Jazz News

Bassist Jeff Berlin Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: John Kelman
August 16, 2010

Through the course of a four-decade career, Jeff Berlin has refused to end his musical quest. He crafted a popping, percussive style so thoroughly ingrained in the recordings of the 1980s, it's nearly ubiquitous. His work with Bill Bruford, whom he met during a stint with Yes, led to further innovations in playing. More recently, he's been developing a contrapuntal style of playing that allows him to approach bass guitar as a pianist, adding harmony and melody to his steady ...

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Chellah Jazz

Source: Michael Ricci
August 15, 2010

By Mehdi El Mouden To share passion for music is to play jazz in Chellah, the site is historic and the music is anthological. Chellah, the old historical city of Merinids in Morocco, Rabat hosts a jazz festival every year in June. Musicians come from all around Europe to meet Moroccan musicians for an unprecedented encounter where music blooms with eagerness and passion from both sides.

The festival started back in 1996 from a European Union initiative to substantiate cultural ...

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Remembering Abbey Lincoln: August 6, 1930 - August 14, 2010

Source: Dee Dee McNeil
August 15, 2010

I met Abbey Lincoln in the early 1970's in Watts and interviewed her for the Soul and Jazz Record Magazine in 1976. Here are some excerpts from that interview. You may not recognize the name “Aminada Moseka" but the moment you see those bright, brown eyes twinkling from beneathe a cluster of beaded braids; as soon as she smiles that warm, honest, pleasant way; as immediate as her words and meanings plunge the space between us with wisdom, that's when ...

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Symphonic Jazz Orchestra in Concert at UCLA's Royce Hall on September 25

Source: Susan Gordon
August 15, 2010

SYMPHONIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA IN CONCERT SPECIAL GUESTS GEORGE DUKE, LUCIANA SOUZA & RAUL MIDÓN Saturday, September 25, 2010, 8 PM at UCLA's Royce Hall Concert also Features World Premiere of “Elements," a SJO Commissioned Piece from Composer/Conductor Charles Floyd The Symphonic Jazz Orchestra (SJO), the only ensemble of its kind in the country dedicated to the unique American genre of symphonic jazz—music that blends the American language of jazz with European orchestral traditions—will perform in concert on Saturday, September 25, ...

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Richie Hayward: February 6, 1946 - August 12, 2010

Source: C. Michael Bailey
August 14, 2010

By C. Michael Bailey Drummer and Little Feat founder Richie Hayward passed away Thursday, August 12, 2010, in his current home of Victoria, British Columbia. He was 64 years old. Originally Hailing from Clear Lake, Iowa, Hayward would be instrumental in the percussion on scores of recordings by Robert Plant, Robert Palmer, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading, Ry Cooder, Warren Zevon, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, and many others, during his lengthy career. Hayward had been suffering from liver cancer ...

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An Educational Conversation With Jazz Trumpeter and Teacher Ralph Alessi

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner
August 14, 2010

Trumpeter Ralph Alessi has carved out an excellent reputation for himself since moving from California to New York in 1991. His music tends to walk a fine line between outright avant-garde and modern bebop, creating challenging music that never loses a sense of swing or groove. This is once again apparent on the brand-new 'Cognitive Dissonance,' his seventh album as a leader. When not helming his own small groups, he can be found playing with Ravi Coltrane, Uri Caine, Don ...

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Studio Records LLC announces release date for "Postcard from the Moon," the latest offering from John Evans & Dream

Source: John Evans
August 14, 2010

Studio Records has announced that September 21, 2010, is to be the release date for the next John Evans & Dream album. Postcard from the Moon is an eclectic mix of Evans' instrumental compositions and songs, with lyrics written by Sandy Evans. From jazz/fusion through tropical to the classic jazz ballad, this album shows Evans and his group, Dream, in a glowing new light. The latest addition the group is Andy Timmons, whose fiery and expressive guitar playing is well ...

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Etrange En Compagnie - Communication Going Wrong

Source: Michael Ricci
August 13, 2010

A message from Berger Rond Enter a world of communication going wrong, but musically with three languages for the lyrics (English, French, Swedish), an instrumentation varying from most of the wind instruments to tones of percussions, violins and a few cellos of all kinds, from the most texture oriented to the more folkloric to electronic dissonance. The abstract vocal melodies are added to epic structures that were fully developed by building the most basic sound patterns with patience, without ...

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