June Pointer, Member of Pointer Sisters, Dies at 52

June Pointer, a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning pop group the Pointer Sisters, which stormed the charts with hits such as ``I'm So Excited,'' has died at the age of 52, according to the group's Web site.

Pointer, who was the lead vocalist on ``Jump (For My Love)'' and ``He's So Shy,'' died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, the group said today in the statement.

Pointer was the youngest of four sisters who started the group in their native San Francisco Bay area in the early 1970s, according to the Web site. The group sang back-up for artists such as Boz Scaggs and Taj Mahal before recording its first album in 1973.

The Pointer Sisters became a trio when Bonnie Pointer left for a solo career in 1977, according to the Web site. June Pointer recorded her first solo album in 1983 and later left the group as well.

The group won a Grammy Award in 1975 for Best Country Performance by a duo or group, and won two more in 1985. Its cover version of Bruce Springsteen's ``Fire'' reached No. 2 on the pop charts in 1978 while ``Slow Hand'' hit No. 2 three years later, according to the Web site.

The group still performs as a trio and includes Issa Pointer, daughter of founding member Ruth Pointer Sayles. The remaining sister is Anita Pointer.


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Soul Ballet To ARTizen

The recently formed collective of Steve Chapman, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot and Al Evers -- known as ARTizen Music Group, signs musician/actor Rick Kelly's Soul Ballet to a three-album joint venture deal. Soul Ballet's 2005 single "Cream" enjoyed 12 weeks at No. 1 on R&R's Smooth Jazz Chart. Kelly recently completed a TV pilot for the Fox Network, a Jerry Bruckheimer production, American Crime, which co-stars Victor Garber of Alias.

radioandrecords.com

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Smooth Jazz Top Ten | Week Ended 4/14/06

LW TW Artist Title (Label)
1 - 1 - Paul Brown - "Winelight" (GRP/VMG)
2 - 2 - Najee - "2nd 2 None" - (Heads Up International)
5 - 3 - Brian Culbertson - "Let's Get Started" - (GRP/VMG)
3 - 4 - Nils - "Summer Nights" (Baja/TSR)
4 - 5 - Richard Elliot - "Mystique" (Artizen)
6 - 6 - Kim Waters - "Steppin' Out" (Shanachie)
7 - 7 - Michael Lington - "Pacifica" (Rendezvous)
8 - 8 - Brian Simpson - "It's All Good" (Rendezvous)
13 - 9 - Philippe Saisse - "Trio Do It Again" (Rendezvous)
10 - 10 - Marion Meadows - "Suede" - (Heads Up)

Visit radioandrecords.com to view the latest complete Smooth Jazz ® National Airplay© listings.

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'Legends of Jazz' refrain: Bring back a beautiful genre

"If you're just cruising through channels, and you're not a jazz lover, and you stay there for a minute, we're going to grab you," promises host Ramsey Lewis.

Jazz has been missing from weekly network television for 40 years. A new PBS series is bringing it back.
On Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis, premiering this month (check local station schedules for broadcast times), the affable pianist hopes to help restore the genre to mainstream popularity.

Lewis has hosted a widely syndicated radio show of the same name for the past five years, attracting 5 million to 8 million listeners each weekend.

The 13-week series features half-hour themed segments with Lewis interviewing a wide range of stellar musicians who play before a live studio audience. The show is produced by Chicago public television station WTTW11 and LRSmedia, which is a partnership of Lewis and music industry veterans Lee Rosenberg and Larry Rosen. It is shot in multi-camera high-definition TV with Dolby Surround audio.

Lewis is confident the music will win people over if it's made easily accessible.

"The format is not Jazz 101, and its not a documentary," Lewis says. "The conversation's enlightening and sometimes humorous. And the look is so beautiful if you're just cruising through channels, and you're not a jazz lover, and you stay there for a minute, we're going to grab you."

For jazz fans, it's a chance to see once-in-a-lifetime collaborations such as Dave Brubeck and Billy Taylor on "The Piano Masters" segment or Phil Woods and David Sanborn on "The Altos"

A blend of veteran and rising stars are on the shows. "The Golden Horns" features trumpeters Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove and Chris Botti; "The Jazz Singers" has Al Jarreau and Kurt Elling.

The show was the brainchild of Lewis and Rosen, who along with pianist Dave Grusin in 1982 founded GRP Recordings. Lewis approached Rosen three years ago about finding ways to expand on his radio audience. Rosen said a TV show that was visually competitive with the likes of MTV could work.

Jazz was America's pop music for the first half of the 20th century, but with the ascendance of rock and roll in the mid-'60s, major advertisers began chasing the burgeoning youth market, and TV shows such as Oscar Brown Jr.'s Jazz Scene USA and Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual lost sponsorships almost overnight. The consolidation of the radio and record industries into a few large corporations with their emphasis on quick-profit hits further squeezed jazz.

But Lewis says the success of his radio show, as well as the proliferation of high school jazz bands and competitions and college degree programs, proves there is a large underserved market. Rosen says TV is the key to reaching them and expanding on that audience.

"You see what happened with Ken Burns' Jazz," Rosen says, referring to the 19-hour PBS documentary that aired in 2001. "Even though it was a historical piece, it generated excitement. When the record companies put out compilations with the Ken Burns brand on it, all of a sudden they sold way beyond what those compilations ever sold before.

"And then you have American Idol, where you have people who would probably never have been signed to record companies get all this exposure and go out and sell a million units."

The Legends of Jazz brand also will be used to sell CDs and DVDs; a website, www.legendsofjazz.net, promotes the discs and programming. This fall, Lewis will lead a multi-city Legends of Jazz tour.

By Steve Jones, USA TODAY

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Upcoming Jazz Releases | April 11, 2006

Afro-Latin Soultet - Wild! (Harkit)
Alain Jean-Marie - Biguine Reflections (Fremeaux & Assoc. Fr)
Alan Nicholls - Songs from the Source (Justin Time)
Andrew Suvalsky - Vintage Pop and the Jazz Sides (LML)
Antoine Herve - Hervés Inside (Nocturne) - Reissue
Antonio Carlos Jobim - Rio Nights Live (Via Sonido) - Reissue
Antonio Carlos Jobim - Tide (Universal) - Reissue
Astrud Gilberto - Album (Universal) - Reissue
Astrud Gilberto - Beach Samba (Universal) - Reissue
Astrud Gilberto - Look to the Rainbow (Universal) - Reissue
Astrud Gilberto - Shadow of Your Smile (Universal) - Reissue
Astrud Gilberto - Windy (Universal) - Reissue
Astrud Gilberto - Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness (Universal) - Reissue
Baden Powell - Canto on Guitar (Universal)
Baden Powell - Images on Guitar (Universal)
Baden Powell - Poema on Guitar (Universal)
Baden Powell - Tristeza on Guitar (Universal)
Basement Boys - Basement Boys Present Mudfoot Jones (Savoy Jazz)
Betty Carter - Meet Betty Carter & Ray Bryant (MSI) - Reissue
Bill Warfield - A Faceless Place (Laurel Hill)
Buck Clayton / Earl Hines All Stars - Jazz from a Swinging Era (Lonehill) - Reissue
Catherine Russell - Cat (World Village)
Charles Moffet - Internet (Piadrum)
Chet Baker Quartet - On the Road - Live in LA and Boston '54 (Giant Steps) - Reissue
Chip Shelton - Peacetime (Summit)
Chris Speed, Oscar Noriega, Anthony Burr - The Clarinets (Skirl)
Chuck Redd - Happy All The Time: Chuck Redd Remembers Barney Kessel (Arbors)
Coleman Hawkins - Desafinado (Universal) - Reissue
Curtis Hasselbring - The New Mellow Edwards (Skirl)
Dave Liebman / Steve Swallow / Adam Nussbaum - We Three: Three for All (Challenge)
Don Ralke - Savage & The Sensuous (Harkit) - Reissue
Eric Vloeimans - Summersault (Challenge)
Freddie Keppard - Complete Set 1923-1926 (Retrieval) - Reissue
Gary McFarland - Soft Samba (Universal) - Reissue
Gary McFarland / Stan Getz - Big Band Bossa Nova (Universal) - Reissue
Gary Unwin - Kindred Spirits (Summit)
Georg Graewe / Ernst Reijseger / Gerry Hemingway - Continuum (Winter & Winter)
George Johnson, Jr. - All Star Tribute (BCS)
Grismore / Scea Group - Well Behaved Fish (Accurate Records)
Groove Collective - Live & Hard to Find (Kufala)
Hal Blaine - Drums! Drums! A Go Go (Harkit) - Reissue
Hallelujah Chicken Band - Take One (Alula)
Harvie S - Funky Cha (Zoho)
Herbie Hancock - Monster (Columbia) - Reissue
Jimi Hendrix / Otis Redding - Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake! Otis at Monterey (Image) - DVD-Video
Joao Gilberto - Joao Gilberto (Universal) - Reissue
Joe Haider - Mysterious (Double Moon)
Jon Eardley & Chico Hamilton / Lee Konitz / Gerry Mulligan Quartet Featuring Chet Baker - On the Road - Live in California (Giant Steps) - Reissue
Kip Hanrahan - A Thousand Nights & A Night (American Clave) - Reissue
Kip Hanrahan - Exotica (American Clave) - Reissue
Lee Gagnon Quartet - Jazze Canadienne (Harkit) - Reissue
Linda Dachtyl - Blue Bop (Summit)
Luis Russell - The Luis Russell Story 1929-1934 (Retrieval) - Reissue
Luiz Bonfa - Bossa Nova (Universal) - Reissue
Luiz Bonfa / Stan Getz - Jazz Samba Encore (Universal) - Reissue
Luiz Henrique / Walter Wanderley - Popcorn (Universal) - Reissue
Marcos Valle - Samba 68 (Universal) - Reissue
Marty Grosz - Marty Grosz and His Hot Combination (Arbors)
Milt Jackson - Jazz N Samba (Universal) - Reissue
Monsieur Dubois - Ruff (Challenge)
Norberto Pedreira Quartet - Cuarenta Anos (Nord Sud)
Norberto Pedreira Quartet - Tristeza on Piano (Nord Sud)
Omar Sosa - Remix Album (Ota)
Orchestre National de Jazz - Close to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Tribute (Chant du Monde)
Oscar Peterson - Soul Espanol (Universal) - Reissue
Oscar Peterson - Tristeza on Piano (Universal) - Reissue
Patrick Artero - 2 Bix But Not too Bix (Nocturne) - Reissue
Paul Haines - Darn It! (American Clave) - Reissue
Ray Barretto - Indestructible (Fania) - Reissue
Riverside City College Vocal Jazz Ensemble - Groovin' Hard (Sea Breeze Vista)
Roseanna Vitro - Live at the Kennedy Center (Challenge)
Shot X Shot - Shot X Shot (High Two / Aum Fidelity)
CDs
Stan Getz - Getz / Almeida (Universal) - Reissue
Sun Ra - Live at Roadhouse (Transparency) - DVD-Video
Sun Ra - Live in Oakland (Transparency) - DVD-Video
Sun Ra - Concert for the Comet Kohoutek (ESP-Disk') - Reissue
Tamba 4 - Samba Blim (Universal) - Reissue
Tamba 4 - We & The Sea (Universal) - Reissue
Ted Heath - Salutes Tommy Dorsey & Benny Goodman (Dutton) - Reissue
Ted Reichman - My Ears Are Bent (Skirl)
Thad - Vintage Orchestra (Nocturne) - Reissue
Tony Kinsey - Decca Sessions (Harkit) - Reissue
Ultrablue - Ultrablue (215)
University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One - Memento (Sea Breeze Vista)
University of Wisconsin Eau Clair Jazz Ensemble I - Jazz in Clear Water - Lockbox (Sea Breeze Vista)
Vandermark 5 - Free Jazz Classics Vol. 3 & 4 (Atavistic) - 2+ CDs
Various Artists - Klute: OST (Harkit) - Reissue
Vijay Iyer - Bloodsutra (Pi)
Vince Seneri - Street Talk (Senful)
Walter Wanderley - Batucada (Universal) - Reissue
Walter Wanderley - Cheganca (Universal) - Reissue
Wilton Felder - Let's Spend Some Time (BCS)



Information provided by allaboutjazz.com

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Gerald Albright Album Debuts at Number One on Billboard Chart

Saxophonist Gerald Albright's New Beginning made its first appearance on the Billboard contemporary-jazz chart this week at number one.

The album includes several original tracks as well as versions of "And the Beat Goes On" and "Georgia on My Mind."

Herbie Hancock's Possibilities fell to number two after spending 21 of the last 31 weeks in the top spot.

Also new to the chart was Pieces of a Dream's Pillow Talk, at number 11.

On the jazz chart, Michael Bublé's It's Time continued its long run at number one. New entries included legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius's The Word Is Out!, recorded with a big band, at number 10; trumpeter Christian Scott's major-label debut, Rewind That, at number 13; and pianist Taylor Eigsti's Lucky to Be Me at number 15.

By Ben Mattison
playbillarts.com

Pieces Of A Dream | Pillow Talk

In a way, Pieces of a Dream is the Steely Dan of smooth jazz. For most of its existence, “The Dan” was Donald Fagen, Walter Becker and an ever-changing assortment of session musicians. Pieces of a Dream is James K. Lloyd and Curtis Harmon. And like Steely Dan, Pieces of a Dream employs a variable mix of session musicians and vocalists for its studio releases. This holds true with Pillow Talk.

The group took its name from “Pieces of Dreams,” the cover of a Stanley Turrentine song it performed in its early years. The band developed a laid-back sound, mixing urban grooves with contemporary jazz in the spirit of Grover Washington Jr., who helped Pieces get started. That style, pioneered by artists like Washington and Bob James, ultimately came to be known as smooth jazz. Pieces of a Dream, now celebrating its 30th anniversary, is one of the genre’s most consistent and durable acts.

Pillow Talk opens with the energetic “House Arrest,” which features founding member Harmon with Bennie Sims sharing keyboards, bass and programming duties, complemented by Eddie Baccus Jr. on saxophone. One of the more exciting tunes is “Wake Up Call,” with a danceable beat that highlights Lloyd’s piano skills, supported by terrific horn and bass synths. Harmon adds acoustic drums and percussion, while Todd Parsnow delivers a slick, but perhaps too-brief, electric guitar solo. Romana Dunlap, who has performed with the group previously, sings lead on the sassy “Triflin’” and the delightful “Those 3 Words.” Tony Watson Jr. brings in a groovy tenor sax solo to “Teresa,” an easygoing track that displays hints of straight jazz, particularly with Lloyd’s Bob James-like piano lead.

Over the years, I’ve been critical of drum programming, singling out Lloyd as one of contemporary jazz’s main culprits. But there’s a distinction between programs created by the album artist and those generated by a hired gun. If the person writing and performing the song also does the programming, the least that can be said is the rhythm is woven into the song, instead of sounding like some pre-fabricated track that happened to match the tempo. The latter is often distracting, if not annoying. Not so with the work on Pillow Talk. The bass synths are very effective, and the drum tracks are cleaner and crisper than typical programs.

Another interesting thing about Pillow Talk is the formulaic running time. The twelve tracks have a variance of only 42 seconds; most songs are just over four minutes. Normally, that makes for a bland album. Not here, however. The songs are so dissimilar that the time is merely an afterthought. Having said that, Pillow Talk is much more enjoyable than 2004’s No Assembly Required, which was pleasant but could have been better. Whether it’s a change in equipment, better programming techniques or simply fresher writing, Lloyd and Harmon have definitely elevated their game. And because of that, Pillow Talk is a winner.

By Woodrow Wilkins Jr. - allaboutjazz.com

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Don Alias, 66, Percussionist and Sideman, Is Dead

Don Alias, a percussionist who had a long career as a sought-after sideman, working with an illustrious array of artists in jazz and pop including Nina Simone, Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell, died on March 28 at his home in Manhattan. He was 66.

His death was announced by Melanie Futorian, his companion, who said the cause was under investigation.

Born Charles Donald Alias to Caribbean parents in New York, Mr. Alias liked to say that he learned percussion on the streets, picking up the techniques of Cuban and Puerto Rican hand drummers.

While in high school, he enlisted as a conga player with the Eartha Kitt Dance Foundation, which offered classes at a Y.M.C.A. Ms. Kitt herself took him along to the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, where he performed with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, his first professional experience.

At the urging of his family, Mr. Alias (pronounced uh-LIE-ess) studied biology at Gannon College in Erie, Pa., and the Carnegie Institute for Biochemistry in Boston. Playing in Boston clubs by night, he met students from the Berklee School of Music, most notably the bassist Gene Perla.

It was Mr. Perla who got Mr. Alias a job as a drummer with Ms. Simone, even though he had no experience with a full drum kit. He handled the challenge and eventually became Ms. Simone's musical director. In 1969, his work in her ensemble caught the attention of Miles Davis, who was then developing the hazy jazz-rock that would suffuse his album "Bitches Brew."

Hired as an auxiliary percussionist for the album, Mr. Alias ended up playing a trap-set part, along with Jack DeJohnette, on the track "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down." His lean and loosely syncopated beat, inspired by New Orleans parade music, is one of the album's most distinctive rhythms.

Mr. Alias played the role of trap drummer again on a 1979 concert tour with Joni Mitchell, in a band that included the saxophonist Michael Brecker, the guitarist Pat Metheny and the bassist Jaco Pastorius. A live recording from the tour, "Shadows and Light," is often cited as a favorite among musicians.

Mr. Alias was the first-call percussionist for a host of other artists as well, including the singer Roberta Flack, the alto saxophonist David Sanborn (with whom he toured as recently as February) and the pianist Herbie Hancock. As a conga player, Mr. Alias could augment a rhythm section in a way that was urgent but never intrusive.

He also had a hand in forming two bands: Stone Alliance, an electric fusion project with Mr. Perla and the saxophonist Steve Grossman, and Kebekwa, a percussion ensemble based in Montreal. Kebekwa was short-lived, but several years ago Stone Alliance reunited after a two-decade hiatus. The group has three recent live albums on the Mambo Maniacs label.

In addition to Ms. Futorian, Mr. Alias is survived by his mother, Violet Richardson Alias; his son, Charles Donald Alias Jr.; his daughter, Kimberlee Marisa Alias; and four grandchildren.

By NATE CHINEN - nytimes.com

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Smooth Jazz Top Ten | Week Ended 4/7/06

LW TW Artist Title (Label)
1 - 1 - Paul Brown - "Winelight" (GRP/VMG)
4 - 2 - Najee - "2nd 2 None" - (Heads Up International)
3 - 3 - Nils - "Summer Nights" (Baja/TSR)
2 - 4 - Richard Elliot - "Mystique" (Artizen)
5 - 5 - Brian Culbertson - "Let's Get Started" - (GRP/VMG)
6 - 6 - Kim Waters - "Steppin' Out" (Shanachie)
9 - 7 - Michael Lington - "Pacifica" (Rendezvous)
7 - 8 - Brian Simpson - "It's All Good" (Rendezvous)
8 - 9 - Rick Braun - "Shining Star" (Artizen)
11 - 10 - Marion Meadows - "Suede" - (Heads Up)

Visit radioandrecords.com to view the latest complete Smooth Jazz ® National Airplay© listings.

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Janis Siegel | A Thousand Beautiful Things

Janis Siegel is amazing. One of the principal voices behind The Manhattan Transfer from the start, she’s also an accomplished solo artist. And the fascinating thing is, you never really know what she’s going to do next. Enter A Thousand Beautiful Things. The title may be misleading, because each note counts from the first track to the last, adding up to tens of thousands of beautiful things on this album.

A nine-time Grammy winner and seventeen-time Grammy nominee, Siegel has been a fixture with The Manhattan Transfer for 33 years. She has led some of the group’s most popular songs, including “Twilight Tone,” “The Boy from N.Y.C.,” “Ray’s Rockhouse” and “Birdland.” In addition, she has nine solo albums to her credit, including I Wish You Love, Friday Night Special and Sketches of Broadway. Throughout, Siegel has shown a fondness for standards, but the new album takes a different direction. “As much as I love singing standards, it’s not the only thing I love doing, and eventually I came to the idea of just doing some songs that I love—songs that I think are timely and relevant—in a Latin rhythmic context,” she says.

Among these is the stunning rendition of “I Can’t Help It,” penned by Susaye Cotton Green and Stevie Wonder and recorded on Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall. The rhythm set by Jackson’s version lends itself to a jazz interpretation. It’s definitely a beautiful thing that Siegel took it on, complemented by a sterling trumpet solo from Brian Lynch. At 6:01, it’s the third longest track on the album, offering plenty of room for the ensemble to go exploring.

The title song, a cover of Annie Lennox’s hit, allows even more improvisation. Marlon Saunders, a background singer on most of the tracks, adds an improvised recitation, naming a number of beautiful things as the song winds down. Drummer Steve Hass, a regular with The Manhattan Transfer, on whose Traveler album Siegel appears, layers some sensational support throughout, but particularly during Saunders’ recitation. Edmar Castaneda plays Colombian harp on several tracks, including a duet with Siegel on “A Wish.” On the delightful “The Suitcase Song,” Siegel and her sidemen are backed by Las Siegelitas, a vocal quartet that could easily be called “The Four Sylvias.” Bassist John Benetiz lays down a slick groove on the cover of Paul Simon’s “Love,” punctuated by pianist Edsel Gomez and Hass.

The Latin flavoring, superb musicianship and, of course, Siegel’s vocal dexterity and versatility make this record a keeper. Those who’ve only heard Sigel within the scope of The Manhattan Transfer are in for a jaw-dropping surprise—not that those already familiar with her solo efforts won’t experience the same effect. She’s clearly on top of her game. And the entire album has a sense of fun: Siegel and her supporting cast don’t hold back their own enjoyment of putting this collection together. That clearly is one of A Thousand Beautiful Things.

Visit Janis Siegel on the web.

By Woodrow Wilkins Jr.

allaboutjazz.com

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TV Review | 'Legends of Jazz With Ramsey Lewis'

'Legends of Jazz With Ramsey Lewis' Lets Musicians Do the Talking
The publicity for "Legends of Jazz With Ramsey Lewis," a new 13-part series of half-hour shows on public television, boasts that it is the first regular network jazz series of its kind in more than 40 years. That means a perform-a-song and talk-to-the-host kind of show, as opposed to a Ken Burns-like exposition of history. It refers specifically to "Jazz Scene, U.S.A.," a program produced by Steve Allen and broadcast in 1962.

"Legends of Jazz" could have learned from the visual effectiveness of that show, or from good recent examples of studio-filmed jazz like the film "Calle 54." Instead, it wastes a great opportunity with a rictus grin: it is cheerily glib, aggressively middle-of-the-road, deferential toward the past yet purposefully vague enough to be nearly ahistorical, as if this were a quality to be desired.

The host is the pianist Ramsey Lewis, and the format remains the same in each episode: each guest plays a song, the guests play together, and then Mr. Lewis joins them on a version of the show's theme. Whatever spontaneity may have been in the filmed conversations has been largely excised: the interviews are twitchy with edits. His questions, along the lines of "What made you want to pick up the trumpet?," are doggedly polite, basic and weirdly resistant to subtlety and insight.

The guitar episode features Jim Hall with Pat Metheny, and it's probably the series at its best. The idea, generally, is to pair an older master with a younger figure. (Mr. Hall is 75, Mr. Metheny 51.) The mild-looking Mr. Hall is brave enough to utter actual thoughts: first he claims to harbor no nostalgia for the past, then he casually mentions that Ben Webster taught him how to breathe through the guitar like a saxophonist. And bang! comes the edit. (Jazz is so cerebral, you know. It scares people.) But both musicians' performances are worth watching. There's a sense of digging in, and Mr. Metheny brings his regular trio, with the bassist Christian McBride and the drummer Antonio Sanchez.

"The Golden Horns," the trumpet episode that opens the series, represents the show at its worst. The lineage here is Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove and Chris Botti. Clark Terry is one of the best improvising musicians alive; he comes from the generation that grew up in big bands, and he possesses all the secrets about sound and tone and rhythm in jazz, not to mention balancing art and commerce. Mr. Hargrove came along almost 50 years later, in the early 1990's, dealing with post-bop and funk and Cuban music; he has a commitment to maintaining working bands and encouraging younger players.

On the other hand, Mr. Botti, a former sideman for Paul Simon and Sting and a trumpet player of middling talent, has been successfully marketed as a romantic player of standards. This show has no business insinuating that a line of artistic accomplishment connects these three players. Yet without context, you very well might believe that it does: Mr. Botti's performance of "My Funny Valentine" is markedly better filmed than the others, with a darker set and blue lighting from the bottom up.

Mr. Lewis is better when dealing with practiced pluralists: the it's-all-good wing of jazz musicians, like Mr. Botti, the singer Jane Monheit and the keyboardist George Duke. Accordingly, smooth jazz — here it's called "contemporary jazz" — gets an episode of its own. If "Legends of Jazz" were a series about the reality of the jazz business, or about the range of things perceived and marketed as jazz, this would seem like a good idea. But this is apparently a show about the greatest living jazz musicians.

The series was produced by WTTW in Chicago and LRSmedia, a company including Mr. Lewis and Larry Rosen, who used to run the profitable pop-jazz label GRP Records. After GRP, for a few years in the mid-90's, Mr. Rosen ran a multimedia company called N2K. Nearly every time there's a questionable inclusion on the show, it's a former GRP or N2K artist: Mr. Botti, David Sanborn, Lee Ritenour, Ms. Monheit, Marcus Miller, Al Jarreau.

But parsing the show's conversations and second-guessing its list of performers may be the wrong approach. It does put a decent number of excellent musicians on national television. (Others include Eddie Palmieri, Dave Brubeck, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Benny Golson, Chris Potter and Marcus Strickland.) Still, that isn't enough. The ultimate test of jazz on television is whether the music comes across in a hostile medium — how well it suggests the excitement of performance.

What made "Jazz Scene U.S.A." so powerful definitely was not the musicians' short interactions with the host, Oscar Brown Jr. It was the direction and the lighting. You saw amazing camera angles, sustained long enough to allow concentration: a view from under Jimmy Smith's forearm, or from the polish on a snare drum, or an aerial shot showing a pianist's chord voicings. The cameramen got you inside the music and rendered the musicians' faces sympathetic and fascinating.

Here, the camerawork involves constant, thoughtless slow swirls around the musicians, a lot of dull full-figure head-on shots from 10 feet away, and ugly baths of mixed, colored lights. The walls of the set bring to mind a hotel lobby, busy with wood and textile patterns. The graphics — in an Art Deco typeface that suggests something like the Cotton Club in the 1920's — are corny and badly handled.

In all its mainstreaming and common-denominator sense, the show seems to want to deny that jazz is something people care deeply about. But jazz is deep. It is about sound and resonance and great passion. There is a reason people become nearly religious about it. You'd hardly know from watching this.

Legends of Jazz

With Ramsey Lewis

PBS, beginning this month; check local listings

Larry Rosen and Ramsey Lewis, creators and executive producers; Nicolette Ferri, producer; produced by LRSmedia and WTTW.

By BEN RATLIFF nytimes.com

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Buble Cleans Up At Juno Awards

Vancouver crooner Michael Buble dominated Canada's Junos Awards last night (April 2) in Halifax, grabbing four trophies. He won for best singer, album, artist and pop album of the year for "It's Time" (143/Reprise), a collection of vintage love songs produced by David Foster.

Buble's main competition included "Canadian Idol" alumni Theresa Sokyrka, Kalan Porter and Rex Goudie, all of whom came away from the Canadian kudofest empty-handed.

Other award winners included Alberta rock band Nickelback, which won best group and best rock album for the Roadrunner set "All The Right Reasons." The band went into the Junos with a field-leading six nominations.

Rock legend Neil Young earned trophies for best adult alternative album for "Prairie Wind" (Reprise) and the best producer award. That brings his take over the years to five Junos (and zero Grammys).

Coldplay and the Black Eyed Peas shared the international album of the year award, reflecting retail record sales here of "X&Y" (Capitol) and "Monkey Business (A&M), respectively.

The Juno fan choice award, voted on by the Canadian public, went to Simple Plan, while another rising band, Bedouin Soundclash, earned the new group of the year honor.

Other Juno winners included Broken Social Scene's self-titled Arts & Crafts set for best alternative album, and current Billboard Hot 100 champ Daniel Powter for best new artist of the year.

Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter
billboard.com

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Joey DeFrancesco Album Debuts on Billboard Jazz Chart

Organic Vibes, the latest album from Hammond organ virtuoso Joey DeFrancesco, debuted on the Billboard jazz chart this week at number 17.

The album features vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, saxophonists George Coleman and Ron Blake, guitarist Jake Langley, and drummer Byron Landham. It includes originals by DeFrancesco and Hutcherson as well as such standards as "Speak Low" and "My Foolish Heart."

Also new to the chart were a compilation of Lou Rawls' jazz and blues recordings on Capitol at number 18, saxophonist Odeon Pope's Locked & Loaded: Live at the Blue Note at number 24, and drummer Manu Katché's Neighbourhood at number 25,

Michael Bublé's It's Time continued its lengthy stay at the top of the chart, with Chris Botti's To Love Again: The Duets again at number two and Bublé's Caught in the Act at number three.

On the contemporary-jazz chart, Herbie Hancock's Possibilities remained at number one. New entries included saxophonist Pamela Williams' Elixir, at number three, and guitarist and bandleader Sondre Lerche's Duper Sessions at number five.

By Ben Mattison - playbillarts.com

Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music

Upcoming Jazz Releases | April 4, 2006

Ahmad Jamal - Complete Recordings (Definitive Special Products) - Reissue
Aldo Romano - Chante (Koch)
Andreas Vollenweider - Magical Journeys of Andreas Vollenweider (Savoy Jazz) - DVD-Video
Anouar Brahem - Le Voyage De Sahar (ECM)
Antoine Herve - Inside (Nocturne)
Archie Shepp - Deja Vu (Venus Jazz) - Reissue
Art Ensemble of Chicago - A Jackson in Your House / Message to Our Folks (Snapper) - Reissue
Bill Bruford - Introduction to Summerfold (Summerfold) - Reissue
Bill Evans Trio - Live in Europe 1965 (Lonehill) - Reissue
Billy Cobham - Introducing (Wea/Rhino) - Reissue
Bing Crosby - The Essentials (Big Eye) - Reissue
Bob Dylan - 1975-1981 Rolling Thunder & The Gospel Years (Music Video) - DVD-Video
Bobby Powell - Louisiana Soul (AIM) - Reissue
Cannonball Adderley - Blue Note's Great Sessions (Blue Note) - Reissue
Cassandra Wilson - Thunderbird (Blue Note)
Charles Lloyd - Sangam (ECM)
Chet Baker - Milano Sessions (Promo Sound) - Reissue
Chet Baker - My Funny Valentine: I'll Take Romance (Promo) - Reissue
Chico Hamilton - Nomad (Collectables) - Reissue
Dee Dee Bridgewater - Dee Dee Bridgewater (Collectables) - Reissue
Dennis Chambers - Planet Earth (BHM)
Don Cherry - Mu First Part / My Second Part (Snapper) - Reissue
Donald Byrd / Barry Harris / Yusef Lateef - Complete Recordings (Gambit) - Reissue
Donny McCaslin - Soar (Sunnyside)
Erin Boheme - What Love Is (Concord)
Francesco Cafiso Quartet - Happy Times (CamJazz)
Grachan Moncur III - New Africa / One Morning I Woke Up Very Early (Snapper) - Reissue
Guy Davis - Skunkmello (Red House)
Herb Alpert with Jeff Lorber Band - Live in Montreux (Eagle Vision) - DVD-Video
Herbie Hancock - Blue Note's Great Sessions (Blue Note) - Reissue
Herbie Mann - Introducing (Wea/Rhino) - Reissue
Illinois Jacquet - And His Orchestra / Flies Again (Lonehill) - Reissue
Illinois Jacquet - Go Power (Lonehill) - Reissue
Incognito - Remixed (Verve)
John Medeski - Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz (Concord)
Jon Larsen - Next Step (Hot Club/Qualiton)
Lennie Tristano / Charlie Parker - Complete Recordings (Definitive) - Reissue
Lisa Fuller - Teach Me Tonight (Bizarre Planet)
Marilyn Monroe - The Essentials (Big Eye) - Reissue
Matze Mc / Un - Some Girls (Shift Jazz)
Medeski, Martin & Wood - Greatest Hits (Blue Note)
Michael Buble - Kings of Swing (Fonte Canada)
Mike Westbrook - Citadel/Room 315 (BGO) - Reissue
Miles Davis - Blue Note's Great Sessions (Blue Note) - Reissue
Mimi Fox - Perpetually Hip (Favored Nations) - 2+ CDs
Moncef Genoud - Aqua (Savoy)
Moutin Reunion Quartet - Power Tree (Nocturne) - Reissue
Nat Cole - The Essentials (Big Eye) (Big Eye) - Reissue
Nelson Rangell - Soul to Souls (Koch)
Nika Rejto - Teazing Socrates (Increase)
No Jazz - Have Fun (WEA)
Noberto Pedeira Quartet - Cuarenta Anos (Nord Sud)
Pat Martino - Tribute to Wes Montgomery (Blue Note)
Patrick Artero - 2 Bix But Not Too Bix (Nocturne)
Paul Winter - Brazilian Days (Living Music) - Reissue
Paul Winter - Journey with the Sun (Living Music) - Reissue
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Brotherman in the Fatherland (The Music Force) - Reissue
Ruby Braff - Complete Duets (Definitive Special Products) - Reissue
Rufus Harley - Re-Creation of the Gods (Transparan)
Sonny Rollins - Blue Note's Great Sessions (Blue Note) - Reissue
Soulphiction - State of Euphoria (Sonar Kollective)
Vintage Orchestra - Thad (Nocturne)
Wayne Shorter - Blue Note's Great Sessions (Blue Note) - Reissue
Yes - 90125 Live (Image) - Reissue - DVD-Video


Information provided by allaboutjazz.com

Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music

Jazz Alto Saxophonist Jackie McLean Dies at 73

Jazz alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, a performer and educator who played with legendary musicians including Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, died Friday. He was 73.
McLean, a contemporary of some of the 20th century's most famed jazz musicians, died at his Hartford home after a long illness, family members told The Hartford Courant.

McLean was founder and artistic director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford's Hartt School. He and his wife, actress Dollie McLean, also founded the Artists Collective, a community center and fine arts school in Hartford's inner city primarily serving troubled youth.

University of Hartford President Walter Harrison said Dollie McLean called him Friday with news of her husband's death.

Harrison said that despite his many musical accomplishments, McLean was a modest man whose connections with his students lasted for decades after they left his classroom.

”He fully understood the way that jazz as an art should be passed down to students, ” Harrison said. “He saw his role as bringing jazz from the 1950s and '60s and handing it down to artists of today.”

McLean, a native of Harlem in New York City, grew up in a musical family, his father playing guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's band. McLean took up the soprano saxophone as a teen and quickly switched to the alto saxophone, inspired by his godfather's performances in a church choir, he told WBGO-FM in Newark, New Jersey, in an interview in 2004.

McLean went on to play with his friend Rollins from 1948-49 in a Harlem neighborhood band under the tutelage of pianist Bud Powell. Through Powell, McLean met bebop pioneer Charlie “Bird” Parker, who became a major influence on the young alto saxophonist.

He made his first recording when he was 19 on Miles Davis' Dig album, also featuring Rollins, which heralded the beginning of the hard-bop style.

In the 1950s, McLean also played with Charles Mingus and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, experiences that he credited with helping him find his own style.

”I never really sounded like Bird, but that was my mission, ” McLean said in the WBGO radio interview. “I didn't care if people said that I copied him; I loved Bird's playing so much. But Mingus was the one that really pushed me away from the idea and forced me into thinking about having an individual sound and concept.”

McLean made his first recording as a leader in 1955. He drew wide attention with his 1959 debut on Blue Note Records, Jackie's Bag, one of dozens of albums he recorded in the hard-bop and free jazz styles for the label over the next eight years. His 1962 album Let Freedom Ring found him performing with avant-garde musicians.

In 1959-60, he acted in the off-Broadway play “The Connection, ” about jazz musicians and drug addiction. McLean, a heroin addict during his early career, later went on to lecture on drug addiction research.

In 1968, after Blue Note terminated his recording contract, McLean began teaching at the University of Hartford. He taught jazz, African-American music, and African-American history and culture, setting up the university's African American Music Department, which later was named in his honor.

He took a break from recording for much of the 1980s to focus on his work as a music educator, but made his recording comeback in 1988 with Dynasty, and later re-signed with Blue Note. His last Blue Note recordings included Fire and Love (1998), featuring his youthful Macband with son Rene McLean on tenor saxophone, and the ballads album Nature Boy (2000).

He received an American Jazz Masters fellowship, the nation's highest jazz honor, from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001, and toured the world as an educator and performer.


Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music