Results for "duke ellington"

Duke Ellington: Diminuendo

April 8, 2014

Billy Hart: Welcoming New, Loving Old, Sounds

by R.J. DeLuke
April 7, 2014

The ubiquitous drummer Billy Hart brings a special energy to the many projects of which he is a part. A band leader, composer and educator, he's been on hundreds of albums. He has taken the stage with countless bands, adding his rhythmic pulse to formations led by a litany of the biggest names in the business. ...

So Cal Jazz 2013: Highlights and a Serious Low

by Chuck Koton
April 4, 2014

Azar Lawrence Quartet RG Club Venice, CA January-September 2013 2013, already slipping deep into the fog of forgetfulness, had its share of memorable jazz moments here in Southern California. And while, according to the Western, as well as the Chinese calender ( Happy Year of the Horse!), this review and these ...

Video: Johnny Hodges, 1969

April 4, 2014

Johnny Hodges was an alto saxophonist who joined Duke Ellington in 1928 and developed a sweet, high-vibrato sound popularized in the 1930s by Benny Carter. He also was one of the smoothest swing improvisers on the instrument, praised by reed masters from Benny Goodman to Charlie Parker. Yesterday, I spent a few hours listening to “Rabbit," ...

Mattias Ståhl Trio: Jag Skulle Bara Gå Ut

by Mark Corroto
April 3, 2014

The rebirth of the vibraphone as a tool for creative music making has been a long time coming. Like the clarinet, it had to lose its nerdishness to gain acceptance. Artists like Jason Adasiewicz, Matt Moran and the Swedish-born Matthais Ståhl are making the vibes as relevant today as the mid-sixties and 1970s work of Khan ...

Ambrose Akinmusire: Painting Saviors

by DanMichael Reyes
March 31, 2014

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire (pronounced ah-kin-MOO-sir-ee) is as imaginative as the sonic soundscapes he creates and as informative as the titles that he bestows on his songs. Ambrose Akinmusire's allure stems from the complexity of his albums; a complexity that requires the listener to fully participate and engage with the artist and ask questions as to who ...

Fred Hersch at Miner Auditorium

by Harry S. Pariser
March 29, 2014

Fred Hersch Miner Auditorium, SFJazz Fred Hersch Solo at SF Performances San Francisco March 8, 2014 No stranger to San Francisco, pianist Fred Hersch has been a frequent guest of SF Performances, having last performed here in 2011 when he presented My Coma Dreams, an evening-long work for eleven instruments ...

"In the Mood" at Mesa Arts Center

by Patricia Myers
March 28, 2014

"In the Mood": A 1940s Musical Revue Mesa Arts Center Mesa, Arizona March 12, 2014 A 13-piece big band revived the music of the 1940s, from Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey to Duke Ellington and Count Basie, accompanying six young singers and dancers in vintage costumes to re-create the music of ...

Soren Kjaergaard / Ben Street / Andrew Cyrille: Syvmileskridt

by Jakob Baekgaard
March 27, 2014

The relationship between stillness and movement is something that has occupied pianist Søren Kjærgaard for a long time and with bassist Ben Street and drummer Andrew Cyrille, Kjærgaard has found the perfect vehicle to explore the essence of musical creation. Syvmileskridt is the fourth album from the trio. Each musician is a master ...

A Night At Bricktop's This Week On Riverwalk Jazz

March 27, 2014

This week on Riverwalk Jazz, actors Topsy Chapman and Vernel Bagneris offer narratives drawn from the memoirs of Ada ‘Bricktop’ Smith and Langston Hughes. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and the Hot Club of San Francisco give us a musical tour of Paris in the '30s. The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio ...