Results for "Terence Blanchard"

Terence Blanchard

The crucible of catastrophe impels creative expression. Since the turn of the century, this has taken shape in manifold ways, from artistic responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks to the war in Iraq to the pummeling of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It is this latter calamity that informs Crescent City native son Terence Blanchard's impassioned song cycle, A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina), a 13-track emotional tour de force of anger, rage, compassion, melancholy and beauty. A Tale of God's Will, which features Blanchard's quintet—pianist Aaron Parks, saxophonist Brice Winston, bassist Derrick Hodge, drummer Kendrick Scott—as well as a 40-member string orchestra, is his third album for Blue Note Records

Massimo Biolcati: Positive Polymath, Cooperative Catalyst

By DAN BILAWSKY

With a viewpoint colored by vast experiences--formative classical and jazz encounters while growing up in Sweden and Italy, immersive education at Boston's Berklee College of Music, finishing work under the masters at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and real-deal maneuvering in New York and beyond--bassist Massimo Biolcati plays and writes with a globalist's perspective. While ...

Kendrick Scott: Making Walls into Bridges

By ROB GARRATT

Kendrick Scott authored one of the most compelling jazz releases of last year with A Wall Becomes a Bridge (Blue Note, 2019), a nuanced meditation on identity, history and prejudice, shepherded under the direction of producer and former band mate Derrick Hodge. Pairing gorgeous, searching improvisatory canvases with break beat interludes and samples from guest DJ ...

2019: The Year in Jazz

By KEN FRANCKLING

The year 2019 was robust in many ways. International Jazz Day brought its biggest stage to Australia. An important but long-shuttered jazz mecca was revived in a coast-to-coast move. ECM Records celebrated a golden year. The music and its makers figured prominently on the big screen. The National Endowment for the Arts welcomed four new NEA ...

Various Artists: Newvelle Muri

By KARL ACKERMANN

Swiss drummer/percussionist and composer, Stephan Diethelm lived in Zimbabwe for several years and was musically influenced by the African rhythms he heard. He had appeared on four albums when he launched the Muri Series, an ongoing succession of concerts that began in 2002, sometimes called Musig im Pflegidach. Pflegidach is a monastery that dates to the ...

Aaron Parks: Finding the Way to Little Big

By JIAOWEI HU

"Always beginning. Often perplexed. Drawn to beauty and to the absurd. I play piano, write songs, and take pictures of doors with my phone. A bit odd." So is the pianist's own account on his website, written in a few scribbled sentences. About a decade ago, Aaron Parks created much of a stir through his debut ...

Mike De Souza: Slow Burn

By FRIEDRICH KUNZMANN

While making his way to reputation in the world of jazz guitar, British composer Mike de Souza was lucky enough to have been able to play with contemporary greats such as Terence Blanchard while receiving his education on the guitar by leading players John Parricelli and Gilad Hekselman, among others. The guitarist co-leads the young British ...

At A Korean Jazz Picnic, No Need To Know The Music

By ARTHUR R GEORGE

That jazz appeals to younger audiences, is fun, and not so serious, is more than a mere notion, materializing in, of all places, South Korea. The Jarasum Jazz Festival created there by promoter In Jae Jin has become one of the largest in Asia by hosting a multi-day event which features camping, western and Korean performers, ...

2019 Detroit Jazz Festival

By C. ANDREW HOVAN

Detroit Jazz Festival Hart Plaza Detroit, Michigan August 30-September 2, 2019 According to the official count, the 40th edition of the largest free jazz festival in North America drew a record crowd numbering some 325,000. Boasting four stages as part of the festival footprint, there seemed to be a reduction in ...

Fabian Almazan: This Land Abounds With Life

By ANGELO LEONARDI

Nel quarto disco da leader, il pianista cubano torna al trio del suo debutto, lo stesso con cui aveva inciso otto anni fa Personalities. Da allora la sua statura di strumentista/compositore è cresciuta e il suo valore ampiamente apprezzato dalla critica internazionale, che l'ha votato miglior pianista emergente nel Down Beat Critics Poll del 2014.