Discovering Monk And Trane One Night At Carnegie Hall
On September 27th, BET Jazz will air a special program that will coincide with the release of the Blue Note Records / Thelonious Records CD Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall. Produced and directed by Kim Fields, Discovering Monk And Trane One Night At Carnegie Hall will feature interviews with Library of Congress supervisor and jazz specialist Larry Appelbaum, who discovered the tapes; jazz historian and author Lewis Porter; jazz commentator Howard Mandel; Festival Productions Inc. founder George Wein; and T.S. Monk about this never-before-heard jazz classic that documents one of the most historically important working bands in the history of the music, a band that was both short-lived and thought to be frustratingly under-recorded. The concert, which was a benefit for the Morningside Community Center in Harlem, took place at the famed New York hall on November 29, 1957. It was preserved on newly discovered tapes made by Voice of America, for a later radio broadcast, that were located at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. earlier this year.
Until now, remarkably little recorded documentation of Monk's quartet with Coltrane has been available, a fact that makes this finding all the more significant. The quartet did record three tracks in the studio for Riverside over the summer of 1957, “Ruby My Dear," “Trinkle, Tinkle" and “Nutty," which were released on Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane. Also, in 1993, Blue Note released an amateur live recording, titled Live at the Five Spot - Discovery!, of Monk's quartet in September 1958 after Coltrane had left the band but returned temporarily to fill in for tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin. However, it was taken from Naima Coltrane's (John's wife at the time) handheld recording device, and the sound quality wasn't optimal. Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall is the only full-length professional recording known to exist of a remarkable piece of jazz history.
Premiering Tuesday, September 27 at 1:30PM, 9:30PM & 2:30AM ET
Additional airdates: Sundays, October 2 and 16 at 11:30AM, 7:30PM & 1:30AM ET; Tuesday, October 11 at 1:30PM, 9:30PM & 2:30AM ET
Wynton Marsalis: Live At The House Of Tribes
Wynton Marsalis: Live At The House Of Tribes is a special up close and personal interview and performance with the renowned Jazz master. This fascinating special offers Wynton's thoughts on his third Blue Note CD, Live at the House of Tribes, to be released on August 30. The live performance footage was recorded on December 15, 2002 at The House of Tribes, a funky, community run theater in New York City. Featuring cover tunes from Thelonious Monk's “Green Chimneys" to Charlie Parker's “Donna Lee," the format is a bit of a departure for Marsalis. “Most of the records I've made have been group records, even when we recorded live," he says. “We tour the world [and] just play with people we've never played with before. The audience loves the music and they just come and swing. I think it was just good to show people playing, not just being conceptual."
An all-star cast supports Marsalis; Joe Farnsworth's drumming and Kengo Nakamura's bass work drive the rhythm section, along with Marsalis stalwart Eric “Top Professor" Lewis on piano, and Marsalis's longtime musical companion alto saxophonist Wess “Warmdaddy" Anderson. For Marsalis, Live at the House of Tribes, or jazz for that matter, is rooted in matter-of-factness, and a testament to the essential truth that jazz music requires of musicians-playing. “Man, it's just us getting together and playing. It's about our playing, and the level that we play on."
Airing Sundays, September 4 and 18 at 11:30AM, 7:30PM &1:30AM ET; Tuesday, September 13 at 1:30PM, 9:30PM & 2:30AM ET
Nnenna Freelon: Blueprint of A Lady
Nnenna Freelon, five-time GRAMMY-nominee and winner of the Billie Holiday Award from the Academie du Jazz, conceived a collaborative celebration of music, dance and image with noted choreographer Ronald K. Brown's EVIDENCE and videographer / filmmaker Robert Penn, taking a new look at the life and music of the legendary Billie Holiday. Filmed at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Lee, MA, Nnenna Freelon: Blueprint Of A Lady explores the myth and majesty of this artist, composer, actress, social activist, and vocalist, dispelling the victim-only portrayal of a vibrant woman in turbulent times. The program features music from Freelon's new Concord Records CD, Blueprint Of A Lady: Sketches of Billie Holiday, in stores on August 23, 2005. Freelon uses song and spoken word as Ronald K. Brown uses dance to tell the compelling story of this woman. As each song opens a window into Holiday's soul. The emerging story is both timeless and timely. Musicians and dancers are vibrant partners, unveiling a view of Ms. Holiday's life, woven with threads of trouble and glory through images, song, and movement. These embody her strength and beauty, and reveal the essence of her struggles and triumphs.
Billie Holiday “created a way for herself in a hard situation. Her art made a path for her, and her art was her refuge, a place where she felt strong, safe and invulnerable. She had some difficulties, some issues," acknowledges Nnenna Freelon. “But the way she grabbed life by the horns through her art was remarkable. A lot of men, especially, miss the socio-economic realities of what it meant to be a black woman in 1915. I did a lot of research, looked at census figures, the bigger picture. Her sometimes self-destructive behaviors were sensationalized, but she fully lived the moments that she had."
Airing Tuesdays, September 6 & 20 at 1:30PM, 9:30PM & 2:30AM ET
2005 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards
The 2005 Jazz Journalists Association's ninth annual Jazz Awards, honoring jazz musicians and their supporters, was held on June 14, 2005 at B.B. King's Blues Club and Grill in New York City. In attendance at the sold-out event were over 500 musicians, journalists, photographers, and industry executives. This special highlights some of the events during the ceremony, hosted by actor Robert Wisdom (The Wire) and Kym Hampton (niece of the late Lionel Hampton and founding member of the Liberty basketball team), with musical performances by singer Nnenna Freelon, Sy Johnson's 75th Birthday Octet, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and ASCAP Young Jazz Composers competition winners trumpeter Maurice Brown, tenor saxophonist Quamon Fowler and tenor saxophonist Bob Reynolds.
Composer-bandleader Maria Schneider sweeped the Awards ceremony with wins in four categories, “Jazz Album of the Year," “Jazz Composer of the Year," “Jazz Arranger of the Year" and “Large Ensemble of the Year." Based on votes cast by over 480 JJA members (writers, broadcasters, photographers and new media professionals worldwide), and presented at a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America's Musicians Emergency Fund and for the Jazz Journalists Association's educational initiatives, awards were given in 40 categories of achievement, as well as “A Team" Awards for the advocates, altruists, aiders, and abettors of the jazz art form.
Airing Tuesdays, September 13, October 11 and 25 at 12PM, 8PM & 12AM ET
Sundays, September 18 and October 16 at 1PM, 6PM & 10PM ET
The B.B. King 80th Birthday Bash and Benefit
In honor of the legendary Delta bluesman B.B. King's 80th birthday on September 16, BET Jazz will broadcast a celebratory concert event hosted by the Isle of Capri Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Proceeds from the evening benefited the B.B. King Museum and the Delta Interpretive Center, dedicated to honoring the international bluesman, preserving the Delta blues heritage, and to encourage and inspire young artists and musicians. Featuring interviews with R&B singer Montell Williams, rock & blues guitarist Eric Clapton, Executive Director of the B.B. King Museum Allan Hammons, King's attorney Carver Randle, Isle of Capri Casino CEO Tim Hinckey, singer Deborah Coleman, singer/pianist Dr. John, and The King himself. The program also includes performances by Williams, Bruce Willis, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Dickey Betts, and an all-star Jam session. Airing on Thursday, September 15 at 1PM, 9PM & 2AM; Sunday, September 18 at 12PM, 8PM & 11PM ET
BET JAZZ: The Jazz Channel, a subsidiary of BET and Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the principal location for the fulfillment of all jazz interests. The network is the first and only 24-hour television programming service dedicated exclusively to jazz music and culture. BET Jazz features many of the finest names in jazz through in-studio performances, festivals, and concert coverage and celebrity interviews. Many of the shows feature original programming as well as historic footage unavailable on any other television network.
For more information about BET Jazz, log onto http://www.betjazz.com
For more information contact All About Jazz.
