Jazz Veteran Shirley Horn Dies

Jazz Veteran Shirley Horn DiesJazz Veteran Shirley Horn Dies


By Bill Holland, Washington, D.C.

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Shirley Horn, the Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and pianist known for her intimate, whispery vocals and top-drawer piano playing, died yesterday (Oct. 20) at Gladys Spellman Nursing Home in Cheverly, Md., following an extended battle with diabetes. She was 71.

Always respected critically, Horn became an unlikely star in her 60s with a series of luminous albums for Verve Records throughout the 1990s. Accompanying herself at the piano, Horn and her trademark vocal style also became a major influence on younger jazz singer/pianists such as Diana Krall and Norah Jones.

Horn was nominated for nine Grammys in the last decade. She won the best jazz vocal performance award in 1998 for her album "I Remember Miles," dedicated to her good friend and mentor Miles Davis.

On several of her Verve albums, she worked with top arranger Johnny Mandel. On others she augmented her trio with guest artists like Davis, Wynton and Bradford Marsalis, Gary Bartz and Toots Thielmanns.

Horn began playing piano at age 10. At 18, she was awarded a music scholarship to Juilliard, but financial difficulties kept her in D.C. After studying music at Howard University, she began her career in the late '50s as a pianist in local restaurants and nightclubs and eased into her role as a vocalist. She was a headliner at Washington's now-defunct One Step Down for more than 20 years.

In 1960, Davis coaxed Horn to open for him at New York's Village Vanguard after being captivated by her debut recording, "Embers and Ashes." That engagement led to a contract with Mercury Records, where she cut albums with Quincy Jones and other top arrangers. She also sang on the 1968 movie soundtracks of "For Love Of Ivy" and "A Dandy in Aspic."

Despite critical acclaim, Horn rarely toured, instead remaining in D.C. to raise her daughter. When Verve signed her in 1987, she was ready to expand her horizons. For her 1996 album "Main Ingredient" she convinced the brass at Verve to record her at her home in the nation's capitol. It was a casual affair.

As jazz royalty like drummer Elvin Jones and tenorman Joe Henderson and others arrived from New York at midday, Horn, brandy snifter in hand, invited them into her kitchen, which was packed with friends and food. As Jones said at the time, "When I wasn't playing, I was busy eating Shirley's beef and beer stew."

Horn previously told Billboard of the session, "I wanted it to be like the old days when folks would get off work at two or three, drop by my place, and play till dawn. Good company, good food, good music."

Horn cut back but did not stop touring in recent years due to her diabetic condition, which eventually resulted in the amputation of a foot. She is survived by her husband, a daughter and two grandsons.

Herbie Hancock Kicks Off Week-Long Jazz Education Program in Chicago Schools :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz N

Herbie Hancock Kicks Off Week-Long Jazz Education Program in Chicago Schools :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily Herbie Hancock Kicks Off Week-Long Jazz Education Program in Chicago Schools
Posted by: eJazzNews Readeron Thursday, October 20, 2005 - 10:43 AM
Jazz News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2005
Contact: Sarah Andrew Wilson
202.364.7272 or 202.680.2420
swilson@monkinstitute.org

LEGENDARY JAZZ PIANIST HERBIE HANCOCK KICKS OFF WEEK-LONG JAZZ EDUCATION PROGRAM IN CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Washington, DC – The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, a non-profit education organization, will introduce its Jazz in America: The National Jazz Curriculum to thousands of public school students in Chicago during the week of October 24-28, 2005. Jazz in America (www.jazzinamerica.org) is the Institute’s Internet-based jazz curriculum that is being made available to all 5th, 8th, and 11th grade public school students in the United States. Designed to be taught as a regular part of each school’s American history and social studies classes, this is the first jazz curriculum to use state-of-the-art Internet technology and be offered free of charge on a national basis.



The Institute’s Chairman, ten-time Grammy Award winner Herbie Hancock, will return to his native Chicago to launch the jazz education initiative at Corliss High School on Monday morning, October 24 at 9:15am. On hand for this special program will be Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. along with other elected and education officials.

In the Institute’s first visit to Chicago, the tour will consist of a series of jazz assembly programs, jazz band clinics, vocal master classes, and teacher training workshops. Each assembly program will feature a five-piece jazz combo led by internationally renowned saxophonist Bobby Watson, a presentation called “What is Jazz?” by J.B. Dyas, Curriculum Project Director, and a question-and-answer session with students. In addition, jazz drummer Thelonious Monk, Jr., Chairman of the Institute’s Board of Trustees, will make remarks about jazz and its role as America’s greatest musical contribution to the world. The tour is made possible through generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and United Airlines.

Members of the press are invited to attend any of the following events:

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24
Corliss High School (821 East 103rd Street):
9:15-10:15am - Assembly Program for 1,000 students in auditorium

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25
Dixon Elementary School (8306 South St. Lawrence):
9:30-10:30am - Assembly Program for 800 students in auditorium
10:45-11:45am - Jazz Band Clinic in band room

Curie Metropolitan High School (4959 South Archer Avenue):
1:15-2:00pm - Assembly Program for 800 students in auditorium
2:15-3:15pm - Jazz Band Clinic in auditorium

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26
Lincoln Park High School (2001 North Orchard Street):
11:15am-12:15pm - Jazz Band Clinic in Rehearsal Room 179
1:00-2:00pm - Assembly Program for 700 students in auditorium

Jones College Prep (606 South State Street):
3:00-4:00pm - Jazz Band Clinic in band room

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27
Julian High School (10330 South Elizabeth Street):
8:20-9:20am - Assembly Program for 700 students in auditorium
9:30-10:30am - Jazz Band Clinic in auditorium

Kenwood Academy (5015 South Blackstone Avenue):
12:30-1:30pm - Assembly Program for 700 students in auditorium
1:45-2:45pm - Jazz Band Clinic in band room

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28
Northside Prep (5501 North Kedzie Avenue):
8:15-9:00am - Jazz Band Clinic in band room

About the Curriculum:
The Jazz in America curriculum (www.jazzinamerica.org) presents an introduction to jazz as it evolved in America and spread throughout the world. It defines the characteristics of jazz, explains how to listen to the music, details the many styles of jazz, and highlights some of the musicians who have advanced the art form. The curriculum also focuses on the development of jazz in America by highlighting the major cities that influenced the music. Further, each lesson plan explores the social, economic, and political contexts within which jazz evolved. In addition to the lesson plans, the curriculum website includes a teacher’s manual, assessments, and a comprehensive Jazz Resource Library.

About the Musicians:
The tour will be headlined by internationally renowned saxophonist and recording artist Bobby Watson (www.bobbywatson.com), who rose to prominence as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and will feature vocalist Lisa Henry, a winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition. The members of the rhythm section are Richard Johnson, piano; Derek Nievergelt, bass; and Otis Brown III, drums. Brown attended the Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Colony in Aspen, Colorado in the summer of 1999. Johnson and Nievergelt are 1999 graduates of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the University of Southern California, a specialized graduate level college program that enables the world’s most gifted young musicians to study tuition-free with the greatest living jazz legends including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Clark Terry.

About the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz:
The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (www.monkinstitute.org) is a non-profit education organization established in memory of Thelonious Monk, the legendary jazz pianist and composer. Monk believed the best way to learn jazz was from a master of the music. The Institute follows that same philosophy by bringing together the greatest living jazz musicians to teach and inspire young people. The Institute offers the most promising young musicians college level training by America's jazz masters and presents public school-based jazz education programs for people around the world. Helping to fill the tremendous void in arts education left by severe budget cuts in public school funding, the Institute’s education programs are provided free to the public and use jazz as the medium to encourage imaginative thinking, creativity, a positive self-image, and respect for one’s own and others' cultural heritage.

About Herbie Hancock:
Herbie Hancock is a jazz icon who has been an integral part of every jazz movement since his arrival on the scene in the ’60s. Hancock was born in Chicago and began playing piano at the age of seven. When he was 20 years old, Hancock was invited by Donald Byrd to join his band and move to New York. Byrd later helped him secure a recording contract with Blue Note Records. Hancock’s debut album, Takin’ Off, included “Watermelon Man,” which was the first of many top ten hits. As a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, he became one of the pioneers of the avant garde sound. His recordings during the ’70s combined electric jazz with funk and rock sounds in an innovative style that influenced a whole decade of music. Rockit and Future Shock marked Hancock’s foray into electric dance music and included several chart-topping hits. During the same period, he continued to work in an acoustic setting with V.S.O.P., which included ex-Miles Davis bandmates Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. Hancock has received an Academy Award for his Round Midnight film score and 10 Grammy Awards. Many of his compositions, including “Canteloupe Island,” “Maiden Voyage,” and “Chameleon,” are modern standards that have had a profound effect on all styles of modern music. Herbie Hancock continues to be a creative force in jazz and a trailblazer in the world of music. His most recent CD, Possibilities, debuted at #1 on the Billboard jazz chart and #22 on the Billboard Top 100 in September 2005.

WYNTON WITH STRINGS :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily

WYNTON WITH STRINGS :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily WYNTON WITH STRINGS
Posted by: editoron Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - 04:32 PM
Jazz News CONCERT EVENT TO CELEBRATE WYNTON MARSALIS'
25 YEARS ON THE MUSIC SCENE
CONCERT PERFORMANCES ON NOVEMBER 17, 18 & 19, 2005;
ROSE THEATER, 8PM

• Featuring the Wynton Marsalis Quartet with a String Orchestra Premiering New Arrangements of Music From The Midnight Blues and Hot House Flowers

New York, NY (October 18, 2005) Jazz at Lincoln Center commemorates Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis' 25 years of musical achievement with Wynton with Strings on November 17, 18 and 19 at 8pm at Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall on Broadway at 60th St. This special series of concert performances feature a retrospect of jazz by the musician, educator and author.

The Wynton Marsalis Quartet will perform a repertoire of Mr. Marsalis' music from the past 25 years, including new arrangements of music from his celebrated albums The Midnight Blues and Hot House Flowers. A string orchestra and Robert Sadin, conductor, will accompany the band for the celebration.

Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges Bloomberg as the lead corporate sponsor of this performance and the leadership commissioning support of Agnes Varis, which has made this new artistic collaboration possible.

Tickets for Wynton with Strings are $30, $50, $75, $100, $130 and available at the Jazz at Lincoln Center box office on Broadway at 60th St., by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500 or via www.jalc.org.

Wynton Marsalis (Music Director, Trumpet) is the Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1961, Mr. Marsalis began his classical training on trumpet at age 12 and soon began playing in local bands of diverse genres. He entered The Juilliard School at age 17 and joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Mr. Marsalis made his recording debut as a leader in 1982, and since he has recorded more than 30 jazz and classical recordings, which have won him nine Grammy Awards. In 1983, he became the first and only artist to win both classical and jazz Grammys in the same year and repeated this feat in 1984. Mr. Marsalis's rich body of compositions includes Sweet Release, Jazz: Six Syncopated Movements, Jump Start, Citi Movement/Griot New York, At the Octoroon Balls, and In This House, On This Morning and Big Train. In 1997, Mr. Marsalis became the first jazz artist to be awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in music, for his oratorio Blood on the Fields, which was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 1999, he released eight new recordings in his unprecedented "Swinging into the 21stÓ series, and premiered several new compositions, including the ballet Them Twos, for a June 1999 collaboration with the New York City Ballet. That same year he premiered the monumental work All Rise, commissioned and performed by the New York Philharmonic along with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the Morgan State University Choir in December 1999. Sony Classical released All Rise on CD October 1, 2002. Recorded on September 14 and 15, 2001 in Los Angeles in those tense days following 9/11, All Rise features the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra along with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Morgan State University Choir, the Paul Smith Singers and the Northridge Singers. On March 9, 2004, he released The Magic Hour, his first album on Blue Note records. On November 30, he followed up his Blue Note debut with Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, the companion soundtrack recording to Ken Burns' PBS documentary of the great African-American boxer. His next album, Wynton Marsalis: Live at The House Of Tribes is due to be released on August 30, 2005. Mr. Marsalis is also an internationally respected teacher and spokesman for music education, and has received honorary doctorates from dozens of universities and colleges throughout the U.S. He conducts educational programs for students of all ages and hosts the popular Jazz for Young People(SM) concerts produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center. Mr. Marsalis has also been featured in the video series Marsalis on Music and the radio series Making the Music. He has also written three books: Sweet Swing Blues on the Road in collaboration with photographer Frank Stewart, Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life with Carl Vigeland and recently released To a Young Musician: Letters from the Road with Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, published by Random House in 2004. In October 2005, Candlewick Press will release Marsalis's Jazz ABZ, an A to Z collection of 26 poems celebrating jazz greats, illustrated by poster artist Paul Rogers. In 2001, Mr. Marsalis was appointed Messenger of Peace by Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and he has also been designated cultural ambassador to the United States of America by the U.S. State Department through their CultureConnect program. He helped lead the effort to construct Jazz at Lincoln Center's new home Ð Frederick P. Rose Hall Ð the first education, performance, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz, which opened in October 2004.

Robert Sadin has distinguished himself in a remarkably wide range of musical idioms as conductor, arranger and record producer. Mr. Sadin has guest-conducted orchestras worldwide including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the Verdi Orchestra of Milan. The New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra are among the orchestras that have performed Mr. Sadin's works. He produced and arranged Gershwin's World featuring Herbie Hancock with guest artists Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Kathleen Battle and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. This widely acclaimed album won three Grammy awards. Mr. Sadin produced and conducted Wayne Shorter's Alegria, which won this year's Grammy award for best instrumental jazz album. Wynton with Strings continues Mr. Sadin's long association Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 1993 Mr. Sadin was invited by Wynton Marsalis and Peter Martins to conduct and record the premiere of the ballet "Jazz" at the New York City Ballet. He also conducted the Marsalis contribution to the Grammy winning album Listen to the Story Teller. Mr. Sadin's activities as a record producer include many innovative and influential recordings including So Many Stars featuring Kathleen Battle with guest artists Grover Washington, Cyrus Chestnut and Christian McBride. This album was considered a landmark in melding classical vocalism with jazz and Brazilian artists. Mr. Sadin also produced Glory to God featuring Busta Rhymes, and the Boys Choir of Harlem on the Grammy winning album Handel's Messiah, a Soulful Celebration and Conquerors, a Grammy-nominated gospel album featuring the legendary Clark Sisters. Mr. Sadin was a member of the Princeton University Music Department for six years and was previously Music Director and Conductor of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music Orchestra, where he received international acclaim for his conducting of Schoenberg's Moses and Aaron. Mr. Sadin has served as musical consultant to the New York Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philips Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, and Sony Classical Records among others.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center 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. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, adult education courses and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, Chairman of the Board Lisa Schiff, President & CEO Derek E. Gordon, Executive Director Katherine E. Brown and Jazz at Lincoln Center board and staff, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce hundreds of events during its 2005-06 season. In October 2004, Jazz at Lincoln Center opened Frederick P. Rose Hall - the first-ever performance, education, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz. For more information, visit www.jalc.org

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Makes Waves In The U.K. :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Makes Waves In The U.K. :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Makes Waves In The U.K.
Posted by: editoron Saturday, October 15, 2005 - 10:28 AM
Jazz News Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra may hang their hats inside the House of Swing at Columbus Circle, but they're also musical ambassadors around the world. NY1's Stephanie Simon tagged along on the orchestra's recent tour of Great Britain, and found out that life on the road isn't easy – no matter how well you play.
“You miss your family and your kids,” Winton Marsalis says of life on the road. “There are long drives everyday; concerts finish at 10:30 and then you sign autographs until maybe 2 or 3 o'clock; you leave maybe at 7, and you do that 5 or 6 days in a row.”





In late September, Marsalis and his 14-member jazz orchestra traveled to Great Britain to perform his original composition “All Rise” with The London Symphony Orchestra. But there was more than just the music to deal with.

“London is so expensive,” says LCJO bassist Carlos Henriquez. “You thought New York was expensive? London is really expensive.”

“I bought breakfast across the street,” says trumpeter Marcus Printup, “and I think it was actually 40 dollars.”

But who has time for breakfast? The hectic schedule takes you from runway to rehearsal before a short break – then it's back to rehearsal.

“It's crucial for us to keep it together,” says drummer Ali Jackson. “Between the conductor and myself, we're the glue that tries to hold it all together.”

Rehearsal lasts for three long days, then the orchestra is off to the first stop on the tour: Birmingham. But only after the bus is delayed on its departure.

“About this time in the trip, we get silly,” says Enriques. “You act the fool the first hour we're on the bus, and then everyone falls asleep.”

The bus arrives a little behind schedule, but things get back on track once everyone is checked into the hotel and the soundcheck begins.

The music is composed by Marsalis, but his handwritten notes are transferred to computer and expanded into a full orchestra score by music copyist Jonathan Kelly.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered . . . and Just 10 Years Later - New York Times

Signed, Sealed, Delivered . . . and Just 10 Years Later - New York TimesOctober 16, 2005
Signed, Sealed, Delivered . . . and Just 10 Years Later
By ALAN LIGHT

IT'S hardly worth noting that Stevie Wonder is several hours late. Granted, he has a compelling reason - the fires burning outside Los Angeles have come so close to his house that he has had to evacuate. But waiting for Mr. Wonder is one of pop music's grandest traditions. The release this week of "A Time to Love" ends the longest wait yet: it has been a decade since he last put out an album full of new material.

For Mr. Wonder, 55, the music always determines the schedule, not the other way around. "You set a goal in your mind," he said over the phone from his recording studio, "and you say, O.K., this is what these songs need to have, this project needs to have, and you don't really settle for anything less than that."

As he tells it, this time the key was a single phrase. He had been noodling with a piano fragment, until one day the words "a time to love" popped into his head. "When I came up with that title," he said, "I knew what I would use and what I would not. That was maybe three or four years ago."

Most of his vocals were completed last year, he said, leading to the first round of rumblings that the album would finally see light of day. He was still tweaking the music until last month, though: altering mixes, adding a female vocal part, dropping a track from back in the "Songs in the Key of Life" era. Call it perfectionism or procrastination, but ever since the radical act of taking control of his own writing and production in 1972, he has obstinately, often brilliantly, followed his own muse - and his own timetable.

After 10 years away, Mr. Wonder has not lost his unparalleled sense of melody; the album returns him to looser, more elastic rhythms than the mechanized thud that marred much of his music in the 90's. He even got back behind a drum kit. "There were always people going, 'Hey, Stevie, why don't you play drums like you did on 'Innervisions'?" he recalled, "And I'd say, 'Man, that was back then, leave me alone!' But I went back and listened, and I said, 'You know what? They've got a point.' "

In the 42 years since "Fingertips, Part 2," the first No. 1 single from Little Stevie Wonder, Mr. Wonder has had 32 singles top the charts and won a record 19 Grammy Awards. Even in his absence, he has loomed large. Artists from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Phish cover his songs, and his magnificently yearning, filigreed vocal style echoes through two generations of singers, recently including John Legend, Alicia Keys and Maroon5's Adam Levine.

"He really changed the way that people sing," said Bonnie Raitt, who played slide guitar on "Tell Your Heart I Love You," a track on the new album. She added that R&B can be divided into two eras: "Before Stevie and After Stevie."

But the After Stevie era has been long. It has been a full 20 years since he has had an album or a single in the Top 10 of the pop charts, and the "more organic" sound that he said he sought on his new album is not an obvious fit with post-hip-hop radio. "It's going to be an uphill battle, definitely," said B. J. Stone, director of R&B programming at Sirius Satellite Radio. "There's a lot of anticipation because he's such a genius, but I don't think he really locked up the pulse of music right now."

Nor does it help that "A Time to Love" has been cranked up for release several times before. "There was a temporary lack of confidence that we were going to put it out," Sylvia Rhone, president of Motown Records, said. "But when everybody saw that it was for real this time, they all came in."

Judging from the credits on "A Time to Love," most musicians will still drop whatever they're doing for the chance to work with Stevie Wonder. Prince, India.Arie, the gospel superstar Kirk Franklin and the human beat-box Doug E. Fresh all turn up, and Paul McCartney (with whom Mr. Wonder recorded the duet "Ebony and Ivory" in 1982) added his guitar to the sprawling title song.

Sir Paul may be Mr. Wonder's lone rival as the foremost melody writer of the rock era, but Mr. Wonder said that another Beatle had inspired him this time. "I was listening to the 60's channel on XM," a satellite radio service, "and I heard 'All You Need Is Love,' " he said. "I realized how much I really loved John Lennon, and the hard place that he had in his lyrics. He and Bob Marley were incredible lyricists of reason, of things that made sense and gave people a place and purpose."

Mr. Wonder expressed special pride in the words he wrote for this album. "I think I've grown as a lyricist," he said. "I think, for instance, that 'Passionate Raindrops' " - another track on the album - "is a different kind of lyric; it's very picturesque. I can see everything that I'm writing, I can visualize all those things happening."

Mr. Wonder is, of course, blind, perhaps the most famous blind man alive, but he speaks of visualization unself-consciously, as just one of the many tools at his disposal as a musician. He is more deliberate when talking about humanitarian work, his other great legacy. He is one of the most tangible remaining links to the civil rights era. Now, as the father of seven, including a newborn, he remains committed to numerous causes and charities. He said that he had been talking to Steven P. Jobs, the founder of Apple Computer, about making the iPod more accessible to blind listeners. When the sweeping ballad "Shelter in the Rain" took on new meaning after Hurricane Katrina, he earmarked all proceeds from that track for relief efforts. "He stands above as a cultural figure," Ms. Raitt said, "above partisanship and above reproach."

As for the songs on "A Time to Love," they stand more or less above direct confrontation, which is surprising for the writer of such scathing social commentary as "You Haven't Done Nothing" and "Living for the City." The bulk of the album consists of straight-ahead love songs, and the messages on "So What the Fuss" and "Positivity" focus on empathy and personal responsibility. (A more full-throated protest song titled "Judgment Day" would, he said, likely turn up as a bonus cut on the Japanese release of the album.)

Despite the tone of his songs, his feelings about the state of the world don't seem to have softened. "There's an evil spirit that lurks among us," he said. "It's present in a different way now, a product of those things that we left undealt with, unresolved."

He continued: "But I'm really not angry, I'm saddened, I'm disappointed, but I'm trying to do the best I know how to do. And I'm encouraging everyone else to do their best, give the love you have in your spirit, because I think that people are beginning to see the consequences of what they do or don't do."

Motown went through three presidents during the making of "A Time to Love," and Mr. Wonder is approaching the release of the album as a test. "I have been committed to a record company that was the brainchild of an African-American man from Detroit," he said, referring to the label's founder, Berry Gordy Jr. "And for as long as they handle their business with my stuff, then I'll be there. Now we're going to see how they do."

Ms. Rhone said that the real challenge from her end was getting him to turn in the album. "We've been working on a huge marketing plan that has evolved over a full year," she said. "We're so well prepared, so anxious to execute, that getting to the market is the fun part." She described Mr. Wonder as "the cornerstone of the Motown label."

Indeed, Mr. Wonder is the only Motown star still left from the label's historic 60's roster. Today the company is better known as a repository for nostalgia than as a label that breaks new acts. "For those who own Motown, I'm sure the legacy is in the catalog, and I can understand that," he said. More than four decades after he made his debut, he has clearly given some thought to these issues. "But the untold legacy has got to be in the future," he said, in "what's happening right now, rather than the past."

NPR : Newly Found Beethoven Manuscript to Be Auctioned

NPR : Newly Found Beethoven Manuscript to Be AuctionedNewly Found Beethoven Manuscript to Be Auctioned

All Things Considered, October 13, 2005 · A manuscript in Ludwig van Beethoven's own hand, discovered in a Philadelphia seminary this summer, is expected to fetch $1.7 to $2.6 million at auction next month.

The 80-page draft score for the Grosse Fugue for Piano-Four Hands, considered a milestone in Beethoven's career, is being displayed briefly at the Palmer Theological Seminary, where a librarian came across it in July. Its pages include everything from note revisions to fingering details.

The manuscript reveals a composer who revised constantly, even obsessively. There are smudge marks where Beethoven rubbed out the brown ink before it could dry, and scratches where he erased notes with a needle. The red stains, resembling lipstick, are remnants of sealing wax, used to paste in long corrections.

When the music was first heard in the 1820s, critics balked, blaming Beethoven's deafness for the work's difficult harmonies. Beethoven died in 1827, at age 57. The Grand Fugue, with its difficult passages and intricate phrasing, remained at a great distance from public acceptance until the early 20th century.

The next time the handwritten score will be available for public viewing is mid-November, at Sotheby's auction house in London.

NPR : Connick, Marsalis Celebrate New Orleans Roots

NPR : Connick, Marsalis Celebrate New Orleans RootsConnick, Marsalis Celebrate New Orleans Roots

Listen to this story...

by Terry Gross

Branford Marsalis, left, and Harry Connick Jr. have been friends in New Orleans.

Branford Marsalis, left, and Harry Connick Jr. were each born and raised in New Orleans. Frank Hunter/Palma Kolansky

Fresh Air from WHYY, October 12, 2005 · Musicians Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, two New Orleans natives, have been friends for years -- back to the days when Connick took piano lessons from Marsalis' father, Ellis.

And when their hometown was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Marsalis and Connick sought to help any way they could. Marsalis' brother Wynton organized a benefit concert in New York. And Branford's label, Marsalis Music, is releasing a benefit CD, Celebration of New Orleans Music to Benefit the Musicares Hurricane Relief.

Connick returned to the city in early September, navigating its streets by boat and offering help where he could. Some of his experiences there became stories he submitted to NBC's Today show.

As the extent of the disaster became evident, Connick signed on with Habitat for Humanity to serve as honorary chair of "Operation Home Delivery," an effort to rebuild housing for families along the Gulf Coast.

It's an effort that, once again, Branford Marsalis has joined him in supporting, as he is the honorary chair of the New Orleans effort.

Earlier this year, the pair teamed up for Connick's CD Occasion: Connick on Piano, Vol. 2. The album features 13 duets for piano and saxophone, most of them written by Connick, such as "Chanson du Vieux Carre" and "I Like Love More." Marsalis contributed both the title track and "Steve Lacy."

NPR : Hearing New Music from Monk and Coltrane

NPR : Hearing New Music from Monk and ColtraneD Reviews
By Kevin Whitehead

Cover of Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall.

Listen to this story...

Hearing New Music from Monk and Coltrane

Fresh Air from WHYY, October 7, 2005 · Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall. It's a long-forgotten recording of a 1957 benefit concert, which has never been released until now.

A Last Round With August Wilson - New York Times

A Last Round With August Wilson - New York TimesOctober 9, 2005
A Last Round With August Wilson
By OSCAR HIJUELOS

IN early May, I spent a Saturday evening in my Manhattan apartment with August Wilson, the celebrated and much beloved playwright who was laid to rest yesterday. We ate dinner and watched a pay-per-view boxing match.

August, a big fan who kept track of the rankings, used to call me from the road to excitedly ask whether I was picking Mike Tyson or Roy Jones on a particular night. When he visited New York, he'd come by my place to unwind from his usual routine of luncheons, dinners and receptions, or just to escape the confines of his Edison Hotel room. Dapperly dressed, he'd always bring along a "beaucoup" bottle of brandy or whiskey and some flowers for my wife. He'd doff his black-brimmed felt hat and make himself at home.

He liked the views of the river from my windows, New Jersey twinkling in the distance, and the Victorian club-like atmosphere of certain of my book-lined rooms. He always looked around to see what books I had been reading, and occasionally, if I'd left some pages of a manuscript lying about, he'd give me a sly look as if to say: "Ah, productivity! A good thing!" He didn't talk that way, but that was what his expression conveyed to me.

He loved discussing literature: Ralph Ellison, Gabriel García Márquez, James M. Cain, Jorge Luis Borges and Tennessee Williams were but a few of the writers we talked about over the years. We tried to maintain a scholarly tone about such things, especially when our wives were around, but when it was just the two of us, our upbringings kicked in and our language was riddled with scatological turns of phrase. August's sentences blossomed with such language, especially when we came to the history of slavery and the black man in this country.

That night in May, as on so many similar nights, we ended up in my study to watch the fight, the sound turned low and some Clifford Brown on the stereo until the main event finally came on. In times past he'd sit in that room with guests ranging from my old, blue-collar neighborhood friends to Lou Reed, who, to August's delight, played a couple of his songs one evening on a nylon string guitar. But whoever had joined us, August always remained somewhat apart from the persona of one who had received so much acclaim.

If he at all considered his creative output the product of genius, he distanced himself from such thoughts, as if the social August Wilson were the caretaker of the creator. He talked books, boxing and jazz; sometimes about his own plays, the hard work of putting them on, the vagaries of tinkering with the script. And often he spoke about his family: especially his little girl, Azula.

"Sign your novel for me, but make it out to Azula," he'd say. "It's for her library."

In retrospect, knowing what I now know about his health at the time, he did seem to have slowed up a bit that May night. He had begun the evening his usual ebullient and opinionated self, but when the main boxing match (admittedly a lame one) came on, August, comfortably seated in an easy chair, a glass of wine before him, dozed off. He had never done that before. I assumed he was simply tired, because he had just come off the final stages of putting "Radio Golf" into production.

I watched him in repose that night. He had a great face, sharply featured, with ever so slightly slanting plains that gave his expressions a soulful and seemingly Asiatic cast. As he softly breathed he had about him the serenity of a man who fully knew the historic worth of his accomplishments. What he dreamed about, I cannot say.

Oscar Hijuelos is the author of "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" and the forthcoming "Twain and Stanley Enter Paradise."

Tribute to Steve Lacy October 6th 8PM at Merkin Concert Hall :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily

Tribute to Steve Lacy October 6th 8PM at Merkin Concert Hall :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily Tribute to Steve Lacy October 6th 8PM at Merkin Concert Hall
Posted by: editoron Thursday, October 06, 2005 - 08:49 AM
Jazz News World Music Institute, Thomas Buckner & Verna Gillis/Soundscape present

TRIBUTE TO STEVE LACY (1934-2004): SONGS & MUSIC

IRENE AEBI * ROSWELL RUDD * JOE LOVANO * DAVID LIEBMAN DON BYRON * JEAN-JACQUES AVENEL * JOHN BETSCH BOBBY FEW * GARY LUCAS * RICHARD TEITELBAUM DAVID WESSEL * THOMAS BUCKNER * JUDI SILVANO JEREMY UDDEN * GEORGE LEWIS * DANIEL TEPFER

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2005 8:00 PM

Merkin Concert Hall, 129 W.67th Street, NYC $10 or TDF/V; students $7 Box office (212) 501-3330 Info/charges (212) 545-7536 interpretations.info



Intepretations, the acclaimed series which features leading names in contemporary music and multi-media, continues on October 6th with an all-star tribute to the late saxophone legend Steve Lacy. The program, devoted to Lacy's extraordinary instrumental compositions and songs, will feature musicians who have performed with him (his wife and muse, Irene Aebi (vocal), Roswell Rudd (trombone), Joe Lovano (soprano saxophone), David Liebman (soprano saxophone), Jean-Jacques Avenel (bass), John Betsch (drums), Bobby Few (piano), Richard Teitelbaum (electronics), and David Wessel (electronics); his student from the New England Conservatory of Music (Jeremy Udden - soprano saxophone); and musicians who deeply admired his music and were inspired by him (Don Byron (clarinet), Gary Lucas (electric guitar), Thomas Buckner (baritone), Judi Silvano (vocal), George Lewis (trombone) and Daniel Tepfer (piano)). The concert will include A Ring of Bone, The Bath, The Holy Land, Prospectus, Esteem, Le Jardin, Bone, Buddha's Path, Inside My Head, and Futurities. The program is part of Daniel Pearl Music Days, an annual event dedicated to the ideals of tolerance, friendship and shared humanity.

Steve Lacy, the great soprano saxophonist and jazz master whose playing encompassed the history of jazz from Dixieland to the avant-garde, once defined his profession as “combination orator, singer, dancer, diplomat, poet, dialectician, mathematician, athlete, entertainer, educator, student, comedian, artist, seducer and general all around good fellow. “He is credited with bringing the soprano saxophone - an instrument that had been neglected during the Bop era - back from obscurity into modern music. He led a variety of groups, performed with many top musicians - including Cecil Taylor, Mal Waldron and Gil Evans - and was a foremost interpreter of Theolonius Monk. He collaborated with dancers (such as Merce Cunningham) and poets (whose words he set to music), and wrote many works for his wife, “his muse,” Irene Aebi. For five decades he made innovative recordings, with more than 50 under his own name. He was named the top soprano saxophonist in Down Beat magazine on many occasions, received the MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant in 1992, and was given France's highest artistic honor (he was made a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government) in 2002. During the last two years of his life he taught at the New England Conservatory of Music. He leaves behind an immense legacy of recordings, compositions and inspiration.

This program is made possible in part with public support from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency, and the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust.

-- Verna Gillis/SOUNDSCAPE PO Box 70 Accord, NY 12404

website http://www.soundscapepresents.com

Telephone: 845 626 4038 Fax: 845 626 4641

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola: November 2005 Lineup :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola: November 2005 Lineup :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola: November 2005 Lineup
Posted by: editoron Friday, October 07, 2005 - 09:43 AM
Jazz News Jazz at Lincoln Center Announces The November 2005 Lineup For Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra - The Music of Tommy Dorsey, Bobby Hutcherson featuring Kenny Garrett, Marcus Roberts Trio and Eric Alexander featuring Von Freeman

New York, NY (October 6) - Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly announces the November 2005 lineup of performances at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, continuing a Fall/Winter season full of must-see players. Opening the month with a shout is The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra performing the music of Tommy Dorsey, in celebration of what would have been the famous bandleader's 86th birthday, November 19. Dorsey passed away on November 26, 1956. Following the Orchestra will be legendary vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, featuring one of the most revered alto saxophonists on the scene today, Kenny Garrett. Holding down the After Hours spot during Hutcherson's week is the incomparable guitarist / composer Roni Ben-Hur. A Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola favorite and regular performer holds down the third week, pianist Marcus Roberts, leading his trio featuring Jas! on Marsalis on drums. From November 22-27, it's “Blowin' In From Chicago” - The Eric Alexander Quintet featuring the legendary Von Freeman.


Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola offers spectacular views and serves a jazz inspired menu seven days a week through the collaboration between Great Performances and Spoonbread culinary creators. Reservations can be made at 212-258-9595 or via the Jazz at Lincoln Center web site at http://www.jalc.org.


Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Schedule November 2005


UPSTARTS! Mondays at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Every Monday night, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, 7:30 & 9:30pm
Every Monday, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola will host a program entitled UPSTARTS! providing performance opportunities for students from area high schools and colleges, including Juilliard Jazz.
$15 cover charge plus $10 minimum at tables/ $5 minimum at bar


November 1 - 6
7:30 & 9:30pm Tuesday - Sunday, 11:30pm show Friday and Saturday
The Music of Tommy Dorsey: Juilliard Jazz Ensemble & Special Guests Conducted by Victor Goines In September 2001, the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies opened its doors welcoming 18 advanced jazz musicians into the School's newest program. The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra presents some of brightest stars on the jazz horizon and represents Juilliard's commitment and dedication to jazz, its pioneers, its traditions and its future. This week, The Juiilliard Jazz Orchestra celebrates the music of the great Tommy Dorsey, one of jazz's most famous trombonists and bandleaders. Dorsey would have turned 86 on November 19, 2005.


November 1 - 5
After Hours with Julius Tolentino & Full Circle
Julius Tolentino (saxophones), Avi Rothbard (guitar), Jared Gold (organ), Pete VanNorstrand (drums)


November 7 & 8 ***Sold Out***


November 9 - 13
7:30 & 9:30pm Wednesday-Sunday, 11:30pm show Friday and Saturday
Bobby Hutcherson Quartet - (featuring Kenny Garrett November 9 & 10 only)
Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Renee Rosnes, Wayne Burno (bass), Willie Jones III (drums) Bobby Hutcherson, one of a handful of vibraphonists to enjoy successful careers both as a jazz instrumentalist and a composer, inherited the musical legacy built by Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo and extended the virtuoso innovations developed by Milt Jackson. Credited, along with Gary Burton, with ushering what was essentially a novelty instrument into the modern era, Hutcherson in turn influenced the few musicians who chose to follow in his footsteps, including the current keeper of the flame, Stefon Harris. A native of L.A., Hutcherson performed locally with Curtis Amy and Charles Lloyd as well as with a quintet co-led by Al Grey and Billy Mitchell which brought him to N.Y. in 1961 when he was 20 years old.


He began performing with a visionary group of artists including Jackie McLean, Grachan Moncur III, Charles Tolliver, Archie Shepp, Eric Dolphy, Hank Mobley and Herbie Hancock. As a result of these associations, in 1963 Hutcherson began appearing as a sideman on several Blue Note albums that would become classics including McLean's One Step Beyond, Moncur's Evolution, Hill's Judgment and Dolphy's Out To Lunch.


It would be easy - based on his work on these recordings and on Dialogue, his 1965 Blue Note debut as a leader featuring Sam Rivers and Freddie Hubbard - to pigeon hole Hutcherson as a member of the avant-garde. Yet he was equally at home playing the blues, as he does with authority on Grant Green's Idle Moments and his own album The Kicker, a soulful, swinging session from 1963 which was actually the vibraphonist's first as a leader, even though it was not released until the fall of 1999. Hutcherson appeared on several other Blue Note titles as a leader and sideman during the course of an association with the label that lasted until 1977. Stick-Up from 1966, which, like The Kicker! features tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, is also notable for the dynamic playing of the irrepressible drummer Billy Higgins. It is also Hutcherson's first recording with pianist McCoy Tyner with whom he would make the duo album Manhattan Moods in 1993.


November 8 - 12
After Hours with Roni Ben-Hur
Roni Ben-Hur (guitar), John Hicks (piano), Rufus Reid (bass), Leroy Williams (drums), Steve Kroon (percussion)
“ . . .a talented guitarist and composer . . .” - Nate Chinen, The New York Times. “His belief in jazz as a beacon of enlightenment comes beaming through in varicolored moods ranging from his sparkling showpiece, 'Mama Bee,' to his deeply felt prayer for peace for his homeland in a composition called, 'Eretz' (Hebrew for 'land').” - Owen McNally, The Hartford Courant. Critically acclaimed guitarist and composer Roni Ben-Hur will be appearing in support and celebration of his fourth CD as a leader, Signature.


In June of this year, Reservoir Music released Signature, the fourth recording from guitarist, composer, arranger, educator and author, Roni Ben-Hur. Winner of the JAZZIZ 2000 Reader's Poll for “Best New Talent” and a favorite of jazz critics since his emergence on the scene in the 1990s, Ben-Hur reveals on Signature his evolution and accomplishments as a composer, arranger and leader of strength and substance, whose synthesis of styles and cultural influences defy category. Signature is also Ben-Hur's most personal statement on record yet, featuring music that is near and dear to the guitarist's heart. Throughout the recording, Ben-Hur, with John Hicks on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, Leroy Williams on drums and Steve Kroon on percussion, delivers melodically and rhythmically rich versions of originals, and compositions by Jobim, Porter, Hicks, Arlen and Heitor Villa-Lobos. With the release of Signature Roni Ben-Hur offers the world a piece of himself, a glimpse into his life, his mind and his heart, and therefore his most meaningful musical statement to date.


November 14 *** Closed for Jazz at Lincoln Center Fall Gala ***


November 15 - 20
7:30 & 9:30pm Tuesday - Sunday, 11:30pm show Friday and Saturday
Marcus Roberts
Marcus Roberts (piano), Roland Guerin (bass), Jason Marsalis (drums)
The Marcus Roberts Trio was founded in 1993 when Roberts began to study the lineage of great jazz trios, including those of Nat Cole, Oscar Peterson, Errol Garner, and Ahmad Jamal. Roberts first met young drummer Jason Marsalis in the mid-to-late 1980s, during his days in the Wynton Marsalis Septet. Jason was just 10 years old at that time. With the founding of the Marcus Roberts Trio, Roberts had the goal of creating a whole new style of jazz trio playing. After trying a series of drummers and bassists over a two-year period, in 1994 Roberts asked the 17-year-old Jason Marsalis to join his band. In early 1995, Roland Guerin played with Roberts for the first time and from the beginning, he made the trio sound complete. The philosophy and style of Marcus Roberts Trio has steadily evolved from that point.


November 22 - 27
7:30 & 9:30pm Tuesday - Sunday, 11:30pm show Friday and Saturday
“Blowin' In From Chicago” featuring The Eric Alexander Quintet with Special Guest Von Freeman Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander brings a seasoned veteran's proficiency and poise to his latest recording, Nightlife in Tokyo. As on his four previous Milestone albums as a leader, the 34-year-old colossus-on-the-rise approached this new project with an assured and mature musical vision, gracefully sidestepping the novelties and trends that have come to the fore in so much contemporary jazz marketing.


“I'm not consciously trying to do things differently from record date to record date,” explains the Galesburg, Illinois native. “I'm just really adhering to formula of assembling good musicians that I'm comfortable playing with, getting quality material - a combination of originals and standards and perhaps some new arrangements on standard tunes - and trying to make the kind of recording that a jazz fan or musician can put on and enjoy listening to from start to finish.”


At age 16, Von Freeman played tenor in Horace Henderson's big band for a year. He was drafted into the Navy during WWII, and after his return to Chicago he played with his brothers George on guitar and Bruz (Eldrige) on drums at the Pershing Hotel Ballroom. Various leading jazzmen such as Charlie Parker, Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie played there with the Freemans as the backing band. In the early '50s, Von played in Sun Ra's band. Von's first venture into the recording studio was for Andrew Hill's second single on the Ping label. He did some recording for Vee Jay with Jimmy Witherspoon and Al Smith in the late '50s and appeared and was recorded at a Charlie Parker tribute concert in 1970. It was not until 1972 that Von first recorded under his own name with the support of Roland Kirk. His next effort was a marathon session in 1975 that was released on two albums by Nessa. Since then his recordings have included three albums with his son, tenor saxophonist Chico Freeman. Von Freeman is considered a founder of the Chicago school of tenor saxophonists along with Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin and Clifford Jordan.
(Schedule subject to change.)


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.


Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center 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. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, adult education courses, film programs, and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, Chairman of the Board Lisa Schiff, President & CEO Derek E. Gordon, Executive Director Katherine E. Brown and Jazz at Lincoln Center board and staff, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce hundreds of events during its 2005-06 season. In October 2004, Jazz at Lincoln Center opened Frederick P. Rose Hall - the first-ever performance, education, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz.


For more information please visit www.jalc.org.

Singers Over Manhattan - Jazz at Lincoln Center :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily

Singers Over Manhattan - Jazz at Lincoln Center :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily Singers Over Manhattan - Jazz at Lincoln Center
Posted by: eJazzNews Readeron Friday, October 07, 2005 - 03:08 PM
Jazz News Singers Over Manhattan
Romance with a View

· Featuring Carla Cook, Sachal Vasandani & Jennifer Sanon
· Backed by the Eric Reed Trio
· Manhattan skyline views – October 20-22, 2005

New York, NY (October 6, 2005) Jazz at Lincoln Center continues the tradition in its second full season featuring great singers with the breathtaking view in The Allen Room with Singers Over Manhattan at 7:30pm on October 20, 21, 22, 2005. Located in Frederick P. Rose Hall, home to Jazz at Lincoln Center, overlooking Central Park, Columbus Circle and the Manhattan skyline, the best seat in Manhattan is yours. Backed by the Eric Reed Trio, enjoy the incredible vocal performance of singers Carla Cook, Sachal Vasandani and Jennifer Sanon.



Tickets for Singers Over Manhattan are $40, $75 and $130, and available at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office on Broadway at 60th St., by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500 or via www.jalc.org.

Backed by the fine sounds of the Eric Reed Trio, Singers Over Manhattan presents some of the hottest jazz vocalists on the scene today. From seasoned veteran Carla Cook to red-hot Sachal Vasandani to up-and-comer Jennifer Sanon, expect an evening of romance and virtuosity in The Allen Room. With the exquisite backdrop of The Allen Room, the view is half the fun! Come see and hear what everybody’s talking about, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s home at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, 5th floor.

Carla Cook says of The Allen Room, “It’s a wonderful place to perform…very classy and classic…and it has such a nice sound.” She continues that she looks forward to collaborating with pianist Eric Reed, “He’s a wonderful pianist, a very tasty player. I’ve admired his work with other singers, that’s why I’m thrilled to be working with him. He’s got a nice ear and touch for working with vocalists.” The Eric Reed Trio consists of Eric Reed (piano), David Wong (bass) and Willie Jones III (drums).

Carla Cook Bio
Carla Cook is daring. She is a jazz singer/songwriter who sings standards beautifully -- but she doesn't stop there. Cook is willing to put a jazz spin on songs not written by traditional jazz composers. Songs that, until you hear her sing them, you'd never imagine could be interpreted as jazz. This native Detroiter, who grew up in a musically rich and diverse environment, brings all her influences to bear within her repertoire. In her songbook you'll find elements of R&B, European classical, Motown, Blues and Gospel. Cook has always eschewed labels, and refuses to become a
jazz purist or snob. That willingness to simply sing what she loves, bringing an earthy sophistication to every song, is what gives Cook her signature style.

In her native Detroit, Cook started singing when she was a young child. Growing up, the Midwesterner sang in the Methodist Church. The secular music that she enjoyed ranged from R&B, rock, country and European classical.Though jazz has always been Cook's primary focus, she has been quoted as saying that her favorite artists range from Miles Davis to Chaka Khan to Johann Sebastian Bach.

Sachal Vasandani Bio
As a singer with this year’s Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra presentation of Don Quixote, Sachal Vasandani impressed his audience. As New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff wrote, “Sachal Vasandani was a total surprise: He looks like the leading man in a Bollywood musical but is a very traditional jazz crooner in the great tradition of Billy Eckstine and Ellington’s Eckstine equivalents, Herb Jeffries and Al Hibbler. He sang swingers and ballads, and he scatted with surprising ease.”

Sachal Vasandani was born in Chicago, with his initial interest in jazz coming from his parent’s jazz records, which ranged from Duke Ellington to Keith Jarrett. Active in jazz band and choir, as well as other ensembles, Vasandani left for college at the University of Michigan. There, in 1998, he was the official representative of the International Association of Schools of Jazz. In 1999, he was voted Collegiate Jazz Vocalist of the Year by Down Beat magazine. In 2004, he was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk Institute Competition.

Jennifer Sanon Bio
Jennifer Sanon was awarded Outstanding Vocalist at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Festival and Competition in 2003. As a member of the Essentially Ellington All-Star Sextet, Ms. Sanon performed during our "Jammin' With Jazz" 2004 family benefit. In both 2003 and 2004, she was a member of the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy High School Jazz Ensembles, an elite group of 24 student musicians nationwide chosen to perform in a series of concerts leading up to the Grammy Awards. She was also named the 2004 Grammy Foundation Honoree. A Miami native, Ms. Sanon has recently graduated from high school in Florida. Ms. Sanon performed last season with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra on the Chivalrous Misdemeanors concert.

Eric Reed Bio
Eric Reed was born June 21, 1970 in Philadelphia, PA and grew up playing gospel music in his father’s storefront Baptist church, starting at the age of five. “My father was a minister but he also used to sing with a Gospel group in Philly called the Bay State Singers. He was my earliest musical influence. I also was hit heavily by Edwin Hawkin’s music of the 1970s. Gospel music remains a large part of my playing today.” Later, young Reed was bitten by the jazz bug after hearing recordings of Art Blakey, Ramsey Lewis and Dave Brubeck.

At age 18, pianist Reed toured briefly with Wynton Marsalis. A year later, Eric joined Marsalis’ Septet (1990-91; 1992-95). He spent two years with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (1996-98). Eric continues to perform and record with an assortment of masters.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center 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. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children’s concerts, lectures, adult education courses and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, Chairman of the Board Lisa Schiff, President & CEO Derek E. Gordon, Executive Director Katherine E. Brown and Jazz at Lincoln Center board and staff, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce hundreds of events during its 2005-06 season. In October 2004, Jazz at Lincoln Center opened Frederick P. Rose Hall - the first-ever performance, education and broadcast facility devoted to jazz. For more information, visit www.jalc.org.

Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its 2005-2006 partners: Altria Group, Bank of America, Bloomberg, The Coca-Cola Company, Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Time Warner Inc., XM Satellite Radio,
BET-Black Entertainment Television.

###

For Immediate Release: October 6, 2005
For More Information, Contact:
Scott H. Thompson, Assistant Director, Public Relations (212) 258-9807 or via email sthompson@jalc.org

Listings Information:
Producer: Jazz at Lincoln Center
Event: Singers Over Manhattan featuring the Eric Reed Trio, Carla Cook, Sachal Vasandani and Jennifer Sanon
Dates/Times: Thursday-Saturday, October 20, 21, 22, 2005 at 7:30pm
Location: The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall on Broadway at 60th Street.
Tickets: $40, $75, $130
Available at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall box office on Broadway
at 60th Street (open Monday – Saturday, 10am-8:30pm and Sunday 11am-8:30pm,
CenterCharge at 212-721.6500 or via www.jalc.org

Jazz At Lincoln Center Celebrates Thelonious Monk :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily

Jazz At Lincoln Center Celebrates Thelonious Monk :: eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net :: Jazz News Daily Jazz At Lincoln Center Celebrates Thelonious Monk
Posted by: editoron Friday, October 07, 2005 - 06:56 PM
Jazz News Jazz at Lincoln Center celebrates the great Thelonious Monk's birthday throughout October with a series of concerts and events dedicated to the legendary jazz pianist's style and genius. Beginning Tuesday, October 25th, in the Irene Diamond Education Center at 7:00pm, Jazz at Lincoln Center launches the first Jazz Talk of the 2005-06 season with Rhythm-a-ning: Thelonious Monk. Monk said: ÒA genius is one who is most like himself, and by this standard, Monk's brilliance was unmatched. Professor and Monk biographer Robin D.G. Kelley will lead the audience on a tour of the house that Monk built.
On October 28th and 29th, at 8:00pm in Rose Theater, Jazz in Motion: Tappin' into Monk, features tap virtuoso Savion Glover as he splinters the floor to the syncopated sounds of Thelonious Monk, who when seized by the spirit of his musical inventions broke into a circle dance all his own. In Jazz for Young PeopleSM: Jazz In Motion: Tappin' Into Monk, school-age children will have the opportunity to experience the music of Thelonious Monk in this dance and jazz collaboration featuring Savion Glover in Rose Theater on October 29th at 12pm & 2pm. The power of Monk's music and Mr. Glover's phenomenal tap dancing will get the whole family out of their seats!

Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) Fingers splayed, elbows poised to collide with the keyboard, he neither played nor sounded like anyone else and the public recognized his eccentricities, his ever-changing headgear, dizzying mid-performance dances and long, baffling silences Ð long before it accepted his music.

Raised in Manhattan and inspired by the New York masters of stride piano, Monk became the house pianist at Minton's Playhouse where the young creators of bebop played together after-hours in 1940. From the first, the greatest musicians loved compositions like “Round Midnight” and “Epistrophy” with their unusual chords and voicings and sudden starts and stops, but it was not until 1957 and the release of his record, “Brilliant Corners” that the jazz world fully came to see that he was, as John Coltrane said, “a musical architect of the highest order, “ and one of the most important composers in the history of the music.

NPR : Unearthing Unknown Monk, Coltrane Recording

NPR : Unearthing Unknown Monk, Coltrane RecordingUnearthing Unknown Monk, Coltrane Recording

All Things Considered, October 5, 2005 · One day in late January, Larry Appelbaum was thumbing through some old Voice of America audiotapes about to be digitized at the Library of Congress when he made a discovery that would stun him and many other jazz fans.

Eight 10-inch reels of acetate tape were labeled "Carnegie Hall Jazz 1957." One of the tape boxes had a handwritten note on the back that said "T. Monk" with some song titles.

Appelbaum, a jazz specialist at the Library of Congress, got excited at the prospect of finding unpublished materials by the jazz master Thelonious Monk. Then he heard another distinctive sound. "I recognized the tenor saxophone of John Coltrane and my heart started to race," Appelbaum says.

The Nov. 29, 1957, concert was recorded by the Voice of America but never broadcast. For years, the recordings were lost and forgotten. Now, thanks to Appelbaum's discovery, Blue Note Records is releasing them.