REVIEW: Alfredo Rodriguez, 'Tocororo,' Mack Avenue Records >>
Pianist/composer Alfredo Rodriguez, 30, has outdone himself. His 2011 'Sounds of Space' debut was promising. His 2014 'The Invasion Parade' dissected his Cuban cultural influences into slivers of modernism. 'Tocororo' (Mack Avenue Records), though, beats all. In purposely collaborating with musicians from France, Lebanon, Cameroon, Spain and India, his new-found world-jazz reaches heights unimaginable for the 15-year old kid so taken with Keith Jarrett's 'The Koln Concert.'
REVIEW: Jack DeJohnette Revived on 'Made In Chicago' >>
Jack DeJohnette, one of the most influential drummers of the 20th Century, dips back to his 1960s radical roots in a one-off gig back home to resurrect the flag of the avant-garde on 'Made In Chicago.' Then, surprisingly enough, he talks to us!
REVIEW: Keith Jarrett, 'Creation' and 'Barber/Bartok/Jarrett' (ECM Records) >>
For the first time in 19 years, ECM has released 2 Keith Jarrett CDs, a jazz project and a classical album. 'Creation' melds highlights of six solo piano performances into one seamless whole. 'Barber/Bartok/Jarrett' contains two concertos plus a quick goodbye.
Daniel Barenboim the Latest to Lash Out at Concertgoers >>
Acclaimed conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim has become the latest in a string of musicians to berate the audience from the stage. Angry at the audience for taking pictures, Barenboim slammed flash-happy fans at La Scala, Milan's prestigious opera house, as "badly educated.” The outburst came during a performance of Franz Schubert’s "D845 Sonata" where Barenboim, who was in his final week at La Scala, warned audiences — and one woman in particular — that he had asked several times for people not to take photographs during his performance and was beginning to lose his temper. "Madam, I am trying to give you my best, but you have no respect for it! Those who take photographs during concerts are badly educated,” he said. "I have asked at every concert. The first time nicely, but now it's serious.” After a round of applause, the 72-year-old Argentinian conductor and pianist returned to the sonata. Music fans are all too familiar with this behavior with a string of controversial lash-outs coming from musicians.
WATCH: Keith Jarrett Continues Reign of Debauchery in Japan, Satirical Cartoon Arises from Another Embarrassing Concert >>
Keith Jarrett, by public consensus, is equal parts jazz legend and conceited jackass. That is, his stage antics have come to precede him, and he doesn't do much in the way of damage control either.
UPDATE: National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters Ceremony Concert (feat. Anthony Braxton!) >>
TONIGHT: The National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters concert will be broadcast as scheduled.
LIVESTREAM: 2014 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Ceremony and Concert >>
This year's NEA Jazz Masters--pianist Keith Jarrett, composer Anthony Braxton, bassist Richard Davis and educator Jamey Aebersold--will be honored at the annual NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony and Concert on Monday, January 13. For the fourth consecutive year, viewers can watch a live webcast of the event at arts.gov or jalc.org/neajazzmasters.
