Tuesday, June 5, 2012

"DownBeat" - June 2012


COVER
Kenny Garrett -- Saxophonist Kenny Garrett is back with Seeds From The Underground, a studio album of acoustic jazz. It's his first studio album in six years, and it contains 10 original compositions.

FEATURES
The Fringe -- The trio - consisting of saxophonist George Garzone, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti - is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The Fringe is an institution in the Boston area, released several recordings, and they've toured Portugal. Over the course of his long career as an educator, Garzone has mentored many artists who are now famous, including Branford Marsalis, Donny McCaslin, Antonio Sanchez, Marcus Strickland and Luciana Souza.

Ralph Peterson -- DownBeat catches up with the drummer, trumpeter and composer, who has an album coming out in May. Peterson plays in several groups, including the Unity Project, the Fo'tet, a sextet, a trio, and an electric band called Direct Current.

Grégoire Maret -- The harmonica player, who was a member of the Pat Metheny Group, will release his long-awaited, self-titled debut on March 13. His guests include harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans (90 years of musical excellence), bassist Marcus Miller and vocalist Cassandra Wilson.

Special Section: 35th Annual Student Music Awards -- DownBeat's annual celebration of music education will include profiles of student musicians, as well as features on these exemplary educators:
* Hall of Fame: Steve Zegree of Western Michigan University
* Jazz Education Achievement Award: Mary Jo Papich and Lou Fischer of JEN
* Jazz Education Achievement Award: Christopher Dorsey of Dillard High School Center of the Arts

Special Section: Indie Life -- DownBeat profiles independent artists and labels who are creating great music and figuring out creative ways to get their music out to fans:
* Saxophonist Hailey Niswanger
* Saxophonist and oboist Evan Cobb
* Smalls Records, the NYC label run by Luke Kaven

PLAYERS
Scott Tixier (violin)
Mike LeDonne (piano/organ)
Kresten Osgood (drums)
Tom Kennedy (bass)

BLINDFOLD TEST- Mats Gustafsson

THE BEAT
* The Jazz Bakery's permanent home
* AUM Fidelity's 15th Anniversary
* Guitarist Julian Lage
* Caught: Bass Fest, Jazz en Rafale, Quebec; Vossa Jazz in Norway; Darcy James Argue's Secret Society

WOODSHED
Master Class: saxophonist Dan Wilensky: "Style Hopping"
Transcription: Seamus Blake tenor saxophone solo

TOOLSHED
* Avid Pro Tools X
* Zildjian K Constantinople cymbals
* P. Mauriat 655 and 700 series trumpets
* Ted Klum saxophone mouthpieces
* Cooperstands guitar stands GEAR BOX
* Toca Traditional series congas/bongos
* Hamilton (DANSR) System X horn stands
* Pro-Mark Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez signature stick
* The Realist Docking Station bass pickup volume attenuator by David Gage/NS Design
* Alfred Publishing's Jazz Real Book: Essential Jazz Standards
* Gator Cases Tablet/Mix bag

JAZZ ON CAMPUS
University of Louisville Jazz Festival with Eddie Gomez workshops

REVIEWS - Hot Box:
Ahmad Jamal, Blue Moon (Jazz Village)
Marlene Rosenberg Quartet, Bassprint (Origin)
Ted Nash, The Creep (Plastic Sax)
Jeff Hamilton Trio, Red Sparkle (Capri)

Reviews:
Floratone, Floratone II (Savoy)
Brian Charette, Music For Organ Sextette (SteepleChase)
Steve Lehman Trio, Dialect Fluorescent (Pi)
Mary Halvorson, Bending Bridges (Firehouse 12)
Mary Stallings, Don't Look Back (HighNote)
Jon Gold, Bossa Of Possibility (BluJazz)
Linda Oh, Initial Here (Greenleaf)
Chicago Underground Trio, Age Of Energy (Northern Spy)
Darius Jones Quartet, Book Of Mae'bul (Another Kind Of Sunrise) (AUM Fidelity)
John Benitez, Purpose (Seed)
Joel Harrison, Search (Sunnyside) combined w/ Joel Harrison, Holy Abyss (Cuneiform)
Erik Charlston JazzBrasil, Essentially Hermeto (Sunnyside)
Jerome Sabbagh, Plugged In (Bee Jazz)
Fredrik Kronkvist, New York Elements (Connective)
Eric Alexander & Vincent Herring, Friendly Fire (HighNote)
Josh Ginsburg, Zembla Variations (Brooklyn Jazz Underground)
Jakob Bro, Time (Loveland)
Kat Edmonson, Way Down Low (Spinnerette) w/Melissa Stylianou, Silent Movie (Anzic)
Carmen Lundy, Changes (Afrasia)
Ehud Asherie, Upper West Side (Posi-Tone)
Michael Veal & Aqua Ife, Volume 1 (NKCD), combined w/Michael Veal, Anyscape (NKCD)
Eri Yamamoto Trio, The Next Page (AUM Fidelity)
Sidi Touré, Koima (Thrill Jockey)
Charles Gayle Trio, Streets (Northern Spy)
Jeff Parker Trio, Bright Light In Winter (Delmark)

Jazz:
Michael Gibbs and the NDR BigBand, Back In The Days (Cuneiform)
Pete Christlieb & Linda Small, Tall & Small (Bosco)
Barry Guy London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Harmos: Live At Schaffhausen (Inakt)
Fred Ho & Quincy Saul, Present The Music Of Cal Massey: A Tribute (Mutable)
Michael Treni Big Band, Boy's Night Out (Bell Production)
Sammy Nestico Orchestra, On The Sammy Side Of The Street (SN Publishing)
Bob Lark And His Alumni Big Band, Reunion (Jazzed Media)

Blues:
Luca Giordano, My Kind Of Blues (Audacia)
Lisa Mills, Tempered In Fire (Really 'n' Truly)
Layla Zoe, Sleep Little Girl (Cable Car)
Ramon Goose, Uptown Blues (Blues Boulevard)
Tiny Legs Tim, One Man Blues (TLT Productions)
The Blues Band, Few Short Lines (Repertoire)

Beyond:
Chris Brown, Iconicities (New World)
Anna Clyne, Blue Moth (Tzadik)
Galina Ustvolskaya, Composition No. 2 "Dies Irae" et. al (Wergo)
Claire Chase, Terrestre (New Focus)
Toshio Hosokawa, Landscapes (ECM)

Historical:
George Duke, The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection (Legacy)

Books:
Robin Kelley, Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz In Revolutionary Times (Harvard University Press), combined w/Steven Feld, Jazz Cosmopolitanism In Accra: Five Musical Years in Ghana (Duke University Press)

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