Results for "Ran Blake"

Ran Blake

In a career that now spans five decades, pianist Ran Blake has created a unique niche in improvised music as an artist and educator. With a characteristic mix of spontaneous solos, modern classical tonalities, the great American blues and gospel traditions, and themes from classic Film Noir, Blake’s singular sound has earned a dedicated following all over the world. His dual musical legacy includes more than 30 albums on some of the world’s finest jazz labels, as well nearly 30 years as a groundbreaking educator at Boston’s New England Conservatory. Blake first discovered the dark, image laden and complex character driven films that would so influence his music at age 12 when he first saw Robert Siodmak’s Spiral Staircase

Sir Stevie: Jammin' on Stevie Wonder - Part 2

By LUDOVICO GRANVASSU

Stevie Wonder has often infused his performances with compelling renditions of jazz standards like Miles' “All Blues" or Coltrane's “Giant Steps." In return, countless jazz musicians have looked into his Songbook for compositions that would provide them with a fertile ground for their own explorations. In the second part of our “Stevie @70" ...

Matthew Shipp: Poetic Connection

By SETON HAWKINS

It is difficult to describe the impact of pianist and composer Matthew Shipp without descending into hyperbole. A core figure in the now-legendary David S. Ware Quartet, a bandleader with a staggering recording output, a groundbreaking curator for the influential Blues Series of Thirsty Ear Records, Matthew Shipp has also more recently broken new ...

Whit Dickey: Tao Quartets: Peace Planet & Box of Light

By GIUSEPPE SEGALA

Possiamo dire che l'assioma secondo il quale tutti i jazzisti sono sottovalutati, non sia poi così paradossale. Parliamo naturalmente dei musicisti che mettono al primo posto del loro operato il fare artistico e non la realizzazione di un prodotto solo ben accetto sul mercato. Spesso ci troviamo di fronte a musicisti che subiscono tale disattenzione in ...

Alice Ricciardi, Pietro Lussu: Catch a Falling Star

By ANGELO LEONARDI

Le fonti d'ispirazione sono chiare (in primis il magistrale The Newest Sound Around di Jeanne Lee e Ran Blake) ma le scelte espressive e le doti personali di Alice Ricciardi e Pietro Lussu rendono il disco originale e avvincente. La cantante milanese è stata allieva di Blake al New England Conservatory ed ha ...

Alice Ricciardi, Pietro Lussu: Catch a Falling Star

By ANGELO LEONARDI

Le fonti d'ispirazione sono chiare (in primis il magistrale The Newest Sound Around di Jeanne Lee e Ran Blake) ma le scelte espressive e le doti personali di Alice Ricciardi e Pietro Lussu rendono il disco originale e avvincente. La cantante milanese è stata allieva di Blake al New England Conservatory ed ha ...

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

By ANGELO LEONARDI

Sassofonista e orchestratore canadese, Andrew Rathbun ha 47 anni e una ricca carriera alle spalle, svolta negli Stati Uniti con studi al New England Conservatory sotto la guida di Ran Blake e dal 1997 professionalmente a New York in vari contesti. A partire dal debutto del 1999 con Scatter Some Stones, ha inciso alcuni dischi da ...

The Very Singular Mr. Ran Blake

By DUNCAN HEINING

There have been few American composers and musicians, with the ability to encapsulate their country's music in all its racial and ethnic complexity. We might perhaps point to Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives and perhaps, in their own distaff ways, Harry Partch and Steve Reich. In jazz, their number is fewer still--Duke Ellington and George ...

Michael Jackson: Man in a Jazz Mirror - Part I

By LUDOVICO GRANVASSU

This week let's pay homage to the musical legacy of Michael Jackson. It has been 10 years since Michael Jackson passed away and lots of things have emerged since then, but the popularity of his music remains strong, including among jazz musicians (the majority of the tracks featured this week was released after his ...

Darrell Katz: Rats Live on No Evil Star

By ANGELO LEONARDI

La bostoniana Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra è un ampio organico diretto da Darrell Katz e composto da musicisti legati a vario titolo con il New England Conservatory e il Berklee College of Music. Nei suoi trent'anni di attività ha pubblicato una decina di album caratterizzati dal coniugare entro forme compositive complesse e rigorose (con molti ...