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Elvin Jones: Drumming Icon is Still Cooking
by R.J. DeLuke
The name Elvin Jones conjures up a distinct image right away. You can see him seated behind his drum set, slightly hunched, arms awhirl; cranking out a firestorm of rhythms highlighted by crackling accents that fall at unexpected moments, giving the music just the right propulsion. He's been one of jazz music's preeminent drummers ...
The Venerable Ahmad Jamal
by R.J. DeLuke
Ahmad Jamal settles into a comfortable chair in his office at home, relaxed and ready to field questions, which he does with both a firmness and a calm ease; not unlike nestling his body onto a nightclub piano stool and taking a relaxed breath before embarking on a performance that will take the patrons off to ...
Mose Allison: Substance and Style
by R.J. DeLuke
The music of Mose Allison, the slick hipster from the Mississippi delta, never fails to get at least a wry, knowing smile from listeners, if not outright laughter--on CD or live in a nightclub. Those that know his work--and that audience is growing, he says--are attracted to his simple, bluesy style as well as ...
Claudia Acuna Live in Albany, NY
by R.J. DeLuke
Chile-born singer Claudia Acuna is acclaimed as one of the jazz singers on the rise. She carried a top-flight band into The Egg in Albany on November 22, but didn't carry any particular singing style that is really related to what people know as American jazz.Not any more than Brazilian Flora Purim did when she ...
Saratoga Jazz Fest Shines
by R.J. DeLuke
Big names can disappoint and lesser known musicians can become great discoveries at a large jazz festival. This year’s edition of the Freihofer Jazz Festival – a George Wein-produced event at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY – was the best of both. The big names came through with flying colors and those ...
George Wein's Festival in Saratoga Turns 25 in Good Form
by R.J. DeLuke
The weather for this year's two-day outdoor jazz festival in Saratoga Springs, NY, matched a lot of the music that was played. Hot and inviting. The Freihofer Jazz Festival celebrated its 25th edition is pretty good fashion at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) June 29 and 30. It was 1978 when George Wein first brought ...
The Fantastic Freihofer Jazz Fest
by R.J. DeLuke
Tucked away in one of New York state's classiest tourist towns is a two-day jazz festival held around the end of June each year since 1978. It's one of George Wein's festivals and he's called it one of the great undiscovered festivals in the world. It's a pity, in some way, that “undiscovered" has to be ...
Kurt Elling: Polished and Passionate
by R.J. DeLuke
Don't look now, but isn't singer Kurt Elling just getting better and better?With the pending release of his fifth CD, Flirting with Twilight in late August, he blew into Hartford Connecticut on July 22 for a performance at the Great Hartford Jazz Festival with his trio, pianist Laurence Hobgood, bassist Rob Amster and drummer Paul ...
Berkshire Jazz Festival: First-time Jazz Fest is a Big-time Hit
by R.J. DeLuke
A jazz festival with less density than a George Wein-produced event, yet with plenty of fine artists and a relaxed atmosphere, debuted this summer in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Produced by the Jazz Forum Arts organization in downstate New York, the event was an artistic success. It was an esthetic success also, located at ...
Berskshire Jazz Festival Turns Two
by R.J. DeLuke
Nature tossed the Berkshire Jazz Festival a nasty curve in its sophomore season, first lightly dousing, then soaking its hardy attendees on the first day of its two-day run, but then smiled graciously with sunshine and welcome warmth for Day Two. And when all was said and done -- or when everyone's canvas chairs, clothes and ...
