“The voice coming from The Ullmann/Swell Quartet is saying, ‘Listen, feel, and become. Don’t look back. This is MUSIC OF TODAY.’ ” — bassist William Parker
News? No News! (Jazzwerkstatt), the second release by the Gebhard Ullmann-Steve Swell quartet, charts the ongoing development of one of the most exciting working groups in jazz today. Reed player Ullmann, trombonist Swell, bassist Hilliard Greene, and drummer Barry Altschul play with go-for-broke energy, but they are far more than a free-jazz blowing band. The compositions and arrangements of the co-leaders are varied and make the most of the band’s potential. As bassist William Parker observes in the album’s liner notes, “The goal in these sonic excursions is to explore music in all of its moods, colors and shapes. There is also a strong investment in silence, space and
texture.”
Each track on the album has it’s own character. “More Hello” kicks things off at a frenetic clip, but both Ullmann and Swell use the composition during their improvisations to give the performance a unified feeling. “New York 5:50” rumbles along at a medium tempo, capturing something of the energy and mystery of the Big Apple. The band pairs off in duo combinations to create sonic variety, paying close attention to one another as they improvise, and making use of space and texture, as well. Ullmann’s other city dedication, “Berlin 9:35,” makes similar use of the band’s resources, using different duo partners. Swell’s collage-like “Composite #1” moves in and out of different tempos, and through passages of fragmented time, and features instrumental combinations that change the color and density of the music. It’s a great place to appreciate veteran drummer Altschul’s master-of-all-trades virtuosity. He keeps swinging time at a medium groove, breaks up the meter into outbursts of percussive color, and during his solo, rotates among the trap-kit components in a beautifully orchestrated statement.
Ullmann’s moody “Kleine Figuren #2” is a dirge-like piece played at a subdued volume, but saturated with intense sounds. “Planet Hopping on a Thursday Afternoon” has a slight melancholy tinge to the melody but Greene and Altschul’s uplifting beat buoys the performance, as both Ullmann and Swell surge through their respective solos. The title track ventures into the blues, featuring some of Ullmann’s most urgent work on the album. Two group improvisations, “GPS #1” and “GPS #2,” have all the coherence of composition, thanks to the telepathic interactions that the group has sharpened since they came together in 2003. “Airtight” ends the disc on a high note, showcasing Greene’s ability to lend the music a sense of stability while keeping it free and fluid.
With close to 40 albums as a leader or co-leader of bands that include both European and American musicians, German reed player Gebhard Ullmann is one of the most prolific and creatively fertile composer-improvisers working on either side of the Atlantic. Besides the quartet he co-leads with Steve Swell, Ullmann also leads or co-leads the ten-piece woodwind-accordion project Ta Lam Zehn; the cooperative band Conference Call (with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller); the Clarinet Trio (with Juergen Kupke and Michael Thieke), and Basement Research (a sextet that also features Swell, along with British saxophonist Julian Arguelles).
“Few improvising artists can boast the stream of creative ideas that seem to bubble from Gebhard Ullmann,” says Steven Loewy in Cadence Magazine. “Ullmann's performances are grounded in the past but plunge forward deliberately toward modernity”
Trombonist Steve Swell is one of the busiest musicians in the New York free jazz scene. He has more than 30 albums to his credit as a leader or co-leader and he appears on more than 90 other recordings as well. He leads or co-leads several bands, including Slammin’ the Infinite (with reed player Sabir Mateen, bassist Mat Heyner, and drummer Klaus Kogel), The N.O.W. big band, and Fire Into Music (with alto saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake), among others. He has also participated in the Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane, Roswell Rudd’s Trombone Tribe, Ken Vandermark’s Resonance Ensemble, and William Parker’s Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra.
Swell and Ullmann may live on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, but they and their quartet are definitely on the same musical wavelength.
http://www.gebhard-ullmann.com
http://www.steveswell.com
Monday, February 15, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
AMELIA HOLLANDER AMES PERFORMS CONTEMPORARY CHAMBER MUSIC FOR VIOLA ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 AT THE SIXTH STREET SYNAGOGUE
PART OF “6TH STREET SUNDAYS” CONCERT SERIES
The Max D. Raiskin Center for the Arts at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue continues its monthly afternoon concert series of world and chamber music, on Sunday, February 15 with Con Vivo featuring violist Amelia Hollander Ames.
“6th Street Sundays” features the work of leading small ensembles exploring the nexus of chamber music and world music. The series highlights music that reflects Middle Eastern and Jewish influences on contemporary music, as well as traditional forms. Each concert will include new compositions either commissioned for or written by the artists. 6th Street Sundays also offers a master class or interactive workshop presented by the artists before each performance.
Each concert is at 3 p.m. with a free workshop for all ticket holders at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $18 ($15 with advance reservations), which includes refreshments. Students and under 21 are $8.
February 14 – Contemporary chamber music featuring violist Amelia Hollander Ames in solo, duo and trio. Compositions by Iva Bittova, Rebecca Clarke, Jean-Marie LeClair, and Gyorgy Ligeti.
Amelia Hollander Ames received her masters degree from the New England Conservatory and her bachelors in viola performance from the Eastman School of Music. From 2004-2007 she was the violist of the award-winning Israel Contemporary String Quartet, with whom she performed throughout Israel and in the U.S., Canada and Asia, collaborating with such composers as Josef Bardanashvili, Judd Greenstein and Steve Reich. She has performed at the IMS Prussia Cove Festival, the Singapore Arts Festival, Kneisel Hall and Schleswig-Holstein Festival, and toured Europe and Asia with the Verbier Festival Orchestra. Amelia is an active freelance violist in the New York City area, and is the founder and artistic director of Con Vivo. She has recorded for the Naïve, Nonesuch and Tzadik labels. http://www.convivomusic.org/ http://www.myspace.com/hollanderames
Other artists performing in the series include:
March 14 - String Nucleus - innovative string ensemble
String Nucleus is an acoustic/electric string trio, designed by nature to be expansive from the core. The core members include string players, Jon Weber, Earl Maneein and Jessie Reagen Mann, whose versatile, musical range spans multiple areas.
These three musicians began working together in 2003, collaborating in the genre-bending ensemble DBR & The Mission (Opus 3 Artists). Since then, they went on to serve as leaders of Jay Z’s Hustler Symphony Orchestra, which performed with Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles and ?uestlove, live at Radio City Musical Hall in 2006. Additional projects include performing with and recording for Cole Gentles Symphonic Rock Revival, as well as being featured as improvisers with Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), on his second album “¿Cómo Te Llama?”. In addition, String Nucleus has performed with Sonos Chamber Orchestra and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Most recently, they performed as part of the Pioneers for a Cure project, a unique organization that raises money for cancer through musical downloads. String Nucleus is featured on several recorded tracks
Each of these players, classically trained by members of the renowned Orion String Quartet, views chamber music with a broad sense, respecting and integrating the core values of classical chamber music, while expanding those values to explore the uncharted, cutting edge territories that chamber music can offer audiences of all generations. http://www.myspace.com/stringnucleus
April 25 – Choral Blast featuring the Zamir Chorale of New York, Polyhymnia, Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus
Come join us for a great afternoon of singing with an a cappella Choral Blast!
The Zamir Chorale was the first modern Hebrew-singing chorus in North America and is directed by Matthew Lazar. The choir has won international acclaim for its superior performances, encompassing the full spectrum of four centuries and more of Jewish choral repertoire. Zamir has been a major spark in creating a new generation of Jewish choral music, commissioning and premiering works by contemporary North American and Israeli composers. The Chorale has collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim and others in the choral/orchestral. http://www.zamirfdn.org/
Polyhymnia is a small ensemble of singers and instrumentalists focusing on historically informed performance of sacred music from the courts and cathedrals of the Renaissance world. Since 2000, director John Bradley has been creating original editions of music for the ensemble, some of it secreted in manuscript collections since the 16th-century. Working in concert with libraries, liturgical historians and institutions, Polyhymnia hopes to both preserve and reintroduce choral masterworks of the Renaissance and early Baroque in ways that both entertain and elucidate. http://www.polyhymnia-nyc.org/
The Jewish People’s Philharmonic Chorus is part of the modern Yiddish renaissance – more than forty members strong, ages 15 to 85, a good number of whom speak or are learning Yiddish. The JPPC has a century-spanning repertoire – exciting oratorios and operettas, labor anthems, folk songs, and popular tunes – all in Yiddish. Committed to strengthening Yiddish as a living language, the JPPC has commissioned and premiered new Yiddish choral works by composers Helen Medwedeff Greenberg, Robert Ross, Binyumen Schaechter, Josh Waletzky, and Mark Zuckerman. http://www.thejppc.org/
Do you love to sing? Have you always wondered how the human voice can project across concert halls? Come learn some new and basic techniques for healthy singing including breathing exercises and hear the progress in your own voice. Note reading not necessary. A separate male and female vocal masterclass will be given preceding the concert by opera singers Jennifer Greene and Andrew Cummings. http://www.jennifersgreene.com http://www.andrewcummings.com
May 10 – 2VC - new music for 2 cellos
This innovative series is sure to offer an enjoyable and complete learning experience for the listener in this vibrant community. 6th Street Sundays is curated by cellist Jessie Reagen Mann, with the artistic advice of saxophonist and Rabbi Greg Wall.
www.eastvillageshul.com
The Max D. Raiskin Center for the Arts at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue continues its monthly afternoon concert series of world and chamber music, on Sunday, February 15 with Con Vivo featuring violist Amelia Hollander Ames.
“6th Street Sundays” features the work of leading small ensembles exploring the nexus of chamber music and world music. The series highlights music that reflects Middle Eastern and Jewish influences on contemporary music, as well as traditional forms. Each concert will include new compositions either commissioned for or written by the artists. 6th Street Sundays also offers a master class or interactive workshop presented by the artists before each performance.
Each concert is at 3 p.m. with a free workshop for all ticket holders at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $18 ($15 with advance reservations), which includes refreshments. Students and under 21 are $8.
February 14 – Contemporary chamber music featuring violist Amelia Hollander Ames in solo, duo and trio. Compositions by Iva Bittova, Rebecca Clarke, Jean-Marie LeClair, and Gyorgy Ligeti.
Amelia Hollander Ames received her masters degree from the New England Conservatory and her bachelors in viola performance from the Eastman School of Music. From 2004-2007 she was the violist of the award-winning Israel Contemporary String Quartet, with whom she performed throughout Israel and in the U.S., Canada and Asia, collaborating with such composers as Josef Bardanashvili, Judd Greenstein and Steve Reich. She has performed at the IMS Prussia Cove Festival, the Singapore Arts Festival, Kneisel Hall and Schleswig-Holstein Festival, and toured Europe and Asia with the Verbier Festival Orchestra. Amelia is an active freelance violist in the New York City area, and is the founder and artistic director of Con Vivo. She has recorded for the Naïve, Nonesuch and Tzadik labels. http://www.convivomusic.org/ http://www.myspace.com/hollanderames
Other artists performing in the series include:
March 14 - String Nucleus - innovative string ensemble
String Nucleus is an acoustic/electric string trio, designed by nature to be expansive from the core. The core members include string players, Jon Weber, Earl Maneein and Jessie Reagen Mann, whose versatile, musical range spans multiple areas.
These three musicians began working together in 2003, collaborating in the genre-bending ensemble DBR & The Mission (Opus 3 Artists). Since then, they went on to serve as leaders of Jay Z’s Hustler Symphony Orchestra, which performed with Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles and ?uestlove, live at Radio City Musical Hall in 2006. Additional projects include performing with and recording for Cole Gentles Symphonic Rock Revival, as well as being featured as improvisers with Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), on his second album “¿Cómo Te Llama?”. In addition, String Nucleus has performed with Sonos Chamber Orchestra and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Most recently, they performed as part of the Pioneers for a Cure project, a unique organization that raises money for cancer through musical downloads. String Nucleus is featured on several recorded tracks
Each of these players, classically trained by members of the renowned Orion String Quartet, views chamber music with a broad sense, respecting and integrating the core values of classical chamber music, while expanding those values to explore the uncharted, cutting edge territories that chamber music can offer audiences of all generations. http://www.myspace.com/stringnucleus
April 25 – Choral Blast featuring the Zamir Chorale of New York, Polyhymnia, Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus
Come join us for a great afternoon of singing with an a cappella Choral Blast!
The Zamir Chorale was the first modern Hebrew-singing chorus in North America and is directed by Matthew Lazar. The choir has won international acclaim for its superior performances, encompassing the full spectrum of four centuries and more of Jewish choral repertoire. Zamir has been a major spark in creating a new generation of Jewish choral music, commissioning and premiering works by contemporary North American and Israeli composers. The Chorale has collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim and others in the choral/orchestral. http://www.zamirfdn.org/
Polyhymnia is a small ensemble of singers and instrumentalists focusing on historically informed performance of sacred music from the courts and cathedrals of the Renaissance world. Since 2000, director John Bradley has been creating original editions of music for the ensemble, some of it secreted in manuscript collections since the 16th-century. Working in concert with libraries, liturgical historians and institutions, Polyhymnia hopes to both preserve and reintroduce choral masterworks of the Renaissance and early Baroque in ways that both entertain and elucidate. http://www.polyhymnia-nyc.org/
The Jewish People’s Philharmonic Chorus is part of the modern Yiddish renaissance – more than forty members strong, ages 15 to 85, a good number of whom speak or are learning Yiddish. The JPPC has a century-spanning repertoire – exciting oratorios and operettas, labor anthems, folk songs, and popular tunes – all in Yiddish. Committed to strengthening Yiddish as a living language, the JPPC has commissioned and premiered new Yiddish choral works by composers Helen Medwedeff Greenberg, Robert Ross, Binyumen Schaechter, Josh Waletzky, and Mark Zuckerman. http://www.thejppc.org/
Do you love to sing? Have you always wondered how the human voice can project across concert halls? Come learn some new and basic techniques for healthy singing including breathing exercises and hear the progress in your own voice. Note reading not necessary. A separate male and female vocal masterclass will be given preceding the concert by opera singers Jennifer Greene and Andrew Cummings. http://www.jennifersgreene.com http://www.andrewcummings.com
May 10 – 2VC - new music for 2 cellos
This innovative series is sure to offer an enjoyable and complete learning experience for the listener in this vibrant community. 6th Street Sundays is curated by cellist Jessie Reagen Mann, with the artistic advice of saxophonist and Rabbi Greg Wall.
www.eastvillageshul.com
ACCLAIMED FLUTIST HOLLY HOFMANN CELEBRATES RELEASE OF NEW CAPRI CD THREE’S COMPANY with February – April Performances
“Holly Hofmann possesses one of the most exquisite flute tones in jazz. She also demonstrates a sure technique, inventive ideas, a secure sense of swing and a broad emotional range.” — David Franklin, JazzTimes
“Hearing Bill Cunliffe on CD is always a major treat... his playing is inventive, melodic, and soulful.”
— Ernie Rideout, Keyboard Magazine
The acclaimed flutist Holly Hofmann celebrates the release of her new Capri CD “Three’s Company” with performances:
• February 12 - 14 Newport Beach Jazz Party Newport Beach, CA
Holly Hofmann and Mike Wofford in various configurations,
including their Ellington with Strings program
• February 26 Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive Torrance, CA
Holly Hofmann appearing with Frank Potenza Quartet.
7:30 p.m. Tickets $30 www.torrancearts.com
• February 28 U of Chattanooga, Roland Hayes Concert Hall, Vine & Palmetto Chattanooga, TN
Holly Hofmann/Mike Wofford Quartet
7:30 p.m. Tickets $15 - $22. www.utc.edu/finearts
• March 1 Middle Tennessee State University, Hinton Hall Murfreesboro, TN Holly Hofmann and Mike Wofford.
8 p.m. www.mtsu.edu/music
• March 2 Jazz Flute Clinic at MTSU Murfreesboro, TN
• March 5 The Mainstay, 5753 Main Street Rock Hall, MD
Holly Hofmann and Mike Wofford
8 p.m. Tickets $15 www.mainstayrockhall.org
• March 6 Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA
Holly Hofmann/Mike Wofford Quartet
$15- $20 www.chrisjazzcafe.com
March 26 Yuma Jazz Series, Palms Regional Center, Yuma Yuma, AZ
Holly Hofmann and Bill Cunliffe
(928) 345-1534 www.yumajazz.com
• March 28 The Hamlet at Moonstone Gardens, Moonstone Beach Drive Cambria, CA
Holly Hofmann and Bill Cunliffe CD Release Concert
4 p.m. Tickets $25. (805) 927-0567 www.talsanmusic.com
• April 16 and 17 Texas Tech University Flute Fair and Jazz Festival Lubbock, TX
Holly Hofmann and Mike Wofford
8 p.m. Free. www.depts.ttu.edu/music
Hofmann’s stellar new Capri Records CD “Three’s Company” with pianist, composer, and arranger Bill Cunliffe with whom she’s had a 20-year partnership. During this time they have recorded two duo discs (Just Duet, Vols. 1 and 2) as well as Live at Birdland, which featured them in a quartet with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Victor Lewis. Three’s Company features their incomparable duo but adds a fascinating new twist in the form of trios with special guests Regina Carter, violin; Terell Stafford, trumpet; Ken Peplowski, clarinet; and Alvester Garnett, drums. It’s a celebration of musical friendship and camaraderie, and throughout the disc, all the musicians are in constant dialog. Individually, Hofmann and Cunliffe are both at the top of their games.
Holly Hofmann, a native of the Cleveland area, has long been at the forefront of jazz flute playing. Andrew Gilbert of the San Francisco Chronicle declared her “A tough mainstream player who swings with authority, [and] brings a tonal heft to the instrument that it too often lacks in jazz settings.” Phil Woods says: “Along with Hubert Laws, Holly is frankly the best jazz flute player today.” As a child she began playing jazz standards with her father, who was a jazz guitarist. Her formal flute education included studies with Maurice Sharp, principal flutist of the Cleveland Orchestra, with whom she earned a B.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She went on to get an M.M. from University of Northern Colorado, but eventually jazz won out. She began playing regularly with pianist Mike Wofford, and they formed a quartet with Bob Magnusson and Sherman Ferguson, with whom she recorded her first CD as a leader. At this time, Holly also began touring with pianist Bill Cunliffe, and the two toured festivals and chamber venues worldwide, presenting both jazz and classical compositions in brilliantly seamless arrangements. Hofmann has been named a “Rising Star” in DownBeat and was a frequent guest of the Ray Brown Trio, doing stints with them at the Village Vanguard, as well as touring with Brown throughout the US and Europe. She has also worked with jazz masters such as Slide Hampton, Frank Wess, Kenny Barron, Cedar Walton, John Clayton, Houston Person, Regina Carter, Kevin Mahogany, and Mike Wofford, among many others. Hofmann is Music Director for several series and festivals including Jazz in the City in New Brunswick, NJ and Jazz at Newport in Oregon. She’s recorded eleven CDs as a leader and has presented countless jazz workshops around the country. Hofmann is a Pearl Flutes Artist.
# # #
INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED JAZZ PIANIST/COMPOSER AMINA FIGAROVA TOURS AMERICA
MARCH 4 – 20 with stops in Cleveland and Cincinnati, OH; Winston-Salem & Ashville, NC; Richmond, VA; NYC; Chicago, New Orleans and Victoria, B.C.
Figarova to Return in August for Performance at the Main Stage of the Newport Jazz Festival
"…Above the Clouds confirms that Figarova is among the most important composers to come into jazz in the new millennium..." — Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes November 2008
"...Amina Figarova boasts a graceful and erudite piano style, but her second instrument is her band….A first rate jazz pianist, Amina Figarova - with September Suite, Come Escape With Me and now the excellent Above the Clouds - is staking out her ground as a top level composer-arranger...” — Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Internationally acclaimed jazz composer/pianist Amina Figarova returns to the US and Canada for a 12-date March tour featuring her Sextet — Amina Figarova – piano; Bart Platteau – flutes; Ernie Hammes – trumpet (March 4 till 14); Alex Pope Norris – trumpet (March 16 till 20); Marc Mommaas – tenor sax; Jeroen Vierdag – bass; and Chris "Buckshot" Strik – drums.
They’ll perform:
Thursday, March 4 Nighttown, 12387 Cedar Road Clevelands Heights, OH
8 p.m. Tickets $20.
Reservations: 216-795-0550 www.nighttowncleveland.com
Friday, March 5 The Blue Wisp, 318 E.8th at Sycamore Cincinnati, OH
8.30 p.m. Tickets $14 www.thebluewisp.com (513) 241-WISP (9477)
Saturday, March 6 Piedmont Jazz Alliance Winston-Salem, NC
Sunday, March 7 WNC Jazz Society, Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place Asheville, NC
7 p.m. Tickets $31/members $23/students $10
Tuesday, March 9 Richmond Jazz Society Richmond, VA
Capital Ale House, Downtown Music Hall
7 p.m. Tickets $12/15
(804) 643-1972 or info@vajazz.org
Wednesday, March 10 Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street New York, NY
7.30 & 9.30 p.m. Tickets $20 (212) 576-2232 www.jazzstandard.net
Th – Sun, March 11 – 14 Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Ct. Chicago, IL
Sets at 8 and 10 p.m.. Mon. – Sat.; 4, 8 and 10 p.m. on Sundays
Tues. March 16 Victoria Jazz Society Hermann’s Jazzclub, 753 View St. Victoria, B.C.
8 p.m. (250) 388-9166 www.jazzvictoria.ca
Friday, March 19 University of New Orleans (workshop) New Orleans, LA
Saturday, March 20 Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen Street New Orleans, LA
8 & 10 p.m. Tickets $25
(504 )949-0696 www.snugjazz.com
One of the most cosmopolitan and accomplished artists in jazz today, Figarova is a globe-trotting Azerbaijan-born, Rotterdam-based composer-pianist-bandleader with more than a dozen recordings to her credit. Her most recent CD, Above the Clouds features original songs that refresh the classic post-bop idiom. Far from derivative or concept-conscious, though, Above the Clouds unfolds as a personal, vividly colored, confidently-propelled contemporary soundtrack, satisfying in and of itself. As Jazz Journalists Association President Howard Mandel says: "…I've been meaning to write you about how much I enjoyed Above the Clouds… Amina, your writing and arranging has such confidence and maturity, I thought this album belonged in the Blue Note catalog. Congrats on another fine one.”
Born in 1964 in Baku, Azerbaijan (then a republic of the Soviet Union) to a high-achieving, musically appreciative family, Amina enjoyed early exposure to her parents' records of Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. She was attracted to the piano at age two; her traditional keyboard training emphasized late 19th century European composition (she has recorded repertoire of Rachmaninoff and Scriabin). She was also interested in Azerbaijan's distinctive mix of ethnic folk music. "Rhythmically there are lots of influences, including elements from African and Arabic music," she told Franz A. Matzner for a recent interview in AllAboutJazz.com. "It's basically kind of like in jazz, an improvisation with the scales and the lyrics."
Always writing music, initially in commercial pop formats, Amina attended Baku Conservatory and even while a student concertized professionally. Still intrigued by improvisation, she visited the Moscow Jazz Festival in 1988. Several weeks later she accepted an invitation to perform piano classics and study composition in the Netherlands, but quickly found herself dissatisfied with that path. As she tells it, "Within a month I changed to the jazz program, where I stayed for one year, then I went to the Berklee College of Music."
Amina made her recording debut with Attraction in 1994, and was accepted into the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Colony in Aspen, Colorado in 1998. By then she had met her husband and together they initiated a routine of international touring. Leading a conventional piano trio or with Bart in her septet and sextet formations, Amina has appeared in the U.S. at clubs including New York's Jazz Standard and Blue Note, Washington, D.C.'s Blues Alley, Yoshi's in Oakland, at the Portland, Rochester and Tri-C (Cleveland) jazz festivals, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Capetown International Jazzfestival (South Africa), Salvador Bahia Jazz Festival (Brazil), JakArt Festival (Indonesia), in Israel, the United Arab Emerates, in Mexico, Canada and throughout Europe.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Salvatore Bonafede Trio Sicilian Opening (jazzeyes008)
After many releases ranging from trio to larger bands, featuring several jazz notables – from Joe
Lovano and John Abercrombie to Enrico Rava – renowned Italian pianist and composer Salvatore
Bonafede gets back to his roots with a trio featuring two fellow Sicilians now based in New York: Marcello
Pellitteri on drums and Marco Panascia on electric and double bass. Out of folk clichés, the Salvatore
Bonafede Trio takes Mediterranean melodies dipped into the bittersweet colours of their home-island
and opens them up to a worldwide jazz audience.
Provided with Bonafede’s highly imaginative touch, his newest album Sicilian Opening, on the
JazzEyes label, features original compositions played with fine melodic lines and evocative sound, as
well as some evergreen pop hits arranged in the trademark Bonafede distinctive jazz style. With this
recording Bonafede definitively cements his reputation as one of the most compelling piano players
and brilliant composers on the present scene, both at home and throughout the world.
Born in Palermo, Italy, Salvatore Bonafede taught himself to play piano at the age of four, later
graduating from Palermo Conservatory of Music. In 1986 he earned a scholarship to the Berklee
College of Music in Boston, from which he graduated in three years. While living there, “Sal” – as elder
jazz musicians started to call him – joined the Jerry Bergonzi Quartet to tour Australia. In 1989 he moved
to New York where he led his own groups and played with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Dewey
Redman, Joshua Redman, Lew Tabackin, and Joe Lovano. His first CD as a leader and composer,
“Actor-Actress” (Ken Music, Japan) was praised by critics around the world and earned a place on the
Village Voice Critics’ Poll as one of the Top 10 CDs of the Year. In 1991, the Italian magazine “Musica
Jazz” voted him a “Top Young Player”.
Sal Bonafede moved back to Italy in 1994 and worked with Lester Bowie, Tom Harrell, Bobby
Watson and John Scofield. As pianist of Joe Lovano’s 12-piece orchestra, he took part in a number of
major European festivals and performed for “The 2005 Nightlife Awards” at Town Hall in New York. He also
recorded and worked with Marc Johnson, Paul Motian, Paolo Fresu, Judi Silvano, Randy Brecker, John
Abercrombie, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Jerry Bergonzi, Tim Berne, Ralph Towner, Dave Douglas, Michael
Formanek, and Enrico Rava. In addition to his performing and recording activities, Bonafede also
composes for film (awarded for best soundtrack in 2003 and 2004) and for TV movies.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
DUTCH TRUMPET SENSATION ERIC VLOEIMANS RETURNS TO US + CANADA February 20 – March 8, 2010 with his trio FUGIMUNDI
* New Challenge Records CD "Heavensabove!" with his quartet "Gatecrash" has US release in February 2010 *
“5-stars. The sheer authority of trumpeter Eric Vloeimans’s exceptional trio with Harmen Franje (piano) and Anton Goudsmit (guitar) is one of the defining characteristics…there’s a shared sense of adventure and discovery.” — Ray Comiskey, Irish Times about Live at Yoshi’s
FUGIMUNDI will perform:
• Sat. Feb. 20 Coastal Jazz Winterruption Festival on Granville Island Vancouver, B.C.
12:30 p.m. Free 604.872.5200
• Mon. Feb. 22 Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West Oakland, CA
8 p.m. $12 (510) 238-9200 www.yoshis.com/
• Sat. Feb. 27 Kerrytown Concert House, 415 North Forth Avenue Ann Arbor, MI
8 p.m. $10 - $25; $5 for students 734-769-2999 kerrytownconcerthouse.com
• Thurs. March 4 Twins Jazz, 1344 U Street Northwest Washington, DC
8 p.m. (202) 234-0072, www.twinsjazz.com/
7 p.m. $22 Single Tickets; $15 Student Tickets. 613.241.2633 www.ottawajazzfestival.com
His trio "Fugimundi" be likened to chamber music of an adventurous kind - jazz, lounge, pop. Vloeimans is featured on a total of 14 CDs as a leader and numerous others as a sideman. His new CD "Heavensabove!" with his quartet "Gatecrash" will be released in the US in February on Challenge Records.
Guitarist Anton Goudsmit is a much sought-after player who does amazing things with whatever music he is presented with or writes. In 2001 Anton formed the Ploctones to perform a series of his compositions commissioned by Dutch NPS Radio. In 2004 a Goudsmit organized a live CD recording of the Ploctones at the Jazz op het Dak festival which was featured on VPRO television. Since then the Ploctones have emerged as a very creative and innovative group, capable of combining grooves and improvisation.
Pianist Harmen Fraanje, born in 1976 in Roosendaal, The Netherlands, is active in the international jazz scene, playing with some of the finest musicians in Europe. On a tireless quest for creativity, new collaborations and new horizons, he has developed an authentic voice, a very honest personal approach towards music. Open to all kinds of music - from classical music, to improvisation, from centuries-old Pygmy chants to Duke Ellington with John Coltrane - he is always trying to embody the music, to be able to speak in his own unique language.
Eric Vloeimans — In the News
“Creative and refreshing.” — Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes about Live at Yoshi’s
“Mr. Vloeimans, a Dutch trumpeter with a melodic style evocative of late-period Miles Davis.” — Nate Chinen, New York Times
“Hyper presents one of the freshest takes on electronic jazz in some time. From its enthusiastic reaction, the audience it was recorded in front of apparently agrees.” — Ross Boissoneau, Jazziz
“It is little wonder why Dutch-born Eric Vloeimans is considered one of the most influential trumpet players of his generation. An accomplished storyteller, Vloeimans refuses to restrict himself to any particular melodic format or sonic texture.” — Ernest Barteldes, Miami New Times
“Trumpeter Eric Vloeimans is ranked as one of the undisputed giants within the Dutch jazz establishment…. beautiful sonority and controlled musical dynamics, his open and crystal-clear phrasings…” — Luc Baets, Het Nieuwsblad
“Vloeimans sparkles.” — Jeroen van de Valk, The Parool
“Disarming beauty by the Eric Vloeimans Quartet.” — Rinus van der Heyden, Brabants Daily
“Eric Vloeimans is a talent to cherish. His ability on the trumpet and the place of his rhythm section withstands the comparison with the young American lions gloriously, and because of his fresh ideas and catching performance he often even exceeds their standards.” — Volkskrant
“Beautiful technique, sublime formation of tone and not only that, Eric Vloeimans also possesses good feeling of style, good taste and an excellent talent for composition.” — Hifi Video Test magazine
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New England Conservatory Presents “Living Time” George Russell: His Musical Life and Legacy
New England Conservatory Presents “Living Time”
George Russell: His Musical Life and Legacy
Sunday, March 21 at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Part of NYC Week-long Celebration of NEC’s Ground-Breaking Jazz Studies Program, March 20 – 27, 2010
“Four decades after its founding, NEC’s jazz studies department is among the most acclaimed and successful in the world; so says the roster of visionary artists that have comprised both its faculty and alumni.” — Mike West, JazzTimes
New England Conservatory, in conjunction with Jazz at Lincoln Center, presents “Living Time” George Russell: His Musical Life and Legacy, an in-depth examination of George Russell’s pivotal position and important contributions to African American improvisational art music on Sunday, March 21 from 2 – 6 p.m. at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Irene Diamond Education Center, 5th Floor, Time Warner Building, 33 West 60th Street, NYC. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call (212) 258-9800 or log on to www.jalc.org.
NYC Events include:
Thursday, March 25 Curtis Hasselbring; Frank Carlberg Douglass Street Music Collective
Friday, March 26 Vocal Showcase Joe’s Pub
with Dominique Eade, Sara Serpa, David Devoe, Amy Cervini, Carmen Staaf, Jorge Roeder, Jo Lawry, Richie Barshay, Sofia Koutsovitis
Lake Street Drive + more
Schuller chose his jazz faculty with a connoisseur’s discernment. The first department chair was saxophonist Carl Atkins. Composer George Russell, who conceived the Lydian Chromatic Concept (which has importantly influenced jazz greats from Miles Davis to Maria Schneider), began a Conservatory association that continued until his recent passing. When Russell retired from teaching, the NEA Jazz Master became a Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Emeritus. Pianist Jaki Byard, called a “walking encyclopedia of jazz,” brought his eclecticism and generosity of spirit to his NEC teaching. And Ran Blake, who Schuller had discovered pushing a broom at Atlantic Records, came to NEC in 1968 and became the first chair of the Third Stream Department in 1974.
During the early years of Jazz at NEC, Atkins formed a trio composed of Donald Pate on bass, Harvey Mason on drums, and Ron Fransen on piano. With Atkins as saxophonist and coach, the group toured jazz festivals recruiting students and attracting national attention to the new NEC program.
Among the earliest students to enroll were Stanton Davis and Ricky Ford. Brought in by Ran Blake, Ford fronted the house band at Wally’s Café while playing in Jaki Byard’s big band and Schuller’s repertory band at the Conservatory. “My participation in the NEC jazz ensemble under Jaki’s direction prepared me for entrée into the Ellington Orchestra,” Ford has recalled.
By the time Schuller retired as President of NEC in 1977, the list of jazz graduates was already impressive. They included Anthony Coleman (who has returned to teach at NEC), Marty Ehrlich, Fred Hersch, Jerome Harris, Michael Moore, and Bo Winiker.
Throughout the history of NEC’s Jazz Studies program, the faculty has continued to be distinguished by its wide range of important artists including trumpeter John McNeil; saxophonists Jimmy Giuffre, Steve Lacy, and Joe Allard; drummer Bob Moses; bassist Dave Holland; trombonist-composer-arranger Bob Brookmeyer; pianists Michael Cain and Stanley Cowell; and guitarists Gene Bertoncini, Chuck Wayne and Jack Wilkins. Vocalist Dominique Eade, who graduated in 1984, then became the first jazz performer to receive an NEC Artist Diploma in 1989, joined the faculty and has been a magnet for gifted young singers. Several, like Kris Adams, Luciana Souza, Lisa Thorson and Patrice Williamson, have gone on to prestigious careers.
So illustrious is NEC’s jazz faculty that five of the most eminent have received MacArthur “Genius” grants (Lacy, Russell, Blake, Schuller, and Miguel Zenón). In addition, Schuller, Brookmeyer, Russell, and Ron Carter have all been named NEA Jazz Masters.
Similarly, prominent alumni of NEC reads like a Who’s Who of Jazz and includes: Bruce Barth, Regina Carter, Freddy Cole, Marilyn Crispell, Marty Ehrlich, Ricky Ford, Satoko Fujii, Jerome Harris, Fred Hersch, Roger Kellaway, Mat Maneri, Harvey Mason, Andy McGhee, Bill McHenry, John Medeski, Vaughn Monroe, Michael Moore, Hankus Netsky, Jamie Saft, Frank London, Don Byron, George Schuller, Luciana Souza, Chris Speed, Cecil Taylor, Cuong Vu, Phil Wilson, Bo Winiker, Bernie Worrell, Rachel Z, Rachael Price, Richie Barshay, and Bridget Kearney.
For further information on Jazz 40th at NEC, go to: http://necmusic.edu/jazz40
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