Jazz Blog

Although artists have experimented with strings within a jazz context since the days of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in the 1920s, most string projects have been met with unease among jazz critics and audiences. However, Gailloreto’s writing is a fine example of balancing the string quartet’s capabilities with the element of improvisation using jazz harmonies.

Recently, with funding from Chamber Music America’s New Works grant, Gailloreto wrote a four movement piece entitled “American Complex,” which the JSQ performed in Chicago’s Green Mill jazz club, and at Bargemusic in New York City. On July 24th, the group will be performing Gailloreto’s arrangements of Bossa Nova tunes with Brazilian guitarist and singer Paulinho Garcia in Chicago’s Millenium Park.

Photo courtesy of Tanya Tucka

Although Gensel is retired, his parish continues to champion the music's spiritual qualities at St Peter’s Lutheran Church. Also known as the “Jazz Church,” it is located at 619 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. It has housed the memorial services of Ellington, John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Thelonious Monk, and countless other jazz legends. The church’s Steinway piano was donated by Billy Strayhorn. Currently there is a jazz performance every week, coordinated by music director, bassist, and composer Ike Sturm.

Soon after joining the church, Sturm was commissioned to write a jazz mass, which he has performed numerous times, and is currently in the process of recording. He hopes for a late 2008 release of the CD, which will feature a jazz ensemble in addition to a choir and strings. When I heard the mass performed at the church a couple of months ago, the ensemble included all-star musicians Ingrid Jensen, Donny McCaslin, and Ted Poor. The Vespers services have featured musicians such as Jon Hendricks, Brian Blade, Josh Redman, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, and many others.

Catch a jazz service every Sunday at 5 pm. Everyone is welcome, whether you are there to worship or just to check out some of New York’s top jazz musicians.

Photo courtesy of Madeline Sturm

Armstrong was not the only artist to give non-democratic states a taste of freedom. Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and others traveled to the Soviet Union, South America, and Africa, performing for and interacting with locals. They were typically greeted with cheers, and in some cases paraded through the streets.

Several images from this program's quest for hearts and minds are on display as part of photo exhibition entitled "Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World." Containing about 100 photographs collected from several libraries, the show opened at the Meridian International Center in Washington D.C. in April. It will remain there until July 13th, after which it moves to the Community Council for the Arts in Kinston, North Carolina. Read the New York Times article and view a slide show of some of the images on display.

There are some theories why this was the case: perhaps it was due to his own passivity when it came to his career. Some believe it was simply because his style, which is often associated with the music of pianist Lennie Tristano and alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, was overshadowed by bebop, which arose around the time Marsh was reaching his maturity as a player in the late 1940s.

As a result, Marsh struggled to make a living as a musician, and his body of recorded work is limited and poorly documented. Little has been written about him, with the exception of Safford Chamberlain’s 2001 biography entitled An Unsung Cat. Despite his being out of the spotlight during his life, Marsh's mark is unmistakable. His principles of pure improvisation and devoted craftsmanship are central to the modern jazz conception. His direct influence is heard most notably in the playing of revered contemporary tenor saxophonist Mark Turner.

Check out recordings by Warne Marsh.

'Warne Marsh' Album Cover Courtesy of Atlantic Records

On June 24th at 8 p.m. guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel will join them for a one-night engagement in the Concert Hall of the New York Society for Ethical Culture as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. The show will surely be exciting. The Bad Plus are so tight and have such a unique style that it is hard to imagine what they will sound like with a guest.

Read my review of Rosenwinkel’s latest album The Remedy: Live at the Village Vanguard.

Photo Courtesy of Joaquim Coelho

Tiny Resistors, the new album from bassist and composer Todd Sickafoose, was released Tuesday, June 10th on Cryptogramophone records. Sickafoose’s eight-piece ensemble features young jazz innovators such as guitarist Mike Gamble and saxophonist John Ellis, and guest singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco.

The result is a jazz album that crosses borders. The improvisations of the diverse and talented band are over lush textures and grooves that would sound perfectly at home drifting out of an indie-rock club. This album manages to remain accessible and expressive while experimenting with irregular meters, angular melody-lines, and cerebral ambiances.

This year has seen a generous and varied output from Crypotogramophone, which has also recently released albums by avant-garde guitarist Nels Cline, and bass-clarinetist Bennie Maupin, a former member of groups led by Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. Check out Cryptogramophone’s website for more news of their latest releases.

Album Cover Art Courtesy of Cryptogramophone Records

This year’s lineup celebrates some of the most cutting-edge musicians today. Each of their voices is distinct, but they are unified by stylistic freedom. Attending performances by drummer Tyshawn Sorey, saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Speed, and composer and big band leader Darcy James Argue, one will hear elements of punk rock, free jazz, and minimalist classical music. The view that any musical style is a legitimate ground on which to innovate and improvise is one that seems to be shaping the future of jazz.

This weekend’s music will surely challenge listeners, but despite the risks that the performers take, it will be clear that the goal is to communicate and connect with audiences, and not to alienate them.

Photo of Chris Speed © 2008 michael hoefner/www.zwo5.de

This week I took a train through the Green Mountains to Burlington, Vermont, where the annual Discover Jazz Festival has brought some of the top names in jazz to this lakeside town. The festival, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, is dedicated to showcasing a wide array of jazz styles through performances, clinics, and public discussions with the artists.

From May 30th until June 8th, the cafés, bars, restaurants and performance venues along cobblestone Church Street (the main commercial stretch) are bouncing with music from local groups and big festival acts. I happen to be playing some gigs and taking part in various jam sessions with local musicians, but the shows drawing the largest audiences this year are acts like Joshua Redman, Ornette Coleman, Lionel Loueke (who can be heard on Herbie Hancock’s Grammy-winning album River – The Joni Letters), Paquito D’Rivera, Tim Berne, and Dave Brubeck; a particularly expansive sampling of jazz today.

Even if you decide not to attend concerts, simply walking through downtown Burlington and enjoying an outdoor meal or cocktail will be a vibrant musical experience, starting from the early afternoon hours until about 1:00 in the morning.

Photo Courtesy of Bruno Bollaert / volume12.net