Thursday, December 30, 2004
Artie Shaw, Big Band Leader, Dies at 94
[NYTimes]
Sunday, December 26, 2004
The Best: The Deepest Jazz Grooves
By Ben Ratliff [NYTimes]
Joe Lovano's graceful ballads, Elvin Jones's last session with his brother and Soweto Kinch's debut album were among the highlights of the year
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Jeff Hedberg - 'The Summer Knows'
Paula Edelstein [allmusic.com]
Determined saxophonist makes music with one hand
The 16-year-old saxophonist recently belted out tunes with a couple of buddies, even though he lost his left arm in an accident two years ago.
Orr plays a one-handed saxophone - one of only two in the nation - when he performs.
[myrtlebeachonline.com]
Jazz: Woody Allen
[timesonline.co.uk]
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Joe Pass | Virtuoso in New York
Derek Taylor [allaboutjazz.com]
Saxophone Summit 'Gathering of Spirits'
Saxophone “battles” have traditionally inspired musicians to play their best. But more than just a cutting contest, this gathering is a multi-faceted musical equation greater than the sum of its parts. Brecker explains that “because we have such well formed musical personalities, when we play together, we create a beautiful matrix, a really fascinating juxtaposition of sounds, colors and rhythmic approaches."
[Telarc]
Monday, December 20, 2004
Turning the digital tables
[CNN]
Connick Tops in Jazz with 'Only You'
But the charts tell a different story of who's who in jazz. Fellow New Orleans native Harry Connick Jr. far outranks Marsalis, claiming the No. 1 spot on the year-end Top Jazz Artists recap. Connick's release "Only You" (Columbia/Sony Music) is No. 1 on the Top Jazz Album tally.
[Reuters]
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Is jazz dead? A critic takes comfort in history
Review by David Rubien, San Francisco Chronicle
Saturday, December 18, 2004
'Living With Jazz': It Does Mean a Thing
[NY Times Book review]
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Count Basie: 100th Birthday Bash & The Count Basie Story
Joel Roberts allaboutjazz.com
Monday, December 13, 2004
U.S. Jazz Artists to Do India Benefit
George Duke, Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh and Ravi Coltrane will hold concerts in Bombay and New Delhi starting Jan. 13, said David Kennedy, U.S. embassy spokesman in New Delhi, on Monday.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to make a formal announcement Wednesday. The tour is jointly sponsored by Black Entertainment Television.
India, with 1.06 billion people, has the world's second largest HIV-infected population, totaling 5.1 million.
[Associated Press]
Smooth Jazz Vibes: Top 10 CDs of 2004
These may not have been the best CDs of the year, but they're the ones I played the most.
1. Pete Belasco, Deeper (Comedia): Sublime falsetto vocals and some of the best sax going. Romantic, mellow, sexy.
2. Chris Botti, When I Fall in Love (Columbia): Botti makes the album he was destined to - romantic, standard ballads. Superb trumpet playing.
3. Peter White, Confidential (Columbia): No one makes sweet acoustic pop sound as smooth as the veteran guitarist.
4. Ronny Jordan, After 8 (N-Coded): Guitarist Jordan mixes his acid-jazz and experimental instinct with smooth pop grooves.
5. Ottmar Liebert, La Semana (SSRI): His first album in a few years, and it's more welcome flamenco pop-jazz. No one better at setting a mood.
6. Norman Brown, West Coast Coolin' (Warner Bros.): No one channels George Benson as well as Brown, who sings and plays as good as the master.
7. Paul Brown, Upfront (GRP): Years of producing No. 1 smooth jazz songs obviously rubbed off for the gutarist and vocalist.
8. Boney James, Pure (Warner Bros.): Boney writes some great music, and knows how to select soulful vocalists to inject some R&B magic.
9. Steve Oliver, 3D (Koch): The guitarist/scatter/singer consistently produces top-notch material that's as memorable as it is listenable.
10. Bob Baldwin, Brazil Chill (A440): This CD is by far the pianist's best. Top-notch playing and a samba swing make this the CD to play to escape by.
There was lots of quality smooth jazz in 2004. Here are some more titles worthy of your collection:
Swing Out Sister, Where Our Love Grows (Shanachie)
Brian Bromberg, Choices (A440)
Renee Olstead, Renee Olstead (143)
Bebel Gilberto, Bebel Gilberto (Six Degrees)
Keiko Matsui, Wildflower (Narada)
Braxton Brothers, Rollin' (Peak)
Euge Groove, Livin' Large (Narada)
Anita Baker, My Everything (Blue Note)
Maximum Grooves, Coast to Coast (Telarc)
Mindi Abair, Come As You Are (GRP)
Jamie Cullum, twentysomething (Verve)
Theo Bishop, Newport Nights (Native Language)
Michael Lington, Stay With Me (Rendezvous)
Torcuato Mariano, Diary (215)
Gerald Albright, Kickin' It Up (GRP)
David Benoit/Russ Freeman, Benoit/Freeman Project 2 (Peak)
Eric Darius, Night on the Town (Higher Octave)
Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo, Movimento (Cumulus)
James Vargas, James Vargas (Trippin 'N Rhythm)
Wayman Tisdale, Hang Time (Rendezvous)
Soul Ballet, DreamBeatDream (215)
Fattburger, Work To Do (Shanachie)
Queen Latifah, The Dana Owens Album (Vector)
Gary Goin, Going Places (Compendia)
Rafe Gomez, The Groove Boutique: Volume One (Tommy Boy)
Vernon Neilly & G-Fire With Mark Whitfield, G-Fire II (Boosweet)
Pavlo, Fantasia (Justin Time)
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Grammy Nominations
Nominees for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, for albums containing 51% or more playing time of instrumental tracks, are: Fourplay's Journey (Bluebird); Bill Frisell's Unspeakable (Nonesuch Records); Jan Garebarek's In Praise of Dreams (ECM); Don Grusin's The Hang (Sovereign Artists); and Roy Hargrove's Strength: The RH Factor (Verve).
Grammy nominations for Best Pop Instrumental Performance (for solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, without vocals; tracks and singles only) are: "Chasing Shadows," Herb Alpert, Russ Freeman, James Genus, Gene Lake and Jason Miles from Maximum Grooves: Coast to Coast, Various artists (Telarc); "Take You Out," George Benson, from Irreplaceable (GRP/VMG); "11th Commandment," Ben Harper from There Will Be a Light (Virgin); "Song F," Bruce Hornsby from Halcyon Days (Columbia); and "Rat Pack Boogie," Brian Setzer from Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy (Surfdog).
[radioandrecords.com]
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
NPR : Jazz Singer Dianne Reeves
[NPR Audio interview]
Monday, December 06, 2004
Botti Update
Botti's upcoming TV appearances include the Nobel Prize Ceremonies worldwide broadcast from Oslo, Norway on Dec. 11; Tony Danza on Dec. 17; QVC special on Dec. 21; Today Show (Christmas week airing of Christmas song recorded earlier); and The View in January '05 (TBD); plus he's slated to play the national anthem at the L.A. Lakers/Miami Heat game on Christmas Day. Tour dates include Dec. 17-18 at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago; Dec. 31- Jan. 1 at Scullers in Boston; Jan. 18-19 at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA; and Jan. 20-23 at Jazz Alley in Seattle. Stay tuned for late-breaking news.
[radioandrecords.com]
Survey: Net file-sharing doesn't hurt most musicians
The nonprofit group based its report on a survey of 809 self-identified artists in December 2003. The survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
[CNN]
Friday, December 03, 2004
Ken Navarro's Latest Is Offered Exclusively Through His Website
Love Coloured Soul, the new album by Ken Navarro, is now available though his website, and will be in stores on Jan. 25.
Right now, smooth jazz guitarist Ken Navarro is offering his new album – but only online. You can go to kennavarro.com to purchase Love Coloured Soul, but will have to wait until Jan. 25 if you want to buy the album in stores.
The album is being released on the Positive Music label, the same label Navarro founded more than a decade ago. He says Love Coloured Soul has a similar sound to one he released in 1997 called Smooth Sailing, with its warm and peaceful vibe.
Among the album’s 10 songs are covers of John Klemmer’s “Glass Dolphins” and the late Laura Nyro’s “Stoned Soul Picnic.” Original titles include “You Are Everything,” “You Did It Again” and “Summer Of Love.”
As a bonus, you can also can purchase two available DVDs which include full-length audio interviews, photo galleries, video movies and graphics, in addition to the CD itself. These packages are only available through Navarro’s website. .
Love Coloured Soul Track Listing
1. You Are Everything (Ken Navarro-Jay Lang) 4:52
2. You Did It Again (Ken Navarro) 4:46
3. Glass Dolphins (John Klemmer) 3:31
4. Stoned Soul Picnic (Laura Nyro) 4:46
5. Love Coloured Soul (Ken Navarro) 4:17
6. Breathe (Ken Navarro) 4:10
7. Parallel Lives (Ken Navarro) 5:13
8. Gentle Soul (Ken Navarro) 4:33
9. Let It Go (Ken Navarro) 5:35
10. Summer Of Love (Ken Navarro) 4:45
Brian Soergel [smoothvibes.com]
Jeff Lorber Receives Kidney Transplant
[radioandrecords.com]
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Joe Sample Featured Guest On World Cafe
A veteran keyboardist/composer, Sample is known for his simultaneous careers as a member of the seminal jazz funk combo the Crusaders and as a pioneering contemporary jazz solo artist. His recent Verve release, Soul Shadows, is his first-ever all solo piano recording, featuring such traditional jazz classics and ragtime favorites as Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer," Ellington's "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good," Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Jitterbug Waltz" and Jelly Roll Morton's "Shreveport Stomp."
Check worldcafe.org for show time.
[radioandrecords.com]