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Saxophonist Borys Janczarski Goes It Alone with 'Time Remembered'
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Borys Janczarski
Polish tenor saxophonist Borys Janczarski, who for some years co-led an excellent quintet with drummer Stephen McCraven, has since gone his own way with a quartet of which he is sole leader. This is their first release, Time Remembered, is available exclusively on Bandcamp. Interestingly, the album was made three and a half years ago, in July 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was scaring the bejesus out of anyone who gathered together—to make music or anything else. It’s a shame ...
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The Janczarski-Siddik Quartet in Contemplation
Source:
All About Jazz
Tenor saxophonist Borys Janczarski, whose album with co-leader Stephen McCraven I praised way back in September 2016 (the first year of this blog), returns here with an almost entirely different lineup except for the new co-leader, trumpeter-flautist Rasul Siddik, simply a sideman in 2016. And except for the fact that both CDs include one composition by Siddik, the focus here is also different, leaning on compositions by famous jazz musicians. The only name I don’t recognize is Jim Pepper, but ...
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Composer, Saxophonist, And Organist Drew Zaremba's 'Reunion' Is An Eclectically Jubilant Take On The Big Band Genre
Source:
Outside in Music
Drew Zaremba is saxophonist, organist, and rightfully lauded powerhouse of an arranger and composer. Drawing eclectic influence from icons of big band, heroes of classical music, and the luminaries of British Rock, Zaremba combines, concocts, and creates with a refreshing originality in the wildest of never-before-imagined manners. Described as a musician who “writes and plays from his heart” and who “knows and speaks the language of music” (Eddie Gomez), Zaremba presents Reunion, an unequivocally celebratory big band debut rich with ...
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Eastman School Of Music Appoints Sara Gazarek To Design And Lead New Jazz Voice Program
Source:
Jessica Kaufman
Eastman School of Music, of the University of Rochester, announces the launch of a newly conceived Jazz Voice track in the undergraduate Jazz and Contemporary Media degree program. To lead and design this new program, Eastman has appointed Sara Gazarek as Associate Professor of Jazz Voice within the Jazz and Contemporary Media (JCM) department. Joining Eastman after a 12-year tenure at the Thornton School of Music, of the University of Southern California, this two-time GRAMMY nominated vocalist has performed and/or ...
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Acclaimed Guitarist/Vocalist John Pizzarelli Celebrates The 40th Anniversary Of His Debut Album With A Collection Of Classic Songs From Broadway And Hollywood
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Braithwaite & Katz Communications
US / Canada Tour Begins April 25 in NYC with a week at Birdland World-renowned guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli has dedicated many of his albums to the great songwriters and performers who have helped to establish the Great American Songbook and the pop music canon: Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Richard Rodgers, and Duke Ellington, to name a few. With his new album, Pizzarelli and his remarkable new trio cast a wider net to explore other sources ...
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Gabe Baltazar (1929-2022)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Gabe Baltazar, a Hawaiian-born Asian-American clarinetist, flutist and alto saxophonist with a Charlie Parker sound who was a member of the Stan Kenton Orchestra starting in 1960, died on June 12. He was 92. A clarinetist as a child, Baltazar later switched to alto saxophone as his main instrument. During a visit to New York in 1948 while studying music in Baltimore, Baltazar met Charlie Parker during a break in sets at the Royal Roost. Their conversation and Parker's kindness ...
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Lucy Yeghiazaryan and Vanisha Gould
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of the most compelling and ambitious jazz vocal albums of the year is In Her Words, a new recording by vocalists Lucy Yeghiazaryan and Vanisha Gould. Like a number of jazz albums this year, this one joyfully steers clear of the American songbook—a dusty and lazy resource for true jazz singers of 2021. Six of the 12 songs are by Gould and one is by Lucy (who arranged five). The remaining five songs are by other composers, including Nobody's ...
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John Pizzarelli Plays Pat Metheny
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
This album shouldn't work. One superb artist recording the music of another usually happens many years after the subject has passed away. But John Pizzarelli's new album, Better Days Ahead: Solo Guitar Takes on Pat Metheny, works beyond your wildest dreams. It's as if John said to himself, “Why not now?" And he's right. The idea of taking on Metheny's compositions and doing so alone is about as beautiful a tribute as one can imagine. Add the fact that John ...
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Interview: Lucy Yeghiazaryan
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I discovered Lucy Yeghiazaryan by accident a month or so ago. I was flying through Facebook before turning in for the night and there she was, singing away. I was most struck by her 1950s phrasing. She clearly had done quite a bit of intensive listening. I also was curious about her Armenian past and how she learned to swing. Before I roll out my interview with Lucy, here are a couple of tracks (scroll down) so you can hear ...
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Tune in at All About Jazz for an intimate virtual home concert with Yilian Canizares & Raudol Palacios on April 26th
Source:
Michael Ricci
Live from Baton Rouge via New York, please join us for a very special presentation of world-renounced violinist Yilian Canizares and cellist Raudol Palacios on Sunday, April 26th at 3:30pm ET from All About Jazz, Jazz Near You and Crowdcast. About Yilian Canizares Before she picks up her violin and walks onstage, Yilian Cañizares pays homage to her ancestors. Candles are lit. Prayers are said, and offerings made. Then as the houselights dim and her group of crack musicians file ...
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