Also check out www.jazzstage.net
It has taken the National Endowment for the Arts three decades to
recognize Chicago tenor saxophone legend Von Freeman with the country's
highest jazz honor: the NEA's Jazz Masters Award.
Freeman, 87, will receive the prize, plus $25,000, next January at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, during the awards' 30th anniversary ceremony (as first reported in the Tribune on April 19).
But
Chicago – where Freeman was born and always has lived – long has
recognized the man's outsized contribution to music, the latest tribute
coming in the form of a major concert Thursday night at the Pritzker Pavilion,
in Milllennium Park. "Truth Be Told: Celebrating the Legacy of Von
Freeman" will kick off the seventh annual "Made in Chicago: World Class
Jazz" series in the most fitting way possible: with an artistically
ambitious, evening-length salute to an icon of Chicago jazz. Read complete story from chicagotribune.com
Veteran tenor-saxophonist Dexter Gordon welcomed trumpeter Freddie Hubbard to his recording group several times during his career and each collaboration was quite rewarding.This CD, called "Generation," should please collectors. Click here for complete review from allmusic.com
When the trumpeter Freddie Hubbard showed up in 1960, he was hailed
with much of the stunned admiration that Wynton Marsalis was to attract
20 years later. Hub Cap was his third album for Blue Note, released in
1961.Read complete review from www.guardian.co.uk
Facebook friend Addison Whitaker passes this along: It would be Buddy Collette's
90th birthday on August 6th. We're having a 'celebration' on August 9th
at Catalina's in Hollywood. Buddy's Big Band led by John Stephens,
Ernie Andrews, Dee Dee McNeil, and the JazzAmerica Band.
The event is hosted by: Helen Borgers of KJAZZ 88.1 FM. Reservations: 1-323-466-2210 or www.catalinajazzclub.com. Cover charge $20 to benefit JazzAmerica.org.
There is more -- and less -- than meets the eye with this hard bop
collection from 1960: less Booker Little and more performers than are
listed on the CD. A little research corroborates what the ear suspects:
the eight tracks come from three sessions, only one of which has
trumpeters Little and Donald Byrd together (three tracks). The other
sessions feature, respectively, Little and trombonist Curtis Fuller
(two tracks) and Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams (three
tracks). Adams is one of a half-dozen performers not credited on the
CD. Read complete review from allmusic.com
One of multi-instrumentalist and composer Yusef Lateef's most enduring recordings, Eastern Sounds was one of the last recordings made by the band that Lateef shared with pianist Barry Harris after the band moved to New York from Detroit, where the jazz scene was already dying. Lateef had long been interested in Eastern music, long before John Coltrane
had ever shown any public interest anyway, so this Moodsville session
(which meant it was supposed to be a laid-back ballad-like record),
recorded in 1961, was drenched in Lateef's
current explorations of Eastern mode and interval, as well as tonal and
polytonal improvisation. That he could do so within a context that was
accessible, and even "pretty," is an accomplishment that stands today. Click here for complete review from allmusic.com.
Justifiably considered one of the best of Dizzy Gillespie's many live sets, AT NEWPORT captures a dead-on1957 performance featuring Gillespie and one of his best bands, starring baritone saxophonist Pee Wee Moore, tenor Benny Golson, and pianist Wynton Kelly. Road-tightened by months of world tours sponsored by the US State Department's cultural exchange program, the ensemble is flawless, but not at all mechanical.
The goofy humor of comic standards like "School Days" and "Doodlin'" is an old jazz standby that only Gillespie truly continued into the post-bop years. However, on Latin-flavored standards like a scorching version of "Manteca" and a spirited run-through of the old standard "Carioca," not to mention the extended solo showcases "Night in Tunisia" and "Cool Breeze," Gillespie and band show that their chops are as sharp as anyone's. Another highlight is the showcase for pianist Mary Lou Williams, containing selections from her signature piece ZODIAC SUITE and proving this lineup capable of more thoughtful, sensitive playing, than one might expect from their more exuberant moments. Read complete review from cduniverse.com.
Though much of altoist Gary Bartz's seventies output has been reissued, this live date from the 1973 Montreux festival has remained as rare as rocking horse droppings until now.
Still probably best known as Wayne Shorter's replacement in Miles Davis' early 70's band, Bartz's fruity tone and generous, emotional approach provided a perfect foil to the leaders oblique trumpet stylings. Though initially inspired by Charlie Parker, Bartz eventually proved himself to be one of the few alto saxophonists to successfully draw on John Coltrane's legacy.
This was never more apparent than in the output of Ntu Troop, who mixed the questing improvisations of Coltrane's late period with funk and soul influences and no-nonsense political messages, delivered in short, snappy songs by vocalist Andy Bey. For this date, Bey was replaced by pianist Hubert Eaves and Bartz takes up vocal duties. Though he's not much of a singer, if you're like me you might prefer his unadorned, slightly breathless style to Bey's more mannered delivery. Click here for complete story.
Also check out www.jazzstage.net
During the spring and summer of 1956, trumpeter Kenny Dorham recorded two studio albums with his Jazz Prophets, a small hard bop band involving tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose and a rhythm section of pianist Dick Katz, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Arthur Edgehill. On May 31 of that year, Dorham's group performed live at the Café Bohemia with Bobby Timmons at the piano and guitarist Kenny Burrell sitting in on all but the first of four sets. Originally engineered by Rudy Van Gelder and remastered by him in 2001, Blue Note's 2002 double-disc "Complete" Dorham Café Bohemia edition combines every usable track taped during this exceptionally fine evening of live jazz. Click here for complete review from allmusic.com.
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