Heath Brothers make special connection with audience

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Historic jazz musicians and brothers Jimmy, 84, and Albert "Tootie" Heath, 75, stress the importance of performing in their craft — that as a performance art, jazz is about connecting through music. With The Heath Brothers Quartet, Jimmy and Tootie performed in Rosse Hall on Friday, April 22. They connected with the audience and imbued the sizable crowd with a feeling of intimacy. Playing everything from jazz interpretations of western classical music to standards like "Autumn Leaves" — Jimmy's version is titled "Autumn Sleeves" — and original compositions, the quartet dazzled the crowd with virtuosic talent and inviting humility. Read complete story from kenyoncollegian.com.

                                                                                   Photo by David Hoyt

Happy Birthday, Charles Mingus

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Irascible, demanding, bullying, and probably a genius, Charles Mingus cut himself a uniquely iconoclastic path through jazz in the middle of the 20th century, creating a legacy that became universally lauded only after he was no longer around to bug people. As a bassist, he knew few peers, blessed with a powerful tone and pulsating sense of rhythm, capable of elevating the instrument into the front line of a band. But had he been just a string player, few would know his name today. Rather, he was the greatest bass-playing leader/composer jazz has ever known, one who always kept his ears and fingers on the pulse, spirit, spontaneity, and ferocious expressive power of jazz. Read complete bio from allmusic.com.

The Charles Mingus website

Trumpeter Wallace Roney talks about mentor Miles before performance

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When it came to nurturing and mentoring promising young jazz trumpeters, Miles Davis was fairly picky. In fact, he did it just once. For several years, Davis took the massively talented Wallace Roney under his wing, providing not just musical tutelage but also insights into the creative process and Life Itself.

Having established that, don't expect, when Roney brings his quartet to the Garde's Oasis Room tonight, note-for-note recitations of "Bitches  Brew" or "The Jack Johnson Sessions." Though the event is billed as a Tribute to Miles, that's a more conceptual than literal concept. "Every time I pick up a trumpet and play, it's a tribute to Miles. Read complete story from theday.com.