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2007 Women in Jazz Festival
by Franz A. Matzner
Women in Jazz FestivalKennedy Center, Washington, DCMay 10-12, 2007 Begun as a tribute to the once unheralded contributions of pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams to jazz, the Kennedy Center's now annual Women in Jazz Festival has graduated into a one-stop shopping opportunity for audiences to hear some of jazz's ...
Kennedy Center Honors Jazz
by Franz A. Matzner
Since first committing to establishing a jazz program more than ten years ago, the Kennedy Center has steadily increased the frequency and depth of its programming. The addition of the KC Jazz Club--a small, intimate venue housed within the main building, replete with bar--expanded the Kennedy Center's ability to highlight a broader spectrum of modern jazz. ...
Harry Connick Jr.: Chanson du Vieux Carre
by Franz A. Matzner
Simply because it was produced prior to Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact, Harry Connick Jr.'s New Orleans-themed album, Chanson du Veux Carré, has a different texture and tone than many of the impressive tribute albums the jazz world has delivered since that tragic event transpired. While many have sounded themes of lament, nostalgia, defiance, outrage and hope, ...
The Very Tall Band: What's Up?
by Franz A. Matzner
Like director's cuts, material scrounged from studio archives isn't always worthy of release. As with scenes that belong on the cutting room floor, some tracks, particularly from live performances, should remain closeted away--or at the very least held for box set bonus tracks targeting the completist. Hearing the seven tunes presented on What's ...
Winard Harper: Multicultural Ambassador
by Franz A. Matzner
A tremendous force on the drums and percussion instruments of all kinds and a successful bandleader, Winard Harper has been beating on one kind of instrument or another since almost before he could walk. A child prodigy and now a veteran performer, Harper's music recognizes few stylistic, cultural, or genre boundaries. Comfortable in any setting--whether playing ...
Monk Institute Celebrates 20th Anniversary
by Franz A. Matzner
It is always tempting to find fault when something formerly counter-culture discovers itself embraced by the mainstream and honored by those who previously dismissed, devalued, or worse, denigrated it. For jazz, the fact that many of its founding fathers struggled against pernicious racism amplifies this tension, injecting the politics of civil rights into what is for ...
Ann Hampton Callaway Swings Blues Alley
by Franz A. Matzner
Ann Hampton Callaway Blues Alley Washington, DC September 14, 2006 Showmanship is a rare commodity in the jazz world today. Too many performers believe it contradicts true artistry. In some cases they may be right. But add a healthy dose of real talent and the two can offer a winning ...
11th Annual Women in Jazz Festival
by Franz A. Matzner
11th Annual Women in Jazz Festival Kennedy Center Washington, D.C. May 11-13,2006 Women have been involved in jazz since its beginning. They just never received due credit. This truism led Dr. Billy Taylor to found the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival more than a decade ago. Though progress ...
Brian Bromberg: Wood II
by Franz A. Matzner
Brian Bromberg's extraordinary new release is a jazz album cured of the blues. Devoid of deep suffering pools, spare introspective valleys or convoluted mazes of cerebration, the mostly trio Wood II looks out over a vista of pure musical enjoyment seen from peaks of virtuosic playfulness. Listening to Bromberg take apart and reconstruct ...
Steve Turre Honors Rahsaan Roland Kirk
by Franz A. Matzner
Steve Turre Kennedy Center Jazz Club Washington, DC Whether it is discovering a previously unknown player or genre, or a new take on an old favorite, venturing out to live music leaves us open to discovering new sounds in one of the most satisfying ways possible: by chance. In the case of ...
