liveDaily: liveDaily Interview: Herbie HancockiveDaily Interview: Herbie Hancock
June 29, 2005 12:01 PM
by Jim Harrington
liveDaily Contributor
Herbie Hancock (bio) has played with some of the greatest jazz musicians of the 20th century during a storied career that has spanned five decades. The A-list features such names as Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Michael Brecker.
Later this year, the acclaimed pianist/keyboardist/composer will attempt to balance the scales in the pop world with the release of "Herbie Hancock: Possibilities." The CD, which is scheduled to drop on Aug. 30, is a star-studded event along the lines of Carlos Santana's "Supernatural" and Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company." Based on the stellar lineup that Hancock has culled for the project, "Possibilities" could be just as big as either of those Grammy-winning blockbusters.
Hancock hardly played it safe with this project, which will be a joint release on Starbucks' Hear Music label, Hancock Music and Vector Records. Hancock assembled a wildly diverse, and potentially dangerous, assortment of talent from both the pop and rock realms for the album. The Chicago-born bandleader called upon such crafty veterans as Santana, Paul Simon and Sting, but also chose some relative newcomers like Damien Rice, Joss Stone and Raul Midon.
It's not hard to envision Hancock collaborating with Phish's Trey Anastasio, given that both of their backgrounds are drenched in freewheeling improvisation. The selection of John Mayer and Jonny Lang, two young guns that draw from blues traditions, also makes sense. But, truly, only a Nostradamus-like visionary could ever have predicted that Herbie Hancock would someday join forces with Christina Aguilera.
Besides the new album, Hancock is also exploring new possibilities with his landmark '70s band the Headhunters. The pianist recently revived the funky ensemble, which he has dubbed Headhunters '05, to play at the annual hippie-fest known as Bonnaroo. The reaction was so overwhelmingly positive that Hancock now plans to take the band on the road. The tour will hit Japan and Australia before likely touching down in the U.S. in early 2006.
Hancock recently spoke to liveDaily from his office in Southern California.
liveDaily: You've always come across as a very open-minded artist, one who clearly isn't afraid to explore new musical avenues. In that regard, the title of the new album, "Possibilities," seems very appropriate. But I'm wondering what the title signifies to you?
Herbie Hancock: I am always interested in going beyond the comfort zone, going beyond the expected, going outside the box. I think that's where new concepts are created.
How are you going beyond your comfort zone with this record?
Well, I've never worked with most of the artists on this record. My foundation basically is in jazz, although I've ventured into a lot of different areas over the years with the same type of spirit found on "Possibilities." When I first did that Headhunters record, back in 1973, I had never played a synthesizer before. All the records I had done before, I'd played acoustic piano. So it was a whole new venture.
The same thing came with the record "Future Shock," which contained the single "Rockit," in the '80s. Here I was venturing into an area that I knew nothing about, which was the hip-hop scene. I had just heard scratching for the first time about a week before we recorded "Rockit." For me, it's fascinating working in these new areas. It always stimulates my blood.
It's the same thing with this project. I am working with various names, names associated with pop music, with kind of alternative rock and with rock/Latin. The spirit of "Possibilities," instead of being directed in one area alone, is directed in a lot of different areas. The other way the term applies to this record is that when I first thought about putting together a list of artists that I would be interested in working with, my curiosity was, if we got together and they bring what they bring to the table, a sort of newness and freshness, and I bring to the table what I bring to the table, which is experience, what would [happen]?
Obviously, you've worked with enough jazz artists to fill a hall of fame. Do you have to take a different approach when working with pop artists than you do with, say, Wayne Shorter?
I don't expect [pop artists] to know a whole series of chord changes, for example. I don't expect a great deal of technical knowledge from pop artists. Jazz musicians, by and large, know the technical aspects of music. You get to the higher-level players and that just becomes part of it. It's part of their talent. They don't even have to think about it. In fact, when I work with Wayne Shorter, we try not to think. We try to go beyond thinking.
The language that pop musicians work off is not as rich as [that of jazz musicians]. But it doesn't diminish the value of it in any way. So, I know how to get from one chord to another in a million of ways, and someone who is proficient in the blues only knows a certain number of ways. But that's not really the issue. I've made my decision about what I want to do with my life musically and so have they.
How did you go about making your wish list for who you wanted to have on the album?
I thought about people who I had never worked with who I might be curious about working with. I also thought about artists who might have been pigeonholed. In a way, we've all been pigeonholed by whatever we first became popular for. Every external influence tries to keep you in that pigeonhole. But my feeling is that most artists are larger than what their public perceives them to be. I was hoping that if I got to work with these people that the end result would be to kind of open up those pigeonholes. I was hoping that we could explore other avenues of life experience through music.
One of the artists on the album is Carlos Santana, who obviously has some experience in these types of all-star recordings. Did he have any advice for you?
As a matter of act, he told me in the beginning, "I understand the type of record you are doing because I've done it. It's kind of your 'Supernatural.'" He said, "You have to really, 100 percent, want to do this." That was the primary thing that he said. He also said, "If you do [this project], call on me to help you in any way that you want and I'll help you in any way that I can." That was really great of him.
Let's talk about the material on the album. You cover a number a different tunes from a range of artists. Some selections, like the Billie Holiday number, were hardly shocking. Other choices, such as the Paula Cole cover, were more surprising. Can you talk a little bit about song selection?
Sting, for example, chose "Sister Moon." It was convenient. It was a song he had already written and so he knew the lyrics. But what I wanted was a new, special arrangement of it. So, I asked a friend of mine, a guitarist from Africa named Lionel Loueke, if he would be interested in making an arrangement that would kind of add that African spice, rhythmically, to it.
With the Paula Cole song, I had mentioned to her that I had certain artists that I needed songs for on this project. Later on, she submitted some things that she had written as possible selections for Annie Lennox. I narrowed the list down to a few possibilities and sent it to Annie. Annie liked "Hush, Hush, Hush" and so did I. There was just something special about that piece.
With Trey Anastasio, we actually just got to the studio and started improvising some things.
What was your previous connection with Trey?
I really didn't have a connection with him. That was a suggestion from the executive producers. I had two executive producers that helped in the selection process, you know, putting the master list of names together.
Trey is considered by many to be a guitar god. You've played with some monster musicians. I wonder how you feel he stacks up.
I don't usually do that. That's for sports. I don't pit people against each other. But he's an excellent guitar player. He's great at improvising. He's very open to trying things, which is great. I have a great admiration for artists who are not afraid to try things. He's a great human being, warm heart, very open, very giving and very humble. That's a great combination.
One of the more unexpected collaborations on the album is the track with Christina Aguilera. She gets a lot of press for what she is wearing, or not wearing, but, boy, she's really got pipes.
Wow. I knew she could sing. I knew she could really sing. But I didn't know she could sing like that. She knocked me out. She did her first take and I said, "Well, you nailed it." And she said, "Oh, no, no, no, that was just a scratch vocal." I said, "What? That sounds like a keeper to me." Her intonation was so perfect, I mean, not a flaw in it at all.
Let's change course, because I definitely want to touch upon the Headhunters. I understand you absolutely knocked fans out at this year's Bonnaroo. Tell me about Headhunters '05.
We originally put that together at the suggestion of the promoters of Bonnaroo. Headhunters has a certain cache, in a way, with the young market that they expected to attend that show. They thought it would be a cool idea to kind of revisit the spirit of the Headhunters, only make it Headhunters '05. Actually, it was primarily my idea to make it '05. I didn't want to be a band that was just remaking old Headhunters material. Although, since there wasn't really time to develop a whole new band with new repertoire, we did do several pieces that we had recorded with the Headhunters before. But we did several new things as well.
For Bonnaroo, I wanted to get a kick-ass band, and I was fortunate to be able to get one. I had Marcus Miller on bass. I had Terri Lyne Carrington on drums. John Mayer played guitar. We also had another guitarist, Lionel Loueke. Lionel Loueke is a new name and he's extremely talented. I also had Kenny Garrett on saxophone and Roy Hargrove on trumpet. And I had Munyungo Jackson on percussion.
Wow. That sounds like a great lineup.
It was hot at Bonnaroo. It was smoking. The audience went nuts.
Will that be the group that you take on the road for the Headhunters '05 tour?
That's the band I'm taking to Japan. John may not be able to go, I'm not sure. Kenny Garrett may not be able to go. And I may not replace him. It might just be one horn, Roy Hargrove.
With both a Headhunters tour and this all-star album on your plate, this could be a big next year or so for Herbie Hancock.
I'm looking forward to the way things will unfold. It should be great.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
A Fireside Chat with Herbie Hancock
A Fireside Chat with Herbie HancockArticle Courtesy AllAboutJazz.com
A Fireside Chat with Herbie Hancock
By Fred Jung
Violinist Eyvind Kang, in John Zorn's Arcana, explains, “Music isn't dead, but held captive, kept prisoner within a parade of falsely glamourized forms. Like a corpse which has been overly made up, the forms are glamourized to the point where music is no longer recognizable.” It was not always thus. And even today, in remote corners, music breaks free. This is a concept not foreign to Herbie Hancock. Blue Note standard, Miles affiliate, Sextant staple, Head Hunter producer, Thelonious Monk Institute ambassador, and an icon in modern music, Hancock has emancipated, not only jazz (in all its forms), but hip-hop as well. Hancock isn't merely your father's music, he is your son's as well. But that is the allure of freedom, it never gets old, and rarely requires improvement.
All About Jazz: “Exploration leads to discovery” is the intro to your website. During your explorations, what have you discovered?
Herbie Hancock: One of the most important things is that what I am is not a musician. That's what I do. That's not what I am. What I am is a human being and what I do is play music.
AAJ: Rage against the machine.
HH: Most professional people define themselves by their job. Doctors define themselves by that. Artists, in general, do that. There is a tendency for people to do that. The problem with that is that first of all, it is not true. It is an inaccurate evaluation of self. It can lead into all kinds of problems. It can put blinders on you and make it difficult to recognize something that can be of value to you because you are just wearing that one hat. The other thing is, if something were to happen to make it impossible for you to perform whatever that function is, then there is a tendency for people to think that then their life has no meaning after that. It is quite the opposite.
AAJ: You have long championed the virtues of technology. But as advancements in technology have afforded a segment of the populous with an improved quality of life, technology has also left those less fortunate behind.
HH: Yeah, there are people and groups that are addressing those issues and fighting for those issues. One of the important things about everyone having access to the technology is that there is a tendency for people to think that the have nots are a charity case and they need help. There are individuals in the have nots group that could have very important ideas for our survival. You never know who the next great person is going to be, but if they don't have access to the technology, we won't have access to what they can bring to the table, which maybe something that we desperately need.
AAJ: Was it an irreversible lapse in public relations for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to sue a 12- year-old?
HH: Yeah, and I thought they represented the industry in general, meaning the artists and the record labels. I found out, in fact, they only represent the record labels. Although, they have been a proponent against the idea of stealing music that is supposed to be bought and paid for so that everyone who contributed their time and efforts can get paid. I think they were coming from the wrong place, first of all. They didn't really represent the artists. Some of the artists wouldn't go to Washington and fight that battle. I didn't and I told them I wouldn't because I don't think they're coming from the right place. The idea of biting off the hand that feeds you is not a good idea. It is the record companies' fault that the whole thing started in the first place because they were too self-absorbed and blind to the technology. Napster came in existence and then others after that.
AAJ: Can the recording industry stop the bleeding? The motion picture industry has a profitable satellite with DVDs.
HH: The motion picture industry is the next victim. The only thing that stands in the way of them being victims right now is the speed factor and storage. It takes too long to download a movie.
We know that that's going to change and going to change quickly. First of all, one thing that has happened with this whole business is that the business practices of the record labels have been exposed. That's a good thing. They have not been doing justice ever since CDs came out. They were supposed to change the price of CDs once they caught on, but they never did. I asked them for years why they charged so much for CDs and they always came up with some excuses that were bullshit. They have been ripping the public off for a long time.
AAJ: Do you approve of the hip-hop community sampling your work?
HH: We get paid for that. For example, Janet Jackson's new record has a sample from one of my records.
“There is this music called electronica and a lot of the young artists rediscovered Sextant. I didn't even know that was happening.”
AAJ: Aside from Mongo Santamaria, who has justly interpreted your work?
HH: I don't look at it that way. If someone takes my tune and interprets it in a way that they see fit, I am happy about it.
AAJ: So you were pleased with Us3's “Cantaloop.”
HH: Oh, yeah. When I first heard it, I was in Japan. I went to this club in Japan and I remember it was downstairs in some basement. As I am walking down the stairs, I hear “Cantaloupe Island,” or so I thought. But I didn't hear the last two chords. I thought a DJ was mixing it with something else live and that somebody was rapping on top of it. Then it dawned on me that someone had told me that they did a rap version of “Cantaloupe Island.” I thought it was pretty cool. I will give you another example, Fred. Years ago, what was her name? Lady. The song was called “Groove Is in the Heart.”
AAJ: Deee-Lite.
HH: Deee-Lite, that's the group. I was told that somebody had sampled something from the Blow-Up soundtrack that I had done. I had never heard it. And then one day, my daughter and I were getting in my car and the radio was on and she said, “Dad, that's that song.” She pointed it out because I didn't even remember the song. I had to go and get the record to remember.
AAJ: Would you revisit the Sextant band?
HH: There is this music called electronica and a lot of the young artists rediscovered Sextant. I didn't even know that was happening. Somebody had to point it out to me. I put a band together called Future 2 Future and we were in the electronica area. Sextant was a very raw sound and it grew out of the times. It was postavant- garde and the whole avant-garde area was a big underground thing happening in the '60s and had a lot of influence on the mainstream of jazz. For example, in the Miles Davis group I played in, I remember one concert that we played when I was with Miles and after the concert, Miles leaned over to Tony Williams and said, “I sounded like Don Cherry didn't I?” And he was pleased. Miles was pleased because he was checking it out too. So I haven't had to bring that band back as a reunion band. When I think of reunion bands, a lot of times, I think these are has beens trying to recreate something they did at a certain time and that time is not now.
AAJ: Of late, you have been on tour with Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove (Directions in Music), celebrating the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
HH: They were born the same year and so we were celebrating what would be their 75th birthdays. That was an idea that was generated by my concert agent. Miles has been a major innovator through several generations. That is kind of a no-brainer for people to realize that. For John Coltrane, during the time that he was with Miles and then particularly when he left Miles, he contributed a whole different kind of openness to the music and added a spiritual essence to the music scene. Not that Miles' music wasn't spiritual, but John's was in almost an hypnotic way. During the short time that he was around, because he wasn't around that long, he was a major contributor, especially to saxophone players. Michael Brecker, for example, credits John Coltrane for the reason that he plays saxophone. He wouldn't be a musician had it not been for John Coltrane's music.
AAJ: In June, you headline the Playboy Jazz Festival.
HH: That is a quartet with Wayne Shorter and Brian Blade and Dave Holland. We are looking forward to it.
AAJ: You are continuing your association with the Thelonious Monk Institute, of which you are a board member.
HH: Right, I am the Chairman now. The overall vision is the promotion of jazz and jazz education, and to grow a new audience for jazz, and also to work towards the continued evolution of the music. We have a lot of different programs going. One of them including jazz as a part of American history in elementary schools and middle schools because it should be. Any German knows who Beethoven is and Bach. Most of the people in Europe know who their great composers are without having to study music. They are included in the cultural aspect of the history their nations and we don't do that for jazz in nation and it really should be. We also have a performance area too. We have a college band selected from around the world. Every year, we put a band together and they are together for two years. Each year, the groups that we put together blow our minds in their growth and in their development. It is really amazing. The bands are so good they're scary.
AAJ: There is hope.
HH: Exactly.
Visit Herbie Hancock on the web at www.herbiehancock.com .
A Fireside Chat with Herbie Hancock
By Fred Jung
Violinist Eyvind Kang, in John Zorn's Arcana, explains, “Music isn't dead, but held captive, kept prisoner within a parade of falsely glamourized forms. Like a corpse which has been overly made up, the forms are glamourized to the point where music is no longer recognizable.” It was not always thus. And even today, in remote corners, music breaks free. This is a concept not foreign to Herbie Hancock. Blue Note standard, Miles affiliate, Sextant staple, Head Hunter producer, Thelonious Monk Institute ambassador, and an icon in modern music, Hancock has emancipated, not only jazz (in all its forms), but hip-hop as well. Hancock isn't merely your father's music, he is your son's as well. But that is the allure of freedom, it never gets old, and rarely requires improvement.
All About Jazz: “Exploration leads to discovery” is the intro to your website. During your explorations, what have you discovered?
Herbie Hancock: One of the most important things is that what I am is not a musician. That's what I do. That's not what I am. What I am is a human being and what I do is play music.
AAJ: Rage against the machine.
HH: Most professional people define themselves by their job. Doctors define themselves by that. Artists, in general, do that. There is a tendency for people to do that. The problem with that is that first of all, it is not true. It is an inaccurate evaluation of self. It can lead into all kinds of problems. It can put blinders on you and make it difficult to recognize something that can be of value to you because you are just wearing that one hat. The other thing is, if something were to happen to make it impossible for you to perform whatever that function is, then there is a tendency for people to think that then their life has no meaning after that. It is quite the opposite.
AAJ: You have long championed the virtues of technology. But as advancements in technology have afforded a segment of the populous with an improved quality of life, technology has also left those less fortunate behind.
HH: Yeah, there are people and groups that are addressing those issues and fighting for those issues. One of the important things about everyone having access to the technology is that there is a tendency for people to think that the have nots are a charity case and they need help. There are individuals in the have nots group that could have very important ideas for our survival. You never know who the next great person is going to be, but if they don't have access to the technology, we won't have access to what they can bring to the table, which maybe something that we desperately need.
AAJ: Was it an irreversible lapse in public relations for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to sue a 12- year-old?
HH: Yeah, and I thought they represented the industry in general, meaning the artists and the record labels. I found out, in fact, they only represent the record labels. Although, they have been a proponent against the idea of stealing music that is supposed to be bought and paid for so that everyone who contributed their time and efforts can get paid. I think they were coming from the wrong place, first of all. They didn't really represent the artists. Some of the artists wouldn't go to Washington and fight that battle. I didn't and I told them I wouldn't because I don't think they're coming from the right place. The idea of biting off the hand that feeds you is not a good idea. It is the record companies' fault that the whole thing started in the first place because they were too self-absorbed and blind to the technology. Napster came in existence and then others after that.
AAJ: Can the recording industry stop the bleeding? The motion picture industry has a profitable satellite with DVDs.
HH: The motion picture industry is the next victim. The only thing that stands in the way of them being victims right now is the speed factor and storage. It takes too long to download a movie.
We know that that's going to change and going to change quickly. First of all, one thing that has happened with this whole business is that the business practices of the record labels have been exposed. That's a good thing. They have not been doing justice ever since CDs came out. They were supposed to change the price of CDs once they caught on, but they never did. I asked them for years why they charged so much for CDs and they always came up with some excuses that were bullshit. They have been ripping the public off for a long time.
AAJ: Do you approve of the hip-hop community sampling your work?
HH: We get paid for that. For example, Janet Jackson's new record has a sample from one of my records.
“There is this music called electronica and a lot of the young artists rediscovered Sextant. I didn't even know that was happening.”
AAJ: Aside from Mongo Santamaria, who has justly interpreted your work?
HH: I don't look at it that way. If someone takes my tune and interprets it in a way that they see fit, I am happy about it.
AAJ: So you were pleased with Us3's “Cantaloop.”
HH: Oh, yeah. When I first heard it, I was in Japan. I went to this club in Japan and I remember it was downstairs in some basement. As I am walking down the stairs, I hear “Cantaloupe Island,” or so I thought. But I didn't hear the last two chords. I thought a DJ was mixing it with something else live and that somebody was rapping on top of it. Then it dawned on me that someone had told me that they did a rap version of “Cantaloupe Island.” I thought it was pretty cool. I will give you another example, Fred. Years ago, what was her name? Lady. The song was called “Groove Is in the Heart.”
AAJ: Deee-Lite.
HH: Deee-Lite, that's the group. I was told that somebody had sampled something from the Blow-Up soundtrack that I had done. I had never heard it. And then one day, my daughter and I were getting in my car and the radio was on and she said, “Dad, that's that song.” She pointed it out because I didn't even remember the song. I had to go and get the record to remember.
AAJ: Would you revisit the Sextant band?
HH: There is this music called electronica and a lot of the young artists rediscovered Sextant. I didn't even know that was happening. Somebody had to point it out to me. I put a band together called Future 2 Future and we were in the electronica area. Sextant was a very raw sound and it grew out of the times. It was postavant- garde and the whole avant-garde area was a big underground thing happening in the '60s and had a lot of influence on the mainstream of jazz. For example, in the Miles Davis group I played in, I remember one concert that we played when I was with Miles and after the concert, Miles leaned over to Tony Williams and said, “I sounded like Don Cherry didn't I?” And he was pleased. Miles was pleased because he was checking it out too. So I haven't had to bring that band back as a reunion band. When I think of reunion bands, a lot of times, I think these are has beens trying to recreate something they did at a certain time and that time is not now.
AAJ: Of late, you have been on tour with Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove (Directions in Music), celebrating the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
HH: They were born the same year and so we were celebrating what would be their 75th birthdays. That was an idea that was generated by my concert agent. Miles has been a major innovator through several generations. That is kind of a no-brainer for people to realize that. For John Coltrane, during the time that he was with Miles and then particularly when he left Miles, he contributed a whole different kind of openness to the music and added a spiritual essence to the music scene. Not that Miles' music wasn't spiritual, but John's was in almost an hypnotic way. During the short time that he was around, because he wasn't around that long, he was a major contributor, especially to saxophone players. Michael Brecker, for example, credits John Coltrane for the reason that he plays saxophone. He wouldn't be a musician had it not been for John Coltrane's music.
AAJ: In June, you headline the Playboy Jazz Festival.
HH: That is a quartet with Wayne Shorter and Brian Blade and Dave Holland. We are looking forward to it.
AAJ: You are continuing your association with the Thelonious Monk Institute, of which you are a board member.
HH: Right, I am the Chairman now. The overall vision is the promotion of jazz and jazz education, and to grow a new audience for jazz, and also to work towards the continued evolution of the music. We have a lot of different programs going. One of them including jazz as a part of American history in elementary schools and middle schools because it should be. Any German knows who Beethoven is and Bach. Most of the people in Europe know who their great composers are without having to study music. They are included in the cultural aspect of the history their nations and we don't do that for jazz in nation and it really should be. We also have a performance area too. We have a college band selected from around the world. Every year, we put a band together and they are together for two years. Each year, the groups that we put together blow our minds in their growth and in their development. It is really amazing. The bands are so good they're scary.
AAJ: There is hope.
HH: Exactly.
Visit Herbie Hancock on the web at www.herbiehancock.com .
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Jazz News: Blue Note to Release Newly-Discovered Monk & Coltrane Recording
Jazz News: Blue Note to Release Newly-Discovered Monk & Coltrane Recording Blue Note to Release Newly-Discovered Monk & Coltrane Recording
Posted: 2005-07-07
On September 27th, Blue Note Records will release Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane: Live at Carnegie Hall, a never-before-heard jazz classic that documents one of the most historically important working bands in all of jazz history, a band that was both short-lived and, until now, thought to be frustratingly under-recorded. The concert, which took place at the famed New York hall on November 29, 1957, was preserved on newly-discovered tapes made by Voice of America for a later radio broadcast that were located at the Library of Congress in Washington DC earlier this year.
1957 was a pivotal year in the lives and careers of both Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. For Monk, 1957 began auspiciously. For several years the pianist had been unable to perform in New York City's clubs and concert halls due to the loss of his cabaret card, but with the help of his manager Harry Colomby and the patroness Nica de Koenigswarter, he regained his card early that year, and immediately began working again around town.
Monk had been on the verge of a breakthrough since 1955. Having been instrumental in the birth of bebop as the house pianist at the Harlem club Minton's Playhouse, as well as playing in the bands of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Monk was given his first opportunity to make his own records as a leader by Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records in 1946. After making a series of early recordings for Blue Note and then Prestige, he began to reach a wider audience upon his move to Riverside in 1955.
However, due to his inability to perform in New York during that time period, and his unwillingness to travel, mainstream recognition was still out of reach. So, upon the return of his cabaret card in 1957, Monk wasted no time in getting back on track. His first gig was an open-ended engagement at the Five Spot Café in the East Village for which he hired a quartet that included the tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.
For Coltrane, 1957 began with the lowest point of his career. He had been lifted from obscurity two years previous when Miles Davis hired him into his quintet, but by late-1956 Coltrane's heroin addiction had started to interfere with his performance. After several warnings, Davis finally ran out of patience, and in April 1957 fired the saxophonist for his unreliability. Having squandered his best job to-date, he returned home to Philadelphia, and in May he kicked his addiction cold turkey. Years later, Coltrane would also describe this as a moment of spiritual reawakening, a path that would ultimately lead to perhaps his greatest achievement, A Love Supreme. And so it was with a renewed spirit and dedication that Coltrane returned to New York in the late-Spring / early-Summer of 1957, began attending Monk's informal workshops at his apartment, and eventually joined Monk's quartet at the Five Spot in late July.
The Five Spot engagement was a triumph. The club was packed with lines around the block every night of what would become a five-month engagement. Monk was finally given the recognition that he long deserved, and Coltrane, inspired by Monk's music and pedagogy, began developing at an astounding rate. “My time with Monk brought me into association with a supreme architect of music,” Coltrane said in a DownBeat article. Coltrane also made his first great record, Blue Train, for Blue Note Records in September 1957, just two months before the Carnegie Hall concert.
Which brings us to November 29, 1957. Monk and Coltrane had been working together for a solid four months by the time they set foot on stage at Carnegie Hall that night. By all accounts, Coltrane had been tentative early on in the Five Spot run, challenged at first by Monk's quirky melodies and chord changes, but the 51 minutes of music captured in pristine sound quality on Live at Carnegie Hall present the quartet, which was completed by bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik and drummer Shadow Wilson, at the height of their powers.
The quartet performed two short sets, with the repertoire largely culled from Monk's book. The first set consists of “Monk's Mood,” “Evidence,” “Crepuscule with Nellie,” “Nutty” and “Epistrophy.” The second set they stretched out a bit more, opening with “Bye-Ya,” followed by the sole standard “Sweet & Lovely,” “Blue Monk” and closing with an incomplete second-take of “Epistrophy” that ends when the tape runs out.
The concert, which was a benefit for the Morningside Community Center in Harlem, boasted a jaw-dropping line-up of artists that also included Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Chet Baker with Zoot Sims, and Sonny Rollins, and was recorded for a later broadcast overseas by Voice of America.
The month after the Carnegie Hall concert the Five Spot run finally came to an end, Coltrane left Monk's quartet ignited from that spark of creativity, and proceeded to change the face of jazz over the remaining ten years of his life, at first reuniting with Miles Davis to create such landmark recordings as Round About Midnight and Kind of Blue, and then creating his own landmarks such as Giant Steps and A Love Supreme, the latter with his own classic quartet featuring McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. Monk's star also continued to rise. The pianist eventually found another tenor saxophonist that could embody his music in the person of Charlie Rouse, went to sign with powerhouse label Columbia Records, and grace the cover of TIME magazine.
The tapes from that evening at Carnegie Hall were inadequately labeled, filed away amongst the Voice of America's vast collection of recordings, and apparently forgotten until January 2005 when Larry Appelbaum, a supervisor and jazz specialist at the Library of Congress, came upon them by chance during the routine process of digitally transferring the Library's collection for preservation purposes. Appelbaum noticed a set of tapes simply labeled “sp. Event 11/29/57 carnegie jazz concert (#1),” with one of the tapes barring the sole marking “T. Monk.” All of the evening's performances, with the sole exception of Billie Holiday's performances were present in the set.
Until now, remarkably little recorded documentation of Monk's quartet with Coltrane has been known to exist, a fact that makes this finding all the more significant. The quartet did record three tracks in the studio for Riverside over the summer of 1957, “Ruby My Dear,” “Trinkle, Tinkle” and “Nutty,” which were released on Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane, and in 1993, Blue Note released an amateur recording, titled Live at the Five Spot-Discovery!, which was taken from Naima Coltrane's (John's wife at the time) handheld recording device of Monk's quartet in September 1958 after Coltrane had left the band but returned temporarily to fill in for tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin.
Posted: 2005-07-07
On September 27th, Blue Note Records will release Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane: Live at Carnegie Hall, a never-before-heard jazz classic that documents one of the most historically important working bands in all of jazz history, a band that was both short-lived and, until now, thought to be frustratingly under-recorded. The concert, which took place at the famed New York hall on November 29, 1957, was preserved on newly-discovered tapes made by Voice of America for a later radio broadcast that were located at the Library of Congress in Washington DC earlier this year.
1957 was a pivotal year in the lives and careers of both Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. For Monk, 1957 began auspiciously. For several years the pianist had been unable to perform in New York City's clubs and concert halls due to the loss of his cabaret card, but with the help of his manager Harry Colomby and the patroness Nica de Koenigswarter, he regained his card early that year, and immediately began working again around town.
Monk had been on the verge of a breakthrough since 1955. Having been instrumental in the birth of bebop as the house pianist at the Harlem club Minton's Playhouse, as well as playing in the bands of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Monk was given his first opportunity to make his own records as a leader by Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records in 1946. After making a series of early recordings for Blue Note and then Prestige, he began to reach a wider audience upon his move to Riverside in 1955.
However, due to his inability to perform in New York during that time period, and his unwillingness to travel, mainstream recognition was still out of reach. So, upon the return of his cabaret card in 1957, Monk wasted no time in getting back on track. His first gig was an open-ended engagement at the Five Spot Café in the East Village for which he hired a quartet that included the tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.
For Coltrane, 1957 began with the lowest point of his career. He had been lifted from obscurity two years previous when Miles Davis hired him into his quintet, but by late-1956 Coltrane's heroin addiction had started to interfere with his performance. After several warnings, Davis finally ran out of patience, and in April 1957 fired the saxophonist for his unreliability. Having squandered his best job to-date, he returned home to Philadelphia, and in May he kicked his addiction cold turkey. Years later, Coltrane would also describe this as a moment of spiritual reawakening, a path that would ultimately lead to perhaps his greatest achievement, A Love Supreme. And so it was with a renewed spirit and dedication that Coltrane returned to New York in the late-Spring / early-Summer of 1957, began attending Monk's informal workshops at his apartment, and eventually joined Monk's quartet at the Five Spot in late July.
The Five Spot engagement was a triumph. The club was packed with lines around the block every night of what would become a five-month engagement. Monk was finally given the recognition that he long deserved, and Coltrane, inspired by Monk's music and pedagogy, began developing at an astounding rate. “My time with Monk brought me into association with a supreme architect of music,” Coltrane said in a DownBeat article. Coltrane also made his first great record, Blue Train, for Blue Note Records in September 1957, just two months before the Carnegie Hall concert.
Which brings us to November 29, 1957. Monk and Coltrane had been working together for a solid four months by the time they set foot on stage at Carnegie Hall that night. By all accounts, Coltrane had been tentative early on in the Five Spot run, challenged at first by Monk's quirky melodies and chord changes, but the 51 minutes of music captured in pristine sound quality on Live at Carnegie Hall present the quartet, which was completed by bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik and drummer Shadow Wilson, at the height of their powers.
The quartet performed two short sets, with the repertoire largely culled from Monk's book. The first set consists of “Monk's Mood,” “Evidence,” “Crepuscule with Nellie,” “Nutty” and “Epistrophy.” The second set they stretched out a bit more, opening with “Bye-Ya,” followed by the sole standard “Sweet & Lovely,” “Blue Monk” and closing with an incomplete second-take of “Epistrophy” that ends when the tape runs out.
The concert, which was a benefit for the Morningside Community Center in Harlem, boasted a jaw-dropping line-up of artists that also included Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Chet Baker with Zoot Sims, and Sonny Rollins, and was recorded for a later broadcast overseas by Voice of America.
The month after the Carnegie Hall concert the Five Spot run finally came to an end, Coltrane left Monk's quartet ignited from that spark of creativity, and proceeded to change the face of jazz over the remaining ten years of his life, at first reuniting with Miles Davis to create such landmark recordings as Round About Midnight and Kind of Blue, and then creating his own landmarks such as Giant Steps and A Love Supreme, the latter with his own classic quartet featuring McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. Monk's star also continued to rise. The pianist eventually found another tenor saxophonist that could embody his music in the person of Charlie Rouse, went to sign with powerhouse label Columbia Records, and grace the cover of TIME magazine.
The tapes from that evening at Carnegie Hall were inadequately labeled, filed away amongst the Voice of America's vast collection of recordings, and apparently forgotten until January 2005 when Larry Appelbaum, a supervisor and jazz specialist at the Library of Congress, came upon them by chance during the routine process of digitally transferring the Library's collection for preservation purposes. Appelbaum noticed a set of tapes simply labeled “sp. Event 11/29/57 carnegie jazz concert (#1),” with one of the tapes barring the sole marking “T. Monk.” All of the evening's performances, with the sole exception of Billie Holiday's performances were present in the set.
Until now, remarkably little recorded documentation of Monk's quartet with Coltrane has been known to exist, a fact that makes this finding all the more significant. The quartet did record three tracks in the studio for Riverside over the summer of 1957, “Ruby My Dear,” “Trinkle, Tinkle” and “Nutty,” which were released on Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane, and in 1993, Blue Note released an amateur recording, titled Live at the Five Spot-Discovery!, which was taken from Naima Coltrane's (John's wife at the time) handheld recording device of Monk's quartet in September 1958 after Coltrane had left the band but returned temporarily to fill in for tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Lynette Washington Winner 2005 Jazzmobile/Anheuser-Busch Jazz Vocal Competition :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jaz
Lynette Washington Winner 2005 Jazzmobile/Anheuser-Busch Jazz Vocal Competition :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily Lynette Washington Winner 2005 Jazzmobile/Anheuser-Busch Jazz Vocal Competition
Posted by: eJazzNews Readeron Sunday, July 10, 2005 - 10:49 PM
Jazz News Lynette Washington
2005 1st Place Winner in the Jazzmobile Anheuser-Busch Jazz Vocal Competition
On Friday, June 17, jazz vocalist Ms. Lynette Washington was the 1st place winner in the 2005 Michelob Red Ribbon Jazz Vocal Competition sponsored by Jazzmobile & Anheuser-Busch, Inc. at the Sculpture Garden in Yonkers, New York.
Appearing with 5 other finalists, Ms. Washington topped the evening with her renditions of Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington) & Images/4 Women (Nina Simone).
This summer Ms. Washington will appear at Jazzmobile concerts and jazz festivals throughout New York City and the metropolitan area. For concert & events, log onto www.jazzmobile.org.
For your listening pleasure, Ms Washington’s CDs, Smoky Dawn, Live! At The Kennedy Center, and Long, Long Ago are available at GuavaJamm's Music Store for $9.99. To order, click on the link and experience a rare voice and a rare vocal talent!
Lynette will lift your spirits and make your heart soar. Share her musical gift as she continues to wow audiences in New York City and communities around the globe.
For bookings and other information:
Write to City Slicker Productions/Guavajamm Entertainment
P.O. Box L, Inwood Station, New York City 10034 (212) 567-0411; Email: juicy@guavaJamm.net
News Release: June 18, 2005
Posted by: eJazzNews Readeron Sunday, July 10, 2005 - 10:49 PM
Jazz News Lynette Washington
2005 1st Place Winner in the Jazzmobile Anheuser-Busch Jazz Vocal Competition
On Friday, June 17, jazz vocalist Ms. Lynette Washington was the 1st place winner in the 2005 Michelob Red Ribbon Jazz Vocal Competition sponsored by Jazzmobile & Anheuser-Busch, Inc. at the Sculpture Garden in Yonkers, New York.
Appearing with 5 other finalists, Ms. Washington topped the evening with her renditions of Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington) & Images/4 Women (Nina Simone).
This summer Ms. Washington will appear at Jazzmobile concerts and jazz festivals throughout New York City and the metropolitan area. For concert & events, log onto www.jazzmobile.org.
For your listening pleasure, Ms Washington’s CDs, Smoky Dawn, Live! At The Kennedy Center, and Long, Long Ago are available at GuavaJamm's Music Store for $9.99. To order, click on the link and experience a rare voice and a rare vocal talent!
Lynette will lift your spirits and make your heart soar. Share her musical gift as she continues to wow audiences in New York City and communities around the globe.
For bookings and other information:
Write to City Slicker Productions/Guavajamm Entertainment
P.O. Box L, Inwood Station, New York City 10034 (212) 567-0411; Email: juicy@guavaJamm.net
News Release: June 18, 2005
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival - Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily
Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival - Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily Festivals: Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival - Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Posted by: eJazzNews Readeron Friday, July 08, 2005 - 02:11 PM
Jazz Festivals DIET COKE HITS THE RIGHT NOTES WITH THE INAUGURAL
WOMEN IN JAZZ FESTIVAL AT
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER’S DIZZY’S CLUB COCA-COLA
NEW YORK, June 21, 2005 – Calling all jazz lovers! Diet Coke, the world's leading diet soft drink, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, the not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the artistic substance and perpetuating the democratic spirit of America’s music, today announced the first-ever Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, a celebration of the great contributions women performers have made to jazz music.
In association with NYC & Company, New York City’s tourism marketing organization, the festival will feature nightly performances by some of the most influential women in jazz today as well as up-and-coming jazz artists beginning September 6 through October 2, 2005. Held at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola located in the new home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, the festival will be part of the 2005-06 programming season, “Jazz from Coast to Coast.”
"Jazz music is constantly evolving and women have long been instrumental in shaping the landscape of the jazz scene," said Derek E. Gordon, President and CEO of Jazz at Lincoln Center. "The Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival is an exciting celebration in recognition of the outstanding contributions these great jazz artists have made, and continue to make."
Coca-Cola is committed to the encouragement and development of female jazz artists of the future. Toward that aim, Coca-Cola will underwrite tickets for the IAJE's "Sisters in Jazz" Upstarts! night performance on September 26th for distribution to local area high school music students. "New York City is the jazz capital of the world, and Diet Coke is delighted to help bring this first-time festival to the Big Apple and support creative music and the arts," said Chuck Fruit, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of The Coca-Cola Company.
“From Harlem to Queens, New York City has always been at the center of the jazz music evolution,” said Cristyne Nicholas, President & CEO of NYC & Company. “This festival will further establish New York City as the premier destination for experiencing live jazz music.”
The artists scheduled to perform include:
September 6 – 11 Angela Bofill
September 12 UPSTARTS! – Stephanie Nakasian with Hod O’Brien Trio featuring 11 year old Veronica Swift O’Brien / Tia Fuller Quintet
September 13 Marian McPartland – special solo piano concerts
September 14, 15 Rita Coolidge
September 16, 17 Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio with special guests
September 18 Tessa Souter / Cynthia Scott
September 19 UPSTARTS! – IAJE Sisters in Jazz / Lenora Zenzalai Helm
September 20, 21 Claudia Acuña Quartet
September 22 Basie, Blues & Beyond: Karrin Allyson, Nancy King & Friends
September 23, 24 Sherrie Maricle and DIVA Jazz Orchestra with Ann Hampton Callaway and other special guests
September 25 Lynne Arriale Trio / Akiko Grace Trio
September 26 UPSTARTS! – Terri Lyne Carrington with special student guests
September 27 Helen Merrill Quartet
September 28 Jane Ira Bloom Quartet / Cindy Blackman Quartet
September 29 Joanne Brackeen / Bertha Hope Quintet
Sept 30, Oct 1 Barbara Carroll Trio with special guests
October 2 Nnenna Freelon / Leeanne Ledgerwood Trio
Reservations and additional information about the Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola can be found at www.jalc.org or by calling (212) 258-9595. Artists and schedule subject to change.
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola is accessible through the Jazz at Lincoln Center marquee entrance on the corner of Broadway at 60th Street. The club is located on the 5th floor. Doors open at 6:00pm for the 7:30pm set and guests may arrive at 8:45-9:00pm for the 9:30pm set. Sets begin at 7:30pm and 9:30pm, with an 11:30pm set on Friday and Saturday nights only. After Hours sets are at 11:00pm Tuesday through Thursday, and at 12:30am on Friday and Saturday. Tuesday through Sunday, there is a $30 cover charge for music. On Mondays for the student UPSTARTS! programming, there is a $15 music charge. After Hours set cover charge is $10. There is no additional music charge for patrons who stay after the last artist set. Student rates with valid ID: Sunday 9:30pm set $15, Monday 7:30pm and 9:30pm sets $10, Tuesday and Wednesday 9:30pm set $15, After Hours hang set $5. Standard food and beverage minimum of $10 applies at tables, $5 minimum is required at the bar. Food and beverage minimum applies to student rates.
Jazz at Lincoln Center opened Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in October 2004 to critical acclaim and popularity with musicians and music fans. The intimate club features artists from around the world seven nights a week in a spectacular setting with views of the Manhattan skyline. Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola also features a full menu by Jazz at Lincoln Center’s exclusive facility caterer, Great Performances in collaboration with Harlem’s Spoonbread Catering, reflecting the diversity of jazz.
Jazz at Lincoln Center received a leadership grant from The Coca-Cola Company towards the creation of the world’s first performing arts center designed specifically for jazz, Frederick P. Rose Hall. In recognition of the company’s commitment to this authentic art form, Jazz at Lincoln Center named the 140-seat jazz club performance venue in the new facility Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. The late Mrs. Lorraine Gillespie, Dizzy’s wife, said, “I know that my husband would be proud and honored that many musicians will further their careers and the awareness of jazz as an art form in a place that bears his name.”
- - -
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's best-known brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.coca-cola.com.
About Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, one of the three main performance venues located in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s new home at Frederick P. Rose Hall, is an intimate 140-seat jazz club, set against a glittering backdrop with spectacular views of Central Park that provides a hip environment for performance, education and other special events. The club also includes fine dinner, dessert and late night menus by New York culinary creators Great Performances and Spoonbread Inc. Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz and advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. For more information, please visit www.jalc.org.
Posted by: eJazzNews Readeron Friday, July 08, 2005 - 02:11 PM
Jazz Festivals DIET COKE HITS THE RIGHT NOTES WITH THE INAUGURAL
WOMEN IN JAZZ FESTIVAL AT
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER’S DIZZY’S CLUB COCA-COLA
NEW YORK, June 21, 2005 – Calling all jazz lovers! Diet Coke, the world's leading diet soft drink, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, the not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the artistic substance and perpetuating the democratic spirit of America’s music, today announced the first-ever Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, a celebration of the great contributions women performers have made to jazz music.
In association with NYC & Company, New York City’s tourism marketing organization, the festival will feature nightly performances by some of the most influential women in jazz today as well as up-and-coming jazz artists beginning September 6 through October 2, 2005. Held at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola located in the new home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, the festival will be part of the 2005-06 programming season, “Jazz from Coast to Coast.”
"Jazz music is constantly evolving and women have long been instrumental in shaping the landscape of the jazz scene," said Derek E. Gordon, President and CEO of Jazz at Lincoln Center. "The Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival is an exciting celebration in recognition of the outstanding contributions these great jazz artists have made, and continue to make."
Coca-Cola is committed to the encouragement and development of female jazz artists of the future. Toward that aim, Coca-Cola will underwrite tickets for the IAJE's "Sisters in Jazz" Upstarts! night performance on September 26th for distribution to local area high school music students. "New York City is the jazz capital of the world, and Diet Coke is delighted to help bring this first-time festival to the Big Apple and support creative music and the arts," said Chuck Fruit, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of The Coca-Cola Company.
“From Harlem to Queens, New York City has always been at the center of the jazz music evolution,” said Cristyne Nicholas, President & CEO of NYC & Company. “This festival will further establish New York City as the premier destination for experiencing live jazz music.”
The artists scheduled to perform include:
September 6 – 11 Angela Bofill
September 12 UPSTARTS! – Stephanie Nakasian with Hod O’Brien Trio featuring 11 year old Veronica Swift O’Brien / Tia Fuller Quintet
September 13 Marian McPartland – special solo piano concerts
September 14, 15 Rita Coolidge
September 16, 17 Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio with special guests
September 18 Tessa Souter / Cynthia Scott
September 19 UPSTARTS! – IAJE Sisters in Jazz / Lenora Zenzalai Helm
September 20, 21 Claudia Acuña Quartet
September 22 Basie, Blues & Beyond: Karrin Allyson, Nancy King & Friends
September 23, 24 Sherrie Maricle and DIVA Jazz Orchestra with Ann Hampton Callaway and other special guests
September 25 Lynne Arriale Trio / Akiko Grace Trio
September 26 UPSTARTS! – Terri Lyne Carrington with special student guests
September 27 Helen Merrill Quartet
September 28 Jane Ira Bloom Quartet / Cindy Blackman Quartet
September 29 Joanne Brackeen / Bertha Hope Quintet
Sept 30, Oct 1 Barbara Carroll Trio with special guests
October 2 Nnenna Freelon / Leeanne Ledgerwood Trio
Reservations and additional information about the Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola can be found at www.jalc.org or by calling (212) 258-9595. Artists and schedule subject to change.
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola is accessible through the Jazz at Lincoln Center marquee entrance on the corner of Broadway at 60th Street. The club is located on the 5th floor. Doors open at 6:00pm for the 7:30pm set and guests may arrive at 8:45-9:00pm for the 9:30pm set. Sets begin at 7:30pm and 9:30pm, with an 11:30pm set on Friday and Saturday nights only. After Hours sets are at 11:00pm Tuesday through Thursday, and at 12:30am on Friday and Saturday. Tuesday through Sunday, there is a $30 cover charge for music. On Mondays for the student UPSTARTS! programming, there is a $15 music charge. After Hours set cover charge is $10. There is no additional music charge for patrons who stay after the last artist set. Student rates with valid ID: Sunday 9:30pm set $15, Monday 7:30pm and 9:30pm sets $10, Tuesday and Wednesday 9:30pm set $15, After Hours hang set $5. Standard food and beverage minimum of $10 applies at tables, $5 minimum is required at the bar. Food and beverage minimum applies to student rates.
Jazz at Lincoln Center opened Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in October 2004 to critical acclaim and popularity with musicians and music fans. The intimate club features artists from around the world seven nights a week in a spectacular setting with views of the Manhattan skyline. Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola also features a full menu by Jazz at Lincoln Center’s exclusive facility caterer, Great Performances in collaboration with Harlem’s Spoonbread Catering, reflecting the diversity of jazz.
Jazz at Lincoln Center received a leadership grant from The Coca-Cola Company towards the creation of the world’s first performing arts center designed specifically for jazz, Frederick P. Rose Hall. In recognition of the company’s commitment to this authentic art form, Jazz at Lincoln Center named the 140-seat jazz club performance venue in the new facility Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. The late Mrs. Lorraine Gillespie, Dizzy’s wife, said, “I know that my husband would be proud and honored that many musicians will further their careers and the awareness of jazz as an art form in a place that bears his name.”
- - -
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's best-known brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.coca-cola.com.
About Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, one of the three main performance venues located in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s new home at Frederick P. Rose Hall, is an intimate 140-seat jazz club, set against a glittering backdrop with spectacular views of Central Park that provides a hip environment for performance, education and other special events. The club also includes fine dinner, dessert and late night menus by New York culinary creators Great Performances and Spoonbread Inc. Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz and advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. For more information, please visit www.jalc.org.
Founding Member of Parliament-Funkadelic, Ray Davis Died at 65 - Softpedia News
Founding Member of Parliament-Funkadelic, Ray Davis Died at 65 - Softpedia NewsFounding Member of Parliament-Funkadelic, Ray Davis Died at 65
Category: SOFTPEDIA NEWS :: Entertainment :: Music
The musician died of respiratory complication, his son said, according to the Associated Press
Ray Davis, one of the founding members of Parliament-Funkadelic, whose music has been an inspiration for modern rap and hip-hop bands, died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., at the age of 65.
His death was caused by respiratory complications, according to his son, Derrick, reported Associated Press.
The musician born March 29, 1940, in Sumter, S.C, played with the original Parliaments, the band formed by George Clinton in the 1950’s, which included Clarence Haskins and Grady Thomas as well.
Their single "(I Wanna) Testify" has reached the 1967’s Top 20 pop hits and made them famous. Clinton changed the name of the group into “Parliament” and created another group called "Funkadelic", whose sound was much more influenced by the electric guitar.
The acts of the two groups became known as P-Funk, the musical attempt to bring o stage garish costumes completing the R&B, jazz, gospel and rock styles, which has made them one of the original bands of the 1970’s.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside famous artists like Bee Gees, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Young Rascals and Buffalo Springfield.
Fans remember bass vocals of ray Davis for two of the band’s hits, which reached No.1 on the R&B charts, "One Nation Under a Groove" and "Flashlight'.
He continued his career as musician aster the 1990s, together with his colleagues Haskins and Thomas.
Category: SOFTPEDIA NEWS :: Entertainment :: Music
The musician died of respiratory complication, his son said, according to the Associated Press
Ray Davis, one of the founding members of Parliament-Funkadelic, whose music has been an inspiration for modern rap and hip-hop bands, died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., at the age of 65.
His death was caused by respiratory complications, according to his son, Derrick, reported Associated Press.
The musician born March 29, 1940, in Sumter, S.C, played with the original Parliaments, the band formed by George Clinton in the 1950’s, which included Clarence Haskins and Grady Thomas as well.
Their single "(I Wanna) Testify" has reached the 1967’s Top 20 pop hits and made them famous. Clinton changed the name of the group into “Parliament” and created another group called "Funkadelic", whose sound was much more influenced by the electric guitar.
The acts of the two groups became known as P-Funk, the musical attempt to bring o stage garish costumes completing the R&B, jazz, gospel and rock styles, which has made them one of the original bands of the 1970’s.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside famous artists like Bee Gees, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Young Rascals and Buffalo Springfield.
Fans remember bass vocals of ray Davis for two of the band’s hits, which reached No.1 on the R&B charts, "One Nation Under a Groove" and "Flashlight'.
He continued his career as musician aster the 1990s, together with his colleagues Haskins and Thomas.
Tom Talbert, 80, noted jazz musician, composer and arranger
Tom Talbert, 80, noted jazz musician, composer and arrangerTom Talbert, 80, noted jazz musician, composer and arranger
Los Angeles Times
Jul. 9, 2005 12:00 AM
LOS ANGELES - Tom Talbert, a jazz composer and arranger whose music mixed influences as diverse as Duke Ellington and Debussy, has died. He was 80.
Talbert died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a severe stroke, his family said.
Self-taught as a pianist, Talbert became interested in arranging at age 15 after hearing big bands on the radio. During World War II, he joined the Army and became an arranger for a military band at Fort Ord that performed for war-bond drives throughout California.
After the war, the native of Crystal Bay, Minn., came to Los Angeles and led his own orchestra from 1946-49 and toured with singer Anita O'Day. In 1950, Talbert moved to New York and arranged music for many jazz greats, including big band leaders Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton and Claude Thornhill.
Two albums Talbert released in the mid-1950s, Bix Duke Fats, a modern jazz treatment of compositions by Bix Beiderbecke, Ellington and Fats Waller, and Wednesday's Child with singer Patty McGovern were critically well-received, if not easy to describe.
"Unique stylistic combination of French Impressionism, Abstraction and 'blowing,' " the Billboard review of Bix said.
When asked about his distinctive style, Talbert told the Los Angeles Times in 1994, "I probably learned the most from listening to records. So I ended up writing what I heard in my head, and what I liked. I never tried to make it sound like Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. It's just what I hear."
In 1975, he returned to Los Angeles and wrote the soundtracks for such television shows as NBC's Serpico and Emergency. He led a septet and another big band, revived his recording career and performed through the 1990s.
He also established a scholarship for young musicians studying at California State University-Long Beach.
Los Angeles Times
Jul. 9, 2005 12:00 AM
LOS ANGELES - Tom Talbert, a jazz composer and arranger whose music mixed influences as diverse as Duke Ellington and Debussy, has died. He was 80.
Talbert died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a severe stroke, his family said.
Self-taught as a pianist, Talbert became interested in arranging at age 15 after hearing big bands on the radio. During World War II, he joined the Army and became an arranger for a military band at Fort Ord that performed for war-bond drives throughout California.
After the war, the native of Crystal Bay, Minn., came to Los Angeles and led his own orchestra from 1946-49 and toured with singer Anita O'Day. In 1950, Talbert moved to New York and arranged music for many jazz greats, including big band leaders Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton and Claude Thornhill.
Two albums Talbert released in the mid-1950s, Bix Duke Fats, a modern jazz treatment of compositions by Bix Beiderbecke, Ellington and Fats Waller, and Wednesday's Child with singer Patty McGovern were critically well-received, if not easy to describe.
"Unique stylistic combination of French Impressionism, Abstraction and 'blowing,' " the Billboard review of Bix said.
When asked about his distinctive style, Talbert told the Los Angeles Times in 1994, "I probably learned the most from listening to records. So I ended up writing what I heard in my head, and what I liked. I never tried to make it sound like Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. It's just what I hear."
In 1975, he returned to Los Angeles and wrote the soundtracks for such television shows as NBC's Serpico and Emergency. He led a septet and another big band, revived his recording career and performed through the 1990s.
He also established a scholarship for young musicians studying at California State University-Long Beach.
Friday, July 08, 2005
John Stubblefield Insights
John Stubblefield Insights
Tim - Let's talk about the legacy of the tenor via jazz...your ideas.
John - There's a lot of cats carrying on the legacy of this music, whether they know it or not. I just came back from San Francisco with McCoy Tyner's big band, and I got a chance to meet Prince Lasha! He was on my case every night; He came by the club every night. He gave me a tape he did in 1987 with Woody Shaw, and showed me photos of him when he knew and played with Coltrane. He played with Sonny Rollins; this cat is a walking history book. The next day he came by the hotel, and took me over to the house of woodwinds. Prince plays alto sax, flute and baritone sax. Prince is amazing.
Tim - Reflect on Jr. Cook's playing with McCoy when you both were in the sax section together.
John - Jr. Cook is someone who McCoy still talks about, and the fact that he still misses him. We all talk about Jr. Cook a lot. I used to listen to him a lot when I was in high school. When he was with Horace Silver. Jr. Cook was one of the first to play a style out of Sonny Rollins, and the first to assimilate it was Joe Henderson. Jr. came up on the grasp of Rollins style very honestly, and he developed his own voice of that Rollins style. Over the years, I found what a great musician Jr. Cook was. He never practiced the sax, he played the piano a lot (kinda like Lonnie Hillar did). He took his ideas on piano and took them to the tenor. He had a rhythmic concept that was fantastic! I really liked that feel.
I'd notice when we played together, he'd play 16 bars on one foot, and he'd switch legs and pat that foot on the bridge of the tune. So there was something about how he distributed his body like that. I watched that in Jr. Cook a lot. He did that all the time too.
Tim - That's the sub-consciousness of his thoughts, it's heavy.
John - I never heard Jr. Cook fluff that much cause he was such a good pianist.
Tim - You do a variety of styles, gigs and concepts. You do McCoy Tyner's band, also Kenny Barrons quintet, plus funk dates and pop music. What players have left their mark on you, and why?
John - I can tell you my favorite saxophone players, then I can tell you my favorite saxophone players who were arrangers. Some were soloists, some were arrangers. I first heard Lester Young in 1957, I heard him before I heard Coleman Hawkins, though I knew of Hawkins.
Lester Young always moved me cause he was more melodic in his playing. When I heard Coleman Hawkins, I found he played appoggiatura's better than anyone I knew or heard. Coleman Hawkins was a vertical player and Lester was a horizontal player, and when I studied the Lydian concept, I found I could respond more to what Lester was doing! I see them as both great. You got to give Coleman Hawkins all the credit in the world for making the tenor a solo instrument. Hawkin's sound was really something new too. I talked to people who had played with him, and they always told me, Hawk was always working at his reeds and mouthpiece to get a better sound, and get a big cutting sound. If you look into the whole picture of the saxophone, all of the saxes from the armies in the civil war went to New Orleans. The way that instrument became popular there, was because all clarinetists played sax. But, if you listen to Albert Nicholas, or Benny Bailey, the way they played the was was coming from a clarinet concept. The Brown Brothers and all of that was a novelty at first, but Coleman Hawkins grabbed that, and played the novelty thing too, cause he was a great slap-tongue artist. He could kill that style.
Tim - When you slap tongue - Hawk used that as a device but as a harmonic thing, via the rhythm.
John - It's funny that you mentioned that, cause I learned that when I started saxophone, and lost if over the years and was trying to learn it back from Howard Johnson, Howard does it very well. Howard talks about how Tom Scott was asking him about it too.
The guy Hawkins really dug was a player with Jelly Roll Morton and the Hot Peppers called Stomp Evans. Coleman said if Stomp would have come to N.Y. he would have been the cat. I got a chance to talk to Prince Robinson, he was in the same era, and coleman Hawkins loved him too. Prince played a lot with the McKinely Cotton Pickers, plus road work in band. I got to speak to him in 1973. He was really a force on the saxophone historically. Rudy Weidoff had a lot of influence on those cats cause he was the most recorded saxophone player in that time, before 1923 and all that. That slap-tongue thing was Stomp Evans with Jelly Roll Morton. They used it just like you said Tim, Stomp and Hawk used that slap-tongue as a harmonic and rhythmic device. Prince Robinson was bad too, cause he had the ability to run changes in a very modern way.
Tim - The saxophone has and always will be something that people enjoy, via the mass audience, it's just a matter of how it's presented along with some help from the press and media.
John - People will always enjoy it! Look, I just went to see Dewey Redman, and not only did he play his butt off, but he sand, "Mr. Sandman" I thought about it, see I used to watch the hit parade on T.V. in the early 50's. I didn't realize it then as I do now, people as they progressed became specialized in the music that they played. In those years everybody played the same thing. See, if you played "Body and Soul" it was played for the serious listener, it was played for dancing, it was played for everything. Today, it's a bit different. You got a funk player who only plays funk. You got a big band player who only does that. Years ago, a player did everything, and everything was what it was! Meaning that if you played a popular song, a sixteen year old DUG that as well as a 60 year old. So the hit parade show was one of the same. It was no this or that, JUST music all could enjoy. Recently, I was talking to Eddie Harris in California, and he and I were talking about this record he was asked to be on by Gerald Albright, and you know, Gerald had some hits out, he can play. He had Eddie Harris and Kirk Whalum as his guests on his record, and they were playing tunes, and that's great cause some people only knew Kirk and Gerald as pop cats. They can really blow! Here now people are playing all of the music. King Curtis could play all of the music!
Tim - If you listen to the record King Curtis did with Jimmy Forrest and Oliver Nelson, King Curtis will knock you out. Forget it!
John - That's right, forget it! He could play all of the music, and he was a student of Garvin Bushells. Have you heard Garvin Bushell with Jabbo Smith, it's a killer. Garvin Bushell was very together as you know Tim.
Tim - You don't have to tell me that John, Garvin used to help me on oboe and bassoon. HE made me some unreal oboe reeds, he was so together, and a beautiful teacher and player.
John - I got all my info. about Garvin Bushell from drummer Sam Wooding, when I was in Sams band. He told me everything I wanted to know. He and Charlie Gaines. Garvin was playing clarinet on this FAts Waller record with Garvin and Jabbo Smith, and Fats was playing the organ, and James P. Johnson is on piano (It's on R.C.A. Records). Garvin Bushell played clarinet better than anyone! If he wouldn't have left for Russia, and if he would have gotten pushed on clarinet it would have been all over. He would have been a big star.
Tim - Garvin was a total musician! He played with Coltrane, Fats Waller, Ella's big band, plus symphonic gigs. He did what a musician was to do in those days.
John - When I first came to New York from Chicago and the A.A.C.M. I was trying to play the music and instruments well, you know and be responsible.
Tim - You've known Pharoah Sanders for a long time.
John - No doubt about it, I've known Pharoah for about 37 years now. I meat Pharoah Sanders when he was a first clarinet player! And when he left little rock and moved to Oakland, I'd be in touch with Pharoah. All he'd talk about would be the way John Coltraine would go and listen to John gilmore night after night with Sun Ra. Coltrane was very much into the Sun Ra band then, around the mid 60's.
Tim - That's when they had Gilmore, but also giants like Pat Patrick and Charles Davis. John Gilmore also played beautiful bass clarinet on some Sun Ra C.D.'s that just came out on evidence.
John - He was a virtuoso clarinet player - when Gilmore came out of the air force he played first clarinet in the Earl "Fatha" Hines band. Sun RA met him when he was in the Hines band. He's a great clarinetist! Everybody in chicago knew that.
Tim - You know Gilmore had that one-ness from the plam keys on the tenor up thru the high harmonics like A Ribbon, it was seamless. IF you listen to him you'll hear that, a very complete player with his own style...
John - It's nice you're giving that man the credit, cause John Gilmore is by far one of the finest saxophone players on this planet. When people could summon his talent, they did. As Art Blakey did. I never forget hearing Gilmore play in memphis with Blakey, and I still can hear this cadenza John Gilmore played then; I can hear it yet today. It was on "Autumn In New York". I'll never forget it as long as I live. Gilmore played a great solo and master-piece cadenza. It was UNBELIEVABLE!
Tim - You know, out of that Chicago school as is Eddie Harris. That dude is so bad - he plays piano, and all of his books are vital for the saxophone. He's like a Marcel Mule of jazz. If I ever won the lottery, I'd rent a club and hire Eddie Harris and Andrew White and just sit back and watch their genius at work. Eddie got a lot of Chicago in him.
John - The chicago school is something. Yes, Eddie Harris is someone who not a lot of cats would want to mess with cause he's a genius. We've all known that for years. Charles Davis and I are compiling a list of Chicago saxists ....heard of, and unheard of. See, Chicago was a Lester Young town, that's what it was. When I hear Kirk Whalum play, I feel whether he knows it or not, he's carrying on a tradition of Evelyn Young in memphis. She's a memphis lady, and that's a school unto itself. I come out of her, Hank Crawford comes out of her. She's the one who was around the Texas musicians who came to Memphis with Jelly Roll Morton. America don't know how much they owe Evelyn Young. The schools that the saxophone comes thru are vital yet today. Chicago, Detroit, Philly, and Texas. See, today Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young are still very vital today, and always will be.
Tim - What are some things you practice?
John - Well, one of the things I practice that John Gilmore turned me onto, is I practice out of drum books. The Louis Bellson ones. I practice rhythms, and study rhythm. I also practice long tones a lot. It helps you express yourself. If you can control your sound you have a more powerful weapon. I practice a bunch of different keys, standard tunes, plus I practice my own music, that's a dimension too. I like to work on styles of the horn.
Tim - Where are some records where people can get into your playing a lot. Any favorites?
John - The Kenny Barron record "What If". (on ENJA records) - It shows the whole thing I'm coming from with the Lydian concept of playing bi-tonal sounds that are not moving in II V areas. That recorded tells a lot of my studies. The Sonny Phillips record on Muse I like a lot. Also the Delmark recrods with Joseph Jarman and Maurice McIntyre in the 60', I was playing that music with a passion in those times. I just did one with Craig Harris, also I did a Billy Hart record on Arabesque records. There are a lot of style on there, plus I was really into my altissimo register on Billy's record. That's a special area. You know Eddie Harrris has that down, but have you heard this guy Marc Russo? Marc can really go up there! He used to play with the "yellowjackets". plus I heard him at my friends house, David Eye, David is Smokey Robinson's sax player, and is also from Little Rock. David played me some stuff of Marc's that really was impressive. I've done close to 70 records with different people, but as of now those are some of my favorites.
Tim - Let's talk about the legacy of the tenor via jazz...your ideas.
John - There's a lot of cats carrying on the legacy of this music, whether they know it or not. I just came back from San Francisco with McCoy Tyner's big band, and I got a chance to meet Prince Lasha! He was on my case every night; He came by the club every night. He gave me a tape he did in 1987 with Woody Shaw, and showed me photos of him when he knew and played with Coltrane. He played with Sonny Rollins; this cat is a walking history book. The next day he came by the hotel, and took me over to the house of woodwinds. Prince plays alto sax, flute and baritone sax. Prince is amazing.
Tim - Reflect on Jr. Cook's playing with McCoy when you both were in the sax section together.
John - Jr. Cook is someone who McCoy still talks about, and the fact that he still misses him. We all talk about Jr. Cook a lot. I used to listen to him a lot when I was in high school. When he was with Horace Silver. Jr. Cook was one of the first to play a style out of Sonny Rollins, and the first to assimilate it was Joe Henderson. Jr. came up on the grasp of Rollins style very honestly, and he developed his own voice of that Rollins style. Over the years, I found what a great musician Jr. Cook was. He never practiced the sax, he played the piano a lot (kinda like Lonnie Hillar did). He took his ideas on piano and took them to the tenor. He had a rhythmic concept that was fantastic! I really liked that feel.
I'd notice when we played together, he'd play 16 bars on one foot, and he'd switch legs and pat that foot on the bridge of the tune. So there was something about how he distributed his body like that. I watched that in Jr. Cook a lot. He did that all the time too.
Tim - That's the sub-consciousness of his thoughts, it's heavy.
John - I never heard Jr. Cook fluff that much cause he was such a good pianist.
Tim - You do a variety of styles, gigs and concepts. You do McCoy Tyner's band, also Kenny Barrons quintet, plus funk dates and pop music. What players have left their mark on you, and why?
John - I can tell you my favorite saxophone players, then I can tell you my favorite saxophone players who were arrangers. Some were soloists, some were arrangers. I first heard Lester Young in 1957, I heard him before I heard Coleman Hawkins, though I knew of Hawkins.
Lester Young always moved me cause he was more melodic in his playing. When I heard Coleman Hawkins, I found he played appoggiatura's better than anyone I knew or heard. Coleman Hawkins was a vertical player and Lester was a horizontal player, and when I studied the Lydian concept, I found I could respond more to what Lester was doing! I see them as both great. You got to give Coleman Hawkins all the credit in the world for making the tenor a solo instrument. Hawkin's sound was really something new too. I talked to people who had played with him, and they always told me, Hawk was always working at his reeds and mouthpiece to get a better sound, and get a big cutting sound. If you look into the whole picture of the saxophone, all of the saxes from the armies in the civil war went to New Orleans. The way that instrument became popular there, was because all clarinetists played sax. But, if you listen to Albert Nicholas, or Benny Bailey, the way they played the was was coming from a clarinet concept. The Brown Brothers and all of that was a novelty at first, but Coleman Hawkins grabbed that, and played the novelty thing too, cause he was a great slap-tongue artist. He could kill that style.
Tim - When you slap tongue - Hawk used that as a device but as a harmonic thing, via the rhythm.
John - It's funny that you mentioned that, cause I learned that when I started saxophone, and lost if over the years and was trying to learn it back from Howard Johnson, Howard does it very well. Howard talks about how Tom Scott was asking him about it too.
The guy Hawkins really dug was a player with Jelly Roll Morton and the Hot Peppers called Stomp Evans. Coleman said if Stomp would have come to N.Y. he would have been the cat. I got a chance to talk to Prince Robinson, he was in the same era, and coleman Hawkins loved him too. Prince played a lot with the McKinely Cotton Pickers, plus road work in band. I got to speak to him in 1973. He was really a force on the saxophone historically. Rudy Weidoff had a lot of influence on those cats cause he was the most recorded saxophone player in that time, before 1923 and all that. That slap-tongue thing was Stomp Evans with Jelly Roll Morton. They used it just like you said Tim, Stomp and Hawk used that slap-tongue as a harmonic and rhythmic device. Prince Robinson was bad too, cause he had the ability to run changes in a very modern way.
Tim - The saxophone has and always will be something that people enjoy, via the mass audience, it's just a matter of how it's presented along with some help from the press and media.
John - People will always enjoy it! Look, I just went to see Dewey Redman, and not only did he play his butt off, but he sand, "Mr. Sandman" I thought about it, see I used to watch the hit parade on T.V. in the early 50's. I didn't realize it then as I do now, people as they progressed became specialized in the music that they played. In those years everybody played the same thing. See, if you played "Body and Soul" it was played for the serious listener, it was played for dancing, it was played for everything. Today, it's a bit different. You got a funk player who only plays funk. You got a big band player who only does that. Years ago, a player did everything, and everything was what it was! Meaning that if you played a popular song, a sixteen year old DUG that as well as a 60 year old. So the hit parade show was one of the same. It was no this or that, JUST music all could enjoy. Recently, I was talking to Eddie Harris in California, and he and I were talking about this record he was asked to be on by Gerald Albright, and you know, Gerald had some hits out, he can play. He had Eddie Harris and Kirk Whalum as his guests on his record, and they were playing tunes, and that's great cause some people only knew Kirk and Gerald as pop cats. They can really blow! Here now people are playing all of the music. King Curtis could play all of the music!
Tim - If you listen to the record King Curtis did with Jimmy Forrest and Oliver Nelson, King Curtis will knock you out. Forget it!
John - That's right, forget it! He could play all of the music, and he was a student of Garvin Bushells. Have you heard Garvin Bushell with Jabbo Smith, it's a killer. Garvin Bushell was very together as you know Tim.
Tim - You don't have to tell me that John, Garvin used to help me on oboe and bassoon. HE made me some unreal oboe reeds, he was so together, and a beautiful teacher and player.
John - I got all my info. about Garvin Bushell from drummer Sam Wooding, when I was in Sams band. He told me everything I wanted to know. He and Charlie Gaines. Garvin was playing clarinet on this FAts Waller record with Garvin and Jabbo Smith, and Fats was playing the organ, and James P. Johnson is on piano (It's on R.C.A. Records). Garvin Bushell played clarinet better than anyone! If he wouldn't have left for Russia, and if he would have gotten pushed on clarinet it would have been all over. He would have been a big star.
Tim - Garvin was a total musician! He played with Coltrane, Fats Waller, Ella's big band, plus symphonic gigs. He did what a musician was to do in those days.
John - When I first came to New York from Chicago and the A.A.C.M. I was trying to play the music and instruments well, you know and be responsible.
Tim - You've known Pharoah Sanders for a long time.
John - No doubt about it, I've known Pharoah for about 37 years now. I meat Pharoah Sanders when he was a first clarinet player! And when he left little rock and moved to Oakland, I'd be in touch with Pharoah. All he'd talk about would be the way John Coltraine would go and listen to John gilmore night after night with Sun Ra. Coltrane was very much into the Sun Ra band then, around the mid 60's.
Tim - That's when they had Gilmore, but also giants like Pat Patrick and Charles Davis. John Gilmore also played beautiful bass clarinet on some Sun Ra C.D.'s that just came out on evidence.
John - He was a virtuoso clarinet player - when Gilmore came out of the air force he played first clarinet in the Earl "Fatha" Hines band. Sun RA met him when he was in the Hines band. He's a great clarinetist! Everybody in chicago knew that.
Tim - You know Gilmore had that one-ness from the plam keys on the tenor up thru the high harmonics like A Ribbon, it was seamless. IF you listen to him you'll hear that, a very complete player with his own style...
John - It's nice you're giving that man the credit, cause John Gilmore is by far one of the finest saxophone players on this planet. When people could summon his talent, they did. As Art Blakey did. I never forget hearing Gilmore play in memphis with Blakey, and I still can hear this cadenza John Gilmore played then; I can hear it yet today. It was on "Autumn In New York". I'll never forget it as long as I live. Gilmore played a great solo and master-piece cadenza. It was UNBELIEVABLE!
Tim - You know, out of that Chicago school as is Eddie Harris. That dude is so bad - he plays piano, and all of his books are vital for the saxophone. He's like a Marcel Mule of jazz. If I ever won the lottery, I'd rent a club and hire Eddie Harris and Andrew White and just sit back and watch their genius at work. Eddie got a lot of Chicago in him.
John - The chicago school is something. Yes, Eddie Harris is someone who not a lot of cats would want to mess with cause he's a genius. We've all known that for years. Charles Davis and I are compiling a list of Chicago saxists ....heard of, and unheard of. See, Chicago was a Lester Young town, that's what it was. When I hear Kirk Whalum play, I feel whether he knows it or not, he's carrying on a tradition of Evelyn Young in memphis. She's a memphis lady, and that's a school unto itself. I come out of her, Hank Crawford comes out of her. She's the one who was around the Texas musicians who came to Memphis with Jelly Roll Morton. America don't know how much they owe Evelyn Young. The schools that the saxophone comes thru are vital yet today. Chicago, Detroit, Philly, and Texas. See, today Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young are still very vital today, and always will be.
Tim - What are some things you practice?
John - Well, one of the things I practice that John Gilmore turned me onto, is I practice out of drum books. The Louis Bellson ones. I practice rhythms, and study rhythm. I also practice long tones a lot. It helps you express yourself. If you can control your sound you have a more powerful weapon. I practice a bunch of different keys, standard tunes, plus I practice my own music, that's a dimension too. I like to work on styles of the horn.
Tim - Where are some records where people can get into your playing a lot. Any favorites?
John - The Kenny Barron record "What If". (on ENJA records) - It shows the whole thing I'm coming from with the Lydian concept of playing bi-tonal sounds that are not moving in II V areas. That recorded tells a lot of my studies. The Sonny Phillips record on Muse I like a lot. Also the Delmark recrods with Joseph Jarman and Maurice McIntyre in the 60', I was playing that music with a passion in those times. I just did one with Craig Harris, also I did a Billy Hart record on Arabesque records. There are a lot of style on there, plus I was really into my altissimo register on Billy's record. That's a special area. You know Eddie Harrris has that down, but have you heard this guy Marc Russo? Marc can really go up there! He used to play with the "yellowjackets". plus I heard him at my friends house, David Eye, David is Smokey Robinson's sax player, and is also from Little Rock. David played me some stuff of Marc's that really was impressive. I've done close to 70 records with different people, but as of now those are some of my favorites.
Jazz News: John Stubblefield Feb. 4, 1945-July 4, 2005
Jazz News: John Stubblefield Feb. 4, 1945-July 4, 2005
Jazz News News Center
John Stubblefield Feb. 4, 1945-July 4, 2005
Posted: 2005-07-05
5 July 2005 At five minutes before seven on the evening of the forth July 2005, after enduring great suffering with remarkable strength and courage, our beloved John Stubblefield left us on a soft note held gently at the end of a bitter sweet ballad. Surrounded with love by sweetheart Katherine Gogel, sister Joyce Pattillo, cousins Harry Stubblefield and Stephanie Barber, and by friends Rolando Briceño and Yvonne, John quietly passed away into paradise, where he will compose brilliant works and perform music to fill the universe with love, hope and joy. We will continue to be inspired by John’s generosity of spirit, his for ever glowing soul, and the vision of John’s smiling face, which always lights up the lives of everyone he encountered. Thank you for sharing with us your thoughts about how John touched your lives. May peace be with us all. Sincerely, Katherine, Joyce, Harry and Stephanie p.s. : Please pass this message on.
Katherine Gogel 5 Granison Road Weston, MA 02493 email: jazzgreens11@yahoo.com 27th June 2005 Since the 3rd April 2004, John Stubblefield has been hospitalized with prostate cancer. I have been with him most of the time. Now I am with John day and night. John is now here at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. John is very quiet these days. He also eats very little food and drinks a little water. On the 19th May 2005, John’s blood pressure dropped drastically to 60 over 40. He was listed as critical. We expected that we had very little time left with John. Recently, John has been taken off the critical list. Just the same, I stay with John day and night. We still take each moment as it comes. Some great things have happened since John was first hospitalized. In September 2004, we went to Symphony Space in Manhattan, where the Mingus Big Band was performing at a John Kerry fund raiser. John was on stage with the band, sitting in his wheel chair, microphone in front of him. He recited “Don’t Let It Happen” (the title?). John felt really good about being back on stage with the band again and feeling the music so close. In October 2004, we went to the recording studio where Sue Mingus has assembled the Mingus Big Band to record “Song With Orange”, “Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk”, and “Pedal Point Blues”, all arranged by John. During this six-hour session, John conducted the band. The recording was released on 7th June 2005. We have been hearing good reviews about John’s arrangements. On 4th February 2005, John’s sister Joyce had organized a surprise birthday party for John at the apartment of Sue Mingus. Many of John’s friends and family members were there. The apartment was bursting. He was indeed surprised. While John was at the nursing home, he completed writing a 4th arrangement to a Mingus composition: “Prayer For A Passive Resistance”. The band has performed it and John made sure they did it right after hearing the tapes. One day Boris Kozlov came the orchestral score and they made final corrections. On the 23rd May 2005, Pastor Lind from Saint Peter’s church in Manhattan came to bless John. After the blessing, John wanted to phone my mother. When we put her on, he asked her: “May I have permission to take your daughter’s hand in marriage?” We were all surprised and touched. Joyce and Rolando Briceño were there. Pastor Lind ministered the marriage ceremony. It was really sweet and brought much joy. Here at Calvary Hospital, John has received two very prominent visitors, bringing joy and excitement to all those around. In March, Bill Cosby arrived one morning, taking John completely by surprise. He was most delightful and even took time to look in on other patients. On Thursday, the 16th June 2005, President Clinton arrived to visit John. It was a gorgeous visit, making so many people happy. Clinton spoke of his saxophones. He has not been able to play since three years, having written his book and then undergoing the heart surgery. Clinton also visited patients on his way out Many have come from near and far to visit John since April 2004. We are grateful for all your support and healing thoughts. John is very quiet now. We like to hold hands and smile at each other. All we want is peace. Thank you and be well. Katherine
Jazz News News Center
John Stubblefield Feb. 4, 1945-July 4, 2005
Posted: 2005-07-05
5 July 2005 At five minutes before seven on the evening of the forth July 2005, after enduring great suffering with remarkable strength and courage, our beloved John Stubblefield left us on a soft note held gently at the end of a bitter sweet ballad. Surrounded with love by sweetheart Katherine Gogel, sister Joyce Pattillo, cousins Harry Stubblefield and Stephanie Barber, and by friends Rolando Briceño and Yvonne, John quietly passed away into paradise, where he will compose brilliant works and perform music to fill the universe with love, hope and joy. We will continue to be inspired by John’s generosity of spirit, his for ever glowing soul, and the vision of John’s smiling face, which always lights up the lives of everyone he encountered. Thank you for sharing with us your thoughts about how John touched your lives. May peace be with us all. Sincerely, Katherine, Joyce, Harry and Stephanie p.s. : Please pass this message on.
Katherine Gogel 5 Granison Road Weston, MA 02493 email: jazzgreens11@yahoo.com 27th June 2005 Since the 3rd April 2004, John Stubblefield has been hospitalized with prostate cancer. I have been with him most of the time. Now I am with John day and night. John is now here at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. John is very quiet these days. He also eats very little food and drinks a little water. On the 19th May 2005, John’s blood pressure dropped drastically to 60 over 40. He was listed as critical. We expected that we had very little time left with John. Recently, John has been taken off the critical list. Just the same, I stay with John day and night. We still take each moment as it comes. Some great things have happened since John was first hospitalized. In September 2004, we went to Symphony Space in Manhattan, where the Mingus Big Band was performing at a John Kerry fund raiser. John was on stage with the band, sitting in his wheel chair, microphone in front of him. He recited “Don’t Let It Happen” (the title?). John felt really good about being back on stage with the band again and feeling the music so close. In October 2004, we went to the recording studio where Sue Mingus has assembled the Mingus Big Band to record “Song With Orange”, “Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk”, and “Pedal Point Blues”, all arranged by John. During this six-hour session, John conducted the band. The recording was released on 7th June 2005. We have been hearing good reviews about John’s arrangements. On 4th February 2005, John’s sister Joyce had organized a surprise birthday party for John at the apartment of Sue Mingus. Many of John’s friends and family members were there. The apartment was bursting. He was indeed surprised. While John was at the nursing home, he completed writing a 4th arrangement to a Mingus composition: “Prayer For A Passive Resistance”. The band has performed it and John made sure they did it right after hearing the tapes. One day Boris Kozlov came the orchestral score and they made final corrections. On the 23rd May 2005, Pastor Lind from Saint Peter’s church in Manhattan came to bless John. After the blessing, John wanted to phone my mother. When we put her on, he asked her: “May I have permission to take your daughter’s hand in marriage?” We were all surprised and touched. Joyce and Rolando Briceño were there. Pastor Lind ministered the marriage ceremony. It was really sweet and brought much joy. Here at Calvary Hospital, John has received two very prominent visitors, bringing joy and excitement to all those around. In March, Bill Cosby arrived one morning, taking John completely by surprise. He was most delightful and even took time to look in on other patients. On Thursday, the 16th June 2005, President Clinton arrived to visit John. It was a gorgeous visit, making so many people happy. Clinton spoke of his saxophones. He has not been able to play since three years, having written his book and then undergoing the heart surgery. Clinton also visited patients on his way out Many have come from near and far to visit John since April 2004. We are grateful for all your support and healing thoughts. John is very quiet now. We like to hold hands and smile at each other. All we want is peace. Thank you and be well. Katherine
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Tonight - Abdullah Ibrahim seeks talent for his city big band
Tonight - Abdullah Ibrahim seeks talent for his city big bandWESTERN CAPE
Abdullah Ibrahim seeks talent for his city big band
July 5, 2005
Cape Town will soon have its own jazz orchestra, the brainchild of internationally acclaimed jazz musician Abdullah Ibrahim.
Auditions for the Big Band component of the Cape Town Jazz Orchestra will be held in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg in the second half of this month. The CTJO Big Band will be officially launched in October or November this year.
Big bands normally have at least 18 members, but Ibrahim hopes to form a pool of musicians who could be used for various events.
He plans to launch a full chamber orchestra and the third phase of this project will involve a choral and traditional element. Auditions for the big band will be held from July 15 to 18 at the M7 Academy, 106 Darling Street, Cape Town, from 10am to 4pm.
Those applying should have excellent music-reading skills, with experience in jazz preferable but not essential
. No submissions will be necessary, but CVs should be brought along on audition day. There will be no callbacks.
Ibrahim will be returning briefly to South Africa on July 14.
Details: Marysa Leukes at the M7 Academy, 021 465 6261 or 082 769 4480, fax 021 461 9938 or e-mail mseven@mweb.co.za/
A movie on Ibrahim's life, Abdullah Ibrahim: A Struggle for Love, will be shown at the Encounters documentary festival at 8.15pm on Sunday, July 17, and at 6pm on Thursday, July 21, at Cinema Nouveau in the Waterfront.
In March, the film won a German TV award, the Adolf Grimme-Preis, beating 40 other films. It was premiéred at Ibrahim's 70th birthday celebrations in Germany in October last year.
Abdullah Ibrahim seeks talent for his city big band
July 5, 2005
Cape Town will soon have its own jazz orchestra, the brainchild of internationally acclaimed jazz musician Abdullah Ibrahim.
Auditions for the Big Band component of the Cape Town Jazz Orchestra will be held in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg in the second half of this month. The CTJO Big Band will be officially launched in October or November this year.
Big bands normally have at least 18 members, but Ibrahim hopes to form a pool of musicians who could be used for various events.
He plans to launch a full chamber orchestra and the third phase of this project will involve a choral and traditional element. Auditions for the big band will be held from July 15 to 18 at the M7 Academy, 106 Darling Street, Cape Town, from 10am to 4pm.
Those applying should have excellent music-reading skills, with experience in jazz preferable but not essential
. No submissions will be necessary, but CVs should be brought along on audition day. There will be no callbacks.
Ibrahim will be returning briefly to South Africa on July 14.
Details: Marysa Leukes at the M7 Academy, 021 465 6261 or 082 769 4480, fax 021 461 9938 or e-mail mseven@mweb.co.za/
A movie on Ibrahim's life, Abdullah Ibrahim: A Struggle for Love, will be shown at the Encounters documentary festival at 8.15pm on Sunday, July 17, and at 6pm on Thursday, July 21, at Cinema Nouveau in the Waterfront.
In March, the film won a German TV award, the Adolf Grimme-Preis, beating 40 other films. It was premiéred at Ibrahim's 70th birthday celebrations in Germany in October last year.
WVIZ/PBS: Featured Program
WVIZ/PBS: Featured ProgramWVIZ
American Masters: Satchmo - The Life of Louis Armstrong
Wednesday, July 6 at 9:00 PM
A self-taught trumpet player and singer burst onto the scene at age 17 in 1918, replacing the legendary King Oliver in Kid Ory’s band. Over the next six decades he would turn the world of music on its ear and become one of the world’s most recognized and best-loved entertainers. He recorded albums in every conceivable genre, from country to show tunes, toured the globe and influenced virtually “every musician of worth in popular music or jazz,” as Tony Bennett says in this film by Gary Giddins. He was also an outspoken symbol of the civil rights movement, making a goodwill tour of western Africa and refusing to patronize New York clubs from which he had once been excluded. Named Best Music Video by Jazz Times Magazine in 1989, this film tracks Armstrong’s life and career through recordings, performance footage, rare home movies, and interviews with friends and colleagues — among them Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Lester Bowie, Dexter Gordon, Milt Hinton and many others.
Then…stay tuned to WVIZ/PBS for “Alma’s Jazzy Marriage” at 10:30pm. In ALMA'S JAZZY MARRIAGE, Alma Foster recalls her life with her husband, seminal jazz bassist George "Pops" Foster. Foster popularized the slap bass style, an innovation which changed jazz's rhythm section forever. ALMA'S JAZZY MARRIAGE is a behind the scenes look at some of the giants of jazz, told from a woman's perspective — from Harlem in the 1920s and '30s, through hilarious road trips and life in San Francisco. Family photos and archival film, as well as a rare interview with Alma, whose memory and wit "as sharp as a 10-penny nail," bring this duo's colorful marriage to life.
American Masters: Satchmo - The Life of Louis Armstrong
Wednesday, July 6 at 9:00 PM
A self-taught trumpet player and singer burst onto the scene at age 17 in 1918, replacing the legendary King Oliver in Kid Ory’s band. Over the next six decades he would turn the world of music on its ear and become one of the world’s most recognized and best-loved entertainers. He recorded albums in every conceivable genre, from country to show tunes, toured the globe and influenced virtually “every musician of worth in popular music or jazz,” as Tony Bennett says in this film by Gary Giddins. He was also an outspoken symbol of the civil rights movement, making a goodwill tour of western Africa and refusing to patronize New York clubs from which he had once been excluded. Named Best Music Video by Jazz Times Magazine in 1989, this film tracks Armstrong’s life and career through recordings, performance footage, rare home movies, and interviews with friends and colleagues — among them Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Lester Bowie, Dexter Gordon, Milt Hinton and many others.
Then…stay tuned to WVIZ/PBS for “Alma’s Jazzy Marriage” at 10:30pm. In ALMA'S JAZZY MARRIAGE, Alma Foster recalls her life with her husband, seminal jazz bassist George "Pops" Foster. Foster popularized the slap bass style, an innovation which changed jazz's rhythm section forever. ALMA'S JAZZY MARRIAGE is a behind the scenes look at some of the giants of jazz, told from a woman's perspective — from Harlem in the 1920s and '30s, through hilarious road trips and life in San Francisco. Family photos and archival film, as well as a rare interview with Alma, whose memory and wit "as sharp as a 10-penny nail," bring this duo's colorful marriage to life.
FALL PREVIEWS 2005 Jazz at Lincoln Center :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily
FALL PREVIEWS 2005 Jazz at Lincoln Center :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily FALL PREVIEWS 2005 Jazz at Lincoln Center
Posted by: editoron Tuesday, July 05, 2005 - 05:26 PM
Jazz News
Jazz at Lincoln Center has an exciting new season approaching for consideration in your Fall Preview. Entitled “Jazz from Coast to Coast,” the 2005-06 season features cities nationwide that have enriched jazz music. Cities being spotlighted include: Kansas City, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Detroit and Philadelphia.
Here are some specific events for your consideration:
v Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival in Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola September 6, 2005-October 2, 2005 featuring some of the most influential women in jazz today from Nnennah Freelon to Marian McPartland.
v Kansas City Festival with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra encompasses all performance venues of our home, Frederick P. Rose Hall including: Rose Theater, The Allen Room and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and celebrates the contributions of Kansas City September 22-24.
v Jazz Con Salsa series with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra appearing September 30 and October 1. These Latin luminaries light up the evening in The Allen Room’s breathtaking setting overlooking Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.
v Singers Over Manhattan in The Allen Room features the Eric Reed Trio and three exciting vocalists Carla Cook, Sachal Vasandani and Jennifer Sanon appearing October 20-22.
v This season the Jazz at Lincoln Center education courses continue. Jazz 101 will be held in the Edward John Noble Studio, and for the toddler set (ages 2-5), the fun begins with WeBop! classes in the Louis Armstrong Classroom.
Thank you for considering these productions in your Fall Previews (full listings with photo links below).
Please contact me for more information. Thank you.
Best regards,
Scott H. Thompson
Assistant Director – Public Relations
Jazz at Lincoln Center
33 W. 60th St., Floor 11, New York, NY 10023-7999
212-258-9807
sthompson@jalc.org
www.jalc.org
LISTING HIGHLIGHTS
q Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival – September 6-October 2, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of the performers in the Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival available at: http://www.jalc.org/04_05/2005_Galleries/womeninjazz
Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival
September 6-October 2, 2005
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola / Set Times 7:30 & 9:30pm every night, 11:30pm set Friday & Saturday
Diet Coke, the world's leading diet soft drink, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, the not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the artistic substance and perpetuating the democratic spirit of America’s music, presents the first-ever Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, a celebration of the great contributions women performers have made to jazz music.
Reservations: $30 cover charge w/ $10 minimum, call 212-258-9595
The artists scheduled to perform include:
September 6 – 11 Angela Bofill
September 12 UPSTARTS! – Tia Fuller Quintet / Stephanie Nakasian with Hod O’Brien Trio
September 13 Marian McPartland – special solo piano concerts
September 14, 15 Rita Coolidge
September 16, 17 Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio with special guests
September 18 Tessa Souter / Cynthia Scott
September 19 UPSTARTS! – IAJE Sisters in Jazz
September 20, 21 Claudia Acuña Quartet
September 22 Basie, Blues & Beyond: Karrin Allyson, Nancy King & Friends
September 23, 24 Sherrie Maricle and DIVA Jazz Orchestra with Ann Hampton Callaway & special guests
September 25 Lynne Arriale Trio with special guests
September 26 UPSTARTS! – Terri Lyne Carrington with special student guests
September 27 Helen Merrill Quartet
September 28 Jane Ira Bloom
September 29 Joanne Brackeen / Bertha Hope Quintet
Sept 30, Oct 1 Barbara Carroll Trio with special guests
October 2 Nnennah Freelon / Leeanne Ledgerwood Trio
q Kansas City Festival – September 22-24, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at: http://www.jalc.org/presenters/images/index.html
Kansas City: K.C. and The Count
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Featuring guest artist Frank Wess
September 22, 23 & 24, 2005, Rose Theater, 8pm
The 2005-2006 season, “Jazz from Coast to Coast,” opens with a celebration of Kansas City jazz. The LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA with WYNTON MARSALIS performs the music of influential Kansas City jazz musicians, particularly the legendary Count Basie and his spare signature piano style. The city’s significant history includes saxophonist FRANK WESS, who played in Count Basie’s big band and will to play some of the best of Kansas City’s boogie woogie jazz. This special Kansas City show integrates new talent inspired by rich tradition.
Tickets: $30, $50, $75, $100, $130 / Call 212-721-6500
Kansas City: K.C. Boogie-Woogie
Featuring Bobby Watson’s Boogie-Woogie Jump Band and the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra
September 22, 23 & 24, 2005, The Allen Room, 7:30pm
As part of the Kansas City festival, saxophonist and bandleader BOBBY WATSON and the JUILLIARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA (celebrating its centennial) come together to perform some of the best of Kansas City’s boogie-woogie jazz. Bobby Watson’s Boogie-Woogie Jump Band brings these swingin’ sounds and this distinctive Kansas City style - famed for its percussive piano sound - to The Allen Room.
Tickets: $40, $75, $130 / Call 212-721-6500
Jazz 101: Kansas City-Swing Territory (see Jazz Education section for listing details.)
Kansas City represented in Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola – Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival
Basie, Blues & Beyond: Karrin Allyson, Nancy King & Friends
September 22, 2005, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Set Times 7:30 & 9:30pm every night, 11:30pm set Friday & Saturday
Karrin Allyson from Kansas City represents the Midwest jazz city at the club.
For reservations call: 212.258.9595, $30 cover charge w/ $10 minimum
q Jazz Education – September 17-November 8, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of Jazz for Young People, are available at: http://www.jalc.org/04_05/2004_galleries/j4yp/index.html
WeBop! Saturdays, September 17-November 8, 2005, Louis Armstrong Classroom
Saturdays, September 17-November 8, 2005, Louis Armstrong Classroom
· Stompers, 2-3 year olds, 10:30 - 11:15am
· Gumbo Group, 2-5 year olds, 11:30 – 12:15pm
Tuesdays, September 20-November 10, 2005, Louis Armstrong Classroom
· Stompers, 2-3 year olds, 9:30-10:15am
· Syncopators, 4-5 year olds, 10:30-11:15am
Back for a second season, WeBop! is a music education program in which young children and their parents/caregivers sing, move and play the soulful rhythms and melodies of great jazz. WeBop! teachers lead children ages 2 –5 to a greater understanding of jazz and of their national musical heritage.
Registration fee: $240 / Call 212-721-6500
Jazz 101: The Intro with Dr. Lewis Porter, Author and Rutgers University Professor
September 21-November 8, 2005, Edward John Noble Foundation Studio, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Why was Edward Ellington called “Duke?” How did Louis Armstrong revolutionize jazz? Learn the basics and increase your enjoyment of jazz in this popular series.
Registration fee: $240 / Call 212-721-6500
Jazz 101: Kansas City: Swing Territory with Loren Schoenberg, Executive Director of the Harlem Jazz Museum and Grammy Winning Writer
September 21-November 8, 2005, Edward John Noble Foundation Studio, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Take a trip to Kansas City without ever leaving Frederick P. Rose Hall. This class will provide insight to the first city celebrated in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s season “Jazz from Coast to Coast” and the musicians that were responsible for the unique Kansas City sound.
Registration fee: $240 / Call 212-721-6500
q Jazz con Salsa – September 30-October 1, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra available at: http://www.jalc.org/presenters/images/aljo.html
Jazz con Salsa
Featuring the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and Arturo O’Farrill & Special Guests Joe Lovano, Lew Soloff & Greg Osby
September 30 & October 1, 2005, Rose Theater, 8pm
The AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA with ARTURO O’FARRILL brings together the styles of salsa and jazz in an eclectic mixture of rhythm and groove. Guest artists JOE LOVANO, LEW SOLOFF and GREG OSBY join the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra to showcase the finest in Latin and straight ahead jazz rhythm new and old.
Tickets: $30, $50, $75, $100, $130 / Call 212-721-6500
q Singers Over Manhattan – October 20-22, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of 2005-06 season artists available at:
http://www.jalc.org/press/photos_06.asp
Singers Over Manhattan
Featuring the Eric Reed Trio, Carla Cook, Sachal Vasandani and Jennifer Sanon
October 20, 21, & 22, 2005, The Allen Room, 7:30pm
The Singers Over Manhattan show returns to The Allen Room for a series of evenings with some of the great jazz vocalists of today. Led by the ERIC REED TRIO, the incredibly talented CARLA COOK, SACHAL VASANDANI and JENNIFER SANON showcase their vocal flair.
Tickets: $40, $75, $130 / Call 721-721-6500
Posted by: editoron Tuesday, July 05, 2005 - 05:26 PM
Jazz News
Jazz at Lincoln Center has an exciting new season approaching for consideration in your Fall Preview. Entitled “Jazz from Coast to Coast,” the 2005-06 season features cities nationwide that have enriched jazz music. Cities being spotlighted include: Kansas City, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Detroit and Philadelphia.
Here are some specific events for your consideration:
v Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival in Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola September 6, 2005-October 2, 2005 featuring some of the most influential women in jazz today from Nnennah Freelon to Marian McPartland.
v Kansas City Festival with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra encompasses all performance venues of our home, Frederick P. Rose Hall including: Rose Theater, The Allen Room and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and celebrates the contributions of Kansas City September 22-24.
v Jazz Con Salsa series with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra appearing September 30 and October 1. These Latin luminaries light up the evening in The Allen Room’s breathtaking setting overlooking Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.
v Singers Over Manhattan in The Allen Room features the Eric Reed Trio and three exciting vocalists Carla Cook, Sachal Vasandani and Jennifer Sanon appearing October 20-22.
v This season the Jazz at Lincoln Center education courses continue. Jazz 101 will be held in the Edward John Noble Studio, and for the toddler set (ages 2-5), the fun begins with WeBop! classes in the Louis Armstrong Classroom.
Thank you for considering these productions in your Fall Previews (full listings with photo links below).
Please contact me for more information. Thank you.
Best regards,
Scott H. Thompson
Assistant Director – Public Relations
Jazz at Lincoln Center
33 W. 60th St., Floor 11, New York, NY 10023-7999
212-258-9807
sthompson@jalc.org
www.jalc.org
LISTING HIGHLIGHTS
q Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival – September 6-October 2, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of the performers in the Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival available at: http://www.jalc.org/04_05/2005_Galleries/womeninjazz
Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival
September 6-October 2, 2005
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola / Set Times 7:30 & 9:30pm every night, 11:30pm set Friday & Saturday
Diet Coke, the world's leading diet soft drink, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, the not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the artistic substance and perpetuating the democratic spirit of America’s music, presents the first-ever Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, a celebration of the great contributions women performers have made to jazz music.
Reservations: $30 cover charge w/ $10 minimum, call 212-258-9595
The artists scheduled to perform include:
September 6 – 11 Angela Bofill
September 12 UPSTARTS! – Tia Fuller Quintet / Stephanie Nakasian with Hod O’Brien Trio
September 13 Marian McPartland – special solo piano concerts
September 14, 15 Rita Coolidge
September 16, 17 Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio with special guests
September 18 Tessa Souter / Cynthia Scott
September 19 UPSTARTS! – IAJE Sisters in Jazz
September 20, 21 Claudia Acuña Quartet
September 22 Basie, Blues & Beyond: Karrin Allyson, Nancy King & Friends
September 23, 24 Sherrie Maricle and DIVA Jazz Orchestra with Ann Hampton Callaway & special guests
September 25 Lynne Arriale Trio with special guests
September 26 UPSTARTS! – Terri Lyne Carrington with special student guests
September 27 Helen Merrill Quartet
September 28 Jane Ira Bloom
September 29 Joanne Brackeen / Bertha Hope Quintet
Sept 30, Oct 1 Barbara Carroll Trio with special guests
October 2 Nnennah Freelon / Leeanne Ledgerwood Trio
q Kansas City Festival – September 22-24, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at: http://www.jalc.org/presenters/images/index.html
Kansas City: K.C. and The Count
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Featuring guest artist Frank Wess
September 22, 23 & 24, 2005, Rose Theater, 8pm
The 2005-2006 season, “Jazz from Coast to Coast,” opens with a celebration of Kansas City jazz. The LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA with WYNTON MARSALIS performs the music of influential Kansas City jazz musicians, particularly the legendary Count Basie and his spare signature piano style. The city’s significant history includes saxophonist FRANK WESS, who played in Count Basie’s big band and will to play some of the best of Kansas City’s boogie woogie jazz. This special Kansas City show integrates new talent inspired by rich tradition.
Tickets: $30, $50, $75, $100, $130 / Call 212-721-6500
Kansas City: K.C. Boogie-Woogie
Featuring Bobby Watson’s Boogie-Woogie Jump Band and the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra
September 22, 23 & 24, 2005, The Allen Room, 7:30pm
As part of the Kansas City festival, saxophonist and bandleader BOBBY WATSON and the JUILLIARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA (celebrating its centennial) come together to perform some of the best of Kansas City’s boogie-woogie jazz. Bobby Watson’s Boogie-Woogie Jump Band brings these swingin’ sounds and this distinctive Kansas City style - famed for its percussive piano sound - to The Allen Room.
Tickets: $40, $75, $130 / Call 212-721-6500
Jazz 101: Kansas City-Swing Territory (see Jazz Education section for listing details.)
Kansas City represented in Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola – Diet Coke Women In Jazz Festival
Basie, Blues & Beyond: Karrin Allyson, Nancy King & Friends
September 22, 2005, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Set Times 7:30 & 9:30pm every night, 11:30pm set Friday & Saturday
Karrin Allyson from Kansas City represents the Midwest jazz city at the club.
For reservations call: 212.258.9595, $30 cover charge w/ $10 minimum
q Jazz Education – September 17-November 8, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of Jazz for Young People, are available at: http://www.jalc.org/04_05/2004_galleries/j4yp/index.html
WeBop! Saturdays, September 17-November 8, 2005, Louis Armstrong Classroom
Saturdays, September 17-November 8, 2005, Louis Armstrong Classroom
· Stompers, 2-3 year olds, 10:30 - 11:15am
· Gumbo Group, 2-5 year olds, 11:30 – 12:15pm
Tuesdays, September 20-November 10, 2005, Louis Armstrong Classroom
· Stompers, 2-3 year olds, 9:30-10:15am
· Syncopators, 4-5 year olds, 10:30-11:15am
Back for a second season, WeBop! is a music education program in which young children and their parents/caregivers sing, move and play the soulful rhythms and melodies of great jazz. WeBop! teachers lead children ages 2 –5 to a greater understanding of jazz and of their national musical heritage.
Registration fee: $240 / Call 212-721-6500
Jazz 101: The Intro with Dr. Lewis Porter, Author and Rutgers University Professor
September 21-November 8, 2005, Edward John Noble Foundation Studio, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Why was Edward Ellington called “Duke?” How did Louis Armstrong revolutionize jazz? Learn the basics and increase your enjoyment of jazz in this popular series.
Registration fee: $240 / Call 212-721-6500
Jazz 101: Kansas City: Swing Territory with Loren Schoenberg, Executive Director of the Harlem Jazz Museum and Grammy Winning Writer
September 21-November 8, 2005, Edward John Noble Foundation Studio, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Take a trip to Kansas City without ever leaving Frederick P. Rose Hall. This class will provide insight to the first city celebrated in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s season “Jazz from Coast to Coast” and the musicians that were responsible for the unique Kansas City sound.
Registration fee: $240 / Call 212-721-6500
q Jazz con Salsa – September 30-October 1, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra available at: http://www.jalc.org/presenters/images/aljo.html
Jazz con Salsa
Featuring the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and Arturo O’Farrill & Special Guests Joe Lovano, Lew Soloff & Greg Osby
September 30 & October 1, 2005, Rose Theater, 8pm
The AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA with ARTURO O’FARRILL brings together the styles of salsa and jazz in an eclectic mixture of rhythm and groove. Guest artists JOE LOVANO, LEW SOLOFF and GREG OSBY join the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra to showcase the finest in Latin and straight ahead jazz rhythm new and old.
Tickets: $30, $50, $75, $100, $130 / Call 212-721-6500
q Singers Over Manhattan – October 20-22, 2005
High resolution, downloadable photos of 2005-06 season artists available at:
http://www.jalc.org/press/photos_06.asp
Singers Over Manhattan
Featuring the Eric Reed Trio, Carla Cook, Sachal Vasandani and Jennifer Sanon
October 20, 21, & 22, 2005, The Allen Room, 7:30pm
The Singers Over Manhattan show returns to The Allen Room for a series of evenings with some of the great jazz vocalists of today. Led by the ERIC REED TRIO, the incredibly talented CARLA COOK, SACHAL VASANDANI and JENNIFER SANON showcase their vocal flair.
Tickets: $40, $75, $130 / Call 721-721-6500
Oscar Peterson - First night reviews - Times Online
Oscar Peterson - First night reviews - Times OnlineJuly 05, 2005
Jazz
Oscar Peterson
Alyn Shipton at Albert Hall
USUALLY, jazz evenings finish with the band’s best playing, then there’s a tumultuous drum solo, and everyone goes home. By contrast, Oscar Peterson’s return to the Albert Hall began with a drum solo from his newest recruit, Alvin Queen — a brilliant American musician based in Switzerland — before the bassist David Young strolled out to join him, then the guitarist Ulf Wakenius, and finally Peterson himself. The group’s tightest playing was tucked into the first 30 minutes, while everyone was still fresh and energetic, and the rest of the concert was mostly about keeping that initial momentum going.
The warm standing ovation that greeted the pianist was momentarily checked as it became obvious that the big man, now bent with age, was having a painful time of it walking to the piano, and a mixture of affection and concern washed through the crowd. As he settled on his stool and began to play, the years and his physical problems fell away.
Peterson’s most delicate and assured playing came on his own pieces, such as the haunting Love Ballade, with its delicate Chopinesque beginning, its broad dynamic range, and singing piano sound.
Hearing this, there was no doubt that we were listening to one of the world’s greatest jazz pianists, although immediately before it, the rapid runs in Cakewalk, with guitar and piano slightly out of synch, had sounded like platefuls of scrambled egg.
On the equally brisk Backyard Blues the playing was much crisper, and the piano’s goading, bluesy runs and gospelly turnarounds prompted some flying playing from all concerned. Young had the hardest job of the evening, replacing Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, who died shortly after the tour was announced. In tribute, Young’s solo version of the Danish folksong In the Still of the Woods was beautifully played, with a singing upper register and immaculate projection. What he lacked, however, was Pedersen’s ability to inject swing. Too much of the burden fell on Wakenius, who overcompensated, thereby killing the spirit of relaxation at speed which used to be such a feature of this band.
That said, the quartet played two full sets, there was an admirable balance of familiar hits and new material, and a heartfelt Requiem for Peterson’s contemporaries who are no longer with us. To see and hear this great survivor igniting more than the occasional spark of his youthful genius, six weeks short of his 80th birthday, was a highly emotional experience, and we were all back on our feet when it came time to bid him farewell.
Jazz
Oscar Peterson
Alyn Shipton at Albert Hall
USUALLY, jazz evenings finish with the band’s best playing, then there’s a tumultuous drum solo, and everyone goes home. By contrast, Oscar Peterson’s return to the Albert Hall began with a drum solo from his newest recruit, Alvin Queen — a brilliant American musician based in Switzerland — before the bassist David Young strolled out to join him, then the guitarist Ulf Wakenius, and finally Peterson himself. The group’s tightest playing was tucked into the first 30 minutes, while everyone was still fresh and energetic, and the rest of the concert was mostly about keeping that initial momentum going.
The warm standing ovation that greeted the pianist was momentarily checked as it became obvious that the big man, now bent with age, was having a painful time of it walking to the piano, and a mixture of affection and concern washed through the crowd. As he settled on his stool and began to play, the years and his physical problems fell away.
Peterson’s most delicate and assured playing came on his own pieces, such as the haunting Love Ballade, with its delicate Chopinesque beginning, its broad dynamic range, and singing piano sound.
Hearing this, there was no doubt that we were listening to one of the world’s greatest jazz pianists, although immediately before it, the rapid runs in Cakewalk, with guitar and piano slightly out of synch, had sounded like platefuls of scrambled egg.
On the equally brisk Backyard Blues the playing was much crisper, and the piano’s goading, bluesy runs and gospelly turnarounds prompted some flying playing from all concerned. Young had the hardest job of the evening, replacing Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, who died shortly after the tour was announced. In tribute, Young’s solo version of the Danish folksong In the Still of the Woods was beautifully played, with a singing upper register and immaculate projection. What he lacked, however, was Pedersen’s ability to inject swing. Too much of the burden fell on Wakenius, who overcompensated, thereby killing the spirit of relaxation at speed which used to be such a feature of this band.
That said, the quartet played two full sets, there was an admirable balance of familiar hits and new material, and a heartfelt Requiem for Peterson’s contemporaries who are no longer with us. To see and hear this great survivor igniting more than the occasional spark of his youthful genius, six weeks short of his 80th birthday, was a highly emotional experience, and we were all back on our feet when it came time to bid him farewell.
EUR Web > PEOPLE OF NOTE: Kenny Barron … Saluting the Music Masters At The Rose Theatre
PEOPLE OF NOTE: Kenny Barron … Saluting the Music Masters At The Rose Theatre
By Deardra Shuler
July 5, 2005
Kenny Baron
A resounding roll of thunder clashed like cymbals against the dark gray sky as I spoke with pianist, Kenny Barron, about his upcoming Piano Masters Salute to Piano Legends, sponsored by the JVC Jazz Festival and Jazz Forum Arts. The Salute held at the Rose Theater within Frederick P. Rose Hall, housed within Jazz at Lincoln Center, is located at 60th Street and Broadway. The event is a tribute to the music of Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk.
A resounding roll of thunder clashed like cymbals against the dark gray sky as I spoke with pianist, Kenny Barron, about his upcoming Piano Masters Salute to Piano Legends, sponsored by the JVC Jazz Festival and Jazz Forum Arts. The event is a tribute to the music of Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk. “This will be my first time playing at the Rose Theater, although, I have played at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola,” stated Kenny. “However, for the Piano Masters Salute, I will be performing with pianists Geri Allen, Uri Caine and Randy Weston who are wonderful pianist. We will be performing and celebrating the music of Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk. Some of the music will be solo, some duet and some with a rhythm section,” declared the world-renowned musician and composer.
Born in Philadelphia, Kenny Barron, who is recognized as one of the giants of modern mainstream piano, is the younger brother of the late saxophonist Bill Barron. “I listened to a lot of jazz in my youth and had my first gig when I was 14. I continued playing throughout high school and when I graduated, I moved to New York. That was in 1961. I started working with James Moody and then I worked with Roy Haynes. I also worked with Lee Morgan and Lou Donaldson. My older brother, Bill, who has now passed, played sax. He already knew these musicians and introduced me to many of them,” stated Barron. “However, it was it was James Moody who introduced me to Dizzy Gillespie. It was a fantastic experience working with Gillespie, who was a very generous man. Working with Dizzy was like going to school. He knew a lot and was very generous with his knowledge. I learned a lot from him,” claimed the seven-time Grammy nominee. Barron spent four years (1962-1966) playing and recording with Gillespie. “I started working with Freddie Hubbard after Dizzy. I worked with Freddie on and off for about 3 years. I worked with quite a few people, among them Stanley Turrentine and Yusef Lateef,” reminisced the talented pianist.
Barron also formed a relationship with Ron Carter's two-bass quartet. He performed with them from 1976-1980. Barron was a co-leader of the group Sphere in the 1980s, and went on to lead his own trios. Barron also worked with Stan Getz. “I worked with Stan Getz toward the end of his life, the last 4 or 5 years of his life in fact. Getz was a very lyrical player. We had that in common. I am lyrical myself so it was a big thrill for me to play with him. The very last time we played together we did a live duet performance in Copenhagen. The recording is called “People Time.” This was Stan Getz’s last recording before his death.
Married and the father of 2, Kenny likes to cook and read. He also teaches at Juilliard. Mr. Barron’s latest recording is entitled: “Images” which he recorded on Sunnyside and released in 2004.
Barron recently returned from a tour in Japan. “The Japanese are a great audience. Everything is usually first class with them and they are well versed in jazz. I always enjoy playing before the Japanese audience” stated Kenny. “I am in Europe a lot, too. I have been in Germany, Italy, and Spain and plan to go back to Rome in another two weeks. I have even been to Africa. That was great, too. The Africans love jazz and even recognize that it developed from their country. When I decided to visit Africa, I was playing a gig in Rome with Yusef Lateef at the time. We had a few days off so we decided to visit Tunis, Tunisia, in North Africa” explained the pianist. “It turned out we experienced a surprise while there. While walking down the street in Tunis, I heard someone call my name and when I turned around, I saw it was Percy Heath. Percy recently passed. But at that time, it turned out, there was a big jazz festival going on there in the ruins of Carthage. The Mighty Jazz Quartet was there, trumpeter Roy Eldridge was there and Dizzy Gillespie was there. So, I ended up attending the jazz festival. That was a truly wonderful experience and I had a great time” reflected Barron.
“In terms of my craft, I try to be better today than I was yesterday. So, I hope people will turn out to see me at the Rose Theatre for the Piano Masters Salute to Piano Legends, it’s sure to be a great show.”
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