Jazz Articles about JoAnne Brackeen

New Midsummer Releases Plus A Pride Of Jazz Leos

by Mary Foster Conklin
August 9, 2021

This broadcast presents midsummer releases from pianist Bobby West and vocalist Carmela Rappazzo, plus a single of a new collaboration from vocalists Lucy Yeghiazaryan & Vanisha Gould, with birthday shoutouts to a pride of Jazz Leos: Nnenna Freelon, composer Pamela Baskin-Watson, pianists Joanne Brackeen and Shamie Royston, vocalists Camille Bertault, Fay Victor and Luba Mason, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by purchasing their music during this time of pandemic. Playlist Bobby ...

Ralph Peterson & the Messenger Legacy: Onward & Upward

by Paul Rauch
August 8, 2020

Generally speaking, legacy bands are created to preserve the music of an artist. They feature innovative interpretations of an artist's compositions or past performances to share with future generations of listeners. In the case of drummer Ralph Peterson, his ambitious efforts to honor the continuum of his mentor Art Blakey are forward thinking, about a collective gathering of resources that stress creative thought and individuality. Just as the true legacy of the Jazz Messengers portends, contributors are charged with replenishing ...

Popsicle Illusion and Sweet Summer Love

by Mary Foster Conklin
September 7, 2019

This midsummer broadcast Included new releases from vocalists Lori Williams, Barb Jungr and Lisa Rich, pianists George Cables, Hiroe Sekine, and a 10th anniversary reissue from bassist John Miller, with birthday shout outs to Jazz Masters Annie Ross and Joanne Brackeen, plus vocalists Lainie Cooke, Janis Siegel, Nnenna Freelon, Karrin Allyson and Carla Hassett, among others. Playlist Marlene Rosenberg “Togetherness" from MLK Convergence (Origin) 00:00 Carla Hassett “We Belong Here" from +Blue (Paulista Records) 04:06 Luba Mason “Freedom" ...

Thelonious Monk Birthday Concert: Helen Sung, Kris Davis and JoAnne Brackeen

by Harry S. Pariser
October 24, 2018

Thelonious Monk Birthday Concert: Helen Sung, Kris Davis and JoAnne Brackeen SFJAZZ San Francisco, CA October 10, 2018 It would have been Thelonious Monk's 101st birthday this year, but the pianist and composer has not lost his luster over the years. Every year SFJAZZ celebrates his birthday with a concert. Past years have included performances by John Beasley's MONK'estra and Benny Green's Monk's Dream. This year SFJAZZ brought three female pianists to ...

Joanne Brackeen: Phenomenal Capacity

by Russ Musto
January 20, 2010

One of the most heralded pianists of her era, JoAnne Brackeen came to New York in 1965 after cutting her chops jamming with the likes of Teddy Edwards, Harold Land, Charles Lloyd and Dexter Gordon during the waning days of the Central Avenue scene in her native California. After a few dues-paying years here, she landed the piano chair with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, touring with the great drummer from 1969-72, following up the experience with tenures in the bands ...

Joanne Brackeen: Breath of Brazil

by William Grim
August 1, 2002

Pianist Joanne Brackeen is one of the best non-Brazilian interpreters of Brazilian music on the scene today. For many years a sideman in a wide variety of jazz combos, Brackeen has a natural flair for Brazilian and Latin rhythms as it quite clear from her brilliant album Breath of Brazil that features the works of a number of composers including Ivan Lins, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Sergio Mendes.

“Madalena” and “Velas” are two songs by Ivan Lins that have become ...

T.K. Blue: Eyes of the Elders

by James Nichols
May 1, 2001

Saxophonist and flutist T.K. Blue, the artist formerly known as Talib Kibwe, continues to evolve his own brand of post-bop on Eyes of the Elders, his second release as a leader for Arkadia Jazz. Despite the pretentious title, this album contains some worthy performances by a cadre of jazz veterans and young lions. Though T.K. Blue fits the ubiquitous description of the contemporary jazzer infatuated with jazz tradition, he actually spent years paying his dues with jazz veterans including Abdullah ...