Qwest TV is the world’s first subscription video-on-demand platform dedicated to jazz and its neighboring…
Tag: Questlove
The Week in Jazz is your roundup of new and noteworthy stories from the jazz…
Qwest TV is the world’s first subscription video-on-demand platform dedicated to jazz and its neighboring…
The Week in Jazz is your roundup of new and noteworthy stories from the jazz…
Records Store Day to Take Place Worldwide This Saturday: Records Store Day, the internationally celebrated day of vinyl records dedicated to supporting independent stores, will take place in several cities around the world this Saturday, April 13. This year's extensive list of jazz releases includes records by Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Louis Armstrong and Wes Montgomery. Click here to read our list of the ten jazz Record Store Day 2019 releases we believe you need to know about.
Questlove Added to ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO Lineup: Musician, composer and member of The Roots, Questlove, has been added to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publisher's (ASCAP) "I Create Music" EXPO, the only music conference completely dedicated to music creation that will take place May 2-4 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Questlove will take part in a keynote conversation with Oscar-winning composer and ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President, Paul Williams, and will be recognized with the ASCAP Creative Voice Award, a special honor presented to ASCAP members whose significant career achievements are equally informed by their creative spirit and by their contributions to the role that a creator can play in the community.
Terence Blanchard to Be Named BMI Icon: Trumpeter-composer Terence Blanchard will be named a BMI Icon at the 35th annual BMI Film, TV and Visual Media Awards in recognition of his significant contribution to the cinematic community, at a private event held May 15 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Blanchard has composed music for several films, the most famous of which resulted from his longtime collaboration with filmmaker Spike Lee. "As a composer, Terence Blanchard's music is steeped in jazz, but he's also an incredibly versatile artist whose works range from film to Broadway to opera and back again," said BMI Vice President Creative - Film, TV & Visual Media, Doreen Ringer-Ross. "His emotionally compelling scores make sociological statements about sensitive cultural issues faced by many, both past and present. We're thrilled to name Terence a BMI Icon and celebrate the best in music for film, television and visual media."
Mark Guiliana, BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! (Motéma Music)
Drummer-composer Mark Guiliana’s Beat Music is an ensemble of forward-thinking musicians who share a passion for electronic music, genre-defying and in-the-moment creativity. Their new album, BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! traverses the world of electronic and acoustic music and explores the possibilities that such exploration creates. The end result is at once personal and communal; while the music on BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! is through-composed by Guiliana, it draws from the extensive interactions with his fellow musicians and finds each of his collaborators bringing a distinctive voice to the eclectic mix. “Even when I’m asking the musicians in Beat Music to play a part, I’m still very much asking them to play it in the way they play,” Guiliana explains. “No decision I could make would be better than what these guys choose to do; they really bring the music to life.”
Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan, Epistrophy (ECM Records)
Epistrophy captures the spellbinding chemistry shared by guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan in an intimate setting. Named after Thelonious Monk’s 1957 funky, angular composition, the album was recorded at New York City’s famed Village Vanguard in 2016 – the same year they released their first duo LP Small Town – and features a bundle of great interpretations of a wide range of tunes, including the aforementioned title track, Frank Sinatra’s hit “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” and “Mumbo Jumbo,” which was written by Paul Motian, an artist they both know very well. Another highlight from Epistrophy worth noting is the enthusiastic take on John Barry’s “You Only Live Twice,” which feels like the partner-track to Frisell and Morgan’s version of another immortal 007 theme song, “Goldfinger,” from their previous record Small Town.
Eric Reed, Everybody Gets the Blues (Smoke Sessions)
There’s something reassuring about the title of veteran pianist Eric Reed’s new album, Everybody Gets the Blues, an album on which he not only revitalizes the gospel roots of his passion for jazz but also draws strength from music to face down struggles both personal and global – whether via original compositions or by reimagining works of a wide range of artists, bridging the generations between Cedar Walton and Stevie Wonder, as if wanting to uncover hidden truths within their art. To help him on this quest, the pianist assembled a top-class group, including saxophonist Tim Green, drummer McClenty Hunter and bassist Mike Gurrola. “I always look for answers in the past,” Reed says. “What is there in history that I can draw from? Who else has gone through what I’m going through? Who has felt what I’m feeling? That helps me to answer the questions that I have in life right now.”
Featured photo by Guy Le Querrec.
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