Jazz News

The New Orleans Party Asylum give Santa Claus a taste of swinging Dixieland jazz

Source: Lauren Rogers
December 24, 2010

The New Orleans Party Asylum have unveiled their own brand of lunacy on Yuletide Aphrodisiac, a collection of Christmas covers made over in the style of Dixieland jazz. Featuring vocalist/pianist Dave Kosmyna, clarinetist/saxophonist Ray Heitger, drummer Tad Dickerson, and bassist Riley Kloos, the New Orleans Party Asylum formed in 2009 but its roster of top-shelf jazz musicians have been together for 15 years in different incarnations. But who exactly are the New Orleans Party Asylum? And why have a skeleton ...

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Netherlands-born singer/songwriter Elisabeth Geel releases new Joni Mitchell-influenced CD

Source: Lauren Rogers
December 26, 2010

The siren call of Elisabeth Geel is no myth. It is rooted in the waking world of reality even though its ethereal beauty transcends the mundane existence of everyday living. On her latest release, Preface to a Dream, the Netherlands-born singer/songwriter finds poetry in the art of jazz and romance in the dimly-lit skies of heartache. It is told from the eyes of a woman who has been wounded yet still perseveres, always questioning the situations around her but holding ...

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Best Place To See Jazz In Vegas

Source: Barbara
December 26, 2010

Jazz joints come and go in Vegas. There are casino rooms and clubs that offer jazz, but there's so much gaming going on, it's hard to enjoy live jazz as an art form. The sound of the slots and people excited by their winnings take away from the experience of enjoying the music. Even most smaller venues and bars have gaming, and musicians & jazz fans alike agree it's not the best jazz environment. Now comes The Freakin' Frog (Freakin' ...

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Organist Trudy Pitts Carney Dies

Source: Schicker
December 23, 2010

Philadelphia-based organist Trudy Pitts Carney died on Sunday, Dec. 19, of pancreatic cancer. She was 78.

During the 1950s and '60s, Pitts blended her church background and classical training to a classic blues-based organ sound, often alongside her husband, percussionist William Theodore Carney. She also delved into the burgeoning free-jazz movement and performed with John Coltrane and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Her 1967 album Introducing The Fabulous Trudy Pitts (Prestige) also featured guitarist Pat Martino.

“She was a major, major artist ...

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Roomful of Blues Celebrates New Release in Sellersville

Source: Chris M. Slawecki
December 24, 2010

"Excellent...marvelous wall-to-wall grooves—between the wicked guitar work and the brassy horn section, things never stop swinging."—USA TODAY

The horn-fueled, jumping, swinging, award-winning band Roomful of Blues, touring in support of their new Alligator CD Hook, Line & Sinker, will perform live at the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville on Friday, January 21, 2011. Roomful of Blues, according to DownBeat magazine, “are in a class by themselves." Since 1967, the group's deeply rooted blend of swing, rock'n'roll, jump, blues and soul has ...

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NY Jazz Academy Live at Carnegie Hall NYC December 26, 2010

Source: Sten Hostfalt
December 24, 2010

Sunday December 26 2010 Carnegie Hall NYC concert at The Isaac Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage feat. NY Jazz Academy student/faculty ensemble directed by Javier Arau, and the NYJA choir directed by Carolyn Leonhart. The concert starts at 7.30 pm Arranged & staged by NYJA founder/director Javier Arau The N Y J A big band ensemble features among other faculty members tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, vocalist Carolyn Leonhart and guitarists Tom Dempsey and Sten Hostfalt. NYJA ticket donations can be ...

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"Wizard of Oz" This Week on Riverwalk Jazz

Source: Don Mopsick
December 23, 2010

This week on Riverwalk Jazz, The Wizard of Oz comes to life as Broadway actor Vernel Bagneris portrays all the characters of Oz in a new script for radio based on the original L. Frank Baum book. And the brilliance of Harold Arlen's art as a songwriter is displayed in new jazz arrangements and performances by The Jim Cullum Jazz Band, of Arlen's music from the movie score. The show is distributed by Public Radio International and Sirius/XM radio and ...

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Al Bell Receives Grammy Trustees Award

Source: Chris M. Slawecki
December 23, 2010

MEMPHIS MUSIC FOUNDATION AND STAX MUSEUM CONGRATULATE AL BELL ON RECEIVING 2011 GRAMMY TRUSTEES AWARD Award acknowledges Al Bell's lifetime of musical excellence and cultural enrichment MEMPHIS, TN: The Memphis Music Foundation and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, located at the original site of Stax Records, proudly congratulate Al Bell on receiving the highest honor the music industry offers, the 2011 Grammy Trustees Award, given by the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy. Bell now joins the ...

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