Coming from Telarc

The 2008 release schedule from Telarc/Heads Up Records offers some very interesting discs (notably no Monty Alexander album in '08). Check it:

Telarc/Heads Up 2008 release schedule

**PUBLICIST’S NAME LISTED AFTER EACH PROJECT**

JANUARY

HUCD 3133 (053361313326) / HUSA 9133 (053361913366)
ILEMBE / LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO
Shaka Zulu was an early 19th century African warrior who united his own Zulu tribe and various neighboring groups into a single powerful force. Today, he is considered one of the greatest leaders in African history, with a combination of warrior discipline, visionary leadership, innate creativity, and unshakable belief in a united nation. He is revered as the single figure who gave birth to the indomitable fighting spirit of the Zulus – the same spirit that enabled South Africans to persevere amid the European domination of their homeland for nearly two centuries of apartheid. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the GRAMMY® Award winning vocal group from South Africa that has conquered nations in its own way with a joyous and spiritually charged brand of vocal music and native choreography, pays tribute to this historical icon with their new Heads Up International release, Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu. Released in both CD and SACD formats, Ilembe (which translates to “the greatest warrior”) celebrates not only Shaka Zulu but the sense of perseverance, creativity and pride that he has inspired in generations of descendants. Either directly or indirectly, each of the tracks speaks to Shaka’s rare combination of attributes and how they resonate in contemporary society – not just for South Africans, but for the entire world. (Mike Wilpizeski)



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FEBRUARY

CD 83658 (089408365829)
RAYA YARBROUGH
For several years, L.A.-born songwriter/vocalist/musician Raya Yarbrough has been captivating West Coast audiences with a mesmerizing blend of jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, Latin and much more. On the strength of compelling live performances that reveal shades of Joni Mitchell, Duke Ellington, and a variety of other diverse influences, she has captured the attention of critics as an up-and-coming star. The Los Angeles Times called her voice “a pliable, versatile instrument, an effective vehicle for a musical expression that ranges freely from pop-style ballad to surprisingly effective scat singing.” Yarbrough makes her self-titled debut on Telarc, an album that embraces the broad sweep of her musical influences and the insightful songcraft that has become her trademark. Produced by guitarist-composer Steve Bartek (formerly of Oingo Boingo), the album represents a personal triumph for Yarbrough, whose initial attempt at a debut recording a few years ago was thwarted when her earlier label went bankrupt and her work in progress remained unfinished and unreleased. (Amanda Sweet)


CD 83667 (089408366727)
RECAPTURING THE BANJO / OTIS TAYLOR
The banjo is an instrument whose historical roots dig much deeper than its commonly held associations with American folk and bluegrass traditions. The instrument ultimately originated in Africa, and made its way to America with the African slaves who were brought to the fledgling colonies as early as the 1700s. Otis Taylor, who shatters the illusions of the status quo time and again via his uniquely haunting songcraft and compelling musicianship, sheds new light on this centuries-old instrument with his new Telarc recording, Recapturing the Banjo. The album includes riveting performances by Taylor along with some of the most accomplished African-American banjo players on the current roots music scene: Guy Davis, Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Keb’ Mo’ and Don Vappie. “Freed from racial stereotypes and ignorance, the banjo offers opportunities for black musicians to recapture their heritage,” says musician and music historian Dick Weissman in the album’s liner notes. “This recording is a step in that direction, from a group of artists who have already made their mark as black blues revivalists.” (Amanda Sweet)


HUCD 3134 (053361313425) All Americas and Asia except Japan
ROOTS AND GROOVES / MACEO PARKER (Specially priced 2 CD set)
Acclaimed soul/funk saxophonist and former James Brown session man and stage foil Maceo Parker steps into the spotlight for his 2-disc Heads Up debut, Roots & Grooves, an album that features a rock-solid rhythm section and no less than fourteen horn players behind and alongside this brilliant and innovative sax legend. Disc 1 is a tribute to Ray Charles, with well-known classics like “Hallelujah, I Love Her So,” “Busted,” “Hit the Road Jack,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “What’d I Say?” Disc 2 consists almost entirely of original Parker material, loaded with the same punchy, high energy stuff that cemented his and Brown’s collective reputation as the co-architects of the original soul sound more than four decades ago. (Mike Wilpizeski)


CCD 30614 US Release
HUCD 3138 (053361313821) International Release
SOME OTHER TIME / DIANE SCHUUR
For more than two decades, vocalist Dianne Schuur has blended jazz with shades of pop, soul, R&B and various other styles that make up a unique signature sound. Friends For Schuur, her 2000 debut on Concord, garnered critical acclaim due in large part to Schuur’s confidence and poise in vocal duets with bigger-than-life figures like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Subsequent Concord releases, Swingin’ For Schuur (2001) and Midnight (2003), were both met with equally high praise. Some Other Time is another multifaceted yet cohesive set from this captivating vocalist. (Mike Wilpizeski)



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MARCH

HUCD 3137 (053361313722)
THE CARIBBEAN JAZZ PROJECT WITH THE AFRO-BOP ALLIANCE BIG BAND
Led by vibraphonist Dave Samuels, the Caribbean Jazz Project has been crafting brilliant Afro-Caribbean sounds since the mid -1990s. More than a decade after recording their earliest albums on Heads Up International, Samuels and company return to the label and unite with the Maryland-based Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band, the seven-piece Latin jazz collective that has garnered high praise from critics since Encarnación, their 2004 debut recording. Produced by Samuels with arrangements by Afro Bop Alliance trombonist Dan Drew, The Caribbean Jazz Project Afro-Bop Alliance showcases material from CJP’s seven previous recordings spanning 15-years, yet recasts each tune via innovative and full-bodied arrangements. Catch this musical match made in heaven and hear the Caribbean Jazz Project like you’ve never heard them before. (Mike Wilpizeski)


CD 83675 (089408367526)
GET ONBOARD / ERIC BIBB
Dirty Linen has called guitarist-songwriter Eric Bibb “a strong guitar player, confident performer, and gifted songwriter who is blessed with an expressive voice.” Following up on the success of Diamond Days, his highly acclaimed 2007 release on Telarc, Get Onboard is the latest excursion in Bibb’s ongoing quest to uncover the unique nuggets of profound wisdom and enlightenment hidden just below the surface of the everyday human experience. (Amanda Sweet)


HUCD 3130 (053361313029)
YOUR MOVE / GERALD VEASLEY
Contemporary jazz bassist Gerald Veasley sees music as a pursuit that involves a combination of strategy, quick thinking and even a bit of blind faith, not unlike the game of chess. “There’s a multiplicity of decision making in the game of chess, and there are consequences to every action,” says Veasley. “In a lot of ways, making music is like that too. There are so many choices, especially in jazz, where the situation is never the same twice. That’s always exciting to me. You’re creating new scenarios at every turn…That’s what drew me to this kind of music in the first place – the idea that it was always fresh, there was always an opportunity and a new challenge.” That same combination of challenges and opportunities is at the heart of Veasley’s Your Move, the latest – and perhaps most innovative and audacious – maneuver in the game that he’s been playing since his early days in his native Philadelphia. But any good game involves more than one player, and Veasley has a couple collaborators on hand that make Your Move an intriguing gambit. Guitarist Chuck Loeb steps in as a formidable session player/producer and author or co-author of several tracks. Saxophonist and longtime Veasley band member Chris Farr also shares a few song credits. (Mike Wilpizeski)


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APRIL

CD 83681 (089408368127)
TBA / STANTON MOORE
Founding member of Galactic and a mainstay of the rich New Orleans music scene, Stanton Moore follows up on his 2006 Telarc debut (III) with another eclectic set that showcases his versatility and virtuosity as a drummer and percussionist. (Amanda Sweet)


CD 83674 (089408367427) / DVD 73674 (089408367496)
TBA / TAB BENOIT
Guitarist Tab Benoit’s 2007 Telarc release, Power of the Pontchartrain – along with the acclaimed IMAX film, Hurricane on the Bayou, a documentary of life in post-Katrina Louisiana – have cemented the Louisiana native’s reputation as a tireless environmental activist as well as a seasoned blues musician. Blues Revue called Pontchartrain “a three-alarm blaze,” while Billboard hailed it as “…the best album of his career…” Armed with rock-solid guitar chops and a voice like bayou lightning, the self-described “new kid from the old school” follows Pontchartrain with another satisfying set that merges the best elements of his musical roots, electric blues, cajun, vintage R&B and soul. (Mike Wilpizeski)


HUCD 3135 (053361313524)
PALMYSTERY / VICTOR WOOTEN
Electric bass virtuoso Victor Wooten is a GRAMMY nominee and the only three-time winner of Bass Player magazine’s Bass Player of the Year award. The legendary solo artist and longtime Bela Fleck collaborator makes his Heads Up debut with this mesmerizing 12-song set – a recording that boasts a long list of special guests including Richard Bona, Mike Stern, Alvin Lee and Keb’ Mo’. (Mike Wilpizeski)


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MAY

HUCD 3139 (053361313920)
TBA / YELLOWJACKETS / MIKE STERN
The Yellowjackets, two-time GRAMMY winners and cutting-edge purveyors of innovative and eclectic jazz for more than 25 years, and Mike Stern, the four-time GRAMMY nominee who has established himself as the premier jazz and jazz-fusion guitarist of his generation, are headed for the studio in January 2008 for a joint project that could potentially redefine the parameters of 21st century jazz. The studio project was inspired by Yellowjackets’ appearance as guest musicians during Stern’s performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival in the summer of 2007, and will showcase all five musicians’ individual and collective virtuosity as instrumentalists and songwriters. Stern and the Yellowjackets are both still riding on the wave of critical and commercial success generated by their most recent Heads Up releases. JazzTimes said Stern’s Who Let the Cats Out is “his most eclectic effort yet—and just may be his best as well.” In response to the Jackets’ 25 – an aptly titled celebration of their 25th anniversary as a recording and touring unit – DownBeat called the quartet “one of the few bands from the early ‘80s to retain its punch today.”


HUCD 3141 (053361314125)
TAJ AROUND THE WORLD / TAJ MAHAL
AllMusic calls him “one of the most prominent figures in the late 20th century blues,” but singer and multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal is still very much a force to be reckoned with as the 21st century gets under way. He makes his Heads Up International debut with Taj Around the World, a celebration of four decades of rich and vibrant music that reaches far beyond the blues to embrace folk, reggae, rhythm and blues, soul, gospel, world and beyond. The guest list for this anniversary bash includes Los Lobos, Angelique Kidjo, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson and many more.


CD 83673 (089408367328)
SERAPHIC LIGHT / SAXOPHONE SUMMIT II (RAVI COLTRANE, DAVE LIEBMAN, JOE LOVANO)
In 2004, Telarc released Gathering of Spirits, a collaboration by the aptly named Sax Summit – a trio of the finest living saxophone talents in the jazz universe: Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano. While the passing of Brecker in 2007 makes that initial recording a singular moment that can never be completely recreated, Seraphic Light - Sax Summit II offers that same spirit of exploration and adventure that has always been a hallmark of great jazz. Liebman and Lovano return, while Ravi Coltrane (son of titan John Coltrane) does a notable job of filling the empty space left by Brecker. The threesome are backed by the same rhythm section as found on Gathering of Spirits – pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart. Trumpeter Randy Brecker steps in on two tunes, and also contributes the poignant original, “Message To Mike,” penned for his late brother. (Amanda Sweet)


CD 83686 (089408368622)
TBA / HIROMI’S SONICBLOOM
After three highly acclaimed solo releases on Telarc – Another Mind (2003), Brain (2004), Spiral (2006) – Hiromi upped the ante by assembling a new band, Sonicbloom, for her fourth Telarc recording, Time Control, released in 2007. Guitarist Dave Fiuczynski, bassist Tony Grey and drummer Martin Valihora helped make Time Control one of the best recordings to date from the “ferociously talented” Hiromi (Los Angeles Times). This same lineup is back on Hiromi’s fifth CD, which promises to be an edgy and progressive mix of piano- and guitar-driven jazz laced with unmistakable shades of pop, rock and even avant garde – the trademark hybrid of this brilliant artist whose star continues to rise over the jazz landscape. (Mike Wilpizeski)


HUCD 3140 (053361314026)
TBA / ESPERANZA SPALDING
This 23-year-old upright jazz bassist is not only an accomplished jazz artist but also a fluent vocalist in three languages – English, Spanish and Portuguese. She makes her Heads Up International debut with a recording that showcases a brilliant mastery of her instrument and a voice brimming with emotion and subtle confidence.


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JUNE

CD 83680 (089408368028)
PINETOP PERKINS AND FRIENDS / PINETOP PERKINS
Who better to record an album of delta blues classics than one of the music’s most influential figures? Mississippi-born pianist/vocalist Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins is joined by a small army of blues luminaries – Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughan, Willie Kent and many others – in a recording that includes reverent and rollicking covers of some of the most memorable tunes in the blues tradition. The set includes “Got My Mojo Working,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Look On Yonders Wall,” “Sweet Home Chicago” and more. The releases just two weeks before Perkins’ 95th birthday.


HUCD 3142 (053361314224)
TBA / TAKE 6
With its roots in gospel, doo-wop, and the sophisticated jazz-influenced singing groups of mid-century America like the Hi-Los, the a cappella vocal group Take 6 – assembled in Alabama in the 1980s – is on one hand the direct descendent of an earlier brand of American vocal music and at the same time a precursor for a number of black male pop groups of the 1990s. the group makes its debut on Heads Up with a recording whose guest list includes Aaron Neville, Brian McKnight and many others.


HUCD 3143 (053361314323)
TBA / GEORGE DUKE
Although rooted in the jazz of the 1960s, pianist/keyboardist George Duke made numerous subsequent forays into pop, R&B and most notably funk. This diverse odyssey has made for a complex and richly layered sound in everything Duke sets his hand to. Funk is the keyword on his Heads Up International debut, as he explores the sound and sensibility whose ascendance he witnessed first hand in the ‘70s. Three decades later, he proves that the funk groove is still very much alive in the 21st century.

Recent Auditions - Wallace Roney album

Roney album cover
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

Continiung on the path he marked out with his Prototype and Mystikal albums of recent vintage, Roney and his extended family (brother Antoine plays tenor sax and composes; wife Geri Allen is a star on piano), including turntablists Val Jeanty and DJ Axum adroitly mix contemporary rhythmic statements with post-bop forms on cuts like Vater Time and Fela's Shrine (for Afro-beat master Fela Kuti). It might be cliched but this is a disc that rewards multiple listens.

Recent Auditions -Odean Pope

OPope album cover
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

An admitted Coltrane disciple, who further cut his musical teeth withthe late Max Roach, Odean Pope has always been his own man
nonetheless.
This flawless 2006 live recording shows the absolute cohesion and oneness of his multi-layered saxophone choir, and not even the addition of guest stars Joe Lovano, James Carter and the late Michael Brecker disrupt the equilibrium.
A recorded master class in composition, execution and band leadership

Recent Auditions - TB album cover

TB album cover
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

Working with Spike Lee onthe post-Katrina docu-pic, When The Levees Broke, wasn't enough for trumpeter Blanchard. The emotional residue is collected in this well-conceived and well-executed suite.
This one doesbn't quite have the immediate resonance of previous release, Flow, but its an undenaibly powerful statement from a contemporary master (Check the opener, Ghost of Congo Square)

Dennis 'Rushes' into Christopher's

This Tuesday,

Pianist/ keyboardist Dennis Rushton plays Christopher's Jazz Cafe
starting at 7:30 pm

also , Rushton has announced thatthe 4th edition of
his Christ in Art & jazz takes place June 2008
at Swallowfield Chapel

Riffin' This Week

RIFFIN’S RUNDOWN FOR WEEK 26/11/07@NEWSTALK93FM@8.35pm

STEAMING LIVE AT WWW.NEWSTALK.COM.JM

MON: BIG VOICES: Three male singers, who fit the description. Andy Bey, Bill Henderson, and a more recent discovery, Everette Greene. All three are blessed with impressive voices that they use artfully and stylishly.

TUES: MORE VOICES: Singers who use the instrument in the art of interpretation that makes them unique. Ray Charles, Shirley Horn, Michael Buble, Freddy Cole, Diana Krall, Luciana Souza, Cassandra Wilson, Linda Rondstat, Kurt Elling and Jackie Allen.

WED: The acclaimed trumpeter, Sean Jones, who holds the first trumpet chair in the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis, plays a supportive role to 3 singers.

THURS: “Everytime I hear the sound, the sound”, a famous line from a Mutabaruka poem, is given a sonic portrait.

FRID: Regarded as one of the world’s greatest singers, Youssou N’ Dour takes us to northern Senegal for a new sound. Richard Bona, from the Cameroon, Lokua Kanza, from the Congo, and Gerald Toto, a Caribbean from Paris, meet in an African music summit.

Ms. Gonzalez says 'No Mas'

Singer Carol Gonzalez abruptly and inexplicably ended her performance on the Thursday night Singer's Night showcase at Christopher's.
Some three songs in to the 2nd set of what was scheduled to be a three-set show,
Gonzalez said " I'll do one more then I'm gone home" and made good on her
statement after doing Etta James' 'At Last'
Needless to say, the move did not go down well with patrons.
"She mus' go back tothe bech," one disgruntled regular said. "She nuh ready
fe dis level."

With both a fledgling CD and career to promote, one wonders what Gonzalez really hoped to achieve with the walkout.

Check Christopher's this Tuesday for blues inger Robyn Banks (let's hope she stays the night)

RIFFIN' note

Those of you who either clicked or tuend in to Riffin' thus far this
week will have been hearing a a repeat of last week's roster of
programmes.

We're not sure what's happening over at Newstalk, but as soon as we
have a handle, we'll update you further

(if by chnace you missed the previous week's broadcasts, then
this may be a good opportunity to catch up)

KATHY BROWN: "A LIFE IN THE DAYS"

Kathy Brown leads frenzied life
> October transpired as a month of performances,
> interviews and peddling of CDs “out of mi car” in
> the bustling life of jazz pianist Dr. Kathy Brown.
> Performance-wise she ticked off Bank of Jamaica’s
> month end Lunch Time Concert accompanying Jamaica’s
> Lou Rawls, Maurice Charles, and a few corporate
> functions plus the University Singers Concert
> weekend.
>
> Flitting through the October raindrops, Kathy
> Brown recorded the O Factor, a Talk 93 FM recorded
> live muisc feature hosted by Guitarists Seretse
> Small and Steve Golding, and aired each Tuesday
> night on the Campus based radio station.
>
> November started off on the right note for the
> jazzy doctor with the call to the Pegasus’ Jazz in
> the Gardens’ Best of the Best 07 show set for
> December 23. A few winks after she was bright-eyed
> and sitting in the Guest Room of RJR Jamaican
> Morning duo of Alan Magnus and Paula-Ann Porter. Ten
> minutes later a dauntless Kathy Brown would survive
> François (St. Juste) riotous Friday crowd on FAME’s
> Full House Friday.
> For good measure, she also did TVJ's SMile Jamaica morning show.
> The very soon to be launched CD Mission: A
> Musical Journey is being played on Conscious Music
> radio BESS 100.5 FM in the Instrumental Record slot
> hosted each Monday, Tuesday & Thursday afternoon by
> conscious reggae music DJ Sugar Wayne.
>
> Well, the cat is out the bag, and Kathy Brown’s
> next stop will be Dermot Hussey acclaimed Riffin,
> heard exclusively on Talk 93 FM each weeknight at
> 8:30 pm, as the Washington DC based XM Satellite
> Radio Musicman reviews the aforementioned CD of the
> Jamaican jazz pianist. Keep watching Jazz First for
> the schedule.
>

Riffin' this week

Missed Jacky Terrason - due to launch of Francophone FIlm fest (see mini-review of that at expressionzjm.blogspot.com), but here's how the rest of the week looks.

STREAMING LIVE AT NEWSTALK.COM.JM


Mon: Pianist, Jacky Terrasson, relishes the challenge of reinterpreting classic pop songs and jazz tunes, and does so cleverly in his album” Mirror” . Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, continues her African journey.

Tues: A Riffin rewind. The Turtle island Quartet’s celebration of John Coltrane’s music. Bassist, Stanley Clark, composes and plays beautifully on “The Toys Of Men”.

Wed: Riffin with straight ahead drummer, Alvin Queen, and a tight group in overdrive.

Thurs: ‘LICK SAMBA”, with Maria Rita, Marisa Monte, and Ceu, three seductive Brazilian singers in “lick samba” mode.

Frid: As she did on “Mi Tierra”, Gloria Estafan celebrates once again her Cuban roots in “90 Millas”.

A Decade of Dune

Piopneering British jazz label Dune Records, founded by Anglo-Jamaican Gary Crosby, celebrates its 10th year this year with new music featuring several of its stellar artists

From saxophonist Denys Baptiste comes Anansi:Reunion, a suite inspired by and expounding on the Anansi stories of West African origin. The suite features storyteller Jan Blake.

Then transplanted American trumpeter Abram Wilson (New Orleans-born, London resident)teams up with Jazz Jamaica All-Stars, the London Community Gospel Choir and Jamaica's own Ernie Ranglin, Marjorie Whylie and Myrna Hague for Roll Jordan Roll and Tighten Up.
go to www.dune-music.com for more details

Review: Laraque & Co @ Christopher's

It could so easily have turned out to be 'another night', that is to say a night
like many previously, where one hears competent musicians just going through
material already long familiar to the audience who would go abouttheir regular occupations of drinking and chatting
But there was, on Tuesday last, a different kind of energy to Christopher's Jazz cafe as reedman Nicholas Laraque took the stage alongside Ozoune on piano/keys, Nisan on drums and Shurwayne on bass. In fact, Laraque himself repped on several instruments, all of them reeds: he played soprano alto and tenor saxohpone (the latter not seen by this writer in any of his previous appearances) and for good measure, he also starred on flute.
This new energy extendedto the jazz-funk and post-bop standards (Mercy, Mercy and So What among others) and pop classics that the band delivered with effortless vigor.
But the real kicker came late in the session, in the closing moments of the final set, when Laraque brought on two guests: tenorists Tafane (possessed of a robust tone) and trumpeter Craig. The expanded band delivered rollicking impressions of ska classics, bringing the figurative curtains down on 'another' Tuesday night live music episode that will at least stand out on its own merits.

The next session features the return of Seretse & the True Democrats, just before they return to Guyana for a folk-jazz engagement in Georgetown, a repeat of a gig they played earlier this year.

Christopher's 3

Christopher's 3
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

Laraque on flute at the Tiesday Night music series at Christopher's. Tonight features Seretse and the True Democrats

Christopher's 4

Christopher's 4
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

Nicholas Laraque (on flute) leads Shurwayne (bass) Nison (drums) and Ozoune(keyboard0 during the Tuesday Night perofrmance at Christopher's Jazz Cafe

Laraque & Co at Christopher's

Look out for my review of this excellent show (from last Tuesday)
even as we prepare forthe farewell show tomorrow of Seretse
and the True Democrats as they head to Guyana.

Riffin for week 22

RIFFIN RUNDOWN FOR WEEK 22/10/07
@NEWSTALK93FM
@8.35PM



STREAMING LIVE AT NEWSTALKFM.COM.JM



MON: Pianist Cyrus Chesnut, plays the music of the”King”, Elvis Presley, and makes it swing.The amazing voice of Everett Greene, one of the music’s best kept secrets.

TUES: WORD SOUND & POWER, from the poet Sundiata, the music of Marcus Strickland, Somalian poet/rapper KNAAN, and Wyclef Jean, rappin on reggae.

WED: The beauty of the “ballad” twice, John Coltrane’s “Ballads” and singer Karrin Allyson’s, remembering John Coltranes’s ballads.

THURS: The accordion of Richard Galliano relives the music of the Argentine Nuevo Tango composer, Astor Piazolla. African guitarist Lionel Louke, demonstrates why he is in demand with artists like Herbie Hancock

FRID: “Another Intensity”, the title of an album by German reggae artist, Gentleman, is just that, lyrically and musically.

Laraque for Christopher's Tuesday

sax player Nicholas Laraque is the featured act for the weekly Tuesday night
instrumental series come October 23

showtime is the usual 7:30pm
cover $300

Check the roundabout

Besure to check (one of) my other blog(s) round-a-bout, at showlist.blogspot.com for periodic listings of select live performances and other premium events

Carib poets featured on BETJ

Caribbean Dubpoets given a platform on BET J’s
Word Sound Power every Saturday 11am &11pm

Last Saturday at 11am and 11pm, the first show for the series Word Sound Power was viewed by millions on BET J, world wide. For the first time, dub-poets were given a platform on a commercial network to showcase Caribbean poetry for the world to experience.

Word Sound Power is an artistic force uniting the African oral tradition of rhythmic dub poetry and the literary art form of spoken word to form the voice of a new poetic generation.

Hosted weekly by M-1 of legendary Hip-Hop Duo Dead Prez, it features some of the best dub poets like Ansley Burrows, Cherry Natural, Yasas Afari, Suhir Hammad, LSX, Roger Bonair Agaird, Kamika and others.

The first three shows of the series were recorded at Boone Hall in Stony Hill. The cast will return to Jamaica to finish recording the rest of the show, utilizing the beauty, wonderful themes, and perfect location.

Word Sound Power redefines the boundaries of entertainment by directly addressing socio- economic, political issues with prose and purpose while providing an elevated visionary alternative to bridge the gap between cultures and countries of the African Diaspora.

This marriage of cultures brings together talent dub-poets of the world representing Caribbean and African background to express them-selves creatively yet sending strong messages. Produced by Roots Cause Entertainment and Earth Strong Production, Aranthes explains, “Dub Poets have never had a platform like this on a major international network. It’s never been done before. BET J has given us a platform to showcase this art form across the world.” Word Sound Power will air on BET J

Rotary's 'Quad' returns

If it's October then that can only mean one thing - apart from the fact that
Oktoberfest draws nigh - the Rotary Club of Downtown Kingston's
Wine + Cheese & Art + Jazz is shortly to be renewed.
The event is scheduled for Sunday October 28 at the Knutsford Court
hotel, beginning at 8:00 pm

More word on the line-up soon

The Germans are coming

The School of Music seems to be starting the academic year with a bang.
Not one, but two special concerts coming in short order.
First this, courtesy of Rosina Moder:

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

in association with the School of Music – Edna Manley College

cordially invite to an
Evening of Jazz
featuring Christof Lauer (saxophone) and Jens Thomas (piano)
on October 6, 2007 , at 7 pm
at the School of Music Auditorium ( 1 Arthur Wint Drive , Kingston 5)

Music starts at 8 pm
Admission free
Donations for music scholarships welcome


Christof Lauer (saxophone) and Jens Thomas (piano) are without doubt two of the best jazz musicians in Europe .

They met in 1999 and both found a perfect match in each other.

This fall, following an invitation from the Goethe Institute in Mexico , they are touring Latin America and the Caribbean .

The German Embassy is proud to welcome them in Jamaica .

Apart from the concert on Saturday, October 6, the German Embassy has asked the musicians to offer

a work shop for the master class of the School of Music ( Edna Manley College ) on Friday, October 5,

starting at 10 am .

Christof Lauer and Jens Thomas have produced two CDs together; “Shadows in the Rain” and “Pure Joy”.


but, before that, there is this:

On Saturday, October 6th, starting at 6 p.m. at UWI Chapel, is a special concert

organized by the Instiutute of Jamaica and the British High Commission, in

commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Abolishion of the Slave Trade.

Admission is FREE, please be seated at 5:30

Jazzofonik emcees Singer's Nite

Owing to our continued stronger links
with Griot Music, i'll be hosting tonight's
Singer's Night showcase at Christopher's
The featured artiste is Abby (I believe Abby-gaye Dallas)
a recent graduate of the School of Music with a smoky
voice and a flair for the sensual.

she'll be backed up by other ECM alumni, the Raging Fire band

Turn up the A/C and loosen your collars, guys.

School/Community band for ECM

The follwoing, sent me by email form the School of music,

is encourgaing.

Lecturers, Students, Past Students of the Edna Manley College and friends who are players of Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and Stringed Instruments, are invited to be a part of the Edna Manley College Concert Band/Orchestra, Pop Band, scheduled to start on Saturday 20th October 2007 at 11:00a.m. in the School of Music Auditorium.

Come with your instrument and music stand!
For further information please contact:-
Major Joe Williams
Tel: 946-0209; (c) 428-5568

The Jazz According to Luke

The Tuesday night Music series at Christopher's in the Quad
continues to provide an interesting smorgasbord of music and
promising new talent;
On our previous visit, we were impressed by a young drummer who
displayed tremendous speed nad power and withthe right guidnace
and some restraint, could emerge asa premier musician.

This past Tuesday night, it was young pianist Luke Dixon (Jazzofonik
remembers his final year cocnert at the School of music)who served
notice that quality improvised music was alive & well at Christopher's.

Supported by Deleon 'Jubba' White on drums and Alves Reid on bass, Dixon began
appropriately enough with Miles' Freddie Freeloader, given that his pianism
displays a discernible touch of Wynton Kelly in additon to some Oscar
peterson influence.
A meandering All Blues (with Akil 'Red Bull' Karram sitting in on the drum kit) was perhaps the only misstep in a delightfully varied programme that took in
pop and even mild classical in addition to jazz

Definitely a musician worthy of wider recognition.

Riffin in October week 1

Here's the Riffin' schedule for the first week of OCtober
Remember, Riffin streams live on Newstalk 93FM
newstalk.com.jm

RIFFIN RUNDOWN FOR WEEK 1/10/07, NEWSTALK 93FM, AT 8.35PM

STREAMING LIVE AT WWW.NEWSTALK.COM.JM

MON: The first of a two part farewell to Joe Zawinul, and the legendary music of Weather Report.

TUES: Part 2 of a farewell to Joe Zawinul and the music of Weather Report.

WED: Farewell to the smooth Caribbean balladeer, Jon Lucien, whose sound was what started the term “smooth jazz”

THURS: Carlos Malcolm’s Afro-Jamaican Rhythms, made the most creative music of the 60’s, a skillfull blend of mento, ska,afro-cuban and jazz. Malcolm keeps the same spirit alive in his Caribbbean Piano Etudes.

FRID; An acoustic guitar portrait of Bob Marley’s music, by British guitarist Bub Roberts.

Judge leaves the bench for music

Former Resident Magistrate Carol Gonzalez, who left the judiciary on Friday last
to pursue her musical dreams, will launch her album, The Music In Me at the Terra Nova hotel on Thursday (Sep 27) at 7:00pm.

Gonzalez, who did stints on Broadway as well as on the Manhattan club circuit
in the late 70s and early 80s, had local Jamaican hits with Spoiled By Your Love,and Second Class Love.

below is the URL to a Sunday Gleaner (Sep 23 )article detailing her new career path.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070923/ent/ent1.html

Banks' blues @ Red Bones

Friday September 28, 2007 @ 9:00pm

Redbones Presents
Texas Blues Singer
ROBIN BANKS
AND THE ROBIN BANKS BLUES BAND

Gates open at 8:00pm
Showtime 9:00pm

Admission J$400

US Jazz: 'Cutting Out The Cross

Isaiah 53; v. 5
"But he was wounded for our iniquities, bruised for our transgressions.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes, we are healed."


The significance of the above was lost on US singer Jackie Jones, the
headline act of Tuesday night's US Embassy Jazz concert at the Pegasus
Gardens.

Jones opted to do the traditional hymn, "He Looked Beyond My Faults & Saw My Needs"
(popularly referred to by its opening line, "Amazing Grace Shall Always Be My Song of Praise")
At the chorus, where the hymn would read "I shall forever lift mine eyes to Calvary,
to view the cross where Jesus died for me" she deliberately substituted the following lines:

"I shall forever lift my head in thanks to Thee
for all that you have done for me"

By deliberately eliminating the cross and any mention of Jesus, Jones essentially
ripped the heart out of the song, and marred what up to that point was a pleasant,
if unspectacular evening's entertainment.

Backed by a Harold Davis-led group that included Alex Martin-Blanken(kybd), Dale Brown (elc bass); Junior "Bird" Bailey (dr) and Warren harris (alto sax & prcssion);
she delivered R&B-inflected covers of such standards as My Funny Valentine and Cheek to Cheek, as well as a catchy Latin-tinged original, entitled Bittersweet.

Jackie, if you can't behold the cross, don't try to deny others the knowledge of Him. Sing the whole truth or nothing.

Monk et al at Starbucks

Thelonious Monk is but one of the jazz and pop legends available
at coffee giant Starbucks. herbie hancock, Paul McCartney,(whose new
album, Memory Almost Full, was the new comapny's first full release)
Joni mitchell, Lyle lovett and Dave Matthews are also available.
Starbucks also recently launched its iTunes giveaway promotion.

Despite the fac that they have their detractors, and we have our own
indigenous coffee bars, My question is, When do they get to Jamaica?

US Embassy Jazz

on Tuesday, September 25, 8:00 p.m. at the Gardens, Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. The event will feature U.S. jazz vocalist Jackie Jones along with Jamaica's Harold Davis and Friends and Maurice Charles.

Jackie Jones is a talented American artist who carries the jazz legacy to new lengths. She brings renewed vitality and energy to a grand tradition of musical innovation and virtuosity. Jones is a graduate of Rutgers University where she had formal music education at the Mason Gross School of the Arts. There she trained under such noteworthy jazz talents as pianist Kenny Barron, drummer Keith Copeland, vibraphonist Steve Nelson and bassist Larry Ridley. Ms. Jones has electrified audiences from New York City to Germany and has opened for the legendary Lou Rawls. Her greatest vocal influences are anchored in the tradition of jazz song stylists Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson and Etta Jones


Good to see the folks at US Embassy returning to jazz & blues - their offerings in the past (Jazz Sabroson, Sista Monica etc) have been of high quality. this is one to look forward to

Sonny & Roy: a 50-year (almost) reunion

Just had to include the following NY Times review of Sonny Rollins'
epochal 50th Anniversary Carnegie Hall concert, especially
afterlearnign that it was almost 50 years since Sonny's played
with Roy Haynes.


A Reunion of Giants, 50 Years On
By FRED KAPLAN
Sonny Rollins’s concert at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday
night was billed as the 50th anniversary of his first
performance there. More significant, it was the first
time since 1958 — nearly a 50th anniversary — that
he’s played with Roy Haynes. The greatest living tenor
saxophone player, teamed again with arguably the
greatest living drummer — now that’s historic.

The concert’s first half, when the two were joined by
the young bassist Christian McBride, lived up to the
fanfare, in unexpected ways. The high points of Mr.
Rollins’s concerts are usually the extended solos:
sinuous improvisations, going on for dozens of
choruses, no two alike, in which he explores every
chord, theme or counterpoint a song seems to offer,
then taps some uncharted crevice and digs or soars on
to blow more. This set wasn’t like that. Perhaps
because he was playing with peers (a rarity in recent
decades), he held back, simmered where he usually
boiled, and played as one of three equals.

The unlikely highlight was “Some Enchanted Evening,”
which Mr. Rollins opened by reciting the melody with
his lush and husky tone, while Mr. Haynes flapped
brushes in triple time, and Mr. McBride plucked whole
notes that anchored the chords without confining his
band mates. When they got to the part where most
musicians take solos, Mr. Rollins instead tossed out a
fragment of the melody, then Mr. Haynes filled in the
rest, and on the interplay went, bar after bar, the
two sometimes overlapping, sometimes not.

It felt like an ambling, elegant conversation between
old friends, which in fact it was. It set off a
goose-bump sensation, a shared intimacy one rarely
encounters in a jazz concert. And the full house gave
it the night’s lustiest applause.

For the set’s closer, “Mack the Knife,” Mr. Rollins
drew on a gruffer tone, full of fleet triplets and
arpeggios, but Mr. McBride took the star turn with a
solo that possessed a horn’s articulate fluency and a
master’s insouciant assurance, despite the age gap
that might have marked him as an apprentice. (He’s 35,
while Mr. Rollins is 77 and Mr. Haynes is —
unbelievably — 82.)

After intermission Mr. Rollins brought out his regular
sextet, which includes electric guitar, electric bass,
trombone, drums and congas (but, alas, no Mr. Haynes
or Mr. McBride). This is a band whose function is to
support the leader, and it performs that task
adequately. But Carnegie Hall’s acoustics, often
troublesome with amplified music, muddied the works,
and Mr. Rollins’s notes were often buried in the mix.
The engineers turned up the volume when Clifton
Anderson’s trombone started out too low, but didn’t
extend the courtesy to the headliner.

Mr. Rollins never broke through the stratosphere.
Still, he played with customary verve, especially
during the two calypsos, when he strutted to the front
of the stage, thrusting his horn to the rhythm while
ripping through the scales, finally uncorking a stream
of thunderous low notes like a foghorn guiding the
way. He does this at the end of nearly all his
concerts, and it never fails to delight.

Merrtione Reunion 07 launched

"Ther are all the ingredients for a Merritone event," quipped MC
Michael Hall at last night's launch of the 17th Merritone
Reunion and homecoming at the Waterfalls lounge in Liguanea. "We have
white rum, we have Levitra, and we have the Merritone family."

Amid the towering orange flame of the Levitra balloon, and other branding
cues, the venerable sound system (57 years young) launched the 2007
edition of itsa annual celebration with a word on the impacto f jamaican music and culture on N American life and politics form former Ambassador to
the US, Gordon Shirley and reminsicences of teenage years form Mutabaruka
who revealed that as a student of Kgn Tech High School, he would 'skull [skip]
school' to go to Merritone events.
Merritone man Monte Blake gavea rundown of the 2K7 schedule, kicking off
with a joint fete with JDF at Curphey place on October 5, followed by the return to the Genesis of the group at Lyssons St Thomas, - Oct 6 followed by a Sunday outing at Somerset Falls in Portland
The action returns to the capital withthe meet and greet at the Quad on OCt 10
and Waterfalls on Oct 11 before heading to Runaway Bay forthe big all-inclusive weekend at Hedonism III.
Heroes Day Oct 15 wraps up the celebrations at the Deck lounge and bar in New Kingston.

The next Riffs

RIFFIN RUNDOWN FOR WEEK 24/9, NEWSTALK 93FM, 8.35PM

STREAMING AT WWW.NEWSTALK.COM.JM

MON: “ A soul transferred into sound”, is how Elisabeth Kontomanou has been described. Of Greek and African origin, and born in France, Miss Kontomanou interprets classic songs on her album “Midnight Sun”.Singer Allan Harris pays tribute to Nat King Cole, and sounds a lot like the “king”.


TUES: There’s more to Venezuela than Hugo Chavez. For instance, Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo, who relys less on his Latin side, but embraces music wholly.

WED: Bassist, Morrie Louden’s “Timepiece”, is a brilliant blend of compositions, arrangements and musicianship. Pianist David Hazeltine leads a sparkling “straight ahead” style with Eric Alexander and Joe Locke.

THURS: The Turtle Island Quartet, of violin, baritone violin, viola and cello pay tribute to John Coltrane’s “ A Love Supreme”..


FRID: Riffin with the evolution of the groove, with remixes of Miles Davis, featuring rapper Nas and Carlos Santana. The groove also evolves to Guadelope , with musician Jacques- Schwartz- Bart, and rapper Talib Kweli’s “Eardrum”.

Merritone 2K7

An early note about Merritone Homecoming 2007.
The calendar staple will be launched Thursday Sep 20 at
Waterfalls (7pm local)
sunday Brunch with Merritone continues of FM93 12 noon to 4pm
go to newstalk.com.jm

Rifin', Red Bones & Trane's last stop

A fulsome post tonight combining the Riffin' rundown, notice of
an upcoming Maurice Gordon show at Red Bones and an interesting
newsclip about efforts to preserve the former home of John COltrane
in Long Island, NY
Enjoy.

RIFFIN, THE RUNDOWN FOR WEEK 17/9/07, AT 8.35PM


STREAMING LIVE AT NEWSTALK.COM.JM


MON; Riffin with the robust tenor saxophone of Illinois Jacquet. A sound that could be screeching, but also warm. Jacquet plays his final performance with his Big Band at the Midsummer Night Swing, in 2004, at the Lincoln Centre For The Performing Arts.


TUES: For singers only. The New York Voices, Cassandra Wilson and Allan Harris.


WED: Pianist Billy Taylor, and Baritone saxophonist, Gerry Mulligan, in live performance, breeze through some standards in fine style and infectious camaraderie. McCoy Tyner’s Quarter, also in live performance, featuring Joe Lovano, hypnotizes.


THURS: The in demand, German trumpeter, arranger and producer, Till Bronner, a master of mood and music, featured aspects of his album “Oceana”. Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau, explore their own musical intimations with a Quartet. Bassist Scott Colley is the “architect of the silent moment”.


FRID: Guitarist, Kenny Burrell, celebrates a 75 birthday bash with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra.



MAURICE GORDON & RED BONES BLUES CAFE
present :
" People who live to play live"featuring
guitarist and composer
MAURICE GORDON
And FRIENDS
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 21st, 2007
8:30 p.m.
@ RED BONES BLUES CAFE
21 BRAEMAR AVENUE 978-6091 855-3030

Contribution : $500
Students $250

featuring :
MAURICE GORDON : guitar; Courtney Sinclair/Othniel Lewis : keyboards;
Dale Haslam : bass; Deleon "Jubba" White : drums


COLTRANE HOME IN
DIX HILLS, NY
RECEIVES NATIONAL HISTORIC DESIGNATION
Suburban Long Island Home of John & Alice Coltrane Receives Rare Designation
Coltrane Home Seeks Continued Preservation and Creation of Museum and Education Center
Huntington, NY, September 4, 2007 - The Dix Hills, Long Island home of jazz musical greats, John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane, has just been added to both the New York State and the National Register of Historic Places. The home was the residence of the Coltrane family from 1964 to 1973 John Coltrane, a renowned saxophonist and composer, composed "A Love Supreme" - one of the largest-selling jazz albums of all time - at the home. John Coltrane passed away in 1967.
According to Robert C. Hughes, Huntington Town Historian, "It's relatively unusual for a mid-fifties' home to receive historic landmark designations. This attests to the significance of this site as the location from which the music of the Coltranes tremendously impacted the music world. This also confirms the Town of Huntington's belief that this is a significant landmark."
The attainment of these designations is seen as a key step in the complete preservation of the home; as well as its planned future conversion to a museum and archive of important jazz and music material, and educational center -- as envisioned by the Coltrane family and the participants of The Coltrane Home, a not-for-profit organization devoted to the preservation of the home. According to musician Ravi Coltrane, son of John and Alice Coltrane, who lived in the home as a child, "It was my Mom, Alice's express vision to help use this home to provide inspiration about music as an incredibly positive force, and explore the joys of making music for people of all ages. This is a great step towards that vision." Alice Coltrane, harpist and pianist, passed away in January 2007.
The home of the Coltrane family was spared the wrecking ball in 2004, after Dix Hills historian Steve Fulgoni discovered that it had been sold to a developer, whose intended to clear the land and build luxury home on the site. Fulgoni, a long-time fan of John Coltrane, brought the situation to the attention of the Town of Huntington and succeeded in convincing them of the historical significance of the home. In 2005, with the support of musicians and jazz aficionados around the world, including Carlos Santana and Herbie Hancock, the Town agreed to purchase the site.
When learning the news of the Coltrane Home's historic designation, Mr. Fulgoni's said, "This has been a long, arduous effort to save the Home. We truly appreciate the State and Federal recognition of the legacy of the Coltranes, and this can help unlock some of the funding we will need to restore this home. This is a great, great step."
The Coltrane Home is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization.
For more information, contact Jehudith Cohen:
(e) jehudithcohen@yahoo.com / (p) 516.521.4791
www.thecoltranehome.org

We're Riffin' again

Breifly lost touch with RIffin' host Dermot Hussey, but
effectively immediately (that makes us sound importantant, doesn't it)
the weekly Riffin' Rundown will be included on JazzFirst.
And even though thisweek's schedule is almost done, the lineup is
so pwoerful that I thought I'd share it with you anyway...Check it out:

RIFFIN RUNDOWN FOR WEEK 10/ 9/07, NEWSTALK93FM, 8.35PM


STREAMING LIVE AT WWW.NEWSTALK.COM.JM





MON: Unfinished Business with Max Roach. Also, “A Tale Of God’s Will”, the first in a two part programme on a Requiem For Katrina, by one of New Orleans’s noted sons, trumpeter, Terence Blanchard.


TUES: part two of “ A Tale of God’s Will”, by Terence Blanchard, trumpeter and composer from New Orleans.


WED: Two female pianists from classical backgrounds, Lisa Hilton and Helen Sung, achieve different results. Hilton’s “New York Sessions engage some of the best young players on the New York scene, while Helen Sung, a Chinese American, interprets Spanish composer, Issac Alebeniz’s “Espana”


THURS: Composer, arranger and conductor, Maria Schneider, has recorded a new album “Sky Blue”, featuring her large orchestra. The recording was made possible by the contributions of fans

FRID:African_American bluesman, Corey Harris, who is also a trained anthropologist, recorded a complete reggae album, “Zion Crossroads”, a title which he got from a road sign in Virginia where he lives. Riffin with the music of the Congolese artists Ricardo Lemvo, whose innovative music, combines Latin and African elements.





If the terms 'world beat' or 'world music' mean anything to you, DO NOT MISS
the Firday programme with Congolese Ricard Lemvo (I believe his band is called maqunina loca - crazy machine) Definitely a treat.

PORT ROYAL MUSIC FEST

In addition to hosting Regina Belle and Brian McKnight, this year’s Port Royal Music festival will also see a return of the Jazz on the Harbour feature, this Sunday, September 9. Featuring pianist Dr Kathy Brown, recently returned from successful engagements in Toronto Canada and having just completed her debut disc, entitled Mission

The Loud Majority

Live @ Christopher's
September 4
Seretse Small & Friends

Amid an atmosphere that grew steadily more raucous -particularly
with news late thatthe Jamaica Labour Party had increased its
seat count in Monday's electoral contest, guitarist/impresario
Seretse Small and a motley crew made a vibrant noise, especially in its first
set at Christopher's Jazz Cafe Tuesday night.
Kicking off with My Little Suede Shoes, they romped thru Miles Davis' late 50s
classic So What (sounding more like it belonged in Davis' mid-80s funk-pop period)
Small, buoyed by the presence of Akil 'Red Bull' Karram and Denver 'Guinness' Smith
on drums and percussion respectively delivered some stirring improvisations on Blue Bossa and FLy Me To The Moon.
After the next set opened with Mercy, Mercy Mercy (now joined by Nicholas
Laraque on alto) the music grew more languid, in contrast to the interior volume, with adagio interpretations of R Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly and a mid-tempo
walk through CHick Corea's Spain

Thanks

Thanks to all who tuned in to Newstalk 93 Sunday last
for the special broadcast form Devon House, featuring
our tribute to the late Max Roach, with special guest
Herbie Miller, as well as Charmaine Limonious on guitar/vocals.
Thanks to Monte Blake for the opportunity; ilook forward to doing it again soon

Kathy in Canada

Had great reports about pianiast Kathy Brown's recent perfromance in Toronto.
The following review from Claude Wilson confirms:

Dr. Kathy Brown makes auspicious Canadian debut

She has been captivating audience in her homeland Jamaica; her repertoire includes a range of musical styles, R&B, reggae, soul, calypso, gospel and jazz. Today she is making her Canadian debut, Harbourfront Centre please welcome Dr. Kathy Brown. – Harboutfront show MC

With this introduction and a whoop from the crowd, gifted Jamaican jazz pianist Dr. Kathy Brown made an auspicious overseas debut captivating the thousands of West Indians, predominantly Jamaicans, and international visitors at the recent Island Soul Festival at the main concert stage of the Harbourfront Centre in downtown Toronto, Canada.

The opening act for the annual event, which included the legendary guitarist Ernest Ranglin, Canadian reggae/jazz saxophonist I-Sax Injah and Barrington Levy, Kathy Brown, despite the odds, carved out a lively set that impressed fans and journalists alike.

And, at the end of a 65 minutes presentation, a number of Toronto based newspaper and radio journalists sought and booked interviews while some older white folks took the opportunity to express delight in a “wonderful presentation”

Performing tunes from her one-week old CD Mission: A Musical Journey, Brown, backed by Jason Wilson’s Tabarruk band, straight off established a link with the audience that was sustained throughout the presentation. From the opening duet with percussionist Everton Paul “Rasta Journey”, her improvised version of “By The Rivers of Babylon”, into Get Up, Stand Up elicit spontaneous cheers that rang out into the fine Canadian evening.

She had warned in an opening statement that they would hear familiar songs but with different musical interpretation and so her predominately West Indian audience did.

Performing at the international cultural centre that housed the recently opened Miss Lou Room, Brown became a storyteller recreating a conjured scene at the old downtown Kingston market where a housewife meticulous selects and buys banana, after which she launched into the popular but nostalgic Jamaican folksong “Solas Market”

She closed a well-received presentation with an improvised Marley’s “Could You, Be Love”, using each individual solos to introduced the members of Tabarruk. And so Kathy Brown left the Harbourfront Centre stage on a musical high to make way for guitar maestro Ernest Ranglin.

Ken Stowar, host of Global Rhythm on CIUT FM, described Brown’s set to his live radio audience as “a wonderful one-hour performance”. The show was aired by live remote across Ontario via the University of Toronto radio station.

Stowar signified the performance of the backing band, which, he says, has backed many artists from around the world but noting that although the musicians were barely familiar with Kathy Brown’s work. “They held it down well behind Dr. Brown who put on an excellent debut that went over really well with the whole crowd”,

Adding, “ Everyone seemed to have been listening very intently because at the Harbourfront it is usual for people to be shifting around but this time they were paying extra close attention to Dr. Brown”, the CIUT FM Program Director remarked.

But the perfectionist said afterwards, “The presentation included some on the spot, new and surprising arrangements”. This, Kathy Brown admitted, was due to the minimal rehearsal possible with the new band, “It was crazy and it was a matter of survival and a real test of my ability. It was a real effort to stay the [1-hour] course”.

Backing band Tabarruk comprises Jason Wilson, leader/ keyboard/percussions, Michael Herring, bass, Everton “Pablo” Paul, percussions, Iain Green, drums, Marcus Ali on tenor sax.

Brown revealed that the possibility exists that her debut overseas performance in Canada could be followed by performances in London and South Africa. “I have been talking to some people in those country”, she said .

Can't wait to get my copy of Mission - Claude?

To the Max

As part of my hosting of Sunday Brunch
on News talk 93FM, I'll be doinga special
tribute to late drumming legend Max Roach.
I'll be joined by Herbie Miller, personal friend
of Roach for 30+ years.

Jazzofonik FM

Just finished a stint hosting Sunday Brunch on FM 93.
All being well I should return next Sunday (Sept 2),
sitting in for Monte Blake
tune in via newstalkjm.com from noon (Jamaica time) till
4:00pm

Forres Park jam

Forres Park jam
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

A long torturous (but scenic) drive throughthe middle reaches of the Blue Mountains yielded to the lovely Forres Park hostel, complete with own coffee farm.
these guys certainly had ahd their coffee - and they needed it. They're shooting a sries called Jazz 876, about the local improvisd music scene. he shoot continues tonight at Christopher's Jazz Cafe in the financial district of New Kingston

Karen Smith Red Bank

Karen goes to Red Bank

Jamaican songstress Karen Smith takes her combination of smooth sophistication and sprightly energy to Red Bank
, New Jersey (where the legendary Count Basie spent his formative years before finding stardom in Kansas City) on
Wednesday, August 1, when she weaves her unique blend of jazz, pop and reggae on the stage of the Two River
Theater.
A chart-topping act and winner of numerous accolades for her vocal artistry, Smith says she will bring the spirit of
Jamaica to the US east coast, where she is a relative unknown.
Smith has long been a musical force to be reckoned with. She holds a total of nine Jamaica Music Industry awards,
and has earned her fervent fan base with the warmth and clarity of her vocal stylings and her easy mastery of musical
genres ranging from pop and jazz to reggae and R&B.
The proceeds from this year's concert, her second local appearance, will benefit the Parker Family Health Clinic and
the Red Bank Family Support Center.
The Red Bank Men's Club, the Pan Hellenic Council of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, and the Red Bank Education
and Development Initiative are jointly sponsoring this year's concert.
Showtime for the Aug. 1 event is 7 p.m.

Th Dr is 'in' at allaboutjazz.com

Jamaican jazz pianist Dr. Kathy Brown is a big hit on a world leading Internet jazz website. The founder and leader of the Dr. Kathy Brown & Friends band reached position No. 82 of the Top 200 most viewed musician profile on arguably the world best media reference in jazz and improvised music.


Within a mere one month of being posted on AllAboutJazz.com, the Jamaican pianist tallied 470 hits to move up the Top 100 of thousands of registered musicians whose profile appear in the New York based jazz publication.

The All About Jazz (AAJ) tabloid and Internet magazine, which, at the time of writing, has on register 13,790 jazz musicians, records an average of 1 million Internet viewers per month from across the world since 2006, recording a phenomenal 47,151 hits on January 15 this year.

Of the Top 200 Musician Profiles Viewed, Kathy Brown appears four positions behind her mentor Ahmad Jamal (78) six behind Ella Fitzgerald (76), two and four places before pianist Herbie Hancock (84) and trumpeter Chet Baker (86) respectively.


A sample of names appearing before Brown include singers Sarah Vaughn (72), Ray Charles (67), and Michael Buble (68) saxophonist Kenny Garrett (58), band leader Duke Ellington (50), John Coltrane (36) Louis Armstrong (27), Wynton Marsalis (21), Thelonious Monk (8), and master trumpeter Miles Davis (4).

Some well-known names in jazz and improvised music, a few superstars included, are yet to garner the kind of curiosity that Kathy Brown offers as a fresh new artist on All About Jazz. She is currently ahead of Clifford Brown (97), Oscar Peterson (99), Sonny Rollins (102), pianist, and singer Diana Krall (103), Chuck Mangione (122), Joe Sample (131), Dexter Gordon (142), Quincy Jones (143), Billy Holiday (146), the instrumental band Spyro Gyra (148), Astrud Gilberto (154), Marcus Miller (162), and singer Dee Dee Bridgewater (188).

Guitar wiz Russell Malone, born in Georgia and now resides in New Jersey and who is best known for his work with Diana Krall, is the most viewed artist on the AAJ site. This surge in the interest comes ahead of Malone’s July 17 release of Live At Jazz Standard Volume Two CD, the continuation of Live At Jazz Standard recorded at the New York City’s Standard on September 9-11, 2005.

But, for a seemingly humbled Kathy Brown this interest shown in her by AAJ viewers is way ahead of her own expectations.

“I am thrilled”, said an elated but muffled Kathy Brown. “It is nice to know that people are interested in me as a musician. I never expected to be viewed, thinking I would be insignificant among this great line up of jazz artists that are profiled on the jazz website. It might be that viewers are looking on me as a woman but I would like to think that people out there are interested in my talent”, she told the Observer.

Continuing, “I am thrilled to know that I am being regarded among jazz greats like Ahmad Jamal, Diana Krall, Marcus Miller, and Quincy Jones. I hope one day I will be able to take my music around the world and maybe then I could be justifiably considered among those greats”.

Guitarist maestro Ernest Ranglin and pianist Monty Alexander are the only other Jamaican musicians registered on the AAJ website.

All About Jazz is a site produced by jazz fans for jazz fans and whose mission, according to the website, is to provide information and opinion about jazz from the past, present, and future. It posts profiles and reviews of jazz from around the world, and interviews with international musicians.

Sunday Brunch, Tune for June

Sunday brunch, with host Monty Blake of Merritone fame (50+ years and counting) launches this Sunday at Devon House, starting at mid-day,. Make it an afternoon or catch the vibes on Newstalk93FM

Following is mu unabashedly biased and unabridged take on yesterday's Jazz in the Gardens presentation at the Jamaica Pegasus. Look ofr more detailed review (but not from me):


It wasn’t a competitive situation – we each played what we liked and figured appropriate. Seeing as the date of the show coincided exactly with the passing of Clifford Brown,
I started and ended with Brownie tracks, but kept a ‘Masters’ theme throughout:

Clifford Brown w/ Sarah Vaughm, Herbie mann, Max Roach etc He’s My Guy;
Duke Ellington & Coltrane – In A Sentimental Mood;
Sonny Rollins, Max Roach etc – St Thomas;
Art Blakey & Jazz Messengers - Moanin’;
Clifford Brown, Roach etc. -Stardust;

Quite a few people came up afterwards and said that our collective set was more enjoyable than the music on stage.
Harold & Company (Alex martin-Blanken, Junior ‘Bird’ Bailey and Mikey Kennedy) had a good programme, but I found that for the most part,
The intensity was lacking. Featured act Shenita Hunt did a good set of most mid-tempo pop (Sade, Jon Legend) but closed on a high with Georgia and Stormy Monday

Jazz month thus far

Rain has figured heavily so far in this Jazz month
Haven't been able to confirm, but suspect the
opening jazz night at Morgan's harbour gto rained out
No such tragedy at Swallowfield Chapel in Kingston
Dennis Rushton, Jon Williams Fitzroy Bennett
and crew put on an excellent demo of jazz aas worship music,
or worship music as jazz, whichever your perspective
More details soon.

Pete & Sheila

Pete & Sheila
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

Oh Sheila!
Sheila E (right) drives her Dad Pete Escovedo's band from the drum kit during their Sunday at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. Among the players featured were Ray Vega and Steve Turrre. Pete is in the mustard coloured jacket (2nd left)

Bobby vibe

Bobby vibe
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

Vibist Bobby Hutcherson ends a song with a flourish during his well received set last Sunday at the Atlanta Jazz fest. My first time catching him live and it was well worth it.

crowd

crowd
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop

The numbers gre as afternoon gave way to evening. Good performances form thelieks of Airto and Flora (more form Airto's daughter and beat-boxing son-in-law and the Pete Escovedo Orchestra, featuring Sheila E (it's a daughter thing)

Jazz month

The merry - yet melancholy - month of May
by Michael 'Jazzofonik' Edwards

The above is extrapolated from a book (and, if memory serves, a film) by James Jones (not the Jim Jones of Guyana infamy) recounting the student riots in Paris in the late '60s, titled The Merry Month of May.

Indeed, over the years, the fifth month has seen its share of tumult and 'bittersweetness', especially for jazz enthusiasts, indeed for music lovers in general. Bob Marley left us on May 11, 1981, and in 2004, we bade final farewell to drumming great Elvin Jones (May 18) and our own Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd (May 5) within weeks of each other.


From left: Kathy Brown, Dennis Rushton and Sonny Bradshaw in a light moment from the launch of the 17th Jamaica International Jazz festival, at the Acropolis gaming lounge.
It's also the month in which trombonist/composer Don Drummond breathed his last (May 6). Elsewhere in this section, we learn from cultural historian and contributor Herbie Miller that Drummond recorded over 300 of his own compositions, while appearances on sessions backing others exceeds this count. Considering his relatively short recording career, one lasting just about five years during which it was interrupted by frequent bouts of mental illness (he died in the Bellevue Hospital under circumstances that remain a mystery), this is a remarkable achievement.

We also remember the passing one year ago of the great jazz pianist, John Hicks. And though he passed on April 20 this year, the loss of pianist Andrew Hill is still reverberating in the minds and hearts of those, like this writer, who had come to appreciate his highly idiosyncratic yet richly shaded style of playing.

But May is also a merry month, not least because it prepares us for June and the rich musical harvest that is Jazz Month. First up (not chronologically), the 17th Jamaica Ocho Rios International Jazz festival, which was launched this past Thursday at the Acropolis.

The line-up is bookended by two giants of modern saxophone: Tenor man (and a real gentle man) Houston Person headlines the closing concert on Father's Day at Shaw Park Beach Hotel, while on the opening Sunday at Morgan's Harbour, altoist Frank Morgan (fittingly) closes the show. Morgan, who came up in the mid-50s in the wake of Charlie Parker's death, sadly imitated his predecessor's penchant for heroin and thus spent many years either in prison or in recovery programmes. He has managed to overcome that addiction at long last and his last three CDs, Raising The Standard, Reflections and this year's Night In The Life have been well received.

Customarily, there's also the free concert in Kingston (venue as yet unnamed but last year's was in Emancipation Park) the South Coast Jazz festival, in Treasure Beach, as well as the renewal of the Jazz & Coffee in the Mountains showcase at Mavis Bank (June 9), and a number of satellite events at various venues.

Not a part of the Ocho Rios Jazz programme but definitely worth catching are the Griot Music/Hope United Church fund-raiser Jazz For Hope (June 2) and the Dennis Rushton/Swallowfield Chapel presentation Christ In Art and Jazz (June 8) at the Swallowfield worship centre. The latter show especially is not to be missed.

Closing out the Jazz Month on June 24 will be Jazz in the Gardens, which hardly needs any explanation. Watch this space for line-up details.

Riffin' Rundown (Week of May 14)
MON: The Riffin' week starts with strings. Guitarists, Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, pianist Brad Mehldau, make beautiful music that contrasts with the Latin fire of Michael Simon and Paquito D Riviera.

TUES: Ace singer, Kurt Elling takes us through some of his "Nightmoves", his latest album of great songs which demonstrate why he's one of the best male vocalists today.
WED: Female singers, Ann Hampton Callaway and Veronica Nunn, take on classics from the American songbook.

THURS: Jobim Jazz. Brazilian musicians led by Mario Adnet present a tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim. Some of the legendary composer's songs are given a Brazilian jazz treatment.

FRID: Riffin' with Andy Palacio and the Garrifuna Collective, as well as Dub Syndicate.

Watch this space

Been having a hard time finding any traction with writing
things get lost and dropped between the cracks
Meanwhile other endeavours are growing I MC'd 2
shows at Christopher's Jazz cafe last week in addition
to a 2 -night stint at thecharming Palisadoes Bay
Beach Park (lots of childhood memories in that place).
Look out for reviews of the Legacy show on Saturday last
(truly a great beginning so much so that I've cancelled
plans I had to get into the show promotion business,
I just saw my own idea presented to me, and it was
as good as I envisaged it)
as well as the Chridtopher's shows and a preview
of the upcoming Ocho RIos Jazz

Trying to stay aflaot!

Zag-a-zig pt II

In a fit of near depression, I walked out of my office the other day and headed
first for the bookstore - there Icame across a 1326-pg does of tonic called
Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite, by Paul Arden (www.penguin.com)
A wonderfully refreshing, even bracing examination on the
benefits of contrarianism, of going against he conventional wisdom,
this book is not for the hopelessly ingrained 'corporate' type who sees
work as something between 9-5 and a steady paycheck as salvation.
it will make you laugh, pout, ponder, rage and most of all think.
Get it.

Overproof music @ Christopher's

This column has already extolled the virtues of the Tuesday night experience at Christopher's Jazz Café.
On this particualr occasion, it was the Thursday Singer's Nite, and the artiste billed was the delightful
Ellan Edwards.
But namesake aside, the dulcet-toned singer had to take a back seat to a familiar tandem of musical
assassins - Akil 'Red Bull' Karram and Denver 'Guinness' Smith; Smith usually stars on percussion, but having
left his congas behind (in preparartion for a tour behind DJ Prodigal), he sat in behind the drum kit.
Between them, with able support from bassist, the newlywed Sherwin Thompson and pianist keyboardist
extraordinnaire Dr Kathy Brown (and, not to, be left out, guitarist Seretse Small, they took a Thursday night setthat was tiptoeing towards urgency right across the line. Karram in particular, having gained initial exposure through the Tuesday Night series, is a vindication of the shared vision of Small and Christopher's principal Brian 'Ribbie' Chung as a place where musicians can grow through regular gigs and audiences can have the benefit of extended exposure to artistes.

Jazz in the Gardens
It was a Sunday, so that means, essentially that it's time for Jazz in the Gardens. This time around, the quality series featured Michael Sean Harris, i na typically superb performance. Harris breathed new life into Jinji, Nature Boy and Summertime.
Before that, the aforementioned Dr Kathy Brown charged into Caravan in the openeing set and before her stint was finished, gavea rare vocal turn executing Kenny Garrett's Qing Wen (from his great CD, Beyond The Wall). June lawson' classical bent showed through to her detriment and the interval saw saxist Damon Riley and bassist Dougal Clarke entertaining with among others, Dizzy Reece in the audience.

Jazz World Database
Celebrating its 24th anniversary, Jazz World Database with 69,000 contacts is the largest source of jazz audience information in the World.
For complete JWD list click:
http://www.jazzworlddatabase.com/catalog/

Jazzofonik @ 3

We're steaming towards the third anniversary of this blog
thank God, for His faithfulness and thanks to all of you (even
you stupid spammers).
I'm going to troll through the archives and look back st some
of the best of the last 229 posts.
It's been great fun and l look forward to greater things
over the next three years - and more.

Music stream

FGrom the time I first started this blog, one of my aims was to have
a music stream (don't ask why it's taken so long) and here it
is - a few of my choices courtesy of finetune.com Enjoy
I'm trying now als oto have Jamaican performances
and compositions available - bear with me.

Radio for writers

Ithought this link was cool. Check it out
Writers FM –
The only radio station by writers, for writers!
http://www.WritersFM.com/

Zag-a-Zig

Jamaicans really are great.
No, duh, you might say, but when one takes the full measure
of jamaican achievement in several fields, just over the last century
or so, it's staggering when one considers our size, and the fact that we
-like many - live in the long cultural shadow of Uncle Sam.
What's made us so great? I have a theory, and it might sound real
twisted, inside-out, kinda subversive (in a good way, trust me), but
I'm going to be sharing iot with you and here's hoping it'll make some sense,
over time.

Danish Whirl - the first mistake

So, it's weeks after the intro, and we're almost into April
Anyway, I received one day an email form a Danish musician
named Tommy Hoeg inhquiring about performing in Jamaica
and specifically about playing the Deck, an open-air lounge where
atthe time I was spinning Jazz CDs (more out of compulsion than
any commercial consideration - I had previosuly done it at Devon House)
Anyway, I said great, send me some music which he did (this arrived
sometime after our first exchange and after fialures to open the Mp3 files
he sent previously.
I replied afer hearing the EP that I'd love to have him and his gorup
but would have to seek sponsorship. This being agreed, I approached the
Danish consulate here in Jamaica -Mistake #1. They referred me to a contact
who, after several unsuccessful tries, Igave up on without renewing the
contact with the consul or apprising Tommy hOeg of the situation
- Mistake (big mistake) # 2. Neither did Ishare the developments with any
of the people I knew in the music business locally. I was so utterly convinced that
I could 'work this out' on my own (BIG BIG Mistake) that I plowed on into the
next phase of this misadventure.
Of course, you know that's for the next post.

Jones Lincoln

Jones Lincoln
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop.

Both piano icon Hank Jones and legendary singer Abbey Lincoln are recovering from health issues at St John's hospital in NYC. Jones, 88, had heart failure and Lincoln, 11 years younger, also had respiratory difficulties. Wishing them both complete recovery.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

A good week for music

Jazz First
by Michael ‘Jazzofonik’ Edwards

The week that was
The past week proved as good for music as it did for cricket, with stars old and new coming to the fore.
Firstly, the new. On Sunday last, the former Studio A at the CPTC was re-opened (having been rebuilt after a devastating 2005 fire) and re-named in honour of broadcast legend Wycliffe Bennett.
The sprightly honouree was his usual quiet yet effusive self, but the real highlight for this writer was being able to witness the emergence of two stunning new talents. First violinist Nadje Leslie, a prodigy if ever one was worthy of the term and already a delightful entertainer at thirteen. Then, altoist Dwayne Foster who, but for the fact that he wasn’t playing tenor, gave off the air of a young Dexter Gordon: very relaxed and fluid on his instrument — in command and enjoying every moment of it.
The pair would return on Tuesday evening at the 3M-sponsored cocktail hour at the new Caribbean Business Club in New Kingston (a neat concept, and well executed), performing separately as well as together. This is one of the most heartening developments in the recent annals of our music, to see young people with this level of proficiency but moreover with a clear love for the artform and an apparent desire to make music their life focus.
Sunday was also special for the renewal of Jazz On The Green, a show which has gotten progressively better over it’s four-year run. Like myself, Basil Walters was on hand and submitted the following review:

On a rather humid afternoon attended at one stage by a brief light drizzle, there was nothing green about the musical performances in this venue, with its care-free ambience in which patrons could lyme and enjoy the music and tasty delights (courtesy of Lorraine Fung).
The sound quality and general management ensured that the event was one filled with sweet music of international standards. The Desi Jones-led Green House Effect opened the gig, setting the tone for a for the wider variety of entertainment that was to come.
Among the outstanding performers was Tanice Morris, the first solo act. Morris gave an emotionally charged performance, beginning her stint with ‘Jazzin’ (a take on Marley’s Jammin’). Having received a welcome response, she consolidated her stay with a pleasing rendition of Alfie and followed with the oft-performed Etta James classic, At Last.
It was then time for the Jamaica Big Band under the direction of Sonny Bradshaw. The expansive aggregation enlivened things with Take The A Train, Confucius and Satin Doll, before the welcome intervention of Myrna Hague who journeyed through Streets Of Kingston, adding That’s Life before taking off on Fly Me To The Moon. After she departed the stage the Big Band continued where it left off with Rukumbine, Everyday Blues, and Perez Prado’s Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White with competing single-note runs from the horn section.
An ensemble from the School of Music under the direction of Michael ‘Ibo’ Cooper, demonstrated a general desire towards refinement with a great deal of improvisation. Sarena Constantine stood out with an impressive interpretation of Ben E King’s old standby, I Who Have Nothing.
Dr Kathy Brown promised a musical journey encompassing Mexico (Bull Fight), South Africa and her own composition, a romp entitled Godfather.
Benjy Myaz and Friends featuring gospel saxophonist, Courtney Fadlin, played a short, set of trademark smooth jazz and was especially pleasing on People Make The World Go Round. Although time did not allow for him to have extended himself, Fadlin lived up to his reputation with ease and dexterity with a few bluesy numbers.
Karen Smith was in her usual impeccable form, gliding effortlessly through They Can’t Take That Away From Me and A Wonderful Day Like Today. Jazz On The Green ended with a delightful uptempo jam session featuring master saxophonist Dean Fraser, Christopher McDonald on keyboards, Desi Jones on drums and Dwight Richards whose take, on vocal of Marvin Gaye’s hit, What’s Going On was sweet music to the ears. Proceeds from the event go towards the construction of a multi-skill training centre in Spanish Town.

Christopher’s Jazz Cafe was this past Tuesday the scene of yet another series-topping outing in its ongoing Tuesday Live sessions. Host Seretse Small on guitar joined bassist Carl Gibson and drummer Wendell Lawrence (his regular rhythm section) as well as keyboardist Courick Clarke to lay down what must rank among the top five sessions in the series (at least among those witnessed by this writer). Lawrence, in particular distilled his every solo to it’s purest musical essence. If this is the stuff of which Seretse and the True Democrats are made (they’re presently recording), then my vote is assured.
On Thursday, the focus shifted to the singers with the leggy Althea ‘Di Chic’ Hewitt putting her compelling presence and throaty trill to good use on covers of Anita Baker and other chanteuses.

Two jazz legends meet in hospital
It was an unlikely reunion in the most unlikely of places for Hank Jones and Abbey Lincoln Moseka, two jazz legends whose paths crossed again last Tuesday at St Luke’s Hospital.
Jones, 88, has been playing the piano for over 60 years. He recorded with Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald, among others, and played for TV’s The Ed Sullivan Show for many years.
The 77-year-old Lincoln Moseka grew up in Chicago as Anna Marie Wooldridge (a former manager gave her the stage name Abbey Lincoln). She came to New York in her 20s and sang at the Village Vanguard, later marrying jazz and bebop drummer-composer Max Roach (they divorced in the 1960s) and starring in several films.
Jones suffered a massive heart attack, while Lincoln had several complications: heart failure, pulmonary edema (where the lungs fill with fluid) and difficulty breathing.
Both are recovering and they have our prayers for complete healing.

A quick Riff
What with cricket and other commitments, haven’t been able to keep up with Riffin’ on FM93 the way I’d like to (Is there any way the programmes can be packaged for compilation, Dermot? — what a gift of music that would be). I did manage, however to catch a bit of the always haunting, always compelling African master Salif Keita. Talk about the perfect end to a musical week.
Till next time, keep swingin’.

Friends of Jazz 4

The monthly 'meeting' of Friends of Jazz returrns to The Verndah
(the outdoor venue in front of Pulse headquarters)
this April Fools Day, April 1, beginning at 4:00 pm
Maestro Sonny Bradshaw convenes the usual cast as
they prepare for June's Jazz Month and the Ocho Rios
International Jazzz fest

Cricket wins - for now

Haven't dropped off the face of the earth, but
caught up in the sights and sounds
of the historic Cricket World Cup
I'll be back soon with lots of new stuff and to resume
the outstanding matters


mike

Jazofonik Feb 25

When bad sound happens to good players
Jazz First
Blues on the Green review
by Michael 'Jazzofonik' Edwards
Sunday, February 25, 2007

Ordinarily, our reviews of live music would not make much of the sound, or would reserve comment on that aspect of the production until the performances had been addressed.

But the acoustics at the 12th annual Blues on the Green concert, staged by the Public Affairs office of the US embassy at Devon house east on Friday evening, were so unqualifiedly awful that, but for the heroic efforts of AJ Brown in particular, there would have been little to enjoy of the first half.


Members of the band Little Feat in Negril.
Ever audience-friendly, Brown not only managed to inject a bona fide blues number into the programme, the BB King standard, The Thrill Is Gone, but skilfully traversed a diverse pop/r&b landscape, beginning with Al Jarreau's bouncy Roof Garden (punctuated near the end with leaps and splits) and culminating in a kind of 'Hitsville' cabaret, with numbers like My Girl and On Broadway (erroneously if understandably credited by Brown to George Benson) being tossed out to the audience like souvenirs.

Prior to that saxophonist Dean Fraser again confirmed that he is a musician in need of a programme. Bringing on percussionist Denver Smith to augment the 'house band' of Maurice Gordon, Othneil Lewis, Gibby and Tony 'Ruption' Williams, Fraser managed a tolerable sequence that included his own composition African Nation, followed by a Bob Marley suite: Small Axe, segueing into Africa Unite and Redemption Song, changing horns in between songs (note to organisers/artistes: a horn rack would have speeded up such transition). Fraser showed plenty of chops, but his solos lacked a core, some unifying element. Musically, it was a case of 'no fixed abode' but the crowd ate it up.

The Maurice Gordon Group, with Dwayne Livingston in on bass for Gibby, ran casually through a number of Gordon chestnuts, played a tribute to the late great Jackie Mittoo, and, as he has in the past several shows, Gordon dedicated The Magic In You to his mother and to women in general.

By this time, the sound quality had picked up discernibly on the instruments, but remained inconsistent in the vocal mike, just in time for the main act, blues diva Zora Young, to take the stage.
Not quite as ebullient as some of the previous Blues on the Green guests (Sista Monica and Francine Reed come to mind) Young was nevertheless in good form and managed to connect with the audience (majority female) on Girlfriend, a saucy warning to a busybody neighbour and would-be home-wrecker.

But at this point, having romped through Rock Me All Night Long and another blues standard, the audience had reached its critical mass for blues absorption and the movement toward the exit began.
The Blues on the Green had built a sterling reputation for providing quality entertainment (whether it included blues or jazz artistes). The organisers, who have done a most commendable job in promoting the artform, may want to consider taking the line-up to another level, possibly with a full blues band. As for the sound, we'll chalk it up to a bad night on the part of the engineers and look forward to what 2008 brings.

Festival time - in Jamaica...

It may not have the visibility of its January counterpart but the International Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival June 9-17, 2007, will celebrate 17 years of largely straight-ahead jazz.
The launch takes place May 10 at the Acropolis, and this year's programme includes Jazz Coffee in the Mountains (June 9), the South Coast Jazz fest (June 16) as well as satellite events and free concerts at various venues. Watch this space for updates.

....And around the world

On festivals further afield, the island of Tobago should be bursting at the seams, and just after the end of Cricket World Cup, as the third Plymouth Tobago Jazz festival gets underway the weekend of April 27 through 29. In what has become typical of these events, the line-up is eclectic, but skewed toward pop and r&b. Headliners include Sir Elton John, Al Green, Earth Wind & Fire, Gladys Knight and LL Cool J, with Jamaica represented through Beres Hammond and Sean Paul.

In May, the action shifts to St Lucia, site of arguably the best known of the Caribbean jazz festivals, now in its 16th year. Saxophone titan David Murray, Brazilian vocal 'best-kept secret' Tania Maria, r&b hipster John Legend, and smooth jazz legends Will Downing, Gerald Albright, Norman Brown, Isaac Hayes, Natalie Cole and Al Jarreau in tandem with George Benson, will join local hero Boo Hinkson and friends on the main stage from May 10 through 13. There will also be a Jazz in the South package as well as Jazz In Fond D' Or.

For those seeking to make an early motherland connection (S Africa is set to host the football World Cup in 2010), the Cape Town International Jazz Festival is one of the most notable on the continent and draws a record 40 artistes, playing on five stages for two days in what is touted as Africa's grandest gathering.

Now in its eighth year, it will take place yet again at the South African city's International Conference Centre from March 30-31. Notable artistes this year include legendary US jazz pianist Joe Sample and US soul-jazz diva Randy Crawford. World-famous, Grammy-winning South African vocal group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo are also on the bill. The other attraction this year will be the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band where each member is a highly competent musician.Links

Friends of Jazz

Friends of Jazz

THIRD MONTHLY MEETING - at a new venue

SUNDAY 4TH MARCH 2007

4 - 7 P.M.
at THE ACROPOLIS
BARBICAN ROAD

SONNY BRADSHAW &
THE JAZZ MOBILE
plus
MAIN SPEAKERS
* MARJORIE WHYLIE-WHRYTHM *JACKIE JACKSON-Bass
*DESI JONES/ -Drums
* MAURICE GORDON-Guitar
*
*SONNY BRADSHAW–Trumpet/Flugelhorn
*OUIDA LEWIS-Percussion/Tap Dance
*DEAN FRASER-Saxophones
*MYRNA HAGUE, MARY ISAACS-Vocals
D.J. JAZZ CD’s - Monte Blake, Keith Brown, Michael Edwards, Harry Graham,
Herbie Miller, Carl Percy, Michael Sharpe, Don Topping, Michael Williams

Danish Whirl #1 - the Intro

Well, here I am , two days late, but beginning nonetheless.
Beyond what's in my profile, I have been a devotee of amny
diffeenttypes of music from a very early age.
My introductions to jazz came fisrt, at home, to the likes of Oscar
Peterson and Fausto Papetti, then via my uncle, to Milestones-era
Miles Davis and other similar artists.
During the 80s, hip hop intervened, and a lot of my teen years
were consumed with that genre aswell as with the then burgeoning
dancehall.
Withthe advent of gangsterism in both genres, I soured on them and returned
to jazz towards the end of the 80s
Writing as a freelancer - initially - for the Jamaica Observer newspaper
gave me increased acess to live performances locally, including the
Air jamaica jazz and Blues festival (which I had been ionvolved with, in
another capacity, from its inception).
At the 2004 festival, I met Chris Porter, then editor of Jazz Times magazine
in the US. We quickly struck up a friendship and shortly thereafter, I became a
Jazz Times contributor - doing predominantly CDreviews, but also a few
features.
The following year, I meagre Cd collection, and convivnced the owner of a local
coffee shop/Intenet cafe, Cafe Whats On Jamaica, to let me play Cds there on
Thursday nights. Often it would be myself, the wiater and a couple of security guards
who heard the music, but every so often, people would walk in and I would
engage them in conversation about what they were hearing (or they would often
open with a comment).
With both my confidence and reputation as someone with a great deal of interest
and a fair bit of knowledge about about jazz, I began to think of other initiatives
to promote appreciation for and acceptance of jazz in Jamaica, as well as
promoting Jamaica's rich history in the art form to the world. This blog is
thus far, the prinicpal outgrowth of those thoughts, and through jazz websites,
bulletin boards (like allaboutjazz.com) and email, I was making
contacts with jazz musicians, record execs, club owners and other aficionados
form around the world.
One of those wasa young musician form Denmark. This association was to
forcefully bring home the dangers of acting on enthusiasm and a little knowledge
without experience or wisdom

next post: Friday February 16

Happy Valentine's Day all

APAP_Men_2007

APAP_Men_2007
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop.

Danish Whirl

Beginning Monday (Febrary 12, wath for regular posts
on my disastrous but ultimately educational experience
in bringing Danish group The Hoeg Quartet to perform
in Jamaica.

The posts will appear Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays thereafter, through
March 2

Moonlicks @ Lyme Key

Moonlicks - Ginetta & more at Lyme Key
Jazz First
by Michael 'Jazzofonik' Edwards
Sunday, February 04, 2007

Whether it was the full moon or just the novelty of a new location, a fired-up Maurice Gordon Trio
(Dwayne Livingston on bass and Chris Tyrell on drums with Gordon on guitar) backed an equally fired-up
Ginetta - known to Jamaican jazz aficionados as Ginetta's Vendetta when she plays with her own band, on
Tuesday night at the Lyme Key restaurant and bar.

Ginetta, here on her fourth visit, said she can't get enough of Jamaica. "I love everything - the weather, the food,
the great talent you have here, and just the people. Everyone is so warm and you've always been good to me everytime
I come."

Jamaican hospitality put Ginetta in a sufficiently good mood to duet with special guest Strangeah Cole on his classic
Bangarang, her pocket trumpet notes and sly vocal asides, a delightful counterpoint to Cole's raspy straight-ahead
delivery. As Strangeah himself was apt to bellow throughout the night, feels good!

Yasek Manzano - Farley Hill National Park

Yasek Manzano - Farley Hill National Park
Originally uploaded by photojazz60.

From a great photographer (that word is used too loosely but this guy is great) and a terrific guy, Bill King comes this shot of Cuban trumpeter Yasek(q?) Manzano who, in my opinion,was one of the finds of the week-long Barbados jazz festival

Air J Jazz fest final night

Some jazz did show up at the Air jamaica Jazz and Blues festival on Saturday night. The New Stylistics
wowed the crowd, but my pick for the night remains Earth Wind & Fire


Strings, swing and the 70s Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues review
    MICHAEL A EDWARDS
    IN putting Saturday night’s superlative closing presentation at the Rose Hall aqueduct into context, we have to the late former prime minister Michael Manley. Floridabased group Strings set a mellow tone to be gin; jazz showed up, bouncy, unassuming yet unapologetic, in the person of Monty Alexander and a wisely chosen crew of special guests; said jazz embraced reggae, with no compromise or dilution on the part of either; and a pair of soul supergroups that blossomed in the 1970s, gave a lesson the musical spirit of that era, a lesson not lost on latterday soul journeyman Anthony Hamilton, who appeared in between.
    In short, the word on Saturday night was love.
    In the generally narrow band of music appreciation that prevails among Jamaicans, Earth Wind and Fire means Reasons and little else. The hordes who streamed into the front of stage area - and clogged the space with their folding chairs (more on that later) were expecting the group to deliver their landmark hit
    immediately and for the love-fest to begin - but Phillip Bailey, Verdeen White and company flipped the script.
    With the volume levels turned up - way up - the band launched a blistering funk attack that proved severe enough to drive many of the uncommitted away from proximity to the speakers.
    The remaining faithful, and the rest of the large audience, were eventually rewarded with the prized tune, part of a suite of ballads that also included In My Heart Tonight and After The Love Is Gone. Thereafter, its was ‘hitsville’ a potpourri of some of their biggest numbers, including Let’s Groove, Got To Get You Into My Life, Devotion and September. The band members exited the stage at this point, prompting some to believe the show was over, but the faithful new better. When they returned and struck up the opening bars of That’s The Way Of The World, one got a sensation of satisfaction very much akin to completing a superlative meal at a five-star restaurant.
    Russell Thompkins and the New Stylistics earlier offered their own musical buffet, one liberally sprinkled with the love ballads, slick dance moves and tight harmonies that made the original group radio staples. Sharp, seasoned and exuding soulster cool in their neatly tailored powder blue suits, the Stylistics made the Aqueduct into an oasis of good taste, decency and sensitivity.
    He may have lacked the sartorial eloquence, but American southerner Anthony Hamilton showed respect for his hosts, as he and his two backup singers were decked out in ‘Jamaica’ T-shirts. Even at the start of his set, there were questions of “Who dis guy?” But if Hamilton came to the MoBay stage a stranger, he certainly left it as a friend, if not a brother. His humility, honesty and genuine affinity for the music came through on selections such as Where I’m From, Charlene, Better Days and Sista Big
    Bones, the later a wry compliment to ‘full-figured’ women.
    In his umpteenth appearance at the jazzfest, piano man Monty Alexander began with a venture into dub, before retracing his musical journey from Jamaica to the US and around the world.
    He got sterling assistance from Freddy Cole (brother to Nat), who sparkled on Route 66 and Straighten Up And Fly Right, from New Orleans native Herlin Riley (an alumnus of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis’ small groups as well as the Jazz @ Lincoln Centre orchestra) on drums; frequent Alexander collaborator, bassist Hassan Shakur and tenor saxophone statesmen Red Holloway and Houston Person. Tony Rebel and Dean Fraser also chipped in to good effect. They set feet a dancing, even as the heavens opened - just briefly- for a moderate shower.

IAJE2

IAJE2
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop.

This one, by ENidfarber (one of 2) at the recent IAJE conference in New York, says it all

Another one-two punch form the Grim Reaper

Brecker- Coltrane
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop.

Was so busy recapping Barbados jazz last week, neglected to mention the sadness of losing two important jazz figures in same day. They may be gone physically, but the musical legacy cannot be erased or spoiled

Another one-two punch form the Grim Reaper

Brecker- Coltrane
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop.

Was so busy recapping Barbados jazz last week, neglected to mention the sadness of losing two important jazz figures in same day. They may be gone physically, but the musical legacy cannot be erased or spoiled

looking back, looking ahead

Now Is The Time: Looking back,
Jazz First.
BY Michael 'Jazzofonik' Edwards
Sunday, January 21, 2007

The Roman deity Janus whose name was co-opted for the first month in our calendar year, was visually represented as a two-headed man, the heads glancing in opposite directions - one back, one forward.
Goapele

Mythology aside, the analogy seems entirely appropriate, with one music festival (Barbados Jazz) behind, and another (Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues) immediately upon us.

In keeping with the theme, the recap of the Barbados Jazz Festival will be done in reverse. Beginning with the climatic Sunday evening at Farley Hill national park, which unreservedly joins St Lucia's Pigeon Point as one of the region's most attractive jazz venues (we've seen pictures of the new Air Jamaica Jazz venue in preparation, and indications are certainly very favourable, but we'll reserve final judgement until next week).

In a few hours time, the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival gets underway. This year's version features both an expanded main festival venue, the Rose Hall Aqueduct ground, and an expansion in the number of venues, with shows also slated for Mobay's Half Moon hotel (trumpeter Chuck Mangione and vibist Roy Ayers) as well as the Gardens of the Pegasus in Kingston, which takes the spotlight tonight.

The venue, already known to live music lovers as the home of the Jazz In The Gardens series, will this time host Cuban pop-salsa-funksters Yerba Buena, musical 'oracle' (my term) Marjorie Whylie and her Whylie Whrythms combo and guitarist Maurice Gordon, who can do just about anything he wishes on the instrument.

Over at Rose Hall, the festival gets underway in earnest on its now customary Thursday, with acts drawn from a smorgsbord representing pop, soul and reggae. Yes, the assertion holds true that there's hardly any jazz or blues represented in the Thursday-Sunday run of the event (with the obvious apologies to piano legend, Monty Alexander).

Sure, the hordes of persons heading to Montego Bay will enjoy Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Bolton, Christopher Cross and the return of Kenny Rogers, but perhaps now with some financial success, festival director Walter Elmore may next year look more sincerely into the vast ocean of both emerging and established jazz/blues acts and scoop out more worthy acts to give the Jazz and Blues name the credibility it deserves.

Hamilton

The Many Flavours of Anthony Hamilton for Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues


When the 2007 Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival touches down in Montego Bay Monday, January 23 – Saturday, January 27, soulful singer Anthony Hamilton will make his second trip to Jamaica. His first time to the island, he came intent on soaking up the triple joys of sun, sand and sea. This time he comes to woo Jamaicans with his gritty, soulful and funky music.


A barber by trade, Anthony Hamilton is looking to cut away worry and expose patrons at the Jazz and Blues Festival to a great time. Soul is the space where the spiritual meets the secular and Hamilton captures that beautiful with a rich sound that speaks eloquently of spiritual hymns revealing his back ground in the church as well as fun-loving funky tracks like Sista Big Bones. Sista Big Bones, a tribute to women with curves is one of the most popular tracks on Hamilton’s current album Ain’t Nobody Worryin.


Hamilton points out that the track is a particular favourite of women with curves. “All the women are like, “ ‘We’re so glad that you made a song about us,’” he says. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Mr. Hamilton explains that he grew up with an appreciation for more than skin and bones. “I’m a southern boy,” he says, “and growing up I see those are the women who got it going on.” Revealing a sly sense of humour, Mr. Hamilton explains that the serving of “extra meat” often comes with a side order of “extra personality”.


Ain’t Nobody Worryin has many moods and methods. The album travels from the soaring heights to the murky depths of love with all the joy and pain that is involved. It includes I Know What Love is About that feels like a hymn while Everybody is a very “Reggae-fied” track that will definitely ease Mr. Hamilton’s welcome with Jamaican audiences.


“I understand the spirit behind [Reggae],” Mr. Hamilton says, explaining that Bob Marley and Prince Malachi are among his musical influences. So, he points out that he was attracted to Everybody because it had the feel of authentic Reggae music rather than a “watered down” version.


The spirituality that comes out in is music is by no means accidental or a hold over from another life. Spirituality, he says, is very important to him. “I wouldn’t even be Anthony not doing that,” he says. “I love it, and that’s what I stand for.” Mr. Hamilton points out that he is very interested in the spirit and spirituality that guides traditional black music.


“It’s not just about getting a couple dollars and being with a couple girls in a video,” he says. With a laugh, Mr. Hamilton reveals yet another reason. “My grandmother would whip my butt,” he says. “She’d get up out of the grave and whip me. That’s part of why I do it. I don’t want a whipping.”


His reference to his grandmother’s hand in raising him hints at Mr. Hamilton’s commitment to his family. A father to three sons, Mr. Hamilton speaks of the incomparable joy of having his sons tell him they love him. “My father wasn’t around all along, so I wanted to give them that,” he says.

An understanding of the value of love and family comes through easily with Ain’t Nobody Worryin and Mr. Hamilton admits that a part of what he loves about making music is producing works that mean something to other people. So, not surprisingly, a part of what he is looking forward to at the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival is to see which songs strike a responsive chord in the Jamaican audience.

Mr. Hamilton reveals that he knows how vocal Jamaican audiences can be and so expects them to tell him what they like and don’t like. He is also hoping to get a bite out of Jamaican culture. Explaining that in New York he has consumed much Jamaican food but he is looking forward to chomping into the real flavour on home ground. And while he does so, Jamaicans can get a chance to savour his flavour.

Stay tuned for Barbados report

Its been a diverse and even eventful week in Barbados
everything from the Blue not post-bop of terence Blanchard & Co.
to pan-jazz, Prince-inspired funk-gospel-pop (newcomer Hal Linton)
and some mind-blowing Lee Morganesque trumpet from a Cuban player
named Yasseq Manzano -who I will definitely will be checking out
in more detail.
Stay tuned for a fuller report and wrap-up in a few days

FOJazz ist meeting

The coinage is mine but it sounds better than Friends of Jazz

Friends of Jazz

FIRST MONTHLY MEETING

SUNDAY 7TH JANUARY 2007


4 - 7 P.M.

at


THE VERANDA

 2 TRAFALGAR ROAD

SONNY BRADSHAW &
THE JAZZ MOBILE


MAIN SPEAKERS


* MARJORIE WHYLIE-Piano   *JACKIE JACKSON-Bass

  *DESI JONES-Drums * MAURICE GORDON-Guitar 

*LEON DUNBAR-Clarinet   

  *SONNY BRADSHAW-Trumpet-Flugelhorn

OUIDA LEWIS – Percussion/Tap Dance

 *DEAN FRASER-Saxophones   

 *MARY ISAACS-Guest Vocals


DJ JAZZ CD’s – Monte Blake, Harry Graham, Carl Percy, Keith Brown