Bennie Maupin's Dolphyana At The Detroit Jazz Festival

by Becca Pulliam, WBGO

WBGO's Becca Pulliam produces the NPR program JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, which presents highlights from live jazz concerts weekly. She was out at the Detroit Jazz Fest this Labor Day weekend, where her crew was doing a lot of recording. She's been kind enough to share with us an excerpt of reedman Bennie Maupin's Dolphyana project. If you're interested, there's a lot more where that came from. Check out more of WBGO's coverage from Detroit at the WBGO Blog. --Ed.

Though he only met Eric Dolphy once, the discovery of an unrecorded stash of Dolphy compositions spurred Bennie Maupin to create his Dolphyana band. (Becca Pulliam / WBGO)

The first and only time Bennie Maupin (born 1940) met Eric Dolphy (1928-64) was in Detroit, at a venue called the Minor Key Lounge. The younger Maupin mentioned he was studying the flute, so Dolphy --- the strong, original multi-instrumentalist --- gave Maupin an intense, 45-minute flute lesson. In that fleeting meeting, Dolphy began to live forever in Maupin's head.

In 1962, Maupin left Detroit as a saxophonist with the Four Tops. While living in New York, he bought himself a bass clarinet for $50 and played it on Bitches Brew with Miles Davis. In the 1970s, he settled in California and recorded the million-selling Head Hunters with Herbie Hancock. Ever since, Maupin has favored creative pursuits and spiritual sounds over Los Angeles session work.

When flutist James Newton inherited an small cache of previously unheard Dolphy tunes,
Maupin was inspired to form a new quintet called Dolphyana. Newton wasn't able to make this date for medical reasons, so at the Detroit Jazz Festival, the flutist was Nestor Torres, backed by Jay Hoggard on vibes and marimba, Darek Oles on bass, and Billy Hart on drums. The group painted some better-known Dolphy compositions into the night air: under a full moon, they open with "The Madrig Speaks, the Panther Walks" and continue with "Something Sweet, Something Tender."

"The Madrig Speaks, The Panther Walks":

"Something Sweet, Something Tender":

Dolphyana in Concert at the Detroit International Jazz Festival. Bennie Maupin, reeds; Nestor Torres, flute; Jay Hoggard, mallet instruments; Darek Oles, bass; Billy Hart, drums. Detroit, Mich.: Sept. 5, 2009.

The 30th Detroit International Jazz Festival brought a holiday weekend of pride and pleasure to a city that is suffering. With 28.9% unemployment in July, the city's storied musical life co-exists with a slow-motion economic plunge that threatens everyones livelihoods. Thanks to a private endowment, the entire festival was free.

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More of this concert recording is available at the WBGO Blog.

2:57 PM ET | 09-30-2009 | permalink

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The Tuesday Link Dump: Updating The Blogroll, Pt. 2

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Last Tuesday's blogroll update highlighted two things: 1) a lot of cool Jazz Internet 2) my forgetfulness. So here's an appendix of more great sites I meant to mention, but forgot to. I'm probably forgetting something else -- let me know if I am in the comments.

--The Jazz Session is an interview podcast by Jason Crane, in association with All About Jazz. He's been talking to a lot of great musicians all over the stylistic map, and posting three long interviews a week. I know I've mentioned his work once before, but I forgot to add it to the blogroll (Doh!) so here it is again. Some recent highlights: Vijay Iyer, Ellis Marsalis and NPR's own Marian McPartland. He also gave us a Jazz Now list too.

Jason also recently hipped me to two smart responses to Larry Blumenfeld's Wall Street Journal article about Jazz at Lincoln Center. Peter Breslin at Stochasticactus and Chris Rich at Brilliant Corners both come to the article with more venom than I would have, but their main points are valid: with a $38 million annual budget, JALC is a resource hog. Regardless if you admire anything at all that JALC does, that's a lot of money for the jazz world. Imagine if a tenth of that were spread throughout the jazz and creative improv community.

UPDATE: Larry Blumenfeld himself has some further thoughts about all this at his ListenGood blog, which I'm embarrassed to have forgotten to list in the blogroll up until now.

--A young lady named Ines Kuusik recently e-mailed ABS to tell us that she had discovered the site via a stack of postcards I left behind on a recent visit to The Jazz Gallery in New York. (Apparently, from her photograph, I was sitting right behind her.) Ever since she moved to the city from her native Estonia, she's been blogging about the many jazz concerts she goes to, mixed in with personal reflections in Estonian. (Sweet.) We need more people in jazz doing what she does, I think: going to lots of shows, and then giving some immediate feedback. Check it out at All the Things ... New York Jazz and More.

--Dean Minderman keeps tabs on the St. Louis scene for the local alt-weekly and at St. Louis Jazz Notes. He's also compiling some great jazz YouTubage at a sister site. Minderman also informs me that Plastic Sax is watching the scene on the other side of Missouri, in Kansas City.

--At Twenty Dollars, Vikram and Matt talk about lotsa stuff -- jazz being one of them. They strike me also as fairly young persons and musicians, and often bring up a number of interesting issues, like the coolness of jazz fandom. Speaking of which, pianist Vijay Iyer has once again said something intelligent about this in the comment section:

if this is about anything at all, it's about money, specifically the lack thereof. if anyone sees jazz as pathetic it's because there doesn't appear (to the average hypothetical ignorant person depicted in the average anecdote) to be any capital swirling around to support it. ... to hell with "looking cool" or "coolness p.r." throw some money at us and suddenly we'll be cool as s---.

I like this a lot better than my blabbing on about hipster-infiltration strategies. Coolness is a small battle, economics the war; if jazz weren't so marginalized in the first place, we wouldn't be having this problem. Iyer also wisely points out that anti-jazz sentiments seem to be espoused almost entirely by white people about a practice with a history of black innovation and achievement, which makes these guffaws a lot more troubling.

7:01 PM ET | 09-29-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Comment Ombudsman

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

We've been elated to see such a wide response to our Jazz Now series, where we and our guest contributors recommend starter albums for getting into today's jazz. We've also seen a whole lot of alternate lists and insightful comments too. So I thought I'd play "comment ombudsman" and highlight some of the interesting opinions proffered.

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on "a golden age of jazz"

A tempting thesis from commenter Dan Alford, who writes:

I think the idea of "making the case for jazz in the last decade" is hysterical, because the last ten years have produced the best jazz since the 1960s. Not just the younger greats ... but also the last ten years from the masters: Charles Lloyd (esp. Sangam), McCoy Tyner, and is there a more daring band than the Wayne Shorter Quartet is any genre?

In thinking up my own list, and listening to all the great picks from others, I'm almost in agreement. I have been hipped to some phenomenal music in the last two weeks, which makes me think the well runs deep. But then again, the 1970-1989 focus of the Ear of the Behearer project, and the Destination: OUT Best Albums of the 1990s thread implicitly argue that the greatness of this music never went anywhere. (The audiences and industry capital, on the other hand ...)

The case could be made, I think, that we are at least transitioning to a different age for jazz. At this stage in pop music, online global communication, artist self-determination, industry woes, jazz education, academic jazz studies and institutional memory, something has changed. Whether or not it's a golden age? Shoot: the quality of the music may never have changed. But the way it's produced and consumed certainly has.

Alford does bring up another interesting point about older artists. We didn't see many of those artists on Jazz Now, which is understandable. If you want to convince people that jazz is alive and more-than-well, you want some fresh faces to represent that. But artists' careers are lasting longer than ever now, and some of those older artists have been making wonderfully inventive music of late. A more complete portrait of the jazz scene now probably ought to include recent offerings from Charles Lloyd, or Ornette Coleman, or Billy Hart, or Abbey Lincoln, or Wayne Shorter, or Sam Rivers ... you get the picture.

Continue reading "Jazz Now: Comment Ombudsman" »

11:12 AM ET | 09-29-2009 | permalink

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Today: Justice For Jazz Artists Rally

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Today in New York City, the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 is holding a rally at Judson Memorial Church at 2 p.m. ET. It's for a campaign called Justice For Jazz Artists, designed to ensure that musicians can earn pension payments from working clubs. (You can sign the petition online if you are interested but can't make the rally.) Some info:

The folks behind J4JA seem to have found a worthy cause, at least on the surface. In 2007, New York state eliminated certain sales taxes at live jazz shows, with the expectation that the money would go to musicians' pension payments. But most clubs have been unwilling to discuss the issue with the union, according to the union.

Nobody, however, has answered this question: why aren't the clubs paying out? I have yet to hear from any venue owners about this topic. Are the clubs really withholding money that most people don't know they have? Or are other forces at play? Were the clubs ever obligated, or even simply told by New York state, to redirect their tax break? I hope some people have some insights they're willing to share.

UPDATE: NPR's Felix Contreras wrote to tell me that he reported about this issue in Oct. 2006. He does note that many jazz musicians aren't union members -- and would prefer to receive that sales tax credit in the form of cash at the gig (if they receive anything extra at all). He also said that a few club owners were supportive of the pension program, including the Blue Note's Danny Bensusan.

8:52 AM ET | 09-29-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Josh Jackson, WBGO

by Josh Jackson, WBGO

WBGO's Josh Jackson is in his mid-thirties, well under the median jazz audience demographic -- though positively ancient by Jazz Now terms. (In the e-mail chain which planned this whole mess, he signed off as "Father Time.") However, this project wouldn't be complete without his insights. By now you surely know about his wonderful radio program and podcast, The Checkout, featuring in-studio sessions and interviews with many of today's most interesting jazz artists. Moreover, it was an off-hand comment he made to me some months ago -- something about us all having to work together -- that launched this whole train of thought. His passionate commitment to current jazz, not to mention his ear to the ground, were also primary inspirations. Both a colleague and a mentor to me, Josh found five brilliant albums which have come out (or will come out) in the second half of this year alone. --Ed.

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When I moved to New York in 2000, I came for jazz. Hundreds of concerts and documentaries and interviews and radio programs later, I have met some of the most amazing individuals who walk this earth and play music. Some no longer walk this earth. The music continues.

I am in awe having these opportunities, but I've been so deeply entrenched in jazz that I sometimes forget what the point of discovery was like. It still happens every so often, but the intensity of my first engagement with jazz has only been matched in subsequent years by hearing the many moments revealed in live concerts. The older I get, the more I read; the more I listen; the less I really know about anything.

So what is modern jazz? I can only say that it is a weapon that flies from the quill of talented musicians, especially deadly when it comes from one who dedicates his or her life to beauty. It could be a promissory note, an occasional moment of self-discovery, a rebuke of time, a new technical puzzle, an internal riddle with no solution, a struggle, a resolution, a renewed sense of mission (however ephemeral), an incremental march to the infinite -- with musical notation. If improvised music today had a flavor, it would be the distilled mash of globalism run through the sieve of renegade moonshiners.

All I know is that jazz can be something for anyone, and it will be something else for you. As a listener, the terms are yours. If you need a point of entry, you might find a way in somewhere below.

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1. Robert Glasper, Double Booked (Blue Note).
Glasper's flow of hip-hop pianism can glide in an acoustic setting, or loop effortlessly in an electric outfit. On his latest recording, Double Booked, you get to hear both. The first half features Glasper's jazz trio -- piano, bass, drums -- playing original music (with a side order of Thelonious Monk's "Four In One"). Then comes the Robert Glasper Experiment, a live wire exposed. Drummer Chris Dave lays the beat for this Derrick Hodge original, while Jahi Sundance (son of saxophonist Oliver Lake) spins layers of speech narrative. Casey Benjamin adds additional vocoder effects, and Bilal permeates it all with a wordless vocal. It's music for the hip-hop generation, with a jazz feeling behind it all.

"Open Mind," from Robert Glasper, Double Booked (Blue Note). Robert Glasper, piano/keyboards; Bilal, vocals; Casey Benjamin, saxophone/vocoder; Derrick Hodge, bass; Chris Dave, drums; Jahi Sundance, turntables. Released 2009.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3 / iTunes

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7:34 PM ET | 09-25-2009 | permalink

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Losers, Cassandra Wilson, Sun Ra: The Friday Link Dump

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Where we say, with a tragicomic grimace, RIAA LOL.

--Jazz Is For Loser Dorks: The blog Twenty Dollars examines a few recent unflattering pop-culture portrayals of jazz fans. And I think their take on it is pretty much right. First, if we can't laugh at ourselves, then all is lost. (Hiphopketball: A Jazzebration!) More importantly, being a jazz fan needs to be seen as cool again if this stuff is going to be listened to. I have no five-year plan for this culture war, but I do think good jazz -- both old and new -- certainly has a place in alternative urban culture. Maybe focusing on that front, and not so much on the "jazz is sophisticated" trope, would be a good start. That, and not revealing our inner loser-dorks in public all the damn time. You! Stop snickering.

--Cassandra Wilson In The Classroom: Here's Howard Reich's full text, plus a video report, of Cassandra Wilson's pro bono collaboration with Chicago Public School students. For two weeks, one of the world's best-known jazz musicians is doing an intensive workshop with Kenwood Academy choral students: she writes song skeletons, and the students improvise and write their own verses. Much of it is also designed to introduce the students to Yoruba culture. They perform soon; I want to go to there.

--Sun Ra & Lightning Bolt: Cosmic Connection: That reverses the order of the published headline (for jazz purposes) of this XLR8R video story, exploring the connection between the out-jazz orchestra and the virtuosic drum-and-[EDIT: bass]-guitar noise duo. Both were invited to Providence, R.I.'s Foo Fest, which brings to mind an idea that Lars floated in his Jazz Now list introduction: if you like certain forms of extreme music, e.g. noisy rock, free jazz is not far away. (Howard Mandel also makes this point about a resurgence of interest in Albert Ayler.) At least for Lightning Bolt themselves -- who I heartily admire, I might say -- that seems to be the case.

--Evan Parker Interview: More on scruffy free-jazz reedmen: if you were intrigued by Lars' YouTube mining of British saxophonist Evan Parker, here's a new interview, courtesy of Peter Margasak at the Chicago Reader. It focuses on a key element of Parker's recent work: electronics.

--5 Years Of Jazz At Lincoln Center's Rose Hall: Larry Blumenfeld takes stock of JALC as it opens its sixth season with [wait for it] Ornette Coleman this Saturday. Telling are Dave Douglas' comments:

"Has Jazz at Lincoln Center's promotion of jazz succeeded in assisting music and musicians? Without a doubt, yes. ... Has its strict genre boundaries and corporate image succeeded in silencing creative music and musicians? Without a doubt, no. On balance, the influence is overwhelmingly positive."

So are the Jazz Wars between the neocons and the genre-liberated over? Well, they've been over for some time, say some. At least there's a truce: we can all agree to disagree on particulars if nobody is endangering anyone else any more. And with the addition of executive director Adrian Ellis, and with ticket sales increasing, things may in fact be looking up for the organization itself.

--Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection: It exists! At Amazon.com. (H/T Largehearted Boy via Mike.)

2:14 PM ET | 09-25-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Sebastien Helary With Justin Wee, Nextbop.com

by Sebastien Helary with Justin Wee

Sebastien Helary and Justin Wee love jazz with their hearts on their sleeves -- and they want you to love it too. The two 23-year-old gentlemen, Montreal residents both, took out loans from their parents to create a Web site specifically designed to expose their generation to today's jazz. (This on top of being full-time college students.) The result is Nextbop, featuring streaming tracks and artist profiles from some of the hottest young artists today. For Jazz Now, co-founder Helary gave us an impassioned, personal write-up (check out the Bad Plus entry!) of 10 albums picked by both co-founders. They would have you note that there's more music where that came from at Nextbop itself. --Ed.

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I love jazz. I don't believe there's any music out there which is more exciting, interesting or stimulating than jazz -- especially today's jazz. It has brought me so much. It makes me smile. It makes me cry. It makes me think. It brings me an overwhelming amount of joy. Jazz makes me feel alive!

I find it disheartening that most people my age do not share this interest, this passion, with me. Maybe jazz isn't suited for everyone; maybe people my age won't like every type of jazz music out there. But if I listen to some hip-hop and to some rock, why don't more young people listen to some jazz?

I don't think there's any problem with the music. Every time I've played The Bad Plus at a party, I've had people ask me about it. There's a genuine interest for jazz among young people.

But the music is not reaching them. It doesn't play on the radio stations they listen to. There are no jazz music videos on the television channels they watch. The first thing that pops in people's minds when you say the word "jazz" is Louis Armstrong, or maybe Miles Davis. People are not aware that the music has made leaps and bounds since then. Once jazz fans become addicted, we quickly forget that there once was a time when we had absolutely no idea who John Coltrane was. Musicians which are celebrities or stars to us are completely unknown to most people. And if we want to reach them, we need to make more of an effort of putting ourselves in their shoes.

There's incredible jazz being made today by exceptional musicians. But who's really listening to their music? This summer I attended concerts given by The Bad Plus, Aaron Parks and Gerald Clayton at the Montreal Jazz Festival. I was absolutely shocked to see that the vast majority of people there were easily over the age of 35. And from listening to the conversations taking place before the concerts, most of them had never heard of the groups playing those evenings. Justin and I were maybe the only two twenty-somethings at the Aaron Parks and at the Gerald Clayton concerts. I couldn't believe it!

I think the problem is that no one is trying to promote jazz to people who don't already listen to the music. It might be suicidal to do so from a marketing standpoint -- yet I believe that it's something that absolutely must be done nonetheless. People my age who listen to jazz are either jazz musicians or very good friends with jazz musicians. Who is reaching out to the other young people out there? We created Nextbop.com because we believe that jazz deserves wider recognition, as well as a younger and larger audience. Our main objective is to reach out to young people and to show them what today's jazz music is all about. Jazz rocks. They just don't know it yet.

So how do you get young people interested in jazz? Our answer is to have them listen to any of these 10 albums. In alphabetical order:

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Aaron Parks, Invisible Cinema (Blue Note)
The first time I heard pianist Aaron Parks was on Christian Scott's album Anthem. That record absolutely blew me away -- more on that later -- so you can imagine how excited I was when I learned that Aaron had made a record for the prestigious Blue Note label. I had very high expectations for Invisible Cinema, but the album exceeded all of them. Parks has a gift for creating beautiful, passionate and captivating music. There's something almost poetic and Zen-like to his approach, yet his sound is also pleasantly fresh. I think that most twenty-somethings will be able to relate to the drum 'n' bass feel of Eric Harland's drumming, or to the sound of Mike Moreno's guitar. Plus, I just love the sustained intensity which Aaron brings. He's unquestionably one of the most promising pianists of his generation. When's the next album coming out?

"Nemesis," from Aaron Parks, Invisible Cinema (Blue Note). Aaron Parks, piano; Matt Penman, bass; Eric Harland, drums; Mike Moreno, guitar. Released 2008.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3 / iTunes

Continue reading "Jazz Now: Sebastien Helary With Justin Wee, Nextbop.com" »

4:48 PM ET | 09-24-2009 | permalink

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The Power Of The Groove: Larry Gittens Interview

by Felix Contreras

A few weeks ago I took a look at summer jazz festivals that had to close shop for financial reasons. I got the idea for that post by reading a story in the Arizona Republic about the Sedona Jazz On The Rocks festival being put on hold. One of the fest's board members was quoted: "It may not be a conventional-jazz festival. We may bring in a group like Kool and the Gang, who have played at a lot of jazz festivals -- acts that have a broader appeal."

Arizona Republic writer Larry Rodgers also interviewed Larry Gittens, a trumpet player for K&TG, about the band being a jazz festival ace-in-the-hole for putting butts in seats (as promoters like to say). I know Larry from my days in Fresno, Calif., where he still lives. I know him to be a serious jazz musician, as well a thoughtful guy who regularly performs with his own jazz group. Here he is in a lower-key setting:

Larry Gittens from Kool & The Gang Lets Loose Again!

Larry studied at the Berklee College of Music, and has played with Sonny Stitt and Grover Washington, among other jazz elders. He's also performed with The Stylistics, and was once musical director for Stevie Wonder. I suspected he'd have some insightful thoughts for those who might immediately groan when seeing K&TG, or Chaka Khan, or [insert popular band name] as headliners at jazz festivals.

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Larry, it must be a tough spot to be in when jazz festival promoters hire Kool and the Gang. The band has obvious commercial appeal to a wide audience, which draws people to the festival. But jazz purists would complain that a jazz festival should feature only jazz musicians. How do you, as a graduate of the Berklee jazz program, feel about those kinds of complaints? Are they fair?

Larry Gittens: Yes and no. The true jazz side of me somewhat frowned upon this initially, because I was raised listening to real improvisations from jazz giants. However, I never underestimated the power of grooves coupled with dance. It has a profound effect on the listener, be it jazz or funk.

Continue reading "The Power Of The Groove: Larry Gittens Interview" »

2:58 PM ET | 09-24-2009 | permalink

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YouTube Miner: Gunter Hampel, Evan Parker, Ned Rothenberg

by Lars Gotrich

Washington, D.C.'s ninth annual Sonic Circuits Festival began Tuesday night. The festival celebrates all music avant-garde and otherwise out-there. Our very own Mayor Adrian Fenty even sent out an official welcome announcement on fancy mayoral letterhead and everything.

This year brings some heavy hitters like the not-as-reclusive-anymore Jandek, German krautrock pioneers Faust, and ambient musician Tim Hecker. Also featured are unsung composers like Annea Lockwood and Pekka Airaksinen, he of the late '60s proto-industrial Finnish band The Sperm.

Recently, Sonic Circuits has also peppered in some free jazz, including Paul Flaherty and Randall Colburne, Fight the Big Bull and the Exploding Star Orchestra. This year does the same, featuring the Gunter Hampel European Trio with Elliot Levin and an Evan Parker and Ned Rothenberg duo. Let's mine the time-suck known as YouTube for some related gems, shall we?

Stateside, German multi-instrumentalist Gunter Hampel is mostly known for 1966's Music From Europe, a fiery date with Willem Breuker on ESP Disk'. But Hampel has flown the free jazz flag over 30 years, and devotees keep up with his own Birth record label. I'm not sure I can get behind free-jazz breakdancing, but the music for this 2009 Gunter Hampel Music & Dance Improvisation Company performance from Berlin is great. (By the way, Hampel has his own YouTube channel, for those so inclined.)

Continue reading "YouTube Miner: Gunter Hampel, Evan Parker, Ned Rothenberg" »

2:25 PM ET | 09-24-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Adam Schatz & James Donahue, Search And Restore

by Adam Schatz & James Donahue

I make no secret of my admiration for Search and Restore. Adam Schatz and James Donahue book some of the hippest jazz shows you'll find in New York City; they also run a useful online hub (including a show calendar) for live jazz in the area. (See the ABS interview: part one and part two.) For Jazz Now, I granted them 10 album picks -- five for each co-founder. Adam has written the majority opinion with an enthusiasm that is irresistibly infectious, and James stepped in to voice the last three picks. --Ed.

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I came to New York City in 2006 with absolutely zero knowledge of its current jazz creators. Within the first week, Dave Binney's Welcome To Life band changed the world as I knew it.

Their live show opened the door to a community of musicians who could exert an emotional pull on listeners -- and do so in a completely fresh way every night. The album that band recorded, and nine others, have been compiled into the following list of must-hears by me and James Donahue, my partner in show presentation and audience expansion. Here are records that we believe are perfect introductions to the creative attitude running through jazz's veins today.

There seems to be a constant back-and-forth as to what can be deemed "jazz" or not. To me, it is a music that conjures melody, harmony and improvisation in any way, shape or form. Keeping the definition of jazz inclusive helps to draw in new listeners; it's hard to see anything unattractive in that.

Despite jazz's long, fruitful history, I don't think it's necessary for a new listener to be knowledgeable, or even appreciative, of what's come before now. Historical awareness will surely help them hear and feel today's jazz in a new light. However, I am completely confident that these albums stand on their own terms: as progressive, exciting new music.

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1. James Carney, Green-Wood (Songlines)
James Carney is a pianist who prizes meaningful, strong compositions -- but also wholeheartedly embraces the weird. With Green-Wood, he takes a fantastic risk by beginning the album's first track with some of the weird: a deep synth rumble, saxophonic murmurs and drum spasms only hint of what's to come. Three minutes in, the melody hits like a rock, and all is again safe. Green-Wood is full of interplay between the improvised and the composed, abandoning conventional song forms. That gives Carney full control as a composer, bandleader and space-maker. A sonic masterpiece which maximizes the versatility of every instrument, this is a great album to get lost in. --AS

"Power," from James Carney, Green-Wood (Songlines). James Carney, piano; Tony Malaby, tenor saxophone; Peter Epstein, soprano sax; Josh Roseman, trombone; Chris Lightcap, bass; Mark Ferber, drums. Released 2007.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3 / iTunes

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1:44 PM ET | 09-23-2009 | permalink

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Billy Hart, John Coltrane And 45 Extraordinary Seconds

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

The Billy Hart quartet plays NPR and WBGO's Live at the Village Vanguard concert broadcast series this Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. ET. And in writing a preview for the show, I was reminded that the live broadcast/webcast (and eventual online archiving) falls on John Coltrane's birthday anniversary.

The Billy Hart quartet, pictured here at the Jazz Standard in New York, begins a week-long residency at the Village Vanguard tonight. (Jos L. Knaepen)

Appropriately, I also rediscovered a phenomenal interview with Hart, where he touches briefly on the subject of Coltrane. It was conducted by pianist Ethan Iverson, who plays in Hart's band, and comes in three parts, including an 11-minute untranscribed audio narrative. (All three parts live on the Billy Hart quartet Web site.) You should read all of it. It is truly one of the classic documents of the Jazz Internet.

Here's an excerpt of the Coltrane part -- specifically, talking about Elvin Jones, the drummer in Trane's band for several years:

So when Coltrane formed his own band, I was waiting for it. I wasn't surprised, I was waiting for it. The thing that surprised me was Elvin. To see it! Jones ... to see it! I went every night. It was at the Bohemian Rhapsody. At the end of the last night, I was there looking at Jones taking his drums down. I couldn't move -- like I was stuck in cement. I was just watching him. So finally he called me up to the drums, and he gave me his bass drum pedal, which had broken -- the mallet part was broken. How do hit the bass drum so hard that you break the mallet without breaking the drum head? That's quite a physics problem. That's when he said, "Don't ask me to show you anything, because if I could show you, we would all be Max Roach."

How lucky we are that we still have people around who remember that sort of thing.

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The Billy Hart quartet has an album. It's called Quartet, and it addresses The Coltrane Problem by playing his "Moment's Notice" (see Blue Train, 1957).

By "The Coltrane Problem," I mean something that I think many jazz musicians struggle with, once they almost inevitably become obsessed with Coltrane's oeuvre. How do you learn from him, but not sound like him?

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5:38 PM ET | 09-22-2009 | permalink

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The Tuesday Link Dump: Updating The Blogroll

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Rather than plumb again the deepest depths of the Jazz Internet, today I am updating the blogroll/link list, a maintenance task long overdue. In addition to noting the recently-launched Web sites of Chris Kelsey and Chris Albertson, both of whom I've mentioned here before, I might point out a few more.

--Earlier this year, Spinner announced a new partnership with All About Jazz. Journalist Tad Hendrickson is now the weekly jazz correspondent there -- he has a few features up already.
--WFMU DJ Scott McDowell (of The Long Rally) also maintains a blog for many things avant and improvised. It's called Love, Gloom, Cash, Love (after Herbie Nichols, presumably), which was totally one of the names I had in mind for this blog.
--Jim Macnie writes for many places. He keeps a register and a few terse comments at his Lament For A Straight Line.
--At jazz.about.com, saxophonist and writer Jacob Teichrow covers a range of topics: reviews, blogosphere chatter, guides for new listeners.
--Pamela Espeland keeps tabs on the Minneapolis/St. Paul jazz scene. At Bebopified, she does that and more -- including bonus coverage of Monterey Jazz Festival 52.
--Though let go from the L.A. Times, Don Heckman is writing for the International Review Of Music blog.
--The Jazz Video Guy has a home on the Web: Jazz Video Guy.
--Jazz Studies Online, courtesy of Columbia University's growing Center for Jazz Studies.
--Hard bop is the name of the game at Jazz Note SDP.
--Why wasn't JazzTimes on this list before?

Also in housekeeping, I've added all the sites from Jazz Now contributors to the list too. Would you believe I haven't done that yet ... anyway, I presume I'm forgetting some other stuff I've noted in the last few weeks -- let me know if so.

Finally, there is Smooth Jazz Feuds. This is my new favorite thing on the Internet. (H/T Garrett Shelton)

--DJA, WNYC, OMG: Another day, another Darcy James Argue live recording. I know this isn't a link to a blog -- though you should already be reading secretsociety.typepad.com -- but it's good music. Having been to WNYC's Soundcheck studio, I'm quite impressed they could cram 18 musicians, a conductor and a host in there. More DJA on public radio: WFMU.

12:24 PM ET | 09-22-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Alex Rodriguez, Lubricity

by Alex Rodriguez

Unlike his more well-known namesake, our Alex Rodriguez plays the trombone. He also blogs at Lubricity. And writes for Jazz.com. And interns with Josh Jackson at WBGO's The Checkout. And is earning an M.A. in Jazz History and Research -- the only program of its kind -- at Rutgers. For Jazz Now, he recommends music for new jazz fans based in part on the bands' live acts. --Ed.

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I didn't discover jazz until 1997, when I was 12 years old and learning to play the trombone in my middle school band in Portland, Ore. By then, the general attitude of those presenting it to me was historically-oriented -- the era's prevailing ideology reached me through the school music curriculum. The first jazz recording that I remember hearing was Glenn Miller's "In The Mood," from a sixth grade music appreciation class. The first jazz record that I bought was Bags' Groove by Miles Davis, at the behest of my jazz band director.

My interest in the trombone soon led me to J.J. Johnson, who died when I was a junior in high school. I fell in love with the sounds of many of the music's ghosts: Count Basie, Sonny Rollins, Ben Webster, Thad Jones, Al Grey and many, many others -- most of whom had also already died (save Rollins, of course). I have fond memories of trips to Everyday Music in downtown Portland, the only record store in town that I knew had a reliable supply of used jazz CDs.

Eventually, my conversation with the past was interrupted by actual concerts. I didn't start going to see live music until high school, when I would see live jazz at the Port Townsend Jazz Festival, occasionally check out a show at Portland's only jazz club (Jimmy Mak's), or catch a concert at Portland's Crystal Ballroom. I remember catching New Orleans-based funk band Galactic from the very front of the stage; I prided myself on being so close to Maceo Parker's trombonist Greg Boyer at a show a few months later that he almost emptied his spit valve on my forehead. None of these acts were particularly groundbreaking from a jazz standpoint, but they certainly stand out in the development of my relationship to music today.

As a Master's Degree candidate in Jazz History and Research, my conversation with the music's past continues. But the new jazz being created by today's outstanding musicians provides an important frame for the historical work. I sense a changing paradigm in the way today's musicians are having their own interaction with the music's history; the rapid development of the jazz community online has mirrored that shifting trend. Through these networks, as well as my recent move to the New York City area, I've been hipped to a lot of great stuff that's being done in the name of jazz.

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1. Rebirth Brass Band, Rebirth For Life (Tipitina's)
I became aware of this group when I was still in high school, but I never caught them live until my sophomore year in college. The experience confirmed what I had always been told (which comes through to a lesser extent on the recordings): these guys can make your booty shake like nobody else in the business. I don't think I've compared anyone to a deity as many times as I have Phil Frazier, the group's leader and powerfully funky tubist (as in: oh man, Phil Frazier is a GOD!). Released in 2006, Rebirth For Life is the group's first post-Katrina record, but it maintains the loose, hard-partying spirit that defines their sound. "Stereo" is a typically fun and exciting groove that features typical ensemble riffs and brilliant, gutsy solos.

"Stereo," from Rebirth Brass Brand, Rebirth For Life (Tipitina's). Released 2006.

Purchase: Amazon MP3 / iTunes

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10:51 AM ET | 09-22-2009 | permalink

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Sam Rivers: Like The Rest Of Us (Only Much Better At Music)

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Sam, I know you're 85, but you could use a new set of press photos, eh? (RIKU)

You may have missed the profile on Sam Rivers which ran this Sunday on Weekend Edition. You should not have.

I'm a little bit of a huge Sam Rivers fan. I once interviewed him for over two hours about his career, and helped put on his trio in concert (a reunion of the 1970s group with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, FWIW). His music is a complete universe within itself, and that he's experienced a career rebirth since moving out of New York -- what a great story.

But in seeing his life's work summarized, one is reminded very clearly that jazz musicians are but human beings, subject to all the same socio-economic-cultural forces that everybody else is too. Two prominent examples I can note:

1. The closing of Studio RivBea
When Rivers opened up his downtown Manhattan loft for performances, it was a response to a declining economic climate for jazz. If the clubs weren't into this stuff he and his colleagues were putting out, why not put it on yourself? Of course, downtown lofts became fashionable, in large part because of the creative energy in places like Rivers' Studio RivBea. And in the way of gentrification everywhere, rent got to be too high, and Rivers was forced to move to New Jersey. Ah, the culture industry.

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11:45 AM ET | 09-21-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Mike Katzif, NPR Music

by Michael Katzif

At NPR Music, Mike Katzif is something of a Swiss army knife. He writes about plenty of not-jazz for Song Of The Day and a variety of other features. He's also the keeper of all things podcast throughout the entire NPR.org universe. But he comes from a background as a jazz guitarist, and at A Blog Supreme, he gets to write about this music. His Jazz Now list introduces new listeners to "contemporary and personally meaningful records." --Ed.

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People who know me probably know that baseball is my favorite sport. It has a beautiful history and an amazing folklore. Admittedly, it also features deliberate and slow-paced action drawn out over a long summer, and -- let's face it -- a lot of nuance and minutiae that the average person doesn't care about. There's no way I would introduce a friend to baseball with old newspaper boxscore clippings, reruns on ESPN Classic or historical artifacts. As important and fascinating as that stuff can be, the first thing I'd do is say, "Let's go see a game."

The same goes for any type of music, but especially in jazz. Yet anyone who's ever spent time in a jazz history survey knows that most of the time is spent with the classics and little else. By the time you get to anything modern or recognizable, the class is over.

Up until recently (thanks, burgeoning Jazz Internets!), rare were there opportunities to learn about or talk publicly in the ways of today's jazz. For novices newer jazz can be daunting. Listeners need time to attune their ears to the language, and yet we drop them into this foreign territory and say "Good luck." Is it any wonder why some people get turned off?

Instead, why not start with the now and work backward? It's important to look back and know the past, but were I to teach one of those history of jazz lectures, I would introduce great artists creating exciting work that you can go out and experience in person (fine bourbon or craft brew in hand, natch).

In approaching this list of five great jazz albums of the last decade (give or take), I treated it as a way to introduce five contemporary and personally meaningful records. These are packages I would use as an introduction to jazz for those still on the bench -- but looking to play.

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1. Medeski Martin & Wood, Tonic (Blue Note)
You can tell a lot about a musician from a stripped-down, acoustic performance. Such is the case with Medeski Martin and Wood's live classic Tonic, which pares away the Hammond B-3 organ, fuzzed-out Wurlitzer and Hofner bass for a simple piano, bass and drums. MMW earned crossover appeal thanks to their funkier tendencies, but they maintained cred in other circles for their more experimental breakdowns and inventive communication. In this cozy setting, the trio masters tension-and-release playing, slowly building a song only to deconstruct it into blissful cacophony. For fans who were already sold on their more groove-based material, this is a great segue into more off-kilter pianists like Cecil Taylor or Thelonious Monk.

"Seven Deadlies," from Medeski Martin & Wood, Tonic (Blue Note). John Medeski, piano; Chris Wood, bass; Billy Martin, drums. Released 2000.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3 / iTunes

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10:09 AM ET | 09-21-2009 | permalink

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Films, Tokyo, Studio Sessions: The Friday Link Dump

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Cherry-picking the Jazz Internet at the tail end of cherry season.

--Matthew Shipp On Piano Jazz: All this week, Lars Gotrich has been filing in excess for NPR Music, and especially for A Blog Supreme. But he couldn't let this week's Piano Jazz go without comment:

All this talk about getting 20-somethings into jazz got me thinking beyond the Jazz Now project. Late in college, I discovered Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on my local NPR station, WUGA. While the guests weren't always my taste in jazz, the interviews were consistently engaging. Imagine my surprise just a year later when A) I became Piano Jazz's Web producer and B) that avant-jazz pianist and composer Matthew Shipp was slated as a guest in Dec. 2006. I listened with fascination -- McPartland was completely game to Shipp's angular chords and melodic sidesteps. After improvising one of her famous musician portraits of Shipp, McPartland said, "It's inspiring to hear someone like you play, because it does make me sort of think differently." This, of course, forever sold me on McPartland, the classy pianist with encyclopedic jazz knowledge. And since then, McPartland has been a large part of my jazz education not just because she can hang with the avant-cats (Cecil Taylor and Andrew Hill have also appeared on the show), but because she teases new information and realizations out of all of her guests. With that, I'm excited to point y'all to the Matthew Shipp Piano Jazz session, which re-ran on-air this past week, and now lives on our little piece of the interwebs.

--The John H. Baker Film Collection: Columbus, Ohio lawyer John Baker -- a non-musician and hard of hearing -- was almost single-mindedly obsessed with collecting jazz on film. It was a constant issue with his wife and children. He even sold 10,000 jazz records in 1972 to finance his jazz film habit. And now, Kansas City's American Jazz Museum is opening a permanent exhibit of Baker's collection. As a Columbus Dispatch article says, the 10,000 feet of film restored so far amounts to all of 1% of his collection.

--Jazz In Tokyo: At the Wall Street Journal, a lengthy survey of the Tokyo jazz club scene. Among interesting notes: that coffee shops dedicated to spinning jazz recordings are all over the city; that U.S. conservatory grads are populous enough that they've been labeled "Berklee jazz"; and that the Blue Note Tokyo charges $70 to $170 in covers. (!) Fascinating stuff that I assume needs to be lived to be fully understood.

--Guitarist Rez Abbasi On WNYC's Soundcheck: Performing from his new album Things To Come with Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Dan Weiss, Johannes Weidenmueller and Kiran Ahluwalia. The big guns turn up for a studio performance and interview.

1:37 PM ET | 09-18-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Lars Gotrich, NPR Music

by Lars Gotrich

The first real conversation I ever had with Lars Gotrich was about the Peter Brotzmann and Han Bennink U.S. duo tour of 2007. That's how I knew dude was OK in my eyes. Lars keeps tabs on the whole spectrum of jazz for NPR Music -- he Web produces Take Five, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, JazzSet, and much of our Newport Jazz Festival coverage. But he's the special correspondent for out music at ABS, and even releases some avant-improv on his own record label. His list is an newbie's introduction to the free jazz of today. --Ed.

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All week long you've dreaded it. You've touched your toes in the jazz water, and it's been cool and refreshing, but there are rapids ahead ... wild, disjointed and arrhythmic rapids. And for some reason, Sun Ra is your raft guide.

Yes, it's here. Oh, God, not the free jazz!

Fear not, jazz travelers, for I too stood at the shore, uncertain of this path. After a brief introduction to musicians like Matthew Shipp by way of a graveyard DJ shift at WUOG, I checked out New York Is Now! by Phil Freeman from the UGA library. Its basic premise (and sometimes over-simplication/-implication) was that if you like one form of extreme music (say, death metal), then you'd also like free jazz. That's simple enough if you already enjoy Cannibal Corpse, but it doesn't quite account for the free jazz that isn't all the screams-from-hell variety (for more on that, John Zorn's Painkiller is the way to go).

True to Freeman's idea, I was a metal-head (still am, by the way) attracted to the squeals and chaotic nature of free jazz. In fact, the true moment of conversion came upon the first blat of sound out of Peter Brotzmann's Chicago Tentet at the ACME Festival on Apr. 3, 2004. Driven to the 40 Watt out of sheer curiosity (and a free ticket), I sat through The Vandermark 5 and a Joe Maneri trio (R.I.P. Joe) until Brotzmann's menacing band took the stage. I was being sonically assaulted and I couldn't help but smile until the set was over. There was no turning back.

But I have little reason to sonically assault noobs. My five avant-jazz recommendations mix bright nostalgia with creative innovation, veterans making new music as well as today's most promising talents. (But if you do want the noise, check out the honorable mentions.)

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1. Matthew Shipp, Nu Bop (Thirsty Ear)
I credit a trio of 2003 Matthew Shipp albums as the initial sparks for my love of free- and avant-garde jazz: Equilibrium, the sometimes brilliant hip-hop collaboration Antipop Consortium vs. Matthew Shipp, and Nu Bop. Shipp put some serious work into curating the Blue Series for the Thirsty Ear label (and still does), pushing unlikely collaborations outside the jazz realm. Not all of the experiments work to my ears, but the funky Nu Bop was a revelation. The tasteful programming and synths of FLAM added a fresh current and bed to Shipp's full-bodied piano chords. And if there's one thing Shipp loves, it's a good vamp, especially with longtime collaborator and bassist William Parker in tow. Shipp gets all Erik Satie on the few ambient pieces that lace the album, but the stars go to the instantly funky cuts which hit grooves immediately upon impact.

"Space Shipp," from Matthew Shipp, Nu Bop (Thirsty Ear). Matthew Shipp, piano; FLAM, programming; William Parker, bass; Daniel Carter, saxophone; Guillermo E. Brown, drums. Released 2002.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3 / iTunes

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10:22 AM ET | 09-18-2009 | permalink

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Poncho Sanchez, Then and Now

by Felix Contreras

This week, NPR Music is streaming the entirety of Psychedelic Blues, the new album by percussionist and band leader Poncho Sanchez. Hear the full album preview as part of our Exclusive First Listen series.

Poncho Sanchez's new album Psychedelic Blues is his 24th recording -- for Concord Records alone. (Devin DeHaven)

I did my first interview with Poncho Sanchez in the early 1980s in Fresno, Calif. He had two albums of his own on a small label, but was still with Cal Tjader's band at the time, and was fully committed to keeping Tjader's version of small-group Latin jazz alive and vibrant.

I've watched and interviewed Poncho as he went through the transition of losing his boss and mentor to a heart attack in 1985, then striking out on his own on Concord Records with a formula not much different from his new album. It's been instructive to watch him and his bandmates carve out a place for themselves among such giants as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri and Mongo Santamaria.

I'll never forget a phone conversation I had with Poncho after his band's very first trip to New York -- perhaps sometime in the late '80s. As he told it, the group set up at the Blue Note, then went back to the hotel to change and rest up before the gig.

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4:52 PM ET | 09-17-2009 | permalink

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Concert Review And Downloads: High Zero Festival, Sunday

by Lars Gotrich

Running on fumes and spicy palak paneer, I took in the last night of free-form expression at the High Zero Festival. Martin Blazicek's inventive film projections returned for yet another inspired collaboration (this is Blazicek's Web site, if you're curious) and, as anticipated, the festival ended with a blowout.

Don't miss out on the free concert download from yesterday's write-up. And don't miss out on the two (two!) downloads below.

Twig Harper. (Michael Muniak)

Twig Harper, electronics.

Under a single pinspot light, vintage turntables, various wires and machines, and a reel-to-reel player (with such photogenic red reels!) sat on a table. Baltimore's Twig Harper sat with his back to the audience after a spoken word invocation to the performance. The Nautical Almanac member and Heresee Records founder then strung a series of industrial-strength analog electronics together by tugging at the tape on the reels and sending cracked records and any matter of sounds through warped manipulation. While the volume escalated to deafening levels, Harper never lost control of his machines. He only egged them on.

Twig Harper recording credits: Carlos Guillen, live sound; Josh Atkins, recording.

Because this kind of music is best seen, Baltimore YouTube activist dennisovich has uploaded Twig Harper's set in three parts: part one, part two, part three.

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2:08 PM ET | 09-17-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Dean Christesen, RVAJazz.com

by Dean Christesen

The jazz and improvised music scene in Richmond, Va. is small but vibrant, thanks to the enterprising DIY efforts of its members. In 2007, as a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dean Christesen launched RVAJazz.com to promote the music of his role models and friends. So successful was his online calendar and news service that he decided to put together the first RVAjazzfest earlier this year. On top of that -- and a full courseload -- Dean is also a volunteer jazz radio programmer, and a multi-genre drummer in a number of Richmond outfits. Appropriately, for our Jazz Now series, he's picked five albums with a view to contemporary rhythms. --Ed.

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The majority of people relate with the rhythm of their time. Swing, rock 'n' roll, disco and beyond possess distinct rhythmic foundations, and have all been considered popular music at one time.

So consider us, the young people of today. We don't know what it's like to really sing the blues, and we certainly didn't grow up with swing at the forefront of pop culture. We listen to rock, hip-hop, metal, etc.: These rhythms are embedded within us, and the rhythms that we are most familiar with are the elements that we tend to create with. In listening to the music of the past, we are inspired to learn from it, imitate it, and then make it our own. This is the role of jazz to young people today.

The '70s saw fusion combining improvisation and jazz elements with contemporary rock- and funk-based rhythms. Today, we are experiencing a much more complex fusion of musics. To many artists, nothing is off-limits when creating. Jazz is no longer jazz as its pioneers saw it. But it's jazz to us.

Given the opportunity to present examples of jazz today to an open-minded person who is unfamiliar with the jazz world, I would play the following five albums. Each one is unique, but they are all similar in that the elements of contemporary rhythm are crucial characteristics of the music. This may be a subconscious realization for the layman, but being aware of rhythms in jazz today should affect your appreciation for the music, the artists and the creative process.

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1. Tigran Hamasyan Arratta Rebirth, Red Hail (Plus Loin)
The expert and the layman can unite over their awe for pianist Tigran Hamasyan. His ability to stay true to Armenian folk verse while incorporating musical elements that are nothing but modern is fascinating. Likening Red Hail to the multi-metered, guitar-driven ethos of progressive rock only seems natural: memorable yet lopsided riffs characterize certain pieces, while jazz waltzes or breakbeats make up the bulk of others. If you're new to jazz, you may not realize that this is a bold statement from a jazzman, a refusal to comply with the standards set before us. But at 22 years old, this young one embodies jazz's present and future.

"Sibylla," from Tigran Hamasyan's Arratta Rebirth, Red Hail (Plus Loin Music). Tigran Hamasyan, piano; Areni Agbabian, vocals; Nate Wood, drums; Ben Wendel, soprano saxophone; Sam Minaie, bass; Charles Altura, guitar. Laguna Beach, Calif.: Aug. 20, 2008.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3

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8:35 AM ET | 09-17-2009 | permalink

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Concert Review And Download: High Zero Festival, Saturday Night

by Lars Gotrich

Nick Becker plays the gourd -- with a sword. (Michael Muniak)

Maybe it was the economy or maybe it was a curatorial decision, but the 11th annual High Zero Festival in Baltimore, Md. didn't have the "star power" of previous years. There was no Tony Conrad or Joe McPhee, but in a city with a solid bed of new music practitioners -- organized by the keen ears of the High Zero organization -- you really couldn't ask for a more creative line-up.

As always, High Zero puts local Baltimore musicians, artists and dancers on the same stage as international veterans to completely improvise "new music," a rather loose term for sound with little connection to established forms. As a recent set of a CDs documenting the festival's 11 years reveals, High Zero Festival is the premier showcase for spontaneous sound.

The documentation here begins on Saturday (I missed both Thursday and Friday night's concerts) and is slightly out of order. Why? Because the fine folks at High Zero generously provided A Blog Supreme with a free download of my favorite set, which is right below.

Check back tomorrow for my review of Sunday night's performances. And if you're still not sure what this "free-improvisation" thing is about, check out my festival preview.

Morten Olsen and Raed Yassin. (Michael Muniak)

Group Three: Margarida Garcia, bass; Hans Grusel, electronics; Paul Neidhardt, percussion, friction; Morten Olsen, drums; Raed Yassin, bass.

The absolute highlight of High Zero was this unusual set-up of two basses, two percussionists and electronics. The musician known as Killick had told me about drummer Morten Olsen's solo set on Friday night: 20 minutes of hyper-active blastbeats set to seizure-inducing strobe lights. This non-stop slaughter of the senses caused people to leave. But that was no indication for what was to come.

The set was relatively quiet compared to anything else at the festival, a study in patience and listening. The percussionists rubbed the skins of their drums and vibrated bells. Raed Yassin used the body of his double bass as a giant resonator for just about anything other than the strings. Hunched over her upright electric bass, Margarida Garcia emitted pops and sudden low-end plods as Hans Grusel tastefully pitched electronic strands of sine waves. Come to think of it, the natural, doomy drones were surprisingly reminiscent of SunnO))) -- if the art-drone-doom band ditched the distortion on its latest album, Monoliths & Dimensions.

Midway through the improvisation, the quintet rumbled without overstepping the bounds of the natural arc. Paul Neidhardt -- a young Baltimore percussionist whose name I hope to see more after this weekend -- removed the bass drum and began to roll it in circles as Olsen unleashed a torrent of cymbals and toms.

But the individual contributions mattered little in the grand scope of what was ultimately a fully-realized improvisation. The players were clearly in tune with one another, digging deep into each texture. In the recording above, listen especially at 20:45: Olsen holds a terrifying cymbal crash for what seems like an eternity. But when he lets up, Neidhardt was there with a thundering response. It gave me absolute chills.

Group Three recording credits: Carlos Guillen, live sound; Josh Atkins, recording.

Update: Now with video! Part one, part two and part three.

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5:45 PM ET | 09-16-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Lucas Gillan, AccuJazz

by Lucas Gillan

Lucas Gillan, 23, is a natural fit for Jazz Now. For one, he absorbs tons of music while programming AccuJazz, a promising Internet radio service. He's also an active drummer, teaching plenty of lessons and performing throughout the Chicagoland area. (And not just jazz, either.) On a recent visit to Chicago, I met up with him, and he graciously told me the bands I had to see while I was in town. Of course, his list covers a lot of territory well beyond the upper Midwest. --Ed.

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Despite growing up in a relatively conservative Christian home where worship music was the norm on the living room stereo, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to a huge variety of music as a child and teen. My oldest brother, a lifelong music lover in constant pursuit of new sounds, introduced my sister, brother and me to everything from ska (before its 15 minutes of '90s fame) to underground hardcore to jazz. As a teen musician, I spent equal amounts of time performing and listening to indie rock, jazz, and Christian music.

From my experience as a university jazz student, I found that a lot of my colleagues had narrow-minded views of what they perceived to be proper listening habits. A trombonist roommate once scolded me upon finding that there were only 6 jazz tracks in the top 10 of my "Most Played" list on iTunes. In this current discussion of building a young jazz audience, I feel uniquely qualified to advise jazz-agnostic music fans through the sometimes daunting waters of jazz listening.

To be perfectly honest, the jazz that most often packs the biggest emotional punch for me is that which exhibits some awareness of non-jazz styles. If I were to put together a list of my favorite jazz albums from the last 10 years, it wouldn't look all that different from the list I'm offering now: it's designed for maximum appeal to young music fans still unsure about jazz. There are visceral grooves, engaging melodies, exhilarating improvisations, and intelligent orchestrations. Most of all, every track has something that should pull in any casual listener and make them want more.

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1. Brad Mehldau, Largo (Nonesuch)
This album was a big one for me: it fuses masterful jazz improvisation with modern rock production. It's also the one jazz album that excited my indie rock-obsessed high school friends (who openly admitted that they only attended my jazz gigs to support me, not for the music). Some of them even purchased their own copies of Largo with actual money!

Brad Mehldau has been called the most influential jazz musician of his generation (Generation X, that is), and he has never been afraid to wear his rock and folk influences on his sleeve, often covering Radiohead and Nick Drake alongside Cole Porter and the Gershwins. Largo, however, brought the rock influence to the fore, with the assistance of superstar producer Jon Brion and some of L.A.'s best studio musicians. The lead-off track, "When it Rains," has everything I love about the album: a gorgeously simple melody, lush wind orchestration, deeply grooving drumming, a heart-stopping piano solo and even some good old 3-over-4 polyrhythms for the drumming nerd in me.

"When it Rains," from Brad Mehldau, Largo (Nonesuch). Brad Mehldau, piano; Larry Grenadier, acoustic bass; Matt Chamberlain, drums; Steve Kujala, David Shostac, flute; Jon Clark, Earle Dumler, oboe; Gary Gray, Emile Bernstein, clarinet; Peter Mandell, Rose Corrigan, bassoon. Released 2002.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3 / iTunes

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8:57 AM ET | 09-16-2009 | permalink

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The Tuesday Link Dump: Late Edition

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Gawd, who was that insufferable nitwit flapping his gums about something called "Jazz Now" on WBGO's The Checkout? [Audio will be up soon.]

--Guest Blog Month At OneWorkingMusician.com: Congratulations are in order to Seattle-based trumpeter, blogger and newlywed Jason Parker, who is taking the rest of the month off from the Jazz Internet for a Parisian honeymoon. Picking up the pieces are a host of guest contributors. So far, we've heard from composer Andrew Durkin (Jazz: The Music Of Unemployment) about Twitter (he's @uglyrug if you're following along); David J. Hahn (musicianwages.com) on DIY Internet business for musicians; and saxophonist Art Brown (Web site) on playing sideman gigs. More to come soon at oneworkingmusician.com.

--Jazz Hostels: On a recent visit to New York -- an hour of which was chronicled at Lubricity -- I literally took the A train, where I saw someone wearing a "Jazz Hostels" t-shirt. I never had heard of such an establishment when I was going to school in New York, so I looked it up on the Web. Turns out Jazz Hostels is a chain, started in New York but now with branches in Montreal and Miami. But whither the name? I e-mailed Shirley Levy, the managing director:

Our first hostel -- Jazz on the Park -- was founded in 1998 on Duke Ellington Boulevard (106th Street -- [Upper West Side]). Hence, the name Jazz. During our first few years, we operated a bar and performance venue in the basement of the hostel where we offered many jazz performances -- mainly folks from the neighborhood or young musicians looking for a practice/performance venue. In 2003 we closed the bar and lounge, but the name stuck!

Which would explain why I never heard of it, even though I was living about 12 blocks away around the time the performance space closed. Levy also says that the hostel just built a new stage, and is hoping to make it available to travelers who want to practice or perform there starting next year.

--Jason Moran On Jaki Byard: At Jazz.com. Here's the link. Once again, mento --> manatee.

--Mike Judge On Jazz Fusion: Peter Hum has some incriminating evidence. There's a lot here to unpack, but I mean, c'mon: fusion is hilarious.

--NEC Jazz Program Turns 40: Finally, the New England Conservatory's jazz program is turning 40, and they're celebrating with a series of concerts this fall. Today, where most players come up through the collegiate-level "jazz industrial complex," it's hard to imagine what Gunther Schuller faced in 1969. The way the article states it, the original unorthodox approach of the program has survived to the present day. As you would expect of a jazz school, really. Happy anniversary to them.

7:11 PM ET | 09-15-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Patrick Jarenwattananon, Editor

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

I'll confess: I had to learn to appreciate what's going on in the jazz scene today. Growing up in a small mid-size Midwestern city, I didn't have immediate access to many masters of the present moment. So I listened to lots of records -- in particular, old records. Even when I was living in New York, it took some time to unlearn the tendency to compare new music to the recordings of yesteryear.

But more than ever, today's jazz musicians don't worry about positioning themselves within the canon. Much of the music mentioned here does mine jazz's rich history for inspiration, sure, but it's not necessarily in a "worship the ancestors" sort of way. And once I understood that this music wasn't designed to be validated in light of, say, Art Blakey, I began to appreciate the diverse array of people searching for original voices within their own personal experiences. Jazz now is inspired by, workshopped on and recorded in ways that deserve their own terms of evaluation.

For our Jazz Now series, I picked five albums with an eye toward immediate gratification -- all made with the sort of seriousness that reveals itself fully after multiple listens. I also considered some of the narratives and trends I see in modern jazz, but this isn't intended as a comprehensive portrait of the scene today, either. This is just some stuff I like, which I think others would like, too.

Enough chatter. Here's my list:

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1. The Bad Plus, These Are The Vistas (Columbia)
I think this was the first jazz record I ever wrote about; I did a review of it for my high-school newspaper back when it came out in 2003. (I don't think it's been archived on the Internet yet, fortunately.) I recall effusively praising the trio's embrace of Nirvana, Blondie and Aphex Twin anthems.

Years later, that doesn't seem as revolutionary as it did when I was 17, but the whole record (including the stellar originals) still stands out to me as a landmark of contemporary jazz. If they weren't the first to tackle modern pop covers, they certainly drew a lot of media attention for it. (I think I actually heard about the record on All Songs Considered, well before working with Bob Boilen was even a remote possibility.)

The way they did it -- by treating those covers as vehicles for serious, uniquely styled musicianship, thus collapsing allegedly high and low art -- was not only mind-expanding to me; it was also sonically addictive. So many of the sounds seemed new, but anchored by familiarity: Ethan Iverson's swirling piano solos, Dave King's virtuosity in abundance, the palpable but not overbearing post-production craft. These guys were (are?) the Bee's Knees of the jazz media for a reason. Take time to engage with what they're trying, and their music keeps giving.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," from The Bad Plus, These Are The Vistas. Ethan Iverson, piano; Reid Anderson, bass; David King, drums. Wiltshire, United Kingdom: Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2002.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3 / iTunes

See Also:
--Mostly Other People Do The Killing, This Is Our Moosic (Hot Cup): Post-modernism at its psychotic funnest.
--Vijay Iyer Trio, Historicity (ACT Music): Includes the smartest, most rigorous way anyone has ever tackled the music of M.I.A. (among other covers).

Continue reading "Jazz Now: Patrick Jarenwattananon, Editor" »

7:00 AM ET | 09-15-2009 | permalink

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Jazz Now: Introducing Music Of The Present Moment

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Earlier this year, we posted a fun jazz feature called "The First Five: One Man's Introduction To Jazz." Long-time NPR Arts editor Tom Cole recalled walking into a Washington, D.C. area record store decades ago and telling a clerk that he wanted to get into jazz. So the staffer, who went by the name TP, picked out five great discs -- among them offerings from Charles Mingus, the Bird and Diz LP, and Eric Dolphy (featuring Booker Little) -- and Cole was hooked.

Lots of people wrote in to tell us about their first five jazz records. We even did some number-crunching with the responses we got. But one of the comments, from a reader named Will Haight, I found particularly interesting:

I love Dolphy, Mingus, Coltrane, Miles as well. But I find it discouraging that any discussions of "jazz" ... fail to mention recordings made in the last 30 years. With that in mind, I've chosen titles which fit with the ideals expressed in this excellent little piece, and which have been released in this millennium.

He then submitted a list of 5 albums of recent vintage that he would recommend to people as a TP-like introduction to improvised music of today. Which got me thinking: hey, we should do that too.

Continue reading "Jazz Now: Introducing Music Of The Present Moment" »

7:00 AM ET | 09-15-2009 | permalink

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The Blue Note Photography Of Francis Wolff And Jimmy Katz

Dianne Reeves. (Jimmy Katz)

Once again: The Picture Show + NPR Jazz = WIN.

This time, featured on NPR's photo blog is the Blue Note photography of Francis Wolff and Jimmy Katz. The work of Katz also makes for a great installment of Take Five, featuring music and photographs of Pat Martino with Les Paul, Dianne Reeves, Andrew Hill, Jason Moran and Elvin Jones. Credit to Felix Contreras, Lars Gotrich and Claire O'Neill for making it happen.

--Patrick Jarenwattananon

9:21 AM ET | 09-14-2009 | permalink

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10 Moments From The 2009 Chicago Jazz Festival

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Fred Anderson (saxophone) performs with Hamid Drake (percussion) and Josh Abrams (bass) at the Chicago Jazz Festival. No, I am not a professional photographer. (Patrick Jarenwattananon)

Over the Labor Day weekend, I was privileged to attend the Chicago Jazz Festival, a free three-day event held in downtown Grant Park. The weather was perfect -- about 80 degrees every day, and totally dry -- and the crowds came out in the hundreds of thousands to sit, consume, relax and maybe even catch a little jazz music.

I'm a big admirer of the way the event was programmed by the Jazz Institute of Chicago: not only did the organizers book impressive acts from around the world -- among them Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Esperanza Spalding and the Dave Holland Big Band -- but they made sure that Chicago artists were well represented at their hometown festival. According to the festival announcers, about 60% of the talent was local -- which is all the more impressive, seeing as how this is Chicago we're talking about.

Seeing how it was technically my vacation, I didn't do much in the way of formal reporting, and I didn't make it a point to stay for each show in full. But in three days of non-stop performances from noon to 9:30 p.m., I did catch a lot of great music, semi-obsessively Tweeting about it from my bottom-of-the-line Nokia brick and taking very amateur photographs from a point-and-shoot camera. Here are 10 great musical moments (and then some) from the festival last weekend that I found worthy of sharing:

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1. A little bit of a late arrival meant that Esperanza Spalding's set, headlining daytime action on day one of the festival, was the first full show I sat for. Spalding is something of a rare bird, see: an incredibly talented bassist, a wonderfully charismatic performer, a very musical crafter of arrangements, a daring singer -- and quite a photogenic young lady. (A raft of photographers, professional and amateur, rushed the front of the stage as soon as she appeared to set up, and didn't relent for half an hour.) I've already written about how her take on "Wild Is The Wind" pretty much rules, and the rest of her set was happily tuneful. A remarkable solo bass + voice turn on "Look No Further" won over most non-believers of her bright attitude. But probably my favorite part came at the end, when she sought the audience's help for a scatted call-and-response -- and promptly gave us lines far too difficult to mouth back. It was all in good fun, though, and after she segued into the wordless vocals of "I Adore You," she got the audience to sing the "la la la, la, do-be-do-buy-oo, la-da" refrain back to her as she rode out on that vamp. It assured that none left that set without being charmed. The person who captured this footage of that moment wasn't too far from where I was:

2. The Trio of veteran improvisers George Lewis (trombone and computer electronics), Muhal Richard Abrams (piano) and Roscoe Mitchell (saxophones) know each other from way back; they also have a 2006 record called Streaming. On the main stage in Chicago, their performance was one continuous stream of free improvisation between the three. (Which most of the Petrillo Music Shell actually stayed in their seats for despite its difficulty, I'm happy to report.) On the whole, it struck me a more of a process music than a finished product, one where the live environment is crucial to absorbing any of it. Having taken a class with him in college, and watching him construct a wonderfully full solo out of precise trombone burbles and swishes in Muhal's big band on Sunday evening, I know Lewis to be a fellow with a sense of humor amid the most serious music you could imagine. And when a police siren blew by Grant Park with its Doppler effect, Lewis just happened to have his trombone synched to a computer reverb effect. When he imitated that siren, and built his next phrases off of it, laughter murmured through the crowd. A mass, outdoor, U.S. audience was trying to follow this stuff. And that was good to see in itself.

Continue reading "10 Moments From The 2009 Chicago Jazz Festival" »

3:03 PM ET | 09-11-2009 | permalink

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The Beatles, Chris Kelsey, Luther Thomas: The Friday Link Dump

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Let's keep this nice and compact.

Chris Kelsey Has A Blog: He writes for Jazz.com and JazzTimes. He plays free jazz on the saxophone. I've just learned he has a blog too, and there are a few gems already -- like me, it appears sometimes he has thoughts he cannot keep from writing. His thoughts on criticism, personal struggle to break free of Coltrane's influence, meditations on being a suburban father and an out-jazz musician at once, his post-NEA data diatribe (summary: it's Wynton's fault): these are all worthwhile reads.

Jazz Covers The Beatles: This brief Beatlemania 2K9 inspired by the re-release of the entire Fab Four catalog remasters was not lost on NPR Jazz. Lara Pellegrinelli has written up this week's Take Five -- which is, once again, actually six -- of jazz Beatles covers. Listen and suggest your own favorites -- I know I've heard like 10 different versions of "Blackbird."

RIP Luther Thomas: I don't have any links to send you, but it's being broadcast by WKCR, who talked to his ex-wife, that saxophonist Luther Thomas has died. He was a member of the Black Artists Group of St. Louis, an artists' collective organization not unlike the AACM, where he was a member of a group called the Human Arts Ensemble; he moved to New York in the 1970s like much of the BAG, and eventually to Copenhagen, Denmark. Here's his Web site, and his MySpace page. I can't claim to know much about him, other than that the Human Arts Ensemble has made some killer free-funk records, including a reissued album called Funky Donkey. It is well worth the purchase, and the inevitable dance-off tribute.

1:35 PM ET | 09-11-2009 | permalink

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Harvey Pekar & R. Crumb: Jazz And Comics

by Felix Contreras

Harvey Pekar's new Pekar Project is launching along with an illustrated list of his top ten jazz innovators. (courtesy of SMITH Magazine)

Harvey Pekar and R. Crumb became friends through their mutual love of jazz. They're also two big names in the underground comics world: Crumb as an illustrator, Pekar as a writer.

Their unique perspectives on American life play out in small comic panels. Their love for jazz comes in slightly larger formats.

Harvey Pekar is introducing a new comic series, featuring four different artists (Tara Seibel, Rick Parker, Sean Pryor and Joseph Remnant) illustrating his stories. To help launch the webcomic series' promise of extras, Pekar is flexing his muscles as a jazz critic and offering Harvey Pekar's Top Ten Jazz Innovators, illustrated by Tara Siebel and Sean Pryor.

His historically-oriented list is quite broad, his brief comments an interesting read. (Seems he was a blogger before there were blogs!) The illustrations would be suitable for framing too, if only they were larger.

[Ed.: From earlier this year, on NPR's Weekend Edition: Harvey Pekar Makes His Opera Debut (about Pekar's jazz opera libretto)]

R. Crumb has a more direct connection to jazz through his banjo and his band R. Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenaders. His art work has been used for many album covers of old time jazz and blues musicians.

In the early to mid-1980s, Crumb produced playing-card-styled collections called Heroes of the Blues, Early Jazz Greats and Pioneers of Country Music. The cards themselves are hard to find, but they have recently been combined into a single book with a CD of the music included.

There is something to learn from how these guys integrated jazz into their visual expression: an eye for improvisation; a developed sense of group play; a constant reminder of the past in looking toward the future.

All noble goals we could apply to life as well.

10:35 AM ET | 09-11-2009 | permalink

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Myron Walden: In This World (Of Wednesdays)

by Josh Jackson, WBGO

Myron Walden is presenting a different ensemble every Wednesday this month at the Jazz Gallery in New York. (Josh Jackson)

There are five Wednesdays in September, a fact that would normally go unnoticed by nearly everyone save for those of us who mark time for a living. This month, the Jazz Gallery in New York is promoting the bountiful Wednesday harvest with a series of performances from saxophonist Myron Walden.

Walden, a dynamic improviser and a member of Brian Blade's Fellowship Band, is presenting five different ensembles this month at the Jazz Gallery -- one per Wednesday. He's also donating the proceeds from the shows to the Jazz Gallery -- the non-profit cultural center and workshop which Walden helped inaugurate in 1995 as a member of trumpeter Roy Hargrove's Big Band. After a four-year hiatus from recording his own music, the saxophonist will release three new recordings between November and January -- all featuring his original writing.

Continue reading "Myron Walden: In This World (Of Wednesdays)" »

12:15 PM ET | 09-10-2009 | permalink

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Led Bib And How The British Got Something Right

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

I would like to point out that the band behind this video performed live on national television throughout the U.K. and Ireland on Tuesday night:

The group is called Led Bib, and the song they played live, "Yes, Again," is even more frenetic. (You can watch the performance itself on the BBC Web site -- the video is for whatever reason not embeddable.) It was part of the ceremony for the Mercury Prize, an award given every year for the best album from the British Isles. Led Bib didn't win; the award went to Speech Debelle, a South London rapper with a proclivity for jazz-influenced production. (Dig the backing roles for reedmen Shabaka Hutchings [clarinet] and Soweto Kinch [alto sax] at the live performance.) Even so, the fact that a jazz act, and especially one so outre, made it to the national spotlight at all should cause a double take.

The Mercury Prize is not the Grammy Awards; a more direct analogue might be the BRIT Awards, which, like the Grammys, are a national recording industry's celebration of self. But just for poops and giggles, it might be useful to compare the Mercury nod to the closest thing the U.S. has: the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Continue reading "Led Bib And How The British Got Something Right" »

11:53 AM ET | 09-10-2009 | permalink

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Listening, Party For Two: Vandermark 5, 'Speedplay'

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

The Vandermark 5 is reedman and composer Ken Vandermark's best-known group, out of well over 30 different bands he's involved in. (Joel Wanek)

My boss readily admits that she doesn't know a whole lot about jazz. But she lets me write all this nonsense on the Internet, so I'm not complaining. And at least she's willing to learn. So every week -- or at least as often as possible -- she and I get together to listen to and Instant Message about a different great jazz song.

My recent travels to Chicago, for the Chicago Jazz Festival, didn't bring me in contact with that city's out-jazz totem Ken Vandermark -- he was off touring Europe at that point in time. But I did see his most popular band at the Newport Jazz Festival, where I was reminded of a theory I've had for a while: because of its compositional inclinations, its raucous grooves and its general musicality, the Vandermark 5 is the perfect ensemble with which to introduce people to contemporary free jazz. Knowing full well that the Boss Lady's tastes don't necessarily align with all of Vandermark's, I nonetheless decided to test this assumption on her.

"Speedplay (For Max Roach)," from Vandermark 5, Beat Reader (Atavistic). Ken Vandermark, baritone saxophone/clarinet; Dave Rempis, alto saxophone; Fred Lonberg-Holm, cello; Kent Kessler, bass; Tim Daisy, drums. Chicago, Ill.: Dec. 19-20, 2006.

Purchase: Amazon.com / Amazon MP3 / iTunes / Atavistic Records

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Boss Lady: Those are some "in your face" horns!

me: Sure thing. Big, loud, and powerful.

Boss Lady: Yes. I'm thinking the intent is not to be beautiful, but to wail.

me: Well, I would say that this group is plenty capable of slow, pretty music. But that's not the goal here, really.

Boss Lady: I feel like I'm eavesdropping on a passionate, red-faced, indignant interchange.

Continue reading "Listening, Party For Two: Vandermark 5, 'Speedplay'" »

7:20 PM ET | 09- 9-2009 | permalink

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Make Your Own High Zero Festival Group

by Lars Gotrich

When you strip away the blues, swing, and polyrhythms, what's left of jazz? Improvisation, for one, but probably not resulting in what one would call "jazz." Some call it "free improvisation," others "non-idiomatic." In any case, it's sound that seeks new sound.

For the past 11 years, the High Zero Festival in Baltimore, Md., has done just that ... with a twist. The festival's curators mix and match the improvisers into four groups each night, with very few of them ever having played together before. So a Norwegian drummer will set up his kit next to a Baltimore-based turntablist without so much as a hello before going at it. It makes for creative tension, and starting this Thursday night at the Theatre Project, 28 musicians will come together for four nights of improvisation.

To give you somewhat of idea of what this is like, I've lined up a swarm of YouTube videos of some of the performers slated for High Zero. Hit play on any three at random and let the currents cross to form your own improv groups. (Or be boring and just play one at a time).

(Note: I'll be at the ESP Disk' table on Saturday and Sunday night, so say hello if you'll be there. I'll be tweeting from the event and give my own festival review of both nights right here on ABS.)

Miya Masaoka (koto, electronics): The Japanese koto already coaxes a sublime presence from its long strings, but what of the laser koto? I'm extremely curious to see how Masaoka wields this electronic innovation, and you can see a rather surreal video of it below.

Continue reading "Make Your Own High Zero Festival Group" »

4:44 PM ET | 09- 8-2009 | permalink

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The Triumphant Return Of The Tuesday Link Dump

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

I'm back from vacation, which I mostly spent doing a lot of stuff related to jazz. (Including occasionally posting here ... er, um, right.) And talking to so many folks in the jazz business allowed me to think critically about what's gone right and what hasn't in our 3+ months of bloggage. So this is to say, first: thanks for following us, if you are. We're pretty happy to be doing what we are, and happier to be sharing with you. I also know we've made some mistakes -- by which I mean I've made some mistakes -- and I think I've learned a bunch from them. So from here, we'll have fewer half-baked commentary pieces on my behalf (but not none), and more on the music itself, from those who are involved in creating and working with it. Less meta, mo' betta. Or something like that.

And now, back to the business of catching jazz up to the pace of music journalism right now. Starting with some notable links.

--A Wake-Up Call To The Jazz Internet: The CEO of Topspin, Ian Rogers, has written a post at his own blog which you all need to see. Rogers is a long-time music follower, and a jazz fan -- but also one who hasn't followed new jazz music. And from his perspective, the Jazz Internet needs to "WAKE THE F--- UP":

It would appear jazz has a chicken/egg problem: it's not an Internet-generation art form so it hasn't picked up the tools of the Internet-age yet, but as a result it hasn't had the opportunity to benefit from some of the niche-ification other genres have.

At least with me, Rogers is preaching to the choir, but he has several constructive suggestions too. One is that he also urges us media types to invent a Pitchfork-style site where one could consistently discover new music. To which I say (speaking for NPR and the rest of the Jazz Internet which gets it): we're working on it!

--Hear New Music From Medeski Martin & Wood: If you haven't kept up with the band lately, the mentschen of Medeski Martin & Wood have released a series of three albums within the last year called Radiolarians. (They'll be packaged as a box set soon too.) In celebration, Nextbop.com has licensed 15 tracks from the recent MMW catalog that are now streaming at the Nextbop site. Details here, tracks here (scroll down to the bottom). Dudes are still making good music: check some of it out for free. And while you're at Nextbop, read what its young (as in 23-year-old) founders have to say about their struggles with the Jazz Internet.

--WBGO Goes To Detroit: For the Detroit International Jazz Festival. Lotsa blog updates from the road, plus five hours of concert recordings.

--Branford Marsalis On Jazz Education: I realize I'm probably late to this tea party, but this is sort of burning up the blogosphere:

Intelligent commentary via Ronan Guilfoyle, and on Darcy James Argue's comment thread. That only words I'll contribute is that on his own Marsalis Music (his own label) stage at this year's Newport Jazz Festival, Branford booked the North Carolina Central University combo and big band, and performed with the large ensemble. (NPR Music recorded those sets here.) Marsalis and his quartet spent a calendar year as artists in residence at NCCU; I wonder what those students would say.

--The University Of The Streets: I've heard stories about how New York's University of the Streets -- an actual community center and venue, not just a euphemism -- was once the hang and the center of some really creative jazz happenings. As this jazz.com piece explains, it's still going. News to me.

--A #jazzlives Update: Finally, Howard Mandel has updates about how the #jazzlives Twitter campaign is going after this weekend's Labor Day jazz festivals. As one might have expected, it hasn't been easy to keep the hashtag free of things that aren't live jazz events. (Perhaps #livejazz might have been a better choice?) But Mandel, who I finally re-connected with this weekend at the Chicago Jazz Festival, sees some benefit from it. You'll see some of my Tweets in there too.

2:00 PM ET | 09- 8-2009 | permalink

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