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4 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2016
FEBRUARY 2016
ON THE COVER
22 Snarky
Puppy
A Friendly,
Funky Monster
BY JOSEF WOODARD
32
This fiercely independent jazz
band, currently riding high
with world tours and a quickly
expanding discography on
its own GroundUP label, has
become a model of self-reliance.
28 Paquito D'Rivera
Answering Yeyito Randy Brecker performs with the Concert Jazz Band at
BY TED PANKEN the University of Missouri at Columbia on Nov. 7, 2015.
On the cover, Snarky Puppy bandleader Michael League (front), with his bandmates (back row, from left):
32 Randy Brecker Mike Maz Maher, Nate Werth, Shaun Martin; (middle row, from left) Jay Jennings, Jason JT Thomas, Justin
We Loved the Funk Stanton and Chris Bullock. Photo shot by Jimmy and Dena Katz at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn on Sept. 17, 2015.
BY TERRY PERKINS
36 Mike Reed's
Grand Vision
BY AARON COHEN
98 Toolshed
STELLA K
Snarky Puppy and collaborators who
play on Family Dinner, Volume Two
NATE GUIDRY
he just stopped playing and turned the music
erseeing and hearing this wonderful artist
over to the orchestra. (This was a Charlie Park-
swinging so perfectly.
er With Strings concert.) That led me to won-
BOB & DIANE ANDERSON
der if he had planned on retirement earlier, or MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA
Underrated Trudell In the April issue, I noticed that the Blindfold deal was made prior to the involvement of fes-
As a long-time Test with vibraphonist Warren Wolf did not tival producers Lou Adler and John Phillips.
jazz fan and read- include any selections by one of the great- My brother Harvey and I are co-authors
er of DownBeat, I est vibes players of all time, Tito Puente. of the authoritative history of the festival,
just cant believe When I looked at the other tracks included A Perfect Haze: The Illustrated History of the
the disconnect in the Blindfold Tests for the year, I noticed Monterey International Pop Festival. I call our
that some of your there were no selections by Latin Jazz art- book authoritative because Mr. Adler gave
reviewers have re- ists. This is an egregious and disheartening us unprecedented access to his exhaustive
garding straighta- oversight. Please stop treating Latin Jazz in files, correspondence, legal contracts and
head, swinging a token manner and start including it in the other ephemera, which document the events
jazz. It seems like Blindfold Test. charitable directive.
the cool thing now is to be out and to MARCELLA JENKINS KENNETH KUBERNIK
MARCELLAJENKINS@YAHOO.COM LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
say, To heck with tradition. One recent ex-
ample is Bob Doerschuks review of the Dan
Editor's Note: Our December 2015 issue in-
Trudell Trios album Dan Trudell Plays The
cluded a Blindfold Test with Pete Escovedo In the Doghouse
Piano in your January issue. If youre into
& Sheila E. in which they were asked to com- I just read the results of the Readers Poll
traditional jazz, theres no way thats only a
ment on Tito Puentes 3-D Mambo and in your December issue. Snarky Puppy?!?
3-star album! At the very least, it should
Machitos Cannonology. Maybe when my fellow readers were voting
get 4 stars. Every song on the album
in the Jazz Group category, they thought
stands on its own.
they were voting for the band with the
Perhaps reviewers should designate their
genre preferences because otherwise they Charity Case cutest name.
might turn people off to fantastic listening In your October issue, the review of Mark Ri- JOHN BARRETT
ATLANTA
opportunities. bowskys book Dreams To Remember: Otis
KEVIN MCINTOSH Redding, Stax Records, and the Transforma-
STERLING HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN
tion of Southern Soul made a reference to Accentuate the Positive
Reddings participation in the 1967 Monte- Its sad to see readers spending time and
Remembering Mark Murphy energy to rip magnificent artists like Charles
rey International Pop Festival. I'd like to of-
The great jazz singer Mark Murphy depart- Lloyd and Mary Halvorson in the Chords &
fer some details.
ed this life on Oct. 22, leaving a legacy of Discords section in recent issues of Down-
All the proceeds from the festival did in-
fantastic recordings that we will always Beat. Everyone is certainly entitled to their
deed go to a charitable fund that continues own opinion, and even critics famously dis-
treasure (First Take, January). Michael
to receive revenue from CD and DVD sales, agree on artists and music at times. But why
Bourne said it well in his First Take essay:
licensing of film/audio clips, etc., which sup- go through the trouble of writing a letter
Murphy was a singers singer. We shall
ports a variety of educational and artist-de- to the editor in order to slam artists that so
not see his like again.
velopment programs. All the musicians who many others love? Innovative musicians like
JACK WHITLINGER
APOLLO, PENNSYLVANIA performed at Monterey were told in advance Lloyd and Halvorson should be celebrated
that their time was to be donated, and they all for what they bring to jazz, which is one of
agreed. The festival could not have happened the key reasons I have subscribed to Down-
Wheres the Latin Jazz? Beat for years.
I just browsed through most of the 2015 is- without the bands waving their fees. The only
BRUCE BALLAN
sues of DownBeat, give or take one or two. artist who was paid was Ravi Shankar, whose REXFORD, NEW YORK
The
Inside
14 / Barcelona Jazz
Festival
15 / Blue Note "Jazz
at Sea" Festival
16 / Aaron Parks
17 / Allen Toussaint
Tribute
CAMILLE BLAKE
Splitter Orchestr giving a powerful yet detailed reading of guest com-
poser George Lewis Creative Construction Set. The strongest show
of the festival, however, was a masterful performance by trumpeter
Ambrose Akinmusire, who led his quartet (with special guest vocalist
Theo Bleckmann) for the closing set on Nov. 8.
Also on opening night, singer Ccile McLorin Salvant demonstrated tualist Miguel Zenn and his Identities Are Changeable project. And on
the kind of jazz intelligence and theatrically tinged dynamism that Nov. 7, Charles Lloyd brought his cross-cultural Wild Man Dance proj-
makes her one of the most exciting new vocalists on the scene. Another ect to a crowd of eager listeners. Opening for his set was the supple and
potent young voice, virtuosic French accordionist Vincent Peirani, dazzling Tigran Hamasyan Trio.
mixed up musicality and post-fusion fodder. Of the British music in But this reviewer was pulled away by the lure of catching the remark-
the mix, impressive young trumpeter Laura Jurds Dinosaur offered able Paal Nilssen-Love and his Large Unit, one of the most stellar exam-
up some savory, funk-fueled neo-fusion grooves, while Dylan Howes ples of a free-improvised big band project. They have invented their
Subterraneans took on David Bowies Berlin-era repertoire. own sense of groove, removed from any other groups, and reached new
The geo-cultural GPS then moved from the British Isles to the Puerto heights and new ambient dimensions in the process. The unfolding here-
Rican/New York City scene, via the vibrant alto saxophonist and concep- and-nowness of the set proved fairly overwhelming. Josef Woodard
legacy like no other. other players in a processional out of the auditorium. As they reached
Delfeayo Marsalis, who the street, hundreds of mourners fell in line behind them, breaking
worked in Toussaints stu- into song as the casket was ushered past Canal Street to Toussaints
dio as a high school student, final resting place. Jennifer Odell
MIHO HAZAMA
emotive Under The Same Moon, which he also
performed with m_unit at the Jazz Standard.
Miho wants to make her big band not
Logical Concepts sound like a big band, Goldstein said. She
brings the aesthetic and sensibility from Mikes
W
work to herself, and shes special in how she
hen Miho Hazama headlined at she won the 16th Annual Charlie Parker Jazz
knows how to compose the licks and nuanc-
Jazz Standard on Sept. 30 with her Competition Prize for her work Somnambulant,
es. She does what all grown-up composers
13-piece chamber band m_unit, and the year before she received the Japanese 24th
do: express a distinctive idea and develop and
she proved herself an engaging new voice on Annual Idemitsu Awardthe first time a jazz
New Yorks jazz scene. The 29-year-old com- unfold it. Its that unfolding that makes her
composer has won the prestigious prize. In 2011 part of that young generation of artists that are
poser and arrangerwho grew up in Tokyo she received an ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz
and now lives in Harlemrepresents the next wiser than their years. A lot of jazz musicians
Composer Award. are interested in covering old territory, but shes
generation of large ensemble leaders, ably join- Hazamas music is complex, teeming with
ing the ranks of such established orchestra lead- someone whos taking the development of jazz
unexpected twists and jolting turns as well as a step further into the future. Shes so gifted,
ers as Maria Schneider and Ryan Truesdell.
pockets of frenzy that lead into wonder. Case in she could write a piece for 12 accordions and it
In fact, Schneider in many ways has served
point: The Urban Legend, the uplifting open- would sound great.
as a mentor. Maria has helped me a lot, includ-
ing tune of Time River. It has an element of Hazama wanted to close Time River with
ing helping me to get my first dream show at
swing in 5/16 time but also features horns dart- something that originated outside the realm
Jazz Standard, said Hazama, who graduated
with a masters degree in composition from the ing over lush strings, a scampering rhythm that of jazz. She opted to turn the alternative
Manhattan School of Music (where she stud- leads to a rolling piano solo and a tenor saxo- metal band A Perfect Circles gripping tune
ied with Jim McNeely) in 2012. I met Maria at phone sprint before the band returns to the Magdalena into a wildly hook-laden, swing-
MSM where she taught a master class ... I gave tunes catchy motif that appears, disappears ing take with an exciting, jump-for-joy end-
her my first CD [2013s Journey To Journey] and and reappears throughout the song. The inspi- ing. Almost all the songs on my album are in
she loved it. Since then, she has supported and ration for this comes from the music I compose a minor key, so I wanted to end in a major key
encouraged me. when I travel, Hazama said. and have lots of bright colors, she said. I want-
Hazama, whose second album is the spirited Hazama didnt fully plunge into jazz until ed to make a closer, like a bonus track. So this is
Time River (Sunnyside), has been garner- she came to New York, focusing primarily on perfect. Its the happiest song ever.
ing impressive stature as a composer. Last year the compositional aspects of the music. I chose Dan Ouellette
CHRISTIAN HOWES
Purpose & Power
F
or Christian Howes, jazz defies defini- tion gratified a long-suppressed urge to explore
tion. The violinists new album, American different musical styles.
Spirit (Resonance Records), is a beau- He was released after four years on good
tifully eclectic work that speaks to his disdain behavior. Soon afterward, he decided to reject
for pedantic debates over what jazz is. Its also an offer of full-time employment with the
a celebration of the United States deep musi- Columbus Symphony to throw himself into
cal heritage, influenced by Howes U.S. State gigging at local clubs and restaurants.
Department visit to strife-torn Ukraine in 2014. For a State Department concert in Kiev, the
No matter what opinion you have on what- Ukrainian capital, Howes and a youth orches-
ever issue, you should feel proud that you are tra teamed up to perform Scott Routenbergs
American, said Howes. If we focus on the things Concerto For Jazz Violin. It was a tense time,
we share, the qualities we agree are important, as a violent, deadly battle raged between govern-
then we can get rid of some of the polarization, ment forces and pro-Russian rebels. Howes was
the nitpicking. Which is the same thing Im say- astounded as spectators, giving the orchestra and
ing about music. Why are we nitpicking about him a standing ovation, suddenly broke into a
whats jazz and whats not jazz? he said. Its about rendition of Ukraines anthem of solidarity.
music, and music is about spirit. Back in the studio, Howes focused on short
Mixing traditional jazz, modern jazz, r&b, solos rather than virtuosic displays when
blues, folk and classical music, Howes new CD recording American Spirit.
represents an effort by the 43-year-old to come The desire [during the sessions was] to
to terms with changing life priorities. The mar- express exactly what needs to be expressed and
ried father of two is a critically acclaimed jazzman nothing less, said bassist Ben Williams, part
with a diverse musical range comparable to that of of a lineup that included pianist Josh Nelson,
Jean-Luc Ponty. He also is an educator commit- organist/pianist Hamilton Hardin, drum-
ted to breaking down established notions about mer Gregory Hutchinson and vocalist Polly
the violins role in improvising and composition. Gibbons. A lot of music today is a little too
From age 5, however, the prime focus of self-gratifying.
Howes upbringing in Columbus, Ohio, was For Howes, the album speaks to musics
preparing for a career as a classical violinist. purpose and power: When I was younger, it
Then, at 19, Howes life took an unexpected was all about climbing the ladder of success and
turn: He was arrested for LSD trafficking and proving myself. Now, I want my energy direct-
sentenced to spend six to 25 years in jail. It was ed toward something bigger, something mean-
a frightening development. But being incarcer- ingful. If I play music, theres a bigger reason
ated expanded his understanding of humanity, [for doing it]. Its about creating meaning for
and it broadened his musical palette. Playing a people, its about making people feel good. Its
range of tunes for the prison church congrega- about expressing humanity. Michael Barris
Players
PIXEL
Seeking Joy
LASSE FLODO
N
ow promoting its third album for music, we want to challenge the [notion that]
Cuneiform, Golden Years, Norways Nordic jazz is introverted, self-important. We
award-winning band Pixel contin- like more the joy in the music, and to have the
ues to build momentum. Double-bassist/vocal- connection with the audience and to play with
ist Ellen Andrea Wang, drummer Jon Audun more energy. Were singing, everybody.
Baar, trumpeter Jonas Kilmork Vemy and sax- While early on Wang was more central to
ophonist Harald Lassen tore things up at last Pixels sound, Golden Years reflects a collec-
falls Stockholm Jazz Festival, playing to a full tive quartet sound. Nowadays each member
house at the jazz club Fasching. With members has an equivalent role. Vocals can be added as
composing music for the band, their unique an instrument [by everyone]not like a sing-
blend of danceable jazz with indie pop and rock er in front of the band, but they become a part
continues to include tight arrangements, ample of the band that is natural, Wang said. All the
room for blowing and fetching vocals. instruments have an important voice in Pixel.
All four have careers and collaborations of The bandwhose busy schedule includes
their own, with everyone approaching 30. shows at Ronnie Scotts in London (Jan. 4) and
But, as Lassen, who came up with the title for Bimhuis in Amsterdam (Jan. 5)are road war-
Golden Years, noted, The music is about stay- riors whose malleable songs evolve over the
ing young. Regarding the follow-up to 2014s course of a tour. The compositions are also
We Are All Pixels and 2012s Reminder, he said, transformed during the recording process.
This is the best record weve made so far, and, Last year [2014] was a very productive year
for sure, they are golden years for us. for us, Vemy said. We had almost 100 con-
The members of Pixel are longtime students certs, so we got to play a lot together. Golden
and fans of American jazz. They are also, nat- Years was recorded in five days. With this
urally, students of Norways jazz history, and record, we wanted to take everybodys
theyre ready to make their own mark in that ideas, not throw anything away before it
great lineage. We have had a really strong jazz was tested out and tried; and we were very
scene in Norway for the past 40 years, Lassen open to each other.
said. People are still talking about Jan Garbarek The conversation concluded in Faschings
and his group with Arild Andersen. But we are backstage green room with a discussion about
ready to change that. (His bandmates chuckled recording a live album that would capture the
in delight at that statement.) onstage spontaneity for which Pixel is known.
Indeed, Pixel wants to distance themselves Wang sees performing their songs live as an
from the stereotype of what fans have come to opportunity for refinement: This is the fun
think of as Nordic jazz. Were something part, she said, knowing it can always get
else, Wang said with a broad smile. With our a little better. John Ephland
COLIN LINDEN
LAURA GODWIN
Prism of the Blues
I
t can take ages to become an overnight suc- group until his death from multiple myeloma in
cess in Nashville. Case in point: guitarist 2007.) Sticking with the same players for so long
Colin Linden. A longtime Music City fix- involves walking a wire between playing intui-
ture, hes toured with Bob Dylan and Emmylou tively and lapsing into predictability; thus far,
Harris, led two trios whose critical success- according to Craig, theyve kept their balance.
es predated the current Americana boom and Theres nothing more valuable than hav-
built a reputation as a multi-instrumentalist ing many, many years of playing with people
and producer blessed with taste and integrity. you can relate to, the drummer says. Ive got-
Ive played on 400 albums, he insists over the ten to know Colins phrases and motifs. When
buzz and clatter of coffee machines and conversa- I hear them coming, I can accompany them
tion at the cafe Eighth and Roast. But Ive only however I want because I know how theyre
recently been given the chance to record frequent- going to happen.
ly with musicians who are really experienced. It took longer for the trio to come up with a
Working with [music director] Buddy Miller on name than to establish their synchronici-
the Nashville TV show has made it possible. ty. Known now as The Rotting Matadors, they
ABCs country music prime-time soap has hold the center on Lindens latest album, the
put Linden on the fast track to opportunity. superb Rich In Love (Stony Plain). Enhanced by
Im the performance supervisor, Linden says. guest appearances from harmonicist Charlie
I play about 75 percent of the guitar you hear Musselwhite, keyboardists Reese Wynans and
on the show. When we go on the road, I play Tim Lauer and vocalist Amy Helm (daughter
with almost all of the actors. I like to think Im of Levon), the program moves from slinky and
involved pretty deeply in developing the nuance soulful on I Need Water to roadhouse raw on
that the cast members bring to their roles. The Hurt and Delta deep on the title track
These developments are like the ignition And yes, a current of blues flows from track to
switch on a vehicle Linden has been building track; that wellspring is far from dry.
since his formative years in Torontothe scene Im touched by the music of the past,
that spawned Robbie Robertson, Amos Garrett, Linden says. The great blues artists are like
Amos Wilcox and other blues-inflected guitar- mountains: You can build the biggest city you
ists who nourished him as a singer and player. want next to them, but itll still be dwarfed by
Linden sees everything he plays through Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Blind Lemon
the prism of the blues. This perspective is also Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Son House, Willie
largely what drew him to bassist John Dymond Lee Brown and Reverend Gary Davis. Im a for-
and drummer Gary Craig, his musical asso- ward-looking guy. I want to do better than I do
ciates for more than 25 years. (Keyboardist now. But always, I do my best to represent my
Richard Bell was an equally vital part of the heroes, too. Bob Doerschuk
S
narky Puppy has become a monsteralbeit a Sleeper, from 2014s We Like It Here, which
friendly, funky monsterand all through starts slowly before kicking into a higher, groove-
its own fiercely independent means and consuming gear. The band boasts a personally
devices. This jazz band out of University of North tended, organically grown, very enthusiastic fan
Texas, formed in 2002 and now riding high with base, a phenomenon that invites comparisons to
world tours and a quickly expanding discography Phish and Dave Matthews Band.
on its own GroundUP label, has become a model Snarky Puppys new album, Family Dinner,
of self-reliance. Rare in the jazz world is the DIY Volume Two, is decidedly homegrown yet wildly
success story that results in a truly global reach. ambitious, with a diverse roster of guests that
After doggedly working just beneath the radar for includes vocalists David Crosby, Susana Baca,
years, Snarky Puppy has hit it big, with a Grammy Becca Stevens and Salif Keita, as well as guitarist
award (Best R&B Performance for Something, Charlie Hunter and saxophonist Jeff Coffin.
featuring vocalist Lalah Hathaway, from the 2013 The new album also marks the bands entry into
album Family Dinner, Volume One), strong sales the major-label world, via an interesting partnership.
for 2015s band-plus-orchestra CD Sylva (with the Michael League, the bands powerhouse yet soft-
Metropole Orkest) and a victory in the Jazz Group spoken leader, is quick to explain that Snarky
category of the 2015 DownBeat Readers Poll. Puppy was not signed by a major label, and that
Additionally, Sylva is nominated in the category the album is issued on the bands own imprint,
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for the GroundUP, but will be distributed by Universal
Grammy Awards that will be presented on Feb. 15. Music Classics. Its an important distinctionone
In a way, the bands new theme song could be in keeping with his overall vision and career goals.
Were still independent, 100 percentyou
Snarky Puppy's Chris Bullock (left), Justin Stanton, Mike Maher,
dont give that up easily after 12 years, League Michael League, Bob Lanzetti and Mark Lettieri perform
at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, B.C., on Nov. 23.
said. That has given us a lot of leverage over any
negotiations that have taken place with majors,
because they know walking into the situation
that were not in a position where we really need
them. Thats great, because then you can real-
ly talk as peers, and not as suits and plebeians.
All of these converging energies and spot-
lights stoke a basic question among critics and
fans who have only recently heard about the
band: Just who and what is this thing called
Snarky Puppy?
For newbies, the best introduction to the
band is to attend one of its concerts, where the
infectious energy, ambience, groove power and
tunefulness come throughespecially when
the crowd is stocked with avid believers. In
September, the band was greeted by a sold-out
ANDY HAWKES
conceptualist. In todays world, he says, and supportive song-consciousness is a key fac- solid week of work at the Sonic Ranch studio
with peoples attention spans and aesthet- tor in what gives the band its identityamidst outside of El Paso, Texas. By the time Family
ics and preferences, youre already swimming the admitted swirl of confusion over what to Dinner, Volume Two is released on Feb. 12,
upstream with a band without a vocalist. So call and where to put the band in the musi- another album will ostensibly be in the can.
we do everything we can to provide motifs and cal landscape. When people call us a fusion Thats the way this band rolls, and keeps rolling.
making sure that the grooves are always inter- band, League says, I kind of cringe a little bit, One of the distinguishing points of the
esting, that the melodies are always singable because a lot of what people consider fusion is album still in progress is its old-school meth-
and catchy, and that compositionally, there is not something I would like. But when they call odology in the studio. They planned to track 21
lots of stimulifor us, as well as the listener. us jazz, I feel like thats a little more accurate, songs in a week in Texas, to be whittled down to
He paused to clarify the point. I dont ever but I still dont feel like thats really right. the finished album, with no guest vocalists or
follow the listener, League said. I feel very I guess were more similar to the Jazz orchestra involvedand also no live audience
strongly in the idea that the artist should lead Messengers or Mingus or Ellington or the Hot or film crew on hand, features of the bands ear-
the listener and not follow. But when I say Seven than we are to modern-day jazz guys. In lier three albums.
these things about the music being accessi- that way, I think we are jazz, because were tak- Whereas the first Family Dinner was
ble or catchy, I mean that as much for us as for ing the jazz tradition and doing our thing with it, recorded in the theater setting of the Jefferson
the audience. Were guys who, when we get in which relates to today. But he draws the line when Center in Roanoke, Virginia, the new Volume
the van, we dont turn on a Two went down a differ-
modern jazz album. We lis- ent path. Hunkering down
ten to Led Zeppelin, CSNY, at the increasingly popu-
Smashing Pumpkins and
Michael Jackson. Were taking the jazz lar Esplanade studio in New
Orleans, the band rehearsed
Diversity of tastes and its various songs and invit-
skill sets comes natural-
ly to the musicians in the
tradition and doing ed its guests over the course
of several days, leading up
bands stable. Trumpeter/
keyboardist Justin Stanton
admits that the band is a
our thing with it. to the tracking before a live
audience.
Bullock said that the
multi-headed beast. We
have a lot of interests, so we
Michael League whole band arrived about
five or six days before all the
just try to cram it in as best guest artists showed up. We
we can. We get bored easi- started rehearsing and learn-
ly. From a more practical, on-the-job perspec- it comes to applying the bands approach direct- ing all the music, figuring out who was going to
tive, League comments, Were all session guys, ly to the modern jazz scene, as such, adding, We play what, and how. As the artists started showing
too, and are sidemen for anyone from Erykah improvise all the time, and every night we play up, it was really cool. We had created this sched-
Badu to Kirk Franklin to Justin Timberlake, to each song differently. But all of the improvisation ule that allowed them to have a lot of free time, so
jazz guys, like Wayne Krantz. is built around serving the composition. they could come and rehearse their tune and then
In terms of its current personnel list, Snarky Two of the longer-standing core members be free to go do what they wanted.
Puppy is, by its nature, a malleable and change- of the band are Stanton and saxophonist But what ended up happening, the end
able beast, with musicians shifting in and out Bullock, both of whom eased into the Snarky result, was that the artists stuck and hung and
of a given tour or album project. Over the slipstream while attending UNT, after intend- were vibing and sitting in on everyone elses
course of 2015, League says by way of an exam- ing to head into possible careers as teachers rehearsals. So there was this really beautiful
ple, probably 25 guys will have played gigs as and/or bandleaders in academic settings. energy off everybody together, in the room, cre-
Snarky Puppy. But maybe 13 do the records. Dazzling keyboardist Cory Henry has been ating this thing together. It added to the energy.
League said that the expandable personnel in the fold about five years, and by now has David Crosby was someone who stayed for
strategy was totally born out of necessity. cemented his place in the ranks. This year, he every moment he could sit in a room and watch
When we were first getting started, I said yes to is slated to release two albums of his own on people making music. He was there, laughing,
every gig. Thats one of my things in life: I feel like the GroundUp label. Henry, who wears his acting like a kid, having fun and cracking jokes.
everything is an opportunity, and I dont like the vintage influences of Herbie Hancock, Chick It was just a cool energy, because everyone stuck
possibility of an opportunity lost. Corea, Bernie Worrell and Billy Preston well on around and wanted to be a part of the process,
I would say yes to gigs and then guys Hammond B-3 and his Moog, asserts, Snarky and witness what everyone else was doing. It
couldnt make it. Id have to find another guy, Puppy is a mixture of so many different things. created that family vibenot to be cheesy, but
who learned the music and played the gig. I It can be anything on any given day, because it felt like that by the end of the week when it
figured, Well, shoot, hes already done all the the band plays so much. And within that free- came time to actually record the music in front
work and sounds great. So the next time the dom, in a way, we all still practice restraint. We of the studio audience.
guitar player cant do it, Ill invite him. Or let the music grow freely. League explained that during the sessions,
maybe well have both of them, anyway. We The recent spate of upward mobility for the Every last person was of the same mind. When
just kind of accumulate members as we meet band has been greeted thankfully, but rest- everyone was together in the room, everybody
guys who fit the ethos and have a great attitude, ing on laurels or slowing up the ambitious just changed. It was crazy. There are no green
who are responsible, play great and can groove pace is anything but an option in the organi- rooms, so nobody had any privacy. At the stu-
and interact. They should have that two-mind- zation. Following a dense fall tour of Europe dio, there is the main studio space and then a
ed thing, with jazz interaction but also the sen- and the Northwest, and a three-day break for kitchen downstairs, which was like the green
sibility of I like to play a song. Thanksgiving, the band dove into the studio to room. Everyone was together.
Keeping that critical balance of jazz fluidity begin work on its next album, settling in for a At any given point during the day, youd
MICHAEL JACKSON
to the Peruvian chanteuse Baca, the Swedish
folk-rock group Vsen and, with Keita, to Mali
(where League traveled to record Keita in his
home studio). Snarky Puppy at the 2015 Montreal Jazz Festival
Keyboardist Henry felt that the sessions
were one of the most creative projects in which different from bands that were similar to us in a stylist and a branding agent and a manager
he has participated. It was a world full of peo- the 70s and even the 80s, in the financial state and handlers, all this kind of stuff, advisors, lit-
ple with the concept of no boundaries, mixing of things in music and how it is supported. I feel tle musical Karl Roves behind the scenes I
textures and creating colors that are vibrant like, in a lot of ways, weve had to rely on our dont think wed be the band that we are.
and new, he remembered. The band stretched own inventiveness, in a way, and just persevere I feel very fortunate that we had this incu-
as far as we could to make each song as differ- to try to make things work and push things for- bation period where no one knew about us and
ent stylistically as you can, while still making it ward on our own. no one cared. We were able to kind of grow like
feel good. Luckily, it has caught on. We dont take a fungus, in whatever direction that we grew
Snarky Puppy, a 21st-century wonder in the any of that for granted. We want to just keep in. Then, by the time anyone found out about
extended quarters of the jazz scene, may be the momentum going as much as we can and us, we know who we are. This is who we are.
along with groups like Kamasi Washingtons keep making music together, because we enjoy We know because we have years behind us,
West Coast Get Down collectiveharbingers doing it. As clich and cheesy as that sounds, being ourselves. We tried all these things and
of new musical models rising up for the vast tal- thats why everybody is doing it. they didnt work, musically. These things work,
ent pool of young musicians facing a fragment- League views the long haul and rapid rise of musically, and we love these things.
ed music business. the band in a late-blooming, positive light. So Im glad now, in retrospect, that no one
Stanton pointed out that the model is so From the very beginning, he said, if we had cared about us. DB
I
n the years since DownBeat profiled of his new album, Paquito And Manzanero,
Paquito DRivera in 2009, the comprising primarily Browns inspired
67-year-old clarinetist/saxophonist/ arrangements of songs by iconic Mexican
composer/arranger has further composer Alejandro Manzanero.
expanded an already formidable After a week of concerts in Florida and
resume. Over the intervening six years, Louisiana, DRivera would visit the Miami
DRivera released six albumsmost Book Fair to discuss improvisation and
recently Aires Tropical (Sunnyside)each the lasting power of classics in music and
documenting a fully realized project with literature with Ilan Stevens, the translator
a distinctive character unto itself, unified of My Sax Life, his picaresque, poignant,
by his brilliant musicianship and tonal amusing memoir. The intention was
charisma. He earned a 2011 Grammy for to publicize a new epistolary memoir,
Best Classical Contemporary Composition Letters to Yeyito: Lessons From a Life in
for Panamericana Suite, and a Latin Music (Restless Books), in which DRivera
Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album for the repurposes and recontextualizes material
CD bearing that title, while Song For Maura, from My Sax Life and its 2011 follow-
from 2013, won that years Grammy for Best up, Portraits and Landscapes, but also
Latin Jazz Album, an honor also bestowed adds much that is fresh. The episodes are
upon it by the 2014 Latin Grammy Awards. responses to a letter that DRivera received
DRivera continues to compose, to in Cuba a half-century ago from a young
perform as a soloist with orchestras and correspondent named Yeyito asking the
ensembles around the world, and, most then-16-year-old first-call musicianwho
importantly, to present repertoire spanning was already well known on the island as a
his 35 years as a bandleader with his member of the Teatro Musical de Havana
virtuoso working quintet (Diego Urcola, for tips on pursuing a career in music.
trumpet and valve trombone; Alex Brown, Yeyito made a mistake, DRivera
piano; Oscar Stagnaro, bass; Eric Doob, recalled. He never wrote the return address.
drums). After Portraits and Landscapes came out, a
DRivera was about to embark on a road friend called and said, I want you to write
trip with that unit when DownBeat met a book of letters to an aspiring musician,
him in early November at the New York a young student. This became a great
office of Sunnyside Records, the distributor opportunity to answer Yeyitos question.
DownBeat: The first chapter of Much of Letters to Yeyito is about
Letters to Yeyito, Sherlock Holmes travel. How often were you able to get
in Havana, is a vivid account of the off the island before you defected?
day you met Dizzy Gillespie, whose The first time I went out after they took
presence permeates the book. power was in 1968, when we went to Eastern
Paquito DRivera: Part of that story is true, Europe. Wherever we arrived, the chief of the
part is my invention. Dizzy showed up with delegation kept all the passports. You couldnt
Arturo Sandoval at a grocery store in my neigh- decide on your day off, I am in Russia; I am
borhood in Havana and left me a note. The going to take a ferry to Finland. Its very different
bodeguero asked if Id received it. I thought it to travel as an independent person.
was a joke. There was a black guy here dressed
like Sherlock Holmes. I said, Shit, that must What do you think would have
be Dizzy Gillespie. Of course, the bodeguero had happened if youd stayed in Cuba?
no idea who Dizzy Gillespie was. Meeting Dizzy I am sometimes a little polemical. If youre
marked my life. After I came here, he and Mario polemical in this country, your problem can be
HYOU VIELZ
Bauza kept urging me to play clarinet, which Id personal with people who dont like your invec-
put away for years, and he gave me approval for D'Rivera at the Cologne tive or have a different opinion, but thats about
Philharmonic Hall on Feb. 11, 2015.
the Pan-American thing I was doing. it. But being polemical in a totalitarian system
In the U.S. I had an opportunity to create a Chicago, who was playing waltzes by Antonio can be fatal. So what would have happened to
world for myself learning about the rhythms Lauro that Id heard classical guitarists play me is unpredictable, because when I see some-
from Latin America and South America, in Havana. On my third record I recorded thing I dont agree with, I have to say it. I did
helped by people like Oscar Stagnaro, who is Wapango, which is a Mexican rhythm. Thats that when I lived there. I didnt get in trouble
from Peru, in the middle of South America, so when I started playing Brazilian music, too. I because I was a popular musician with Irakere
he knows Brazilian music, the Andean thing, love Brazilian music; its the most perfect com- and had many friends, but that was going to
cumbia from Colombia. I learned Venezuelan bination of melody, rhythm and harmony in end any minute. Chucho [Valds] once told me:
waltzes from the guitarist Fareed Haque from one style. Man, you have to stop all this bullshit; now
B
recordings by a diverse range of
artists. The massive list includes
RECKER
Charles Mingus, Carla Bley, Frank
Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen,
James Brown, Parliament/
Funkadelic, Dire Straits,
Lou Reed, Steely Dan and
Frank Zappa.
WE LOVED
Brecker has released
more than a dozen
recordings as a leader, the
latest of which, RandyPOP!
THE FUNK
BY TERRY PERKINS
(Piloo), nods to his early career
as a session musicianbut offers
a tremendously satisfying twist. The
repertoire on RandyPOP! includes
famous hits to which Brecker contributed,
such as Todd Rundgrens Hello, Its Me
PHOTO BY STEVEN SUSSMAN and Paul Simons Late In The Evening, but
all the material is performed with terrific new
I
arrangements written by keyboardist Kenny
Werner. The album was recorded live at New Yorks
ts noon on a crisp November Sunday on the campus
Blue Note with an incredible band that included Brecker,
of the University of Missouri at Columbia, and Randy
Werner, David Snchez (tenor saxophone), Adam Rogers
Brecker is well into a busy day of events. Its part of
a four-day whirlwind of workshops, master classes, (guitar), John Patitucci (bass), Nate Smith (drums) and the
lectures and rehearsals leading up to a performance leaders daughter, Amanda Brecker (vocals).
with the universitys Concert Jazz Band and then a lecture During the master class in Columbia, Brecker took the
the following day. audience on a journey back to his musical roots in
Invited to campus as part of the Chancellors Philadelphialistening to his father play recordings by
Distinguished Visitors Program, Brecker has already shared Clifford Brown, playing free-form duets with his brother
breakfast with a group of jazz grad students and faculty before Michael in the bathroom (great acoustics!) and being
kicking off a master class on the topic of Entrepreneurship exposed to r&b music watching early episodes of American
in the Music Business. Bandstand (then based in Philadelphia) on TV.
Its certainly an appropriate subject for Brecker, who over the Brecker reminisced about musical turning points in his
course of five decades has become one of the most genre-defying life, such as meeting David Sanborn; he described exacting
trumpet players on the planet. He earned his straightahead and takes in the studio during the recording sessions for Steely
bop credentials in the 1960s playing with Clark Terry, Duke Dans 1980 album Gaucho; and he threw in lessons on
Pearson, Horace Silver and Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers. double-tonguing and techniques for building velocity and
Brecker then became a pioneering figure in jazz-rock and increasing air capacity.
fusionplaying with guitarist Larry Coryell and his Free During a break after the master class, Brecker, whose
Spirits band, recording with Blood, Sweat & Tears and 70th birthday was quickly approaching, reflected on the
founding the band Dreams with his brother Michael. He relationships and opportunities that have shaped his long,
went on to achieve worldwide popularity by blending funk unique career.
What was the turning point when you with Blood, Sweat & Tears, and wed run into Michael Brecker (left), Randy Brecker
began to seriously consider a career as each other at all the so-called jazz-rock clubs. and Mike Stern at the 1993
Monterey Jazz Festival
a musician? We had a similar conception, and when we
The Stan Kenton band camp was a pivotal met up in New York we would practice togeth-
point. My teacher was Marvin Stamm, who was er. We had small apartments, so we would hire
five years older than me. He led our particular practice rooms. He would go in one room and
band. Peter Erskine, who was seven years old, Id go in the other, and I would hear him prac-
KEN RABIROFF
was at camp. Peters father was the camp doc- tice and hed hear me. Conceptually, we had a
tor. And his older sister was around, and she lot of similar tastes. We were among the first
loved Marvin. Ill never forget, the band was jazz-rock horn players, I guess.
pulling away and Marvin was waving goodbye
to her, and she was at the curb crying because In addition to Sanborn, pioneering When your brother, Michael, came to
he was leaving. And I said, This is what I want fusion players like Larry Coryell also New York, you began playing together
to do the rest of my life. Thats my first con- influenced you. in the band Dreams.
scious recollection of that. At that camp, when I When I was 19, I was chasing my first girl- I came in 1966 and Mike came in 1969. I
saw all the guys in Kentons band and their gar- friend out to Seattle. She lived in Olympia, and had been out on the road with Horace Silver
rulous nature and the way they dressedlit- I took some creative writing courses at the playing with Billy Cobham, and Horace decid-
tle things like that created an impression on a University of Washington. I met Larry that ed to break up the band. So we came back to
15-year-old. I said, This is it. I met all these summer, and we played together quite a bit. New York with our tails between our legs. By
great musicians, and I never looked back. He doesnt get enough credit. He really created then, Mike had met this great trombone play-
that whole movement. He had so much techni- er, Barry Rogers, who in turn had met two sing-
At that camp you met David Sanborn. cal proficiency on guitar but he had that Texas er-songwriters, Jeff Kent and Doug Luban. They
That was certainly a fortuitous meeting. thing going, too. He knew a lot of the guys in were looking for a trumpeter and a drummer.
Isnt that wild? I remember saying, Well the rock bands, and Id follow him around. We And I said, Well, me and Billy just came into
stay in touch. And we did. I went to Indiana used to go hang out with Jefferson Airplane, town! Thats how the band Dreams started.
University and Dave went to Northwestern, and they were heavy into Gil Evans. Larry We became the house band at the Village
but wed meet up every year at the Notre Dame had this group called the Free Spirits with Jim Gate. And wed open the show for comedians and
Jazz Festival. He won the saxophone award, and Pepper and Bob Moses, and there were sessions eventually got signed to Columbia Records. Billy
we really did stay in touch. When I moved to all the time at a place called The Scene. Jim was just on fire back then. He really created that
New York, he was then playing with the [Paul] Pepper was also a great influence on my broth- style of jazz-rock drumming. John McLaughlin
Butterfield Blues Band. And I started playing er. So it was a really exciting period. stole him from us so we eventually broke up.
JAZZ VENUE
GUIDE
SHOW
TIME!
193 CLUBS WHERE
MUSIC THRIVES
O ur annual Jazz Venue Guide is your
passport to awesome music rooms
around the globe. On the following
pages, the listings are divided by geographic
region, and a music note beside a venue
name indicates there is an advertisement
for that establishment within this guide.
Interspersed among the listings are
features on five venues: Blues Alley in
Washington, D.C. (page 42), Murrys in
Columbia, Missouri (page 48), The Royal
Room in Seattle (page 52), Upstairs Jazz
Bar & Grill in Montreal (page 57) and The
Jazzkeller in Frankfurt, Germany (page 62).
W
hile every major city in the
world has a jazz club, only a
handful of cities have a venue
that has entered the realm of
the iconic jazz club. New York has Birdland, the
Blue Note and the Village Vanguard; Chicago
has The Green Mill; London has Ronnie Scotts.
Its only fitting that Washington, D.C.
the capital of the country that gave birth to
jazzshould have its own iconic club: Blues
Alley. Located in the Georgetown neigh-
borhood, Blues Alley has hosted the most
revered names in jazz.
Wynton Marsalis recorded an album at
Blues Alley. So did George Shearing. So has
Pat Martino. For decades, Ahmad Jamal
rang in the New Year from the venues band-
stand. Drummer Roy Haynes and trumpet-
ers Terence Blanchard and Roy Hargrove
currently play Blues Alley every year. And
in 2015, the famous club celebrated its 50th
anniversary.
The ambiance of the venue is a strong part
of its enduring appeal: red-brick walls fes-
tooned with musical instruments and photos
of jazz musicians, all visible by virtue of the
stage lights and candles on the clubs small,
elegantly draped tables. Entrees on the din-
ner menu are named after artists who have
played Blues Alley (Sarah Vaughans filet
mignon, Stanley Turrentines crab cakes).
Hollywood set designers couldnt have con-
MICHAEL WILDERMAN
ceived a more perfect example of a great jazz
club, and as such it attracts a diverse clien-
tele of not only local music lovers but tourists
from around the world.
Dizzy Gillespie at Blues Alley, 1986
People will come to Washington and say,
Ive been told to come to Blues Alley, said
owner and executive director Harry Schnipper. 40s, had ambitions for a club, but nothing The club retained that character for roughly
People make reservations and dont even ask terribly fancy. He just wanted an inexpensive its first decade. The headliners grew in stature,
whos performing. place where he could serve drinks, jam with with pianist Earl Hines and trumpeter Roy
That kind of prestige is belied by Blues his buddies and bring in his heroes from the Eldridge taking the stage. A group of regular
Alleys location. Yes, its in Georgetown, but its circuit on weekends. customers, not large but loyal, began circulat-
name is no accident: It is literally an alley dwell- He got exactly what he wanted. The likes of ing therethough they werent necessarily cus-
ing, a 200-year-old former carriage house thats Pee Wee Russell, Maxine Sullivan and Wild tomers for the music. It was a moderately
tucked behind the neighborhoods main drag. Bill Davison held the bandstand on Saturday successful jazz joint, John Bunyan, who would
To find it, one has to know where to look. nights. On weeknights, the owner doubled as eventually buy the club, remarked in 2002, but
An out-of-the-way location is precisely the bandleader, putting a loose ensemble called was more popularly known in Georgetown as a
what Tommy Gwaltneywho opened Blues the Blues Alley Cats through their hot jazz drinking establishment as opposed to a venue
Alley in 1965was looking for. Gwaltney, paces for hours at a time. It was Gwaltney who, for jazz artists. The bartenders were the main
a clarinetist and vibraphonist whod been in 1966, made the first recording at the club: the feature and not the music.
working on the trad-jazz circuit since the aptly titled This Is Blues Alley. That began to change in 1973, when
Blues Alley Youth Orchestra
COURTESY BLUES ALLEY JAZZ SOCIETY
MICHAEL WILDERMAN
Sonny Rollins has played
Blues Alley numerous times.
Bunyan bought Blues Alley and began to with pianist Eddie Palmieri. I treasure a fall out of the sky! Theres a provenance here,
contemporize its bookings. Old-school jazz place like that so much because theres so few and that provenance is the people we work
still had a place, with headliners that includ- of the old-school clubs that have that kind of with on the front line of jazz. Schnipper has
ed Teddy Wilson and Gwaltney himself. historic continuity. expanded the nonprofit component to include
Local acts were welcome, too, including a Another artist who reveres the venue is a summer jazz camp, founded in 2000 (the
house band led by guitarist Danny Gatton. saxophonist Joe Lovano, who played Blues alumni of which are often recruited for the
But bebop vibraphonist Milt Jackson also Alley in 2013 as part of the Grand Slam Youth Orchestra); and the Big Band Jam,
began to appear regularly, as did legends Quartet with guitarist Jim Hall, bassist an annual jazz festival by and for students,
like Horace Silver and Art Blakey. Fusion, George Mraz and drummer Lewis Nash. which began in 2005. Last year, the festivals
then making inroads to the pop charts, That was such a special, intimate [show], guest-artist-in-residence was trumpeter Sean
made its presence known as well, in art- Lovano recalled. Its rare to have a club Jones, and this year, that role will be filled by
ists like guitarist Larry Coryell and his thats created not only for us as players but multi-instrumentalist Andrew White. (The
Eleventh House project. also for fansone that feels so comfortable Big Band Jam will take place April 1830.)
It took about five years for Blues Alley to and where you can hear the music unfolding Im very passionate about this [mission],
build its reputation as a great spot for jazz in a really intimate way. Schnipper said, allowing a child in the metro-
in Washington. But in the intervening peri- Blues Alley has outstanding shows sched- politan area to be able to not only be exposed to
od, many of the citys other dedicated jazz uled throughout 2016. The month of March jazz music, but also have an opportunity to per-
venues closed, shrinking its competition; the will offer a special focus on jazz guitar, includ- form in world-class venues.
Kennedy Center, which had opened in 1971, ing performances by Stanley Jordan, Kevin Jazz bassist Michael Bowie serves as
offered jazz, but it was slow to establish itself. Eubanks and Peter White, as well as Mike director of both the Youth Orchestra and the
More importantly, in 1978, legendary trumpet- Stern and Four Generations of Miles ensem- summer camp. Im not the head chef, Bowie
er Dizzy Gillespie was wowed by the club when ble. In April, Schnipper will produce a week- said modestly. Im just the line cook. The bulk
he played there, and spread the word among his long series focusing on Japanese musicians of his job, he explained, is building the bands
peers that it was the place to play in D.C. Huge (in partnership with the Embassy of Japan). book: You want the kids to know that theyre
stars such as Marsalis, Jamal and Sonny Rollins Among the performers will be up-and-com- the best of the best, so its got to be better than
became regular performers there. ing composer and bandleader Miho Hazama. what they get in the schools.
By the time of Blues Alleys 20th anniversa- In addition to presenting terrific shows, Bowie expressed great pride in the young
ry celebrationwhich featured Sarah Blues Alley has a deep commitment to jazz musicians who participate. The quality of the
Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Buddy Guy, and education. In 1985, Gillespie suggested that students just gets better and better every year,
Mel Tormits stellar reputation among Bunyan establish a youth orchestra, asking, he said. These days it sounds like a real big
jazz musicians, fans and tourists was com- How are you going to develop new jazz audi- band, and a pretty good oneand then you
pletely secure. It has remained so ever since, ences and artists if you dont take the initia- realize that these kids are 15, 16, 17 years old.
even through another ownership change tive to cultivate the talent yourselves? Thus the His opinion is shared by those in the know:
Schnipper purchased the club in 2003and nonprofit Blues Alley Jazz Society was born, as In January of 2015, the Blues Alley Youth
it continued to attract major players to its was the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra. The band Orchestra swept six of the seven award catego-
bandstand. Marsaliss 1986 concert album, consists of local student musicians between 14 ries at the Essentially Ellington Regional High
Live At Blues Alley, has entered the jazz and 17 years old. Auditions are held every fall. School Jazz Band Competition.
canon; the singer Eva Cassidy (196396) The orchestra performs several times a year Schnipperwho was the co-recipient of the
made a similarly titled album in 1996 that throughout the area, including a Christmas Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festivals 2015 Jazz Educator
helped lead to her worldwide fame. In 2011, performance at Blues Alley. of the Year award (shared with Ellis Marsalis)
Martinos quartet made another success- Schnipper became executive director of the has helped create a unique situation in D.C. He
ful recording there with Undeniable: Live At Jazz Society in 1993, 10 years before taking over said, You tell me another for-profit jazz club
Blues Alley (HighNote). the venue. Theres all these outstanding uni- in America that has their own orchestra, their
Its one of the greatest jazz clubs in the versity programs around the country, that are own summer camp, and their own childrens
world, said trumpeter Brian Lynch, whos filled with accomplished student musicians, jazz festivalbecause I havent heard about it.
performed there frequently in his projects he pointed out. Well, those students didnt just We are clearly doing something right. DB
ROBERT FESTA
Square District that has booked mances acts to the city.
artists such as John Zorn, Sa-
toko Fujii and Ralph Peterson. Regattabar Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis
at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston
1 Bennett St.
The Side Door Jazz Club Cambridge, MA
85 Lyme St. (617) 661-5000 emulates Shanghai, China, the graced by Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar
Old Lyme, CT regattabarjazz.com Paris of the Orient, in the 1920s Peterson and Sarah Vaughan,
(860) 434-0886 Regattabar is a 220-seat venue and 30s. The club presents local the Blue Note continues to
that hosts artists both in and and world-class jazz artists six present legends to this day,
thesidedoorjazz.com nights a week. along with up-and-comers, with
The Side Door Jazz Club outside of the Boston scene. It
has been named best jazz club performances every night.
opened its doors in 2013 when
Ken Kitchens refurbished the in Boston as well as New En-
Old Lyme Inn. The inaugural gland by numerous publications. Trumpets Jazz Club
performance was George Wein 6 Depot Square Club Bonade
and his Newport All-Star Band Scullers Jazz Club Montclair, NJ 212 East 52nd St.
and The Side Door has hosted 400 Soldiers Field Rd. (973) 744-2600 New York, NY
world-class jazz artists ever Boston, MA trumpetsjazz.com 646-918-6189
since. The Gary Smulyan Trio is Trumpets, now in its 30th clubbonafide.com
(617) 562-4111 year, features jazz ve nights Club Bonade stands on 52nd
scheduled for Feb. 19.
scullersjazz.com a week as well as blues, world Street, famous for being the
Scullers Jazz Club has been a and sometimes even classical. home to many jazz clubs of the
MARYLAND hot spot for jazz in Boston for Starting in 1985, Trumpets has Golden Age of jazz (such as The
the past 26 years. Upcoming been a main stop in New Jersey Onyx, 3 Deuces, and 21 Club).
An Die Musik Live! shows include New York Voices for local and national acts alike, Co-owned by musician Richard
409 N. Charles St. (Feb. 1213) and blues pianist such as Houston Person and Bona, this venue has presented
Baltimore, MD Marcia Ball (Feb. 18). Ragan Whiteside. artists such as Chuchito Valdes,
(410) 385-2638 Ofer Assaf and Davi Vieira.
andiemusiklive.com Wallys Caf Jazz Club
This venue is housed on the 427 Massachusetts Ave. Cornelia Street Caf
second oor of a historic town- Boston, MA NEW YORK
29 Cornelia St.
house sandwiched between the (617) 424-1408 55 Bar New York, NY
Mount Vernon neighborhood wallyscafe.com 55 Christopher St.
and Downtown Baltimore. (219) 989-9319
Wallys Caf is among the old- New York, NY corneliastreetcafe.com
An Die Musik Live! has music est family-owned and operated
several nights each week and (212) 929-9883 This Greenwich Village landmark
jazz clubs in existence. Founded 55bar.com has been serving the arts
has presented shows by Dave in 1947, this venue provides a
Douglas and Warren Wolf. Billing itself as a Prohibition community since 1977 with
forum for local music students Era dive bar, the 55 Bar is a performances by jazz and folk
Bethesda Blues & Jazz to hone their craft. basement gig spot in Greenwich musicians, as well as poetry
Supper Club Village that hosts funk, blues, readings. Concerts in January
7719 Wisconsin Ave. NEW JERSEY but especially jazz. Recent include Stephan Crump, Jeremy
Bethesda, MD performers have included Amy Powell and Benot Delbecq.
(240) 330-4500 Robins Nest Cervini and David Binney.
bethesdabluesjazz.com Rhythm & Blues Dizzys Club Coca-Cola
Located in the historic Bethesda 3103 Tremley Point Rd. Birdland 10 Columbus Circle, 5th Floor
Theatre, this supper club sits 500 Linden, NJ 315 W. 44th St. New York, NY
and books various performers (908) 275-3043 New York, NY (212) 258-9595
nearly every day of the week. robinsnestrhythmandblues.com (212) 581-3080 jazz.org/dizzys
Among the artists who have Robins Nest, which refers to birdlandjazz.com A venue inside Jazz at Lincoln
appeared recently are Larry itself as a slice of Mississippi An iconic name in the history of Center, Dizzys has 140 seats
Carlton and Joe Louis Walker. in the heart of New Jersey, is the jazz, Birdland is in its third for patrons to come and see re-
open six days a week and has incarnation and continues to nowned jazz acts such as Chris
MASSACHUSETTS theme nights such as Wednes- book the top acts in jazz on a Potter, Paquito DRivera, Nicho-
day Blues Party, Thursday Funk nightly basis. The Mack Avenue las Payton and Dick Hyman.
Chianti Tuscan Restaurant R&B and Sunday Cool Jazz. Super Band will have a residen-
& Jazz Lounge cy Jan. 2630.
Fat Cat
285 Cabot St. Shanghai Jazz 75 Christopher St.
Beverly, MA 24 Main St. Blue Note New York, NY
(978) 921-2233 Madison, NJ 131 W. Third St. (212) 675-6056
chiantibeverly.com (973) 822-2899 New York, NY fatcatmusic.org
This is the go-to spot for jazz shanghaijazz.com (212) 475-8592 Fat Cats known in New York for
in Beverly. Chianti is continu- Entering its 20th year, Shanghai bluenote.net its late-night jam sessions held
ing the work of beloved jazz Jazz is a club and restaurant that With a bandstand that has been after midnight and hosted by a
MURRYS: JAZZ IN
into the venue, which now seats 125 guests.
At first, national acts were booked only on
Saturday evenings, and music started later in
A COZY SETTING
the evening to avoid conflicts with patrons who
were looking for a great meal but were unwill-
ing to pay a cover charge. The Saturday night
T
series eventually ended in late 1994.
here may not be a more unlikely band background.
By then, Poses had decided the time was right
location for a successful jazz venue Give me Glenn Millermorning to night,
to start an annual jazz subscription series in
in the Midwest than Murrys in Sheals interjected.
Columbia. He called it We Always Swing, and it
Columbia, Missouri. The combina- Despite their stylistic differences, both
debuted in 1995 with six concerts. By 1998, Poses
tion club/restaurant is located in a nondescript agreed they wanted to start a restaurant/
was again presenting concerts at Murrysbut
strip mall between an insurance office and a music club in Columbia that featured a quality
this time on Sundays and as part of the series.
dry cleanermore than two miles south of menu and jazz on a regular basis. After search-
We had been closed on Sundays, because
Columbias bustling downtown district. ing almost a year for a downtown spot, Sheals
But last year, Murrys co-owners Bill Sheals Missouri license laws [regarding the sale of
and Moore eventually found a home for Murrys.
and Gary Moore celebrated the clubs 30th Although the out-of-the-way location wasnt ideal, alcohol] made it too expensive to stay open,
anniversary, and during those three decades, they were determined to make the new venue work. Sheals explained. But that changed, and we
the intimate venue has hosted a whos who of Murrys opened on July 1, 1985, billing itself as talked to Jon about doing Sunday shows here.
jazz notables. The list includes legends like a place with Good Food, Good Jazz. The tasty Today, its the special Sunday We Always
Tommy Flanagan, Von Freeman, Phil Woods, menu soon attracted attention, but it took several Swing 3:30 and 7 p.m. sets featuring nation-
Billy Higgins and James Williams, and con- months to get the musical element in gear. al musicians that have put Murrys on the
temporary players such as Terell Stafford, Brad We had some musicians who were local and map. The 2016 lineup includes Warren Wolf
Mehldau and Christian McBride. others come in from Kansas City and St. Louis, but (Jan. 24), Danilo Prez (Feb. 28), Aaron Diehl
The co-owners became friends in the early getting national acts here was hard, Moore recalled. (March 13), Champian Fulton (April 3) and The
1980s, when Sheals hired Moore as a bartender So we asked a friend of ours, Jon Poses, to help out. Bad Plus with Joshua Redman (April 17).
at a Columbia club. The two also shared a love Poses, who had moved to Columbia from People love it, Moore said. The other
of jazzalthough of very different styles. New York City in the late 70s as a graduate stu- thing thats cool is that the musicians love it, too.
Im a St. Louis guy, and grew up listening dent at University of Missouris journalism Weve had everyone from Toots Thielemans,
to musicians like Julius Hemphill and Oliver school, had become director of jazz programming Bobby Watson, Joey Calderazzo, Matt Wilson
Lake on the local scene, Moore said during a at a local public radio station. and Brad Mehldau say how much they enjoy the
break between afternoon and evening sets at Poses brought pianist James Williams to clubs incredibly intimate atmosphere.
Murrys by Rufus Reids Out Front Trio with play at Murrys in September 1985, and since It doesnt hurt that we feed em well,
Tia Fuller. But Bill came from more of a big then hes booked more than 200 national acts Sheals added with a laugh. Terry Perkins
SOUTH The Maison
FLORIDA 508 Frenchmen St.
New Orleans, LA
Bradfordville Blues Club (504) 371-5543
7152 Moses Lane maisonfrenchmen.com
Tallahassee, FL Located on the famous Frenchmen St., The
(850) 906-0766 Maison has three stages that host perfor-
bradfordvilleblues.com mances of various musical acts and genres
This juke joint, which is located among elds seven nights a week.
and oak trees, has hosted bluesmen Bobby
Rush, Jimmy Rogers and Big Jack Johnson. The Maple Leaf Bar
8316 Oak St.
Heidis Jazz Club New Orleans, LA
7 North Orlando Ave. (504) 866-9359
Cocoa Beach, FL mapleleafbar.com
(321) 783-4559 Operating for more than 40 years, this venue
heidisjazzclub.com presents local and nationally known acts play-
Heidis presents jazz ve nights a week. Lo- ing jazz, blues, funk, r&b, rock and zydeco.
cal and regional artists play on Fridays and
Saturdays, while Heidis Open Jam Session Irvin Mayelds Jazz Playhouse
is held every Sunday. 300 Bourbon St.
New Orleans, LA
GEORGIA (504) 553-2299
irvinmayfield.com
Churchill Grounds Owned and named for Grammy-winning
660 Peachtree St. trumpeter Irvin Mayeld, the Jazz Playhouse
Atlanta, GA is located within the Royal Sonesta Hotel. In
(404) 876-3030 addition to Mayeld himself, recent perform-
ers include the Adonis Rose Quartet and
churchillgrounds.com Leon Kid Chocolate Brown.
Jazz greats such as Donald Harrison,
Freddie Cole and Chico Freeman have
played this Atlanta venue. It held the Harper Palm Court Jazz Cafe
Family Jam Session every Thursday night in 1204 Decatur St.
November and December. New Orleans, LA
(504) 525-0200
Velvet Note palmcourtjazzcafe.com
4075 Old Milton Pkwy. The Palm Court has been called a mecca
Alpharetta, GA for jazz in the French Quarter. It offers tradi-
tional jazz ve nights a week.
(855) 583-5838
thevelvetnote.com
Located just outside of Atlanta, this venue Preservation Hall
has hosted Christian McBride, Diane Schuur 726 St. Peter St.
and Lew Soloff. The open mic jam session New Orleans, LA
happens every Thursday night. (504) 522-2841
preservationhall.com
This French Quarter landmark books over
LOUISIANA 350 nights of jazz performances a year,
Blue Nile including those from the world-famous Pres-
532 Frenchmen St. ervation Hall Jazz Band. The building itself
dates back to the 1800s.
New Orleans, LA
(504) 948-2583
bluenilelive.com Prime Example
The Blue Nile, which was once the Dream 1909 N Broad St.
Palace, is one of the oldest music clubs New Orleans, LA
on Frenchmen Street. Local, national and (504) 701-9007
internationally famous bands perform seven primeexamplejazz.com
nights a week on two stages. Prime Example showcases New Orleans jazz
artists, including Donald Harrison and Nich-
olas Payton, with two shows a night most
d.b.a Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and
618 Frenchmen St. the occasional special Saturday show.
New Orleans, LA
(504) 942-3731
dbaneworleans.com
Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro
d.b.a. is home to an assortment of local 626 Frenchmen St.
blues, jazz and brass bands who play night- New Orleans, LA
ly, as well as a bountiful bar with 20 beers (504) 949-0696
on tap. snugjazz.com
This venue has presented jazz acts for more
Fritzels European Jazz Pub than 30 years, booking artists like Dr. Lonnie
Smith and Donald Harrison, with music every
733 Bourbon St. night of the week.
New Orleans, LA
(504) 586-4800
fritzelsjazz.net Spotted Cat
Fritzels been around for nearly 50 years and 623 Frenchmen St.
is the oldest club in New Orleans. Located New Orleans, LA
in a building built in 1831, Fritzels features (504) 943-3887
traditional and Dixieland jazz. spottedcatmusicclub.com
ROYAL ROOM:
es, antique-looking ceiling lamps and win-
dows to the sidewalk, the Royal Room has a
warm, welcoming feel. Many nights there is
no cover charge.
SEATTLE STYLE
Horvitz says running the club is the hard-
est thing Ive ever done in my life, thanks to
the meager margins and precarious econom-
T
ics of a small venue. The Royal Room accom-
ouring musicians will tell you Seattle Cline, but also served as a project room, as modates 120150 guests, and a few bad nights
has one of the countrys finest jazz Horvitz likes to call it, for Seattle-based art- can add up quickly. But his partners in the
clubsDimitrious Jazz Alleyand ists such as violist Eyvind Kang, French horn venture, Steve and Tia Freeborn, have exten-
Emerald City players are lucky to have their player Tom Varner, trumpeter Cuong Vu and sive business experience, having run Seattles
own showcase in the cozy Belltown bote called funky sax man Skerik. On any given night fabled OK Hotel, where everyone from Nirvana
Tulas. But pianist, composer and bandlead- you might hear alt-country, blues, rock, jazz, to Charles Gayle used to play. Despite the chal-
er Wayne Horvitz, who moved to Seattle from avant-garde classical music oron alter- lenges, Horvitz and the Freeborns have kept the
New York in 1988, thought there was some- nate MondaysHorvitzs Collective Music place afloat. Theyve also earned the loyalty of
thing missing. Four years ago he decided to Ensemble, a conduction project inspired by the community.
remedy that with The Royal Room. Horvitzs old bandmate Morris. People stop me in elevators downtown and
I wanted something that felt more like a But the towns best young straightahead say, Youre Wayne Horvitz! the pianist said
community place, a place that mostly served improvisers can be found there, too, particular- with a smile. Im always hoping theyre going
local music but was nice enough that people on ly at the 10 p.m. Monday Monk Jams, or the to say how much they like my music, and they
tour could come through, Horvitz explained. clubs Home for the Holidays series featuring say, Thank you so much for the Royal Room.
Known for an eclectic body of work that local youngsters shaped by the citys renowned Thats one of the things that keeps me going.
includes the chamber opera Joe Hill, rock and high school jazz band programs. It keeps the scene going, too.
funk groups like Pigpen and Zony Mash, an Ensconced in the corner of a building You can fail gracefully there, said Skerik. I
avant-garde trio with the late Butch Morris owned by a venerable African-American really see it in the lineage of the Knitting Factory
and manning the keyboards in John Zorns social club, the Royal Room is in Columbia and the OK Hotel, a very cool extension of that.
Naked City, Horvitz came up in the 1980s as City, a recently gentrified neighborhood full The venue accommodates musicians with a
part of New Yorks downtown scene. The of bars and restaurants about five miles south Steinway piano, full drum kit, Hammond B-3
Royal Room was partly inspired by the Tin of downtown. The triangular, 2,500-square- organ, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer piano and a
Palace, an East Village club located down the foot spot is actually three venues in one: a Clavinet keyboard.
street from CBGBs. performance space with a large stage and a Im not smart enough to solve the problem
It was a hang, said the animated, 60-year- score of four-seater dinner tables; a full-ser- of a local drummer being able to make a liv-
old musician. Thats kind of what I had in mind. vice bar, with extra seating at high count- ing wage, Horvitz joked, but if they play here,
The concept has caught on. Over the years, ers; and a corner area sometimes curtained at least theyre not going to have to drag their
The Royal Room has hosted the likes of Bill off for late-night sessions like the Monk drums to the car at 2 in the morning.
Frisell, Bobby Previte, Allison Miller and Nels Jam. With revealed brick and wood surfac- Paul de Barros
MICHIGAN
Bakers Keyboard Lounge
20510 Livernois Ave.
Detroit, MI
(313) 345-6300
theofficialbakerskeyboardlounge.com
Boasting the title of the worlds oldest
operating jazz club, this Art Deco-style,
99-seat club with a piano-shaped bar began
presenting pianists in 1934 and has hosted
a whos who of jazz luminaries ever since.
Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson,
Maynard Ferguson, Modern Jazz Quartet
and Nat King Cole all played this room
during their day.
Cliff Bells
2030 Park Ave.
Detroit, MI
(313) 961-2543
cliffbells.com
Cliff Bells originally opened in 1935 and has
maintained its Prohibition-era vibe since it
reopened in 2005. Hosting mostly local acts,
the club is located in the heart of Detroits
entertainment district and is just around the
corner from Woodward Ave., Comerica Park
and Ford Field. Terence Blanchard and his
quintet The E-Collective take the stage for
two sets on Jan. 24.
Murrys
3107 Green Meadows Way
Columbia, MO
(573) 442-4969
murrysrestaurant.net
Murrys, which opened its doors in 1985, is
a 130-seat venue that promises its patrons
Good food, good jazz and good people.
Pianist Tom Andes performs there frequently
both in a solo and trio setting. Murrys has
served as the main concert space for the
We Always Swing Jazz Series since 1997.
Ravi Coltrane, Terell Stafford, Harold Mab-
ern and Joey DeFrancesco are a few of the
internationally recognized artists who have
played there.
OHIO
BLU Jazz+
47 E. Market St.
Akron, OH
(330) 252-1190
blujazzakron.com
BLU Jazz+ is a music venue and photogra-
phy gallery, with a kitchen and full-service
bar, located in the historic arts district
of downtown Akron. The venue is open
Wednesday through Saturday and presents
local and internationally known jazz artists,
such as Houston Person, Ken Peplowski,
Gary Smulyan and Bill Cunliffe.
Nighttown
12387 Cedar Rd.
Cleveland, OH
(216) 795-0550
nighttowncleveland.com
Named in reference to the red-light district
in James Joyces Ulysses, Nighttown is an
Irish-styled pub and restaurant that recently
turned 50. Nighttown brings jazz to Cleve-
land by booking national and international
acts like the Wallace Roney Sextet and
Hugh Masekela.
UPSTAIRS JAZZ:
C3 piano; and the purchase of the building hous-
ing Upstairs, solidifying its future.
Upstairs also maintains relationships with
the citys music schools; McGills jazz students
MONTREAL INSPIRED
perform early sets on Tuesdays and Thursdays,
while Concordia University hosts an afternoon
jam session on Wednesdays.
T
Closing the 20th anniversary festivities on
he Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill cooked as rising stars such as Gilad Hekselman, Mark Nov. 22 was a soulful exchange between veter-
up a special musical feast to mark Guiliana and Christian Scott. an saxophonist Houston Person and versatile
its 20th anniversary in November. Giberovitch has invested much into the Montreal pianist Julie Lamontagne.
The 11-night mini-festival offered a sound, feel and design of the club. This cozy, Its like the old clubs used to be, said
diverse program illustrating the clubs tradi- wood-paneled semi-basement (capacity: 70), 81-year-old Person. Its got that intimate feel-
tion of highlighting local as well as internation- located in a nearly century-old building, offers ing. The audience is right there; theyre very
al artists playing a broad range of styles. great acoustics and a well-balanced sound sys- attentive, very aware of whats going on. And
Entrepreneur and jazz aficionado Joel tem. A custom Yamaha drum set (inspired by its still a lot of fun.
Giberovitch founded Upstairs (ironically locat- the kit Elvin Jones played) is available to per- Jean-Michel Pilc, who also played at the
ed downstairs at 1254 McKay in downtown formers, as is a newly installed, sumptuous anniversary festival, praised Upstairs for its
Montreal) in 1995. He was only 23. Inspired sounding Steinway B. (The Upstairs piano is great appreciative audience and warm vibe. Its
by a trip to New York City to explore legend- tuned at least once a week.) Record sleeves of musician-friendly, he said. Everyone on staff
ary clubs such as Bradleys and the Village timeless jazz albums and portraits of jazz giants is a music lover. And it feels like home, musical-
Vanguard, his vision soon became clear: creat- adorn the brick walls. ly and otherwise.
ing a great jazz club where the music and musi- There is also a real attempt at Upstairs to A screening of director Guylaine Dionnes
cians would be appreciated and respected. optimize the audiences listening experience. documentary film about the club on Nov. 16
With a booking ratio of 80 percent artists The kitchen is located at the back of the club, was followed by a spirited a jam session led by
from Quebec and the rest of Canada, and 20 and when the musicians are playing the staff in-demand drummer Jim Doxas, who has been
percent international artists, the club sustains makes every effort to keep things as quiet as holding down the Monday night jam session
strong programming throughout the year, possibleeven refraining from shaking marti- for the past decade.
partnering with the Festival International de nis and making cappuccinos during solos. It was a night of genuine camaraderie, pro-
Jazz de Montral during the summer with its Among the clubs milestones, Giberovitch viding one of the anniversarys highlights: a
own consistently solid series. recounts its initial transition from a piano bar to a 30-minute rendition of Sonny Rollins Tenor
One of the oldest jazz clubs in Canada, jazz club charging a ticket price (initially set at $2); Madness featuring 10 horn players crowding
Upstairs presents jazz 363 nights a year. Featured the addition of Chilean-born chef Juan Barros to the the stage, eager to share in this unique, uplifting
artists have included Barry Harris, Dr. Lonnie team (a jazz fan who has been passionately running momenta memorable celebration of the club
Smith, The Heath Brothers, Sheila Jordan, Azar the kitchen for the past 18 years); the clubs 10-year and the citys vibrant jazz community.
Lawrence, Dave Liebman and Jimmy Cobb, as well anniversary, marked by the acquisition of a Yamaha Sharonne Cohen
Upstairs at Vitellos
4349 Tujunga Ave.
Studio City, CA
(818) 769-0905
vitellosjazz.com
Vitellos was once the hang-
R.R. JONES
out of Frank Sinatra and the
Rat Pack, but now the E Spot
Lounge, located just above the
Italian restaurant, serves as a ven-
ue for jazz, blues, Latin and r&b.
Blue Whale Tokyo neighborhood of Los Boulevard, Catalina Bar & Grill
123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka Angeles. has lived up to own motto of Vibrato Grill Jazz
Street #301 nothing but the best in jazz 2930 N. Beverly Glen Circle
Catalina Bar & Grill over the years by booking jazz
Los Angeles, CA 6725 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA
(213) 620-0908 acts like Dizzie Gillespie, Art (310) 474-9400
Los Angeles, CA Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Chick vibratogrilljazz.com
bluewhalemusic.com
Steve Coleman and Kendrick (323) 466-2210 Corea, Max Roach, Wynton Legendary Trumpeter Herb
Scott have played this space catalinajazzclub.com Marsalis and many more. Alperts own L.A. restaurant
for live jazz and art in the Little Situated on the famous Sunset presents acclaimed artists like
ARGENTINA from the two mediums to see The Sound Lounge Jazzland
each others work and initiate City Road and Cleveland St. Franz Josefs-Kai 29
Notorious collaborations, 505 features
Chippendale, New South Wales Vienna
Av. Callao 966 jazz, funk and other genres.
61 2 9351 7940 43 1 533 2575
Buenos Aires sima.org.au jazzland.at
54 11 4813 6888 Bennetts Lane One of a handful of venues The oldest jazz club in Austria,
notorious.com.ar 25 Bennetts Lane afliated with the Sydney Jazzland opened in 1972. The
This stylish, intimate joint is one Melbourne, Victoria Improvised Music Association, venue has presented top Austri-
of Buenos Aires premier jazz 61 3 9663 2856 this caf-style lounge seats an players as well as hundreds
venues. Up front you can buy bennettslane.com 120 patrons. SIMA hosts a jazz of artists rom the States.
CDs of various music genres, Bennetts Lane is actually two night every Friday and Saturday,
while in the back the restau-
rant-cafe (overlooking a verdant
venues providing music seven
nights a week. The original venue
booking Sydney-based and
visiting performers. Porgy & Bess
garden) hosts live shows nearly has hosted both jazz and non- Riemergasse 11
every night. jazz artists alike, a few examples Vienna
being Prince, Wynton and Bran- AUSTRIA 43 1 512 88 11
Thelonious Club ford Marsalis. The Jazz Lab has porgy.at
Jernimo Salguero 1884 presented Chick Corea, Herbie Blue Tomato Porgy & Boss showcases jazz
Buenos Aires Hancock and Kurt Elling. Wurmsergasse 21 performers each day of the week.
54 11 4829 1562 Vienna It has presented Rudresh Mahan-
Bernies Jazz & Piano Caf 43 1 985 5960 thappa, Wadada Leo Smith and
thelonious.com.ar Bla Fleck. Joe Locke and his
Named for legendary jazz pianist 92 Abbott Street bluetomato.cc
The Blue Tomato, which has quartet perform Jan. 27.
Thelonious Monk, this club is one Cairns, Queensland
of the few places to hear rst-rate 61 7 4041 4603 been in business for more than
jazz in Argentina. Thelonious fea- berniesjazz.com 30 years, offers both an indoor Stockwerk Jazz
tures live jazz bands Wednesday Bernies brings local and travel- and garden space. The venue Jakominiplatz 18
through Sunday nights. ing acts to Cairns from Tuesday presents myriad artists from Graz
to Sunday each week. jazz, classical and other genres. 43 316 821433
AUSTRALIA stockwerkjazz.mur.at
Foundry616 Jazzit Operating for more than 20
505 Elisabethstrae 11 years, this serious Austrian jazz
616 Harris Street club has hosted Taylor Ho Bynum
280 Cleveland St. Ultimo/Sydney Salzburg
& Tomas Fujiwara, Rova Saxo-
Surry Hills, New South Wales 02 9211 9442 43 662 883264 phone Quartet and Michael Zerang
61 422 583 190 foundry616.com.au jazzit.at in recent months. Jemeel Moondoc
venue505.com Founded in 2013, this is a key For 35 years, Jazzit has been Quartet performs Jan. 30.
Opened in 2010, 505 was venue for the Sydney Interna- the place in Salzburg to see the
developed as an artist-run per- tional Womens Jazz Festival. best in avant-garde and impro-
formance/workshop space for Recent performers include vised jazz. Henry Threadgill, Treibhaus
Sydney-based musicians and Michael Grifn and the Nick Cecil Taylor and Lester Bowie Angerzellgasse 8
theatrical performers. Created Mancini Trio. have all played there. Innsbruck
as a meeting place for artists 43 512 572000
JAZZKELLER:
people believe its like New York, but the city is
usually pretty empty after 7:30 p.m.
Like many clubs around the world, the
Jazzkeller is not impervious to changing tastes
EUROPES OLDEST
and the need to be profitable. The main focus
is still on the bebop tradition, but the schedule
has over the years become increasingly inclu-
sive and now offers blues, as well as Latin and
T
Brazilian music. In addition, Fridays are devot-
he Jazzkeller is the last jazz club ambiance but offered jazz more sporadical- ed to DJ sets. I call it dancing for adults, said
standing in Frankfurt am Main, ly. In 1977, with the Mangelsdorff broth- Hahn. The place is always packed.
Germany, and most likely the old- ers (legendary trombonist Albert and saxo- The owners have reasons to be hopeful. We
est one in Europe. Its history is one phonist Emil) at its helm, the club regained have been able to attract a younger audience in
of survivaland one that draws several paral- some of its jazz luster. But it was in 1986 that recent years, said Johnson. We benefit from
lels with that of post-World War II Germany. it changed ownership one last time to become several music conservatories within the larger
The club was founded in 1952 by trumpet the Jazzkeller we know today. metropolitan area. We have the HR Radio Big
player Carlo Bohlnder, who discovered in the I was living in Berlin at the time and could Band and Jazz Band, as well.
still-damaged city center the ideal cellar to open not find an investor there to open a jazz club, In a town dominated by high finance, Hahn
a venue inspired by the French Existentialists, said Eugen Hahn, the current and enthusias- and Johnsons sense of community makes the
which he ended up calling Le Domicile du Jazz tic owner. My friend at Timeless Records Jazzkeller a refreshing oasis. Patrons can order
(or Jazz House). Early on, it thrived on the heavy in Hollandand others who knew that I food from Bidlabu, a restaurant located next
presence of American soldiers, including mem- was looking for a placebrought that loca- door that emphasizes regional ingredients.
bers of the U.S. Army Big Band located in near- tion to my attention. Hahn hailed from East Plus, musicians are deeply fond of the base-
by Wiesbaden. Saxophonists Leo Wright, Joe Germany, where he was known as a jazz and ment venues atmosphere. Eugen Hahns love
Henderson and Don Menza, bassist David Friesen rock bass player as well as a music promoter. and dedication to the music is rare, said sax-
and French horn player David Amram were among When Hahn took over, the Jazzkeller began ophonist Rick Margitza. He treats the art-
those who frequented the club and rubbed shoulders offering music almost every nightin an area ist with respect and makes us feel completely
with locals during the 1950s and 60s. not known for nightlife. Frankfurt is not a welcome. Hanging with him after the gig over
When the bulk of U.S. troops departed, Le town full of touristsits a business city, said a whiskey or two is one of the things I always
Domicile du Jazzwhich had by then become Kerry Johnson, Hahns wife, an American who look forward to, [mainly] because of the amaz-
the Jazzkellermaintained its wonderful helps him run the venue. With its skyscrapers, ing stories he tells. Alain Drouot
treibhaus.at Joel Giberovitchs basement-room club has
Treibhaus, which is German for greenhouse, developed a strong reputation as a great
is just that, a greenhouse. It presents numer- listening venue. This club just turned 20,
ous genres of music and has hosted jazz icons making it one of the oldest in Canada, and
Ravi Coltrane, Jack presents jazz up to 363 nights a year. The
DeJohnette and Steve Coleman. Paulo Ramos Brazilian Jazz Quartet plays on
Jan. 22, and on Feb. 6 the venue presents a
quartet performance by Fraser Hollins, Brian
BRAZIL Blade, Jon Cowherd and Joel Miller.
Bourbon Street Music Club
Rua dos Chans, 127 Moema Yardbird Suite
So Paulo 11 Tommy Banks Way
55 11 5095 6100 Edmonton, Alberta
bourbonstreet.com.br (780) 432-0428
For more than 20 years, this venue has yardbirdsuite.com
brought the atmosphere of New Orleans Run by volunteers, the venue, which opened
Bourbon Street to the streets of So Paulo. in 1957, has been at its current location for
30 years. Jam sessions occur on Tuesday
nights, while international, Canadian and Ed-
The Maze monton-based jazz artists perform weekly.
Rua Tavares Bastos 414/66 The Yardbird Festival of Canadian Jazz is
Catete held every November.
Rio de Janeiro
55 21 2558 5547 CHINA
jazzrio.com
The Maze is a bed-and-breakfast, an art The Cotton Club
gallery and a restaurant, as well as a concert No. 1416 HuaiHai Road
venue. It books local jazz acts multiple Shanghai
nights each month.
86 21 64377110
thecottonclub.cn
Miranda This club bills itself as one of the rst clubs
1424 Avenida Borges de Medeiros to bring jazz to China after a 40-year ab-
Lagoa sence that followed the Shanghai jazz boom
Rio de Janiero of the 1930s. It features a revolving cast of
55 21 2239 0305 instrumentalists and singers.
mirandabrasil.com.br
This acclaimed Rio eatery hosts local and Fringe Club
international acts like Nigerian guitarist/sing- 2 Lower Albert Road, Central
er-songwriter Omara Bombino Moctar and Hong Kong
Swiss soul singer Marc Sway. 852 2521 7251
hkfringeclub.com
CANADA Built in an early 20th century dairy shop, a
hodgepodge of jazz acts and genres can be
Frankies Jazz heard at this intimate club. The space is part
of the Fringe Club network of art, music and
765 Beatty St. theater spaces.
Vancouver, British Columbia
604-688-6368 JZ Club
frankiesitaliankitchen.ca 46 Fuxing West Road
Frankies provides a relaxing atmosphere
where one can hear local and international Shanghai
talent four nights a week while enjoying 021 6431 0269
Southern Italian cuisine and newly inspired jzclub.cn
dishes. The Oliver Gannon Quartet plays With its atmospheric lighting, red lamps and
Jan. 3031. high-quality jazz, JZ Club offers its patrons
a little avor of old Shanghai. Performers
from around the globe regularly perform
LAstral at the club. On weekends, the JZ Latino
305 Ste. Catherine St. W. Project and JZ All Star Big Band frequently
Montreal, Quebec take the stage.
(514) 288-8882
sallelastral.com
Since 2009, this venue has presented acts COSTA RICA
like Kawandak, Yannick Rieu and Jesse Mac Jazz Cafe
Cormack in its 320-seat performance space.
Carretera Interamericana, next to Banco Popular
San Pedro, Montes de Oca Canton
The Rex Jazz & Blues Bar 506 2253 8933
194 Queen St. W. jazzcafecostarica.com
Toronto, Ontario Located right outside capital city San Jos,
(416) 598-2475 this 220-seat club attracts locals, tour-
therex.ca ists and expats. Nearing its 20th year of
The Rex has been the place where jazz operation, guests come here for the diverse
lives in Toronto since 1992. Wynton Mar- booking of jazz, blues, salsa and rock.
salis, Kurt Elling and Dave Douglas have
played there.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill AghaRTA Jazz Centrum
1254 MacKay St. Zelezna 16
Montreal, Quebec Prague
(514) 931-6808 420 222 211 275
upstairsjazz.com agharta.cz
Le Caveau de la Huchette
5 Rue de la Huchette
Paris
4326 6505
caveaudelahuchette.fr
Housed in a building dating
PABLO RUIZ FLANDES
New Morning
This Old Town club plays host ENGLAND performs Jan. 2530, and Lee 7-9 Rue des Petites curies
to Prague Jazz Festival shows. Ritenour Quartet plays Feb. 46.
Housed in the basement of a The 606 Club Paris
14th-century building, the venue 90 Lots Road 33 1 45 23 51 41
includes an extensive CD and
The Vortex newmorning.com
London 11 Gillett Square Since 1981, this Parisian
merchandise shop. 44 0 20 7352 5953 London mainstay for jazz has hosted Art
606club.co.uk 020 7254 4097 Blakey, Chet Baker, Charlie Ha-
The Jazz Dock As a strong supporter of the vortexjazz.co.uk den and non-jazz acts like Bob
Janackovo Nabrezi 2 music scene, Steve Rubie opened Long-established in North Lon- Dylan, Taj Mahal and Prince.
Prague this spot in 1976 while pledging to don for more than 20 years, the
420 774 058 838 only book British musicians. This Vortex is a beacon for contempo-
treasured Chelsea spot has up- Sunset-Sunside
jazzdock.cz rary jazz. The club regularly fea- 60 Rue des Lombards
held that policy through the years. tures world-class artists from the
Its all in the name. Part indoor, Paris
part outdoor, this modern club U.K. and overseas. Dave Liebman
on the Vltava River presents an Cafe OTO & Liam Noble perform Jan. 28. 33 0 1 40 26 46 60
array of acts from around the 18 - 22 Ashwin St. sunset-sunside.com
globe. Larry Goldings trio with Since 1983, this venue has
Dalston FINLAND been a proponent of French
Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart London jazz artists as well as welcom-
performs Feb. 9. 44 20 7923 1231 Rytmihiriklubi / ing foreign acts. Miles Davis,
cafeoto.co.uk Herbie Hancock and Lee Konitz
Lucerna Music Bar This venue focuses on ex- Juttutupa have all played there, and today
Stepanska 36 perimental sounds and music Sstpankinranta 6 performers like Martial Solal can
Prague thats outside the mainstream. Helsinki be found on the bill.
420 224 225 440 Concerts happen almost every 358 20 7424240
night and the daytime cafe has a juttutupa.com
musicbar.cz lunch menu. GERMANY
Take 6, Straight No Chaser Rytmihiriklubi has been
and Maceo Parker are some of an important part of the jazz A-Trane
the U.S.-based acts who have Jazz Cafe scene in Helsinki since 1997. 1 Bleibtreustrae St.
played this established, ener- 5 Parkway It is located in the restaurant
Juttutupa, which was founded in 10625 Berlin Charlottenburg
getic club that hosts talent from London 49 30 3132550
around the world. 1908. A wide range of jazz styles
44 20 7485 6834 are presented, with an emphasis a-trane.de
thejazzcafelondon.com on young Finnish musicians. One of the venues that presents
The Jazz Cafe has a capacity of Through the years many inter- Jazzfest Berlin shows, the
DENMARK 420 and has played host to Jose A-trane opened in 1992 and has
national jazz artists have played,
Copenhagen Jazzhouse Feliciano and Bobby Womack. including Tim Hagans, Jim Beard, presented Lee Konitz, Herbie
Niels Hemmingsens Gade 10 Wayne Krantz, Marc Ducret and Hancock and Diana Krall.
Copenhagen PizzaExpress Jazz Club Ingebrigt Hker Flaten.
45 3315 4700 10 Dean St. Aufsturz
jazzhouse.dk London Storyville Oranienburger Strae 67
This historic club, which was 44 20 7437 9595 Museigatan 8 Berlin
recently renovated, focuses on pizzaexpress.com Helsinki 49 30 2804 74 07
European talent. Located in the basement of Piz- 358 50 363 2664 aufsturz.de
zaExpress restaurant on Dean storyville.fi Aufsturz is a jazz club, gallery,
Jazzhus Montmartre St., this venue has played host This old coal cellar sits below bar, recording studio and lecture
to acts like Norah Jones, Amy a Cajun and Creole eatery and hall. It opened in 2004 and hosts
St. Regnegade 19A Winehouse and Walter Smith III. a weekly swing dance party as
hosts jazz four nights a week.
Copenhagen Open until 4 a.m., Storyville well as live performances by
45 31 72 34 94 presents a wide variety of acts players from the local, national
jazzhusmontmartre.dk Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club from Dixieland to swing and and European jazz scenes.
Dexter Gordon and Ben Web- 47 Frith St. blues to rock.
ster once made this club their London
base of European operations. 020 7439 0747 B-Flat
The venue opened a renovated ronniescotts.co.uk FRANCE Rosenthaler Ste. 13
space in 2010 and continues its Started by English saxophonist Berlin
tradition of hosting top-notch Ronnie Scott in 1959, this club is Duc Des Lombards 49 30 2833 123
musicians. the premiere jazz spot in Londons 42 Rue des Lombards b-flat-berlin.de
Soho district. The Mingus Big Band Paris Started by a group of musicians in
Nate Wooley
ZIGA KORITNIK
Nate Wooley Quintet with classicism or repertory, but those who fol-
low his music likely know of his diverse inter-
Early Music. Morans buoyant glide rides a near
rampage from drummer Harris Eisenstadt on
(Dance To) The Early Music ests. Hes an expert in extended techniques, is For Wee Folks and Sintons expressive rumi-
CLEAN FEED 350
fluent in myriad outside lingos and uses overt nation bubbles up on Phryzzinian Man.
++++ swing when the notion strikes him; in even the The groups last outing, 2011s (Put Your)
Trumpeter Nate Wooley was a kid when he most experimental moments, his lyricism and Hands Together, reminded listeners just how
first heard Wynton Marsalis Black Codes harmonic expertise are obvious. Here, those tight they are, but the gregariousness and
(From The Underground). Like many jazz skills serve Marsalis tunes that were written in groove of Marsalis tunes puts their enviable
fans, he was floored by the creative frenzy of the shadow of Miles Davis second classic quin- chemistry in an even more compelling light.
the (then) young phenoms band. Through the tet, and the updates are loaded with the kind This is the kind of repertory project that illu-
years Wooley became increasingly impressed of maneuvers that keep ears perked. The push minates the interpreter more than the original
with the groups nuanced methodologies. Now, and pull of Delfeayos Dilemma, the textur- source. Jim Macnie
after developing his own impressive approach al brocades of Skains Domain, the lithe min-
to improv, he tackles nuggets from some early imalism of Blueseach is a hook to woo lis- (Dance To) The Early Music: Hesitation; For Wee Folks; Blues;
80s Marsalis classics, including 1986s J Mood teners into the action. Delfeayos Dilemma; Phryzzinian Man; On Insane Asylum; J Mood;
Skains Domain; Hesitation/Post-Hesitation. (56:39)
and 1982s Wynton Marsalis. Thanks to imagi- The quintet is marked by Josh Sintons bass
Personnel: Nate Wooley, trumpet; Josh Sinton, bass clarinet;
native arrangements and adventurous playing, clarinet and Matt Morans vibraphone; their Matt Moran, vibraphone; Harris Eisenstadt, drums; Eivind Opsvik,
this music is revitalized in Wooleys hands. blend distinguishes the bands sound to a bass.
Wooleys own work isnt usually associated degree. Each gets ample space to stretch on Ordering info: cleanfeed-records.com
Critics Comments
Perhaps the first jazz album specifically premised on patricide. By itself, it comes off as a mix of
interesting if off-center chamber jazz and avant-garde performance art. Taken with Wooleys
notes, though, its about a man measuring himself against the boy he once was and symbolical-
ly consuming the father figure who once inspired him. John McDonough
Friends close, enemies closer. A surprising conceit, very earnestly approached, tackling the mu-
sic on its own terms but coming from the creative mindset that Marsalis once sought to abolish.
Wooley's assertive voice rings loud and clear. John Corbett
This swinging, high-level inside-outside jazz featuring Wooleys brisk, rangy trumpet lines
pushes at the edges of the ecstatic, elastic, soulful environment Marsalis created with his early
tunes. A lovely idea, beautifully executed. Paul de Barros
The feel is experimental, nervous, heaving and programmatic, with breath the object of its
concern. Can sound like a practice class. But its mostly lucidly composed and played in an
expressionistic spirit with a subversive and risky appeal. John McDonough
Adore the drones that set the stage on this program, but the rabble-rousing is a smidge too
acidicit gets claustrophobic quicker than I thought it might. Big plus: the textural breadth that
reminds you of its presence with regularity. Jim Macnie
Chattering, chuffing, overblowing, prying between notes, playing just above silence, wheedling
in the altissimoit can all sound like clinical inventory in less musical hands. But Laubrock tells
dramatic stories in poetic periods of breath. Paul de Barros
All good variety, but his burners burn so white-hot that I find myself waiting around for them, be
it the hard funk "Traffic Jam" or a classic sprint like the title track. John Corbett
Hard swinging, of coursethats why he gets out of bed in the morning. And a little bit of
adventure, too. But its no earth-shaker, just an inspired blowing session. Jim Macnie
There arent many musicians who could play organ, piano, trumpet and also sing on an album
without giving the impression that its all about them. But DeFrancesco pulls it off. Timeless
masterpiece? No. But a hell of a nice ride. Paul de Barros
Kim Nazarian
Some Morning
KIMJ MUSIC
++++
Singer Kim Nazarian believes in taking her
time. Though this album comprises several
sessions that were recorded between 2008 and
2014, it was worth the wait.
Nazarian posseses an easy-on-the-ear alto
with a strong upper register, accessed by
impressive glissandiall the more impres-
sive because she does it sparingly. Her vocalese
exchange with John Pizzarelli on the Benny
Goodman-associated trifle Gotta Be This Or
That will bring knowing smiles to jazz ears.
The set is finely produced, with a rotating that isnt just a statementits an achievement.
cast of excellent players. Extended listening Kirk Silsbee
allows savoring of pretty instrumental voicings
and nice features like Alexa Stills quietly sub- Some Morning: Robbins Nest/Boneology; Tell Him I Said Hello;
Gotta Be This Or That; All In My Heart; Whatll I Do; Still Life; Some
lime flute obbligatos to Paquito DRiveras clar- Morning; So In Love; If Its Magic; Que Sera, Sera; Road To Kursk.
(48:21)
inet solo on Tell Him I Said Hello. An imag-
inative treatment of Irving Berlins Whatll I Personnel: Kim Nazarian, vocals; Sean Jones, Steve Hawk,
trumpets (1, 11); Jay Ashby, trombone (1, 5, 10, 11); Alexa Still, flute (2);
Do shows the clarity of her voice, emphasized Paquito DRivera, Anna Nelson, clarinet (2); Jesse McCandless, bass
next to a lyrical trombone solo from Jay Ashby. clarinet (2); Mike Tomaro (1, 11), Greg Nazarian (10) saxophones;
Mark Soskin, piano (1, 3, 10, 11); Mark Shilansky, piano (2, 4, 5, 7,
Nazarians pretty tones on her own folksy 8, 9); Alon Yavnai, piano (6); Gary Burton, vibraphone (7); Marty
Ashby, guitar, percussion; Caitlin Merhtens, harp (8); Jiro Yoshida,
All In My Heart glide with Barbara Brkles guitar (4), John Pizzarelli, guitar, vocals (3); Dwayne Dolphin, bass
(1, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11); Leo Traversa, bass (2, 4, 5, 6, 8); Roger Humphries,
organic background vocal complements. Two drums (1, 3, 10, 11), Jamey Haddad, drums (2, 4, 5, 7, 8), kalimba (10);
rubato originals, Still Life and the title track, Alysia Tromblay, Peter Eldridge (7), Jay Ashby, Barbara Brkle (4),
Ian Ashby (10), background vocals.
have lovely accompaniment but tend to drag
aimlessly. These are small caveats to an effort Ordering info: kimnazarian.com
Nicole Glover
Saxophonics
Francesco Bearzatti Tinissima 4et,
CYPRESS-CHVATAL JONES
This Machine Kills Fascists (CamJazz
7893; 48:28 ++++) In what must be
one of the more unorthodox tributes to
great American folk icon Woody Guthrie,
the versatile Italian saxophonist Frances-
co Bearzatti tips his head and hat towards
Guthrie with a set of original songs with 63:15 +++) Swiss alto saxophonist/
the subject in mind. With This Machine reed player Markus (aka Mark) Hauser
Kills Fascists (so named for a phrase Guth- gets around, stylistically and in terms
rie wrote on his guitar), Bearzatti creates of his varied life in music. At various
an evocative sound world, from the gos- times hes been a sideman, bandlead-
pel-colored Okemah to the song-slinging er, educator and even designer of
of Long Train Running." Vocalist Petra mouthpieces. His long list of collabo-
Magoni cameos on One For Sacco And rators includes Billy Joel, Airto Morei-
Vanzetti and the song set closes with ra and New Orleans drummer Johnny
the sole Guthrie-penned tune, the classic Vidacovich, and he has channeled his
This Land Is Your Land, done up Bearzat- long, influential love of Art Pepper into
ti-on-Bourbon-Street style. A landscape of a 2006 album, A Tribute To Art Pepper.
Americana intriguingly filtered through Not surprisingly, hints of his affiliations
jazz Italiana. and affinities tend to weave through
Ordering info: camjazz.com the tracks of his latest album. Shades
Dave Wilson Quartet, There Was of Pepper shine through the fiery cool
Never (Zoho 201512; 65:34 +++) energies of this disc.
With his fourth album, Dave Wilson, on Ordering info: markhauser.ch
tenor and soprano saxophones, puts Kirsten Edkins, Art & Soul (Self
a strong foot forward, backed by a Release; 48:54 +++ ) Kirsten Ed-
tight and raring-to-go rhythm section kins, a strong saxophone voice from
of young pianist Bobby Avey, bassist the West Coast, shows her strengths
Tony Marino and drummer Alex Ritz. and versatility on Art & Soul. Along the
From the tricky, pulsing energy of the way, Edkins, sounding assured and
opening The Time Has Come, on adventurous-within-limits on tenor, so-
which the saxophonist brandishes his prano and alto, showcases some of the
big tone and easily tumbling facility, to finer jazz players hailing from Southern
the simple folk theme of On The Prai- California, including former mentor
rie, There Was Never makes a varied (and the albums producer) Bob Shep-
and mostly powerful impact. pard, pianist/B-3 master Larry Goldings
Ordering info: zohomusic.com and guitarist Larry Koonse. At times,
Nicole Glover, First Record (Self Koonse sidles up to the leaders voice,
Release; 46:34 +++ ) In the notes in classic tenor/guitar melodic muscle
for her impressive debut album, the fashion reminiscent of the Scofield/Lo-
young Oregon-based saxophonist vano team spirit.
Nicole Glover name-checks the great While her writing reflects an aware-
Wayne Shorter, recalling his advice to ness of contemporary jazz notions, we
her to become a leader and an indi- also get a sense of historical ground-
vidual. As is evident on this eight-track ing in deeply-rooted jazz idioms, from
song set, Glover took that advice to the soul-jazz of opener Big B to the
heart, carving out a sound all her own Horace Silver-esque hard-bop of No
while capturing certain Shorter-esque Ordinary Joe (dedicated to another
touches along the way. Her cool, prob- important California-based musician,
ing sense of phrasing and conceptual drummer Joe La Barbera). Art & Soul,
breathing gives her solos distinction. amply blessed with technical prowess,
Ordering info: nicoleglover.com innate swing and more, is a robust de-
Mark Hauser Quartet, Its All but statement worth celebrating. DB
About The Journey (bettersound; Ordering info: kirstenedkins.com
Charles Rumback is potent. Miles and Davis sound wonderful phone, vocals; Ron Miles, cornet; Jeff Swanson, guitar.
Ordering info: earsandeyesrecords.com
In The New Year together on the frontline, shaping unison lines
EARS & EYES 15-038
with a lush warmth. Swanson fills in lots of In The New Year: In The New Year; Right Reasons; Convulsive;
Dragons In Denver; Portrait Of Lorena; Peaceful Giant; Ash
space with his moody arpeggios and tingling
++++ runs, and Rumback demonstrates a simultane-
Wednesday; Tough Love. (52:43)
Personnel: Charles Rumback, drums; Caroline Davis, alto
saxophone; Jeff Parker, guitar; Jason Stein, bass clarinet; John
Drummer Charles Rumback is a ubiquitous ous crispness and draggy bottom that pushes Tate, bass.
presence within the diverse Chicago music and prods his cohorts away from glibness. Ordering info: earsandeyesrecords.com
Beyond / BY BOB DOERSCHUK
Pickin Parlor
From folky strums to ligntning-fast rolls,
plenty of albums in and beyond the
roots-music spotlight are grounded in
acoustic guitar and banjo. Here are five
diverse releases that might inspire you to
DANNY CLINCH
strum along.
John Jorgenson, Divertuoso/
From The Crows Nest (Cleopatra
Records 44; 48:24 ++++) On sheer
scale, this three-CD package demands writer Findlay Brown. He self-accompa-
attention. And, given the breadth nies on guitar with assurance, shifting Livio Minafra/Louis
and depth of Jorgensons artistry, from delicate fingerpicking to gentle Moholo-Moholo
that attention is well merited. Each of strums depending on the material. Born Free
these discs showcases his mastery in Ordering info: dpc-rec.dk INCIPIT 203
a distinctive genre: Returning (52:22) Steve Martin/Edie Brickell, So +++
concentrates on his well-document- Familiar (Rounder, 11661-37395;
In a meeting of generations, elder statesman
ed exploration of Parisian swing, and 34:14 ++++) On their second outing,
drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo joins the
Gifts From The Flood (88:31) offers mu- Martin and Brickell nudge their musical
young, aggressive Italian pianist Livio Minafra
sic inspired by his various electric gui- partnership to a higher level of com-
for six live free-improvisation duets culled from
tars. From The Crows Nest stems from munion. Once again Martin confirms
three European performances. The differenc-
a reunion of J2B2, an all-star ensemble his bona fides as a banjo maestro, but
es in age dissolve within the first few phrases;
featuring multi-instrumentalists Herb thats not the albums main goal. More theres a deep connection here.
Pedersen and Jon Randall along with impressive is their co-writing. Unlike Though free-form playing depends
bassist Mark Fain. Jorgenson draws Browns cosmic meditations, these upon a mutual response to ideas, its uncan-
heavily from the steady bluegrass of songs recount stories of love with dis- ny how often this duo seemingly comes
The Dillards, maintaining moderate ve- arming lack of affectation. Brickell sings upon the same ideas simultaneously. The
locity and favoring melodic invention unfailingly with taste, letting the words two artfully take their excursions through
over fireworks. speak for themselves within well-con- thematic and textural terraces that lend
Ordering info: cleorecs.com ceived arrangements. As for Martin, his each piece suspense and satisfying com-
Steve Forbert, Compromised presence is more subliminal; in fact, he positional arcs.
(Rock Ridge 61439; 79:13 ++) Like might have sat out entirely on I Had A Moholo-Moholo made a mark in the
most singer-songwriters ambling down Vision and let the song speak just as mid-60s when, relocating from his native
the Americana highway, Steve Forbert eloquently with a bit less clutter. South Africa to London, he became a force
makes no claim to instrumental virtuos- Ordering info: rounder.com
in integrating African elements into British
ity. He is, however, a seasoned ballad- Bla Fleck, Drive (Rounder 45:24 jazz. Becoming increasingly immersed
eer with a distinctive vocal and lyrical 0255 ++++ ) Rounders reissue of in free-jazz, he frequently engaged in
style, both of which exploit the genres this monumental album reminds us duets with pianists, including the album
tolerance for idiosyncrasy. This means, how high Fleck, Washburn and their Remembrance (1989) with Cecil Taylor.
for example, that Forbert can sound colleagues set the bar for acoustic Here, the drummer morphs in and out
like hes being strangled, at times to music some 30 years ago. Each play- of time and into free canvases, with tex-
the point of incomprehensibility. On erfiddlers Mark OConnor and Stuart tured waves that are powerful and deci-
Youd See The Things That I See (The Duncan, mandolinist Sam Bush, gui- sive, yet sensitive and never overwhelming.
Day John Met Paul), he gargles the tarist Tony Rice, dobro phenom Jerry He frequently makes painterly use of dowel
word after Im glad Im not your ... in Douglas and bassist Mark Schatzis sticks, using their legato attack to create
a way thats impossible to decipher, at unsurpassed even now. These guys singing musical phrases.
least to this reviewer. Given the bands seem to strain against the tempo, nev- From the rumbling, ever-growing ped-
lackluster performance, the occasional er rushing but bristling with an almost al-point surge of Canto General to the
wordplay and unorthodox rhymes are impatient intensity. Compositionally, humorous syncopated brio march of Foxtrot,
hardly redemptive. Fleck exploded any notion on this al- this one-minded duo is a mini-orchestra.
Ordering info: steve-forbert.mybigcommerce.com bum that bluegrass was forever strait- Jeff Potter
Findlay Brown, Slow Light (Dead jacketed in its four-beat and three-
Peoples Choice 016; 36:25 +++ ) chord form. This was, is and probably Born Free: Canto General; Angel Nemali; Flying Flamingos; Kanya
Apho Ukhona; Foxtrot; Canto General (Take Two). (40:29)
More compelling and certainly more always will be state of the unplugged
decipherable is this latest from Brit- art. DB Personnel: Livio Minafra, piano, bells; Louis Moholo-Moholo,
drums.
ish-born/Brooklyn-based singer-song- Ordering info: rounder.com
Ordering info: egeamusic.com
Tom Collier
Across The Bridge
ORIGIN 82703
+++
Since 1997, Origin Records has
stood steadfast as a bulwark for
West Coast jazz and classical musi-
cians, and mallet-meister Tom
Collier splendidly fills both catego-
ries. As chair of percussion studies
at Seattles University of Washington, hes performed with major sym-
phonies as well as Earl Fatha Hines, Frank Zappa, Peggy Lee and Cal
Tjader. (He lately recorded mallet transcriptions of two-piano Mozart
and Haydn pieces for Origins classical division.) Here Collier bright-
ly reflects on a well-spent West Seattle childhood, joined by master gui-
tarists Bill Frisell and Larry Coryell (themselves with Seattle roots), who
alternate or double with the tart electric plectra of Dan Dean, Colliers
musical partner for the past 40 years.
We hear no shortage of notes, ringing arpeggios or positive vibra-
tions in this relaxed and funky set. Of special swagger is the stretch
Beach Drive, which features some stop-time turnoffs for drummer Ted
Poor. Gold N Blues lopes along with Coryells bright guitar splash-
es, and Frisell lashes out on 47th N Hudson. Throughout, Collier
tap-dances lightly between woody solos and crisp, whispery comping.
The final title track sprinkles Asian spice on a bluesy line, and were home
after a scenic ride. Fred Bouchard
Across The Bridge: The Junction; Beach Drive; Gold N Blues; The Admirals Point of View; 47th N
Hudson; Genesee; Harmonious Effusion On Olga Street; Fauntleroy Mist; Across The Bridge. (56:24)
Personnel: Tom Collier, vibraphone, marimba; Larry Coryell, guitar (1, 3, 6, 9); Bill Frisell, guitar (2, 5, 8);
Dan Dean, bass, guitar (3, 4, 7); John Bishop, drums (1, 3, 6, 9); Ted Poor, drums (2, 4, 5, 7, 8).
Ordering info: originarts.com
Promising Forecast
The velocity of many, if not
most, of the live tunes from
Weather Report, The Leg-
endary Tapes: 19781981
(Legacy 88875141272;
61:14/60:41/62:58/62:29
++++) may be the defining
characteristic of this partic-
ular edition of the band. By
1978, co-founders Joe Zaw- Kim Nalley
inul (keyboards) and Wayne Blues People
Shorter (saxophone) already SELF RELEASE
had electric bassist Jaco Pas- ++++
torius on board, but now the
CREDIT
percussion was driven by Joe Zawinul (left), Wayne Shorter, With her vaunted 3 1/2 octave vocal range,
Peter Erskine and Jaco Pastorius San Francisco jazz mainstay Kim Nalley is the
drummer Peter Erskine and
Robert Thomas Jr. (who ap- musical equivalent of the pitcher with a 102-
pears on roughly half of these 28 cuts). mentary on the legendary bassist pro- mph fastball. While the baseball flamethrow-
Starting with 8:30, the pace of duced by Metallicas Robert Trujillo and er is usually relegated to the closers role, Nalley
this collection is nothing if not frenetic. Jacos eldest son, John Pastorius IV. Di- brings the heat through every moment of her
Along with the ever-present world-mu- rected by Paul Marchand and Stephen new 14-song workout, Blues People.
sic influence on tunes like the lively, Kijak, this two-disc set also includes The albums title and concept are inspired
grinding Sightseeing and an ex- many outtakes, with even more inter- by Blues People: Negro Music in White America,
tremely wound-up Badia (heard in views. Shorter, Erskine and Joni Mitch- a 1963 study of African American culture and
medley with Boogie Woogie Waltz), ell offer the most empathic, insightful its impact on society by Amiri Baraka (writ-
theres a sleight-of-hand bebop vibe to quotes, while Carlos Santana, Flea, ing as LeRoi Jones). Nalley covers the full
this music, Pastorius skating and glid- Sting, Bootsy Collins, Jaco biographer range of the black experience, from the field
ing with his four-to-the-floor swing. Bill Milkowski and Mike Stern chime in worker (Summertime) to the high achiev-
Two of the discs come from the to sing praise on Pastorius. Filmed with er (Movin On Up), from the profane (Bessie
groups 1978 tour as a quartet, the oth- a creative mix of animation, photos and Smiths Sugar In My Bowl and the Dinah
er two from tours in 1980 and 81, in- video, the feeling is one of celebration Washington number Trombone Song) to the
cluding their entire 1980 album Night despite the honest handling of Pasto- sacred (two versions of the Mahalia Jackson
Passage. Most of the cuts are from rius tragic demise. Disc Two brings us gospel standard Trouble Of The World and a
dates in Japan, but others include con- up to date with a 2015 tribute show at haunting Amazing Grace).
certs in London and some U.S. cities. the Hollywood Bowl. Two Nalley originals allow the singer to
Fast City on the third disc, Duke Ordering info: jacothefilm.com weigh in on hot-button social issues. The
Ellingtons Rockin In Rhythm (also JACO: Original Soundtrack (Co- blues-rocker Big Hooded Black Man is about
on Disc Three) and Directions (which lumbia/Legacy 88875141332; 75:07 racial stereotyping in general and the Trayvon
closes this set) are inspired and ener- ++++) gives us a peek into the music Martin killing specifically, and the contempla-
gizing, the latter given a major facelift behind the movie, and the album's tive Ferguson Blues pays homage to Michael
from its more rock-oriented roots. In- funky pop resides in a different neigh- Brown as it asks why no police officers are ever
terspersed are dreamier, more melodic borhood from Weather Reports jazzier arrested.
tunes like A Remark You Made, Pas- feel. With 16 tracks, including selec- Nalley has been performing several of these
torius Three Views Of A Secret and tions from Weather Report, Mitchell, songs live for years, notably the album closer,
Brown Street. These more intimate Flea and Ian Hunter, this is a great place Bob Dylans I Shall Be Released. Its one of the
tunes offer a refreshing contrast to to hear the bass maven playing with albums chief strengths, but its also a sad reflec-
the more steely-eyed music for which Herbie Hancock (Continuum, Liberty tion on the state of the music industry that a
Weather Report was known. The group City), Hubert Laws, Jack DeJohnette voice as big and bold as Nalleys has gone unre-
is more exposed here, more revealing (Crisis) and Hunter (All American corded for such long stretches. Jeff Johnson
in its continual rediscovery. Alien Boy). Pastorius and Don Alias Blues People: Summertime; Big Hooded Black Man; Trouble Of
Ordering info: legacyrecordings.com mesmerizing Okonkole Y Trompa The World (Acoustic Version); Listen Here!/Cold Duck/Compared To
What?; Movin On Up; Never Make Your Move Too Soon; Sugar In
Home movies, interviews and live (featuring French horn) and Pastorius My Bowl; Trombone Song (Big Long Sliding Thing); Ferguson Blues;
Trouble of the World (Organ Version); The Chair Song (If I Cant Sell
concert footage illuminate a fascinat- Portrait Of Tracy are also highlights. It); Sunday Kind Of Love; Amazing Grace; I Shall Be Released. (71:29)
ing life on JACO: The Film (JP 1002; DB Personnel: Kim Nalley, vocals; Tammy Hall, piano, organ; Greg
Skaff, guitar; Michael Zisman, bass; Kent Bryson, drums; Bryan
117:00/100:00 +++++), a new docu- Ordering info: legacyrecordings.com Dyer, background vocals.
Ordering info: kimnalley.com
Dave
Chamberlains
Band of Bones
Stomp!
BB PRODUCTIONS
+++
As the guitar and saxophone were to
the 20th century, the trombone will
be to the 21st: the instrument that
pushes the music and focuses it in
many different ways and genres.
Bonerama and Trombone Shorty are establishing it as a rock instrument,
and in the world of big band, Dave Chamberlains Band of Bones is reas-
serting its power.
Their new record shows just how versatile the trombone can be. The
band is both tight and crisp and almost Basie-esque on the opening cut,
King Porter Stomp, but they also keep it nimble and light while back-
ing up vocalist Kat Gang on The Sweetest Sounds. The arrangements
are fine on the most part, with an inventive take on Strayhorns A Flower
Is A Lovesome Thing that adds a new rhythm and subtle Latin feel.
The albums one flaw is that it sounds too clean. Audiences would
welcome more grit. Despite that, Stomp! is a great showcase for an instru-
ment that is poised to have its day in the sun. David Kunian
Stomp!: King Porter Stomp; Sambatropolis; The Sweetest Sounds; A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing; Flat
Black; Band Of Bones Blues; Chega De Saudade; Delilah; Is You Is Or Is You Aint My Baby; Pavane &
Stomp; Amazing Grace. (61:47)
Personnel: Dave Chamberlain, trombone, flute, vocals; Hendrik Meurkens, harmonica (2); Kat Gang,
vocals (3); Kenny Ascher, piano; Jerry DeVore , bass; Mike Campenni, drums; Chembo Corniel, congas,
percussion (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10); Charley Gordon, Sara Jacovino, Nate Mayland, Matt McDonald, Mark
Patterson, Chris Rinaman, trombone; Max Seigel, Dale Turk, bass trombone.
Ordering info: bandofbones.com
Main Stem
In the first half of the 20th century,
Central Avenue was the vibrant hub of
black Los Angeles. Art Tatum, Billie Holi-
day and Big Joe Turner were just a few
of the visitors who spent meaningful
time there, as did the Ellington, Basie
and Lunceford bands. The street hosted
fabulous floorshows at the Club Alabam,
gestated Wynonie Harris and Jimmy
Witherspoons stage skills, united Dex-
Hot Jazz Jumpers
ter Gordon and Wardell Gray in musical The Very Next Thing
ON THE BOL 0002
combat and saw Jack McVea formulate
Open The Door, Richard. But the scene ++++
was all but dead by 1950, when restric- Nick Russo, the guitarist-banjoist at the helm of
tive housing covenants eased and the Hot Jazz Jumpers, covers wide swaths of jazz
action drifted west. history with his playing. As a sideman, hes
Jazzs critical arm was slow in recog- worked with artists all over the jazz spectrum,
nizing the areas importance to the mu- from Jimmy McGriff to Mark Turner to Vince
sic. Patricia Willards informative liner Giordano. It should come as no surprise that
notes to the Black California LP compi- Chester Lane; drummers Monk McFay, for his latest release, which trains its eye on
lation (Savoy 1980) signified a musical Jesse Sailes and Red Minor Robinson; hot jazz, Russo and his band (vocalists Betina
Atlantis ripe for rediscovery. Musician and bassist Billy Hadnott. Hershey and Miles Griffith, with percussionist
autobiographies by Charles Mingus, Many Central Avenue players were David Pleasant and numerous guests) bring a
Red Callender, Buddy Collette, Roy transplants with considerable experi- decidedly unorthodox approach.
Porter and Marshall Royal gave first- ence. Hadnott had taken Walter Pages The album covers a number of hot jazz sta-
hand accounts of their times on L.A.s place in the Bennie Moten Orchestra ples (Back Home Again In Indiana, Jocka-A-
Main Stem. Bette Yarbrough Coxs Cen- and was in Harlan Leonards band. Mo, Sweet Georgia Brown) with characteris-
tral Avenue: Its Rise and Fall (BEEM 96) Roberts played in Buck Claytons tic sweetness and swagger, but its not short on
most effectively chronicled the early Shanghai band and with Fats Waller flashes of muscularity and grit. On Caravan,
years, and RJ Smiths The Great Black before Basie called him in 42. And Griffithwhose voice combines the finesse
Way (PublicAffairs 06) further fleshed Ewing tells of a post-war period when of Jon Hendricks with the passion of Leon
it out with a real-life gallery of the Ave- he shared an apartment with Collette Thomasunleashes a sweltering vocal solo that
nues more fascinating characters. where Charlie Parker once visited. shreds through a thick, jangly layer of electric
Now we have Peter Vachers Vacher has also collected a sub- guitar and tambourine. Elsewhere, the group
Swingin On Central Avenue: African stantial number of rare photographs: gets bluesy with a rendition of Muddy Waters
American Jazz in Los Angeles (Rowman a T-Bone Walker jam session, Kid Orys Ive Got My Mojo Working that pits Hersheys
& Littlefield). Vacher is a senior British band at the Cricket Club, the Les Hite soaring vocals against Pleasants rumbling
jazz journalist who has specialized in Orchestra in performance, Gerald Wil- toms. Other treats include two classicsIn A
the music of the era, and he knows son at Shepps Playhouse and Dizzy Mellow Tone and Aint Misbehavinand
that for every Mingus, Nellie Lutcher Gillespie and Lester Young at Philhar- a forward-looking free improvisation between
and Gerald Wilson, there were at least monic Hall. But perhaps the most im- Russo and Griffith.
two dozen journeymen players who pressive aspect of this book is how the A bonus DVD includes 11 live recordings as
were not only handmaidens to the gi- musicians survived after the 40s hey- well as behind-the-scenes footage and inter-
ants, but who led their own fascinating day. Pianist Lane and trombonist Ew- views, providing a fascinating look into a hot
careers. Vacher profiles 16 of them, tak- ing played many years at Disneyland jazz band that really brings the heat.
ing us deep into Centrals tall weeds. with trumpeter Teddy Buckner. After Brian Zimmerman
In doing so, the author has rescued retirement from Douglas Aircraft, bass- The Very Next Thing: Back Home Again In Indiana; Freight
a clutch of instrumentalists from ob- ist Hadnott picked and chose his jobs, Train; Caravan; You Are My Sunshine; Nobody But My Baby Is
Getting My Love; In A Mellow Tone; Jock-A-Mo (DVD Version); Dirty
scurity. They include trumpeters An- like the Worlds Greatest Jazz Band. 40; Sweet Georgia Brown; Manh De Carnaval; Jam For Lenny;
Aint Misbehavin; Ive Got My Mojo Working; When The Red, Red
drew Blakeney, George Orendorf, Red Red Mack went into real estate. Robin; This Little Light Of Mine; Jock-A-Mo (Studio Version); Russo
Mack Morris, Isadore Monte Easter Vacher has given us a valuable ad- Griffith Free Improv. (76:00)
Personnel: Nick Russo, guitar, tenor banjo, resonator, baritone
and Norman Bowden; trombonist dition to the Central Avenue library, resonator; Betina Hershey, guitar, vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 1216);
Miles Griffith, vocals (3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 1517); David Pleasant,
Streamline Ewing; saxophonists Floyd as rich in personal experience as it is harmonica, drums (15, 7, 9, 1116); Essiet Essiet (1, 3, 7, 13, 14),
Turnham, Caughey Roberts and Chuck broad in range. DB Mamadou Ba (2, 4, 15, 16), bass; Gordon Au, trumpet (1, 3, 14); Josh
Holcomb, trombone (5, 11); Dennis Lichtman, clarinet (14); Mike
Thomas; pianists Betty Hall Jones and Ordering info: rowman.com Russo, guitar (8).
Ordering info: hotjazzjumpers.com
Romain Collin
Press Enter
ACT 9583
++
Jazz continues to be claimed, if
only as a reference point, by musi-
cians whose backgrounds and
impulses are far from its ori-
gins. French pianist and compos-
er Romain Collin has studied at
Berklee, graduated from the Monk
Institute and toured international-
ly with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Yet on Press Enter he seems
more interested in producing slick settingssound designsfor sec-
ond-rate soundtracks and semi-classical pop albums than in engaging
with the spontaneity, invention, improvisation and vocabulary from
which jazz grew.
Purveying ersatz minimalism (99), vainglorious repetition (The
Line) and cloying sentimentality (Holocene), Collin may be trying to
be commercial. I dont think it works. On Clockwork, rippling figures,
entry-level chromatic licks and a portentous bass part set up an interest-
ing single-note foray, but the rippling never stops.
A few tracks indicate what Collin could do. On Webs, for example,
he emerges for an unexpectedly celestial episode starting with a stunning
long line, beautiful clusters and chordswhich are quickly subverted by
the heavy-handed rumblings that end the piece. Howard Mandel
Press Enter: 99; Clockwork; Raw, Scorched And Untethered; Holocene; The Kids; Webs; San Luis
Obispo; Event Horizon; The Line (Dividing Good And Evil Cuts Through The Heart Of Every Human
Being); Round About Midnight. (46:12)
Personnel: Romain Collin, piano, sound design, programming; Luques Curtis, bass; Kendrick Scott,
drums; Mino Cinelu, percussion (9); Megan Rose, vocals (1, 8); Jean-Michel Pilc, whistles (5); Grey
McMurray, guitar (4); Laura Metcalf, cello.
Ordering info: actmusic.com
PETE KARAM
MASTER CLASS
PAGE 94
DAVID MURRAY
TRANSCRIPTION
PAGE 96
TOOLSHED
PAGE 98
George Klabin of Resonance Records
George Klabin FEBRUARY 2016
90 DOWNBEAT
SOUND ADVICE ON
PRODUCING JAZZ
RECORDINGS
BY GEORGE KLABIN
I
have a great deal of experience with all aspects of
jazz recordingas engineer, producer, and lately, as
a curator and restorer of rare old recordings from as
far back as the 1950s.
I would like to share some sound advice on producing
jazz recordings and also discuss how we restore and
improve the sound of old analog tapes in preparation for
release on Resonance Records.
There are several principles I adhere to when I consider
producing a jazz artist for our label. First and foremost is
the concept that the final product should be an accurate
representation of the art of the musician, part of the
artists legacy, a work to be proud of at any time in the
future. It should reflect the state of their musical soul at
the time it was recorded.
A good producer emulates the listener who is going to
buy the final recording. His job includes knowing which
is the best take, checking for technical issues and, most
of all, feeling when the recording is locked inwhen it
transports the listener. The producer is also the organizer,
a chef who brings together the right ingredients to make
the music the best that it can be and get the best possible
performances from the artists. This would involve
selection of the musicians and the music to be recorded.
Pete Karam
David Murray
DIANE MOON
I
n 1994, the Jamaican ska group The non-diatonic chord show up. He does play the
Skatalites brought in a number of guest art- C in bar 7, which is the fifth of the F chord,
ists for its 30th anniversary album Hi-Bop but he uses it as part of an F blues lick (F minor
Ska (Shanachie). One was jazz tenor saxo- being the relative of A major), so it doesnt
phonist David Murray, who played on his sound divorced from the key.
own composition Flowers For Albert. Murray In the next chorus, however, Murray leaves
had recorded this in 1974 on his album of the the key of A major and plays more notes relat-
same name, but originally it was done more like ing to E (enharmonic F ) when that chord
an avant-garde bossa nova. For this recording, occurs in bar 15. At the end of this chorus, he
it was played as a Jamaican ska. also gives us a lydian flavor with the D natural
As Murray plays through the chord on the A chord in bar 17, which sets up the D
sequence (IIVV in A, with the VII and VI naturals that happen on the E chord in mea-
added in) four times, he uses a number of musi- sure 27. This note would have sounded very disso-
cal elements to build his solo. First, lets consid- nant against the D chord, but on these harmonies
er his note choices. For the first chorus, Murray it sounds sweet. He also brings in the flat-7 of A
uses almost no chromatic tones, even when the on the G chord in measures 22 and 30, the final
La Bella Olinto
Spot-on Vintage P-Bass Tone
L
a Bellas new Olinto Bass is not just your typical P-Bass clone. Also included with the bass was an extra set of
Using a 1963 P-Bass as its template, every Olinto bass is made to strings, La Bellas 1954 Original Vintage Deep
order and handcrafted by master luthier Mas Hino. The body is Talkin Bass Flats. When these were installed,
hand-carved. The flatsawn maple neck is hand-carved. The pickups and the Olinto turned into a booming funk
strings are hand-wound. This is no cookie-cutter instrument. machine with hotter output and incredibly
When I removed it from its case, I had in front of me a natural wood punchy attack and response. There was that
beauty, with golden hardware and strings (yes, golden strings) and a deep 63 P-Bass tonewow. This set was anoth-
gold-anodized pickguard. I was a bit surprised to discover my tester to be er heavy gauge (.052.110), but, again, com-
fretless, but that just added to the intrigue and beauty of the instrument. pletely playable. That is a testament to both
This customized Olinto featured a hand-selected natural walnut the bass and the strings. Both flavors were
body and a Madagascar rosewood fingerboard. The fingerboard came fantastic, but very differentand sim-
from stock normally reserved for classical guitars, and its veins were ple to attain with a change of strings.
multi-colored and lovely running down the fingerboardtruly an artis- Regarding the pickup, I was
anal piece. The neck came from a hand-selected piece of flatsawn maple. amazed to learn about the pro-
Thats how it was done back in 63, and flatsawn necks seem to have more cess La Bella and Mas Hino go
warmth than their more stable and brighter quartersawn counterparts, through to recreate the classic 63
according to La Bella. Its a clich to say that a bass plays like butter, but split-coil pickup. Every one is
believe me, this Olinto is smooth, comfortable and fast. handwound by Mas on his
Lets talk strings. The beauties that came on the Olinto are La Bella Singer sewing machine,
760Gs, wound from golden alloy and covered with white (clear) nylon. using the same slow, scat-
The strings were nicely pliable and easy to play, which is saying some- ter-wound technique used in
thing when you are dealing with a heavy-gauge string (.060.115, in fact). the 60s.
These strings had a wonderful warmth, as well as the desired mwah you While there are a lot of wonderful P replicas out on the mar-
expect from a fretless. They were a bit light on output, but thats nothing ket, La Bellas Olinto really makes a statement. Jon Paul
a nice off-board preamp or an amp with plenty of headroom cant cure. Ordering info: labella.com
T
he Apollo 8p from Universal Audio is an upgrade to the compa-
nys Apollo 8. Its a professional-grade A/D and D/A conversion
unit with onboard processing that runs Universal Audio plugins
in order to take some of the processing load off of your computers CPU.
The Apollo line focuses on providing processing power and I/O (pre-
amps and such) in a single unit. The Apollo 8p sports the most current
UAD-2 DSP Quad core processing engine and eight preamps (the Apollo
8 had four). But these are not normal preampsthey are made specifical-
ly for tracking preamp emulations from Neve, API and Universal Audio. ple units together. You can connect up to four Thunderbolt Apollos and
The Apollo 8p has redesigned A/D and D/A conversion, giving the six UAD-2 devices total. By simply connecting the units together via a
unit an increased dynamic range as well as lower Total Harmonic Thunderbolt cable, the Apollos are able to self-adjust the slave/master
Distortion. Upgrades have been made to the front panel, with new fea- settings and automatically link themselves together. There is no mess-
tures such as alt speakers, dim, mono functions and input and output ing around in software/hardware menus trying to assign slave and mas-
monitoring capabilitiess. ter settings; the units figure it out and adjust themselves. At most, I had
All Apollo units come with the Console software, a virtual mixer that to reboot the computer when trying different configurations of chaining
is used for tracking sessions and sits between your hardware and your in order for all the settings to take. And once they are all linked, all the
DAW. Put your favorite tape emulation, tube preamps and EQ plug-ins on units and processing cores show up automatically in the UAD Meter and
a channel. Then, route your reverb to the monitor sends, and save all your Control Panel program on your computer, so you can monitor whatever
settings and routing configurations for later use. The Console software is a load you are placing on the unit via plugins.
handy piece of software that should save you time in the long run. Picking up where the popular Apollo 8 left off, the Apollo 8p is an
I currently have an Apollo Duo and was sent two Apollo 8p models to amazing piece of engineering. Matt Kern
test-drive. For the first time, I was able to try my hand at linking multi- Ordering info: uaudio.com
S
amson has been providing audio solutions for more than 25 years,
offering innovation and quality at competitive prices. Recently, the
company has been in the process of reworking its headphone line,
and the new SR450 and SR550 models are the beginning of this effort.
Considering their extremely attractive price tags, these headphones
deliver impressively accurate and detailed reproduction in a durable and
comfortable package.
In moving forward with its headphone line, Samson set some specif-
ic goals. According to Sean Meagher, director of marketing, We want to
be taken seriously as a headphone brand. Samson strives for a flat refer-
ence sound on all its headphone models. 50
SR5
The SR450 and SR550, which list at $29.99 and $39.99, respectively,
share the same specifications and utilize the same internal components.
The main difference is that the 450s are an on-ear design, while the 550s
provide an over-the-ear fit. They are both constructed from lightweight,
durable, flexible plastic that conforms to the shape of your head for com-
fortable extended use. On the inside are 40mm drivers with rare earth
magnets that produce a full-range 20Hz20kHz frequency response.
Both models fit nicely and are reasonably comfortable, with leather
cushioned ear pads. Although I personally prefer the 550, the choice
would certainly be up to the individual user. Over-the-ear phones also
offer superior isolation from outside noise as compared to on-ear models.
Both the 450 and 550 performed surprisingly well for such low-
priced headphones. The tonal reproduction is extremely flat, without the
bass accentuation and treble harshness that are common on many bud-
get-priced headphones. Subtle details come through nicely, and they can
be worn for extended periods without experiencing ear fatigue. Even though Samson markets the SR450 and SR550 as entry-level phones for stu-
they share identical specs, I found that the SR450 and SR550 actually sound dio and mobile use. At these prices, you would be hard pressed to find a
different, with the 450s producing slightly more bass response. This is due to better option. Keith Baumann
the variance in the cup size and placement on the ear. Ordering info: samsontech.com
Z
ooms UAC-2 Audio Converter is a portable, high-resolution
two-channel interface that features top-shelf components and
USB 3.0 speed. The UAC-2 is part of the companys second gener-
ation of recording interfaces, following the TAC lineone of the indus-
trys first interfaces to feature Thunderbolt connectivity.
USB 3.0 capability is at the heart of the UAC-2, providing the ability
to run at resolutions up to 24-bit/192kHz with almost no discernible
latency. USB 3.0 is 10 times faster than USB 2.0 and runs six times faster
than FireWire. In addition, it allows the UAC-2 to operate on bus power
alone, with no need for external power. The UAC-2 uses high-quality with two combo XLR/TRS inputs. There is also a Hi-Z switch for con-
Burr Brown PCM 4202 analog-to-digital converters and AKM AK4396 necting instrument-level devices, and even a MIDI in and out port. On
digital-to-analog converters along with 4x upsampling to assure clean, the output side, there is a volume control for the monitor outs and a head-
noise-free audio. phone jack with its own volume, as well. The ability to monitor the audio
The UAC-2 lives up to its plug-and-play promise. Connect the device directly from the interface offers latency-free listening, which is absolute-
via the included USB cable to your USB 3.0-equipped computer, install ly critical when recording. The UAC-2 can also be connected to an iPod
the drivers and you are ready to record. The UAC-2 is also compatible utilizing an adapter cable and external power supply.
with older USB 2.0 devices. The interface will operate with your favorite I found the quality of the recorded audio to be extremely good on the
DAW software, and it comes bundled with a copy of Cubase LE8. UAC-2 and was impressed with its accuracy and ease of use. Available for
According to Zoom Vice President of Brand Engagement Micah a street price of $249, the UAC-2 is a solid all-in-one solution for home
Eberman, simplicity, versatility and speed/low latency were key consid- recording and mobile applications. Keith Baumann
erations when designing the UAC-2. Its front panel is straightforward, Ordering info: zoom.na.com
1. USB Mic
Audio-Technica has released the AT2020USBi cardioid
condenser USB microphone featuring iOS compatibility.
Modeled after the AT2020, this digital-output mic
4
features an A/D converter to deliver high-
resolution articulation and intelligibility
thats suitable for home studio recording,
field recording, podcasting and voiceover
use. More info: audiotechnica.com
4. Mixer-Controller
Akai Professionals MIDImix is a
compact, high-performance mixer
that also has the ability to control a
users DAW. The MIDImix includes
eight individual line faders and a
master fader, 24 control knobs
arranged three per channel, and
one-to-one mapping with Ableton
Live. More info: akaipro.com
5. Smart Monitoring
Genelecs 1234 Smart Active
Monitoring System is designed to
achieve accurate and powerful sound
reproduction in demanding recording
and mixing environments. It has a
system frequency response from 29Hz to
21kHz and is capable of delivering 125dB
SPL at 1 meter through a combination of
efficient Class D amplifiers. The 1234 SAM
is supplied with a RAM XL remote amplifier
module.
More info: genelecusa.com
6. Suite Speakers
IMS Technologies Christopher 1
Speakers are three-way system
mastering speakers featuring a
transmission-line design. They use
extra-large magnets and large
voice coils for accurate audio
reproduction.
More info: imstechnologies.net
3
100 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2016
Jazz On Campus School Notes
COURTESY YAMAHA
Educators Dr. Marcello Cavazos (left),
Joseph Strohl and Dr. Jeremy Earnhart
with Music & Arts Vincent Chiappone.
DB Music Shop credit cards are accepted. Deadline: Ad copy and full payment must arrive 2 months prior to DB cover date.
Send your advertisement by MAIL: DownBeat Classifieds, Att. Sam Horn, 102 N. Haven Road, Elmhurst, Illinois,
60126, EMAIL: samh@downbeat.com, FAX: (630) 941-3210.
APPS
WWW.EASTWINDIMPORT.COM
Japanese import CDs & LPs: Venus,
Marshmallow, Sawano and more!
We ship worldwide.
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society ..... 54 Gretsch Drums .....................................15 Resonance Records ............................. 45
bachddsoc.org gretschdrums.com/brooklyn
resonancerecords.org
Elmhurst Jazz Festival ..........................4 Monterey Jazz Festival .......................40 Wilkie Strings ..................................... 55
elmhurst.edu/jazzfestival montereyjazzfestival.org wilkiestringedinstruments.com
Ali Jackson
Ali Got Rhythm (Amalgamations, Sunnyside, 2013) Jackson, drums; Aaron Goldberg,
piano; Carlos Henriquez, bass.
Its swinging hard. Something in the ride cymbal pattern reminds me of