REVIEW: Slavic Soul Party!, 'Plays Duke Ellington's Far East Suite,' Ropeadope Records >>
If you can imagine a Balkan brass band interpreting The Duke Ellington Orchestra's landmark 1963 'Far East Suite,' than you have an idea of what the New Yorkers in Slavic Soul Party! are doing on their latest outrage on Ropeadope Records as the band 'Plays Duke Ellington's Far East Suite.
REVIEW: Jeff Denson Quartet, 'Concentric Circles,' Ridgeway Records >>
Jeff Denson, 39, might be too brilliant for his own good. The music he writes on 'Concentric Circles' (Ridgeway Records) is so difficult to play-and oftentimes to listen to-that one must clear away the detritus of everyday life to make room for it in your brain's ear.
PREMIERE: Martina DaSilva Sings Over a Piano in 'I Got It Bad' Music Video >>
Martina DaSilva has a voice not in-keeping with today's echelon of pop stars-and that's exactly how she wants it. In her new video for her cover of the Ellington-Webster tune "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," DaSilva's illustrious voice soars with a certain operatic texture coupled but also with a prevailing, soothing jazz hue, too.
Watch How Vinyl Records are Made With Duke Ellington and His Jazz Band >>
Have you ever wondered how vinyl records were recorded on, pressed and made? Now, have you ever wondered that same process but with Duke Ellington as your maestro? In a video from June 1937, entitled 'Record Making with Duke Ellington,' we see the jazz bandleader bring the jazz sound to a standard LP, which is shown being pressed, buffed and put on the line.
REVIEW: John Fedchock's N.Y. Band Tells It 'Like It Is' >>
This 16-piece orchestra under the direction of John Fedchock, the former Woody Herman trombone soloist, musical director and chief arranger-is a lush affair with colors bleeding into rhythm. Fedchock, for his fifth big-band effort, uses the palette of creative artistry to blend different soloist personalities into the whole. The result, in this case, is a sumptuous feast of across-the-board jazz sub-genres.
Thelonius Sphere Monk III Talks Jazz in the Mainstream, International Jazz Day and More >>
Thelonius Sphere Monk III has made a compelling argument for the entire genre of jazz. He feels that jazz can pedal it's way into the mainstream via the similar "bells and whistles" that make other forms of music inherently popular.
Clark Terry, Legendary Trumpeter and Jazz Maestro, Dies at 94 >>
Perhaps one of the most popular and influential jazz musicians of his generation, Clark Terry, has passed away. An advocate of jazz education and beyond, he was a mighty 94 years old.
EXCLUSIVE: 'Eyes Wide Open' at Café Carlyle, Cheyenne Jackson Sets Sight Gags on Gaga, Gershwin and Gay Marriage >>
With Eyes Wide Open on the Upper East Side, Cheyenne Jackson gave a personal, but laughable rundown of his life the past few years. Pulling from familiar tunes as diverse as Lady Gaga, the Gershwin Bros., Satchmo and even a bit of Elton John and Joni Mitchell, indeed, his math was good: tragedy + time = cabaret gold.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Presents 'Birth of the American Orchestra' with Wynton Marsalis >>
Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will present a pair of concerts exploring the "Birth of the American Orchestra" Jan. 9 and 10 at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, in New York City. Bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie once told JALC’s managing and artistic director Marsalis something that would forever change his perception of big bands: "One should not consider it an achievement to lose one's orchestral tradition.” According to the Lincoln Center website, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis delves into this American phenomenon through the syncopated dance beats of New Orleans, innovative ensemble virtuosity and the monumentality of swing and the blues. They will also explore the roles of orchestral instrumentation and the expansion of harmonic prospects, the evolution of the rhythm section and the distinctiveness of the master composers and arrangers involved. This show is partly inspired by Marsalis’s September 2013 Harvard University lecture "Setting the Communal Table: The Evolution of the Jazz Orchestra.” The JLCO is expected to perform the music of Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, Bill Challis, Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, Eddie Durham, Chico O’Farrill and Gil Fuller. These jazz architects, along with Gillespie’s mantra, are the foundation of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra — an orchestra with an astonishing concentration of talented musicians and a collective regarded as the “finest big band in the world today,” said the website.
Nation's First Gay Jazz Festival, OutBeat, Opens In Philadelphia; Honors Billy Strayhorn First Night >>
In keeping with the nation's progressive step, Philadelphia will play host to the U.S.'s very first LGBQT jazz festival: OutBeat. The first production, Lush Life: Philadelphia Celebrates Billy Strayhorn, honors the genre heavyweight.
Heirs of Duke Ellington Estate Seek 50 Percent Compensation of Late-Jazz Composer's Foreign Sales, Sources Say >>
The highest court in the New York area (where's Monty Python when you need it?) is gearing up to hear arguments posted by heirs to jazz legend Duke Ellington in a recent lawsuit with EMI. The suit is to regain half the royalties of Ellington's foreign sales, which EMI has claimed authenticity to.
Kenny Garrett Appointed Director of Jazz Studies Program at William Paterson University, Succeeds Mulgrew Miller >>
Kenny Garrett, the internationally recognized jazz saxophonist, may be hitting the ceiling as he jumps for joy after being named William Paterson University's director of the Jazz Studies Program.
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society Perform Duke Ellington-Inspired 'Tensile Curves' at Newport Jazz Festival 2014 >>
It was in 1956, in Newport nonetheless, that Duke Ellington and his Orchestra gave a most landmark performance at the Jazz Festival. Per NPR, historians mark this as the pivotal moment of the Duke's 50 plus year career, with the centerpiece being "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" accompanied by saxophonist Paul Gonsalves.
UPDATE: Harris Theater Reopens After Fire, Chicago Opera's 'Queenie Pie' and Music of the Baroque's 'Italian Style' Rescheduled >>
UPDATE: The Harris Theater reopened on Friday after an electrical and mechanical fire caused the busy performing arts venue to shut down for more than two weeks. The theater’s director, Michael Tiknis, said that all necessary repairs and inspections have been completed, and the theater is once more fully operational.
Fire at Chicago's Harris Theater Closes Venue Through March 6; Performances of Duke Ellington’s ‘Queenie Pie’ Opera Rescheduled >>
Chicago's Harris Theater will remain closed through Thursday, March 6 after an electrical fire on Wednesday afternoon damaged operational and mechanical equipment in the busy performing arts venue. The theater is working to reschedule a number of events.
