Lineup Announced For 20th Edition CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival - June 23 To July 1
9 Days – 300 Shows including 1010+ Free Shows! – 1750+ Artists – 19 Venues... Free Headliner Shows! Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue Close the Fest in Free Show on Wegmans Stage @ Parcel 5 The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival producers Marc Iacona and John Nugent today announced the lineup for the Festival's nine-day 20th Anniversary Edition to be held from June 23 to July 1 in 19 venues in downtown Rochester, New York. The CGI Rochester International Jazz ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Guitarist/Composer Ryan Meagher Unveils A Unique Blend Of Sound And Vision On 'Aftearth,' Set For May 19 Release By Atroefy Records
Guitarist/composer Ryan Meagher explores postapocalyptic soundscapes—and imagery—on the scintillating AftEarth, set for a May 19 release on Atroefy Records. On one level a quartet recording—with Portland, Oregon-based saxophonist Tim Willcox, bassist Andrew Jones, and drummer Charlie Doggett delving into 11 Meagher compositions (and a jazz setting of a Felix Mendelssohn composition)—it is also a collaboration with visual artist Tina Granzo, whose lonesome, haunting pen-and-ink images form the album’s packaging. Though largely created in the shadow of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Meet Clifford Bass
Our newest super fan's first jazz record was The Best of Nat King Cole, which he chose at just ten years old! The bug bit him so hard that, by age 14, he was listening obsessively to A Love Supreme. He is now such a fan of improvisational, in-the-moment performance that he rarely listens to recordings, preferring to witness jazz live wherever he can find it: so far in 98 countries and counting. Tell us a bit about ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Tre, The New Album By Brazilian Guitarist Rodrigo Simoes
TRE is Rodrigo Simoes' new concept album through Canadian jazz label Three Pines Records. Rodrigo Simoes is a Brazilian jazz guitarist and composer. He performs regularly in Montreal and the region. With TRE, we find the DNA of Rodrigo Simoes' sound: Latin guitar, Afro-Brazilian grooves and jazz fusion. Added to this is the inspiration of the number 3 which makes it a real concept album! TRE (three in Italian) offers unusual ternary compositions that reveal the mastery of the styles ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Clifford Jordan’s Long Lost 1974 Vocal Jazz Album Released
After 49 years on the shelf, Drink Plenty Water, a long-lost jazz recording from the late tenor sax master Clifford Jordan has been issued. Originally recorded for the Strata-East label in 1974, it is the only release in the Chicago native’s catalog that is primarily a vocal recording, with inventive arrangements courtesy of bassist Bill Lee. Joining Jordon on tenor are Dick Griffin on trombone, Bill Hardman on trumpet, Charlie Rouse on bass clarinet, Strata East co-founder Stanley Cowell on ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Mike Stern Live at the Birchmere
Mike Stern The Birchmere Alexandria, Virginia February 8, 2023 Mike Stern brought his band to the Birchmere for a rousing set of jazz and fusion as energetic as Stern has ever been, even at 70 years of age. The set spanned works from Stern's most recent recordings all the way back to an updated version of his classic tune “Chromazone." Mike's rhythm section featured Baltimore-area legends Dennis Chambers on drums and Gary Grainger on ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Take Five with Melvin Johnson
Meet Melvin Johnson Houston, TX pianist/composer Melvin Johnson will offer a gift to the world with his debut album, Little Red Wagon (Sincerely Yours Music, 2023), overflowing with musical narratives on family love and the life lessons they provide. Johnson, who once thought of himself as only a live performer, found a unique hunger for recording and production during COVID lockdown. Mixed with exposure in multiple genres and styles, his education and training as a classical pianist forged a fluid ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Michael Blake: Afro Blake
Africa seems to have been a special source of inspiration for Michael Blake, as compositions like “Addis Abeba" (Elevated), “Mauritania" (Buzz), “Road to Lusaka" (In the Grand Scheme of Things), “Africa Used to Be Home" (More Like Us) or “Surfing Sahara" (Elevated) attest. They are all characterized by memorable themes and an instantly recognizable sound, but there's one song that is like a “first among equals" and leaves a deep mark every time I listen to it, “Afro-Blake" (Drift, Intuition ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Harlem School Of The Arts In Collaboration With Jazz Power Initiative Launch A Celebration Of Jazz Appreciation Month Honoring America’s Original Art Form
HARLEM SCHOOL OF THE ARTS IN COLLABORATION WITH JAZZ POWER INITIATIVE LAUNCH A CELEBRATION OF JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH HONORING—AMERICA’S ORIGINAL ART FORM LAGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL AND HARLEM SAMBA JOIN IN AN INTERGENERATIONAL JAZZ POWER JAM WITH LEGENDS AND FUTURE JAZZ LEADERS The renowned, 59-year-old Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) will be the site of a collaborative celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month in April, when the organization welcomes a new partnership with Jazz Power Initiative (JPI), an ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Not Like Before: Michael Robinson's Jazz Without Borders
Playing my personal vision of jazz, claiming that name as part of my heritage, I endeavor feeling the rhythms of life in the present, past and future, entering into them through touch and nuance at the piano, connecting rajas, sattva and tamas; circular movement, cohesion and disintegration. I've been fortunate to know masters of improvised music personally from jazz, Indian classical and rock. From jazz, I studied improvisation with Lee Konitz, later becoming close friends. From Indian classical, I first ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Piano Master Kevin Toney Celebrates 50th Year In Music With Expansive Concert Recording Documenting His Spirited Acoustic Legacy In Jazz
Album Features Daughter Dominique Toney, Azar Lawrence and Kamau Kenyatta Let it be stated – no shouted from the highest mountaintop – that the root source of piano virtuoso Kevin Toney’s dynamic musical artistry has ALWAYS been hardcore straight-ahead jazz. As an A+ disciple of the Art Tatum’s, Oscar Peterson’s, McCoy Tyner's, Errol Garner’s, and Herbie Hancock’s of the idiom (as well as Detroit-born schoolmate of Geri Allen), Kevin Toney began his journey into the dexterous essence of jazz absorbing ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Jimmy Zito: Young Man With a Horn
So, we can start with a question? Name me another musician who played with both Ted Fio Rito and (maybe) Frank Zappa? Aside from Jimmy Zito. Time's up. No, it's not some kind of trick question. I doubt there was another. But wait a second, Jimmy Who? Even if you're a trumpet devotee, Zito's name is probably not a familiar one to you. Zeets, as he was known, was one of the elite West Coast studio trumpet players in the ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Legendary Guitarist and Jazz Master George Benson Performs On New Jersey Performing Arts Center Stage June 2nd
Friday, June 2, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. ET George Benson is simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history,” writes music critic Richard S. Ginell, yet jazz guitar is only the beginning for George. A relentless shapeshifter, he’s equally imaginative playing pop, R&B and soul—and equally talented as a vocalist, composer and songwriter. No fan will want to miss this evening with the NEA Jazz Master, 10-time GRAMMY winner and creator of too-many-to-count albums. Now in the seventh decade ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Maria Schneider Orchestra at Hill Auditorium
Maria Schneider Orchestra Hill Auditorium 55th Performance of the 144th UMS Annual Season Ann Arbor, Michigan March 11, 2023 An independent thinker with a distinctive voice as a composer, Maria Schneider has been at the forefront of creative big band music for decades even as her recognition among casual jazz listeners might be underdeveloped. The 62-year-old Minnesota native seems to be heir apparent to the type of large ensemble writing that involves tailoring compositions ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Saxophone Colossus: The Life And Music Of Sonny Rollins
Saxophone Colossus: The Life And Music Of Sonny Rollins Aidan Levy 784 Pages ISBN: 978-0306902796 Hachette Books 2023 A colossal book for a colossal musician. Aidan Levy's biography of Sonny Rollins runs to over 700 pages, not including the no less remarkable notes, available as a separate 416-page download. That the original manuscript was trimmed down from twice the length indicates just how ambitious and comprehensive this portrait is, and how astutely the ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Melanie De Biasio: The Flow
Melanie De Biasio is a vocalist from Belgium who sings in a low-pitched, affectless voice over seductive electronically treated vamps. it is a spare, hypnotic sound best heard on this track from her 2014 album, No Deal, (Play It Again Sam, 2014). “The Flow" creeps along on a hypnotic mix of off-center drum beats, brooding keyboards, and De Biasio's swirling, offhand vocal which gives way to her haunting flute playing. The song is a late-night cocktail of noirish soul that ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
Striving for Music: Joe Henderson and Phil Woods' Struggles Performing with Emphysema
Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent respiratory condition, an important cause of lost life years and its importance is still growing. By 2030, COPD is expected to be the fourth leading cause of mortality, morbidity, and disability worldwide. It is usually caused by significant exposure to noxious particles or gases, including inhaled tobacco smoke.1 Despite a large number of quantitative studies, there are comparatively few qualitative studies that have explored the perspectives of patients ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz
The Art Of The Duo Personified
The jazz duo is the ultimate musical challenge. With just two musicians on stage, there is no coasting allowed. You're either doubling on the melody, listening intently to anticipate how to respond to the other player's solo, comping behind him—or all of the above. That fine art was in the spotlight at the 42nd edition of the Sarasota Jazz Festival on Friday, March 17 in the hands of pianist Dick Hyman and Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo. Their musical conversation belied ......
SOURCE: All About Jazz