Music Industry News

Cedar Walton Live in Laurel

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
October 20, 2008

Rifftides Washington, DC, correspondent John Birchard journeyed out of the district last weekend to hear pianist Cedar Walton and his trio. Here is John's review.

Smack in the middle of the mainstream - that's where you'll find Cedar Walton, still creative at the age of 74. The pianist brought his current trio to the Montpelier Arts Center in suburban Laurel, Maryland, on Friday, October 18, for an evening of warmly-received performances. On his way up, Walton worked with ...

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Happy Birthday, Chuck Berry !!!

Source: JamBase
October 19, 2008

HAIL, HAIL ROCK 'N' ROLL THE MASTER TURNS 82 TODAY!

“Wanna see my ding-a-ling?" There are some musicians threaded into the DNA of things and there's zero doubt that an intrinsic part of rock's double helix is Chuck Berry. A pair of quotes at the beginning of his Wikipedia entry sum it up well:

“Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is ...

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Clax Speaks, Hefti Swings

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
October 19, 2008

William Claxton, the master photographer who died a week ago, was a great raconteur. A sample of that side of his personality is available on the internet. In 1988, Terri Gross interviewed Claxton on her National Public Radio program Fresh Air. He discussed his experiences photographing, among others, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker. To hear the conversation, go here and click on “Listen Now."

As a bonus, listen to Felix Contreras's short biography of arranger and ...

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Award-Winning Ambrosia Restaurant Announces New Fall Menu

Source: All About Jazz
October 19, 2008

The award-winning Ambrosia Restaurant is pleased to announce the new winter menu is now available. The 5-star Ambrosia Restaurant features contemporary French cuisine and is located inside the OC Pavilion performing arts center in Santa Ana. The menu changes with the seasons to ensure that guests are offered the best choices, including seafood, steaks, chicken, lamb chops and veal. Dinner guests are also treated to a live jazz performance, Wednesday through Saturday. Ambrosias menu features a celebration of the seasonal ...

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Happy Birthday, Wynton Marsalis

Source: All About Jazz
October 18, 2008

Equally accomplished at jazz and classical music, bandleader and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize. The Early Years Wynton Marsalis was born on October 18, 1961, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Musical roots run deep in his family; his father is jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, and three of Wynton’s six brothers, Branford, Jason and Delfeo, are also professional musicians. By the time he was 12 years old, Wynton Marsalis was seriously studying the ...

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Santana:multi-Dimensional Warrior

Source: JamBase
October 18, 2008

By: Alex Borsody

Santanas Multi-Dimensional Warrior (released October 14 on Sony Legacy) is a double-disc collection of selections meant to emphasize the spiritual side of his music. The usual culprits - “Black Magic Women," Oye Como Va" and “Smooth" - are overlooked in favor of more obscure selections. What sets this compilation apart from the seemingly endless sea of Santana collections is that Carlos himself was intimately involved with the selection and remastering of the tracks. Calling this album “a ...

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Aaron Parks: To the Big Screen, and Back to the Jazz Scene

Source: All About Jazz
October 17, 2008

"Aaron Parks: Seattle's Boy Genius" is not the story anymore. The local jazz piano prodigy, who went to the University of Washington straight out of junior high, is now 25, living in New York City for the past eight years. He's moved into movies, assisting his mentor Terence Blanchard on soundtracks for Spike Lee's Katrina documentary “When the Levees Broke" (among other Lee titles) as well as the filmic adaptation of “Their Eyes Were Watching God"; and Parks has a ...

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Correspondence: On William Claxton

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
October 16, 2008

William Claxton's cover shots appeared on ten CDs produced in Los Angeles by Dick Bank. The photographer's last project for Bank was the cover photograph for the 2006 Andy Martin-Jan Lundgren album How About You?

Bank sent this note following Claxton's death last weekend.

I had the idea for the cover to be a trombone (for Andy Martin) resting on top of the piano (for Jan Lundgren). It necessitated Clax getting up on a tall ladder to shoot it. ...

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