September 28th 2008
by Lyn Horton
Since no day in my life passes without the consideration of music, the range of my exposure is wide. The direction I could go in, from the most conservative to the most edgy that is available, denotes a steady non-exclusionary absorption. Continue Reading »
June 20th 2008
June 20, 2008 — The Jazz Awards, the 12th annual such celebration of excellence in music and music journalism produced in New York City by the Jazz Journalists Association, went off last Wednesday afternoon with plenty of highlights and nary a hitch. Hank Jones — voted Pianist of the Year — engaged in three bebop-referencing improvisations with big-toned tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, there was cool quartet music to start by The Miller Quartet (graduates of the New School and CUNY’s jazz program), an upbeat version of “I Love You Madly” sung by Roseanna Vitro, accompanied by pianist Mark Soskin, and a tear-up end set by trumpeter Igmar Thomas & the Cipher. But beyond the music itself, the event was star-studded — with appearances by Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Dana Gioia, 83-year-hip drummer Roy Haynes, NEA Jazz Masters including Candido Camero (awarded as Percussionist of the Year), Frank Wess, George Wein, Dan Morgenstern — and especially Maria Schneider, who won Awards as composer, arranger, leader of the large band and principal of Sky Blue, the Record of the Year.
June 5th 2008
By Larry Blumenfeld
Above all else it was a homecoming: The Neville Brothers performed at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. Continue Reading »
June 5th 2008
By Lyn Horton
Logos and Language: A Post-Jazz Metaphorical Dialogue
by Steve Dalachinsky and Matthew Shipp, 97 pages, Rogue Art, 2008
Getting to the bottom of things requires stamina and focus. Continue Reading »
June 5th 2008
By Larry Blumenfeld
If a film were made of guitarist Lionel Loueke’s career to date, the master shot sequence would be his 2001 audition for admission into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, then housed at the University of Southern California. Continue Reading »
May 6th 2008
By Larry Blumenfeld
For years, Arturo O’Farrill says, his wife would ask as he left for work, “Is this a ‘Gon-ki gon-ki gon-ki’ gig? ” Meant as an inside joke — they’re both musicians — the question couched a simple truth: Much of what passes for Latin jazz is caricature, exemplified by a single watered-down rhythmic phrase to approximate a vast sea of musical culture.
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May 6th 2008
By Lyn Horton
In March of ‘08, an email came into my inbox from The Jazz Institute in Darmstadt, Germany about a three-day panel discussion on jazz journalism.
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May 6th 2008
By Larry Blumenfeld
“Condoms. Tampons. Excess hair. SMALL AN-I-MALS!”
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March 12th 2008
By Lyn Horton
Reading Ben Ratliff’s 200-page book, Coltrane: The Story of a Sound, is close to being on a roller-coaster ride. The subject matter of John Coltrane alone has absorbed the energy of countless students. Yet Ratliff makes an effort to enter the mystery of how Coltrane generated his music. But, the author’s consciousness takes a vacation.
March 12th 2008
By Mike Zwerin
Many people complain that jazz ain’t what it used to be, and it always gives me pleasure to disprove it.