When the saxophonist James Carter takes the stage at the Iridium Jazz Club tonight for a five-night run, he will be flanked by several other musicians with ties to Jazz at Lincoln Center. But as on "Gold Sounds," a recent album, they will reach past jazz's standard repertory to the songs of Pavement, the influential 1990's indie-rock band.
Never mind that Mr. Carter and his colleagues had barely heard of Pavement before making the record. The mere fact of their participation is the latest wrinkle in an unlikely phenomenon: the flirtation of jazz musicians with the world, or worlds, of indie-rock.
Jazz and indie-rock, if not opposites, are distinctly unrelated; what they have most in common is a vastness that strains the terms of genre. It doesn't take much cynicism to suspect "Gold Sounds" and its label, the upstart Brown Brothers Recordings, of crossover designs. You would have to go back at least a generation to find a time when jazz claimed an audience as robust as indie-rock does today, and one as socially connected, fiercely protective and doggedly partisan. (On second thought, partisanship is another thing the two scenes have in common.)
Only a few jazz artists have successfully tapped into that audience. One, the pianist Brad Mehldau, was the headliner at the Village Vanguard with his trio last week; it's likely that a substantial portion of each full house was familiar with his past interpretations of Radiohead, a major-label band with indie-rock cachet. Another three-piece band, the Bad Plus, also reliably packs the Vanguard, and its base fits an indie profile more precisely; or at least, it includes a preponderance of 20-something white fans who don't otherwise visit jazz clubs. Last week, Mr. Mehldau's album "Day Is Done" (Nonesuch) was the second-ranked jazz recording on the college radio charts, as reported by CMJ New Music Report; "Suspicious Activity?" (Columbia), by the Bad Plus, had just slipped from third to fourth place. (On Billboard's general-interest jazz album sales chart, neither "Day Is Done" nor "Suspicious Activity?" ranked in the Top 10.) The new Bad Plus and Mehldau releases haven't yet been reviewed by Pitchfork Media, the online clearinghouse of indie-rock, but their previous albums have, and that's a distinction few jazz artists can claim. (A Pitchfork headline from September read: "The Bad Plus Make Jazz Cool Again With Album, Tour.")
Mr. Mehldau has never endorsed indie-rock per se; when he reaches beyond standards and original songs, he overwhelmingly favors pop of an earlier vintage. And although the Bad Plus has performed Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the Pixies' "Velouria," its latest album almost exclusively focuses on original material. If it was repertory that first brought in new listeners, something else persuaded them to stay.
In the case of the Bad Plus, that something could be many things - explosive energies, aggressive touring, even an artfully disharmonious sense of style - but the members of the group tend to cite old-fashioned values like honesty and commitment. "Indie-rock audiences are zealots, hard-core," said David King, the band's drummer, who is a veteran of more than a few Minneapolis indie bands. "I think they recognize that there's something in the chemistry of how we approach this stuff, where we play it with a dedication to the actual intent of the music."
Mr. King was alluding not only to "Velouria," but also to the band's compositions. He and the bassist Reid Anderson have crafted many of the vaulting or brazen or yearning compositions in the Bad Plus arsenal; Mr. Anderson's songs, especially, borrow harmonic elements from both rock and classical music. Ethan Iverson, the group's pianist and token indie-rock naïf, contributes pieces with a sly audacity that suits the setting. "It ends up being about just communicating something with a lot of intensity," he said of the band's aesthetic, which in his case derives from avant-garde jazz heroes like Ornette Coleman (for whom the Bad Plus opened on Saturday night at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center).
Intensity has long been the connective tissue between the noisier extremities of indie-rock and jazz. Within experimental rock circles, it's de rigueur to claim inspiration from free jazz, especially the strenuous, squalling stuff of late-period John Coltrane. Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo are two prominent groups in this lineage; both have collaborated, perhaps a bit too self-consciously, with free-jazz musicians.
The influence flows just as strongly in the opposite direction: jazz's avant-garde landscape is littered with proponents of, and participants in, various strains of independent rock. For instance, Nels Cline spent part of last year shoehorning his discordant but disciplined improvisations into the group sound of Wilco as its lead guitarist. (Despite what indie purists might argue, Wilco remains, at heart, an indie-rock band.) The bassist Trevor Dunn divides much of his time between the experimental jazz of his Trio Convulsant and the surrealist metal of the band Fantômas. Anthony Braxton, the august avant-garde composer, has professed his admiration for the underground industrial band Wolf Eyes; he joined the group on a festival stage this summer. Of course, John Zorn, the saxophonist and composer, has mined this territory as well; his East Village performance space, the Stone, is the place to witness such collisions.
It's a bit harder to locate a jazz hybrid that employs indie-rock's more consonant elements, but that may be changing. "I think there really is a movement afoot," said the trumpeter Shane Endsley of Kneebody, a punchy indie-fusion group that will perform at Tonic tomorrow, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Friday. Last month at the 55 Bar, Mr. Endsley introduced a different project inspired by the loopy thrust of the band Deerhoof and the dark tonalities of the late troubadour Elliott Smith. The as-yet-unnamed group externalized these influences with a mid-register wash of vibraphone, Fender Rhodes piano and electric guitar; the feeling was of weightless suspension, in accordance with Mr. Endsley's designs.
A similar sensibility inhabits the music of Todd Sickafoose, a bassist who shares Mr. Endsley's Deerhoof fascination. (It's not the only thing Mr. Sickafoose and Mr. Endsley have in common; they're both associates of the indie siren Ani DiFranco.) Mr. Sickafoose was to play the Brooklyn club Barbès last night, with Mr. Endsley in his frontline, and Mike Gamble, another holdover from the nameless band, on guitar. Tonight, Barbès will play host to another young bassist, Eivind Opsvik, who in an e-mail message said he had been listening to the singer-songwriters Joanna Newsom and Sufjan Stevens; Mr. Opsvik's band, Overseas, which he describes as a rock band with jazz improvisation, will also perform on Sunday at the 55 Bar.
It's not hard to imagine bands like these - and Jim Black's AlasNoAxis, and Chris Speed's Yeah NO - striking a chord with the kind of loyal crowds that turn out for the Bad Plus, if not the curiosity-seekers that "Gold Sounds" indulges. For now, this music has the purest kind of indie cred: it's self-contained, self-promoted and mostly undiscovered. The musicians may not cover the songs of indie-rock, but they're immersed in its self-idealizing spirit.
By NATE CHINEN - nytimes.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Milkowski about Pastorius
Chockful of new insights about Jaco's early years, along with new revelations about his tragic final days,"The World's Greatest Bass Player", this very special Anniversary Edition takes a greatly expanded look at the man who revolutionized his instrument and became one of the most potent and compelling forces in jazz during the 1970s. Containing many new, never-before-seen photos acquired from the Pastorius estate, this new package from Backbeat Books is a collector's item for Jaco fans and the perfect introduction for music lovers who may be unfamiliar with this revolutionary bassist of unparalleled artistry. And the companion full- length CD allows readers to experience Jaco's emerging genius firsthand, with newly revealed music from his pre-Weather Report years and spoken testimonials from Jaco's friends and colleagues.
Written by music journalist Bill Milkowski-who knew Pastorius personally from 1982 on-this biography provides a look inside the inspired method and madness of the man who reinvented the role of the electric bass. Jaco's pioneering innovations equal those of Jimi Hendrix on guitar and Charlie Parker on sax. He rendered melodies, chords, harmonics, and percussive effects simultaneously; created virtuoso solos that have been called ”adventures”; and fused jazz, classical, rock, reggae, R&B, pop, and punk into one inimitable style. Described by Jazziz magazine as “consistently fascinating, impressively detailed, and very readable, ” Jaco reveals how the self-proclaimed world's greatest bass player became one of the most potent forces in music, even as he faced many personal setbacks.
Like his heroes Parker and Hendrix, Jaco lived fast, made a huge impact, and died young-he was 35 when he was fatally beaten in 1987. During his meteoric rise from South Florida phenom to international jazz star, Jaco altered the course of jazz and opened a door that generations of bass players have since walked through. “It ain't braggin' if you can back it up, ” Jaco often said. As this book shows, he always did. “There's bass before Jaco and there's bass after Jaco, ” says drummer Allyn Robinson. “That's just the way it is.”
Like the musical gifts Jaco left behind, this book and companion CD provide a uniquely enriching experience.
Bill Milkowski is a Manhattan-based writer who has been covering the music scene since 1975. Named 2004 Writer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association, he is a regular contributor to Jazz Times and Jazziz magazines. His work has also appeared in a variety of publications worldwide, including Down Beat, Modern Drummer, Bass Player, Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar World, Jazzthing (Germany), Vibrations (Switzerland), Guitar Club (Italy), Swing Journal (Japan), and Guitar (Japan). Backbeat Books publishes books for people who are passionate about music, whether as performers or avid fans. Based in San Francisco, Backbeat Books is an imprint of the Music Player Network, a division of CMP Media, LLC.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Written by music journalist Bill Milkowski-who knew Pastorius personally from 1982 on-this biography provides a look inside the inspired method and madness of the man who reinvented the role of the electric bass. Jaco's pioneering innovations equal those of Jimi Hendrix on guitar and Charlie Parker on sax. He rendered melodies, chords, harmonics, and percussive effects simultaneously; created virtuoso solos that have been called ”adventures”; and fused jazz, classical, rock, reggae, R&B, pop, and punk into one inimitable style. Described by Jazziz magazine as “consistently fascinating, impressively detailed, and very readable, ” Jaco reveals how the self-proclaimed world's greatest bass player became one of the most potent forces in music, even as he faced many personal setbacks.
Like his heroes Parker and Hendrix, Jaco lived fast, made a huge impact, and died young-he was 35 when he was fatally beaten in 1987. During his meteoric rise from South Florida phenom to international jazz star, Jaco altered the course of jazz and opened a door that generations of bass players have since walked through. “It ain't braggin' if you can back it up, ” Jaco often said. As this book shows, he always did. “There's bass before Jaco and there's bass after Jaco, ” says drummer Allyn Robinson. “That's just the way it is.”
Like the musical gifts Jaco left behind, this book and companion CD provide a uniquely enriching experience.
Bill Milkowski is a Manhattan-based writer who has been covering the music scene since 1975. Named 2004 Writer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association, he is a regular contributor to Jazz Times and Jazziz magazines. His work has also appeared in a variety of publications worldwide, including Down Beat, Modern Drummer, Bass Player, Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar World, Jazzthing (Germany), Vibrations (Switzerland), Guitar Club (Italy), Swing Journal (Japan), and Guitar (Japan). Backbeat Books publishes books for people who are passionate about music, whether as performers or avid fans. Based in San Francisco, Backbeat Books is an imprint of the Music Player Network, a division of CMP Media, LLC.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Miles Davis to Be Inducted Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Trumpeter Miles Davis will be one of five musicians and groups inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year, the Cleveland-based organization announced yesterday.
In a press release, the Hall of Fame noted that Davis's "musical experimentation beginning in the late '60s created a fusion of jazz with rock and roll, soul, funk, and hip-hop."
Davis played bebop with Charlie Parker in the 1940s before leading pioneering cool jazz, modal jazz, and hard bop groups in the '50s and '60s. His 1970 album Bitches Brew helped to launch the fusion movement.
No jazz musicians have previously been named to the main section of the hall, but Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Charlie Christian, and others have been honored as "early influences."
The other 2006 inductees are the heavy metal group Black Sabbath, the New Wave group Blondie, the Southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the punk group Sex Pistols. Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss will receive a lifetime achievement award for founding A&M Records.
The inductees were selected by music historians, record-industry figures, journalists, and members of the hall. They will be honored at a ceremony in New York on March 13, 2006.
By Ben Mattison - playbillarts.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
In a press release, the Hall of Fame noted that Davis's "musical experimentation beginning in the late '60s created a fusion of jazz with rock and roll, soul, funk, and hip-hop."
Davis played bebop with Charlie Parker in the 1940s before leading pioneering cool jazz, modal jazz, and hard bop groups in the '50s and '60s. His 1970 album Bitches Brew helped to launch the fusion movement.
No jazz musicians have previously been named to the main section of the hall, but Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Charlie Christian, and others have been honored as "early influences."
The other 2006 inductees are the heavy metal group Black Sabbath, the New Wave group Blondie, the Southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the punk group Sex Pistols. Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss will receive a lifetime achievement award for founding A&M Records.
The inductees were selected by music historians, record-industry figures, journalists, and members of the hall. They will be honored at a ceremony in New York on March 13, 2006.
By Ben Mattison - playbillarts.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
Diana Krall Stays Atop Billboard Jazz Chart
Little changed on the Billboard jazz chart last week, with vocalist Diana Krall's Christmas Songs at number one for the third straight week.
Michael Bublé's It's Time, Chris Botti's To Love Again: The Duets, and the Thelonious Monk Quartet's At Carnegie Hall were at numbers two, three, and four, as they were the previous week.
The biggest climber of the week was Jazz for the Holidays, a compilation from Martha Stewart Living Music, which jumped from number eight to number five in its fifth week on the chart.
Saxophonist Kenny G's The Greatest Holiday Classics topped the contemporary-jazz chart for the second straight week. The compilation 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas moved from number four to number two in its sixth week on the chart.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Michael Bublé's It's Time, Chris Botti's To Love Again: The Duets, and the Thelonious Monk Quartet's At Carnegie Hall were at numbers two, three, and four, as they were the previous week.
The biggest climber of the week was Jazz for the Holidays, a compilation from Martha Stewart Living Music, which jumped from number eight to number five in its fifth week on the chart.
Saxophonist Kenny G's The Greatest Holiday Classics topped the contemporary-jazz chart for the second straight week. The compilation 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas moved from number four to number two in its sixth week on the chart.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Monday, November 28, 2005
Upcoming Jazz Releases - This Week
Mon 21-Nov-2005
Ada Rovatti - Under the Hat (Nicolosi)
Alex Milella - Light Shades (Nicolosi)
Billy Cobham - Drum 'n' Voice (Nicolosi)
Jazz Club Trio - Standard Collection (Nicolosi)
Jeff Berlin - Lumpy Jazz (Nicolosi)
Koro - Contaminations (Nicolosi)
Michele Marmo - Un Pop Di Jazz (Nicolosi)
Mike Del Ferro - New Bel Canto (Nicolosi)
Mimo Campanele - Of Course (Nicolosi)
Novocento - Featuring (Nicolosi)
Philip Dizack - Beyond a Dream (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Toots Thielemans - The Live Takes (Nicolosi)
Tue 22-Nov-2005
Albert Ayler - Nuits de la Foundation Maeght 1970 (Lonehillja) - Reissue
Andrew Rathburn / George Colligan - Art of the Duo (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Antonio Carlos Jobim - Fotografia: Os Anos DOurados de Tom Jobim (Planet Rhythm) - Reissue
Art Farmer / Hal McKusick - Complete Studio Recordings (Lonehillja) - Reissue
Barbara Streisand - The Television Specials (Rhino) - DVD-Video
Big Three Trio - We Got Rhythm (Beezwax Records)
Bill Evans Trio - Liv e in Switzerland 1975 (Gambit)
Billie Holiday - Tribute to Billie Holiday - DVD-Video
Carly Simon - Moonlight Serenade: Live from Queen Mary II (Sony) - DVD-Video
Charles Mingus - Legendary Trios (Gambit) - Reissue
Craig Heesch - From Out of the Wings (American Jazz)
Cyro Baptista - Love the Donkey (Tzadik)
Ewan MacColl - Classic Scots Ballads (Visionary)
Fiona J Hawkins - Portrait of a Waterfall (Sumthing Else)
Gerry Mulligan - Jeru (Living Era) - Reissue
Gerry Mulligan - Complete Studio Recordings (Lonehillja) - Reissue
J.J. Johnson / Kai Winding - Afternoon at Birdland (Lonehillja) - Reissue
Jamie Stewardson - Jhaptal (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Jane Bunnett - Radio Gunatanamo: Blues Project (EMI)
Joe Newman - Sfot Swingin' Jazz / The Happy Cats (Lonehillja) - Reissue
John Zorn - Mysterium (Tzadik)
Jorge Reyes - Latin Jazz Live! From Cuba (Pimentia)
Lou Rawls - Ballads (Blue Note)
Modern Jazz Quartet - Jazz Concert at Music Inn / Modern Jazz Quartet at Montreux (Lonehillja) - Reissue
Norman Brown - Very Best of Norman Brown (GRP)
Paul Clayton - Sailing & Whaling Songs of the Days of Moby Dick (VI) - Reissue
Peter Gabriel - Still Growing Up: Live and Unwrapped (Rhino) - DVD-Video
Quintessence, Vol. 3: New York - Louis Armstrong (Fremeaux & Assoc. Fr) - Reissue
Radiohead - Live at the Astoria (EMI) - DVD-Video
Sam Bardfld - Periodic Trespasses (The Saul Cycle) (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Sam Levine - Play It Again (Word Entertainment)
Stanley Turrentine - In Concert (Kultur Video) - DVD-Video
Uske Orchestra - Niko et La Berlue (Sonig)
Various Artists - Montreux Jazz Festival - Vol. 8: The Jazz Guitar (Geneon) - DVD-Video
Various Artists - Hurricane Ground Benefit Relief Concert (Blue Note)
Young Dalley - Never Say Die (Urbanlife)
Information provided by allaboutjazz.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Jazz parade marks hope in New Orleans
Traditional ‘second-line’ procession snakes through once-flooded streets
Led by brass bands and filmed by director Spike Lee, New Orleans gave thanks Saturday for things not lost in Hurricane Katrina at a "second-line" jazz procession through once-flooded streets.
The parade, with several hundred participants, started at the headquarters of a benevolent association just beyond the city's famed French Quarter and snaked its way through streets still littered with debris from the hurricane.
"We had to make a statement to the world that our history, that our African-American culture, will continue," said Fred Johnson of the benevolent group Black Men of Labor.
"It's to help the culture become better in life AK (after Katrina) than it was BK."
Joyful music
A second line, like the colorful procession in the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die," traditionally accompanies black funerals in New Orleans, when dancers and musicians follow the coffin through the streets. The music is somber on the way to the cemetery and joyful on the way back.
"There's no other way to be buried from where we came from," said Johnson, who wore a black suit and bright yellow shirt, with a matching yellow umbrella and a black fedora.
"If you got buried with a band, you are going to meet your maker."
Organizers described Saturday's procession as "a second line of thanks" and urged people to bring optimism and hopes to renew the city. Even now, almost three months after the storm, much of New Orleans remains dark and empty, and tens of thousands of people have yet to return home.
"I grew up listening to jazz parades and I grew up dancing in the street and when I heard that this was happening I knew I had to be here," said Sarah Earl, a New Orleans native now living in New York. "I thought it was a jazz funeral for New Orleans. Every single minute you are thinking about the city and the magic of the city. The people are astounding, in fact breath-taking."
Lee, who is making a documentary about how race and politics collided in the aftermath of the hurricane, directed a team of cameras at the procession. His documentary will be produced by Time Warner's HBO cable channel. He plans to have it ready for the first anniversary of Katrina.
MSNBC - Reuters
Technorati tag: Jazz
Led by brass bands and filmed by director Spike Lee, New Orleans gave thanks Saturday for things not lost in Hurricane Katrina at a "second-line" jazz procession through once-flooded streets.
The parade, with several hundred participants, started at the headquarters of a benevolent association just beyond the city's famed French Quarter and snaked its way through streets still littered with debris from the hurricane.
"We had to make a statement to the world that our history, that our African-American culture, will continue," said Fred Johnson of the benevolent group Black Men of Labor.
"It's to help the culture become better in life AK (after Katrina) than it was BK."
Joyful music
A second line, like the colorful procession in the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die," traditionally accompanies black funerals in New Orleans, when dancers and musicians follow the coffin through the streets. The music is somber on the way to the cemetery and joyful on the way back.
"There's no other way to be buried from where we came from," said Johnson, who wore a black suit and bright yellow shirt, with a matching yellow umbrella and a black fedora.
"If you got buried with a band, you are going to meet your maker."
Organizers described Saturday's procession as "a second line of thanks" and urged people to bring optimism and hopes to renew the city. Even now, almost three months after the storm, much of New Orleans remains dark and empty, and tens of thousands of people have yet to return home.
"I grew up listening to jazz parades and I grew up dancing in the street and when I heard that this was happening I knew I had to be here," said Sarah Earl, a New Orleans native now living in New York. "I thought it was a jazz funeral for New Orleans. Every single minute you are thinking about the city and the magic of the city. The people are astounding, in fact breath-taking."
Lee, who is making a documentary about how race and politics collided in the aftermath of the hurricane, directed a team of cameras at the procession. His documentary will be produced by Time Warner's HBO cable channel. He plans to have it ready for the first anniversary of Katrina.
MSNBC - Reuters
Technorati tag: Jazz
Friday, November 25, 2005
Smooth Jazz Top Ten Week Ended 11/25/05
LW - TW - Artist - Title
2 - 1 - Brian Culbertson - Hookin' Up
1 - 2 - Euge Groove - Get Em Goin'
3 - 3 - Walter Beasley - Coolness
6 - 4 - Rick Braun - Shining Star
5 - 5 - Dave Koz - Love Changes Everything
4 - 6 - Paul Hardcastle - Serene
7 - 7 - Ken Navarro - You Are Everything
9 - 8 - Marion Meadows - Suede
10 - 9 - Brian Simpson - It's All Good
8 - 10 - David Pack - You're The Only Woman
Visit radioandrecords.com to view the latest complete Smooth Jazz ® National Airplay© listings.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Copy-protected Sony CDs still in stores despite recall
Many buyers report computer problems with secret software
If music is among your gift-giving ideas this holiday, beware of the danger still lurking on some store shelves.
Compact discs containing software that some have called spyware still can be found at Chicago-area record stores, despite a recall and lawsuits filed by several states against record label Sony BMG.
The discs, which include releases from Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra, include a software code called Extended Copy Protection, or XCP, intended to limit the copies a consumer can make of the music.
Buyers of the discs have been reporting numerous problems with their computers or difficulties in attempting to copy songs onto music folders like iTunes. In mid-November, shortly after blogger Mark Russinovich posted his findings about the problems with the XCP-protected discs, Sony said it would pull them from stores. A patch Sony issued to remove the software opened additional security holes on computers that hackers could exploit.
Yet as of Wednesday, the discs--which include about 50 titles--were still available at area stores. A spokesman at Tower Records in Schaumburg was unaware of any customer complaints or requests for exchanges. At the Bloomingdale Tower Records, the store manager said he fielded some questions about the discs but received no complaints. Both stores were still stocked with the copy-protected titles.
But at Virgin Records in Chicago, a representative said the store began returning the discs to Sony on Tuesday at the request of the record label.
Trend called nothing new
Bradley Gross, a Florida-based attorney who specializes in technology law, said the problems with the Sony discs "are a continuation of a trend, not the start of one."
"Back in 2002, for instance, both Sony and Universal tried to implement copy protection on their music CDs," he said. "That protection scheme, however, was easily foiled by using an ordinary magic marker to blacken out a portion of the disc that contained the copy protection."
With the XCP software, Sony now faces a public-relations nightmare that Gross said could have been avoided.
"There will always be a certain amount of copying, regardless of the methods used to detect or prevent it," Gross said. "It is not a secret that record companies are using copy protection methods, nor is it a secret how they do it. Curiously, the only secret is why they insist on doing things in a surreptitious manner."
The fact that Sony didn't disclose that the discs put undisclosed code on a user's computer caused an uproar.
"The bigger issue here is security experts are saying this opens even a bigger hole in terms of programs invading someone's personal computer," said Andrew Brandt, senior associate editor of PC World. Sony has "only thrown more gas on the fire. And what's more, consumers were never told about what could happen."
Andy Gershon, president of V2 Records, whose acts include the White Stripes, Moby, and Stereophonics, believes "cell phones, iPods, and PlayStation 2 are what the future of music is all about" and that bigger record companies are seeking "a distribution monopoly.
"Any barrier to the entry of acquiring music is simply someone trying to level the playing field," he said. "The future of music is all about broadband and downloading digital files. I've never heard of complaints about management of digital rights and subscription services. But whenever someone has tried to do that through software on a CD, it has always failed."
Jim Davis, president of the CD Mobile Fidelity label, said his company has no plans for copy protection.
"We're not worried about ripping copies of our product," Davis said.
"Our customer base is all about people who want to hear better quality, and we're not going to get into something that affects that."
A lesson learned?
As to the future of copying music and the possible protection strategies that may be forthcoming, Brandt believes Sony may have taught others labels a lesson in caution.
"Labels have to be concerned about the idea of taking away the right to own music," he said. "The whole fight is about who holds the rights to a song and how long when it comes to digital technology. But nobody wants the problems that have surfaced now."
For Bill Weber, the experience with a recently bought Sony CD illustrates some of the problems with the XCP scheme.
"I bought a CD, popped it into my combo player and then did what I always do, put the CD into my computer's CD recorder to transfer the songs into iTunes so that I could enjoy the songs on my iPod," said Weber, who lives in Rhode Island.
"Once I did that, I found only garbled noises coming out of my music system. I grabbed the CD case, checked the back, and found a `Limited Copy' warning as well as text to the effect that the disc was compatible with Macs and Windows. Nothing said it would not work with iTunes or that it had just planted a new program on my PC."
Attorney Gross believes better information from record labels would help control illegal copies.
"I expect the amount of copying to decrease as two things occur," he said. "First, as the price of `legally' acquiring music drops, more consumers will open their wallets to the music industry.
"Second, the music industry will--indeed must--begin to educate customers about the methods it is using to protect music from being copied illegally."
Nonetheless, don't expect to see the end of copy protection schemes soon.
"Past failures have not seemed to dissuade the music industry from trying different methods," Gross said. "Eventually, one method will be more effective than the others, and that method will become the standard.
"However, there's a lot of road between where we are today and where the music industry wants to be."
- - -
Think you have a Sony XCP CD?
How to identify a Sony CD with XCP software and what to do about it:
A list of XCP-protected discs can be found at http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/titles.html. At the site's home page, you can find links to the exchange program, which includes free postage. Sony is also offering free MP3 files of the discs plus new CDs without the copy protection.
Sony also lists software updates to uninstall the XCP code. But Andrew Brandt, an editor of PC World, suggests that rather than trying to uninstall the XCP program yourself, wait until December when Microsoft will issue an update to do the job for you. Security protection from antivirus companies will also be available soon.
--David Sharos
By David Sharos
Special to the Tribune
Published November 24, 2005
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
Technorati tag: Jazz
If music is among your gift-giving ideas this holiday, beware of the danger still lurking on some store shelves.
Compact discs containing software that some have called spyware still can be found at Chicago-area record stores, despite a recall and lawsuits filed by several states against record label Sony BMG.
The discs, which include releases from Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra, include a software code called Extended Copy Protection, or XCP, intended to limit the copies a consumer can make of the music.
Buyers of the discs have been reporting numerous problems with their computers or difficulties in attempting to copy songs onto music folders like iTunes. In mid-November, shortly after blogger Mark Russinovich posted his findings about the problems with the XCP-protected discs, Sony said it would pull them from stores. A patch Sony issued to remove the software opened additional security holes on computers that hackers could exploit.
Yet as of Wednesday, the discs--which include about 50 titles--were still available at area stores. A spokesman at Tower Records in Schaumburg was unaware of any customer complaints or requests for exchanges. At the Bloomingdale Tower Records, the store manager said he fielded some questions about the discs but received no complaints. Both stores were still stocked with the copy-protected titles.
But at Virgin Records in Chicago, a representative said the store began returning the discs to Sony on Tuesday at the request of the record label.
Trend called nothing new
Bradley Gross, a Florida-based attorney who specializes in technology law, said the problems with the Sony discs "are a continuation of a trend, not the start of one."
"Back in 2002, for instance, both Sony and Universal tried to implement copy protection on their music CDs," he said. "That protection scheme, however, was easily foiled by using an ordinary magic marker to blacken out a portion of the disc that contained the copy protection."
With the XCP software, Sony now faces a public-relations nightmare that Gross said could have been avoided.
"There will always be a certain amount of copying, regardless of the methods used to detect or prevent it," Gross said. "It is not a secret that record companies are using copy protection methods, nor is it a secret how they do it. Curiously, the only secret is why they insist on doing things in a surreptitious manner."
The fact that Sony didn't disclose that the discs put undisclosed code on a user's computer caused an uproar.
"The bigger issue here is security experts are saying this opens even a bigger hole in terms of programs invading someone's personal computer," said Andrew Brandt, senior associate editor of PC World. Sony has "only thrown more gas on the fire. And what's more, consumers were never told about what could happen."
Andy Gershon, president of V2 Records, whose acts include the White Stripes, Moby, and Stereophonics, believes "cell phones, iPods, and PlayStation 2 are what the future of music is all about" and that bigger record companies are seeking "a distribution monopoly.
"Any barrier to the entry of acquiring music is simply someone trying to level the playing field," he said. "The future of music is all about broadband and downloading digital files. I've never heard of complaints about management of digital rights and subscription services. But whenever someone has tried to do that through software on a CD, it has always failed."
Jim Davis, president of the CD Mobile Fidelity label, said his company has no plans for copy protection.
"We're not worried about ripping copies of our product," Davis said.
"Our customer base is all about people who want to hear better quality, and we're not going to get into something that affects that."
A lesson learned?
As to the future of copying music and the possible protection strategies that may be forthcoming, Brandt believes Sony may have taught others labels a lesson in caution.
"Labels have to be concerned about the idea of taking away the right to own music," he said. "The whole fight is about who holds the rights to a song and how long when it comes to digital technology. But nobody wants the problems that have surfaced now."
For Bill Weber, the experience with a recently bought Sony CD illustrates some of the problems with the XCP scheme.
"I bought a CD, popped it into my combo player and then did what I always do, put the CD into my computer's CD recorder to transfer the songs into iTunes so that I could enjoy the songs on my iPod," said Weber, who lives in Rhode Island.
"Once I did that, I found only garbled noises coming out of my music system. I grabbed the CD case, checked the back, and found a `Limited Copy' warning as well as text to the effect that the disc was compatible with Macs and Windows. Nothing said it would not work with iTunes or that it had just planted a new program on my PC."
Attorney Gross believes better information from record labels would help control illegal copies.
"I expect the amount of copying to decrease as two things occur," he said. "First, as the price of `legally' acquiring music drops, more consumers will open their wallets to the music industry.
"Second, the music industry will--indeed must--begin to educate customers about the methods it is using to protect music from being copied illegally."
Nonetheless, don't expect to see the end of copy protection schemes soon.
"Past failures have not seemed to dissuade the music industry from trying different methods," Gross said. "Eventually, one method will be more effective than the others, and that method will become the standard.
"However, there's a lot of road between where we are today and where the music industry wants to be."
- - -
Think you have a Sony XCP CD?
How to identify a Sony CD with XCP software and what to do about it:
A list of XCP-protected discs can be found at http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/titles.html. At the site's home page, you can find links to the exchange program, which includes free postage. Sony is also offering free MP3 files of the discs plus new CDs without the copy protection.
Sony also lists software updates to uninstall the XCP code. But Andrew Brandt, an editor of PC World, suggests that rather than trying to uninstall the XCP program yourself, wait until December when Microsoft will issue an update to do the job for you. Security protection from antivirus companies will also be available soon.
--David Sharos
By David Sharos
Special to the Tribune
Published November 24, 2005
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
Technorati tag: Jazz
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Robin Avery | The Way You Hold Me
It’s not an issue of which vocal style is better, but there’s something about a whispery voice that gives some singers special appeal. Robin Avery is such a singer. Hailing from south Florida, this mother of three recently released her second album—and her first with Oar Fin Records. The Way You Hold Me is a smooth jazz album that expresses love in many ways, at times adding pop, Caribbean, and R&B flavors.
All but two of the tracks were co-written by Avery and her life partner, keyboardist and producer Paul Banman. One song, “Lovetrust,” was written by Avery and Tim Bain. The lone cover song is “Drive,” originally recorded by The Cars. “Under the Same Sky” was so inspired by Avery’s youngest son, Aaron, that she gave him co-writer credit along with herself and Banman. A confrontation with her oldest son provided the inspiration for “That Makes All the Difference.”
With a variable lineup that features Banman on keyboards, Avery delivers an album loaded with charming melodies. The opener, “What Was on Your Mind,” sets the pace. This midtempo ballad has Avery’s voice out front, backed by a competent rhythm section that gives the song a fuller sound without getting in the way. Throughout, the bass lines and drum tracks are subtle, but effective enough that they don’t sound like pre-fabricated beats.
Saxophonist Warren Hill joins the ensemble for the cover of “Drive.” One of the nice things about this performance is that the background music doesn’t follow the pattern set by The Cars, which makes it a cover worth hearing. Minnick’s guitar programming deviates from the script, and Leo Brooks adds a nice touch with the bass. As with every song, however, the emphasis is on voice.
On the charmer “Under the Same Sky,” Avery admonishes people of all backgrounds to come together and help one another: “The strong exploit the weak, all across our land / the homeless and the hungry, frightened minds won’t lend a hand.” Banman adds a nice keyboard solo—a rarity on this album.
Apart from Hill’s presence on “Drive,” there are no memorable instrumental solos on this recording. Perhaps that’s by design, because Avery’s talent as a vocalist is what's on display. And she does a wonderful job throughout, at times tempting listeners to believe that Avery is singing directly to them. The Way You Hold Me is a keeper.
Visit Robin Avery on the web
Robin Avery | Oar Fin Records
Review by Woodrow Wilkins Jr. - allaboutjazz.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
All but two of the tracks were co-written by Avery and her life partner, keyboardist and producer Paul Banman. One song, “Lovetrust,” was written by Avery and Tim Bain. The lone cover song is “Drive,” originally recorded by The Cars. “Under the Same Sky” was so inspired by Avery’s youngest son, Aaron, that she gave him co-writer credit along with herself and Banman. A confrontation with her oldest son provided the inspiration for “That Makes All the Difference.”
With a variable lineup that features Banman on keyboards, Avery delivers an album loaded with charming melodies. The opener, “What Was on Your Mind,” sets the pace. This midtempo ballad has Avery’s voice out front, backed by a competent rhythm section that gives the song a fuller sound without getting in the way. Throughout, the bass lines and drum tracks are subtle, but effective enough that they don’t sound like pre-fabricated beats.
Saxophonist Warren Hill joins the ensemble for the cover of “Drive.” One of the nice things about this performance is that the background music doesn’t follow the pattern set by The Cars, which makes it a cover worth hearing. Minnick’s guitar programming deviates from the script, and Leo Brooks adds a nice touch with the bass. As with every song, however, the emphasis is on voice.
On the charmer “Under the Same Sky,” Avery admonishes people of all backgrounds to come together and help one another: “The strong exploit the weak, all across our land / the homeless and the hungry, frightened minds won’t lend a hand.” Banman adds a nice keyboard solo—a rarity on this album.
Apart from Hill’s presence on “Drive,” there are no memorable instrumental solos on this recording. Perhaps that’s by design, because Avery’s talent as a vocalist is what's on display. And she does a wonderful job throughout, at times tempting listeners to believe that Avery is singing directly to them. The Way You Hold Me is a keeper.
Visit Robin Avery on the web
Robin Avery | Oar Fin Records
Review by Woodrow Wilkins Jr. - allaboutjazz.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Sony Recalls Chris Botti's Latest CD
Major record label recalling up to 5 million CDs.
Earlier this week, Sony BMG Music announced that it would temporarily suspend production of music CDs with anti-piracy software called XCP – or “extended copy protection” – that when played on Windows PCs leave them vulnerable to viruses and hackers. Now Sony will now recall nearly 5 million of the CDS, which includes Chris Botti’s latest album called To Love Again. In addition, Sony has announced several other titles that are affected and will be recalled, including So Amazing: All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross and At This Time by Burt Bacharach.
Sony BMG had created a website where users could uninstall the software that allowed the CD to play on computers, but now says that it will soon release an updated uninstall program. In addition, Microsoft has announced that its upcoming Windows Update will remove the malicious software. Sony says that customers can exchange any CD with the XCP software for a replacement copy without it. For more information, go to www.sonybmg.com
This article was originally posted by Brian Soergel at smoothjazzvibes.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
Earlier this week, Sony BMG Music announced that it would temporarily suspend production of music CDs with anti-piracy software called XCP – or “extended copy protection” – that when played on Windows PCs leave them vulnerable to viruses and hackers. Now Sony will now recall nearly 5 million of the CDS, which includes Chris Botti’s latest album called To Love Again. In addition, Sony has announced several other titles that are affected and will be recalled, including So Amazing: All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross and At This Time by Burt Bacharach.
Sony BMG had created a website where users could uninstall the software that allowed the CD to play on computers, but now says that it will soon release an updated uninstall program. In addition, Microsoft has announced that its upcoming Windows Update will remove the malicious software. Sony says that customers can exchange any CD with the XCP software for a replacement copy without it. For more information, go to www.sonybmg.com
This article was originally posted by Brian Soergel at smoothjazzvibes.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
Monday, November 21, 2005
All About Jazz Launches Daily Download Center
About a month ago, allaboutjazz.com started its daily download feature. We have added the code to this blog and you will find the link at the bottom of the right hand column as you scroll down.
~
AllAboutJazz.com, the web's largest jazz portal, will make one full-length mp3 song freely available to download each day, starting today.
“Our plan is to make one song available each day of the week,” says Michael Ricci, AAJ's founder and publisher. “If demand increases (from both users and musicians), we'll ramp up to two or more.”
Mark Sabbatini, AAJ's Download Editor says, “We're selecting from a pool of tracks we feel our readers will enjoy, including performers and sources worldwide that many people may not realize exist.”
“We plan to have fun with the feature and eventually showcase certain styles on certain days of the week. Look for themes such as 'Creative Music Thursday,' 'Funky Friday,' 'Classic Saturday,' 'Vocal Sunday' and more.”
The Daily Download provides tremendous exposure for the artists who make the music, including descriptions of the song, and information about where to find additional biographical information, file downloads and albums for sale are provided when available.
Technorati tag: Jazz
~
AllAboutJazz.com, the web's largest jazz portal, will make one full-length mp3 song freely available to download each day, starting today.
“Our plan is to make one song available each day of the week,” says Michael Ricci, AAJ's founder and publisher. “If demand increases (from both users and musicians), we'll ramp up to two or more.”
Mark Sabbatini, AAJ's Download Editor says, “We're selecting from a pool of tracks we feel our readers will enjoy, including performers and sources worldwide that many people may not realize exist.”
“We plan to have fun with the feature and eventually showcase certain styles on certain days of the week. Look for themes such as 'Creative Music Thursday,' 'Funky Friday,' 'Classic Saturday,' 'Vocal Sunday' and more.”
The Daily Download provides tremendous exposure for the artists who make the music, including descriptions of the song, and information about where to find additional biographical information, file downloads and albums for sale are provided when available.
Technorati tag: Jazz
First Online Jazz Licensing Website Launched
Jazzplanet.net, the website that will license the recorded performances and compositions of hundreds of independent Jazz artists through a complete online process, announces its start date of November 21st, 2005. The site will feature a huge inventory of independently recorded Jazz that is free and clear for licensing to the Film, TV, Commercial and related industries. Jazz Planet will also provide an extensively cross- referenced database that keys in on Jazz genres; the moods, style, era, and instrumentation, as well as artist info and tracks from world-class Jazz artists who do not have a record label behind them.
Conceptualized and created by Jazz drummer, Peter Donald, Jazz Planet is the only website that specializes in Jazz and all of its genres and provides tools for the end user to become more knowledgeable about Jazz music. Jazz Planet draws from an International community of Jazz musicians offering the opportunity to digitize, archive and license tracks to the world of media production. For members of the music industry and jazz enthusiasts alike, Jazz Planet offers substantial knowledge of jazz and an extensive, organized collection of tracks from artists of the highest caliber. Among the many musicians that will be featured on the site, included are the world-renowned drummer, Peter Erskine (recently having toured with Diana Krall); soprano sax master Dave Liebman and the incomparable tenor saxophonist, two time Grammy Award Winner, Ernie Watts.
“In the past 10 years, recording has become much less expensive due to computer technology and, with the same technology, it has become standard practice to incorporate pre-existing music tracks into the production process.” says Donald. “This is a natural fit for the content provider and the end user.” Jazz Planet creates a place where music supervisors/editors, producers, directors and other creatives will have easy access to a wide variety of Jazz recordings at a reasonable price. The music can be previewed, downloaded for demo and licensed with final tracks immediately accessed.
Licensing has become a $4 billion a year industry. This creates the opportunity for the independent musician, who has a catalogue of self-financed recordings, to realize more return on his/her investment. It also exposes the music to a larger audience thus promoting the artist with increased CD sales and greater demand for live performances.
Ultimately, jazzplanet.net plans to be the most vital Internet destination for jazz content without the high costs and time consuming process of dealing with major labels and publishers. The site will provide a user-friendly service for licensing needs, while educating the user and exposing gifted musicians to a larger segment of Jazz enthusiasts.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Conceptualized and created by Jazz drummer, Peter Donald, Jazz Planet is the only website that specializes in Jazz and all of its genres and provides tools for the end user to become more knowledgeable about Jazz music. Jazz Planet draws from an International community of Jazz musicians offering the opportunity to digitize, archive and license tracks to the world of media production. For members of the music industry and jazz enthusiasts alike, Jazz Planet offers substantial knowledge of jazz and an extensive, organized collection of tracks from artists of the highest caliber. Among the many musicians that will be featured on the site, included are the world-renowned drummer, Peter Erskine (recently having toured with Diana Krall); soprano sax master Dave Liebman and the incomparable tenor saxophonist, two time Grammy Award Winner, Ernie Watts.
“In the past 10 years, recording has become much less expensive due to computer technology and, with the same technology, it has become standard practice to incorporate pre-existing music tracks into the production process.” says Donald. “This is a natural fit for the content provider and the end user.” Jazz Planet creates a place where music supervisors/editors, producers, directors and other creatives will have easy access to a wide variety of Jazz recordings at a reasonable price. The music can be previewed, downloaded for demo and licensed with final tracks immediately accessed.
Licensing has become a $4 billion a year industry. This creates the opportunity for the independent musician, who has a catalogue of self-financed recordings, to realize more return on his/her investment. It also exposes the music to a larger audience thus promoting the artist with increased CD sales and greater demand for live performances.
Ultimately, jazzplanet.net plans to be the most vital Internet destination for jazz content without the high costs and time consuming process of dealing with major labels and publishers. The site will provide a user-friendly service for licensing needs, while educating the user and exposing gifted musicians to a larger segment of Jazz enthusiasts.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Upcoming Jazz Releases - This week
Mon 21-Nov-2005
Ada Rovatti - Under the Hat (Nicolosi)
Alex Milella - Light Shades (Nicolosi)
Billy Cobham - Drum 'n' Voice (Nicolosi)
Jazz Club Trio - Standard Collection (Nicolosi)
Jeff Berlin - Lumpy Jazz (Nicolosi)
Koro - Contaminations (Nicolosi)
Michele Marmo - Un Pop Di Jazz (Nicolosi)
Mike Del Ferro - New Bel Canto (Nicolosi)
Mimo Campanele - Of Course (Nicolosi)
Novocento - Featuring (Nicolosi)
Philip Dizack - Beyond a Dream (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Toots Thielemans - The Live Takes (Nicolosi)
Tue 22-Nov-2005
Albert Ayler - Nuits de la Foundation Maeght 1970 (Lonehillja) - Reissue
Andrew Rathburn / George Colligan - Art of the Duo (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Antonio Carlos Jobim - Fotografia: Os Anos DOurados de Tom Jobim (Planet Rhythm) - Reissue Art Farmer / Hal McKusick - Complete Studio Recordings (Lonehillja) - Reissue
Barbara Streisand - The Television Specials (Rhino) - DVD-Video
Big Three Trio - We Got Rhythm (Beezwax Records)
Bill Evans Trio - Liv e in Switzerland 1975 (Gambit)
Billie Holiday - Tribute to Billie Holiday - DVD-Video
Carly Simon - Moonlight Serenade: Live from Queen Mary II (Sony) - DVD-Video
Charles Mingus - Legendary Trios (Gambit) - Reissue
Craig Heesch - From Out of the Wings (American Jazz)
Cyro Baptista - Love the Donkey (Tzadik)
Ewan MacColl - Classic Scots Ballads (Visionary)
Fiona J Hawkins - Portrait of a Waterfall (Sumthing Else)
Gerry Mulligan - Jeru (Living Era) - Reissue
Gerry Mulligan - Complete Studio Recordings (Lonehillja) - Reissue
J.J. Johnson / Kai Winding - Afternoon at Birdland (Lonehillja) - Reissue
Jamie Stewardson - Jhaptal (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Jane Bunnett - Radio Gunatanamo: Blues Project (EMI)
Joe Newman - Sfot Swingin' Jazz / The Happy Cats (Lonehillja) - Reissue
John Zorn - Mysterium (Tzadik)
Jorge Reyes - Latin Jazz Live! From Cuba (Pimentia)
Lou Rawls - Ballads (Blue Note)
Modern Jazz Quartet - Jazz Concert at Music Inn / Modern Jazz Quartet at Montreux (Lonehillja) - Reissue
Norman Brown - Very Best of Norman Brown (GRP)
Paul Clayton - Sailing & Whaling Songs of the Days of Moby Dick (VI) - Reissue
Peter Gabriel - Still Growing Up: Live and Unwrapped (Rhino) - DVD-Video
Quintessence, Vol. 3: New York - Louis Armstrong (Fremeaux & Assoc. Fr) - Reissue
Radiohead - Live at the Astoria (EMI) - DVD-Video
Sam Bardfld - Periodic Trespasses (The Saul Cycle) (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Sam Levine - Play It Again (Word Entertainment)
Stanley Turrentine - In Concert (Kultur Video) - DVD-Video
Uske Orchestra - Niko et La Berlue (Sonig)
Various Artists - Montreux Jazz Festival - Vol. 8: The Jazz Guitar (Geneon) - DVD-Video
Various Artists - Hurricane Ground Benefit Relief Concert (Blue Note)
Young Dalley - Never Say Die (Urbanlife)
Information provided by allaboutjazz.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Brasil '66 leader Mendes plans February release
The bossa nova will be competing with flowers and chocolate this Valentine's Day, when veteran bandleader Sergio Mendes releases his first album in the United States in 10 years.
With his Brazilian-flavored light jazz, the pianist and his group, Brasil '66, ruled the charts in the late '60s with such hits as "Mas Que Nada" and their cover of the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill."
On his new recording, appropriately named "Timeless," he's paired with a slew of artists, most of whom weren't even a twinkle in their parents' eyes during Mendes' heyday.
The Concord Records/Starbucks Hear Music release was produced by Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am. Among the guests are Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, John Legend, Q-Tip and Stevie Wonder.
The album includes reworked versions of Mendes' hits, new tunes and updates of Brazilian standards. The sound combines classic Brazilian samba and bossa nova rhythms with American hip-hop.
Like the Ray Charles and Herbie Hancock albums issued recently by Starbucks and its partners, this release will be available to all retailers simultaneously.
Technorati tag: Jazz
With his Brazilian-flavored light jazz, the pianist and his group, Brasil '66, ruled the charts in the late '60s with such hits as "Mas Que Nada" and their cover of the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill."
On his new recording, appropriately named "Timeless," he's paired with a slew of artists, most of whom weren't even a twinkle in their parents' eyes during Mendes' heyday.
The Concord Records/Starbucks Hear Music release was produced by Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am. Among the guests are Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, John Legend, Q-Tip and Stevie Wonder.
The album includes reworked versions of Mendes' hits, new tunes and updates of Brazilian standards. The sound combines classic Brazilian samba and bossa nova rhythms with American hip-hop.
Like the Ray Charles and Herbie Hancock albums issued recently by Starbucks and its partners, this release will be available to all retailers simultaneously.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Jazz label Concord welcomes young talent
Roll over, young lions -- the early-'90s jazzers set on recycling bebop and championed by Wynton Marsalis -- because the new generation is knocking on the door.
Plaudits go to Concord Records for helping to usher in the youth movement by showcasing three of its new signings (trumpeter Christian Scott, keyboardist Taylor Eigsti and vocalist Erin Boheme), first at the Mint in Los Angeles October 25 and then at Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York November 8.
At Dizzy's, Eigsti, 21, put an impressive punch and spark into his set, especially on his energetic version of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." He also offered a fine duet, "True Colors," with 17-year-old guitar phenom Julian Lage. Boheme, 19, joined the band for four songs, including her original "Don't Be Something You Ain't," a song that lyrically exemplified the evening's accent on subtly breaking out from neocon jazz tastes.
The most dynamic of the trio was Scott, who energetically put funk and rock into the mix, while blowing a soulful trumpet that pierced but also hummed. The title track to his new album, "Rewind That," set for a February 28 release, got his set off to a hot start. Look for him to enjoy a career with long legs.
BET Jazz, which has linked with Concord to present three 30-minute specials -- one devoted to each of the fledgling artists -- filmed the proceedings at Dizzy's as well as the triad's performances at the Anguilla Tranquility Jazz Festival the following week. The specials will air in January.
ON THE HORIZON
Blue Note Records is filling up its 2006 calendar with noteworthy CDs, including a solo piano outing by Gonzalo Rubalcaba -- appropriately titled "Solo," arriving March 7 -- and a Wes Montgomery tribute by guitarist Pat Martino, out February 7.
Pianist Andrew Hill, who began recording for the label in 1963, has re-signed with Blue Note for the third time. Coming up is a quintet release, "Time Lines," out February 21. And vocalist Cassandra Wilson's long-awaited project with producer T Bone Burnett, "Thunderbird," will finally see the light of day in March.
At Verve, Roy Hargrove, the hardest working trumpeter in the jazz business, releases "Reflections and Distortions," a two-CD set, February 28. One disc features his quintet, the other his funky RH Factor band. Also out February 28, harmonica ace Toots Thielemans' "Over the Rainbow."
Columbia's marquee jazz release is banjo master Bela Fleck's "The Hidden Land," which will go on sale January 31. The CD reunites Fleck and his group -- including bassist Victor Wooten, percussionist Future Man and saxist Jeff Coffin -- after a yearlong hiatus.
Also on January 31, saxophonist Chris Potter, a steady member of Dave Holland's quintet, releases yet another of his potent albums, "Underground," on Sunnyside, with a band including keyboardist Craig Taborn and the underrated guitarist Wayne Krantz.
Telarc Records is looking ahead to two strong piano-based releases: Michel Camino's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (February 28) and Hiromi Uehara's "Spiral" (January 17), the follow-up to 2004's "Brain." She delivers eight new compositions that range from funk to avant-garde
Technorati tag: Jazz
Plaudits go to Concord Records for helping to usher in the youth movement by showcasing three of its new signings (trumpeter Christian Scott, keyboardist Taylor Eigsti and vocalist Erin Boheme), first at the Mint in Los Angeles October 25 and then at Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York November 8.
At Dizzy's, Eigsti, 21, put an impressive punch and spark into his set, especially on his energetic version of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." He also offered a fine duet, "True Colors," with 17-year-old guitar phenom Julian Lage. Boheme, 19, joined the band for four songs, including her original "Don't Be Something You Ain't," a song that lyrically exemplified the evening's accent on subtly breaking out from neocon jazz tastes.
The most dynamic of the trio was Scott, who energetically put funk and rock into the mix, while blowing a soulful trumpet that pierced but also hummed. The title track to his new album, "Rewind That," set for a February 28 release, got his set off to a hot start. Look for him to enjoy a career with long legs.
BET Jazz, which has linked with Concord to present three 30-minute specials -- one devoted to each of the fledgling artists -- filmed the proceedings at Dizzy's as well as the triad's performances at the Anguilla Tranquility Jazz Festival the following week. The specials will air in January.
ON THE HORIZON
Blue Note Records is filling up its 2006 calendar with noteworthy CDs, including a solo piano outing by Gonzalo Rubalcaba -- appropriately titled "Solo," arriving March 7 -- and a Wes Montgomery tribute by guitarist Pat Martino, out February 7.
Pianist Andrew Hill, who began recording for the label in 1963, has re-signed with Blue Note for the third time. Coming up is a quintet release, "Time Lines," out February 21. And vocalist Cassandra Wilson's long-awaited project with producer T Bone Burnett, "Thunderbird," will finally see the light of day in March.
At Verve, Roy Hargrove, the hardest working trumpeter in the jazz business, releases "Reflections and Distortions," a two-CD set, February 28. One disc features his quintet, the other his funky RH Factor band. Also out February 28, harmonica ace Toots Thielemans' "Over the Rainbow."
Columbia's marquee jazz release is banjo master Bela Fleck's "The Hidden Land," which will go on sale January 31. The CD reunites Fleck and his group -- including bassist Victor Wooten, percussionist Future Man and saxist Jeff Coffin -- after a yearlong hiatus.
Also on January 31, saxophonist Chris Potter, a steady member of Dave Holland's quintet, releases yet another of his potent albums, "Underground," on Sunnyside, with a band including keyboardist Craig Taborn and the underrated guitarist Wayne Krantz.
Telarc Records is looking ahead to two strong piano-based releases: Michel Camino's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (February 28) and Hiromi Uehara's "Spiral" (January 17), the follow-up to 2004's "Brain." She delivers eight new compositions that range from funk to avant-garde
Technorati tag: Jazz
Friday, November 18, 2005
Miles Davis - The Cellar Door Sessions 1970
Miles Davis' "The Cellar Door Sessions 1970" will be released December 27 by Columbia/Legacy Jazz. Previously available as a fraction of the music herein and only initially issued domestically (in edited form on the two-LP set, “Live Evil, ” “The Cellar Door Sessions 1970” was recorded December 16-19, 1970 at a club in Washington, D.C., where the great trumpeter-bandleader Davis was at the helm of one his most stimulating groups.
The sextet on the Cellar Door's bandstand - Davis, saxophonist Gary Bartz, keyboardist Keith Jarrett, electric bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreiera - is a sheer marvel of kinetic energy. Adding another dimension of excitement on the final two discs is the blazing guitar of John McLaughlin. With the exception of young Henderson, who had made his bones as a Motown session ace and touring with Stevie Wonder, every member of this Davis band has subsequently proved to be a major figure in jazz; in his own way, each has placed a highly personal stamp on improvisation during the past 35 years. In 1969, the year Davis (1926-1991) recorded “In A Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew, ” he told Downbeat's Don DeMichael, “I could put together the greatest rock 'n' roll band you ever heard.” Well, here it is, and if the Davis group is not working the same blues-rockin' side of the street as the Rolling Stones (then billed as “the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world”), they're breaking on through to another side - the fearless and peerless jazz side of funkmeisters James Brown and Sly Stone, and rock deity Jimi Hendrix.
The 28 performances spread out over these six discs, running nearly six hours, add up to an inestimable document of the musical crossbreeding spearheaded by Miles and his crew. Bringing additional luster to this deluxe package is a number of previously unpublished photographs, as well as individual essays of four unforgettable nights by each of the six men who, with their leader, created the music that elevates the Cellar Door.
Technorati tag: Jazz
The sextet on the Cellar Door's bandstand - Davis, saxophonist Gary Bartz, keyboardist Keith Jarrett, electric bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreiera - is a sheer marvel of kinetic energy. Adding another dimension of excitement on the final two discs is the blazing guitar of John McLaughlin. With the exception of young Henderson, who had made his bones as a Motown session ace and touring with Stevie Wonder, every member of this Davis band has subsequently proved to be a major figure in jazz; in his own way, each has placed a highly personal stamp on improvisation during the past 35 years. In 1969, the year Davis (1926-1991) recorded “In A Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew, ” he told Downbeat's Don DeMichael, “I could put together the greatest rock 'n' roll band you ever heard.” Well, here it is, and if the Davis group is not working the same blues-rockin' side of the street as the Rolling Stones (then billed as “the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world”), they're breaking on through to another side - the fearless and peerless jazz side of funkmeisters James Brown and Sly Stone, and rock deity Jimi Hendrix.
The 28 performances spread out over these six discs, running nearly six hours, add up to an inestimable document of the musical crossbreeding spearheaded by Miles and his crew. Bringing additional luster to this deluxe package is a number of previously unpublished photographs, as well as individual essays of four unforgettable nights by each of the six men who, with their leader, created the music that elevates the Cellar Door.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Smooth Jazz Top Ten Week Ended 11/18/05
LW - TW - Artist - Title
1 - 1 - Euge Groove - Get Em Goin'
2 - 2 - Brian Culbertson - Hookin' Up
4 - 3 - Walter Beasley - Coolness
3 - 4 - Paul Hardcastle - Serene
5 - 5 - Dave Koz - Love Changes Everything
7 - 6 - Rick Braun - Shining Star
6 - 7 - Ken Navarro - You Are Everything
9 - 8 - David Pack - You're The Only Woman
8 - 9 - Marion Meadows - Suede
10 - 10 - Brian Simpson - It's All Good
Visit radioandrecords.com to view the latest complete Smooth Jazz ® National Airplay© listings.
Technorati tag: Jazz
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Dave Brubeck Begins European Tour
Legendary composer and jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and his Quartet begin a fall tour of Europe November 16 with a concert at Nuremberg, Germany's Schauspielhaus, presented by the City of Nuremberg as part of its 60th anniversary commemoration of the Nuremberg Trials.
During the tour Brubeck will celebrate his 85th birthday on December 6 in the first of two dates with the London Symphony Orchestra, with which he has frequently performed and recorded.
Brubeck was stationed in Nuremberg in 1945 with General George S. Patton's Third Army. While he did not attend the Trials, his band The Wolf Pack -- the first integrated band in the military -- was part of a USO show that reopened the Nuremberg Opera House on July 1, 1945. Prior to that, the Opera House had served as The Wolf Pack's rehearsal facility after U.S. troops had occupied the city.
“One of my most vivid memories of that period is sitting in the audience for the first post-war performance of 'Hansel and Gretel' at the Nuremberg Opera House, along with hundreds of excited German children and some parents, ” recalls Brubeck. “There was so much joy, and a feeling of returning to normalcy. I think of those days each time I come to Nuremburg and have the privilege of returning to that beautiful stage.”
Dr. Ulrich Maly, Nuremberg's Lord Mayor, invited Brubeck to participate in the City's commemoration of the Trials after hearing Brubeck's 2004 solo piano CD on Telarc, “Private Brubeck Remembers.” The CD is a collection of World War II-era standards plus the Brubeck originals “We Crossed the Rhine” and “Weep No More, ” written for his wife Iola. On a limited-edition companion CD, Brubeck is interviewed by former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite and reminisces about his World War II days and his stay in Nuremberg.
Dr. Hans Hesselmann, director of the City of Nuremberg's Office of Human Rights, noted that Brubeck's fight for tolerance, peace and the recognition of human rights throughout his career was an important factor in the City's decision to invite him.
The Brubeck Quartet -- Bobby Militello, alto sax and flute, Michael Moore, bass, and Randy Jones, drums -- will play 16 dates in Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK, six of them with symphony or chamber orchestra. (In addition to his extensive catalogue of jazz originals, many of which have become standards, Brubeck has written more than 50 works for orchestra, chorus, solo voice, string quartet, ballet, or the musical theatre.)
Tour cities in addition to Nuremberg and London include Hoersching, Villach, Vienna and Kapfenburg, Austria; Barcelona, Spain; Warsaw, Poland; Lausanne, Bern, Basel and Zurich, Switzerland; and Munich, Dusseldorf, and Ludwigshafen, Germany.
On December 6, the London Symphony Orchestra under guest conductor Russell Gloyd will present an all-Brubeck program including the premiere of a birthday tribute by Darius Brubeck. Four Brubeck sons will join in the program: Darius (keyboards), Chris (electric bass and trombone), Dan (drums) and Matthew (cello).
On December 17, the London Symphony and Chorus along with the St. Luke's Children's Chorus will perform Brubeck's Christmas cantata, ”La Fiesta de la Posada, ” in which he will be joined once again by his sons. This program will be repeated in December 19 in Munich and December 20 in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and the Madrigalchor der Hochschule fur Musik und Theater of Munich.
Along with his 85th birthday, the year 2005 has contained numerous other milestones for Brubeck, including a 50th anniversary appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival, where he was joined by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis; a concert with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra observing the 40th anniversary of his debut with that orchestra (the CSO later premiered his first choral work, the oratorio, “The Light in the Wilderness”); a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Congressional Record tribute when he opened the first Duke Ellington Festival in Washington, D.C.; and the world premiere of his most recent choral work, “The Commandments, ” at New York's Lincoln Center.
Prior to sailing for Europe, Brubeck put the finishing touches on two new compositions. “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been, a Democrat or a Republican, ” is a choral fugue which contrasts the McCarthy era with the present. At the invitation of the Pacific Mozart Ensemble, he also wrote a Credo which will be inserted into Mozart's unfinished Grand Mass in C minor when the Ensemble celebrates Mozart's 250th birthday in 2006.
Technorati tag: Jazz
During the tour Brubeck will celebrate his 85th birthday on December 6 in the first of two dates with the London Symphony Orchestra, with which he has frequently performed and recorded.
Brubeck was stationed in Nuremberg in 1945 with General George S. Patton's Third Army. While he did not attend the Trials, his band The Wolf Pack -- the first integrated band in the military -- was part of a USO show that reopened the Nuremberg Opera House on July 1, 1945. Prior to that, the Opera House had served as The Wolf Pack's rehearsal facility after U.S. troops had occupied the city.
“One of my most vivid memories of that period is sitting in the audience for the first post-war performance of 'Hansel and Gretel' at the Nuremberg Opera House, along with hundreds of excited German children and some parents, ” recalls Brubeck. “There was so much joy, and a feeling of returning to normalcy. I think of those days each time I come to Nuremburg and have the privilege of returning to that beautiful stage.”
Dr. Ulrich Maly, Nuremberg's Lord Mayor, invited Brubeck to participate in the City's commemoration of the Trials after hearing Brubeck's 2004 solo piano CD on Telarc, “Private Brubeck Remembers.” The CD is a collection of World War II-era standards plus the Brubeck originals “We Crossed the Rhine” and “Weep No More, ” written for his wife Iola. On a limited-edition companion CD, Brubeck is interviewed by former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite and reminisces about his World War II days and his stay in Nuremberg.
Dr. Hans Hesselmann, director of the City of Nuremberg's Office of Human Rights, noted that Brubeck's fight for tolerance, peace and the recognition of human rights throughout his career was an important factor in the City's decision to invite him.
The Brubeck Quartet -- Bobby Militello, alto sax and flute, Michael Moore, bass, and Randy Jones, drums -- will play 16 dates in Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK, six of them with symphony or chamber orchestra. (In addition to his extensive catalogue of jazz originals, many of which have become standards, Brubeck has written more than 50 works for orchestra, chorus, solo voice, string quartet, ballet, or the musical theatre.)
Tour cities in addition to Nuremberg and London include Hoersching, Villach, Vienna and Kapfenburg, Austria; Barcelona, Spain; Warsaw, Poland; Lausanne, Bern, Basel and Zurich, Switzerland; and Munich, Dusseldorf, and Ludwigshafen, Germany.
On December 6, the London Symphony Orchestra under guest conductor Russell Gloyd will present an all-Brubeck program including the premiere of a birthday tribute by Darius Brubeck. Four Brubeck sons will join in the program: Darius (keyboards), Chris (electric bass and trombone), Dan (drums) and Matthew (cello).
On December 17, the London Symphony and Chorus along with the St. Luke's Children's Chorus will perform Brubeck's Christmas cantata, ”La Fiesta de la Posada, ” in which he will be joined once again by his sons. This program will be repeated in December 19 in Munich and December 20 in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and the Madrigalchor der Hochschule fur Musik und Theater of Munich.
Along with his 85th birthday, the year 2005 has contained numerous other milestones for Brubeck, including a 50th anniversary appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival, where he was joined by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis; a concert with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra observing the 40th anniversary of his debut with that orchestra (the CSO later premiered his first choral work, the oratorio, “The Light in the Wilderness”); a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Congressional Record tribute when he opened the first Duke Ellington Festival in Washington, D.C.; and the world premiere of his most recent choral work, “The Commandments, ” at New York's Lincoln Center.
Prior to sailing for Europe, Brubeck put the finishing touches on two new compositions. “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been, a Democrat or a Republican, ” is a choral fugue which contrasts the McCarthy era with the present. At the invitation of the Pacific Mozart Ensemble, he also wrote a Credo which will be inserted into Mozart's unfinished Grand Mass in C minor when the Ensemble celebrates Mozart's 250th birthday in 2006.
Technorati tag: Jazz
New York Jazz Auction to Help Musicians
New York Jazz Auction to Help New Orleans Musicians Stranded All Over America
More than two months after Hurricane Katrina, all 21-year-old trumpeter Terrell Batiste has is a temporary home, a donated horn and a chance to eke out a living by playing New Orleans music in other parts of America.
On Wednesday, the Jazz Foundation of America is holding an auction to help Batiste and hundreds of other hurricane-displaced musicians with food, clothes, housing and jobs.
Among those playing at the fund-raiser will be 95-year-old tenor saxophonist Max Lucas, who once performed with Louis Armstrong, and 91-year-old alto saxophonist Fred Staton, who played with Art Blakey, Count Basie and Billy Strayhorn.
On the auction block are more than 50 jazz treasures including Miles Davis' boa constrictor snakeskin jacket and the Boesendorfer grand piano from Manhattan's Blue Note club. Auction items also include guitar lessons from Bucky Pizzarelli, sax tutoring from Joe Lovano, and a 1961 New York Times photo that shows Armstrong playing for his wife in front of the pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Roberta Flack is offering a vocal coaching session, and Billy Taylor a jazz piano lesson.
The presale estimates range from $200 for the Times photo to $65,000 for the Blue Note piano.
An online component of the fund-raiser offers the chance to record a track with the bass player and drummer for Jimi Hendrix's original Band of Gypsies.
Members of the Hot 8 Brass Band Batiste, who lives in a Red Cross-sponsored apartment in Atlanta, and nine other young men whose edgy new jazz was at the heart of pre-Katrina New Orleans were flown in for the evening at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill at Times Square.
The New York-based foundation, which fields up to 20 requests a day for help, already has delivered more than $120,000 worth of new instruments. More than 100 musicians have been relocated into new homes or helped with mortgages on destroyed homes.
With money from the band Pearl Jam and other donors, the foundation will pay 126 New Orleans evacuees to perform in the next six months for schoolchildren in Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Illinois and New York.
"People are hearing a lot more of what was just in the streets of New Orleans," said Hot 8's manager, Lee Arnold. "It's a good opportunity both for the country and the musicians."
The foundation was created in 1989 by Taylor and businessman Herb Storfer to help elderly jazz musicians.
Young and old, the New Orleans musicians are rooted in America's homegrown soundtrack, said Wendy Oxenhorn, the Jazz Foundation's executive director.
"This music was born out of the atrocities of slavery, when families were tortured and separated," she said. "They became these magnificent, strong, powerful people who ended up giving back a gift to the world that has gotten all of us through life. The musicians will survive."
By VERENA DOBNIK The Associated Press
On the Net:
Jazz Foundation of America: jazzfoundation.org
Hot 8 Brass Band: hot8brassband.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
More than two months after Hurricane Katrina, all 21-year-old trumpeter Terrell Batiste has is a temporary home, a donated horn and a chance to eke out a living by playing New Orleans music in other parts of America.
On Wednesday, the Jazz Foundation of America is holding an auction to help Batiste and hundreds of other hurricane-displaced musicians with food, clothes, housing and jobs.
Among those playing at the fund-raiser will be 95-year-old tenor saxophonist Max Lucas, who once performed with Louis Armstrong, and 91-year-old alto saxophonist Fred Staton, who played with Art Blakey, Count Basie and Billy Strayhorn.
On the auction block are more than 50 jazz treasures including Miles Davis' boa constrictor snakeskin jacket and the Boesendorfer grand piano from Manhattan's Blue Note club. Auction items also include guitar lessons from Bucky Pizzarelli, sax tutoring from Joe Lovano, and a 1961 New York Times photo that shows Armstrong playing for his wife in front of the pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Roberta Flack is offering a vocal coaching session, and Billy Taylor a jazz piano lesson.
The presale estimates range from $200 for the Times photo to $65,000 for the Blue Note piano.
An online component of the fund-raiser offers the chance to record a track with the bass player and drummer for Jimi Hendrix's original Band of Gypsies.
Members of the Hot 8 Brass Band Batiste, who lives in a Red Cross-sponsored apartment in Atlanta, and nine other young men whose edgy new jazz was at the heart of pre-Katrina New Orleans were flown in for the evening at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill at Times Square.
The New York-based foundation, which fields up to 20 requests a day for help, already has delivered more than $120,000 worth of new instruments. More than 100 musicians have been relocated into new homes or helped with mortgages on destroyed homes.
With money from the band Pearl Jam and other donors, the foundation will pay 126 New Orleans evacuees to perform in the next six months for schoolchildren in Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Illinois and New York.
"People are hearing a lot more of what was just in the streets of New Orleans," said Hot 8's manager, Lee Arnold. "It's a good opportunity both for the country and the musicians."
The foundation was created in 1989 by Taylor and businessman Herb Storfer to help elderly jazz musicians.
Young and old, the New Orleans musicians are rooted in America's homegrown soundtrack, said Wendy Oxenhorn, the Jazz Foundation's executive director.
"This music was born out of the atrocities of slavery, when families were tortured and separated," she said. "They became these magnificent, strong, powerful people who ended up giving back a gift to the world that has gotten all of us through life. The musicians will survive."
By VERENA DOBNIK The Associated Press
On the Net:
Jazz Foundation of America: jazzfoundation.org
Hot 8 Brass Band: hot8brassband.com
Technorati tag: Jazz
'Jazzing up' rock music with a dash more sophistication
To "jazz up" something can mean to make it less boring, less pedantic, shinier. It also implies a form of cheapening; "jazzing up the classics," for example.
In this case, it means an attempt to make pop music more subtle, intellectual; more musical, less popular, so to speak.
Popular music has been "jazzed up" for a century, going back perhaps to "Old Man River." The process was temporarily interrupted when many jazzmen, busy mourning the death of the Broadway song form, considered rock to be the enemy a priori.
After the turn of the century, Brad Mehldau interpreted Radiohead, and The Bad Plus did Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It has become something of a fad. The French Orchestre National de Jazz is currently recording "Close to Heaven," an album of Led Zeppelin songs.
Here are some more recordings of "jazzed up" rock songs.
"BEATLE JAZZ, With a Little Help From Our Friends" (Lightyear): Magnificently produced and arranged by the percussionist Brian Melvin and the pianist Dave Kikoski, this is one of the best jazz records of the year. Mike Brecker's tenor saxophone version of "Working Class Hero" combines John Lennon and John Coltrane. Although the rhythm section goes out of its way to sound Coltranian, it is above all Brecker's outsized emotional investment that counts. Brother Randy Becker's trumpet makes a good old-fashioned standard out of "Imagine," John Scofield takes "Piggies" into outer space, and Mike Stern's "A Hard Day's Night" is like Miles Davis might have done it.
TIM RIES, "THE ROLLING STONES PROJECT" (Concord): Be warned - some people might say that any album with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood on it is no jazz record. Ries has been the Stones's saxophonist since 1999, and, in fact, the music is sometimes a bit too close to fusion and/or smooth jazz for comfort. Sonny Rollins took a majestic solo on the original recording of "Waiting on a Friend," and Ries's improvisation is less interesting than that.
Still, there is plenty of fresh stuff left. A down-home organ trio version of "Honky Tonk Woman" features Larry Goldings and Charlie Watts, the Stones drummer.
Jazz versions of rock songs are almost always instrumental, and so it is ironic that one of the most satisfying tracks is Norah Jones singing "Wild Horses," on which, accompanied by a harp, she brings out the moody beauty latent in the song. The duo of the guitarist Bill Frisell and Ries on soprano saxophone playing "Ruby Tuesday" is a small jewel.
"ELTON EXPOSED, Revealing the Jazz Soul of Elton John" (Summit): Ted Howe, piano; John Patitucci, bass, and Joe LaBarbera, drums, are described on the jacket as a "a power trio that takes the listener on a stand-up, sing-out, sit-down, swingin' ride," whatever that means. It may have something to do with all of those fancy chords. Either way, the loose, ternary interpretations of "Benny and the Jets," "Circle of Life" and "Your Song" are much more than merely listenable (Patitucci is a monster).
And all of them work better than well without the lyrics, but, still, you can't help wondering: Elton John has a jazz soul?
Herbie Hancock, "POSSIBILITIES" (Hancock Music): Meanwhile, Hancock decided to make a rock record. In addition to producing and arranging, he plays piano, and you don't have to be a Juilliard graduate to hear that the piano solos with, and the accompaniment behind, John Mayer, Santana, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Sting, Trey Anastasio of Phish, and Christina Aguilera (a soulful version of Leon Russell's "A Song for You") are noticeably better than on your ordinary run-of-the-mill rock album. This is award-winning music.
"Musicians tend to limit themselves," explains Hancock, who was a funk star in the 1970s ("Watermelon Man"). "Once they find a comfort zone, they confine themselves to it. A lot of it is the fault of 'the business.' The music industry thinks artists should stay in their little boxes. But you can't really put a limit on human creativity."
"I brought my 40 years of jazz experience to the table," Hancock said, "but I wanted to make something more ambitious than a little box."
All of which sounds great, and is, in addition, all true, though it may not be the entire story. "Possibilities" is distributed and marketed by Starbucks, which also retailed the Grammy-winning Ray Charles album "Genius Loves Company."
Starbucks has more than 9,000 stores worldwide and about 30 million customers, most of whom come in more than once a month. The company granted Hancock more equitable percentages than is usual in "the business," he owns his own masters, and the name of the label is, remember, Hancock Music.
Never mind. Nobody ever said good music can't make money. Or did they?
By Mike Zwerin Bloomberg News
Technorati tag: Jazz
In this case, it means an attempt to make pop music more subtle, intellectual; more musical, less popular, so to speak.
Popular music has been "jazzed up" for a century, going back perhaps to "Old Man River." The process was temporarily interrupted when many jazzmen, busy mourning the death of the Broadway song form, considered rock to be the enemy a priori.
After the turn of the century, Brad Mehldau interpreted Radiohead, and The Bad Plus did Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It has become something of a fad. The French Orchestre National de Jazz is currently recording "Close to Heaven," an album of Led Zeppelin songs.
Here are some more recordings of "jazzed up" rock songs.
"BEATLE JAZZ, With a Little Help From Our Friends" (Lightyear): Magnificently produced and arranged by the percussionist Brian Melvin and the pianist Dave Kikoski, this is one of the best jazz records of the year. Mike Brecker's tenor saxophone version of "Working Class Hero" combines John Lennon and John Coltrane. Although the rhythm section goes out of its way to sound Coltranian, it is above all Brecker's outsized emotional investment that counts. Brother Randy Becker's trumpet makes a good old-fashioned standard out of "Imagine," John Scofield takes "Piggies" into outer space, and Mike Stern's "A Hard Day's Night" is like Miles Davis might have done it.
TIM RIES, "THE ROLLING STONES PROJECT" (Concord): Be warned - some people might say that any album with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood on it is no jazz record. Ries has been the Stones's saxophonist since 1999, and, in fact, the music is sometimes a bit too close to fusion and/or smooth jazz for comfort. Sonny Rollins took a majestic solo on the original recording of "Waiting on a Friend," and Ries's improvisation is less interesting than that.
Still, there is plenty of fresh stuff left. A down-home organ trio version of "Honky Tonk Woman" features Larry Goldings and Charlie Watts, the Stones drummer.
Jazz versions of rock songs are almost always instrumental, and so it is ironic that one of the most satisfying tracks is Norah Jones singing "Wild Horses," on which, accompanied by a harp, she brings out the moody beauty latent in the song. The duo of the guitarist Bill Frisell and Ries on soprano saxophone playing "Ruby Tuesday" is a small jewel.
"ELTON EXPOSED, Revealing the Jazz Soul of Elton John" (Summit): Ted Howe, piano; John Patitucci, bass, and Joe LaBarbera, drums, are described on the jacket as a "a power trio that takes the listener on a stand-up, sing-out, sit-down, swingin' ride," whatever that means. It may have something to do with all of those fancy chords. Either way, the loose, ternary interpretations of "Benny and the Jets," "Circle of Life" and "Your Song" are much more than merely listenable (Patitucci is a monster).
And all of them work better than well without the lyrics, but, still, you can't help wondering: Elton John has a jazz soul?
Herbie Hancock, "POSSIBILITIES" (Hancock Music): Meanwhile, Hancock decided to make a rock record. In addition to producing and arranging, he plays piano, and you don't have to be a Juilliard graduate to hear that the piano solos with, and the accompaniment behind, John Mayer, Santana, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Sting, Trey Anastasio of Phish, and Christina Aguilera (a soulful version of Leon Russell's "A Song for You") are noticeably better than on your ordinary run-of-the-mill rock album. This is award-winning music.
"Musicians tend to limit themselves," explains Hancock, who was a funk star in the 1970s ("Watermelon Man"). "Once they find a comfort zone, they confine themselves to it. A lot of it is the fault of 'the business.' The music industry thinks artists should stay in their little boxes. But you can't really put a limit on human creativity."
"I brought my 40 years of jazz experience to the table," Hancock said, "but I wanted to make something more ambitious than a little box."
All of which sounds great, and is, in addition, all true, though it may not be the entire story. "Possibilities" is distributed and marketed by Starbucks, which also retailed the Grammy-winning Ray Charles album "Genius Loves Company."
Starbucks has more than 9,000 stores worldwide and about 30 million customers, most of whom come in more than once a month. The company granted Hancock more equitable percentages than is usual in "the business," he owns his own masters, and the name of the label is, remember, Hancock Music.
Never mind. Nobody ever said good music can't make money. Or did they?
By Mike Zwerin Bloomberg News
Technorati tag: Jazz