in the poll.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
On August 12, Réne Marie stopped into the NPR studios in Washington to perform a set for the <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/07/27/487666354/ren-marie-tiny-desk-concert" target="_blank">Tiny Desk Concert</a></i>:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XnNCJI_LUhg?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Finally, in album news: guitarist Charlie Hunter assembled a new quartet with Kirk Knuffke, trumpet; Marshall Fowlkes, trombone; and Bobby Previte, drums, for a CD on the GroundUP Music label entitled <i>Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched In the Mouth</i>. Here's a track:</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bXIP-xOhMo8?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/29/donny-mccaslin-small-plot-land-cover" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Entertainment Weekly</a>, <i> Rolling Stone, </i>and <i>Pitchfork </i>are among those touting Donny McCaslin's forthcoming album, <i>Beyond Now</i>, due out in October, which will include two Bowie covers, "Warszawa" and "A Small Plot of Land." You can read an interview with Donny (and hear "Small Plot") at <i><a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/29/donny-mccaslin-small-plot-land-cover" target="_blank">EW</a></i>, and you can pre-order the album from <a href="http://motema.com/releases/beyond-now-2/" target="_blank">Motema</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="http://videos.rock-and-pop.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/screenshot-www.facebook.com-2016-07-31-11-10-15.png" /></div>
</div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-49001205810057254832016-05-02T20:44:00.000-07:002016-05-25T09:56:05.541-07:00News of Past Guests, May 2016 EditionOkay, sure: we'll <i>start </i>this post in the traditional way, with news about past guests. For instance, over at <i>Jazz Speaks </i>(the weblog of New York City's venerable performance space, the Jazz Gallery), bassist <a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/new-bands-old-lessons-linda-oh-speaks/" target="_blank">Linda Oh talks about her upcoming album</a> (and playing with Pat Metheny).<br />
<br />
Then there's Matt Wilson (below), who has a beautiful new album, <i>Beginnings of a Memory</i>, with a group he's calling Big Happy Family.<br />
<br />
<img height="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPgrkWEiK65z0NJUzqh1i-P9L_Ovf9d9xpTUiqLux3pdp2mmTcsZpj90-p-NMsS7lguuAGzeokaQG_nb2rUu2vZd7Cp-Flam2dFQtzJL_7hM0-OZ9tbbqGNofmRB1LaVq4VMs4OkJjbE/s640/89_Original.png" width="100%" /><br />
<br />
The "memory" is of Wilson's beloved wife Felicia, who died in 2014, and the "family" are a dozen members of his three working bands--Felicia's favorite players, who came together to play some of her favorite tunes. Wilson talks about the album in the June issue of <i>DownBeat</i>. Here's the title track:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/252007463&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
There are other albums out, too (or coming out soon), by Rez Abbasi, with a new ensemble called "Junction":<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2714912942/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/behind-the-vibration">Behind the Vibration by Rez Abbasi &amp; Junction</a></iframe><br />
<br />
by the Claudia Quintet:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1510280964/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/super-petite">Super Petite by The Claudia Quintet</a></iframe><br />
<br />
--and by Phronesis bassist Jasper Høiby:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3333132379/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://jasperhoiby.bandcamp.com/album/fellow-creatures">Fellow Creatures by Jasper Høiby</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Plus, vocalist Rene Marie has just released a full album of her own compositions:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e1eQdKhgKUs?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
And if you'd like to hear Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth, Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom, and/or the Vijay Iyer Trio again, then you might be interested in WNYC's <i>New Sounds </i>podcast, since they all appear on the same episode devoted to "<a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/3812-groove-based-jazz-special-podcast/" target="_blank">Groove-Based Jazz</a>":<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="130" scrolling="no" src="https://www.wnyc.org/widgets/ondemand_player/wnyc/#file=/audio/json/559927/&share=1" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Otherwise, though, our news this month isn't about past guests, but about old friends from closer to home. To wit:<br />
<br />
Last month, longtime jazz fanatic and radio programmer (at KZYX in Fort Bragg) Doug Moody was named a "<a href="http://www.jjajazzawards.org/p/2016-jazz-heroes.html#Moody" target="_blank">Jazz Hero</a>" by the Jazz Journalists Association. A co-owner (and Senior Vice President for Marketing) of North Coast Brewing Company, Doug has also been one of the RJA's most stalwart supporters since the very beginning of our ten-year existence. As beneficiaries of his largesse, we're in good company: North Coast supports jazz presenters, performers, and educators all over California and all across the country, not least through its sales of its "Brother Thelonious" abbey-style ale:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nJ2oY4acuZE?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
These days, Doug and North Coast are <i>presenting </i>jazz, too, at their "<a href="http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/brewery-taproom/sequoia-room/" target="_blank">Sequoia Room</a>" in Fort Bragg. Road trip, anyone?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Finally, bassist Shao Way Wu left Arcata a couple of years ago for the bright lights of Portland, where he's been illuminating that city's own local jazz scene. He's got a new album, <i>Canvas Sky</i>, with his bass-piano duo "Tar Beach." You can buy it on Bandcamp after you listen to it here:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3206236378/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://tarbeach.bandcamp.com/album/canvas-sky">Canvas Sky by Tar Beach</a></iframe><br />
<br />
(You can also find albums by the PDX incarnation of his <a href="http://coconinotrio.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Coconino Trio</a> and tracks by his bass-guitar duo "<a href="https://dayinthesun.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Day In the Sun</a>.")</div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-20213274943205552782016-03-14T21:17:00.001-07:002016-04-12T16:33:00.508-07:00News of Past Guests, Spring Break 2016 EditionMichael Blake's new album<i>, Fulfillment</i>, a suite of compositions for large ensemble on the themes of immigration and exclusion, is out on the Canadian label Songlines. Read about the project at the <a href="http://songlines.com/release/fulfillment/" target="_blank">label's website</a>, where you can also download a free track. Here's another cut, "Sea Shanty"--<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/245195559&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
--which is one of three tunes from <i>Fulfillment</i> that are part of a <a href="https://soundcloud.com/songlinesrecordings/sets/michael-blake" target="_blank">Michael Blake playlist</a> at Songlines' Soundcloud page.<br />
<br />
The <i>New York Times </i>calls Melissa Aldana's brand-new release, <i><a href="http://www.melissaaldana.com/new-melissa-album-back-home/" target="_blank">Back Home</a>, </i>her "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/arts/music/new-music-melissa-aldana-makes-a-focused-statement-in-back-home.html?_r=0" target="_blank">finest album</a>" yet. It's available at the usual online vendors (and, if you ask for it, at your <i>local </i>record store). Read the transcript of an amazing conversation between her and Sonny Rollins at <i><a href="http://burningambulance.com/2016/03/11/melissa-aldana-sonny-rollins/" target="_blank">Burning Ambulance</a></i>.
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/03/10/arts/10NewMusic4/10NewMusic4-master315.jpg" /></div>
<br />
The April issue of <i><a href="http://jazztimes.com/" target="_blank">Jazz Times</a></i> focuses on bassists--and it includes profiles of Chris Lightcap (Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth, Regina Carter's Southern Comfort) and Scott Colley (Antonio Sanchez Migration), a "Before and After" listening session with Eureka's own Trevor Dunn (Nels Cline Singers), and Linda Oh picking (and discussing) some of her favorite bass duo tracks. Select content from the magazine will go online April 5.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And speaking of bassists: out March 18 from Omer Avital is <i>Abutbul Music</i>. (Abutbul is one of Avital's ancestral surnames.) <i>DownBeat </i>magazine's "<a href="http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=reviews" target="_blank">Editor's Choice</a>" review says that some of the album's tunes mix genres, "mov[ing] through various guises, switching rhythms and meters with a dancer’s precision," while "[o]thers hone in on a single genre and explore it through Avital’s distinctly groove-filtered lens." Case in point: "Bed-Stuy," which "incorporates hushed, Mingus-flavored swing":<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EbeE6TV32e4?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Preparing for his last record, <i>Intents and Purposes </i>(an album of acoustic covers of classic 70s fusion tunes), inspired guitarist Rez Abbasi to compose some <i>electric </i>"fusion" of his own. The results are on a new album, <i><a href="https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/behind-the-vibration" target="_blank">Behind the Vibration</a></i>, out May 20th:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2714912942/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/behind-the-vibration">Behind the Vibration by Rez Abbasi & Junction</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Finally: the Donny McCaslin Group is the subject of a story on the cover of the <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2016/DB1605/default.html" target="_blank">May issue of <i>DownBeat</i></a> (the same issue also contains an interview with drummer Allison Miller). </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2016/DB1605/_art/_jpg_spreadview/1.jpg" /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Donny and the rest of the band also talked about their experience with the late David Bowie (they're the core group on Bowie's celebrated swan song, <i>Blackstar</i>) on a recent episode of <i>The New Yorker Radio Hour</i>:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="130" scrolling="no" src="https://www.wnyc.org/widgets/ondemand_player/tnyradiohour/#file=/audio/json/572521/&share=1" width="100%"></iframe></div>
</div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-77742574768729959392016-02-06T09:25:00.002-08:002016-05-17T19:19:54.754-07:00News of Past Guests, February 2016 EditionRyan Keberle & Catharsis have a new album on Greenleaf, <i>Azul Infinito</i> (buy it <a href="https://ryankeberlecatharsis.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">on Bandcamp</a>). Here's a lovely video of the opening track, "I Thought I Knew":<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aEiff46NJn4?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And a key member of Catharsis, vocalist/guitarist Camila Meza, has an album of her own, <i>Traces</i>. Pre-order from the <a href="http://sunnysidezone.com/album/traces" target="_blank">Sunnyside Records Bandcamp store</a> and stream three tracks below:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4186210539/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://sunnysidezone.com/album/traces">Traces by Camila Meza</a></iframe>
</div>
<br />
In other news: pianist Vijay Iyer is the subject of a profile by Alec Wilkinson in the February 1st issue of <i>The New Yorker. </i>It's called "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/01/time-is-a-ghost" target="_blank">Time Is a Ghost: Vijay Iyer's Jazz Vision</a>."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/160201_r27624-1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/160201_r27624-1200.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
March 1-6, Myra Melford becomes the latest RJA veteran to be honored with a weeklong run at New York's storied <a href="http://www.villagevanguard.com/" target="_blank">Village Vanguard</a> (with her band Snowy Egret, which opened our current season last September.) In a preview for the <i>Times</i>, Nate Chinen calls Melford "a pianist-composer of restless imagination and rigorous execution," leading an ensemble whose "ranks consist of improvisers with a keen ear for textural interplay." If by some chance you'll be in New York the first week of March, then go see Myra (and Ron Miles, and Liberty Ellman, and Stomu Takeishi, and Tyshawn Sorey) there and say hello...<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="snowy egret band" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEijhnQdB09Ujv6v08nPKC0e_FHjs9Vab1po9VkQRdvzqGzJ9RMwY7J0Ktgf20W-VfstI-JAiOFUIeZfZsezwTZNeiopnpA-PZEFWpFDqoWpyaWYDswV6KzshHlgKXE9VPEGIZ5vDC4LwHNqS5yHYXDk8WiumZMd9OCTsQPt78nfSjv8lXnBP4YV0xPsrOoEP1Ar8PC3jHdY_sq3=s0-d-e1-ft" /><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
More new releases: Allison Miller's new album with Boom Tic Boom, <i>Otis Was a Polar Bear</i>, comes out in April, just days before she shows up in Arcata, BTB in tow. <a href="http://royalpotatofamily.com/artists/allison-miller/" target="_blank">Pre-order it</a> from Royal Potato Family Records, and watch Allison sitting in with the 8G Band on <i><a href="http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers" target="_blank">Late Night with Seth Meyers</a> </i>all week long, the week of February 22d (<a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/511767600" target="_blank">photo here</a>). Here's the album's title track:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/237651528&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Also out in April: <i><a href="https://phronesistrio.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Parallax</a></i>, a new one from Phronesis. Preview/pre-order:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3186052959/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://phronesistrio.bandcamp.com/album/parallax">Parallax by Phronesis</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Drummer Dan Weiss's album <i><a href="https://pirecordings.com/album/pi63" target="_blank">Sixteen: Drummers Suite</a></i> honors six legendary jazz drummers. You can <a href="https://danweiss.bandcamp.com/album/sixteen-drummers-suite" target="_blank">buy it</a> on Bandcamp (stream two tracks below), read <a href="http://jazztimes.com/articles/171925-the-gig-dan-weiss" target="_blank">Nate Chinen's exegesis in <i>Jazz Times</i></a>, and get Dan's annotations of every track at the <a href="http://www.jazzspeaks.org/dan-weiss-cd-release-sixteen/" target="_blank">Jazz Gallery</a>'s website.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3540596210/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://danweiss.bandcamp.com/album/sixteen-drummers-suite">Sixteen: Drummers Suite by Dan Weiss</a></iframe>
</div>
<br />
Sunnyside Records has reissued (and remastered) a terrific 1987 trio date from Fred Hersch called <a href="http://sunnysidezone.com/album/sarabande-2016-remaster" target="_blank"><i>Sarabande</i> </a>with the late, great Charlie Haden and drummer Joey Baron. The re-release is dedicated to Haden:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3649509413/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://sunnysidezone.com/album/sarabande-2016-remaster">Sarabande (2016 Remaster) by Fred Hersch</a></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
And finally, Noah Preminger has a new one dropping soon: <i>Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground</i>. You can <a href="http://www.noahpreminger.com/" target="_blank">pre-order it</a> at his spiffy new website, and get a taste of it right here:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7_KuUZB1Pso?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-90056651077520394632015-12-18T13:00:00.000-08:002016-01-01T16:48:29.647-08:00News of Past Guests, Holiday 2015 EditionIt's been a while, we know. We've missed lots of honors bestowed, new CDs released, and so on. But here's what's going on right now:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/04/01-wayne-horvitz-at-piano---daniel-sheehan_wide-2a479d6623865260a2cbb522407e749c3ff6726b-s800-c85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/04/01-wayne-horvitz-at-piano---daniel-sheehan_wide-2a479d6623865260a2cbb522407e749c3ff6726b-s800-c85.jpg" height="279" width="500" /></a></div>
<br />
We mentioned last time that pianist and composer Wayne Horvitz turned 60 this year, and he's been getting a lot of well-deserved attention, including an appearance on NPR Music's <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/event/music/458327063/wayne-horvitz-the-pianist-and-the-poet" target="_blank">Jazz Night in America</a> </i>(click that link for a half-hour video and an hourlong podcast) and a story on <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/12/06/458373213/at-60-wayne-horvitz-is-protecting-and-expanding-his-musical-language" target="_blank">All Things Considered</a></i>:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/458373213/458699586" title="NPR embedded audio player" width="100%"></iframe><br />
If, to your eternal shame, you missed Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O at KBR a couple of weeks ago, you can console yourself with Matt's appearance on the <i><a href="http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-408-a-conversation-with-matt-wilson" target="_blank">Straight No Chaser</a></i> podcast two days later. Oh, and I suppose you could fly out to New York City and catch the Tree-O in residence at <a href="http://www.jazzstandard.com/?event=20151222" target="_blank">Jazz Standard</a>, where their guest this year will be pianist/composer/bandleader/MacArthur "Genius"/Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran.<br />
<br />
The 2015 "Best" lists have begun appearing, and they're littered, as usual, with RJA veterans. For example: the mother of all lists, Francis Davis's authoritative <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2015/12/21/460527087/the-2015-npr-music-jazz-critics-poll" target="_blank">Jazz Critics Poll</a> (hosted these days by NPR Music, and representing the judgment of 147 prominent jazz writers worldwide), features Chris Lightcap and Vijay Iyer. (Tom Hull provides a rundown of <a href="http://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/15/totals-new.php" target="_blank">every album that got at least one vote</a>, and <a href="http://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/15/critics.php" target="_blank">links to individual critics' ballots</a>.)<br />
<br />
Trumpeter Dave Douglas has released a <a href="https://www.greenleafmusic.com/new-video-dave-douglas-quintet-deep-river/" target="_blank">video of his quintet performing the spiritual "Deep River,"</a> shot at the studio sessions for the album <i>Brazen Heart</i>. (In addition to saxophonist Jon Irabagon, the latest incarnation of Douglas's quintet features several other past guests of the RJA: Matt Mitchell on piano, Linda Oh on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums.) humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-1477016298015238212015-09-16T18:51:00.001-07:002015-10-02T22:14:43.952-07:00News of Past Guests, September 2015 EditionFall! (Almost.) Let's get right to it:<br />
<br />
Ivan Cordoba has made a short film about Melissa Aldana called <i>Bridges</i>, and you can <a href="http://artpopstudio.com/2013/01/26/bridges-a-short-film-about-melissa-aldana-directed-by-ivan-cordoba-for-soupe-de-souffle-documentary-series/" target="_blank">watch it at Artpop Studio</a> (and right here):<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/57097543?color=ffffff&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(<a href="https://vimeo.com/57097543">Bridges</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/ivancordoba">Ivan Cordoba</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>)</div>
<br />
Wayne Horvitz has a new album out in time for his 60th birthday--and he's celebrating by giving away 52 free tracks (one each week). <a href="http://www.birdistheworm.com/wayne-horvitz-monologue-twenty-compositions-for-dance/" target="_blank">Read all about it</a>.<br />
<br />
You know by now that RJA veterans show up in the jazz monthlies<i> </i>on a pretty regular basis. The latest to do so is Fred Hersch, the subject of a cover story in the <a href="http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2015/DB1510/single_page_view/1.html" target="_blank">October issue of <i>DownBeat</i></a>. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.downbeat.com/photos/magazinecovers/201510Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.downbeat.com/photos/magazinecovers/201510Cover.jpg" height="640" width="475" /></a></div>
<br />
That same number includes a feature on Cécile McLorin Salvant, who is marking the release of a fabulous new album, <i>For One to Love</i>, on Mack Avenue Records. It's a serious contender for jazz record of the year. See a "trailer" for the album <a href="http://www.cecilemclorinsalvant.com/" target="_blank">on Salvant's website</a>, and watch a video of a track from the album right here:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E5MGpLjHskI" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Actually, there's a bunch of new albums out (or about to be), including one from the Dave Douglas Quintet, <i>Brazen Heart</i>. Here's the title track:</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=633647417/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 120px; width: 550px;"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Meanwhile, Kevin Whitehead reviewed the fourth album by Harris Eisenstadt's Canada Day on NPR's <i>Fresh Air with Terry Gross</i>:<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="210" scrolling="yes" src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/440265638/440276234" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
(You can stream three tracks from <i>Canada Day IV</i>--and download one, for free--at the <a href="http://songlines.com/release/canada-day-iv/" target="_blank">Songlines Records</a> site. Ditto for Wayne Horvitz's new one, <i><a href="http://songlines.com/release/some-places-are-forever-afternoon/" target="_blank">some places are forever afternoon</a></i>.)</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-90784469617373996772015-06-30T21:33:00.003-07:002015-09-05T22:09:06.528-07:00Myra Cures the Summer DoldrumsThe vernal flood of new releases (see the last two posts) has slowed to a trickle--appropriate for our drought-stricken state, I suppose. But thankfully, Myra Melford is quenching our collective thirst with a series of videos from her spring residency at the Stone (John Zorn's famous performance space on New York City's Lower East Side), releasing them at the rate of one per week. Here's an introduction:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CJhPEU2IP9U" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
And here she is with drummer Allison Miller:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AKWS_jMhDi4" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And with flutist Nicole Mitchell and drummer Tyshawn Sorey:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yUaLJqzMa_8" width="560"></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And with multi-reedist Ben Goldberg:</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jl6BEBxVoyM" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And with Miya Masaoka and Mary Halvorson:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eoKM-r2-tVw" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
And with the Crush Quartet:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/drOkXP0wROQ" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
And with the Be Bread Sextet:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9gNoS8q81Cc" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And with The Same River, Twice (Chris Speed, Dave Douglas, Erik Friedlander, Michael Sarin):</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eVQLhFLvyUg" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And with her latest band, Snowy Egret:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PNjMX4Y16Ck" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And a second tune from The Same River, Twice:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t0bVV4JP74Y" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And with Marty Ehrlich:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/69aSTJwj42Q" width="560"></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And finally, her old trio with Lindsey Horner & Reggie Nicholson:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DBtert927sw" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-56601271906578010732015-05-06T19:49:00.000-07:002015-06-08T20:04:35.798-07:00News of Past Guests, May-June 2015 EditionRemember that terrific new Dafnis Prieto Sextet album <a href="http://brightmomentsjazz.blogspot.com/2015/03/news-of-past-guests-spring-supplement.html" target="_blank">we told you about</a>? The <i>New York Times</i>' Ben Ratliff <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/arts/music/review-triangles-and-circles-an-album-from-the-dafnis-prieto-sextet.html?_r=0" target="_blank">likes it a lot</a>, as does Kevin Whitehead, who reviewed it on NPR's <i>Fresh Air</i>:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/404657875/404701184" width="100%"></iframe></div>
Several days later, Anat Cohen's cover of the Flying Lotus tune "Putty Boy Strut" wound up on NPR Music's "<a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/05/14/406747832/songs-we-love-anat-cohen-putty-boy-strut" target="_blank">Songs We Love</a>" feature.<br />
<br />
And then, to complete the NPR-RJA Trifecta, who should show up on NPR's <i>Tiny Desk Concert </i>but big-shot pianist <a href="http://www.npr.org/event/music/404165838/vijay-iyer-trio-tiny-desk-concert?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=music" target="_blank">Vijay Iyer and his trio</a>:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SiDBiIsFiqU" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
(Iyer also appeared on NPR's <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/event/music/402056955/vijay-iyer-trio-at-metropolitan-museum-of-art?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=music" target="_blank">Jazz Night in America</a></i>, in a set broadcast from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Some guys get <i>all </i>the good gigs!)<br />
<br />
Brand-New Releases Dept.: David Berkman returns to his old label Palmetto with a sextet that includes bassist Linda Oh and drummer Brian Blade, performing his first studio collection of new originals in over a decade. It's called <i><a href="http://palmetto-records.com/album.php?album=205" target="_blank">Old Friends and New Friends</a>. </i>Listen to one track <a href="https://soundcloud.com/jazzafterhoursonpri/david-berkman-no-blues-no-really-no-blues-trio" target="_blank">here </a>and another below:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/198926958&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div>
</div>
<br />
Drummer Antonio Sanchez returns with a double-album of trio music, <i>Three Times Three</i>, and his trio-mates include pianist Brad Mehldau, guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Joe Lovano, and bassists Matt Brewer, Christian McBride, and John Patitucci. Liner notes and track samples <a href="http://www.camjazz.com/home/8052405141415-three-times-three-cd.html" target="_blank">at the CamJazz label website</a>; cover story in the July issue of <i><a href="http://www.downbeat.com/?sect=magazine" target="_blank">DownBeat</a></i>; and (okay--I guess this makes it the NPR <i>quad</i>-fecta) <i>All Things Considered </i>story right here:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="290" scrolling="no" src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/412505256/412525698" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
And our old friend Scott Amendola brings out a recording of his orchestral work <i>Fade to Orange</i>, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony, built around his trio (with Trevor Dunn and Nels Cline) and performed back in 2010. You can order it at <a href="http://artist-stores.com/collections/scott-amendola/products/scott-amendola-fade-to-orange-cd-pre-order" target="_blank">Scott's online store</a>. Here's the EPK:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XBXXdS1_NRc" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
And finally (for now), a slew of upcoming albums. First, John Hollenbeck's sequel to <i>Songs I Like a Lot</i>, entitled--pay close attention now--<i>Songs We Like a Lot</i>:<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4173401287/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://sunnysidezone.com/album/songs-we-like-a-lot">Songs We Like A Lot by John Hollenbeck</a></iframe><br />
<i>Canada Day </i>vibraphonist Chris Dingman's <i>The Subliminal and the Sublime</i>:<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4104147303/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://chrisdingman.bandcamp.com/album/the-subliminal-and-the-sublime">The Subliminal and the Sublime by Chris Dingman</a></iframe><br />
And Dave Douglas's foray into electronica, <i>High Risk </i>(there's also a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcxRMuC9V1o" target="_blank">video EPK</a>):<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2365773131/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://music.davedouglas.com/album/high-risk">High Risk by Dave Douglas</a></iframe><br />
Then, a trio of albums on the British label Whirlwind. Here's the title track from the debut album by guitarist Matthew Stevens (Linda Oh's Sun Pictures):<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=754415290/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=332036029/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://whirlwindrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/2015-releases-sampler">2015 Releases Sampler by Matthew Stevens</a></iframe><br />
Pianist Ivo Neame (Phronesis) has a new one called <i>Strata</i>:<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=754415290/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=510204741/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://whirlwindrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/2015-releases-sampler">2015 Releases Sampler by Ivo Neame</a></iframe><br />
And Joel Harrison's Spirit House went into Fantasy Studios in Berkeley just days after they visited Arcata back in April 2013. Here's a sample of the results:<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=754415290/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=3950227569/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://whirlwindrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/2015-releases-sampler">2015 Releases Sampler by Joel Harrison</a></iframe><br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-17567308298459098972015-04-08T20:25:00.000-07:002015-04-19T16:44:51.257-07:00News of Past Guests, April 2015 EditionDon't let anybody tell you Sheila Jordan is yesterday's news. Here's <i>The New Yorker</i>'s preview of her weeklong run with the Steve Kuhn Trio at <a href="http://www.birdlandjazz.com/" target="_blank">Birdland </a>at the start of April, from "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/night-life/sheila-jordan-with-the-steve-kuhn-trio" target="_blank">Goings On About Town</a>":<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
An acolyte and friend of Charlie Parker, the singer Jordan absorbed bebop from the source, but she's also a committed modernist whose style has evolved with the ensuing decades. One of the key collaborators who assisted Jordan in her artistic growth is the equally inventive pianist Kuhn, who leads the trio supporting her at Birdland this week.</blockquote>
(Cameron Brown is the longtime bassist in that trio, by the way.)<br />
<br />
A few years ago, Dave Douglas and Joe Lovano teamed up to start a band, "Sound Prints," devoted to music inspired by the legendary Wayne Shorter. (The quintet also includes pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Linda Oh, and drummer Joey Baron.) They've finally committed that project to wax--er, bits--in the form of an <a href="http://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/joe-lovano-dave-douglas-join-forces-with-soun" target="_blank">album for Blue Note</a> recorded live at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Here's a taste:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oVne9WvVP40" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Hey--remember how, <a href="http://brightmomentsjazz.blogspot.com/2015/03/news-of-past-guests-spring-supplement.html" target="_blank">last time</a>, we told you about Myra Melford's new band/project/album, <i>Snowy Egret</i>? On April 11th, she talked about it with Arun Rath on the weekend edition of <i>All Things Considered</i>:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<embed allowfullscreen="true" base="http://www.npr.org" height="386" src="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=398764206&m=399034316&t=audio" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" wmode="opaque"></embed><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And remember how we also gave you a preview of the Dafnis Prieto Sextet's new album? Now you can buy it--at Amazon, on iTunes, or at <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dafnisprieto2" target="_blank">CDBaby</a>. And here's the video EPK, together with a studio performance of one of the album's strongest tracks, "Blah Blah":</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kKrqiKZu-oE" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tLcJ4xcssns" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001997198550902524.post-5764392133588792222015-03-21T15:04:00.000-07:002015-03-30T18:25:22.574-07:00News of Past Guests, Spring Supplement<br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
Too many things going on for one (<a href="http://brightmomentsjazz.blogspot.com/2015/02/news-of-past-guests-march-2014.html" target="_blank">March</a>) blog post, it being the season of renewal and rebirth and all.</div>
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<a href="https://staticapp.icpsc.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/532577/9c8d6d8c9d7d3e3b68da98ad3e1b1267/image/jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://staticapp.icpsc.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/532577/9c8d6d8c9d7d3e3b68da98ad3e1b1267/image/jpeg" width="320" /></a>First: our old friend Myra Melford is only the latest RJA alum to be asked to program a week's worth of shows at John Zorn's performance space <a href="http://thestonenyc.com/" target="_blank">The Stone</a>, a tiny venue of outsize prestige on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Call it a mid-career retrospective: duets with Allison Miller, Ben Goldberg, and Marty Ehrlich. Reunions of her 90s Trio, her Crush Quartet, The Same River, Twice (her quintet with Dave Douglas), and the Be Bread Sextet. And a release party for her newest CD, whose name, like the group that plays on it, is "<a href="http://fullyaltered.com/fa/2015/01/13/acclaimed-pianistcomposer-myra-melford-releases-long-awaited-lp-by-snowy-egret-via-enjayellowbird-out-march-10th/" target="_blank">Snowy Egret</a>" (Ron Miles, cornet; Liberty Ellman, guitar; Stomu Takeishi, bass guitar; and Ted Poor sitting in for Tyshawn Sorey on drums). Man, we wish we could be there! Consolation: two tracks from the new album--"<a href="https://soundcloud.com/fullyaltered/the-strawberry" target="_blank">The Strawberry</a>" and "<a href="https://soundcloud.com/fullyaltered/04-language" target="_blank">Language</a>"--are streaming at Fully Altered Media.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Next RJA vets at The Stone, by the way: weeklong residencies by <a href="http://thestonenyc.com/calendar.php?month=1" target="_blank">Scott Amendola and Ben Goldberg</a> in April.<br />
<br />
Speaking of Ben Goldberg: he, too, has a new album out--a recording of <i>Orphic Machine</i>, a song cycle commissioned several years ago by Chamber Music America and the Jewish Music Festival. The players include lots of old friends, starting with...Myra Melford and Ron Miles, plus David Breskin, Greg Cohen, Nels Cline, Carla Kihlstedt, Ches Smith, Rob Sudduth, and Kenny Wollesen. Check out "<a href="https://soundcloud.com/fullyaltered/line-of-less-than-ten" target="_blank">Line of Less Than Ten</a>" and "<a href="https://soundcloud.com/fullyaltered/care-by-ben-goldberg" target="_blank">Care</a>," also courtesy of Fully Altered Media. Here's a video on the making the album:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WFbFioqojxs" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
And here's "Care" performed live at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley in 2012:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/38670529" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Details: <a href="https://vimeo.com/38670529">Ben Goldberg's Orphic Machine "Care"</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/blackparrotportfolio">Black Parrot Productions</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>)</span><br />
<br />
And speaking of publicists and streaming: the set by Dafnis Prieto's Sextet (say <i>that </i>three times fast!) at the Zinc Bar may be the best thing we heard at this year's WinterJazzFest in New York. Thanks to Two for the Show Media, you can preview the group's new album, <i>Triangles and Circles</i>, in its entirety:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/84275813&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Other new albums: saxophonist Tony Malaby (Ralph Alessi's This Against That, Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth) has a new one, <i>Scorpion Eater</i>, with a new quartet, Tubacello. (Sitting in the quartet's drum chair: John Hollenbeck.) Kevin Whitehead reviewed it for NPR's <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/03/18/393850257/saxophonist-tony-malabys-new-quartet-brings-out-his-rowdy-side?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=music" target="_blank"><i>Fresh Air</i> with Terry Gross</a>:<br />
<br />
<embed allowfullscreen="true" base="http://www.npr.org" height="386" src="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=393850257&m=393853357&t=audio" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" wmode="opaque"></embed><br />
<br />
(If you're a Spotify sort of person, you can preview the whole album at <a href="http://www.cleanfeed-records.com/disco2US.asp?intID=477" target="_blank">Clean Feed</a>'s website.) Also: saxophonist Donny McCaslin has a new one, <i>Fast Future</i>, with an <i>old </i>quartet--or at least the same one that played on his last album, the superfunked-up <i>Casting for Gravity</i>. Hear the title track and order the album at <a href="https://donnymccaslin.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Greenleaf Music's Bandcamp Store</a>, and hear Donny talk about making it with Dave Douglas on the <i><a href="http://www.greenleafmusic.com/a-noise-from-the-deep-podcast-episode-29-donny-mccaslin/" target="_blank">Noise from the Deep</a> </i>podcast.<br />
<br />
Finally (for now): Anat Cohen, whose new album we told you about <a href="http://brightmomentsjazz.blogspot.com/2015/02/news-of-past-guests-march-2014.html" target="_blank">last time</a>, appears on NPR's <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/event/music/395443906/anat-cohens-roots-of-rio" target="_blank">Jazz Night in America</a> </i>with her band Choro Aventuroso on Wednesday, April 1 (no foolin'!). And Uri Caine was at New York's newest jazz club, Mezzrow, recently, playing a duet with bassist Mark Helias. The club, started by Small's impresario Spike Willner, specializes in piano-bass duos. Here's the evidence (thanks to Karen for the tip!):<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rRNJ8x24SZQ" width="560"></iframe><br />humredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06744473294816767280noreply@blogger.com0