Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show

    Few jazz musicians have the varied resume of Azar Lawrence. Since he burst on the scene in the early 1970’s as a sideman for artists as varied as Frank Zappa and McCoy Tyner, his Coltrane-esque sax qualities have been in great demand. He faced off with David Liebman on Miles Davis’ fascinating (if obtuse) Dark Magus live album, and with Woody Shaw on the classic Moontrane album. He collaborate...

Bruce Barth and Steve Wilson’s new live duo CD, Home,   has some of the finest improvisation and close coordination between musicians I’ve heard in a long time, Barth, a veteran of Terence Blanchard’s band, has been broadening his horizons over the past few years, so it was a pleasure to check in with the piano player last week. Click here  for Podcast 187, which features a conversation with Barth...

Wayne Escoffery is one of the most versatile tenor saxophone players we have today. Ever since he left the Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut scene under the legendary Jackie McLean’s tutelage, he has been playing in small bands, large bands, as a side man and accompanist for some of the finest in the business.   Now 35 years old, he will get his first chance to headline the stage in Hartford’s Bushn...

The always informative Funky16Corners , one of my favorite spots for finding hard-to find old soul, funk and jazz recordings, has a jazz bonanza today, as they feature not one, not two, but FOUR different versions of Cannonball Adderley’s classic “Sack O’Woe”. Visit him ASAP for a listen, since the tracks are not available for too long.   Adderley wrote the tune and recorded it for his At the Ligh...

Stanley Clarke continues his partnership with Japanese pianist Hiromi on “The Stanley Clarke Band” (Heads Up Records), a CD that nicely shows the various facets of the ace bassist’s music. Hiromi may be the finest acoustic musician Clarke has played with in decades, and he brings out the expressive side of Clarke’s playing. Their remake of “No Mystery” is subtle and shimmering, with a searing gues...

My readers know by now that I rarely have very good things to say about the slew of smooth jazz recordings that come across my desk. Too often, smooth jazz becomes a dilution of the things that make jazz such a vibrant idiom - loss of memorable melody, loss of emotion and wit, loss of memorable improvisation. It's a plwasure to say that First Impressions , the debut CD from Hulon, a Florida born s...

Jazz fans in Manhattan know that Monday Night means a trip to the Jazz Standard , where the Mingus Big Band, one of foremost ensembles playing the repertory of the legendary Charles Mingus, holds forth. Those not fortunate enough to catch the group now have a chance to experience them at their fiery best, with the release of this live album, recorded at their New Year's Eve show in 2008.   The fou...

There was a time when I was afraid we would lose Fred Hersch, one of the most expressive pianists on the scene (check  this recent New York Times article ). Stricken with HIV, the incredibly prolific perfomer and writer has none the less not missed a beat. If his latest release on Palmetto Records, Whirl , is any indication, he's going stronger than ever. Hirsch has written brilliant works for dan...

While the first day of summer may have come on Monday, for me summer doesn't begin until the Freihofer's Jazz Festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs , NY begins. And fans, that is this weekend.   For two days, an extraordinary kaleidoscope of talent from a number of different musical genres will play two stages in the serene grounds of SPAC.   I'll be there for...

May 16th was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Django Reinhardt, the unique jazz guitarist who helped turn Europe onto jazz sounds. His story is a compelling one. Born to gypsy parents in Belgium , he lived primarily in France , where he and his brother learned guitar. Horribly burned in a fire that destroyed his family's caravan, Reinhardt found himself at eighteen years old unable to use the...

What can I say about Bob Dylan that hasn't already been said a million times over. Perhaps I'll leave it be that as a singer, songwriter, musician and often as a human being, he is in many ways my all-time favorite. Podcast 183 is a jazz celebration of The Man from Hibbing, Minnesota, including: Cassandra Wilson - Lay Lady Lay" from Glamoured . This percussive version is a far cry from Dylan's cou...

At the age of thirty, Antonio Ciacca is one buys man. For most people, raising a large family in Manhattan and writing, recording and playing jazz music would be more than enough. But that’s just his night job. On top of that, Ciacca serves as Director of Programming for Jazz at Lincoln Center , working hand in hand with close friend Wynton Marsalis. He’s got his hands full.   Born in Germany, rai...

West Coast pianist Eric Muhler is one of those musicians who has been around seemingly forever, but never broken through to wide success. He began with a rock and blues background, before morphing into a top jazz keyboard player. The 1980’s saw Muhler performing as a member in two exceptional progressive jazz groups – the Mobius Band with guitarist Jim Slick , and Quiet Fire, with ex-Miles Davis g...

I’ve explored the connection between jazz and rock music a number of times during my tenure as a blogger. For example,   I’ve presented podcasts of jazz artists handling the music of Joni Mitchell, the Grateful Dead, and Sting. However, those three artists have jazz roots/influences to their music, whether by virtue of chord structure, improvisation or inspiration. Today, it’s time to show how jaz...

You’ve heard Catherine Russell – you just might not realize you have. She’s paid the rent for years as an in-demand backup singer for rock artists like Steely Dan and David Bowie, and toured as part of the “American Beauty Project”, a rootsy tribute to the early 70’s music of the Grateful Dead.   On her own, she has released three exceptional albums, the latest of which, Inside this Heart of Mine,...

It seems that most religions have Spring holidays. In fact, celebrating the beginning of Spring may be among the oldest seasonal holidays in human culture. The earliest reference we have to such a holiday comes to us from Babylon, 2400 BCE. The city of Ur apparently had a celebration dedicated to the moon and the Spring equinox which was held some time during our months of March or April. Today is...

Home recuperating from an illness, I caught The Jazz Baroness on HBO. This documentary, originally made for the BBC, was directed by Hannah Rothschild , the great-niece of its subject, the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter (1913-1988). An heir to the Rothschild fortune, "Nica" turned her back on Europe and moved to America, where she became a fixture, and then a patron, of the New York jazz scen...

Podcast 177 is a conversation with Patrice Rushen, who many know from her R&B days (“Forget-Me-Nots” ) but who is a crack jazz musician. Skilled in electric and acoustic jazz, she has served as musical director for Janet Jackson’s tour and the Grammy Award Show, as well as composing pop, classical and jazz music. She’s teaching at USC and helping at Berklee in Boston as well, helping educate the n...

Podcast 176 is my interview with Babatunde Lea, a veteran percussionist who has just released a tribute album to one of his musical mentors, Leon Thomas. Thomas was a shining star of the jazz avant-garde in the Sixties, making memorable recordings with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Archie Shepp, and especially Pharoah Sanders. The pair collaborated on the classic "The Creator Has a Master Plan" , which too...

Smooth Jazz saxophonist Jessy J hit the scene last year, and made a mark on this listener with her debut CD Tequila Moon . Heavily influenced by producer Paul Brown, the CD was a cut above most contemporary jazz releases, as she showed her delightful mix of Latin and smooth sounds, with covers of classics like “Mas Que Nada” and “Besame Mucho” interspersed with originals like the title track. Heav...

Jason Miles is a quadruple threat – artist, arranger, composer and producer. Add to that his experience in organizing benefit and tribute concerts, and you’ve got something of a Jazz Renaissance Man.   Podcast 174 incorporates that interview along with some musical selections, including: I first heard Jason on his tribute album to Miles Davis, Miles to Miles: In the Spirit of Miles Davis . It went...

One of the best young jazz singers in America today is Sachal Vasandani. B orn in Chicago, he grew up in a household where all kinds of music was appreciated, from western and Indian classical to the pop of the day including Michael Jackson and the Beatles. His parents also listened to jazz “from Ellington to Keith Jarrett” which piqued Vasandani's curiosity about the music. At the University of M...

Yes, it's time for the annual Straight No Chaser Christmas podcast, featuring a stocking full of jazzy tunes for you to enjoy as the big day comes closer. No commentary, just a bit over an hour of tree-trimming, stocking stuffing, egg nog drinking, gift wrapping music, folks. Click here to listen to: Alexis Cole - "Prelude/Christmas Time is Here" Soul Strings – "Jingle Bells" Chick Corea's Electri...

He will always be the Quiet Beatle. George Harrison stood still in the background of the Fab Four, perhaps the most musically talented, and likely the deepest and  most spiritual of the band. Today is the eighth anniversary of his death in 2001 from lung cancer, and Podcast 171 is dedicated to his memory. Considered one of the greatest guitarists of the rock era, Harrison also carved out places in...

  I've blogged about the unique singer-songwriter Jacqui Naylor before, and this weekend I had the pleasure to speak with her in anticipation of her three night run at the Blue Note in New York with her trio. One of the most versatile performers in jazz today, Ms. Naylor's set is as likely to include reimaginings of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" as it is to have Gershwin tunes. And best of all, sh...