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Jazz Articles about Michael Leonhart
Basketball and Jazz: The Art of Improvisation, Part 3
by Ludovico Granvassu
In our final look into the basketball & jazz interconnectedness, we focus on several jazz, or funk-jazz soundtracks for movies dedicated to the game, on jazz musicians with a basketball career like Cab Calloway and Wayman Tisdale, a composition inspired by the elegant and creative crossover dribble known as the Shammgod, and more!Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Leonhart Brass Band “Shammgod" Shammgod--Single (Mighty Eye Records/Fat Beats) 0:16 ...
Continue ReadingMichael Leonhart Orchestra: Silent Night
by Ludovico Granvassu
Conceptually, I find holiday music puzzling. How can it be that, year after year, it keeps being churned out? Even by jazz musicians, who are usually not driven by commercial considerations? Then why not spring-break albums? Or something more meaningful like World Oceans Day jazz music? Or Martin Luther King day songs? I presume that holiday music represents the ultimate challenge to the creative-minded artist: “how can I bring excitement, new life, and my own stamp, to a ...
Continue ReadingMichael Leonhart Orchestra: The Normyn Suites
by Angelo Leonardi
Gli eclettici sviluppi orchestrali di Michael Leonhart, tra maestosi affreschi evocativi e trascinanti momenti rock e soul, tornano a entusiasmarci con questo magistrale The Normyn Suites, dove la poetica della leggerezza convive con scelte di vivo impatto ritmico e timbrico. Le due forti propensioni musicale dell'autore sono ben bilanciate: quella impressionista (che ha caratterizzato opere ammalianti come Lovers di Nels Cline e il suo The Painted Lady Suite) e quella legata alla popular music, maturata nelle collaborazioni con Steely Dan, ...
Continue ReadingMichael Leonhart, Marta Sanchez, Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Alabaster Deplume & More
by Ludovico Granvassu
It's February. The Winter Olympics are well under way and there are so many new and upcoming releases in 2022 that we can fill an entire show with them... Starting and ending with two Orchestras: Michael Leonhart's mighty ensemble and their upcoming stunner, The Normyn Suites, and Paul Wacrenier's Healing Orchestra, a band with a mission: bringing Free Jazz to the People! Happy listening! PlaylistBen Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 ...
Continue Reading[Long] Live (at) the Jazz Standard! - Part 1
by Ludovico Granvassu
A jazz club is not just a commercial enterprise, or an entertainment spot, it's a cultural hub, a place where ideas are exchanged, styles are tested and then defined, careers are inspired, collaborations get launched or cemented. When a venue like the Jazz Standard closes the loss should not be seen only in terms of a measurable disappearance of revenues but especially in terms of an unmeasurable loss of artistic opportunities. This week we focus on the artistic ...
Continue ReadingMichael Leonhart: Suite Extracts Vol. 1
by Angelo Leonardi
Credo proprio di non esagerare ma è dall'uscita di There Comes a Time di Gil Evans che non ascoltavo un album orchestrale così eclettico nella sintesi di materiali diversi. Il nuovo disco di Michael Leonhart segue il debutto di The Painted Lady Suite (Sunnyside 2018), il maestoso affresco musicale che evocava l'impressionismo del primo Evans, con le ipnotiche variazioni armoniche e il soffice gioco di combinazioni timbriche in lenta espansione. Dall'uscita di quel disco l'attività di scrittura ...
Continue ReadingPeter Evans, Michael Leonhart, Sean Lennon, Jambinai & Axiom
by Martin Longley
Peter Evans & Levy Lorenzo Roulette April 15, 2019 Trumpeter Peter Evans is a very familiar figure on the extreme scene, but the percussionist and electronicist Levy Lorenzo will be a new name to most folks. The pair have been jointly penning compositions, but these nevertheless have the feel of ambient improvisations. It's a continuation of the collaboration that began on 2018's Q album, released on the More Is More label. Their entwined roots ...
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