Jazz

Anthony Dean-Harris Editor-in-Chief anthony.deanharris@nextbop.com / @i_ADH The Stepkids' quite awesome new single "The Lottery" just got a music video today that either reinforces every trombone joke I've ever made or makes me have to take back every trombone joke I've ever made. You be the judge.

Should you have missed it, fret not! You can now listen to @KTTunstall's lovely @WorldCafe performance online!

Review by Devon Wendell Photos by Bonnie Perkinson Hollywood, CA.  For the most part, it’s not just the music that has made The Annual Playboy Jazz Festival a Los Angeles summer tradition, but instead, it’s the music combined with the ever present party atmosphere.  And this year was no different. Amidst the clouds of pot smoke and spilled beer on the ground, The 35th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival featured an eclectic blend of artists in the genres of jazz, funk, pop, blues and more. Before getting to my highlights of Sunday’s program, I thought I’d include just a few exciting additions from Saturday’s show to follow up on Mike Katz’s coverage. Grace Kelly From pop to bop, the amazing 21 year old saxophone titan Grace Kelly played a stellar set which included be-bop and pop influences, playing bop style instrumentals and catchy pop infused jazz vocal tunes.  Kelly proved to be one of the most original and fascinating new faces in jazz. Her childlike vocals on “Nighttime Star,” fused with her vast knowledge of both bop and post-bop saxophone playing was astounding.  When she plays alto sax, you can hear Bird, Art Pepper and Jackie Mclean, but with a new, youthful, feminine and energetic swing to it. Kelly was joined by the legendary Phil Woods (also a major influence on her alto sax playing) for “Man With The Hat,” which the two had recorded together in 2011. Woods was in strong form and Kelly played like a waterfall, with endless ideas and a superb technique. This was easily one of the finest moments of the festival. Gregory Porter Gregory Porter’s performance at the festival demonstrated why he has received so many accolades from all over the world. This time out, Porter focused more on his gospel and R&B influences than jazz during his brief set, which made it all the more interesting. This was the case on Porter’s rendition of Cannonball Adderley’s “Work Song,” in which Porter opened the song with a few verses of Leadbelly’s “Alberta.” Porter’s controlled and carefully crafted phrasing along with his magnetic stage presence brought the Bowl crowd to church. Sunday’s program had a lot more fire and electricity than Saturday’s. It’s hard to imagine combining jazz and rock piano with a dance ensemble but acclaimed pianist Elew (joined by Jazzantiqua Dance Ensemble) did just that and made it work. Elew and Jazzantiqua Dance Ensemble Elew stood up while playing, looking like a mad scientist while he stared intensely at the audience. The Jazzantiqua Dance Ensemble did graceful, ballet interpretations of Elew’s readings of The Cranberries’ “Zombie” and The Killer’s “Mr. Brightside.” Elew fused the stride piano styles of James P. Johnson with Horace Silver. Though asking a lot of the festival audience, this was a fascinating experiment both visually and sonically. Chris and Dan Brubeck One of the purest jazz acts of the festival was The Brubeck Brothers, lead by Dave Brubeck’s sons, Chris Brubeck on bass and trombone, and Dan Brubeck on drums. The two were joined by Mike Demicco on guitar and Chuck Lamb on piano, making up a tight, focused, and dynamic quartet. The brothers paid a warm, heartfelt Father’s Day tribute to their legendary father, Dave Brubeck who passed away on December 5, 2012. Their set included many Brubeck classics such as; “Kathy’s Waltz,” “Blue Rondo A La Turk,” and “Take Five.” The group performed these songs with elegance, dynamics, and devotion. Pianist Lamb’s use of well spaced block chords were reminiscent of the late Brubeck’s piano style and Chris’s fusion style electric bass locked in tight with Dan’s soft and melodic drumming. Demicco’s guitar solos were tasteful and served the compositions perfectly.  Altogether, they produced a terrific performance – one that Dave Brubeck would surely have been proud of. Taj Mahal Very few artists know the history of American blues like Taj Mahal. At The festival, Mahal was joined by The Real Thing Tuba Band which consisted of four tuba players (Earl McIntyre, Howard J

One Up Front (Positone PR8110) Best known for playing with Jaco Pastorius on the West Coast in the mid-1980s, this pianist studied with Lennie Tristano, Jaki Byard and Ran Blake, and has been gigging for nearly 30 years. Back in his home town of New York a while now, he has been in house bands, […]

I’ve been thinking a lot about Dizzy Reece lately. He was a magnificent player with a finely burnished tone and a lot of exotic intrigue to his playing. He also wrote and played a lot of nice tunes with unique and original song titles and structures. I’m going to be featuring some over the next few days, starting with “The Story Of Love” from his 1962 Prestige album, Asia Minor. Dizzy Reece (trumpet); Cecil Payne (baritone sax); Joe Farrell (tenor sax, flute); Hank Jones (piano); Ron Carter (bass); Charlie Persip (drums)

PREMISES JAZZ PIANO SUMMER SCHOOL is an intensive five-day immersion from 17th to 21st August at the Premises in Hackney. At the end of the course, all students get to make a recording with bass and drums in the Premises solar–powered recording studio. London is jazz piano town, and the tutors, Tim Richards, NikkiYeoh and John Crawford, are all among the busiest and most-respected we have. Tim has a whole suite of piano tutor books published by Schott. His Exploring Jazz Piano and Improvising Blues Piano have both won awards. Places on the course are strictly limited to just sixteen participants. Students are streamed according to ability. The Studios are at 209 Hackney Road. London E2 8JL, a short walk from Hoxton overground, and the bars and shops and galleries of Hoxton, a part of London often preceded by the words "achingly hip". (pp)Full details and links to Application Forms here.

When, nearly three years ago, Cécile McLorin Salvant emerged as the unexpected, and largely unknown, winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, her victory ignited the sort of hoopla that was far more common in the thriving jazz record industry of the 1990s. She was immediately signed by manager Ed Arrendell, whose client Wynton Marsalis praised her “poise, elegance, soul, humor, sensuality, power, virtuosity, range, insight, intelligence, depth and grace.” Whew! A lot to live up to, particularly for a neophyte performer barely old enough to drink. Fortunately, Salvant’s hotly anticipated Mack Avenue label debut more than justifies the hype. When the Miami native of Haitian and Guadeloupian descent moved to France after high school and developed an interest in jazz, she was wisely instructed to study the greats, from Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters to Sarah and Ella. She’s learned her lessons well. Indeed, WomanChild ’s title track, a Salvant composition about the voyage from innocence to experience, can be interpreted as her debt acknowledgement. When she sashays into “St. Louis Gal,” Smith’s influence is patently obvious. Her sly reading of “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” draws heavily on Abbey Lincoln, with distinct Billie Holiday and Carmen McRae shadings. The forthright, saucy “Nobody” owes equally to Sarah Vaughan, Anita O’Day and Pearl Bailey. Josephine Baker’s shadow looms large over “You Bring Out the Savage in Me.” Yet, remarkably, Salvant is in no way derivative. She has simply taken the best of the best and synthesized them into a sound that, at...

My most recent eBay purchase — prewar, I assume, since Miss Boswell had not yet become Connee.  Beautiful, no matter how she spelled it.  Both the inscription and the signature look authentic, although perhaps signed at different times — no matter. That distracting object to the right is courtesy of the precise eBay seller — it didn’t come in the package.  Miss Boswell was larger than any ordinary measuring device, we know. Here is another representation — vibrant, passionate, yearning, full of feeling: sounds that will be resonating long after pieces of paper have faded and crumbled: and a clip from the 1941 KISS THE BOYS GOODBYE, where Connie sings SAND IN MY SHOES (Victor Schertzinger – Frank Loesser) before and after Eddie “Rochester” Anderson’s star turn — turns, to be accurate: She and her Sisters were a marvel, and they haven’t been replaced. May your happiness increase! Filed under: "Thanks A Million", Irreplaceable, Jazz Titans, Pay Attention!, Swing You Cats!, The Real Thing, The Things We Love Tagged: autographed picture, Connee Boswell, Connie Boswell, Ebay, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Jazz Lives, Meredith Willson, Michael Steinman

The Juno-winning Ottawa-area jazz vocalist Kellylee Evans was struck by lightning, two Saturdays ago when there was a terrible deluge. Fortunately, Evans will well enough to perform Friday night in Confederation Park, advance of Willie Nelson’s much anticipated Ottawa Jazz Festival show. Below, Evans tells me what happened. You really were struck by lightning? Yes, it’s true. I was just in the kitchen wiping the counter after having washed the dishes. Turns out you shouldn’t be near water during a lightning storm but I didn’t know that. I was barefoot, on a concrete floor, in front on the window with wet hands. When my sponge made contact with the sink, that was the moment the lightning hit and I received a jolt. It was really horrible. But I was lucky. I’m still here. My heart didn’t stop and I have no burns. Has there been any lingering impact? Just issues with my mobility and in the beginning with my breathing. My arms and legs are weak. But I am OK and I can still sing. I just move a lot slower now. I had a show in France on Friday which was my first since the storm and I know now that I need to conserve my energy for singing so I will probably be seated for the show. In other news, what can we expect from the show you will give before Willie? For my opening slot for Willie (I’m opening for Willie Nelson — how freakin’ cool is that!?) I will be performing music from my latest CD, I Remember When, which is inspired my the hip hop and soul of my generation. Are you looking forward to catching some shows at the festival, and if so, what shows and why? I would love to stay and enjoy the festival but I leave on tour the next day for Vancouver’s festival. And finally, what’s the next big project on your horizon, musical or otherwise? My next big project is learning how to strengthen my hands, arms and legs again and get strong enough to dance again. That’s my priority now. I’m actually looking forward to going for a jog. I never thought I would say that! Kellylee Evans plays Friday, June 21, at 6:30 p.m. in Confederation Park. *** More posts pertaining the 2013 TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival are here.