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Remembering Ahmad Jamal: Finished But Not Never
by Ian Patterson
Ahmad Jamal, the quiet pioneer of jazz piano has died aged 92, after a battle with prostate cancer. He passed away on Sunday, 16 April, according to a statement from his daughter, Sumayah Jamal. In a career that spanned the 1940s to the 2020s, Jamal always followed his own musical instincts. He was one ...
Ahmad Jamal: Forward Momentum
by Ian Patterson
In memory of the venerable Ahmad Jamal. This article was first published on All About Jazz on July 6, 2010. Ahmad Jamal, possibly the most influential of living jazz pianists, turned 80 years young on July 2, 2010. It is however, business as usual and instead of celebrating at home in his slippers, Jamal ...
Ben Wendel Group At Bop Stop
by John Chacona
Ben Wendel Group Bop Stop Cleveland, OH March 22, 2023 For a long time, California has held a mythic place in the U.S. popular imagination as a fountainhead of new ideas in culture, technology, or in the case of the smartphone ("Designed by Apple in California") of both. So it makes ...
Results for pages tagged "Vernell Fournier"...
Vernel Fournier
Born:
Vernel Fournier made his name as the deftly understated and highly musical drummer in one of the most famous of all modern jazz trios, led by pianist Ahmad Jamal. His subtle, quicksilver touches with his trademark wire brushes provided the flexible underpinning for a trio which thrived on its supple manipulation of dynamics and use of space. He was born Vernel Anthony Fournier in New Orleans, and the distinctive rhythmic feel of the city never disappeared from his music. He began playing parade drum at the age of ten with a marching group, the Young Swingsters, and was taught by the New Orleans drummer Sidney Montague while still in school. He attended Alabama State College in 1945-56, where he played with the student ensemble, and also worked in his home town with musicians from both the traditional and bebop strands of the city’s musical culture
Ahmad Jamal: Ballades
by Dan Bilawsky
At 89, Ahmad Jamal remains a master of space, time, openness and poetics. Never one to add too much, yet always one to mine a song for all its rich natural flavors, Jamal is an artist whose work speaks with a direct and engaging sweep. His early trio classics became a model of sorts, inspiring Miles ...
Michael Dease: All These Hands
by Dan Bilawsky
Trombonist Michael Dease is never short on ideas, but this one might be his best yet: With All These Hands, Dease traces the early migratory patterns of jazz through his own well-crafted originals. He starts in NOLA and moves along to many a music mecca, including the Mississippi Delta, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New ...
Jonathan Kreisberg: Wave Upon Wave
by Dan Bilawsky
Wave upon wave of praise has followed the release of each one of guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg's leader dates--small group affairs that are typically built with equal parts energy and taste; Wave Upon Wave, balancing fire with heart, stealth movement with direct engagement, and power with grace, is likely to garner some more. The ...
Justin Faulkner: Serving the Music
by Paul Naser
The rare balance of passionate ambition and mature dedication that are the hallmark of young professionals puts them in a category all their own. More often than not they began honing their skills at an early age and it seems as if life conspired to help them succeed. Justin Faulkner, the young drummer for the legendary ...
Gary Smulyan with Dominic Chianese at Jazz At Kitano
by Dan Bilawsky
Gary Smulyan with Dominic Chianese Jazz At Kitano New York, NY April 5, 2014 Shortly before this show began, on a beautiful Saturday evening that truly marked the start of spring, a small crew of musicians and concert-goers, including this writer, were seated around the bar at Jazz At Kitano. ...
Caswell Sisters featuring Fred Hersch: Alive In The Singing Air
by Dan Bilawsky
Sibling acts in jazz are fairly common, but sister acts are not. The Brothers Dorsey, Jones, Montgomery, Heath, Brecker, and Marsalis are familiar to any jazz fan with a passing knowledge of the music's history, but female counterparts are scarce. Thankfully, that trend is changing, proving that jazz is not a man's--or brother's--world. Today, we have ...