Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show

Drummer/Composer Duduka Da Fonseca is a blender, set at high speed. The Brazilian drummer (born in Rio De Janeiro in 1951), who arrived in New York City in 1975, has been actively exploring the perfect marriage and mixture of jazz and samba since forming his first Samba Jazz trio as a precocious 14 year old (a band he called "Bossa Trio"), with brother Miguel on bass. Over the years Da Fonseca has...

Some people know how to throw a birthday bash. Noted saxophonist/poet/painter/all-around good guy Oliver Lake will celebrate his 70th birthday this week with a series of shows in New York . The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1993, Lake has executed commissions for the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonic; arranged for Björk, Lou Reed and A Tribe Called Quest; collaborat...

John Pizzarelli has become one of today’s “Voices of Jazz” in the media, by virtue of his non-stop appearances onstage and in the recording studio. Yes, that’s even him on the omnipresent Foxwoods Resorts Casino ads on television.   He has conquered the radio dial as well, hosting the urbane "Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli" a nationally syndicated radio program co-hosted with his wife, Broadway...

A four day free jazz festival in the heart of one of America’s greatest cities? Featuring Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Gary Burton, Chick Corea and more? Did I mention it was free? Count me in! The 33rd annual Detroit Jazz Festival, presented by Chrysler, features this one-of-a-kind lineup of today’s greatest jazz performers. The performers at this...

A new CD from Brazilian singer Luciana Souza is always good news. Two new CDs on the same day is reason to celebrate. For ten years Ms. Souza has been releasing CDs as a leader, earning four Grammy-nominations ( Brazilian Duos , North and South , Duos II , and Tide ) . She has also been widely in demand by other artists, most notably Herbie Hancock, who showcased her on his Grammy-winning River- T...

The art of the vocal jazz group has a long history. Early singing groups that came out of the swing era like the Andrews Sisters or the Boswell Sisters pioneered the idea of close vocal harmony taking the lead over an instrumental jazz band. Male groups such as the Ink Spots (”Stompin’ at the Savoy, “That Cat is High”) and Mills Brothers (“Tiger Rag”, “Chinatown My Chinatown”) certainly had elemen...

This went over so well last year , I thought I'd bring it back for another try! It's summer in New England , so why not some lazy music for these lazy, hot days? Today is August 16th, the feast day of Saint Roch, the patron saint of Dogs, so why not celebrate the "Dog Days"? The Romans referred to the dog days as diēs caniculārēs and associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered...

Jack DeJohnette, one of the most influential and talented percussionists of the past 100 years, turns 70 years old today. A series of concerts in his native Chicago will take place this fall to honor the newly minted septuagenarian, but today is the day we honor him with a “mixtape” podcast of his recordings. From his earliest moments as a jazz musician, DeJohnette has been in demand by the most t...

Having been brought up on a steady diet of Simon & Garfunkel on my Dad's car stereo, I find that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is a song I always enjoy hearing performed in new and different ways, so long as it remains true to its gospel-tinged roots. The song surely must be considered a modern standard. Paul Simon wrote the song when he was in a period of great personal reflection, as he was on th...

From fusion to dreamy modern sounds to straight ahead jazz, John Abercrombie has led the way as one of the finest guitarists in the business. Since 1974 he has recorded almost exclusively for Manfred Eicher’s ECM label , and has made memorable duo, trio (particularly with the band Gateway) and quartet albums with varying instrumental composition. For his jazziest record in years, Abercrombie has a...

When Downbeat magazine’s Critics Poll appeared earlier this month, to no one’s surprise, Anat Cohen captured the award as Best Clarinet player, and earned the Rising Star award on Tenor Saxophone. She was a dual winner at the Jazz Journalists’ Awards for Clarinetist of the Year and Multi-reeds Player of the Year. She is an inspiring performer and composer, and is at the top of her game on any numb...

It’s July in New York, which means its time for the 92 nd Street Y’s “Jazz in July” series of concerts (July 16-26), curated for the eighth year by pianist Bill Charlap.   This year’s series of six events will feature dazzling jazz performed by some of the finest soloists and ensembles in jazz. There will be themed nights (tributes to Richard Rodgers, Bill Eavns and Art Blakey) and a wide variety...

Singer-songwriter-pianist Peter Cincotti was the darling of the jazz media when he made his recording debut at the age of 18. His eponymous first album showed him to be a crooner of the first order, and a piano player with one foot in boogie-woogie and another in straight-ahead jazz. Ten years later, Cincotti has moved well beyond the persona that singers like Michael Buble have assumed, and write...

The Yiddish Book Center, located in Amherst, Massachusetts, is a great cultural jewel, serving as a repository and place of advocacy for the left-for-dead language of Jewish Eastern Europe. They will host “ Yidstock ! ",   from July 11-15, a multi-day festival of new Yiddish music including musical performances, music-related films, lectures, exhibitions and other events culminating in two days of...

The recent release of Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate by Resonance Records offers listeners a table at the front of the stage for a stellar performance by one of jazz's greatest trios. It's October 23, 1968 in Greenwich Village , and legendary pianist Bill Evans is joined by bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell for two top-notch sets, represented here in their entirety. Aired only o...

I first heard Hailey Niswanger when she played the Gazebo Stage at the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival two years ago. Barely out of her teens, she played with great poise and elegance, using her alto sax to lay out long, lyrical solos and leading a quartet with great aplomb. The audience loved her. Two years later, as the festival celebrates the various acts that graced the Gazebo Stage with re...

My musical summer can begin on June 30 th , with the 35 th annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival takes place at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in New York. If New Orleans is “The Big Easy”, then this festival should be known as “The Big Hang”, with two days of wonderful vibes, two stages of world-class music, food, crafts and general fun. And who will be featured on the Main Stage...

Paul McCartney’s latest CD, Kisses on the Bottom (insert rear end joke here) was not really a jazz record, but with support from Diana Krall and her band, including Christian McBride, it was above-average Standards crooning. Calling it “the songs which inspired the songs”, he selected tunes that a young McCartney heard his father playing on piano when growing up in Liverpool. Now at the age of 70,...

Hey Rim Jeon has been on the radar for a number of years as a pianist, composer and educator to watch. That promise is being fulfilled as Ms. Jeon has just released Introducing Hey Rim Jeon , her first set for NCoded Music and distributed by RED, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. In conjunction with the release, Hey Rim will present "An Evening of Original and Classic Jazz" at Scullers Jazz...

Bob Wolfman has been an exciting guitar player in New York , and then after his time at Berklee School of Music, in Boston , but has never gotten much national attention. Equally at home with blues or jazz styles, he is a well-known teacher in New England , and has been in demand in the clubs in and around Boston . That will hopefully change with his latest release, Transition . A CD that moves wi...

"Grégoire Maret is an exceptional young musician who is taking the harmonica to an exciting new place in jazz." - Pat Metheny Great jazz musicians who play non-traditional instruments are few and far between. One can think of Edmar Castaneda and Brandee Younger (harp); Jean Luc Fillon (oboe); and Steve Turre (conch shell). Cello players like Erik Friedlander, Peggy Lee and Fred Lonberg-Holm have t...

It’s a treat to hear a musician coming into his own. A few listens to Journeyman , the second CD release from Brandon Wright, gives you a chance to hear a saxophonist   who has the verve and fire to become a major player. His debut CD, Boiling Point , featured his tenor sax alongside trumpeter Alex Sipiagin. Two years later, he’s the sole front man in a quartet with David Kikoski (piano); Boris Ko...

Ralph Peterson had just gotten his grades into the registrar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston when we talked last week. However, the talented drummer, composer, and educator was not headed for any restful summer vacation. Instead, he is preparing for the release of his 16 th CD as a leader, The Duality Perspective , and a 50 th birthday party at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York on May 2...

The 29 th Discover Burlington Jazz Festival begins on June 1, kicking off the summer jazz festival season in the Northeast with a bang. For ten days, the college town on the banks of Lake Champlain will be the host for dozens of international and local jazz musicians, along with educational programs that make this a true destination festival for jazz lovers of all ages. The Flynn MainStage will fe...

Maybe it’s the fallout from International Jazz Day, or the onset of warmer weather, but I’ve been increasingly drawn to releases with a Brazilian or South American sound. The weather in New England has been rainy, so perhaps these mellow sounds will chase away the clouds and give us some much needed late spring sunshine. What better reasons for Podcast 274, which features tracks from several of th...