by John Fordham
The Guardian
Growing into the kind of Miles Davis-sparked trumpet inspiration for the Italian jazz scene that Palle Mikkelborg has been for Denmark or Tomasz Stanko for Poland, Enrico Rava has become one of European jazz's major legends. This set follows up 2003's Easy Living, which brought a sumptuous brass-dominant small group to a mix of ambiguous, Kenny Wheeler-like music, tiptoeing tone-poetry, and nods to Ornette Coleman and the Miles Davis 1960s band.
Group-minded pianist Andrea Pozza is substituted for Stefano Bollani, and the feel is a little straight-jazzier - even if the Chet Baker vehicle The Wind has a ambient-music ghostliness in its slowly whoopy trombone countermelody. Echoes of Duke is an ecstatically riffy swinger, Serpent a spacily hypnotic, lonesome-Miles reverie, Don Cherry's Art Deco is turned into an early-jazz trumpet-trombone conversation, and there are two revisits to old Rava originals: the undulating Secrets and the Carla Bley-like Dr Ra and Mr Va. Rava's return to ECM has paid off handsomely so far.
View CD
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Wynton Marsalis drops in on the Hudson Valley for a benefit concert
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.”
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.”
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
MF Horn VI: Live at Ronnie's
By Jack Bowers
In August 2005, when Maynard Ferguson and Big Bop Nouveau recorded MF Horn VI at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, no one could have known or even suspected that the trumpet legend would pass away one year later, shortly after a series of sold-out concerts at New York City’s Blue Note nightclub and another recording session with BBN, this one a studio date in Englewood, New Jersey.
There’s a saying about cowboys and westerners who lived life to the fullest that “they died with their boots on.” Maynard Ferguson died almost literally with his horn to his lips, which is quite appropriate, as that’s how several generations of jazz fans remember him, exuberantly leading a band while producing those incredible high notes that were not only his signature but placed him among trumpet players in a class by himself.
By the time MF Horn VI, his first live album in a dozen years, was recorded the high notes were few and far between, as Maynard let the youngsters in his band do much of the heavy lifting, but he was then 77 years old, and certainly entitled to a breather. He was smart and affluent enough to hire the best up-and-coming sidemen he could find, and modest enough to realize that people no longer expected him to shatter glass but were happy to see and hear a showman who so clearly loved what he was doing and always gave them their money’s worth in terms of decibels and excitement.
There are some talented newcomers in this edition of BBN and a few holdovers including trombonist/music director Reggie Watkins and lead trumpeter Patrick Hession. There’s even a distinguished alumnus, Denis DiBlasio, sitting in on baritone sax. One of the newbies, pianist Jeff Lashway, is a real find, while veteran drummer Stockton Helbing continues his steady improvement.
After “Blue Birdland” ushers Maynard onstage, the well-structured program opens with Jobim’s “The Girl from Ipanema” and closes with the mandatory “MF Hit Medley” (at 11:47 the album’s second-longest track). Sandwiched between them are Slide Hampton’s classic “Frame for the Blues,” the lovely Johnny Burke / Jimmy van Heusen ballad “But Beautiful” (on which Maynard is featured most prominently), Miles Davis’ fire-breathing “Milestones,” Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer’s “I’m Old Fashioned” (featuring a dazzling four- minute intro by Lashway on which he quotes liberally from the Gershwins’ “A Foggy Day”), and a grungy Alan Baylock original, “Blues from Around Here,” on which DiBlasio unleashes his remarkable chops on the bari and wows the audience with his Clark Terry-style scat-singing.
While DiBlasio alone is worth the price of admission, there’s far more to be appreciated, not least of which is the fact that the young musicians in BBN are first-class and that their peerless leader knew how to please an audience. To the very end, Maynard Ferguson was an awe-inspiring presence, and no less so here.
Track listing: Blue Birdland; The Girl from Ipanema; Frame for the Blues; But Beautiful; Milestones; I’m Old Fashioned; Blues from Around Here; MF Hit Medley; Blue Birdland (73:40).
Personnel: Maynard Ferguson: trumpet, leader; Reggie Watkins: trombone, music director; Patrick Hession, Ernie Hammes, Peter Ferguson: trumpet; Julio Monterrey: alto sax; Matt Parker: tenor sax; Denis DiBlasio: baritone sax; Jeff Lashway: piano; Craig Butterfield: bass; Stockton Helbing: drums.
In August 2005, when Maynard Ferguson and Big Bop Nouveau recorded MF Horn VI at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, no one could have known or even suspected that the trumpet legend would pass away one year later, shortly after a series of sold-out concerts at New York City’s Blue Note nightclub and another recording session with BBN, this one a studio date in Englewood, New Jersey.
There’s a saying about cowboys and westerners who lived life to the fullest that “they died with their boots on.” Maynard Ferguson died almost literally with his horn to his lips, which is quite appropriate, as that’s how several generations of jazz fans remember him, exuberantly leading a band while producing those incredible high notes that were not only his signature but placed him among trumpet players in a class by himself.
By the time MF Horn VI, his first live album in a dozen years, was recorded the high notes were few and far between, as Maynard let the youngsters in his band do much of the heavy lifting, but he was then 77 years old, and certainly entitled to a breather. He was smart and affluent enough to hire the best up-and-coming sidemen he could find, and modest enough to realize that people no longer expected him to shatter glass but were happy to see and hear a showman who so clearly loved what he was doing and always gave them their money’s worth in terms of decibels and excitement.
There are some talented newcomers in this edition of BBN and a few holdovers including trombonist/music director Reggie Watkins and lead trumpeter Patrick Hession. There’s even a distinguished alumnus, Denis DiBlasio, sitting in on baritone sax. One of the newbies, pianist Jeff Lashway, is a real find, while veteran drummer Stockton Helbing continues his steady improvement.
After “Blue Birdland” ushers Maynard onstage, the well-structured program opens with Jobim’s “The Girl from Ipanema” and closes with the mandatory “MF Hit Medley” (at 11:47 the album’s second-longest track). Sandwiched between them are Slide Hampton’s classic “Frame for the Blues,” the lovely Johnny Burke / Jimmy van Heusen ballad “But Beautiful” (on which Maynard is featured most prominently), Miles Davis’ fire-breathing “Milestones,” Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer’s “I’m Old Fashioned” (featuring a dazzling four- minute intro by Lashway on which he quotes liberally from the Gershwins’ “A Foggy Day”), and a grungy Alan Baylock original, “Blues from Around Here,” on which DiBlasio unleashes his remarkable chops on the bari and wows the audience with his Clark Terry-style scat-singing.
While DiBlasio alone is worth the price of admission, there’s far more to be appreciated, not least of which is the fact that the young musicians in BBN are first-class and that their peerless leader knew how to please an audience. To the very end, Maynard Ferguson was an awe-inspiring presence, and no less so here.
Track listing: Blue Birdland; The Girl from Ipanema; Frame for the Blues; But Beautiful; Milestones; I’m Old Fashioned; Blues from Around Here; MF Hit Medley; Blue Birdland (73:40).
Personnel: Maynard Ferguson: trumpet, leader; Reggie Watkins: trombone, music director; Patrick Hession, Ernie Hammes, Peter Ferguson: trumpet; Julio Monterrey: alto sax; Matt Parker: tenor sax; Denis DiBlasio: baritone sax; Jeff Lashway: piano; Craig Butterfield: bass; Stockton Helbing: drums.
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.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Palmieri/Lynch Album Up for Grammy
By Nick Madigan
BALTIMORE SUN
Decades ago, long before he became a powerhouse of Latin jazz and salsa, Eddie Palmieri was fired from a band for hitting the piano keys too hard.
"It was the best thing that ever happened to me," Palmieri, 70, said in a recent interview from his New York home. His dismissal, while upsetting at the time, propelled him into another band that taught him the intricacies of Cuban music.
"Cuba was always ahead in the different forms of music in the '20s, '30s and '40s, and all the dances came from there - rumba, cha cha, guaracha," said Palmieri, whose band comes to the Kimmel Center on March 2.
If Palmieri's piano playing is less violent than it was, it has lost none of its passion. Reviews for his latest album with jazz trumpet player Brian Lynch, his longtime collaborator, have been uniformly positive. This month, the album, Simpatico, was nominated for a Grammy award; if it wins at the Feb. 11 ceremony in Los Angeles, it would be Palmieri's ninth Grammy.
Such laurels were a world removed when Palmieri, who was born in New York's Spanish Harlem of Puerto Rican parents, began, at his mother's urging, taking piano lessons. He applied himself to the task, but it was the sounds in the streets, mostly Cuban mambo, that set his heart beating.
"There was music blasting out of every window, from commercial radio," Palmieri recalled of those days. "You could hear it from the bodegas while we'd be playing ball outside."
Palmieri, who took a detour into drums, and his brother, Charlie, who was nine years older and played the piano, began winning talent contests. The older boy was later hired by legendary bandleader Tito Puente, and his little brother sometimes sat in on Charlie's recording sessions, playing claves - two round, wooden sticks that are struck together for a rhythmic crack.
While prodigiously talented as a pianist, Palmieri did not - contrary to legend and his own Web site - make his performance debut at Carnegie Hall at the age of 11. He said that he played next door, in the Weil Recital Hall, and then only for an evaluation of his abilities, not as a concert.
However, Palmieri did join an uncle's band when he was 13, playing the timbales, shallow drums with metal shells. He began his professional career as a pianist in the early 1950s, and in 1961, he formed his own group, Conjunto La Perfecta. Palmieri showed his innovative spirit by hiring a trombone section in place of trumpets, a practice soon widely imitated.
"It was difficult to get trumpet players at that time to stay with a group," Palmieri said. "So I got one trombone and then another one. It was extremely unusual. After that, all the trombones came out of the pawnshops."
Palmieri's rising fame, and his exploration of Latin music's connections to jazz, elevated him to the rank of jazz greats such as Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Miles Davis, some critics say. In 1988, the Smithsonian Institution recorded a pair of Palmieri's concerts for the archive of the National Museum of American History in Washington.
BALTIMORE SUN
Decades ago, long before he became a powerhouse of Latin jazz and salsa, Eddie Palmieri was fired from a band for hitting the piano keys too hard.
"It was the best thing that ever happened to me," Palmieri, 70, said in a recent interview from his New York home. His dismissal, while upsetting at the time, propelled him into another band that taught him the intricacies of Cuban music.
"Cuba was always ahead in the different forms of music in the '20s, '30s and '40s, and all the dances came from there - rumba, cha cha, guaracha," said Palmieri, whose band comes to the Kimmel Center on March 2.
If Palmieri's piano playing is less violent than it was, it has lost none of its passion. Reviews for his latest album with jazz trumpet player Brian Lynch, his longtime collaborator, have been uniformly positive. This month, the album, Simpatico, was nominated for a Grammy award; if it wins at the Feb. 11 ceremony in Los Angeles, it would be Palmieri's ninth Grammy.
Such laurels were a world removed when Palmieri, who was born in New York's Spanish Harlem of Puerto Rican parents, began, at his mother's urging, taking piano lessons. He applied himself to the task, but it was the sounds in the streets, mostly Cuban mambo, that set his heart beating.
"There was music blasting out of every window, from commercial radio," Palmieri recalled of those days. "You could hear it from the bodegas while we'd be playing ball outside."
Palmieri, who took a detour into drums, and his brother, Charlie, who was nine years older and played the piano, began winning talent contests. The older boy was later hired by legendary bandleader Tito Puente, and his little brother sometimes sat in on Charlie's recording sessions, playing claves - two round, wooden sticks that are struck together for a rhythmic crack.
While prodigiously talented as a pianist, Palmieri did not - contrary to legend and his own Web site - make his performance debut at Carnegie Hall at the age of 11. He said that he played next door, in the Weil Recital Hall, and then only for an evaluation of his abilities, not as a concert.
However, Palmieri did join an uncle's band when he was 13, playing the timbales, shallow drums with metal shells. He began his professional career as a pianist in the early 1950s, and in 1961, he formed his own group, Conjunto La Perfecta. Palmieri showed his innovative spirit by hiring a trombone section in place of trumpets, a practice soon widely imitated.
"It was difficult to get trumpet players at that time to stay with a group," Palmieri said. "So I got one trombone and then another one. It was extremely unusual. After that, all the trombones came out of the pawnshops."
Palmieri's rising fame, and his exploration of Latin music's connections to jazz, elevated him to the rank of jazz greats such as Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Miles Davis, some critics say. In 1988, the Smithsonian Institution recorded a pair of Palmieri's concerts for the archive of the National Museum of American History in Washington.
Lee Morgan: His Life, Music and Culture
A new book about Lee Morgan is available by Tom Perchard: Lee Morgan: His Life, Music and Culture.
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
Friday, October 06, 2006
'Ambassador of Jazz' Shares Music With Kids
(CBS 5 - Barbara Rodgers) SAN JOSE For Eddie Gale, playing a horn has been almost a life-long passion, since he was introduced to the bugle in the early 50's as a Cub Scout.
"I liked it so much that I stayed through the Cub Scouts, and then the Boy Scouts at 12, and then the Explorers at 14," he says. "So I had a full-fledged time in scouting just to play the instrument."
Playing jazz trumpet became a career and a salvation. In 1972, Eddie moved from his native New York to San Jose, where then Mayor, Norman Mineta, named him Ambassador of Jazz two years later. At the time, Mineta said, "He has that steady rhythm with an unpredictable undercurrent that epitomizes jazz at its best."
Eddie Gale takes his honorary position as San Jose's Ambassador of Jazz very seriously, using it to help scores of charities raise funds and to spread the word about jazz, not only in San Jose, but beyond -- especially to young people.
"For quite a while now, I've been interested in giving back by helping young people to be able to express themselves, because I found a lot of inner peace in doing music," Eddie explains.
He's conducted dozens of jazz workshops in Bay Area public schools at a time when most schools had no music programs at all, providing the only outlet some young people had for developing their musical talents. He includes lessons on the philosophy and lifestyle of the jazz artist.
"To know that this music was born in America, was developed in America, and young people need to have pride in that point of view," he says.
Eddie also started a music program at San Jose State University and brought his musical genius to students at Stanford as well. Then a few years ago, he decided to revive here in the Bay Area an event that he had started many years ago in New York: a concert for world peace.
"The idea is that our young people that we touch will grow up with this idea of world peace as a part of their lifestyle," he says. "And when they become doctors and lawyers and politicians and business people, they would carry that with them to help them make better decisions about world affairs."
Now he's added a peace poetry contest with prizes for children of all ages, with prizes of up to one hundred dollars.
So for educating young people about the history and significance of jazz, helping them to develop their musical talents, promoting world peace and inner peace, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Eddie Gale of San Jose.
"I liked it so much that I stayed through the Cub Scouts, and then the Boy Scouts at 12, and then the Explorers at 14," he says. "So I had a full-fledged time in scouting just to play the instrument."
Playing jazz trumpet became a career and a salvation. In 1972, Eddie moved from his native New York to San Jose, where then Mayor, Norman Mineta, named him Ambassador of Jazz two years later. At the time, Mineta said, "He has that steady rhythm with an unpredictable undercurrent that epitomizes jazz at its best."
Eddie Gale takes his honorary position as San Jose's Ambassador of Jazz very seriously, using it to help scores of charities raise funds and to spread the word about jazz, not only in San Jose, but beyond -- especially to young people.
"For quite a while now, I've been interested in giving back by helping young people to be able to express themselves, because I found a lot of inner peace in doing music," Eddie explains.
He's conducted dozens of jazz workshops in Bay Area public schools at a time when most schools had no music programs at all, providing the only outlet some young people had for developing their musical talents. He includes lessons on the philosophy and lifestyle of the jazz artist.
"To know that this music was born in America, was developed in America, and young people need to have pride in that point of view," he says.
Eddie also started a music program at San Jose State University and brought his musical genius to students at Stanford as well. Then a few years ago, he decided to revive here in the Bay Area an event that he had started many years ago in New York: a concert for world peace.
"The idea is that our young people that we touch will grow up with this idea of world peace as a part of their lifestyle," he says. "And when they become doctors and lawyers and politicians and business people, they would carry that with them to help them make better decisions about world affairs."
Now he's added a peace poetry contest with prizes for children of all ages, with prizes of up to one hundred dollars.
So for educating young people about the history and significance of jazz, helping them to develop their musical talents, promoting world peace and inner peace, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Eddie Gale of San Jose.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Trumpeter and Bandleader Maynard Ferguson Dies
Date: August 25, 2006
Written By: Roxana Hadadi
Maynard Ferguson, the powerhouse trumpeter and bandleader who helped carry the big-band torch into the new millenium and was known to pop-culture buffs for his version of "Gonna Fly Now," Bill Conti's Rocky theme, died Wednesday of kidney failure. He was 78.
An exciting performer who toured nonstop and garnered a large following of student musicians through his frequent high-school performances, Ferguson had just returned home to California after several sold-out concerts in July at the Blue Note in New York City. Ferguson had also recently completed recording a new album at Bennett Studios in Englewood, N.J.
Born May 4, 1928 in Montreal, Ferguson started his jazz career at the young age of 13 as a member of the Canadian Broadcasting Company Orchestra. While only a young adult, Ferguson played with greats like Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie before leading his own band—at the age of 17. He then went on to record over 60 albums and receive a Grammy nomination for "Gonna Fly Now." Last year Ferguson was awarded the "Order of Canada," Canada’s highest civilian honor.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Maynard Ferguson Music Scholarship Fund at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. A memorial concert is also planned to take place in St. Louis, and Ferguson’s last work will be released later this year.
Written By: Roxana Hadadi
Maynard Ferguson, the powerhouse trumpeter and bandleader who helped carry the big-band torch into the new millenium and was known to pop-culture buffs for his version of "Gonna Fly Now," Bill Conti's Rocky theme, died Wednesday of kidney failure. He was 78.
An exciting performer who toured nonstop and garnered a large following of student musicians through his frequent high-school performances, Ferguson had just returned home to California after several sold-out concerts in July at the Blue Note in New York City. Ferguson had also recently completed recording a new album at Bennett Studios in Englewood, N.J.
Born May 4, 1928 in Montreal, Ferguson started his jazz career at the young age of 13 as a member of the Canadian Broadcasting Company Orchestra. While only a young adult, Ferguson played with greats like Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie before leading his own band—at the age of 17. He then went on to record over 60 albums and receive a Grammy nomination for "Gonna Fly Now." Last year Ferguson was awarded the "Order of Canada," Canada’s highest civilian honor.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Maynard Ferguson Music Scholarship Fund at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. A memorial concert is also planned to take place in St. Louis, and Ferguson’s last work will be released later this year.
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
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Metropolitan Opera Commissions New Work from Wynton Marsalis and John Guare
By Matthew Westphal
August 15, 2006
The Metropolitan Opera has commissioned a new opera from composer/jazz powerhouse Wynton Marsalis and award-winning playwright John Guare. The project was revealed during an interview Met general manager Peter Gelb gave to Playbill.com yesterday.
The venture is in its earliest stages, so no subject or working title has yet been chosen and no anticipated completion date has yet been set, according to a Met spokesperson.
Marsalis is, of course, a world-renowned trumpeter and bandleader; he is the founding artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and music director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He plays classical as well as jazz trumpet and has made several classical recordings, including a best-selling disc of duets with soprano Kathleen Battle. Among Marsalis's classical compositions are the chamber works At the Octoroon Balls and A Fiddler's Tale (a response to Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat), both co-commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; the orchestral score Them Twos, written for New York City Ballet; and the oratorio All Rise for big band, gospel choir and symphony orchestra, premiered by Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic.
Guare, winner of the Tony, Obie, Drama Desk, Olivier and many other awards and honors, is the author of, among other plays, Six Degrees of Separation, House of Blue Leaves, Bosoms and Neglect, Four Baboons Adoring the Sun, Marco Polo Sings a Solo and Lydie Breeze. While he wrote the libretto for the 1972 musical version of Two Gentlemen of Verona, this will be his first opera text.
The Marsalis/Guare commission is part of Gelb's endeavor to increase collaboration between the Metropolitan Opera and the vibrant New York theater scene — and to acquaint drama lovers with the theatrical power opera can offer. The centerpiece of that effort is a long-term collaboration with Lincoln Center Theater on a series of projects that, depending on how they develop, could end up as large-scale operas, chamber operas or serious musicals seen on either company's stage. Among the other participants in this project are composer Jake Heggie, who has already written the operas Dead Man Walking and The End of the Affair; Michael John LaChiusa, who has written music and text of both musicals (The Wild Party, Hello Again, Bernarda Alba) and operas (Lovers and Friends (Chautauqua Variations) and Send (who are you? i love you), which premiered at Houston Grand Opera earlier this year with Audra McDonald); music theater composer Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins); the composer/librettist team of Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner (Caroline, or Change and the new adaptation of Brecht's Mother Courage starring Meryl Streep currently playing in Central Park); and renowned folk-pop singer/male diva/opera queen Rufus Wainwright.
Among other upcoming Met projects involving theater luminaries are a new production of Tosca for fall 2009 directed by former New York Shakespeare Festival head George C. Wolfe; a Carmen for that same season directed by Richard Eyre (former head of Great Britain's Royal National Theatre), cheoreographed by Matthew Bourne (best known for his Swan Lake with male swans) and starring Angela Gheorghiu; and a new Wagner Ring cycle for 2010-11 staged by director/filmmaker/auteur Robert Lepage.
The Met's 2006-07 season opens on Monday, September 25, with a new production of Madama Butterfly directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella. Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Marcello Giordani and Dwayne Croft star; Asher Fisch conducts; the run continues with 11 more performances through November 18.
August 15, 2006
The Metropolitan Opera has commissioned a new opera from composer/jazz powerhouse Wynton Marsalis and award-winning playwright John Guare. The project was revealed during an interview Met general manager Peter Gelb gave to Playbill.com yesterday.
The venture is in its earliest stages, so no subject or working title has yet been chosen and no anticipated completion date has yet been set, according to a Met spokesperson.
Marsalis is, of course, a world-renowned trumpeter and bandleader; he is the founding artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and music director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He plays classical as well as jazz trumpet and has made several classical recordings, including a best-selling disc of duets with soprano Kathleen Battle. Among Marsalis's classical compositions are the chamber works At the Octoroon Balls and A Fiddler's Tale (a response to Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat), both co-commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; the orchestral score Them Twos, written for New York City Ballet; and the oratorio All Rise for big band, gospel choir and symphony orchestra, premiered by Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic.
Guare, winner of the Tony, Obie, Drama Desk, Olivier and many other awards and honors, is the author of, among other plays, Six Degrees of Separation, House of Blue Leaves, Bosoms and Neglect, Four Baboons Adoring the Sun, Marco Polo Sings a Solo and Lydie Breeze. While he wrote the libretto for the 1972 musical version of Two Gentlemen of Verona, this will be his first opera text.
The Marsalis/Guare commission is part of Gelb's endeavor to increase collaboration between the Metropolitan Opera and the vibrant New York theater scene — and to acquaint drama lovers with the theatrical power opera can offer. The centerpiece of that effort is a long-term collaboration with Lincoln Center Theater on a series of projects that, depending on how they develop, could end up as large-scale operas, chamber operas or serious musicals seen on either company's stage. Among the other participants in this project are composer Jake Heggie, who has already written the operas Dead Man Walking and The End of the Affair; Michael John LaChiusa, who has written music and text of both musicals (The Wild Party, Hello Again, Bernarda Alba) and operas (Lovers and Friends (Chautauqua Variations) and Send (who are you? i love you), which premiered at Houston Grand Opera earlier this year with Audra McDonald); music theater composer Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins); the composer/librettist team of Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner (Caroline, or Change and the new adaptation of Brecht's Mother Courage starring Meryl Streep currently playing in Central Park); and renowned folk-pop singer/male diva/opera queen Rufus Wainwright.
Among other upcoming Met projects involving theater luminaries are a new production of Tosca for fall 2009 directed by former New York Shakespeare Festival head George C. Wolfe; a Carmen for that same season directed by Richard Eyre (former head of Great Britain's Royal National Theatre), cheoreographed by Matthew Bourne (best known for his Swan Lake with male swans) and starring Angela Gheorghiu; and a new Wagner Ring cycle for 2010-11 staged by director/filmmaker/auteur Robert Lepage.
The Met's 2006-07 season opens on Monday, September 25, with a new production of Madama Butterfly directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella. Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Marcello Giordani and Dwayne Croft star; Asher Fisch conducts; the run continues with 11 more performances through November 18.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Jazz Trumpet Lesson #1
As an improviser, one of my main goals is to be able to play what I hear immediately. This is the basis of my improvisation education.
An improviser is a type of composer. One of the most important things a composer/improviser can do is to listen to as much music as possible and learn how to translate what he or she hears into a performance or composition. This will help immensely when one attempts to translate one's own ideas into a performance or composition.
You can start to develop your translating abilities by mimicking recorded sounds that are easy to recognize, such as major scales or blues scales.
Your first assignment is to learn and perform as little as two or as many as all choruses of Miles Davis' solo on "Trane's Blues" by listening to the recording, on the CD Workin'. If you do not have this recording, please purchase it here.
Miles uses notes from the C major scale and the C blues scale throughout.
C Major: C D E F G A B C
C Blues: C Eb F F# G Bb C
Listen carefully to each phrase as many times as needed. Practice each phrase on your instrument and then play along with Miles. Try to mimic everything exactly as Miles plays it -the rhythm, articulation, style, dynamics, everything. Do not worry about writing anything down. It is more important to listen and play back at this point.
If this solo is too difficult for you, please try learning the melody "Sonnymoon for Two" by Sonny Rollins. The CD, "The Best of Sonny Rollins" on Blue Note has a good recording of this as well as others. The melody is mostly a decending blues scale (minus one note) and repeats itself three times. Please do not use written music (you must rely upon your ears).
Have fun and please share your comments below.
An improviser is a type of composer. One of the most important things a composer/improviser can do is to listen to as much music as possible and learn how to translate what he or she hears into a performance or composition. This will help immensely when one attempts to translate one's own ideas into a performance or composition.
You can start to develop your translating abilities by mimicking recorded sounds that are easy to recognize, such as major scales or blues scales.
Your first assignment is to learn and perform as little as two or as many as all choruses of Miles Davis' solo on "Trane's Blues" by listening to the recording, on the CD Workin'. If you do not have this recording, please purchase it here.
Miles uses notes from the C major scale and the C blues scale throughout.
C Major: C D E F G A B C
C Blues: C Eb F F# G Bb C
Listen carefully to each phrase as many times as needed. Practice each phrase on your instrument and then play along with Miles. Try to mimic everything exactly as Miles plays it -the rhythm, articulation, style, dynamics, everything. Do not worry about writing anything down. It is more important to listen and play back at this point.
If this solo is too difficult for you, please try learning the melody "Sonnymoon for Two" by Sonny Rollins. The CD, "The Best of Sonny Rollins" on Blue Note has a good recording of this as well as others. The melody is mostly a decending blues scale (minus one note) and repeats itself three times. Please do not use written music (you must rely upon your ears).
Have fun and please share your comments below.
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 09, 2006
Recommended Recordings
Study In Brown by Clifford Brown
Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
Hub Tones by Freddie Hubbard
Hot Fives & Sevens by Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong - Verve Jazz Masters by Louis Armstrong
Eternal Triangle by Dizzy Gillespie
Sidewinder by Lee Morgan
Caravan by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Roy & Diz by Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge
TrumpetJazz.com
Welcome to trumpetjazz.com!
The website is undergoing some changes. We have lost the bulletin board where you all conversed about trumpet topics, but hopefully in the near future that kind of fun-ctionality will return.
Until then, new articles should appear regularly on this site. I hope you will find them to be worth reading.
The website is undergoing some changes. We have lost the bulletin board where you all conversed about trumpet topics, but hopefully in the near future that kind of fun-ctionality will return.
Until then, new articles should appear regularly on this site. I hope you will find them to be worth reading.
With horn in hand, Jon Faddis is back in jazz's forefront
By Bill Beuttler, Globe Correspondent
Jon Faddis seems to spend more time directing orchestras these days than he does playing trumpet. Which makes the release this summer of his album "Teranga" -- and the tour supporting it that will bring him to Scullers tomorrow and Friday -- something special.
Faddis, 53, burst onto the jazz scene nearly 35 years ago and was hailed as a second coming of Dizzy Gillespie. He was a just-out-of-high-school kid who joined phenomenal technique with an amiable, audience-friendly personality. No less an authority than Gillespie himself declared Faddis "the best ever -- including me!"
Faddis's trumpeting is no less phenomenal now, but his directing various large ensembles -- he currently leads the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble -- limits his opportunities to show it off.
"As my wife tends to remind me," Faddis says during a recent tour stop in Atlanta, "one of the things that I do when I'm leading a big band is I tend to shine the spotlight on other members, more so than myself."
Faddis is far more comfortable in the spotlight now than he used to be. After roaring through apprenticeships in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and groups led by Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, and Gil Evans, Faddis spent most of his 20s supporting himself as a studio musician. This was in the late '70s and early '80s, a period in which work was scarce for most young straight-ahead jazz players. But Faddis says he could have been an exception.
"I was actually approached by [legendary producer] Norman Granz to put together a group and to go on the road," Faddis says. "But I think more than anything it was my own fear -- or fears, plural -- that kept me from going out and getting my own group and trying to live up to all of the pressures I felt at the time of being the next trumpet player. And studio music was, I guess, a pretty convenient escape from that."
So instead of taking on the role Wynton Marsalis would assume a few years later -- the young man with the horn calling people back to undiluted jazz -- Faddis began popping up in low-profile roles on high-profile albums by the likes of Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, Luther Vandross, and Billy Joel, among many others. His horn was heard, too, on "The Cosby Show" theme, the soundtracks to the Clint Eastwood films "The Gauntlet" and "Bird " and on countless commercials.
A White House appearance with Gillespie in 1982 brought Faddis's attention back to live performance and, within a year, he was leading a combo that included saxophonist Greg Osby and pianist James Williams. His work leading big bands began with a celebration of Gillespie's 70th birthday in 1987, which eventually led to a decade-long run leading the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the group that in 2003 evolved into the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra.
Faddis maintained a quartet all along. For the past several years it's consisted of pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa, and drummer Dion Parson. But he hasn't put out an album with one since 1991. The decision to shift gears and record "Teranga", Faddis says, is "not a conscious move to do more small-group playing, but it's a more conscious move to do something in my own direction, do more of my own music."
Hazeltine, for one, is glad to see Faddis doing so. "I've always encouraged him to play his original material," says Hazeltine, who's been playing with Faddis for about a decade. "He's got a lot of great compositions lying around."
All but one tune on the new disc are written by Faddis. They include a graceful waltz dedicated to jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker and his ongoing struggle against a life-threatening illness ("Waltz for My Fathers & Brothers"), a song paying tribute via high-note trumpet pyrotechnics to "some very, very important women in [Faddis's] life" ("The Hunters & Gatherers"), a bebop burner honoring Faddis pal and pianist Kenny Barron ("The Baron"), a ballad with guest guitarist Russell Malone celebrating Faddis's wife ("Laurelyn"), and a blues, featuring the comic mumbling of guest trumpeter Clark Terry ("The Fibble-Ow Blues").
Guest percussionists Abdou M'boup and Alioune Faye join the quartet for the album's West African-accented title track, whose meaning Faddis finds particularly significant.
"It's more than just a word," he explains. "It's a Senegalese way of life. It's sort of, I guess, a great manifestation of the golden rule. It's something started by the mothers in Senegal, ensuring that their children will not ever be without, or wanting. And the way it works is that if strangers come and ask for a favor or anything, you take them in and treat them as family. And that will ensure that when their children are somewhere else, they can be taken in and treated as family."
Jon Faddis seems to spend more time directing orchestras these days than he does playing trumpet. Which makes the release this summer of his album "Teranga" -- and the tour supporting it that will bring him to Scullers tomorrow and Friday -- something special.
Faddis, 53, burst onto the jazz scene nearly 35 years ago and was hailed as a second coming of Dizzy Gillespie. He was a just-out-of-high-school kid who joined phenomenal technique with an amiable, audience-friendly personality. No less an authority than Gillespie himself declared Faddis "the best ever -- including me!"
Faddis's trumpeting is no less phenomenal now, but his directing various large ensembles -- he currently leads the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble -- limits his opportunities to show it off.
"As my wife tends to remind me," Faddis says during a recent tour stop in Atlanta, "one of the things that I do when I'm leading a big band is I tend to shine the spotlight on other members, more so than myself."
Faddis is far more comfortable in the spotlight now than he used to be. After roaring through apprenticeships in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and groups led by Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, and Gil Evans, Faddis spent most of his 20s supporting himself as a studio musician. This was in the late '70s and early '80s, a period in which work was scarce for most young straight-ahead jazz players. But Faddis says he could have been an exception.
"I was actually approached by [legendary producer] Norman Granz to put together a group and to go on the road," Faddis says. "But I think more than anything it was my own fear -- or fears, plural -- that kept me from going out and getting my own group and trying to live up to all of the pressures I felt at the time of being the next trumpet player. And studio music was, I guess, a pretty convenient escape from that."
So instead of taking on the role Wynton Marsalis would assume a few years later -- the young man with the horn calling people back to undiluted jazz -- Faddis began popping up in low-profile roles on high-profile albums by the likes of Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, Luther Vandross, and Billy Joel, among many others. His horn was heard, too, on "The Cosby Show" theme, the soundtracks to the Clint Eastwood films "The Gauntlet" and "Bird " and on countless commercials.
A White House appearance with Gillespie in 1982 brought Faddis's attention back to live performance and, within a year, he was leading a combo that included saxophonist Greg Osby and pianist James Williams. His work leading big bands began with a celebration of Gillespie's 70th birthday in 1987, which eventually led to a decade-long run leading the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the group that in 2003 evolved into the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra.
Faddis maintained a quartet all along. For the past several years it's consisted of pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa, and drummer Dion Parson. But he hasn't put out an album with one since 1991. The decision to shift gears and record "Teranga", Faddis says, is "not a conscious move to do more small-group playing, but it's a more conscious move to do something in my own direction, do more of my own music."
Hazeltine, for one, is glad to see Faddis doing so. "I've always encouraged him to play his original material," says Hazeltine, who's been playing with Faddis for about a decade. "He's got a lot of great compositions lying around."
All but one tune on the new disc are written by Faddis. They include a graceful waltz dedicated to jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker and his ongoing struggle against a life-threatening illness ("Waltz for My Fathers & Brothers"), a song paying tribute via high-note trumpet pyrotechnics to "some very, very important women in [Faddis's] life" ("The Hunters & Gatherers"), a bebop burner honoring Faddis pal and pianist Kenny Barron ("The Baron"), a ballad with guest guitarist Russell Malone celebrating Faddis's wife ("Laurelyn"), and a blues, featuring the comic mumbling of guest trumpeter Clark Terry ("The Fibble-Ow Blues").
Guest percussionists Abdou M'boup and Alioune Faye join the quartet for the album's West African-accented title track, whose meaning Faddis finds particularly significant.
"It's more than just a word," he explains. "It's a Senegalese way of life. It's sort of, I guess, a great manifestation of the golden rule. It's something started by the mothers in Senegal, ensuring that their children will not ever be without, or wanting. And the way it works is that if strangers come and ask for a favor or anything, you take them in and treat them as family. And that will ensure that when their children are somewhere else, they can be taken in and treated as family."