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From Far and Wide

An umbrella column, these articles oftentimes defy categorization.

14

Out of the Roma Villages of Turkey, Clarinet Reigns Beyond Its Traditions

Read "Out of the Roma Villages of Turkey, Clarinet Reigns Beyond Its Traditions" reviewed by Arthur R George


The clarinet, foundational for jazz from Sidney Bechet unto Eric Dolphy, remains in strong use in the indigenous Roma music of the eastern Mediterranean. Elsewhere in the world clarinet generally has been moved aside by saxophone's bigger sound. But in the Balkans, Greece, and Turkey, clarinet provides jazz shadings to traditional music, speaks a range of human emotions, and engages in electronically-enhanced experimentation. Clarinetist Barbaros Erköse is Turkish, and Roma: “gypsy," the oft-utilized but less preferred word. He ...

17

Refugee Music in Europe: Migration, Asylum, Soundroutes, and Arab Jams

Read "Refugee Music in Europe: Migration, Asylum, Soundroutes, and Arab Jams" reviewed by Arthur R George


World conflicts do not spare musicians. They are among the millions of displaced persons upon the planet. A refugee assistance organization in Europe which has assisted hundreds said an accurate total is impossible to know; one estimate put the number into the thousands. Many had been privileged in their home countries, highly-educated, middle class or more. None of them had planned to become refugees. Their difficulties, for employment, inclusion, cohesion, and preservation of cultures, may be eased by jazz initiatives. ...

26

At A Korean Jazz Picnic, No Need To Know The Music

Read "At A Korean Jazz Picnic, No Need To Know The Music" reviewed by Arthur R George


That jazz appeals to younger audiences, is fun, and not so serious, is more than a mere notion, materializing in, of all places, South Korea. The Jarasum Jazz Festival created there by promoter In Jae Jin has become one of the largest in Asia by hosting a multi-day event which features camping, western and Korean performers, and is intended to be so user-friendly he says it is “like a picnic where you do not need to know the music."

39

Istanbul Jazz: So Close to the Music, So Far From New York

Read "Istanbul Jazz: So Close to the Music, So Far From New York" reviewed by Arthur R George


That any musician, old cat, young lion, or apprentice anywhere, endeavors in jazz is amazing enough, given the elusiveness of “success." That is even more true in jny: Istanbul, Turkey: not a conventional jazz capitol, far from the African-American roots of jazz, and even beyond the music's major continental domiciles. Yet the tilting cobblestoned streets of the city echo with the music. There is indigenous Turkish music re-interpreted; progressive, experimental, and avant-garde to varying results. However, most dependably ...

9

Back to Brazil: Part Three

Read "Back to Brazil: Part Three" reviewed by Mark Holston


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 A singer who needs no introduction, Eliane Elias sculpts a predictably sensual soundscape on Love Stories (Concord). The nine-track project features a string orchestra and lush arrangements by Rob Mathes, unobtrusive rhythm section chores by a cadre of Brazilian percussionists, and the steady hand of bassist Marc Johnson. The slinky French film opening track, “A Man and a Woman," establishes a mood of 1960s-era relaxed romanticism that prevails throughout most ...

5

Back to Brazil: Part Two

Read "Back to Brazil: Part Two" reviewed by Mark Holston


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Part Two of this series on recent Brazilian-influenced releases continues with further discussion of the Samba Jazz genre. The style's heyday, from the early to mid-1960s, produced what Brazilian music critics consider to be landmark recordings. The early champions of the instrumental and more jazz-oriented version of Bossa Nova included such pioneers as pianist Sérgio Mendes and his Bossa Rio Septet; baritone saxophonist Moacir Santos; drummers Dom Um Romão, Milton ...

7

Back to Brazil: Part One

Read "Back to Brazil: Part One" reviewed by Mark Holston


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 The recent passing of Brazilian music icon João Gilberto at the age of 88 invites us to reflect on the music revolution he was influential in sparking over six decades ago. The singer and guitarist, partnering with composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, announced the arrival of a distinctly new style with his 1958 recording of Jobim's “Chega de Saudade," and the new Brazilian sound, dubbed Bossa Nova (the “New Thing," among ...

10

Polish Jazz: Under The Surface

Read "Polish Jazz: Under The Surface" reviewed by Ian Patterson


The article was originally published in a special English edition of Jazz Forum magazine prepared for Jazzahead! 2018. It was the summer of 2002. A friend had just passed me a copy of Tomasz Stańko's latest CD on ECM--Soul Of Things, and was raving about the young trio backing the legendary trumpeter. In no time, I too was bowled over by the musicianship of Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Sławomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michał Miśkiewicz--all then in their twenties. The ...

6

Ryles Jazz Club Closes

Read "Ryles Jazz Club Closes" reviewed by Paul Combs


I wrote the following article for the February issue of my monthly newsletter. As of the end of June this year, Ryles Jazz Club will cease to exist, unless someone comes along to buy it and reopen it, which seems unlikely at this point. The latest news from a newspaper was this article in the Boston Globe. Even though I no longer live in Cambridge, I have my own history with this club, mentioned in the article. I plan to ...

5

Improvising Where No Man Has Gone Before: Encountering William Shatner, Star Trek, And “The Wrath Of Khan”

Read "Improvising Where No Man Has Gone Before: Encountering William Shatner, Star Trek, And “The Wrath Of Khan”" reviewed by Victor L. Schermer


I am a Trekkie. No apologies for that. There are millions of us floating around in the universe. So when I saw that Captain James Tiberius Kirk, aka William Shatner, was going to appear in person and give a talk after a showing of the classic film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, I decided to go. I played a weird hunch that All About Jazz publisher Michael Ricci is also a Trekkie, and he confirmed my worst suspicion. ...


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