8th Annual V98.7 Smooth JazzFest - 2006 at the Southfield Civic CenterThe ninth volume of this annual event brings a host of Detroit favoritesin what might be its most commercially savvy lineup to date. Today's highlights include: Jazz Attack featuring Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Jonathan Butler (pictured) and Peter White, with Paul Taylor & Regina Bell and Kimmie Horne. Gates at 4 p.m. Fri., 2:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Southfield Municipal Complex, 26000 Evergreen, Southfield. 248-796-5000. Daily $30, $40. Weekend passes, $75, $105.
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Jazz bassist Charlie Haden performs during a rehearsal
with the Charlie Haden Quartet West
in Madrid's Royal Theatre,
June 22, 2007. REUTERS/Andrea Comas (SPAIN)
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Stanford Jazz Festival to feature 33 concerts,
more than 100 artists
BY CYNTHIA HAVEN
SOURCE:
Stanford ReportJune 22, 2007
The annual Stanford Jazz Festival, which begins this weekend and continues through Aug. 4, features the classic, the innovative, the avant-garde and the offbeat. Moreover, it offers jazz lovers an intimate setting and an informal atmosphere.
Although mass appeal is not its aim, today the festival draws 15,000 music enthusiasts and is ranked by many critics and fans as one of the top jazz events on the West Coast.
This year's festival will present 33 concerts and showcase more than 100 artists over six weeks. Highlights include an opening-night performance by New Orleans-based trumpeter Nicholas Payton on Saturday, June 23, at Dinkelspiel Auditorium, and a 2 p.m. performance at Campbell Recital Hall on Sunday, June 24, by vocalist Nancy King, who was hailed by The Oregonian for her "supple voice, a flawless ear and the instincts of a true jazz improviser." A rare West Coast appearance by saxophonist Lee Konitz will close the festival Aug. 4.
A popular series of noontime concerts will be held on the White Plaza-facing side of Tresidder Union on July 18, 20, 25, 27, and daily July 30 through Aug. 3. They are free and open to the public.
"We try to include all of the styles and genres that the great umbrella of jazz encompasses," said Jim Nadel, founder and executive director of the Stanford Jazz Workshop, which produces the festival every year. "Jazz is very broad, with very many different kinds of jazz, and we try to represent them as best we can. We are also very grounded in traditions of straight-ahead jazz, which grew out of the common practice period known as bebop."
Consequently, the festival offers a diverse menu of jazz within its framework. The mainstream jazz palate will be pleased with venerated masters of their craft, including singer King, saxophonists Jimmy Heath and Frank Wess, pianist Kenny Barron, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Modern innovators, such as Peter Apfelbaum, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Taylor Eigsti, Julian Lage and Kneebody, push the genre into new territory.
Seven festival events will feature free pre-concert talks by leaders within the jazz community, including broadcasters Sonny Buxton, Alisa Clancy and Clifford Brown Jr. of KCSM and producer Orrin Keepnews, founder of the Riverside, Milestone and Landmark jazz labels.
Founded in 1972, SJW has welcomed jazz artists and enthusiasts to campus each summer. As its reputation and programs grew, attracting preeminent musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz, it began presenting public concerts to encourage community appreciation and awareness of jazz. These early concerts evolved into the Stanford Jazz Festival.
The mission of the nonprofit SJW is music education, so it includes workshops where well-established performers mix with newbies. The festival also offers concerts by its Jazz Camp and Jazz Residency participants, as well as a Jazz Mentors concert showcasing its teacher-training program.
A distinctive aspect of jazz is that its legacy is communicated between the generations—one reason it's important that the "elder statesmen" of the genre, such as saxophonists Lee Konitz, Frank Wess, Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Heath and his brother, drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath, come to teach and mingle at the conference.
"It's part of the richness of the community. We will have Jimmy Heath, a great musician recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as a 'jazz master,' working with children 12 through 17 years old for a week, sharing his knowledge and experience," Nadel said.
"Most of the artists performing have come here to teach. But it only makes sense to have them performing as part of their teaching. Never would you find such an extraordinary concentration of jazz artists in such a short time if the motive were purely to generate profits and revenues. They're here to help the next generation, and are quite often refreshed themselves by being part of the community."
For the general public, however, the performances are the best education. "One of the most important ways to learn the music is by listening to master jazz musicians play, so the concerts are an important part of the jazz students' experience," Nadel said. "The community gets to benefit by this extraordinary gathering of talent every summer when the campus music department becomes a little like NYC—the center of jazz on the planet."
"We have found out that the best way to learn about and appreciate jazz is in a community, and we put together and nurture a community of jazz artists, students and listeners every summer at Stanford," he added. "The interaction is very vital and exciting. It turns out there is not one correct method or approach to learning jazz."
A complete schedule of festival events is online at
www.stanfordjazz.org. For more information, visit the website or call (650) 736-0324. Tickets range from $10-$40 for general admission (depending on the concert). A half-price discount is available for those with a valid student ID and children under 18. To buy tickets, visit the Stanford Ticket Office in Tresidder Union or call (650) 725-2787. Tickets also can be purchased online at
www.ticketweb.com.
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Vancouver, British Columbia ~ CanadaTruly one great event, the Vancouver Wine and Jazz Festival is celebrating its tenth year of bringing top bill national and international jazz acts to Southwest Washington for a three-day weekend of revelry in downtown Vancouver's living room, Esther Short Park. In years past, the jazz festival has set the stage for Grammy-winning headliners Jose Feliciano, Bela Fleck, Bo Diddley, Mavis Staples, the Tonight Show All-Star Band, Los Lobos and Dr. John, among other huge acts.
This August the Festival brings us Melissa Manchester, Poncho Sanchez, Blind Boys of Alabama, The Yellowjackets and the rock legend Kenny Loggins.
The Vancouver Business Journal produces the event's fantastic program each year - a glossy page-turner featuring photos and bios for all the headline acts, plus a detailed guide to all the arts and dining vendors, as well as directions on parking, times, cost and other need-to-know items. Get a signature, and voila! - it's a collector's piece.
Creating a relaxed but festive atmosphere, for three days, you can find festival-goers from at least 13 states and Canada lounging on the grass in the park, picnicking on blankets and munching on Hawaiian, Thai, barbeque, German and Northwest snacks from local restaurants. Last year folks tasted 150 regional wines and perused fine art and crafts from Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The festival exploded in its seventh year, when more than 15,000 people attended the 2004 festival, which was supported by 400 volunteers.
The Vancouver Wine and Jazz Festival has been presented every year since 1998 by acclaimed Bravo! Vancouver.
Find it: Esther Short Park, Downtown Vancouver
By Car: Take the City Center exit off I-5 into downtown, travel west until you reach Esther Short Park. Parking can be found in metered spaces downtown. The closest pay lot is under Vancouvercenter at Sixth and Columbia streets. By C-Tran (
www.c-tran.com):
Take one of more than a dozen buses around Clark County to the Seventh Street Transit Center or the number 6 TriMet bus from Portland. Walk west to Esther Short Park.
When to go: August 24-26, 2007
Friday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tickets and info: www.vancouverwinejazz.com360-906-0441
Daily tickets are $20. A three-day pass is $50. Advance tickets are available by calling TicketsWest at 1-800-992-8499 or online at
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Arturo Sandoval
Rumba Palace (Telarc Jazz)By ERNEST BARTELDES
SOURCE:
The Miami New TimesPublished: June 21, 2007
After a number of adventuresome jazz albums on Blue Note, the Miami-based trumpeter returns to his pre-Irakere roots on this disc. These original songs bear an Afro-Cuban feel not far from Buena Vista Social Club turf, with Sandoval even sporadically abandoning the mouthpiece to sing. His trademark high-register squeal is mostly absent here, but a fine example appears on one of the album's best tracks, "El Huracán del Caribe," also featuring the vocals of Cheito Quiñones Sr.
Arturo SandovalSandoval veers from the dance floor on the syncopated "21st Century," which features complex solos from saxophonist Felipe Lamoglia and bassist Armando Gola, both members of the touring band.
Another notable moment is "Guaranchando," in which Sandoval steps aside to allow percussionists Alexis "Puti" Arce and Tomás Cruz to show their chops. On the beautiful ballad "Peaceful," the band scales back to a quartet (saxophone, keys, trum pet, and bass), which gives Sandoval an opportunity to display his softer side.
Rumba Palace is thoroughly unpretentious. Sandoval shows he doesn't have anything to prove, thus allowing listeners to just kick back and enjoy the music. Jazz purists who expect him to constantly break musical barriers might be slightly disappointed, but listeners approaching the disc with an open mind are guaranteed to have a great time.
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Recordings Connecting South African
and American Jazz Traditions
to be Reissued
SOURCE: Press Release Newswire
Posted 20 June 2007
="">The long out-of-print recordings of South African Sathima Bea Benjamin, a bridge between the jazz traditions of America and South Africa, will be re-issued digitally, and will include never-before-released material.
Sathima with Duke Ellington, Copenhagen, 1964 New York, NY. (PRWEB) June 22, 2007 -- The long out-of-print recordings of South African vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin, a key link between the American and South African jazz traditions, will be re-issued digitally throughout the upcoming year, along with never-before-released material.
Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Sathima Bea Benjamin is one of South Africa's musical treasures, and has established herself as a master interpreter of American jazz standards, having recorded with legendary figures such as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and her husband, Abdullah Ibrahim. Her work in jazz and in support of the exiled ANC during apartheid earned her in 2004, the Order of Ikhamanga, South Africa's highest honor.
In Jazztimes, Robin D.G. Kelley described Sathima as "South Africa's greatest jazz singer and one of the best the world has ever known."
On June 19, Sathima digitally released Cape Town Love, an album recorded during a return trip to her native South Africa. The album showcases Sathima's ability to infuse American jazz standards with Cape Town rhythms and scales.
In October 2007, Sathima will celebrate her 71st birthday by digitally re-issuing A Morning in Paris, her long-lost 1963 recording with Duke Ellington.
The remainder of Sathima's catalogue will be released by mid-2008, including the Grammy Award-nominated album Dedications.
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(R-L) Jazz bassist Charlie Haden looks on as drum player Rodney Green,
sax player Ernie Watts and piano player Alan Broad
have a look at a score during a rehearsal of
the Charlie Haden Quartet West in Madrid's Royal Theatre,
June 22, 2007. REUTERS/Andrea Comas (SPAIN)
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MCG Jazz set to release
1993 live recording featuring
Billy Taylor and Gerry Mulligan Written By: Adaora Otiji
SOURCE:
www.jazztimes.comDate: June 22, 2007
Billy TaylorOn Aug. 28, MCG Jazz will release Billy Taylor & Gerry Mulligan: Live at MCG, an album recorded at Pittsburgh's Manchester Craftsmen's Guild in 1993. The album features Taylor (pictured) and Mulligan playing a set of standards (plus Taylor's "Capricious" and Mulligan's "Line for Lyons") in a quartet with bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Carl Allen.
Billy Taylor is renowned for his light, spirited bop piano work and for being one of jazz's most dedicated advocates and ambassadors. Mulligan, who died in 1996, is largely considered jazz's greatest baritone saxophonist.
Bill Strickland established the Manchester Craftmen's Guild in 1968 as an art program for inner-city youths. The MCG later received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, allowing the organization to expand its facilities, including the addition of a 350-seat concert hall. Many artists have performed to packed houses and given MCG the rights to the recordings for public release. A portion of the proceeds from MCG Jazz recordings fund future programs and concerts.
For more information on the MCG or to pre-order a copy of the album, visit
www.mcgjazz.com.
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Steamin' Hot Summer Jazz
on Freedom Jazz DanceSOURCE:
www.allaboutjazz.com Posted: 2007-06-22
Sunday from 5-7 PM on 90.1 FM WDCE and
www.wdce.org Tune in to Freedom Jazz Dance this Sunday for modern jazz from bebop to freebop and beyond on 90.1 FM WDCE
www.wdce.org, live from the beautiful campus of the University of Richmond.
The temperature's rising, so I'll be adding fuel to the fire with selections by Miles Davis, saxophonist Jim Snidero, brilliant fretman Tal Farlow and the always superb Donald Harrison. Now that I think about it, I should play "Global Warming" by Sonny Rollins. Right?
Anyway, call in at 804-289-UR90 to give your trash-or-treasure vote during my notorious Records From Aunt Ruth segment and compare jazz compositions during the FJD exclusive Two Of A Kind segment.
Visit the Freedom Jazz Dance web site today! Playlists are posted following each show and you can even listen to the most recent FJD show in its entirety. Feel free to log on, talk jazz and post your new gig or release.
Dig.
Fletcher Henderson [1897 ~ 1952]The Walter C. Allen family of New Jersey has donated the late jazz historian's complete library collection to the Fletcher Henderson Museum, which is expected to open in Henderson's hometown of Cuthbert, Ga., later this year.
Allen, who was the foremost authority on Henderson's career, which ran for more than three decades, was a jazz historian at the Smithsonian Institute and a founding member of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University.
Allen also wrote the scholarly volume "Hendersonia: The Music of Fletcher Henderson and his Musicians," considered the authoritative work on Henderson's career.
The Allen collection includes considerable information on Henderson, plus vintage sheet music, early recordings, many autographed first-edition books, recorded interviews, musical arrangements, rare photographs, piano rolls, vintage magazines, correspondence, portraits of Henderson and Joe "King" Oliver and other one-of-a-kind items.
Henderson, considered the father of "Big Band Jazz," survived discrimination in the music industry as well as from the general public. He is said to have formed the first jazz band and developed "contrasting motions" and "call and response" in jazz, and had the first jazz band to play written arrangements.
Trumpeter Rex Stewart, who played with both Henderson and Duke Ellington, said, "Today's jazz listener is likely to be unaware of the huge debt that current music owes to Fletcher. Jazz would not exist in its present form were it not for his many innovations, creations and contributions."
Ellington once stated, "When I form my band, I want it to sound like Fletcher's."
Henderson's band was a jazz hall of fame. It's been said that it would be easier to list those who didn't play with Henderson's band than those who did. At least the list would be shorter. Louis Armstrong said he wasn't ready to leave Henderson's band, which he considered "the world's greatest," but it was either the band or his wife at home in Chicago.
The Henderson Museum Board of Directors hopes to make the facility in downtown Cuthbert a national destination for viewing rare memorabilia, for scholars and those who love jazz and history.
Bob Chaney of Atlanta has been a driving force in establishing the museum. A building has been purchased to house the memorabilia in downtown Cuthbert. For more information, Chaney can be reached at 404-758-6871.
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