Drummer Deleon 'Jubba' White returns with a combo to Christopher's Jazz
lounge in the Quad come Tuesday, Jan 2, to resume the Tuesday Nite Live
series for 2007. The show begins at 7pm
This will be 'Jubba's ' third stint at the Christopher's since the series
started in August this year.
The series has been attracting a growing number of music
aficionados and White has proven among the more popular
featured acts.
Friday, December 29, 2006
'Jubba' jams at the Quad
Drummer Deleon 'Jubba' White returns with a combo to Christopher's Jazz
lounge in the Quad come Tuesday, Jan 2, to resume the Tuesday Nite Live
series for 2007. The show begins at 7pm
This will be 'Jubba's ' third stint at the Christopher's since the series
started in August this year.
The series has been attracting a growing number of music
aficionados and White has proven among the more popular
featured acts.
lounge in the Quad come Tuesday, Jan 2, to resume the Tuesday Nite Live
series for 2007. The show begins at 7pm
This will be 'Jubba's ' third stint at the Christopher's since the series
started in August this year.
The series has been attracting a growing number of music
aficionados and White has proven among the more popular
featured acts.
steveandcleveland2
Following on from the Tony Kofi discovery, I came across the website of UK bassist Steve lawson (left) jamming alongside Cleveland Watkiss. Anglo-jazz, with Afro-Caribbean input, is alive and well.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Tony Kofi DSC_0240a
Just heard him on radio a few nights ago (thanks again, Dermot Hussey) and now I come across this.
Courtney Pine DSC_0118ab
from (I asume) Brit Rchard kaby comes this great shot of Courtney Pine 'blowing up'
Monday, December 11, 2006
Seretse in Studio
Guitarist Seretse Small and his combo, Seretse and the True Democrats
have been work on a number of recording projects, one being a track
entitled Freedom.
Seretse and the True Democrats are also the featured act on the Tuesday
Nite live at Christopher's Jazz bar in the Quad complex New Kingston
beginning at 7:00 pm tomorrow night
have been work on a number of recording projects, one being a track
entitled Freedom.
Seretse and the True Democrats are also the featured act on the Tuesday
Nite live at Christopher's Jazz bar in the Quad complex New Kingston
beginning at 7:00 pm tomorrow night
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Fusion, jazzi nthe round and more
Jazz Notes
Fusion and the age-old question
BY MICHAEL ‘JAZZOFONIK’ EDWARDS
NOT that the initial lineup could justify the tag (with apologies to Monty Alexander), but the recent additions to the roster of the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival — particularly vibist Roy Ayers — have led this writer to reconsider the question of jazz fusion.
Some in fact consider the term to be an oxymoron since, as we have learnt in this column, jazz was, from its very earliest times, the product of several musical styles, reflective of the diverse ethnocultural influences that came to bear on its home city, New Orleans.
But in the contemporary sense, fusion concerns primarily the introduction of r&b, rock, funk, reggae and other styles to either bebop or classic swing structures.
Of course herein lies much of the problem, given our penchant for resorting to the clear order and inherent safety of classifications.
Over the last 40 years or so as recorded music aired on radio and other formats have become a greater influence on public taste than live performances, the swing and bebop (and hardbop) movements which dominated the genre in the first half of the 20th Century have increasingly been sidelined. This is not to say that they are no longer appreciated or even being played — far from it. But there’s no question that mainstream broadcast media programmers find these modes either unpalatable or at least less palatable (and thereby less profitable) than those which feature the more recognisable pop elements.
The emergence of the terms ‘smooth’, ‘light’, ‘easy listening’ and other similar palliatives — mostly if not exclusively the creations of radio programmers and owners, affirms this. Thus the impression is conveyed and enforced that the bop and swing styles represent “hard jazz”, a term implying that such music is too harsh to the ear. Indeed, many persons this writer has talked to have expressed that exact sentiment, even though the overwhelming majority of them have had little, if any, sustained exposure to so-called ‘hard jazz’.
The answer lies in exploiting the channels to provide this sustained exposure and beyond that, in creating new ones. Mention has already been made of the former Radio Mona, now News Talk 93, but even in its best periods, it was not, and now definitely is not, a jazz station. Jazz needs a home on radio (and at least on local cable TV, if not free-toair) in same way that endangered animal species need the designated habitats. Further, a walk through Half-Way-Tree or most urban communities will find a sound system (makeshift and illegal, yes) set up at several corners and other points blaring dancehall and roots reggae. I’m not advocating streetside jazz sounds (or maybe it mightn’t be a bad idea) but the music needs to be a part of the daily public experience, otherwise it will continue to be ignored and sidelined, instead of appreciated and renewed, regardless of what genre it is blended with.
Sonny Rollins said: “Jazz is the only music form that can absorb just about anything else and still be jazz.”
By keeping the music in the public arena, we can allow that philosophy to be tested, to our collective benefit.
Jazz is back in the Round
Got wind from the EMC’s Maurice Gordon about the renewal of jazz in the Round programme at the school.
Jazz in the Round 2K6 is the end of first semester concert and it takes place this coming Friday, December 8, 2006 beginning at 7:30 pm in the Round at the School of Music (right outside the auditorium. The featured performers will be Gordon’s second year Certificate and Diploma Jazz Improvisation students.
“This is a concert to showcase and examine the talent and efforts of all students involved in the study of jazz and improvisation at The School of Music/Edna Manley College,” he points out. The concert will feature several groups performing in Piano Trios or Quartets with the addition of singers and other instruments. Students will be evaluated by Gordon and a panel. They will be graded on their ability to swing, spontaneously create music, and to perform with some authenticity in the idioms studied.
Jazz Improvisation, as taught by jazz guitarist and lecturer Gordon at School of Music, involves the study of improvising over a variety of jazz styles and related music which is performed in the context of jazz. The students study the technique of improvisation and learn a common repertoire to help prepare them for the working world. Gordon uses various musical styles as a vehicle for improvisation, these include mento, reggae, blues, Jamaican Popular music and various jazz styles.
The public is being invited to come out and enjoy some good “food for the ear” for a generous donation, which will be used towards the purchase of equipment and books for the Jazz department.
Dress casual and bring something to sit on the beautiful, comfortable and well-manicured lawn of the Round of the School of Music.
The Edna Manley College is the centre of excellence in the arts and provides a physical and academic environment that epitomises the spirit of the arts.
Fusion and the age-old question
BY MICHAEL ‘JAZZOFONIK’ EDWARDS
NOT that the initial lineup could justify the tag (with apologies to Monty Alexander), but the recent additions to the roster of the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival — particularly vibist Roy Ayers — have led this writer to reconsider the question of jazz fusion.
Some in fact consider the term to be an oxymoron since, as we have learnt in this column, jazz was, from its very earliest times, the product of several musical styles, reflective of the diverse ethnocultural influences that came to bear on its home city, New Orleans.
But in the contemporary sense, fusion concerns primarily the introduction of r&b, rock, funk, reggae and other styles to either bebop or classic swing structures.
Of course herein lies much of the problem, given our penchant for resorting to the clear order and inherent safety of classifications.
Over the last 40 years or so as recorded music aired on radio and other formats have become a greater influence on public taste than live performances, the swing and bebop (and hardbop) movements which dominated the genre in the first half of the 20th Century have increasingly been sidelined. This is not to say that they are no longer appreciated or even being played — far from it. But there’s no question that mainstream broadcast media programmers find these modes either unpalatable or at least less palatable (and thereby less profitable) than those which feature the more recognisable pop elements.
The emergence of the terms ‘smooth’, ‘light’, ‘easy listening’ and other similar palliatives — mostly if not exclusively the creations of radio programmers and owners, affirms this. Thus the impression is conveyed and enforced that the bop and swing styles represent “hard jazz”, a term implying that such music is too harsh to the ear. Indeed, many persons this writer has talked to have expressed that exact sentiment, even though the overwhelming majority of them have had little, if any, sustained exposure to so-called ‘hard jazz’.
The answer lies in exploiting the channels to provide this sustained exposure and beyond that, in creating new ones. Mention has already been made of the former Radio Mona, now News Talk 93, but even in its best periods, it was not, and now definitely is not, a jazz station. Jazz needs a home on radio (and at least on local cable TV, if not free-toair) in same way that endangered animal species need the designated habitats. Further, a walk through Half-Way-Tree or most urban communities will find a sound system (makeshift and illegal, yes) set up at several corners and other points blaring dancehall and roots reggae. I’m not advocating streetside jazz sounds (or maybe it mightn’t be a bad idea) but the music needs to be a part of the daily public experience, otherwise it will continue to be ignored and sidelined, instead of appreciated and renewed, regardless of what genre it is blended with.
Sonny Rollins said: “Jazz is the only music form that can absorb just about anything else and still be jazz.”
By keeping the music in the public arena, we can allow that philosophy to be tested, to our collective benefit.
Jazz is back in the Round
Got wind from the EMC’s Maurice Gordon about the renewal of jazz in the Round programme at the school.
Jazz in the Round 2K6 is the end of first semester concert and it takes place this coming Friday, December 8, 2006 beginning at 7:30 pm in the Round at the School of Music (right outside the auditorium. The featured performers will be Gordon’s second year Certificate and Diploma Jazz Improvisation students.
“This is a concert to showcase and examine the talent and efforts of all students involved in the study of jazz and improvisation at The School of Music/Edna Manley College,” he points out. The concert will feature several groups performing in Piano Trios or Quartets with the addition of singers and other instruments. Students will be evaluated by Gordon and a panel. They will be graded on their ability to swing, spontaneously create music, and to perform with some authenticity in the idioms studied.
Jazz Improvisation, as taught by jazz guitarist and lecturer Gordon at School of Music, involves the study of improvising over a variety of jazz styles and related music which is performed in the context of jazz. The students study the technique of improvisation and learn a common repertoire to help prepare them for the working world. Gordon uses various musical styles as a vehicle for improvisation, these include mento, reggae, blues, Jamaican Popular music and various jazz styles.
The public is being invited to come out and enjoy some good “food for the ear” for a generous donation, which will be used towards the purchase of equipment and books for the Jazz department.
Dress casual and bring something to sit on the beautiful, comfortable and well-manicured lawn of the Round of the School of Music.
The Edna Manley College is the centre of excellence in the arts and provides a physical and academic environment that epitomises the spirit of the arts.
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