Jazz Journal May issue

John Critchinson The British pianist talks to Simon Spillett about life after Ronnie Scott, solo playing and Girls Aloud

Profiles Drummer Sophie Alloway makes the music strong enough to speak for itself and lets politics go hang;  saxophonist Larry Stabbins is glad he reverted to music following a brush with philosophy; the Barrett Brothers update Django's message the length of Kent and beyond

The importance of importance Brian Morton, recalling his fellow author Richard Cook's description of Kind Of Blue as superior mood music, wonders if it's time for a corrective guide to the great jazz tradition

Brew Moore Gordon Jack remembers the "soft, sweet, southern boy" who played outstanding bebop in NYC before driving to the coast with Woody Guthrie, getting namechecked by Jack Kerouac and eventually moving to Europe

Jamming the Blitz With the latest eruption of BBC swing-era nostalgia still fresh in our minds, Peter Powell gives a first-hand account of the 1941 Public Jam Session Recording

Branford Marsalis Following the acclaim for his Four MFs album, we publish an archive list of Branford favourites

Remembered Kenny Ball; Terry Lightfoot; Pat Halcox; Melvin Rhyne; Paul Tanner

Record reviews Over 60 recordings assessed, including a host of reissues. See the whole list

http://www.jazzjournal.co.uk

Rondi Charleston-Signs of Life ( Motema Music 2013)

"Signs Of Life is by far an extraordinary album. So much of Charleston can be felt in it as each original composition has a story. It features expressive pieces, a mesmerizing mixture that encompasses a perfect marriage of singer and songwriter. With Signs Of Life, Charleston eases into this role effortlessly."
http://rondicharleston.com

First Online Master’s Course in Jazz Historiography now Open for Registration

From the Rutgers-Newark M.A. Program in Jazz History and Research:
First Online Master’s Course in Jazz Historiography now Open for Registration;
Offered in June and in September
 FACEBOOK page about the course

 GENERAL INFO ABOUT THE M.A. PROGRAM HERE:

My course Historiography is available online in June and September, and anyone anywhere can register for the course starting now! Please FORWARD this announcement to any and all who might be interested. This is the first course from the Jazz History and Research program to be available online. Evan Spring, a graduate of my M.A. program, was an editor of the Annual Review of Jazz Studies for seven years, spearheaded the effort to convert it into the "open access" Journal of Jazz Studies, had a WKCR show for 20 years, and—significantly--already taught the Research Methods portion of Historiography as a full-semester course in my M.A. program for three years. I have been teaching this course since 1997, and it is a regularly updated distillation of everything I've learned about the practice of being a jazz historian. Each class features extensive text, several of my pre-recorded audio lectures, embedded illustrations and music audio, and relevant links. Evan will provide the follow-up, interactive teaching role – guiding class discussion, giving and grading assignments, monitoring each student's research projects, and so on. He is Instructor, though I have designed and provided the course content (with Evan's ample editorial assistance and suggestions). Because Evan has already taught Research Methods very successfully, he clearly has the expertise and dedication necessary to provide individual guidance for each student. Students will also interact extensively in an online class forum. My blog postings, which can be seen and heard at https://www.wbgo.org/blog/category/20877,  will give you a rough idea of the look and feel of the course, but please note that the course content will be far more thorough and sophisticated in its presentation, as befits a graduate-level course. And of course, since this is for 3 academic credits, there is homework to be done--listening, reading, short writing assignments, etc. MORE INFO: COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course is an introduction to the critical-thinking approach and multimedia research methods that I have used with graduate students in the Rutgers M.A. program in Jazz History and Research. This course is not a survey of jazz history, and it assumes you already know something about jazz history. It is about the ways jazz history has been written, and how we can “rewrite” jazz history by doing our own research. I like to say, “It’s not about what happened; it’s about what they say happened.” Students in this class must have basic musical literacy and should know how to notate music (by hand or on the computer). There have been exceptions, however, and if an exception is made for you, please consult your instructor whenever you’re having trouble with musical terms and techniques. Overview There are three “mini-courses” within this course: 1. Mindset/point of view (classes 1–2). This introduction to the class explores the nature of knowledge, the practice of historiography, and jazz myths that have proliferated over the last century. The first class uses case studies from the Bible and Shakespeare, and the second class explores the evolving practice of writing history, from Herodotus to postmodernism. Both classes delve into “jazz myths” ranging from the origins of jazz to the critical response to John Coltrane. 2. Conducting your own research (classes 3–5). This mini-course provides the practical tools required for jazz historical research, from online research to genealogy to interview technique to music transcription. All of the assignments in this portion of the course will directed toward research for your final term paper. 3. Intensive listening (classes 6–7). The course concludes with extensive listening to the music of Louis Armstrong, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Jelly Roll Morton, and other early jazz artists. Students listen on their own time while keeping a listening journal, and transcribing at least 32 bars of music. Classes provide additional context and introduce related recordings. REQUIRED BOOK: Porter's Jazz: A Century of Change (Schirmer, 1997; the Thomson version, 2004, is an exact reprint of the original, so that's fine too) There will also be required articles which will be distributed for free. TO SIGN UP!: INFO IS HERE: http://gsn.newark.rutgers.edu/Nondegree%20Program.html Essentially you have to fill out a basic (NOT full) application, so you can get a Rutgers I.D. and be on the list of people who can take graduate courses. The only hassle is that you do need to get your undergrad transcript. ALSO I should mention that they are considering adding more of my grad courses online, in which case this will count towards a four-course Certificate Program in Jazz History, the only such program anywhere! PRICE: The course is three college credits. For NJ residents it's about $2200. For people who live outside New Jersey it's about $3500. Rutgers doesn't allow auditing for online courses (most schools don't), and they won't allow taking it for less than 3 credits (which would be cheaper).  PLEASE EMAIL ME (Lrpjazz@gmail.com) AND EVAN (evanspring@gmail.com) with your questions! All the best, Lewis Porter, Ph.D. Professor of Music/Jazz Pianist Director of the M.A. Program in Jazz History and Research Rutgers University campus at Newark, N.J.

Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services 272 Ste Route 94 S #1  Warwick, NY 10990 T: 845-986-1677 / F: 845-986-1699 E-Mail: jim@jazzpromoservices.com  Web Site: www.jazzpromoservices.com/

BILL FRISELL DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM HISTORIC CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE ON NEW ALBUM, "BIG SUR," AVAILABLE JUNE 18 VIA OKeh

Project Debuted as 2012 Monterey Jazz Festival Commission

With Residency at Big Sur's Glen Deven Ranch

Resulting 19-Track Studio Album Presents New Big Sur Quintet,

Fusing Frisell's 858 Quartet with Beautiful Dreamers Trio

                                 

2012 Doris Duke Artist Award Recipient Currently Lending

Artistic Vision to SFJAZZ and Jazz at Lincoln Center 

"After decades of trodding such a brave and singular path,

maybe Frisell deserves his own genre.  How about 'friz'?" - JazzTimes

"Long one of my favorite artists, Bill never ceases to amaze me. His reach seems limitless and his grasp so deep. Big Sur is shimmery, evocative musical haiku as only Bill can do. Simply no one like him." - Bonnie Raitt

OKeh will release guitarist-composer Bill Frisell's new album, Big Sur, on June 18, 2013. The project marks his label debut as well as the first album featuring the Big Sur Quintet(which combines his 858 Quartet and Beautiful Dreamers trio).

The region known as Big Sur occupies 90 miles of spectacular central California coastline, midway between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, and extends inland to the abruptly rising Santa Lucia Mountains. Over the past century, Big Sur's rugged coastline and terrain, breathtaking vistas, and potential for communion with nature have attracted and inspired a multitude of creative types, such as Robinson Jeffers, Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Ansel Adams, Charles Lloyd, John Adams, Hunter S. Thompson, The Beach Boys, Death Cab For Cutie, and others.

Born of a Monterey Jazz Festival commission in 2012, Bill Frisell's Big Sur features an hour of original music, 19 compositions that explicitly reference the coastal-mountain environment. Titles such as "A Good Spot," "Going to California," "A Beautiful View," "Big Sur," and "On the Lookout" evoke the remote and pastoral setting with musical blends of chamber jazz, country, classical, folk, and rock. Joined by violinist Jenny Scheinman, violist Eyvind Kang, cellist Hank Roberts, and drummer Rudy Royston, the group premiered the music at the festival in September 2012. Six months later, the quintet recorded Big Sur at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, with longtime Frisell collaborators Lee Townsend and Adam Muñoz producing and engineering, respectively.

The commission included a residency at Glen Deven Ranch, an 860-acre property bequeathed to the Big Sur Land Trust. Glen Deven's beauty and quietude provided Frisell with both inspiration and something even more rare: time to be alone with his muse (for the first ten day stay in April 2012).

"I've been so lucky playing and working so much," reflects Frisell, "but it's become rare in the past 20 years to actually have time to reflect on things and to let them percolate or simmer. In Big Sur, I never knew what time it was, my phone didn't work, I slept whenever I wanted, and I woke up whenever I wanted. The idea was to just write music.

"It was extraordinary. You're surrounded by forest, and there's a trail that you can walk to the end of the bluff, where the land just drops off and you see the whole panorama of the Big Sur coast and the Pacific Ocean," says Frisell. "That's what I woke up to every morning. It was incredible." When he wasn't writing in his cabin, Frisell found himself meandering out the trail toward the lookout, settling onto one of the benches with his pad of music paper, and writing down whatever melodies popped into his head. "I filled up pages and pages," he says. "The music just kept coming."

Shortly before the Monterey Jazz Festival, Frisell returned to Glen Deven, joined by his band mates. "When Jenny and Eyvind and Hank and Rudy came to rehearse, they got a feel for where I'd been when I was writing. That's really when we became the Big Sur Quintet - and when the music came to life."

Essentially combining the 858 Quartet with Beautiful Dreamers (given Royston's participation), the new Quintet imparts exciting breadth and grandeur to Frisell's compositions. "I think of 858 as having a very wide dynamic range, from intimate and quiet to big and orchestral," Frisell says. "But the drums bring out the power even more. Rudy does unexpected things that inspire me, which is what everybody in this band is doing all the time."

You can hear Frisell propelled by his collaborators throughout Big Sur, notably the way his guitar grows increasingly edgy against the group's orchestral sweep and rhythmic punch on "Gather Good Things," or how it lifts and soars out of swirling ensemble updrafts on "Hawks." This is a band that can conjure a striking variety of moods and images, from nocturnal mystery ("Animals") and idyllic reverie ("We All Love Neil Young") to snaking curves of asphalt ("Highway 1") and crashing waves (the surf-rock-tinged "The Big One").

"I always feel guilty when I say I write the music," Frisell notes. "I do write these melodies on paper-and I know that's important-but there's this huge step that comes from the other musicians. For much of this album, they are playing the actual notes that I wrote down, but the way they bring their own sound to it, there's no way it can just be on the paper.

"This Quintet feels like family," says Frisell, who titled one new piece "Sing Together Like Family." It's evident in the way the musicians interact intuitively to shape the music while playing. "You hear that sort of thing when the Carter family sings together," he explains. "For them, it's in the blood. With us, it comes from putting in all those hours on trains and planes, and going through all this together. When it turns into music, it's about how we're connected. Whether the notes are written or improvised, all kinds of decisions are being made on the spur of the moment, which I just love. It keeps the music fresh. Hopefully, every time we play Big Sur, something new will happen."

About Bill Frisell:

Since launching his recording career as leader in 1983 on the ECM label, guitarist Bill Frisell has spent much of the past 30 years in studios and on tour. His stunning résumé includes solo work, such as the recent Silent Comedy (Tzadik); duos with Greg Leisz, Vinicius Cantuária, Jim Hall, and Petra Haden; various trios (Ron Carter and Paul Motian; Dave Holland and Elvin Jones; Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen; and Beautiful Dreamers with Eyvind Kang and Rudy Royston) and quartets; and such genre-blurring projects as the Intercontinentals, The Willies, Buddy Miller's Majestic Silver Strings, Floratone (with drummer Matt Chamberlain and producers Townsend and Tucker Martine), The Sweetest Punch: The New Songs of Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach, All We Are Saying (a tribute to the music of John Lennon), and Richter 858 (with Kang, Scheinman, and Roberts). A recipient of the inaugural Doris Duke Artist Award in 2012, his distinctive guitar tones, colors, and harmonic sensibilities make Frisell one of the most sought-after collaborators in contemporary music. Additionally, Frisell lends his artistic vision to two major arts intuitions in 2013: as a Resident Artistic Director for SFJAZZ and curator of Jazz at Lincoln Center's new "Roots of Americana" series (the latter during the 2013-2014 season). For more information on Bill Frisell, please visit: billfrisell.com

Click Above to Watch The Making of Bill Frisell's Big Sur

Upcoming Bill Frisell Appearances:

Big Sur:

July 11 / Garana Jazz Festival / Garna, Romania

July 12 / TBA / Neuhardenberg - Berlin, Germany

July 13 / Koncerhuset / Copenhagen, Denmark

July 16 / Flassen Thetret Vart / Molde, Norway

July 17 / Mendizorrotza Sports Arena / Victoria, Spain

July 18 / Kulturzentrum Tollhaus e.V., Zeltival / Karlsruhe, Germany

July 20 / Stress Festival / Stresa Italy

Beautiful Dreamers:

May 1 - 2 / The Dakota / Minneapolis, MN

May 3 / Old Town School of Folk Music / Minneapolis, MN

May 4 / The Ark / Ann Arbor, MI

May 7 - 12 / Village Vanguard / New York, NY

Other:

June 2 / Charlie Haden Tribute - Healdsburg Jazz Festival / Santa Rosa, CA

June 18 - 19 / Joni: A Portrait in Song (Joni Mitchell Tribute) - Massey Hall / Toronto, Canada

June 22 / with Marianne Faithfull -The Meltdown Festival / London, UK

June 29 / Bill Frisell Solo - Montreal Jazz Festival @ L'Astral / Montreal, Quebec

June 30 / Duo with Charles Lloyd - Montreal Jazz Festival @ PDA Jean-Duceppe /Montreal, Quebec

September 1 / All We Are Saying: Music of John Lennon - Detroit International Jazz Festival / Detroit, MI

 

Big Sur - Tracklisting:

All compositions by Bill Frisell

1. The Music of Glen Deven Ranch

2. Sing Together Like a Family

3. A Good Spot

4. Going to California

5. The Big One

6. Somewhere

7. Gather Good Things

8. Cry Alone

9. The Animals

10. Highway 1

11. A Beautiful View

12. Hawks

13. We All Love Neil Young

14. Big Sur

15. On the Lookout

16. Shacked Up

17. Walking Stick (for Jim Cox)

18. Song for Lana Weeks

19. Far Away

 

Bill Frisell ·  Big Sur

OKeh ·  Release Date: June 18, 2013

   

Sony Masterworks comprises the Masterworks, Masterworks Broadway, OKeh, Portrait,

RCA Red Seal and Sony Classical imprints. For email updates and information,

please visit www.SonyMasterworks.com.

###

  

For media information, please contact:

DL Media · 610-667-0501

Jordy Freed ·  jordy@dlmediamusic.com 

Don Lucoff ·  don@dlmediamusic.com 

Sony Masterworks/OKeh

Angela Barkan ·  Angela.Barkan@sonymusic.com ·  212-833-8575

Larissa Slezak ·  Larissa.Slezak@sonymusic.com ·  212-833-6075

Keller Williams Thursday, May 2nd 8pm @ The Ridgefield Playhouse

Keller Williams Thursday, May 2 at 8pm Since he first appeared on the scene in the early '90s, Keller Williams has defined the term "independent artist."  Keller built his reputation initially on his engaging live performances, no two of which are ever alike. Williams' solo live shows, and his ability to improvise to his determinedly quirky tunes despite the absence of an actual band, quickly became the stuff of legend, and his audience grew exponentially. Today when he performs as a one-man band he sings his compositions and cover songs accompanied by an acoustic guitar connected to a delay system that allows him to simulate a full band. Keller is a singer, songwriter and musician, always on a quest for the new and has never followed the prescribed path laid out by the conventional music business. Ticket Price: $37.50 Click here to purchase or call the box office at 203-438-5795 Lucie Arnaz Latin Roots Friday, May 10 at 8pm The Ridgefield Magazine Broadway and Cabaret Series & 109 Cheese & Wine Evening of Art, Wine and Jazz Join us in the lobby at 7:15pm for a complimentary wine and cheese tasting and artist reception with art work by Andres Chaparro. The daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, much of America grew up with Lucie Arnaz having watched her blossom as an actress opposite her mother on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy. But Arnaz has since triumphed in a variety of mediums, most notably in the Broadway musical They're Playing Our Song and in the film The Jazz Singer, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In recent years, she has become a popular nightclub performer, and on May 10th, she brings her new show Latin Roots, based on the CD of the same name, and an homage to her father’s legacy. Ticket Price: $55 Click here to purchase or call the box office at 203-438-5795 Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra  Saturday, June 8 at 8pm Ottmar has been nominated five-times for a Grammy award. Since 1990, Ottmar Liebert has released a total of 25 albums including live releases, Christmas CDs, 15 CDs of original music, a DVD and remixes. He has received 38 Gold and Platinum certifications in the USA as well as certifications in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. His debut album sold double-platinum and has become one of the best-selling guitar albums of all time. Ticket Price: $47.50 Click here to purchase or call the box office at 203-438-5795 Kansas Thursday, July 11 at 8pm with Special Guest Arc and Stones Kansas has produced eight Gold albums, three sextuple-Platinum albums (Leftoverture, Point of Know Return, Best of), one platinum live album (Two for the Show) and a million-selling gold single with"Dust in the Wind." They have appeared on the Billboard charts for over 200 weeks throughout the '70s and '80s and played to sold-out arenas and stadiums throughout North America, Europe and Japan. "Carry On Wayward Son" was the #2 most Played Track on classic rock radio in 1995 and went to #1 in 1997. Ticket price: $70 Click here to purchase or call the box office at 203-438-5795

THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE 80 East Ridge Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877 203.438.5795 Visit our website for the complete season line-up www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org

Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services T: 845-986-1677 E-Mail: jim@jazzpromoservices.com http://www.jazzpromoservices.com/

Eldar Djangirov Trio - Breakthrough (Motema 2013)

“...his command of the instrument is beyond staggering.”
-Bob Doershuk, Downbeat

 “[THREE STORIES] is certainly jazz piano, but it's the kind that belongs in a recital hall… Djangirov gets to the heart of every song.”
-Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

 “He’s a genius beyond most young people I’ve heard.”
-Dave Brubeck in The New York Times

http://www.eldarmusic.com

Colin Stetson / Mats Gustafsson - Stones (Rune Grammofon 2013)

"This is not a skronkfest in which two saxophonists go head on. Instead, these improvisations express a deep, wide-ranging communication that employs rhythm, dissonance, an unconventional yet clearly present lyricism, tonal and harmonic explorations, and various mechanical techniques. The technical prowess on display is considerable, but it is secondary to Gustafsson and Stetson making music together." by Thom Jurek

"Free-jazz listeners familiar with the work of Evan Parker or Peter Brötzmann will find Stones easy to relate to, but the energetic compatibility of this impromptu partnership exerts a broader appeal than that." John Fordham guardian.co.uk