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Jackie McLean

John H. Armwood Jazz History Lecture Nashville's Cheekwood Arts Center 1989

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Article: NYFF Review: Don Cheadle Strives to Make a Film That Miles Davis Would Make in 'Miles Ahead'

"A hindrance, as I see it, to the film becoming conclusively impressionistic, and therefore meeting Cheadle's (and thus the audience's) demands, is that the main narrative itself isn't all-that engaging, to be frank. But what held my attention was Cheadle as Davis. It's a captivating enough transformation that I was on board for much of the ride, which Cheadle, wisely, I thought, keeps to a brief 100 minutes. There's a kind of demystification of Davis that happens in the present-day narrative, as compared to the genius that is Davis the musician, that I think even those who aren't familiar with the man and his work, are aware of. Miles Davis. Genius musician. Untouchable. Even superhuman and god-like. He's a legend. So there's almost a reconciling (the man versus the legend) that some may have to do in order to settle into the film - the present-day story giving us "a man," frail, broken, with a cocaine and alcohol habit (the film appropriately doesn't sugarcoat any of this by the way), a shadow of his former self, angry at the world, and maybe even at himself; and the flashbacks in essence, give us "the legend" in his prime," despite some fracturing, who created the many masterpieces we love and are in awe of today.

Sunday, August 09, 2015

Jazz Heavyweight Terence Blanchard Won't Turn a Blind Eye | Mother Jones




With the new band and the thematic connection to Eric Garner's death, you'd think the album would be full of raw nerves and anger.  But instead, Blanchard has created a suite of instrumentals, songs, and spoken word meditations that invite reflection on finding the strength and peace to heal and move forward. He challenges listeners to be "breathless from exerting your free will, breathless from doing good, breathless from blowing your own sweet solo."



Jazz Heavyweight Terence Blanchard Won't Turn a Blind Eye | Mother Jones

Friday, July 31, 2015

Ahmad Jamal Trio - Acorn

Ahmad Jamal Trio - The Aftermath

I'll Remember April

How Insensitive

Autumn Leaves

John Hicks Is That So John Hicks with Ray Drummond Bass and Idris Muhammad drums. This is my cell phone's ring tone.

Straight Street

Fire Waltz

Ahmad Jamal Trio -Poinciana (2005)

Idris Muhammad

Idris Muhammad, legendary New Orleans drummer, is dead at 74 | NOLA.com

Idris Muhammad, legendary New Orleans drummer, is dead at 74 | NOLA.com

What a hard swinging drummer. I was fortunate to see him many times. He could lay down grooves that made your body move as good as anyone. He and the late John Hicks had a special chemistry. He worked for a good while with Ahmad Jamal. He recorded a few albums, of his own, on the CTI Kudu label in the early seventies. He will be missed.













Idris Muhammad, legendary New Orleans drummer, is dead at 74 | NOLA.com

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Netflix premieres Nina Simone documentary trailer – watch | Music | The Guardian

"As well as exploring Simone’s dynamism as a performer, the documentary is set to shed light on her mental health issues and struggle with bipolar disorder. Her passion for politics and association with the African-American civil rights movement are also highlighted in the film."

Friday, June 12, 2015

Ornette Coleman, Saxophonist Who Rewrote the Language of Jazz, Dies at 85 - NYTimes.com

"Ornette Coleman, the alto saxophonist and composer who was one of the most powerful and contentious innovators in the history of jazz, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 85.

The cause was cardiac arrest, a family representative said.

Mr. Coleman widened the options in jazz and helped change its course. Partly through his example in the late 1950s and early 60s, jazz became less beholden to the rules of harmony and rhythm while gaining more distance from the American songbook repertoire.

His own music, then and later, embodied a new type of folk song: providing deceptively simple melodies for small groups with an intuitive, collective musical language and a strategy for playing without preconceived chord sequences. In 2007, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his album “Sound Grammar.”

Monday, May 18, 2015

Review: ‘Night and Day,’ Vincent Herring’s New Album - NYTimes.com

The alto saxophonist Vincent Herring projects his sound in a strong, centered beam, and even his most intense moments suggest a controlled combustion. You could chalk that up to experience — Mr. Herring, 50, has been playing seriously since his teens — but it probably has as much to do with disposition. There’s footage of him with Horace Silver’s band in the 1980s, sounding like he does now, slashing but calm.


Sunday, April 12, 2015

Four Brothers: Quartet made up of prestigious jazz musicians and lifelong friends to headline UNC/Gr | GreeleyTribune.com

"Williams laid the groundwork for a community of jazz musicians in New York who supported each other, found each other gigs and played as often as they could together. Now Smith and three of those accomplished jazz musicians will form the so-called National Pastimes Productions All-Star Quartet to honor Williams and Mulgrew Miller on the final night of the UNC/Greeley Jazz Festival, which opens April 16 and runs for three days. "