domingo, 26 de enero de 2014

Paquito D'Rivera added another accolade to his successful career the 2014 Grammy for his album "Song for Maura"





In one of the most brilliant careers of some Latin American musician, for the world, Paquito D'Rivera overcame a Latin Jazz stars such as Wayne Wallace, Omar Sosa, Roberto Fonseca and vocalist Buika feeling of the moment. 

D'Rivera was to support "Song for Maura" the Brazilian Trio Corrente and thus add valuable prizes to those already obtained, the Grammy 2014 goes to showcase the great artist. 

Hear it live with the theme of the same name from Barranquijazz Album Winner 2013 (Colombia). 

¡¡Viva The Latin Jazz!!



jueves, 23 de enero de 2014

Guitarist Jack Hertzog friends with excellent musicians in various scenarios today premiering their new album "Throwback"



Jake Hertzog @NAMM
Appearing and performing at
Aalberg Audio Booth 7627 during the entire show (Jan 23-26th)
with special guests Eric Udel,
Hayes Greenfield, John Mader and more! 
Also performing with Eric Udel at the
GHS Strings booth Friday 24th at 3:45pm
Jake Hertzog Trio special San Francisco showcase
for Aalberg Audio at RUNWAY. 
January 30th 6-8:30pm
1355 Market St. Suite #488
San Francisco
Special guests John Mader and Dewayne Pate
NEW Zoho CD



Watch our new live version of "Hands On" 
from the new Zoho album THROWBACK.

What The Press Is Saying About
Jake Hertzog's "
Throwback
"

The expectations have been set high for Jake Hertzog since he had gotten off to such a nice start to his career. Throwback meets those lofty expectations. - S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews

Throwback emerges as a major milestone in Hertzog's young career - Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz 

Zoho Media Contact:
Jim Eigo
Jazz Promo Services
T: 845-986-1677
E-Mail:
 jim@jazzpromoservices.com
http://www.jazzpromoservices.com/

miércoles, 22 de enero de 2014

Gypsy Jazz con la sazon de Ole Swing en Madrid el 25/01/2014

CONCIERTO DE 
OLE SWING
Canción Española + Gypsy-Jazz & Swing

Sábado, 25 de enero de 2012 a las 22:30 h
en la 
Sala García Lorca, Fundación Casa Patas.
Cañizares 10, 2ª planta, 28012 Madrid.
Teléfono reservas: 91 429 84 71.

Entrada: 15 €.



Paco Rivas (Guitarra), Fernando Bellver (Guitarra), Raúl Márquez (Violín) y Gerardo Ramos (Contrabajo), cuatro de los músicos más importantes de la última generación del Jazz español, formados en la interpretación de distintos estilos y géneros musicales – Jazz, Blues, Rock, Flamenco - y cómplices habituales de figuras de la talla de Jorge PardoDiego “El Cigala”, Joaquín CortésAntonio Serrano,Jerry GonzálezRafael AmargoEva DuránPasión Vega, Antonio CarmonaLa Cabra MecánicaTito Alcedo o Nono García, unen sus fuerzas en OLE SWING, uno de los proyectos más originales, apasionantes y personales de la música popular española en los últimos años. El reto no es pequeño: Hallar el punto de encuentro entre dos líneas musicales paralelas, el nexo imposible entre dos territorios a un tiempo cercanos y remotos: La Copla – nuestra Copla - y el chispeante Gypsy Jazz francés del periodo de entreguerras (también conocido como “Jazz Manouche”), que el mundo enteró conoció a través de la colosal figura del guitarrista Django Reinhardt y su mítico Quinteto del Hot Club de Francia.

Así, clásicos inmortales de ADN profundamente cañí como“Ojos Verdes” (Miguel de Molina), “El Emigrante” (Juanito Valderrama), “Pena, Penita, Pena” (Lola Flores), “La Morena De Mi Copla” (Concha Piquer), y hasta piezas “serias” de profundo sabor español como “El Amor Brujo”, de Manuel de Falla, se ven mágica y deliciosamente transformadas en irresistibles piezas de Swing parisién, sin perder un ápice de su esencia y su maravillosa singularidad. Mención aparte merecen las participaciones especiales de la cantaora Eva Durán en una deliciosa interpretación de “Te Lo Juro Yo” llena de embrujo arrabalero, Toni Zenet, recreando magistralmente - como solo él sabe - esa pieza eterna y legendaria que es “La Bien Pagá”
Dos estilos nacidos en tiempos turbulentos, al calor de los focos de los clubs nocturnos, que han sobrevivido a los incontables vaivenes de los tiempos y las modas, profundamente arraigados en el corazón del Pueblo. Dos mundos aparentemente alejados, que comparten, sin embargo, la pasión, el desgarro, la verdad, y la orgullosa arrogancia características de las músicas callejeras, que los cuatro componentes de OLE SWING, más que “fusionar”, re-inventan y re-construyen desde sus mismos cimientos. Una música nueva, viva y dinámica, que combina la fuerza rítmica del Swing con la intensidad emocional de la Copla y la urgencia vital de las tendencias musicales contemporáneas.                 

Paco Rivas: Guitarra
Fernando Bellver: Guitarra
Roberto Jabonero: Violín
Josemi Garzón: Contrabajo

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The Big Picture - A Cinematic Concert, Music Performed by Krakauer



Premiere: Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Extended Run: Wednesdays at 7:30 P.M. on February 5, 12, 19 and Sundays at 2 P.M. on February 2, 9, 16, 23
At the Museum of Jewish Heritage in
Downtown Manhattan
Clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer showcases his new project, The Big Picture, a multimedia production at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Downtown Manhattan.
Accompanied by original films created for this show, this cinematic concert tells Krakauer's story of cultural heritage in an artful marriage of music and the moving image. The clarinetist re-imagines themes from iconic films with Jewish content from the last 50 years.
Krakauer's sextet delves into sensual, soaring, and daring interpretations of the music from movies integral to our collective memories, such as Fiddler on the Roof, Sophie's Choice, Life is Beautiful, Cabaret, The Producers and Funny Girl.
"The Big Picture is a special kind of project," says Krakauer. "It's a tour through Jewish history, and an exploration of how the movies show us the universality of our individual quests. I want this experience to serve as an opportunity for all. I am privileged to be the tour guide for this incredible voyage."


The Museum of Jewish Heritage, overlooking New York Harbor, serves as a compelling location.
The CD will be released nationwide on February 18, but is available as a special pre-sale at all performances.

The concert line up is David Krakauer, clarinet; Rob Schwimmer, piano, various keyboards and theremin; Sara Caswell, violin; Mark Helias, double bass; Sheryl Bailey, guitar; and John Hadfield, drums and percussion.

martes, 21 de enero de 2014

Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway Receive The Grand Prix de l'Académie du Jazz For "Duke at the Roadhouse Live in Santa Fe"







Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway
Receive The Grand Prix de l'Académie du Jazz
For "Duke at the Roadhouse Live in Santa Fe"
(IPO Recordings)

IPO Recordings is pleased to announce that Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway's recording "Duke at the Roadhouse Live in Santa Fe" (IPO IPOC1024) has been awarded the Grand Prix de l'Académie du Jazz .

The award recognizes the best record of the year in France.

Photo
Eddie Daniels & François Lacharme (President of the Jazz Academy)
Photo by Philippe Marchin

Links to coverage in the French press
Le Monde
French Daily Liberation
Culturejazz

 

About Duke at the Roadhouse

            A pair of undisputable Jazz masters taking on a slice of Duke Ellington’s unparalleled repertoire for artistic interpretation is in itself a formula for greatness.  But when those masters are men like clarinetist/tenor saxophonist Eddie Daniels and pianist Roger Kellaway, that’s simply not enough of a challenge.  So for their third IPO duet recording Duke at the Roadhouse: Live in Santa Fe, these two brilliant collaborators have selected five of Duke’ most popular compositions (and two more heavily associated with him) as a springboard for unique exploration.  And what better way to pay tribute to a man like Ellington.
          
           Simply concentrating orchestral works into a duo format is a most formidable challenge.  And adding a third voice to the proceedings in the outstanding cellist James Holland on four pieces is a stroke of genius that adds as wholly different orchestral timbre.  But apart from that, serious thought and focus has gone into each selection, providing an angle of perspective to the Ellington canon that is truly arresting.
          
          Anyone familiar with the histories of these two artists would not be surprised.  Coming to age during the incredibly fertile period of the 1960s, both men matured in that era’s environment of unlimited exploration, best expressed with a foundation of solid roots in the tradition.  On this wonderful recording, a broad palette of Jazz expression is on full display, but never losing sight of the central mantra of Duke Ellington’s imperative – It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing!
          
          The album was recorded live at a benefit concert in New Mexico for a group called “Santa Fe Center for Therapeutic Riding” which utilizes horses to help young people with disabilities. Performing in the beautiful Lensic Theater, the visceral audience response that can be heard after (and sometimes during) each track clearly demonstrates how the music created the spontaneous and intimate aura of a club.
          
         Daniels focuses primarily on the clarinet, an appropriate choice; not only considering the importance of that voice in Duke’s music and the long history of amazing clarinetists - like Barney Bigard, Jimmy Hamilton, Russell Procope and so many others - but also because Eddie has his own reputation of being one of Jazz’ greatest clarinetists.  Kellaway is one of the extremely rare pianists – along with the late Jaki Byard – who can demonstrate the entire history of Jazz piano within any four bars, moving from barrelhouse and stride elements into explosive Cecil Taylor-like chord clusters in an eye blink, without ever departing from the essence of the musical context.  The sheer virtuosity on this recording is astonishing, but in the greatest tradition of Jazz, only there to serve the music, not the ego.
          
         From the opening track, I’m Beginning To See The Light, a breathtaking tour de force that embraces so many elements of Jazz expression – abstraction, sheer swing, juxtaposition of unison and counterpoint, complexity, spontaneity, trading 4s, 8s and choruses – the jubilation is in full display.  This is followed by a total contrast in one of Duke’s oldest classics, Creole Love Call.  Dulcet clarinet over a bluesy barrelhouse is interspersed with a free-time airiness in this splendid offering.
          
       The addition of cellist James Holland on four tracks exponentially alters the atmosphere, essentially cubing the energy not just adding another voice.  All of his parts are written by Kellaway (Roger has been highly acclaimed for his earlier Cello Quartets), but Holland’s feel for Jazz is fully apparent and most essential for the music.  With his presence, Perdido – a piece that is too often tossed off playfully – is treated with a stunning arrangement that is highly dramatic, with an episodic chamber-like exposition.  One of Duke’s most beautiful pieces In A Sentimental Mood becomes a chamber suite, launched by a tension-building rolling rhythm stoked by Latin-grooved ostinato piano and transforming through a vast array of palpable textures and moods. Another early Ellington gem, Mood Indigo receives a daring and unusual treatment, an intricately and lovingly structured blend of clarinet, cello and piano that glides around the theme in bits and pieces, only stating it fully in the closing moments of this highly evocative rendition.

     In a Mellow Tone finds Daniels equally formidable on tenor, soulfully stating the theme alongside the plaintive cello.  Unaccompanied tenor and piano solos sometimes fragment the time into delightful abstractions, but never losing Duke’s “mellow” intent. Eddie’s tenor also highlights another beautiful ballad, Sophisticated Lady, opening with a solo excursion that teases the beautiful melody before Roger joins in for an extremely soulful portrait of Duke’s elegant Lady, which deftly shifts back and forth between deep blues and evocative balladry.
          
    Daniels and Kellaway each contributed one original apiece dedicated to Duke.  Eddie’s Duke at the Roadhouse is a swirling unison theme featuring outstanding back-to-back solos in straightforward fashion.  Roger’s Duke in Ojai’s descending pattern initially calls to mind Coltrane’s Giant Steps and is an ideal vehicle for superb interplay by the two longtime collaborators who truly enjoy playing music together.
          
   This exceptional album closes with a fascinating rendition of It Don’t Mean a Thing.  Highly impressionistic, with an almost Baroque approach it settles into a deeply hewn groove that clearly adheres to the title.
          
   This is a marvelous album that offers a most singular interpretation of Ellingtonia.


Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services
272 Ste Route 94 S #1  Warwick, NY 10990
T: 845-986-1677 / F: 845-986-1699
E-Mail
: jim@jazzpromoservices.com
 Web Site: www.jazzpromoservices.com/

lunes, 20 de enero de 2014

The Matthew Finck Jonathan Ball Project NYC CD Release Party Tonight @ The Cutting Room 8:00 p.m.


The Matthew Finck Jonathan Ball Project
NYC CD Release Party
Tonight!
Monday, January 20th, 2014 8:00PM
$15
The Cutting Room
44 E. 32nd ST. 
New York , US 10016
Purchase Tickets HERE
 
featuring

Matthew Finck-guitar
Jonathan Ball –saxophone,
Jay Anderson-bass
Adam Nussbaum-drums


New CD

The Matthew Finck Jonathan Ball Project
"It's Not That Far"



CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW

Matthew Finck guitar Jonathan Ball saxophone
Randy Brecker trumpet tracks 2, 5, and 7
Jay Anderson bass, Adam Nussbaum drums

Produced by: Matthew Finck and Jonathan Ball

Track listing:

1. It’s Not That Far 5:58 (Jonathan Ball)
2. Gentle Soul 6:47 (Matthew Finck)
3. Levin’s Impression 5:24 (Jonathan Ball)
4. I Thought You Had Gone 4:57 (Matthew Finck)
5. Conundrum 5:17 (Jonathan Ball)
6. East 86th 6:29 (Matthew Finck)
7. Geppetto 7:27 (Jonathan Ball)
8. The Way You Look Tonight 5:27 (Jerome Kern)
9. Get Up! 4:25 (Matthew Finck)


Matthew Finck, guitar, and Jonathan Ball, tenor saxophone, with their new album “It’s Not That Far,” continue the vast and varied range of collaborations between their instruments, expanding their conversations, and on three tracks, enriching their sound with the trumpet and flugelhorn of Randy Brecker. Their collective experience reaches back deep to the blues, gospel, and R&B, is grounded in bebop, and draws from sources as disparate as funk, rock, Bossa Nova and fusion. Matthew Finck (b.1972), has collaborated in the past with Roswell Rudd, John Medeski, and Steve Wilson among many. Jonathan Ball (b.1968), has teamed up with Ira Coleman, Randy Gillespie, Giovanni Hildago, Charles Flores, and Dafnis Prieto, to name just a few. Randy Brecker (b.1945), with two dozen albums under his belt as a leader, and countless albums as a sideman, displays versatility and flawless storytelling that speaks for itself.

The rhythm section, anchored by Jay Anderson (b.1955), bass, and Adam Nussbaum (b.1955), drums, delivers a percussive and unerringly consistent pulse that is highly textured and finely layered. Both Jay and Adam have played, and continue to play with, a virtual “Who’s Who” in jazz, performing locally and around the world. Jay notably so with Red Rodney, Joe Sample, and the Maria Schneider Orchestra; Adam with Stan Getz, Dave Liebman, Michael Brecker, and John Scofield.

The nine tunes on the album “It’s Not That Far,” are the result of an inspired collaboration between all musicians involved. In Jay and Adam, the co-leaders engage a rhythm section that contributes vast musical experience, complexity, and depth. “From the beginning we knew we wanted Jay and Adam to anchor the group. The music simply would not be what it is absent their contributions. The two day recording session was a pure joy from our perspective; relaxed, collaborative, and exciting all at the same time. They are a perfect foil for any creative musical endeavor. Their advice and sensibilities are priceless and what you get is an interplay 30 years in the making.” The nine tracks offered here prove the case in point convincingly.

While this album marks a major milestone in the careers both of Matthew and Jonathan, as performers and as composers, it also allows a look forward. Future collaborations are already being sketched out; maybe change the sound texture a bit, perhaps add a Hammond B3 to the mix. Up next is developing original compositions, exercising and fine-tuning them on the bandstand until they’re ripe and ready
 or the next recording. Live audiences will be in good hands, and so is the legacy of the collaboration between jazz guitar and tenor saxophone. Be on the lookout for the next Finck-Ball partnership production – it’s not that far.

Jim Eigo
Jazz Promo Services
272 State Route 94 South #1
Warwick, NY 10990-3363
Ph: 845-986-1677 / Fax: 845-986-1699
Cell / text: 917-755-8960
Skype: jazzpromo

jim@jazzpromoservices.com
www.jazzpromoservices.com

jueves, 16 de enero de 2014

NEA 2014 Jazz Masters’ investiture photo gallery

Aebersold
Jamey Abersold’s “Ornithology” onstage at the Allen Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center; photo by Sánta István Csaba
AnthonyBraxton
Anthony Braxton; photo by Sánta István Csaba
soledad
Soledad O’Brien



However, many controversies could arise from the program. The most notable within the Allen Room itself as the evening unfolded concerned new Jazz Master Anthony Braxton’s 40+ minute peroration. I’ve followed Braxton’s music for more than 40 years, and wonder what else than a long, spirited, self-referential improvised speech one could expect from a musician whose first record release, For Alto, was a two-LP set of solo sax improvisations? If a stage manager had wanted Braxton to conclude, co-MC Soledad O’Brien could have easily been asked to step up and help Braxton offstage. But the producer’s advance message to each Master receiving their Award was: “It’s your show . . .”
Prior to the program that was streamed, many formerly inducted Jazz Masters participated in a group photo:
NeaJazzMasters
rear row, from l. – Randy Weston, Jamey Aebersold, Anthony Braxton, Keith Jarrett, Richard Davis
2nd row: Eddie Palmieri, Dave Liebman, Muhal Richard Abrams, Jimmy Owens, Dan Morgenstern, Kenny Barron
Front row: Candido, Annie Ross, Jason Marsalis, Sheila Jordan, Jimmy Heath, David Baker
at side: NEA Senior Deputy Chairman Joan Shigekawa
 It was more fun to meet the Masters up close and personal –
RichardDavis
Richard David, bassist
JameyAebersold
Jamey Aebersold, saxophonist and educator
KeithJarrett1
Keith Jarrett, improvising pianist


EddiePalmieri-1
Eddie Palmieri
CecilTaylor
Cecil Taylor, pianist
Ross-Liebman-Hendricks-Owens-Jordan
from l.: Annie Ross, Dave Liebman, Jon Hendricks, Jimmy Owens, Sheila Jordan



Music highlights included a beautiful rendition of the late Master Frank Wess’ composition “Placidtude” –
Jimmy Owens and Kenny Barron playing a piece by the late Frank Wess at the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters ceremony
Jimmy Owens and Kenny Barron
Joe Lovano and young musicians drawn from JALC circles performed “Blue Bossa” by the late Jazz Master Kenny Dorham –
JoeLovano
bassist Yasushi Nakamura, Lovano, drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. 
Jimmy Heath and Melissa Aldana, winner of the 2013 Thelonious Monk saxophone competition, ended the event with Heath’s “New Picture” –
JimmyHeath
Melissa Aldana and Jimmy Heath
 Wynton Marsalis,   Jazz Master and JALC managing/artistic director, co-hosted the program –
WyntonMarsalis

miércoles, 15 de enero de 2014

Tipping Point Marks the Breakthrough for Jason Anick, the Daring and Eclectic Virtuoso of the Jazz Violin and Mandolin





 


Picture





"Jason Anick's sheer joy in playing is evident from the first track on Tipping Point.  While tipping his hat to Stéphane Grappelli, Jason maintains his own distinct voice -- especially in his own compositions.  Equally gifted as a musician and composer, Jason attracts new listeners to the violin and mandolin. Tipping Point is an uplifting and refreshing project deserving of countless repeated listenings." - Regina Carter

"Jason Anick has given us some unique contemporary pieces for jazz mandolin.  His playing has a wonderful clarity and creativity and his compositions offer a modern jazz approach to our instrument which is truly refreshing and inspired." - Mike Marshall

Talk to the abundantly gifted violinist and mandolin player Jason Anick and the phrase " jazz without borders" will invariably come up. What the axiom means to Anick is a contemporary jazz that is stylistically inclusive in nature, a jazz that brings whatever it can to the party, unwilling to cut something out of the mix for fear of it not fitting prescribed boundaries. An inviting demonstration of the maxim in action can be found on Anick's second album as a leader, Tipping Point (February 18, 2014). Utilizing both acoustic and electric mandolins in addition to his customary violin, Anick expands his musical horizons; those who associate his name with acoustic Gypsy jazz -- as heard so convincingly on his debut album, Sleepless, in his work with the Rhythm Future Quartet and with Grammy-award winning guitar virtuoso John Jorgenson -- will now find that pigeonholing Anick is fruitless. The album's title spells things out loud and clear: from this moment forward Anick's own music is rooted in the here and now, a time when possibilities reign.

Blending Anick originals that openly incorporate the influences of mainstream jazz, classical, new acoustic music, Gypsy jazz, swing, and hard bop with a wide-ranging swath of jazz classics from the likes of Django Reinhardt, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley and Ornette Coleman (along with a well-chosen standard, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"), Tipping Point declares that for open-eared members of the 27-year-old string master's generation, musical exclusion is a dead end. What tie together the various strains of Anick's vision are his extraordinary command of his chosen instruments and the spirited contributions of the like-minded players that accompany him on this musical journey.

To accommodate his concept, Anick uses two distinct ensembles throughout Tipping Point. For his five original compositions, Anick teams up with like-minded pianist Jason Yeager and pairs his violin and mandolins with the alto saxophone of Clay Lyons to achieve an atypical yet thoroughly appealing frontline sound. On the majority of the tunes by others, Anick sticks to violin and surrounds himself with a trio featuring the hard-swinging pianist Matt DeChamplain. (Coleman's blues "Turnaround" unites Anick's electric mandolin with the electric guitar of Lee Dynes.) The differing bands lend the album variety and suggest the unrestricted nature of Anick's current music making.



"There's a home in jazz for everything," Anick states. "I admire the embracing stance that contemporary musicians like Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman take, allowing other musics to join with jazz. On Tipping Point I'm moving in new directions, trying different musical settings and types of composition. I wanted to show different sides of my playing and my writing. I see all the diverse musical influences as being interconnected.  And there's beauty in interconnections."

The album also points to the Anick's new interest in using imagery to paint his musical pictures. "I try to visualize different aspects of songs," he explains. "Songs can become like musical movies; stories can come from the music and take a listener on a journey."

To that end, Anick never allows his obvious virtuosity to overpower the music's intent. "It's not about displaying technique," he states. "It's about creating a soundscape, an atmosphere for listeners to enter into." The shifting landscapes of Anick's own "Maryandra" and "Inspiration Point" are convincing examples of the leader's ambitions in action.
One of the youngest instructors at Boston's Berklee College of Music, Anick is rapidly making a name for himself in the world of jazz violin and mandolin. In addition to leading his own ensemble and performing with the Rhythm Future Quartet, Anick has been touring and recording with Grammy award-winning Nashville guitar virtuoso John Jorgenson since 2008 when he was recruited while still a senior at Hartt Conservatory. 

Anick celebrates the CD with concerts in Boston, Portland, ME; Old Lyme, CT and NYC:

Thursday, February 6 - One Longfellow Square - Portland, ME
Saturday, February 22 - The Side Door- Old Lyme, CT
Tuesday, February 25 - Regattabar - Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, March 18 - Cornelia Street Café - New York, NY

Ann Braithwaite
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
248 South Great Road
Lincoln, MA 01773
Ph: 781-259-9600
Fax: 781-259-9606

ann@bkmusicpr.com


viernes, 10 de enero de 2014

The excellent drummer Matt Wilson Quartet with John Medeski and Palmetto release Jan. 21 "Gathering Call"


Gathering Call

Matt Wilson is renowned for his virtuosic flair as a drummer and his good-vibes positivity as 
a bandleader, not to mention his facility for collaborating with top musicians across the spectrum of jazz - from the mainstream to the avant-garde and virtually everything in between. Wilson scored glowing reviews for last year's release with his band Arts & Crafts, Attitude for Gratitude, an album that DownBeat called "fun, thoughtful, beautiful" and Vanity Fair dubbed "the essence of jazz." For his next offering, the Matt Wilson Quartet is joined by a special guest - keyboard star John Medeski - for the album Gathering Call, to be released Jan. 21, 2014, via Palmetto Records. Wilson and company - with his Quartet featuring reedman Jeff Lederer, cornetist Kirk Knuffke and bassist Chris Lightcap, plus Medeski on piano - have created an irresistibly tune-rich, hard-grooving album steeped in the vintage virtues even as it sounds utterly fresh. Gathering Call rocks and it rolls, it sings and swings, brimming with brilliant musicianship and sly brio.Gathering Call - the Grammy-nominated drummer's 11th album as a leader - features a brace of Wilson originals that range from the raucous, drum-driven title track and Ornette-accented "How Ya Going?" to the atmospheric "Dancing Waters" and elliptically lyrical "Hope (for the Cause)." The interpretive numbers include versions of two Duke Ellington compositions ("Main Stem," the rarely covered "You Dirty Dog") and uncommon tunes by Charlie Rouse ("Pumpkin's Delight"), Butch Warren ("Barack Obama") and Hugh Lawson ("Get Over, Get Off and Get On"), plus the Beyoncé hit ("If I Were a Boy") and a folk traditional ("Juanita"). No matter the material, what DownBeat publisher Frank Alkyer said about the playing on Attitude for Gratitude holds fully true for Wilson and crew on Gathering Call: "You can hear them all smiling behind their instruments."
Wilson - a native of Knoxville, Illinois, born in 1964 - is famous for his big ears and big heart, a gregarious Midwesterner to his bones and never jaded even though he has played on hundreds of recording sessions and on top stages the world over, from historic jazz dives to the White House, from Lincoln Center to festivals and concerts around the globe. About the new album, Wilson enthuses: "The recording really swings-I love 4/4 time, the lift of the beat. But I also love open, atmospheric and expansive environments. My songs welcome collective interpretation, with a piece's character coming about naturally. In my world, there's no separation between swinging and free: no categories. The most important aspect of the music is the common ground, where the sounds and personalities of the cats merge."


The core "cats" on Gathering Call - longtime Wilson confreres Lederer and Lightcap joined by new Quartet member Knuffke - bring "a world of music to what they do," says Wilson. "When it comes to musicians, what I always look for are players who have a great sound and great feel to their playing, which all these guys have in abundance. But I also want players whose default setting is 'yes.' I like musicians who are game - and who bring out the same attitude in me. What makes this quartet special is the quality of trust - we can be game and open and adventurous with each other, so the music flows naturally. We recorded the whole album at Maggie's Farm in one seven-hour day, without much rehearsal, really - we just played the music. It was fun, and I think you can hear that on the record."

As for the Quartet's guest musical foil, the keyboardist of Medeski, Martin & Wood fame is an old friend of Wilson, the two having met in late-'80s Boston while playing in the ace Either/Orchestra. "We always had a nice feel together, John Medeski and I," Wilson explains. "But along with his feel, energy and deep roots in such a wide range of music, John has these incredible instincts that just blew the band away.The leader of the Either/Orchestra, Russ Gershon, used to say, 'Give Medeski a sheet of music, and he'll not only get the notes right away, he'll get the vibe, too.' It's more true than ever - he got the music immediately and played his ass off, really inspiring the band with his sound and spirit."


Reflecting on the chemistry that resulted in Gathering Call, Wilson adds: "It was a union and a reunion, a magical day, really. It's very mysterious how a band gels and how good music happens. The more I do this, the more I realize that you can't bottle the intangible, in-the-moment aspect of welcoming and allowing music. But that's why it's so cool. The mystery of it is the appeal of it for me."

The latest incarnation of the Matt Wilson Quartet joins Arts & Crafts, the Carl Sandberg Project, Trio M (with pianist Myra Melford and bassist Mark Dresser) and the new trio Sifter (with Knuffke and guitarist Mary Halvorson) as the drummer's prime group preoccupations, added to his myriad sideman gigs, education initiatives and broadcast projects. Wilson has been featured on the covers of both DownBeat and JazzTimesmagazines. In
 2003 and 2011, he was voted Drummer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Wilson has been an integral part of bands led by Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Charlie Haden, Lee Konitz, Bob Stewart, Denny Zeitlin, Ron Miles, Marty Ehrlich, Ted Nash, Jane Ira Bloom and Dena DeRose, among others. He has performed with legends of music, including Herbie Hancock, Dewey Redman, Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvis Costello, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Marshall Allen, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and Hank Jones.

Popmatters observed about this very special drummer-leader:
 "Wilson sees his music as a way to reach out, to communicate. Uninterested in some kind of hip disdain for his audience, he reaches fully across the table to get this music heard by anyone who wants to enjoy it. This kind of playful seriousness about art is a perfect model for a modern mindset: informed but original, daring but joyous."

Ann Braithwaite
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
248 South Great Road
Lincoln, MA 01773
Ph: 781-259-9600
Fax: 781-259-9606

ann@bkmusicpr.com

miércoles, 8 de enero de 2014

Attractive Showcase of Truth Revolution Records Sunday...Much Latin Jazz...gozalo!

This is the invitation that makes us reach for Truth Revolution Records Showcase next Sunday 12 wherein Jazz critics and specialists will be able to observe the exponents of this music label, dedicated especially to the executors of Latin Jazz, in all styles. Also will be several hours of excellent camaraderie for all!
Thanks and ¡¡Viva The Latin Jazz!!
Luis Raul Montell








You are invited to the TRrecords Showcase 

FREE Jan 12th in NYC MICHIKO PERFORMANCE ROOM!

This Year TRrecords will presents some of their Grammy nominated world touring artists.

It occurs at the same time as the APAP convention on Sunday, Jan 12th 2014

Please feel free to stop in to see and meet these artists.

This is not an open show to the public but by invite only, so we hope you can show up or recommend this showcase to someone you know is coming to the APAP convention.

Thanks and hope to see you there! 

SCHEDULE 
Aaron Burnett - 7:50PM
Mitch Frohman with the Curtis Brothers - 8:30PM

                                                        Carlos Abadie

Curtis Brothers - PHOTOSJG.COM

                       Curtis Brothers

martes, 7 de enero de 2014

On March 28 Rob Derke and NYJAZZ Quartet (A. Ortiz, De Rosa C and E Mc Pherson) @ The Kitano held in his album "Blue Divide"

Jazz Promo Services - Warwick




New CD:
Rob Derke & The NYJAZZ Quartet
"Blue Divide"
+ CD Release Event
@ The Kitano
Fri., Mar. 28th
Sets at 8PM and 10PM
Reservations:  212-885-7119
66 Park Avenue
(Enter on East 38th St)
New York NY 10016

Featuring

Rob Derke-soprano sax
Aruán Ortiz-piano
Carlo De Rosa-bass
Eric McPherson drums

(Zoho 201401)
Street Date January 14, 2014
Bertolt Brecht famously said that “art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.” With this in mind, the NYJAZZ Quartet takes on a number of pieces heard on Blue Divide that offer a musical discussion or debate on numerous issues from past and present. The improvisations that compliment these tunes tell a story by exploring issues in a way that can only be accomplished by members of an ensemble who have performed together for over two decades. Our first priority is creating and sharing some good music. If our treatment of this music inspires listeners to begin their own debate, then we will successfully hold true to Brecht’s vision for shaping reality, and our own vision for future audiences to experience this music as an evolving art form inspired by the present day while still keeping the traditions of this music alive.

Recorded the day after returning to New York City from a West Coast tour, we began the recording session by simply conversing. The short open improvisation that begins the recording, and is aptly named Prelude, is a visceral example of what this music is about - four friends gathering together, exchanging initial ideas with each other and the listener, and tuning themselves up both literally and figuratively for the musical discussion soon to follow. This improvisational section segues into our bassist Carlo De Rosa’s Pasillo Azul, Spanish for "blue hallway". It was inspired by a piece taught to Carlo by guitarist Jim Hall. It captures the essence of a blues but also offers an unsettled feeling through the use of altered chord changes.

Davey’s Dreams is a piece I wrote for Davey Schildkraut, a saxophonist most known for his recorded work with Miles Davis on the tune Solar, and as the lead alto player with Stan Kenton. There are many artists who never reach a position of mass acceptance or popularity for any number of reasons. Despite his time spent with Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, and Tito Puente, Davey is one of those artists whose story never really made it into the history books. However, his long lasting influence on the first generation of Bebop musicians and those to follow is beyond measure. I spent countless afternoons with Davey over years of study and friendship that lasted well into the evenings, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to get inside the music and the mind of this unsung hero and genius of Jazz.

Dispossession is a piece I wrote based on travels to the Middle East where I experienced both sides of a conflict that has either simmered or raged for decades. The term dispossession means the act of depriving an indigenous population of their land either by removal or occupation. The conflicts that emerge from these actions can be felt by the unsettling use of varied time signatures used in the beginning of the piece and by the constant trading of ideas between the soprano saxophone and piano during improvised sections.

Knowing is another piece written by bassist Carlo De Rosa and it offers us a chance to explore a more introspective space. It was composed to reflect the first time something is deeply known to a person. This can be translated or applied to many circumstances depending on each individual listener. Yet wherever this is felt, it is a universally held truth that is beyond a mere feeling or fleeting thought, and it tells us just as much about ourselves as how it relates to those around us.

G’s Waltz was written for my daughter Gabriella and included on this CD as a stark reminder of why we need to examine the issues of the day explored on some of the other pieces on this recording. These issues will have countless repercussions on our future generation, and it is important to recognize that our children will have to face the consequences of our actions. I wrote this piece as a playful waltz that simply reflects a childlike simplicity and curiosity to the world around us.

The 1986 film Round Midnight that included Herbie Hancock’s Still Time marked a significant time in my life as a student of Jazz. It was also released in the same year that I first met fellow NYJAZZ Quartet member Eric McPherson. Before the days of YouTube, we either saw our heroes live on stage or on film. Round Midnight provided the definition of how music could be used to tell a story, especially as the wonderful musical performances shared the starring role with the complex challenges experienced by the people who created it. Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and all the other artists in Round Midnight made a tremendous impact on many young artists of my generation and on future audience members to follow.

Taksim reflects how a park protest in Istanbul quickly grew into a nationwide movement speaking out against government policy. I was in Turkey in 2013 during these protests and had firsthand experience of what defined this movement and how it was misrepresented in local and international media. Out of the many countries I have visited, I have rarely felt so welcomed and connected to a culture as I felt in Turkey, whether among their artistic world or while speaking with the wide cross-section of people I met on Taksim Square and in Gezi Park. Interestingly, the Turkish word Taksim means division, and it can also refer to the Arabic word Taqsim, which means melodic improvisation before a musical composition. The concept that I explore in this piece reflects the universal divide occurring in many parts of the world. This includes the divide between the priorities of the people and their ruling party; the divide between knowledge and ignorance brought on by financial or ideological interests; and how these interests permeate the divide that many are currently experiencing in the economy, in politics, in education policy, and in the arts.
- Rob Derke.

Jazz Promo Services
845.986.1677 • Fax: 845.986.1699