Jazz News

Chamber Music America Announces $443,000 in Grants to Ensembles and Presenters

Source: Michael Ricci
June 11, 2010

CMA announces $443,000 in grants to ensembles and presenters Twenty-six U.S.-based ensembles and presenters to receive support

New York, NY -- Chamber Music America (CMA), celebrating its 33rd year of service to ensemble music professionals, announced today the recipients of 26 grants supporting new works and community-based residencies. CMA will distribute $443,000 to ensembles and presenters through three of its major grant programs: Classical Commissioning, New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Ensemble Development, and Residency Partnership. The grantees were selected by ...

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Pianist Hiroe Sekine Releases "a-me", New CD Featuring Peter Erskine, Bob Sheppard, Et Al.

Source: Michael Bloom Media Relations
June 11, 2010

A talented musician, a gifted jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, Hiroe Sekine (Hee-ROE-ay Say-KEE-Neh) approaches jazz standards and her compositions using her very original voices and colors -- modern and fresh, yet classic. She has been writing and performing for nearly 20 years both in Japan and the U.S. Being a dedicated and truly professional musician, her energy and stage presence at her live concerts have proved magnetic to many audiences. a-me (Ah-MAY) is her debut album. A native of ...

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A Lament for the Blues in Their Backyard

Source: Michael Ricci
June 11, 2010

Buddy Guy said he was worried about the blues. He worried even as he oversaw the finishing touches on the new location of his club, Buddy Guys Legends, which is part musical venue, part museum.

He is worried that his club cannot provide enough exposure for all the musical talent that comes through Chicago, and worried that young people are not exposed to the music he has loved all his life. He is worried, in short, that the city's long, ...

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The 'It' Girl of Jazz, Spalding Returns to Playboy Jazz Fest

Source: All About Jazz
June 11, 2010

At age 25, it might feel like a bit too much pressure to be considered the “future of jazz," but Esperanza Spalding, who is part of the Sunday lineup at this weekend's Playboy Jazz Festival, carries herself with the kind of grace and poise that belies her years.

The native Oregonian (she's from Portland) is back by popular demand, making a return engagement that's rare for the program. Darlene Chan, who has produced the festival since its inception 32 years ...

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On the Horns of Abundance: Jazz Festivals Resound

Source: Michael Ricci
June 11, 2010

An extraordinary amount of jazz hits New York over the next two weeks: four festivals, about 150 sets, and much of it extracurricular to the usual riches at the clubs.

Its a time of marathons and breadth and goes in heavy for the new: not just youth, but also new aesthetic combinations, new attitudes toward repertory, new influences and paradigms, new clubs and theaters. Unlike some past jazz festival seasons, with more brand-polishing and sentimental favorites, this one in the ...

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Under Your Skin Interviews: Eric Bobo & Dave Abbruzzese

Source: All About Jazz
June 4, 2010

Eric Bobo

Dave Abbruzzese 2-3/3 - A conversation

These conversations are part of the book/dvd project “Under your skin" which includes discussions with Ahmad Jamal, Anglique Kidjo, Chuck D - Public Enemy, Delinquent Habits, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Marc Ribot, Ron Carter, Liu Fang, Malika Zarra, Zap Mama, Les Nubians, Tinariwen, Lydia Lunch, Eek A Mouse, Rhonda Smith, Antipop ...

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The Death of Jazz: Greatly Exaggerated

Source: Michael Ricci
June 11, 2010

With His New Undead Jazz Fest, Brice Rosenbloom Makes It Plain That the Historic Genre Is Still Taking Vital Breaths In a city known for the world's greatest summer jazz festivals, few entrepreneurs launch a new one without sounding a little bit nervous. So Brice Rosenbloom's confidence is novel. As the moving force behind the Undead Jazzfest, which debuts this weekend at venues in and around Bleecker Street, the promoter has a track record. And a clear agenda. “The one ...

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Google Seeks U.S. and European Support on China Censorship

Source: Michael Ricci
June 11, 2010

Google Inc. may have pulled its search engine out of mainland China, but it's still pressing U.S. and European governments to take a stand on censorship as an unfair barrier to free trade.

The Internet giant's top lawyer, David Drummond, said Wednesday that pressure from Western nations is “the only way that it's going to change, that this tide of censorship or this rising censorship is going to be arrested," according to an Associated Press report. Google has been trying ...

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