More Info

Meet the Jazz Band at WeBop this Winter!
Join this Winter Term, as they have to know the instruments that make up a jazz combo, from the noble trumpet to the engine of the band, the drums. Each week you’ll move, sing, and play along as you learn about each instrument, culminating in a jam session with a live jazz band.

Highlights

* Slide from high to low like a growling trombone
* Swing your favorite nursery songs
* Scat oo-pop-a-da like Ella
* Swing the band with your steady drum beat
* Play a mean jazz riff on the piano
* Walk like a bass swinging way down low
* Jam with the a live jazz quartet
* Have fun playing with your friends and family

Join Here

Video

Details

For dates, registration, and pricing, please visit http://www.jalc.org for more info.

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3. Pasadena Jazz Institute Hosts Event For Hillsides Foster Care Children’s Charity

More Info

Details

As most of you in L.A. know already, KJazz has been on the air for the better part of the last century, offering us the classics and the latest tracks for Jazz and Blues. If you listen, you might also know that KJazz, based on out Long Beach, is a member-supported radio station. That means they are dependent on listener’s contributions to stay on the air and pump out the best Jazz & Blues currently available.

From time to time, KJazz offers promotions and contests. The current contest they are running is a trip from L.A. to Sydney, Australia (all airfare paid). Like others contest, it does require a small pledge, but look at what you can win!

Yes, pledging a mere $40 enters you into the drawing for a chance to win tickets for 2 people to Sydney Australia. But it’s not just the airfare – you also win a five night stay at the Sydney Harbour Marriott and a Sydney City Sights Tour. Plus, if you are a listener of KJazz anyway, you love the station and Jazz & Blues. Help support KJazz and keep them on the airwaves.

More Info & Contest Rules

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Wolfgang’s Vault has purchased the archives to the Newport Jazz Festival and is offering free streams and paid downloads for live performances from many artists, including Ahmad Jamal, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk to name a few.

Log On To Wolfgang’s Vault

The Transition

Wolfgang’s Vault, a company based in San Francisco, bought the archives of the Newport festivals from the Festival Network last year. Bill Sagan, founder and chief executive of Wolfgang’s Vault, says the archives include many, many tapes: 1,000 to 1,200 individual performances, dating at least to 1955, the festival’s second year, and continuing to the end of the century.

It is not a complete audio record — certain years contain only a small number of performances, or are missing completely — but it is a major one nonetheless.

Since the purchase, Wolfgang’s Vault has spent almost $5 million, Mr. Sagan said, on making audio transfers and mixes of the tapes. (Neither Mr. Sagan nor Chris Shields of the Festival Network would reveal the amount spent on acquiring the archive itself.)

On Wednesday, November 11th, the company began posting free streams of a handful of performances from the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival, at wolfgangsvault.com. The first offerings included Count Basie, Dakota Staton and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. More have since been added, and rumor says that there will be 27 sets from that year’s jazz festival, including some by Ahmad Jamal, Joe Williams, Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver.

The plan is to have hundreds more online in the coming months, from other years of Newport Jazz and from the Newport Folk Festival as well.

More Info

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Artists: Herb Alpert & Lani Hall
Album: Anything Goes
Label: Concord Jazz
Release Date: August 25, 2009

The Album

Anything Goes is Alpert & Hall’s debut Concord recording as a duo. Produced by Herb and Lani and recorded live at various venues in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C., San Francisco and the Napa Valley Opera House, the album is a spirited and heartfelt compilation of beloved American Standards.

The 14 tracks include Cole Porter’s original song and title track “Anything Goes” as well as a few instrumental songs including “Laura” and Consuelo Velazquez’s “Besame Mucho.” Lani also sings in Portuguese on the tracks “Pararaio” and “Dinorah/Morning.” The recording features Herb Alpert on trumpet and vocal, Lani Hall on vocals, and Hussain Jiffry on electric bass.

Tour Dates

EPK Video: “Anything Goes”

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2. Spencer Day To Release Concord Jazz Debut Album: Vagabond
3. Guitarist Robben Ford To Release “Soul On Ten” Through Concord Records

Ticket Info

Artist Info

Antoinette Montague has appeared on the cover of Jazz Improv’s Jazz Guide and on two book covers of Who’s Who in Jazz, Cabaret and Music (from 1600’s to Now). She has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, the Zebra Room in Harlem’s famous Lenox Lounge, the legendary Blue Note, the Blue Smoke, and the Jazz Standard with the Winard Harper Sextet and Dr. Billy Taylor.

Antoinette has performed with the Queens Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Jimmy Heath (and will be appearing with them again in 2010.) Antoinette was hired as a leader opposite Jr. Mance for Jazzmobile’s Summer Breeze Concert Series with Houston Person for a tribute to Junior Mance with Winard Harper, Tommy James and Bill Moring. Antoinette works most regularly with Bill Easely, a brilliant and versatile reed player,who performs equally forcefully on alto, tenor, and baritone saxes as well as flute, piccolo, and clarinet.

Born and raised in Newark, Antoinette Montague released her first CD Pretty Blues in 2006 Consolidated Artists Productions), but she has had many invaluable musical experiences. She worked in gospel and R&B ensembles after college, serves as the vice president of the International Women in Jazz, and considers Carrie Smith, Etta Jones, Della Griffin and Myrna Lake to be her mentors.

More About Antoinette Montague

Performance Details & Location

Friday, November 13th, 2009
(6:00 pm – 10:00 pm)
Fund Raiser for Rutgers Law School
& the Association of Black Law Students

Hilton Newark Penn Station Hotel
Gateway Center
Raymond Blvd, Newark, NJ
(973) 622-5000
www1.hilton.com

Related posts:

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2. Antoinette Montague Performs With The Queens Jazz Orchestra
3. “Jazz and Blues At Dusk” Summer Concert Series Presents Jazz & Blues Singer Antoinette Montague

Berlin, being the hot spot for jazz in Germany, took the lead in spreading jazz throughout Europe. While the end of the wall marked the re-unification of Germany, their role in the unification of Europe through jazz is not to be overlooked.

Saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, a key figure in European free jazz

Jazz In Europe?

Jazz was not so important to a lot of people in East Germany immediately after the wall came down and that it took a few years until the East German jazz scene picked up again. The Western free improvisation scene was of great importance for East German musicians, and when East and West German played together in official concerts in the German Democratic Republic, there always had to be musicians present from other countries so that it didn’t seem like a reunification of Germany on stage.

The Berlin jazz scene became one of the most vivid European scenes in recent years in which musicians from all over the world come together and East or West no longer are categories. Julian Joseph, reporter of the BBC, talked to trombonist Jiggs Whigham about his time with the RIAS Big Band and his experiences in 1990s Berlin, commenting on the difference time can make.

One effect of the political changes definitively was the establishment of a new market for jazz. Only 15 or 20 years ago (till shortly after “Die Wende”, the fall of the Iron Curtain), Europeans competed mostly with American musicians. Now they compete with other Europeans as well. Public funding and subsidies more and more become investments in cultural export in order to strengthen the national position within the growing European market. It’s a development that one may or may not like but cannot ignore, not even in the jazz world.

More Info

Related posts:

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The event will take place on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the private Sherman Oaks estate of noted director and producer Oz and Lynne Scott

Event Details

The Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF), a premier scholarship organization that supports deserving college students with financial need, will host the 4th Annual JAZZ on the Grass benefit concert (JAZZ) on Saturday, October 3, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Held at the private Sherman Oaks estate of noted director and producer Oz and Lynne Scott, JAZZ features three-time Grammy Award winner James Ingram and a list of nationally and internationally-renowned artists including multi-Grammy nominated recording artist Patrice Rushen, Grammy and Tony nominated singer/songwriter Brenda Russell, and world-class drummer and percussionist Ndugu.

Rooted in the Robinson legacy of promoting social causes through art, JAZZ on the Grass boasts four hours of live musical performances, wonderful cuisine, and a silent auction. Hosted again this year by Mistress of Ceremonies, Pat Prescott of 94.7 The WAVE, JAZZ raises funds for JRF to continue its all-encompassing commitment to young people, including the provision of financial support, mentoring, professional development, internship and job placement, and the imparting of practical life skills. With nearly a 100 percent graduation rate, JRF has earned the distinction as one of the nation’s most effective scholarship organizations.

Tickets:

JAZZ on the Grass represents the foundation’s diverse fundraising strategy and continues to broaden its fan base. Tickets to this exclusive event are on sale until September 6th for the “Early Bird” price of $250. For additional information or to purchase tickets to this limited-seating engagement, please contact ELMS Entertainment at 323-936-5052. For artist updates or to purchase tickets online, please visit www.jackierobinson.org/events/lajazz.php

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Artist: Najee
Album: Mind Over Matter
Label: Heads Up
Release Date: August 21st, 2009

Album Info

Mind Over Matter, the new recording by saxophonist Najee was released on August 25, 2009 through Heads Up International (a division of Concord Music Group). In addition to Najee’s fine balance of songcraft and musicianship, the album also includes songwriting and guest appearances by keyboardist Jeff Lorber and vocalists Eric Benét and Gary Taylor.

Najee describes the album was inspired by Miles Davis’ approach to songwriting, especially in the latter part of his career:

“In his later years, he took a very loose and improvisational approach. He would
start with nothing more than a groove that Marcus Miller or some other member
of his band would lay down. And from there he would just develop these melodies
that were very simple but at the same time very compelling and very memorable.
It was a creative process that bypassed the nuts and bolts of the song and just
got right to the essence of it.”

Commentary

It’s not hard to find the groove in Mind Over Matter. It’s evident from the opening bars of the midtempo “Love You a Lifetime,” a song that positions Najee’s smoky sax lines alongside the solid horn arrangements charted by fellow saxophonist Will Holton (who also shares the writing credit with Najee on the track). “This song has a bit of the neo-soul element,” says Najee. “That’s a groove that works very well when we play live. People love to get up and dance at our shows. Will was able to bring that spirit to this song.”

The upbeat followup track, “Sweet Summer Nights,” is co-written by Najee and Darren Rahn. “One of the most under-utilized songwriters in this genre,” according to Najee. “He’s a well-kept secret who has written for Wayman Tisdale and many others. He’s very good at writing songs that contemporary jazz radio likes to play.” Equally upbeat and breezy is the title track, a composition that showcases not only Najee’s ability to build a sophisticated solo on a simple riff, but also the engaging solo work of keyboardist and track co-writer Will Brock.

Eric Benét provides some whimsical and suggestive vocals on “We Gone Ride,” a track that balances his distinctive voice with the work of a carefully layered horn section. It’s a complex song, but it allows for plenty of room for everyone to contribute.

Jeff Lorber lends a hand with writing/producing and keyboards on the playful “Stolen Glances” and the insistent “One More Thing.” Although they’ve shared numerous festival dates in recent years, Mind Over Matter was the first opportunity for Najee and Lorber to collaborate in the studio.

Whatever the groove – be it R&B, neo-soul, contemporary jazz or an intriguing blend of all these styles and more – Mind Over Matter adds another layer of sophistication and polish to Najee’s substantial and diverse body of work.

“Whenever I go into the studio, I try to make a record that’s a little different
from the last one. I want people to get the same Najee that they’re familiar
and comfortable with, but at the same time, I want them to hear something
fresh, something interesting, something unpredictable – with a couple extra
voices in the mix that they haven’t heard on my records in the past.” – Najee

More Album Info

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He is also promoting his latest release Hemispheres, which originally started as a duo with Bill Frisell and developed into a quartet. The album pays homage to standards and new creations, some improvised on the spot. All the pieces are mystical, swinging, and cover all hemispheres of mind, brain, and world.

Make Reservations

Artist Info

Guitar great Jim Hall has been a major player in the jazz world since the 1950s. He’s worked with everybody from Sonny Rollins to Bill Evans, and has performed everywhere from the Village Vanguard to the White House.

Along with being a favorite guitarist among fellow musicians and jazz fans, he has gained international recognition and praise among critics for his work as a composer and arranger. Jim has received honors such as the New York Jazz Critics Circle Award for Best Jazz Composer/Arranger in 1997, and a 2004 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship Award.

In addition to his recent focus on orchestral and choral composition, Jim remains an active player and leader, working and recording with a variety of ensembles and his regular trio with a long list of special guests such as Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, the New York Voices, Kenny Barron, Pat Metheny, Slide Hampton, and many more. The New Yorker has called Jim “… the reigning master of the jazz guitar. This poetic player says more with fewer notes than any living improviser.”

This special appearance at Birdland celebrates his latest release, Hemispheres (above, on right), which pays homage to standards and new creations, some improvised on the spot. All the pieces are mystical, swinging, and cover all hemispheres of mind, brain, and world. Released in November of 2008 (ArtistShare), the album is very rich, offering intimate duo sessions between Hall and Bill Frisell as well as exploding tracks that feature the quartet.

More Artist Info

Performance Details & Location

Tuesday, Nov. 10th – Saturday, Nov. 14th, 2009
Sets: 8:30 pm & 11:00 pm
Tickets: $30 side seating; $40 center seating

Birdland Jazz Club
315 W. 44th St.
New York, NY
(212) 581-3080
www.birdlandjazz.com

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The party continues on November 21st (2:00 pm -4:00 pm) at the Jungle Theater in South Minneapolis with additional support from the Twin Cities Hot Club and vocalist Arne Fogel. Yet even in such esteemed company, it is Nancy’s voice, personal interpretations, tune selection, even original lyrics that make this project an exceptional debut.

Album Info

Rather than a maiden voyage, In the Indigo sails more like a luxury cruise ship, sometimes floating gently in tropical currents, sometimes churning through turbulent waters, but always on course. Guided more by intuition than by the paths of her elders, her muses, or others’ expectations, Nancy offers a mix of standards, less familiar covers, original lyrics and arrangements, a bold outing for this small-town Minnesota native.

Even her standards (like “Bye Bye Blackbird” and “Blue Skies”) soar above “standard” treatment as Nancy changes the pace, the space, the rhythm, mood—maybe slower, more sultry, more pensive. Regardless of origin, these songs belong to Nancy Harms alone, a set that exudes a sweet confidence that comes from self appraisal and commitment to both art and craft.

The album might be a debut release, but it holds all the trademarks of a veteran’s accomplishment – just enough music that will be familiar, yet offered with fresh interpretations; covers that deserve more attention, particularly when presented with such care and passion; new material that intrigues; supporting musicians and arrangements that honor and enhance the focal point—a voice that delivers with subtle power and insight, a voice that promises an exciting journey in the years ahead.

Artist Info

Originally from Minnesota – where she sang in school,church choirs, classical music programs, and jazz bands, Nancy Harms has always been singing. After graduation from Concordia College in Moorhead, she taught elementary music in Milaca, MN, before making the move to the Twin Cities a few years ago.

Soon she formed the Nancy Harms Trio and was booking gigs at such area venues as Rossi’s, The Times, Fine Line, and Dakota, building an enthusiastic following across the metro, catching the ear of such area luminaries as Arne Fogel, who noted:

“She is a remarkably instinctive musician. She has never been afraid to ask
questions, to harvest the experience and lessons imparted by the people who
came before her. Yet, despite her eagerness to learn from others and apply
the lessons, she also has a very well-defined sense of ’self’ and how she wants
to express her personality, her music, her appearance, etc. It’s a very harmonic
balance between the ‘eager student’ and the self-determined artist who has
definite ideas about where she wants to go…Nancy’s going to be a big presence
on the jazz scene.”

More Artist Info

Performance Details & Locations:

November 19th, 2009
(7:00 pm -11:00 pm)
Cover is $5
(call for reservations)

Dakota Jazz Club
1010 Nicollet Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 332-1010
www.dakotacooks.com

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