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“Now in Stores” XVI

Here are five more recent jazz releases worth giving a listen to:

1. Come Sunday by Charlie Haden (EmArcy – January 10, 2012) CLICK HERE TO BUY

Two jazz legends team up for an unforgettable and moving album of classic spirituals. Bassist Charlie Haden and the late pianist Hank Jones, follow up their 1995 classic duet recording Steal Away, with this album of great songs of power, including Duke Ellington s famous Come Sunday. Come Sunday was a last collaboration between these two longtime friends and colleagues. Hank Jones died in 2010 at the age of 91, shortly after completing this album. Jones is considered the consummate jazz pianist and renowned as a soloist, accompanist, composer and arranger. In a career spanning over 70 years, Hank Jones worked with nearly every major jazz musician from Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald to Diana Krall.

2. Further Explorations by Chick Corea/Eddie Gomez/Paul Motian (Concord Jazz – January 17, 2012) CLICK HERE TO BUY

The contributions of pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader Bill Evans to the language and appreciation of jazz continue to have a profound influence on musicians. Join master pianist Chick Corea as he leads original Evans alumni – bassist Eddie Gomez and the late drummer Paul Motian – on Further Explorations, a two-CD live set of 19 tracks. The spirit of Evans comes alive thanks to the vibrant simpatico shared by these three master musicians.

3. Conversations with Christian by Christian McBride (Mack Avenue – November 8, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

Christian McBride is a loquacious raconteur in addition to his finger-busting bass skills, though make no mistake about it- the only talk on this release is the musical kind two instruments make. Christian can converse with the best of them, as his Sirius/XM show will attest though these conversations sit him down in the studio with a diverse array of guests for unexpected and often amazing results. The resulting duets lay bare skill and emotion in the visceral tradition of real jazz improvisation.

4. The Monk Project by Jimmy Owens (IPO – January 3, 2012) CLICK HERE TO BUY

NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens debut as a leader on IPO features the legendary trumpeter & flugelhornist leading a stellar septet on a program of uniquely original arrangements of Thelonious Monk compositions that are deeply steeped in the blues. Jimmy Owens will receive the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy. The A.B. Spellman award is special recognition as an NEA Jazz Master. Longtime colleague and fellow NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron, well known for playing Monk s music with the group Sphere, heads the rhythm section. Robin Kelley, who wrote the prize-winning biography Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, contributes extensive liner notes.

5. Black Radio by Robert Glasper Experiment (Blue Note – February 28, 2012) CLICK HERE TO BUY

On February 28, 2012, Robert Glasper Experiment will release Black Radio (Blue Note Records/EMI), a future landmark album that boldly stakes out new musical territory and transcends any notion of genre, drawing from jazz, hip hop, R&B and rock, but refusing to be pinned down by any one tag. The first full-length album from the GRAMMY-nominated keyboardist’s electric Experiment band—saxist Casey Benjamin, bassist Derrick Hodge, and drummer Chris Dave—Black Radio also features many of Glasper’s famous friends from the spectrum of urban music, seamlessly incorporating appearances from a jaw-dropping roll call of special guests including Erykah Badu, Bilal, Lupe Fiasco, Lalah Hathaway, Shafiq Husayn (Sa-Ra), KING, Ledisi, Chrisette Michele, Mos Def, Musiq Soulchild, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Stokley Williams (Mint Condition).

“Now in Stores” XV

“Now in Stores” XIV

“Now in Stores” XIII

“Now in Stores” XII

“Now in Stores” XI

“Now in Stores” X

“Now In Stores” IX

“Now In Stores” VIII

“Now In Stores” VII

Now in Stores (Late May, June, and July)

“Now in Stores” – 5/16/2010 to 5/22/2010

“Now in Stores” – 5/2/2010 to 5/8/2010

“Now in Stores” – 4/25/2010 to 5/1/2010

“Now in Stores” – 4/18/2010 t0 4/24/2010

“Now In Stores” – 5 Noteworthy Jazz Albums Released this Week (4/11/2010-4/17/10)

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In Memoriam

As 2011 comes to a close, I’d like to take some time to remember some of the great contributors to jazz that passed away in 2011. Here is a short list of some of the wonderful musicians we lost over the last year.

Charles Fambrough, 60

Bassist Charles Fambrough died on January 1, 2011. He had been ill for last few years, battling end stage renal disease, congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. He had been receiving dialysis treatments as well. He was 60 years old at the time of his death. Read the full article at jazztimes.com.

George Shearing, 91

George Shearing, the elegant pianist who expanded the boundaries of jazz by adding an orchestral sensibility and a mellow aesthetic to the music, has died. He was 91. Shearing died Monday of congestive heart failure at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said his manager, Dale Sheets. Shearing had not performed publicly since taking a fall at his New York City apartment in 2004, but he continued playing piano. Read the full article at latimes.com.

Joe Morello, 82

Joe Morello, a jazz drummer whose elegant, economical playing in the Dave Brubeck Quartet sounded natural and effortless even in unusual time signatures, died on Saturday at his home in Irvington, N.J. He was 82. His death was announced on his Web site, joemorello.net. No cause was given. Read the full article at nytimes.com.

Snooky Young, 92

Snooky Young, an ageless jazz trumpeter who kept performing almost until his final breath, has died in California at the age of 92. Mr. Young began performing in the 1930s and was one of the last survivors from the Age of Swing still performing. He may be best known today for his long tenure in Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show band led by Doc Severinsen. Read the full article at washingtonpost.com.

Gil Scott-Heron, 62

Gil Scott-Heron died Friday afternoon in New York, his book publisher reported. He was 62. The influential poet and musician is often credited with being one of the progenitors of hip-hop, and is best known for the spoken-word piece “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” Read the full article at npr.org.

Ray Bryant, 79

Ray Bryant, a jazz pianist whose sensitivity and easy authority made him a busy accompanist and a successful solo artist, beginning in the mid-1950s, died on Thursday. He was 79. His wife of 20 years, Claude Bryant, said he died at New York Hospital Queens after a long illness. He lived in Jackson Heights, Queens. Read the full article at nytimes.com.

Frank Foster, 82

Frank Foster, the saxophonist and composer best known for his 1953-64 tenure with the Count Basie Orchestra, died yesterday, July 26, in Chesapeake, Va. The cause of death was kidney failure. Foster, who was honored with an NEA Jazz Master award in 2002, was 82. Read the full article at jazztimes.com.

Pete Rugolo, 95

Pete Rugolo, an award-winning composer and arranger who came to prominence in the world of jazz as the chief arranger for Stan Kenton’s post-World War II band and later wrote the themes for TV’s “The Fugitive” and “Run for Your Life,” has died. He was 95. Rugolo, who also had a recording career with his own band, died Sunday of age-related causes at a nursing facility in Sherman Oaks,said his daughter, Gina Rugolo Judd. Read the full article at latimes.com.

Paul Motian, 80

Paul Motian, a drummer, bandleader, composer and one of the most influential jazz musicians of the last 50 years, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. He was 80 and lived in Manhattan. The cause was complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood and bone-marrow disorder, said his niece, Cindy McGuirl. Read the full article at nytimes.com.

Bob Brookmeyer, 82

Bob Brookmeyer, who left a distinctive mark on jazz as a musician, composer, arranger and educator whose students included many of today’s leading jazz arrangers and bandleaders, died on Thursday in New London, N.H., four days before his 82nd birthday. The cause was cardiopulmonary arrest, said his wife, Janet. Read the full article at nytimes.com.

Sam Rivers, 88

The jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer passed away on Wednesday from pneumonia. He worked with Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and T. Bone Walker, and played an essential role in the abstract and avant-garde jazz movement. Hear the full story at npr.org.

 

 

 

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“Now in Stores” XII

Here are five more recent jazz releases worth giving a listen to:

1. Here We Go Again by Willie Nelson/Norah Jones/Wynton Marsalis (Blue Note Records, March 29,2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

Once in a while the stars align and something magical happens…as on the night Jazz at Lincoln Center presented a salute to the late, great bluesman, Ray Charles. Two musical iconoclasts, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, along with the stunning songstress Norah Jones, collectively brought their unique musical perspective to the legendary artist’s hits such as “Hallelujah I Love Her So”, “Hit the Road Jack,” and “Unchain My Heart.” Country music legend Willie Nelson and Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz artist and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis share more in common than their multiple GRAMMY® awards. They also share great respect and admiration for the late musical pioneer Ray Charles. Nelson and Marsalis joined musical forces for a two-night Jazz at Lincoln Center concert event at New York City’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Their set list explored the legacy of Charles, cleverly sequencing the songs to tell the story of a love affair from beginning to end and beyond. This fine idea was made finer by the inclusion of fellow multiple GRAMMY® winner Norah Jones, whose style suggests a middle ground between Nelson and Marsalis. The sold out performance was captured and the resulting footage expertly mixed and mastered for the brand new album.

2. James Farm by Joshua Redman (Nonesuch, April 26, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

2011 release, a collaborative effort between Joshua Redman and fellow Jazz travelers Aaron Parks, Matt Penman and Eric Harland. Since they’ve already guest-starred on each other’s recordings, James Farm is a natural progression for these Jazz musicians. James Farm made its debut at the 2009 Montreal Jazz Festival and has since performed dates in North America and Europe, garnering praise for its live set and fueling anticipation for this studio debut, which features tunes by each of the four musicians.

3. Sign of Life, Music for 858 Quartet by Bill Frisell (Savoy Jazz, April 26, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

It’s hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell. –NY Times. Bill Frisell’s remarkable artistry shines through on this brand new album with his world renowned 858 string quartet. Featuring Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), and Hank Roberts (cello), Sign Of Life was born out of Bill’s composing retreat in Vermont during the fall of 2010. The entire album was recorded, mixed, and mastered in only 3 months – the shortest gestation period ever for a Frisell recording.

4. ‘Round Midnight by Karrin Allyson (Concord Records, May 3, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

`Round Midnight, an 11 track collection was recorded at Sear Sound in New York City and features tracks from a wide variety of sources, including Bill Evans, Paul Simon, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mandel, Thelonious Monk, Stephen Sondheim, even Charlie Chaplin. But regardless of who wrote the songs and when, Allyson ties them all together with the same melancholy thread with which they were originally spun. The three time GRAMMY nominated vocalist describes her new album best in her liner notes: “Imagine yourself, in the city, walking late at night,” she writes. “It’s `Round Midnight. The wind is cold, but you hear some warm sounds and you follow your ear down into a small, dark club. There’s a woman at the piano singing these intimate ballads – one after the other. Maybe you’ve just recently suffered a heartache, or maybe the lyrics, melodies and harmonies evoke feelings you have somewhere deep down inside.”

5. Live at Birdland by Lee Konitz/Brad Mehldau/Charlie Haden/Paul Motian (ECM Records, May 17, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

A quartet of master musicians and a program of jazz classics. Live At Birdland presents the finest moments from two inspired nights at New York’s legendary club, as Konitz, Mehldau, Haden and Motian play “Loverman”, “Lullaby Of Birdland”, “Solar”, “I Fall In Love Too Easily”, “You Stepped Out Of A Dream” and “Oleo” with freedom, tenderness, and a love of melody that only jazz’s greatest improvisers can propose. On this live recording from New York’s legendary club, an ensemble of history-making players dives into the music without a set list. Four exceptional jazz musicians -Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian – approach the standards from new perspectives and unusual angles. They play them with freedom, tenderness and a melodic and rhythmic understanding found only amongst jazz’s greatest improvisers.

“Now in Stores” XI

“Now in Stores” X

“Now In Stores” IX

“Now In Stores” VIII

“Now In Stores” VII

Now in Stores (Late May, June, and July)

“Now in Stores” – 5/16/2010 to 5/22/2010

“Now in Stores” – 5/2/2010 to 5/8/2010

“Now in Stores” – 4/25/2010 to 5/1/2010

“Now in Stores” – 4/18/2010 t0 4/24/2010

“Now In Stores” – 5 Noteworthy Jazz Albums Released this Week (4/11/2010-4/17/10)