By John W. Barry
Poughkeepsie Journal
The Oakland Raiders.
Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali.
Ichinoseki and Chiba, Japan.
The thread that binds these things may not be obvious. But the man for whom these things rank as favorites will likely be familiar to you, as the face and sound of America’s first family of music, a Pulitzer Prize-winning musician and director of one of the most prestigious jazz halls in the world.
He is Wynton Marsalis, a jazz trumpet player whose cherubic face has evolved into the very personality of that truly American, truly mysterious musical phenomenon called jazz.
Marsalis and his horn croon. They call. And they respond. Sound drips out of this guy’s horn like Sunday morning molasses over a stack of steaming flapjacks.
On Saturday, Marsalis and his quintet will play a sold-out concert at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill. This performance is a benefit concert for the Paramount, the African American Men of Westchester and Historic Hudson Valley.
“It’s just exciting for us to be able to feature someone like Wynton,” said Jon Yanofsky, executive director for the Paramount. “He’s provided an incredibly accessible point of entry into (jazz) and the history of the music for a lot of people.”
The American public knows an awful lot about Marsalis: he is the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and has won nine Grammy Awards. And many know of his brother Branford, who has played with Sting and Bruce Hornsby and served as band leader on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
But what’s the deal with Marsalis and those Oakland Raiders?
“I like everything about them — their black and silver colors and their logo, their quick-strike offense...,” Marsalis is quoted as saying on his Web site, www.wyntonmarsalis.com. “They get amped up on the pressure of a big game, but they don’t get uptight. They’re ferocious, but they never lose their cool.”
And Sugar Ray Robinson? Ali?
“Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest, but my favorite boxer is Muhammad Ali.
Growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, I watched all of Muhammad’s classic fights on ‘Wide World of Sports.’ ”
Now, what about those two Japanese cities?
“For part of my early childhood, our family lived in a little town in Louisiana called Kenner, and I’ve always enjoyed the down-home feeling that small towns can have.
As a touring musician I have a lot of favorite towns, just like I have a lot of favorite cities. Ichinoseki and Chiba, in Japan, are two of my favorites. When we play in a small town, all the farmers and other local people will come to check us out, and we get a special feeling from being able to perform for the whole community.”
Raised in New Orleans
Marsalis grew up in New Orleans, the second of six sons, one of whom is autistic. At an early age, he heard his musical calling — loud and clear.
“My father was a musician,” Marsalis said during a recent telephone interview with the Journal. “I had an ability for it. I just came into it.”
At age 8, Marsalis performed traditional New Orleans music in the Fairview Baptist Church band. At 14, he was invited to perform with the New Orleans Philharmonic.
During high school, Marsalis was a member of the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, New Orleans Youth Orchestra and New Orleans Symphony. He was also admitted to the Tanglewood Music Center in western Massachusetts at age 17.
After moving to New York City to study music at The Juilliard School, Marsalis joined the Jazz Messengers and studied under the band’s leader, Art Blakey.
From Blakey, Marsalis learned “how to give everything all the time, to truly treat this like it’s a blessing to be a musician. His playing was always serious. He was always about it — in rehearsals, concerts, it didn’t make a difference.”
Marsalis went on to receive commissions to create major compositions for the New York City Ballet, Twyla Tharp for the American Ballet Theatre and for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.
Marsalis has also pursued a career in classical music.
“I like his classical trumpet playing more than I like his jazz trumpet playing,” said jazz trumpet player Matt Jordan of Poughkeepsie, who plays regularly at Ciboney Cafe in Poughkeepsie. “I like his technique. He’s got one of the cleanest, fastest, tongue-ing techniques — very quick, very fast. ... He synchronizes his lip with his mouthpiece and the valves that have to come down to play in perfect tune. Nobody does it better than him.”
In 1987, Marsalis co-founded a jazz program at Lincoln Center. Three concerts were held the first season, but under the guidance of Marsalis the program now stages up to 400 events annually in 15 countries.
In 1995, the Lincoln Center Board gave the Jazz Department status equal to the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera and New York City Ballet. Jazz at Lincoln Center now occupies a state-of-the art facility on Columbus Circle in Manhattan, that is home to performance spaces and a recording studio.
“Jazz is the art form of America,” Marsalis said. “It is appropriate for it to be in the heart of New York City.”
Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
Friday, January 26, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Marcus Belgrave on stage at Schwartz Center
What a Wonderful World” when the soothing sounds of Marcus Belgrave take the stage at the Schwartz Center, kicking off the new year and spring season.
Belgrave, an internationally recognized jazz trumpet great, came to prominence touring and recording with Ray Charles in addition to spearheading the modern jazz movement in New York.
Along with his seven piece band, Marcus Belgrave incorporates the three essential qualities needed to deliver a loving and convincing tribute to Louis Armstrong: a trumpet virtuoso with a naturally low, gravelly voice and stage persona full of warmth and joy.
“Louis Armstrong Tradition” includes selections such as “Heebie Jeebies”, “Blueberry Hill”, “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello Dolly.”
Belgrave’s “Louis Armstrong Tradition” will perform at the Schwartz Center in Dover, Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. Tickets for adults are $22, with a $19 discount for student, senior - 65 and older - and military,
Children 12 and under are $12. For more information or to purchase tickets call the Box Office Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at 302-678-5152. Advance sales are encouraged.
Belgrave, an internationally recognized jazz trumpet great, came to prominence touring and recording with Ray Charles in addition to spearheading the modern jazz movement in New York.
Along with his seven piece band, Marcus Belgrave incorporates the three essential qualities needed to deliver a loving and convincing tribute to Louis Armstrong: a trumpet virtuoso with a naturally low, gravelly voice and stage persona full of warmth and joy.
“Louis Armstrong Tradition” includes selections such as “Heebie Jeebies”, “Blueberry Hill”, “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello Dolly.”
Belgrave’s “Louis Armstrong Tradition” will perform at the Schwartz Center in Dover, Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. Tickets for adults are $22, with a $19 discount for student, senior - 65 and older - and military,
Children 12 and under are $12. For more information or to purchase tickets call the Box Office Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at 302-678-5152. Advance sales are encouraged.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
MARCUS BELGRAVE: What a wonderful show it will be
By Zach Hanner, Star-News Correspondent
If you close your eyes for a second, you'll undoubtedly mistake the voice of jazz trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave for the man whose music he pays tribute to, the masterful Louis Armstrong. Since his teens, Belgrave has been a consummate pro, influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and numerous other horn blowers.
Currently residing in Detroit, where he has performed on dozens of Motown hits, Belgrave hits the road frequently with his partner-in-crime, Charlie Gabriel, bringing the sounds of Louis Armstrong to modern audiences with their tribute show. They'll perform twice in the area this week: Jan. 11 at Odell Williamson Auditorium on the campus of Brunswick Community College in Supply, and Jan. 14 at Thalian Hall in Wilmington.
Currents caught up with Belgrave as he prepared to bring his eight-piece band to the area.
How did you get interested in music? The bugle was the first instrument that I blew. I was 4 years old. My father was a musician and he played in a marching band that would gather around in a local park and they would leave their instruments out lying around. I figured I chose the trumpet because it was the smallest one available.
What was your first professional gig? I was 19 years old when I joined Ray Charles' band. I was in the service in Wichita Falls, Texas; he was coming through there. I got a chance to sit in with him there, but I didn't get the gig at that point. A month later, he came through my hometown of Chester, Penn. He played at a place called the Harlem Club and one of his trumpet players told me he was leaving the tour. I had left with some friends to see Max Roach in Philadelphia, and when I got home this lady at the club told me they had been looking for me all night. Ray asked me if I could be ready to leave in an hour and I was.
What are your earliest memories of Louis Armstrong's music? My father loved Louis Armstrong. I first remember hearing him when I was just a little kid, but I wasn't affected by him until I was maybe 10 years old. I heard the tune When It's Sleepy Time Down South, and it brought tears to my eyes.
How did Armstrong's music affect your growth as a musician? Louis Armstrong helped me develop as an artist not only because of his playing but also because of his singing. At the time, I wanted to play bebop, so I put Armstrong's style of music on the back burner. But he was always a big influence on me as a performer. Later on in my life, people would always tell me that I sounded like him. I guess I had that same frogginess in my voice. I didn't hear it but so many people told me that I should sing his songs that I finally broke down.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, it's poignant that you're bringing one of New Orleans' most beloved musician's sounds to the world again. New Orleans is jazz. It's the birthplace of that music in America. The musicians that come out of that city are simply supreme. The reason for that is that New Orleans is music all day, every day. From birth until death life is celebrated with music. It combines African traditions, Portuguese and French traditions and it's simply the most beautiful melting pot in America. It's really the greatest American city, but sometimes it doesn't seem like you're in America.
What is it about the music of Louis Armstrong that makes it continue to resonate with audiences decades after his passing? His tunes are just so joyful. I really enjoy them so much and, if I'm lucky, sometimes Louis comes and visits me. Sometimes I'm singing and I hear his voice back at me and I think it's him.
Wilmington Morning Star - Wilmington,NC,USA
Currents: 343-2343
currents.wilmington@starnewsonline.com
If you close your eyes for a second, you'll undoubtedly mistake the voice of jazz trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave for the man whose music he pays tribute to, the masterful Louis Armstrong. Since his teens, Belgrave has been a consummate pro, influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and numerous other horn blowers.
Currently residing in Detroit, where he has performed on dozens of Motown hits, Belgrave hits the road frequently with his partner-in-crime, Charlie Gabriel, bringing the sounds of Louis Armstrong to modern audiences with their tribute show. They'll perform twice in the area this week: Jan. 11 at Odell Williamson Auditorium on the campus of Brunswick Community College in Supply, and Jan. 14 at Thalian Hall in Wilmington.
Currents caught up with Belgrave as he prepared to bring his eight-piece band to the area.
How did you get interested in music? The bugle was the first instrument that I blew. I was 4 years old. My father was a musician and he played in a marching band that would gather around in a local park and they would leave their instruments out lying around. I figured I chose the trumpet because it was the smallest one available.
What was your first professional gig? I was 19 years old when I joined Ray Charles' band. I was in the service in Wichita Falls, Texas; he was coming through there. I got a chance to sit in with him there, but I didn't get the gig at that point. A month later, he came through my hometown of Chester, Penn. He played at a place called the Harlem Club and one of his trumpet players told me he was leaving the tour. I had left with some friends to see Max Roach in Philadelphia, and when I got home this lady at the club told me they had been looking for me all night. Ray asked me if I could be ready to leave in an hour and I was.
What are your earliest memories of Louis Armstrong's music? My father loved Louis Armstrong. I first remember hearing him when I was just a little kid, but I wasn't affected by him until I was maybe 10 years old. I heard the tune When It's Sleepy Time Down South, and it brought tears to my eyes.
How did Armstrong's music affect your growth as a musician? Louis Armstrong helped me develop as an artist not only because of his playing but also because of his singing. At the time, I wanted to play bebop, so I put Armstrong's style of music on the back burner. But he was always a big influence on me as a performer. Later on in my life, people would always tell me that I sounded like him. I guess I had that same frogginess in my voice. I didn't hear it but so many people told me that I should sing his songs that I finally broke down.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, it's poignant that you're bringing one of New Orleans' most beloved musician's sounds to the world again. New Orleans is jazz. It's the birthplace of that music in America. The musicians that come out of that city are simply supreme. The reason for that is that New Orleans is music all day, every day. From birth until death life is celebrated with music. It combines African traditions, Portuguese and French traditions and it's simply the most beautiful melting pot in America. It's really the greatest American city, but sometimes it doesn't seem like you're in America.
What is it about the music of Louis Armstrong that makes it continue to resonate with audiences decades after his passing? His tunes are just so joyful. I really enjoy them so much and, if I'm lucky, sometimes Louis comes and visits me. Sometimes I'm singing and I hear his voice back at me and I think it's him.
Wilmington Morning Star - Wilmington,NC,USA
Currents: 343-2343
currents.wilmington@starnewsonline.com
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
WCU hosts trumpet festival
Smokey Mountain News - Trumpet players from across the United States will converge at Western Carolina University for the Fifth Annual WCU Trumpet Festival, with several free performances throughout the Jan. 12-14 weekend, including a mass ensemble expected to top 100 musicians on stage at one time.
The festival has become the largest of its kind in the United States, and last year’s event brought to campus participants from 13 states and Canada, said Brad Ulrich, professor of music and festival organizer.
“This year’s event promises to be even bigger than the previous four,” said Ulrich. “The WCU Trumpet Festival has gained so much attention lately that the International Trumpet Guild, with a membership base of nearly 7,000 trumpet players from around the world, has become one of our official sponsors this year.”
Headlining the festival are internationally famous jazz trumpet artist Randy Brecker, who will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, in the Fine and Performing Arts Center, and classical trumpet artist Vladislav Lavrik, principal trumpet of the Russian National Orchestra in Moscow, who will perform in the Coulter Building recital hall at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13.
Brecker has been shaping the sound of jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll for more than three decades, Ulrich said, and his trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by artists ranging from James Taylor to Frank Zappa.
Lavrik is known as one of the most outstanding trumpeters of his generation in both the classical and jazz performance styles, Ulrich said. Born in the Ukraine in 1980, he was twice the winner of the Dokshitzer Competition of Young Trumpeters, and in 1994 won the Classical Heritage International Competition in Moscow.
In addition to their performances, Brecker and Lavrik will be leading clinics designed to provide festival participants an opportunity to learn tricks of the trade from master performers, Ulrich said.
Three university trumpet professors also will be offering their skills as conductors and clinicians: Ramon Vasquez of Auburn University, Gary Malvern of Furman University and Mark Clodfelter of the University of Kentucky. Clodfelter also will conduct a large trumpet ensemble made up of all festival participants at 5 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Coulter recital hall. Last year’s ensemble had 110 trumpet players performing simultaneously.
All concerts are open to the public free of charge. For more information contact Ulrich at 828.227.3274.
The festival has become the largest of its kind in the United States, and last year’s event brought to campus participants from 13 states and Canada, said Brad Ulrich, professor of music and festival organizer.
“This year’s event promises to be even bigger than the previous four,” said Ulrich. “The WCU Trumpet Festival has gained so much attention lately that the International Trumpet Guild, with a membership base of nearly 7,000 trumpet players from around the world, has become one of our official sponsors this year.”
Headlining the festival are internationally famous jazz trumpet artist Randy Brecker, who will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, in the Fine and Performing Arts Center, and classical trumpet artist Vladislav Lavrik, principal trumpet of the Russian National Orchestra in Moscow, who will perform in the Coulter Building recital hall at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13.
Brecker has been shaping the sound of jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll for more than three decades, Ulrich said, and his trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by artists ranging from James Taylor to Frank Zappa.
Lavrik is known as one of the most outstanding trumpeters of his generation in both the classical and jazz performance styles, Ulrich said. Born in the Ukraine in 1980, he was twice the winner of the Dokshitzer Competition of Young Trumpeters, and in 1994 won the Classical Heritage International Competition in Moscow.
In addition to their performances, Brecker and Lavrik will be leading clinics designed to provide festival participants an opportunity to learn tricks of the trade from master performers, Ulrich said.
Three university trumpet professors also will be offering their skills as conductors and clinicians: Ramon Vasquez of Auburn University, Gary Malvern of Furman University and Mark Clodfelter of the University of Kentucky. Clodfelter also will conduct a large trumpet ensemble made up of all festival participants at 5 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Coulter recital hall. Last year’s ensemble had 110 trumpet players performing simultaneously.
All concerts are open to the public free of charge. For more information contact Ulrich at 828.227.3274.
Friday, December 29, 2006
New Year's Eve with One For All at Smoke
Ring in the new year with solid music, join All For One at Smoke in New York on New Years Eve. One of the most consistently swinging bands, a all-star hard bop sextet, One For All has been performing for about ten years. This year they released their 11th album, Lineup on Sharp Nine Records. In the style of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers or the other great hard-bop groups of the 50's and 60's, One For All is a 'super group' of the finest seasoned jazz musicianss. As their name implies, they work together for a common goal of delivering solid musical collaboration with all members contributing their individual styles. One For All includes Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone), Jim Rotondi (trumpet), Steve Davis (trombone), David Hazeltine (piano), Nat Reeves (bass), and Joe Farnsworth (drums).
Trumpeter Jim Rodondi is a worthy successor to Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw, Rotondi is a stylist who continues to explore rich harmonies with original and soulful eloquence. He often performs with vibraphonists and organists, providing rich overtones and a dense aural carpet with which he weaves intricate and logical patterns of sound. Whether he is blowing with fiery fury or a mournful cry, Rotondi never looses the emotional connection with the audience.
Rontondi attended North Texas State University, where he graduated with a degree in trumpet performance. Jim was awarded first place in the International Trumpet Guild's jazz trumpet competition for the year 1984. After college Jim began recording and touring internationally with the Ray Charles Orchestra. Then he join the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. During this time Jim also became a member of organist Charles Earland's quintet. He currently tours with his own group, as well as with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and Grammy-winner Toshiko Akiyoshi.
Jim's extensive recording experience most recently includes the release of his fifth date as a leader, titled "Destination Up", for the Sharp Nine label following the successful release of four CDs on the Criss Cross Jazz label. He can also be heard on several of Charles Earland's Highnote Records releases. Other recordings include saxophonist George Coleman's Octet, featuring Harold Mabern, as well as drummer Ray Appleton's Sextet, which features Slide Hampton, Charles McPherson, and John Hicks.
With 16 CD's out under his own name and appearing as sideman on countless others, Eric Alexander has made his mark on the jazz world and documented his progress as a tenor master. He has a rich tone and an aggressive, driving style that grabs the listeners attention and doesn't let go. One can hear the influence of Sonny Stitt, Jackie McLean and George Coleman in his playing. At William Paterson College in New Jersey Eric advanced his studies under the tutelage of Mabern, Joe Lovano, Rufus Reid, and others. "The people I listened to in college are still the cats that are influencing me today," says Alexander. "Monk, Dizzy, Sonny Stitt, Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson--the legacy left by Bird and all the bebop pioneers, that language and that feel, that's the bread and butter of everything I do. George Coleman remains a big influence because of his very hip harmonic approach, and I'm still listening all the time to Coltrane because I feel that even in the wildest moments of his mid- to late-Sixties solos I can find these little kernels of melodic information and find ways to employ them in my own playing."
During the 1990s, after placing second behind Joshua Redman in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition, Alexander threw himself into the whirlwind life of a professional jazz musician. He played with organ trios on the South Side of Chicago, made his recording debut in 1991 with Charles Earland, and cut his first album as leader in 1992. Fifteen recordings followed including his latest recording, 'Nightlife in Tokyo'.
Brilliant pianist David Hazeltine has successfully forged his own distinctive style and musical voice out of the accumulated greatness and weight of a modern piano tradition. David's influences include Art Tatum and Bud Powell and such great living masters as Buddy Montgomery, Barry Harris and Cedar Walton.
Since moving to New York City in 1992, David has made a name for himself as a "musician's musician." In addition to his working trio (with drum legend Louis Hayes and bassist Peter Washington), David is in constant demand as a sideman. Recent credits include work with Freddie Hubbard, James Moody, the Faddis-Hampton-Heath Sextet, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Louis Hayes Quintet, and Marlena Shaw, for whom he serves as pianist, arranger, and musical director. Recently David was spotlighted on Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" radio program.
In addition to David's fifteen dates as a leader, his recorded work as a featured sideman reflects his status as one of the first call pianists in New York. Recent efforts include sessions with James Moody, Freddy Cole, Marlena Shaw, Jon Faddis, and Louis Hayes.
Steve Davis is widely regarded as one of today's leading improvisers on the trombone. His lyrical, hard-swinging style first gained him broad recognition during the 1990's while working with the bands of jazz legends Art Blakey, Jackie McLean, Chick Corea's acclaimed sextet Origin
Born in Worcester, MA in 1967, Steve Davis was raised in Binghamton, NY and graduated in 1989 from The Hartt School's Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz (University of Hartford). Davis has released eight CDs as a leader and is also featured on over seventy recordings and has worked in recent years with a broad range of jazz icons including Freddie Hubbard (New Jazz Composers Octet), The Horace Silver Octet, The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band, Slide Hampton`s World of Trombones, quintets led by Larry Willis, Cecil Payne, Phil Woods, Steve Turre`s One 4-J and sextets led by Geri Allen, Andy Bey and Toshiko Akiyoshi (feat. Lew Tabakin).
Nat Reeves has been teaching at the Hartt School in Hartford, Connecticut for 16 years, began performing professionally in the 70's. He began playing jazz and the acoustic bass in Richmond, Virginia and soon found his way to New York City where he performed with up and coming musicians including Kenny Garrett, Mulgrew Miller and Tony Reedus. In 1982, Mr. Reeves toured Japan with Sonny Stitt and began teaching at the Artist Collective, directed by Jackie and Dollie McLean. For the next 12 years, he primarily performed with the great Jackie McLean throughout the world and appears on five of Mr. McLean's recordings. In 1995, Mr. Reeves once again teamed up with Kenny Garrett and he has been touring throughout the world with him ever since. Mr. Reeves appears on Kenny Garrett's last recording released in 1997. Songbook was produced by Warner Bros. and was nominated for a Grammy.
Joe Farnsworth has been living in the New York area since 1990. He studied with the great drummer Art Taylor while attending William Patterson College. While still living at home in Massachusetts, Joe studied with Alan Dawson who was also Tony Williams' teacher. Joe has been playing with tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander since the two met while they were students at William Patterson. It has been a very fruitful musical association. Farnsworth and Alexander have been together on too many sessions to list, with Eric as leader or a fellow sideman.
All For One on December 31st, New Years Eve at Smoke Jazz Club & Lounge, 2751 Broadway in New York. The club phone number is: (212) 864 6662 and website is www.smokejazz.com.
by Don Berryman
Trumpeter Jim Rodondi is a worthy successor to Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw, Rotondi is a stylist who continues to explore rich harmonies with original and soulful eloquence. He often performs with vibraphonists and organists, providing rich overtones and a dense aural carpet with which he weaves intricate and logical patterns of sound. Whether he is blowing with fiery fury or a mournful cry, Rotondi never looses the emotional connection with the audience.
Rontondi attended North Texas State University, where he graduated with a degree in trumpet performance. Jim was awarded first place in the International Trumpet Guild's jazz trumpet competition for the year 1984. After college Jim began recording and touring internationally with the Ray Charles Orchestra. Then he join the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. During this time Jim also became a member of organist Charles Earland's quintet. He currently tours with his own group, as well as with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and Grammy-winner Toshiko Akiyoshi.
Jim's extensive recording experience most recently includes the release of his fifth date as a leader, titled "Destination Up", for the Sharp Nine label following the successful release of four CDs on the Criss Cross Jazz label. He can also be heard on several of Charles Earland's Highnote Records releases. Other recordings include saxophonist George Coleman's Octet, featuring Harold Mabern, as well as drummer Ray Appleton's Sextet, which features Slide Hampton, Charles McPherson, and John Hicks.
With 16 CD's out under his own name and appearing as sideman on countless others, Eric Alexander has made his mark on the jazz world and documented his progress as a tenor master. He has a rich tone and an aggressive, driving style that grabs the listeners attention and doesn't let go. One can hear the influence of Sonny Stitt, Jackie McLean and George Coleman in his playing. At William Paterson College in New Jersey Eric advanced his studies under the tutelage of Mabern, Joe Lovano, Rufus Reid, and others. "The people I listened to in college are still the cats that are influencing me today," says Alexander. "Monk, Dizzy, Sonny Stitt, Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson--the legacy left by Bird and all the bebop pioneers, that language and that feel, that's the bread and butter of everything I do. George Coleman remains a big influence because of his very hip harmonic approach, and I'm still listening all the time to Coltrane because I feel that even in the wildest moments of his mid- to late-Sixties solos I can find these little kernels of melodic information and find ways to employ them in my own playing."
During the 1990s, after placing second behind Joshua Redman in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition, Alexander threw himself into the whirlwind life of a professional jazz musician. He played with organ trios on the South Side of Chicago, made his recording debut in 1991 with Charles Earland, and cut his first album as leader in 1992. Fifteen recordings followed including his latest recording, 'Nightlife in Tokyo'.
Brilliant pianist David Hazeltine has successfully forged his own distinctive style and musical voice out of the accumulated greatness and weight of a modern piano tradition. David's influences include Art Tatum and Bud Powell and such great living masters as Buddy Montgomery, Barry Harris and Cedar Walton.
Since moving to New York City in 1992, David has made a name for himself as a "musician's musician." In addition to his working trio (with drum legend Louis Hayes and bassist Peter Washington), David is in constant demand as a sideman. Recent credits include work with Freddie Hubbard, James Moody, the Faddis-Hampton-Heath Sextet, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Louis Hayes Quintet, and Marlena Shaw, for whom he serves as pianist, arranger, and musical director. Recently David was spotlighted on Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" radio program.
In addition to David's fifteen dates as a leader, his recorded work as a featured sideman reflects his status as one of the first call pianists in New York. Recent efforts include sessions with James Moody, Freddy Cole, Marlena Shaw, Jon Faddis, and Louis Hayes.
Steve Davis is widely regarded as one of today's leading improvisers on the trombone. His lyrical, hard-swinging style first gained him broad recognition during the 1990's while working with the bands of jazz legends Art Blakey, Jackie McLean, Chick Corea's acclaimed sextet Origin
Born in Worcester, MA in 1967, Steve Davis was raised in Binghamton, NY and graduated in 1989 from The Hartt School's Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz (University of Hartford). Davis has released eight CDs as a leader and is also featured on over seventy recordings and has worked in recent years with a broad range of jazz icons including Freddie Hubbard (New Jazz Composers Octet), The Horace Silver Octet, The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band, Slide Hampton`s World of Trombones, quintets led by Larry Willis, Cecil Payne, Phil Woods, Steve Turre`s One 4-J and sextets led by Geri Allen, Andy Bey and Toshiko Akiyoshi (feat. Lew Tabakin).
Nat Reeves has been teaching at the Hartt School in Hartford, Connecticut for 16 years, began performing professionally in the 70's. He began playing jazz and the acoustic bass in Richmond, Virginia and soon found his way to New York City where he performed with up and coming musicians including Kenny Garrett, Mulgrew Miller and Tony Reedus. In 1982, Mr. Reeves toured Japan with Sonny Stitt and began teaching at the Artist Collective, directed by Jackie and Dollie McLean. For the next 12 years, he primarily performed with the great Jackie McLean throughout the world and appears on five of Mr. McLean's recordings. In 1995, Mr. Reeves once again teamed up with Kenny Garrett and he has been touring throughout the world with him ever since. Mr. Reeves appears on Kenny Garrett's last recording released in 1997. Songbook was produced by Warner Bros. and was nominated for a Grammy.
Joe Farnsworth has been living in the New York area since 1990. He studied with the great drummer Art Taylor while attending William Patterson College. While still living at home in Massachusetts, Joe studied with Alan Dawson who was also Tony Williams' teacher. Joe has been playing with tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander since the two met while they were students at William Patterson. It has been a very fruitful musical association. Farnsworth and Alexander have been together on too many sessions to list, with Eric as leader or a fellow sideman.
All For One on December 31st, New Years Eve at Smoke Jazz Club & Lounge, 2751 Broadway in New York. The club phone number is: (212) 864 6662 and website is www.smokejazz.com.
by Don Berryman
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Russian Sundays at the Y: From Moscow to NY on a Magical Jazz Trumpet
Sun Sep 10 2006 4:00 pm
Lovers of Russian culture in the New York area have a new home—Russian Sundays at the 92nd Street Y. Held in the Y’s intimate Weill Art Gallery, the series offers an ideal setting for enjoying Russian and Russian-Jewish culture in a relaxing atmosphere, with time to mingle and drink tea around a traditional samovar. The series opens with renowned jazz musician and storyteller Valeri Ponomarev, who recalls how he learned to play forbidden music behind the Iron Curtain and how he made it from Moscow to Art Blakey and his legendary Jazz Messengers. Ponomarev also performs with his ensemble, the Hard-Bop Quintet. All programs are conducted in English.
Contact Information: 212-415-5500, www.92y.org
Brought to you by: 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY
Lovers of Russian culture in the New York area have a new home—Russian Sundays at the 92nd Street Y. Held in the Y’s intimate Weill Art Gallery, the series offers an ideal setting for enjoying Russian and Russian-Jewish culture in a relaxing atmosphere, with time to mingle and drink tea around a traditional samovar. The series opens with renowned jazz musician and storyteller Valeri Ponomarev, who recalls how he learned to play forbidden music behind the Iron Curtain and how he made it from Moscow to Art Blakey and his legendary Jazz Messengers. Ponomarev also performs with his ensemble, the Hard-Bop Quintet. All programs are conducted in English.
Contact Information: 212-415-5500, www.92y.org
Brought to you by: 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY
Friday, August 11, 2006
FESTIVAL VANCOUVER MAINSTAGE SERIES
ARTURO SANDOVAL (Afro-Cuban jazz-trumpet legend) performs with Orquesta Goma Dura Aug. 13, 8 pm, Orpheum Theatre (603 Smithe), tix $29-59
Thursday, August 10, 2006
IRVIN MAYFIELD Tour information
Grammy nominee and DownBeat Critic's Poll Winner
IRVIN MAYFIELD (with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra unless otherwise noted)
9/9/06 Orono, ME TBA
9/14/06 Ames, IA TBA
9/15/06 Grinnel, IA TBA
9/16/06 Bloomington, IL TBA
10/20/06 Ithaca, NY TBA
10/21/06 Utica, NY TBA
10/24/06 Kerrville, TX
10/26/06 Tyler, TX TBA
10/27/06 Richardson, TX TBA
10/29/06 Lafayette, LA TBA
11/2/06 Springfield, MO TBA
11/4/06 New Orleans, LA PRIVATE (Quintet)
11/25/06 Newark, NJ NJPAC
1/22/07 Hays, KS TBA
1/31/07 Lebanon, IL TBA
2/1/07 Cincinnati, OH TBA
2/2/07 Indianapolis, IN TBA
2/3/07 Notre Dame, IN TBA
2/6/07 Stuart, FL TBA
2/7/07 Palm Beach, FL TBA
2/8/07 Miami, FL TBA
2/25/07 Torrance, CA TBA
3/2/07 Houston, TX TBA
3/6/07 Naples, FL TBA
3/10/07 Charleston, SC TBA
3/13/07 Charlottesville, VA TBA
3/16/07 Philadelphia, PA TBA
4/25/07 Palo Alto, CA TBA
4/26/07 Los Angeles, CA TBA
4/27/06 Santa Barbara, CA TBA
IRVIN MAYFIELD (with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra unless otherwise noted)
9/9/06 Orono, ME TBA
9/14/06 Ames, IA TBA
9/15/06 Grinnel, IA TBA
9/16/06 Bloomington, IL TBA
10/20/06 Ithaca, NY TBA
10/21/06 Utica, NY TBA
10/24/06 Kerrville, TX
10/26/06 Tyler, TX TBA
10/27/06 Richardson, TX TBA
10/29/06 Lafayette, LA TBA
11/2/06 Springfield, MO TBA
11/4/06 New Orleans, LA PRIVATE (Quintet)
11/25/06 Newark, NJ NJPAC
1/22/07 Hays, KS TBA
1/31/07 Lebanon, IL TBA
2/1/07 Cincinnati, OH TBA
2/2/07 Indianapolis, IN TBA
2/3/07 Notre Dame, IN TBA
2/6/07 Stuart, FL TBA
2/7/07 Palm Beach, FL TBA
2/8/07 Miami, FL TBA
2/25/07 Torrance, CA TBA
3/2/07 Houston, TX TBA
3/6/07 Naples, FL TBA
3/10/07 Charleston, SC TBA
3/13/07 Charlottesville, VA TBA
3/16/07 Philadelphia, PA TBA
4/25/07 Palo Alto, CA TBA
4/26/07 Los Angeles, CA TBA
4/27/06 Santa Barbara, CA TBA
Jazz on the Terrace - Dizzy Atmosphere
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, August 10, 11 & 12. Pasadena Museum of California Art, 490 East Union Street
Tickets $35. (626) 398.3344, www.pasjazz.org.
On loan from the Count Basie Orchestra, trumpet great William “Scotty” Barnhart brings the music of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie together tocelebrate the publication of his new book, “The World of Jazz Trumpet.”
Tickets $35. (626) 398.3344, www.pasjazz.org.
On loan from the Count Basie Orchestra, trumpet great William “Scotty” Barnhart brings the music of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie together tocelebrate the publication of his new book, “The World of Jazz Trumpet.”
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Jazz festival coming up; duck into right businesses for free tickets
BY KIMBERLY JACOBSON - Anacortes American staff writer
Duck Severinsen is hiding out around town for the next seven weeks in preparation for the third annual Anacortes Jazz Festival.
The little yellow duck featuring cool shades is named after Doc Severinsen, a jazz trumpet player and former music director of “The Tonight Show.”
Clues posted on the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce Web site (www.anacortes.org) Wednesday mornings Aug. 2 through Sept. 13 will lead you to a local business.
The first five people to pick up a duck at the correct business and bring it to the chamber office by the end of the week get a free ticket to the Jazz Festival on Curtis Wharf.
Stephanie Hamilton, chamber events coordinator, said they want to encourage people to check out local businesses while promoting the festival.
“I really want our own community to be excited about it,” she said.
She said the focus is to bring in not only people from Anacortes, but also fill the hotels with tourists.
“Our goal is still to have this festival be a huge regional draw,” Hamilton said.
If you’re not one of the 35 lucky winners, you can purchase tickets to the festival online or at the chamber office.
Visit www.anacortes.org and click on the Jazz Festival link.
The opening gala dinner and concert is at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15. Cost is $45.
The event features the Dena DeRose Trio. Dena DeRose is a dynamic vocalist and assertive, swinging pianist whose talents and style have launched her into a position of international acclaim in the jazz world.
All About Jazz named her Jazz Artist of the Year in 2003 and Cadence Magazine awarded her Album of the Year and Best Vocal Jazz Album for two of her five released CDs.
The Festival on the Wharf is from 11:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 for $25 and from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17 for $20.
Both days are at Curtis Wharf.
A two-day pass is $37. With a student ID, cost is $10 per day.
A Gospel Brunch will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 17 at the Port Warehouse, featuring Debbie Cavitt. Cost is $27.
A full package is $99 and includes the opening gala dinner and concert, Saturday and Sunday at Curtis Wharf and the Sunday Gospel Brunch.
Other performers include: Garfield High School Jazz Combo, Clarence Acox Quintet with Bernie Jacobs, Dillinger’s Clambake, Thomas Marriott’s Willie Nelson Project, the Trish Hatley Quintet and the Eric Madis Swing Trio.
For a complete schedule visit the chamber Web site.
Volunteers are still needed for the event.
Call the chamber at 293-7911.
Duck Severinsen is hiding out around town for the next seven weeks in preparation for the third annual Anacortes Jazz Festival.
The little yellow duck featuring cool shades is named after Doc Severinsen, a jazz trumpet player and former music director of “The Tonight Show.”
Clues posted on the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce Web site (www.anacortes.org) Wednesday mornings Aug. 2 through Sept. 13 will lead you to a local business.
The first five people to pick up a duck at the correct business and bring it to the chamber office by the end of the week get a free ticket to the Jazz Festival on Curtis Wharf.
Stephanie Hamilton, chamber events coordinator, said they want to encourage people to check out local businesses while promoting the festival.
“I really want our own community to be excited about it,” she said.
She said the focus is to bring in not only people from Anacortes, but also fill the hotels with tourists.
“Our goal is still to have this festival be a huge regional draw,” Hamilton said.
If you’re not one of the 35 lucky winners, you can purchase tickets to the festival online or at the chamber office.
Visit www.anacortes.org and click on the Jazz Festival link.
The opening gala dinner and concert is at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15. Cost is $45.
The event features the Dena DeRose Trio. Dena DeRose is a dynamic vocalist and assertive, swinging pianist whose talents and style have launched her into a position of international acclaim in the jazz world.
All About Jazz named her Jazz Artist of the Year in 2003 and Cadence Magazine awarded her Album of the Year and Best Vocal Jazz Album for two of her five released CDs.
The Festival on the Wharf is from 11:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 for $25 and from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17 for $20.
Both days are at Curtis Wharf.
A two-day pass is $37. With a student ID, cost is $10 per day.
A Gospel Brunch will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 17 at the Port Warehouse, featuring Debbie Cavitt. Cost is $27.
A full package is $99 and includes the opening gala dinner and concert, Saturday and Sunday at Curtis Wharf and the Sunday Gospel Brunch.
Other performers include: Garfield High School Jazz Combo, Clarence Acox Quintet with Bernie Jacobs, Dillinger’s Clambake, Thomas Marriott’s Willie Nelson Project, the Trish Hatley Quintet and the Eric Madis Swing Trio.
For a complete schedule visit the chamber Web site.
Volunteers are still needed for the event.
Call the chamber at 293-7911.