Category: jazz

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Dionne White jazz Oklahoma performances Sonny Gray Stan Kenton Alumni Band tulsa United States

Stan Kenton Alumni Band performs tonight at Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame; other performance Sunday

Stan Kenton Alumni Band

The Stan Kenton Alumni Band, directed by Mike Vax, will offer phenomenal big band jazz in the finest Kenton tradition – with bellowing brass, cutting woodwind solos and vividly vibrant arrangements tonight at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame‘s Jazz Depot, 111 E. First St. (Upper Level) in Tulsa, OK. The performance is a celebration of Stan Kenton’s 70th year anniversary at the Jazz Depot. Vax directs a jazz salute worthy of the genius that defined Stan Kenton and his musical legacy.  Doors will open at 6 p.m., and showtime is 7 p.m. General admission is $15. 




Vocalist Dionne White
On Sunday, May, 1, 2011, Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame inductee Sonny Gray and vocalist Dionne White will present “My Shining Hour.” Doors will open at 4 p.m., and showtime is at 5 p.m. For more information on either performance, call (918) 281-8609 or go online to  http://myticketoffice.com/events.asp?id=11&loc=254 to purchase tickets.
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Pianist Eldar Djangirov performs in Oklahoma on Sunday, April 17, 2011

EldarJazz pianist Eldar Djangirov will give a solo piano concert at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s Jazz Depot (111 E. First St. – Upper Level in Tulsa, OK) at 5 p.m. Sunday, April. 17, 2011.   He will perform jazz standards, classical music and original compositions from his new CD “Three Stories.” 
The Grammy-nominee has worked with the late Dr. Billy Taylor, Marian McPartland, Dave Brubeck, Michael Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock. Doors will open at 4 p.m. General admission is $15 and reserved table setting is $20. Tickets may be bought online at http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2762&pid=6950618. For more information, call (918) 281-8609.

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Colorado festivals JAS Labor Day Weekend Festival jazz performances reggae United States

Michael Franti and Spearhead replace Lenny Kravitz at JAS Labor Day Weekend Festival

Michael Franti

According to a recent news release, organizers of the JAS Labor Day weekend festival announced today that Michael Franti & Spearhead will replace Lenny Kravitz, for his previously announced performance on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, at the JAS festival. Michael Franti & Spearhead will co-headline and perform prior to the Zac Brown Band, winner of the Best New Artist award at the 2011 Grammys, in Franti’s only scheduled 2011 appearance in Colorado.

Representatives of Kravitz explained to JAS that the release of his new record, previously scheduled for early spring 2011, had been pushed back to fall 2011, and thus his scheduled summer 2011 tour had been postponed.  Festival organizers and representatives of the artist are looking to potentially reschedule the performance for 2012, pending artist availability, but no commitment has been made yet.
Michael Franti & Spearhead have previously performed at the JAS festival in two acclaimed shows, including a single day attendance record set in 2007 in a co-bill with the Allman Brothers Band.    
Individuals who have purchased tickets to the Lenny Kravitz show on Sept 4, 2011, may get a refund if processed by May 1, 2011. Previously announced artists at the Sept. 2-4, 2011, festival include Steely Dan, Zac Brown Band, Girl Talk, Thievery Corporation, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Fitz & the Tantrums and the Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses.

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Pianist/Composer Helen Sung announces East Coast tour dates

Jazz pianist/composer Helen Sung

According to a recent news release, award-winning jazz pianist/composer Helen Sung has announced a run of East Coast tour dates, which will include the debut of her experiment with all things electric titled “Wired” at the 55 Bar in New York City on April 26 and May 25, 2011.  Other New York area dates include Sung with her trio at WBGO Radio’s “Jazz For Kids” series at the Montclair, N.J., Museum on April 16, 2011, presenting the program “I Got Rhythm, You Got Rhythm, We All Got Rhythm” with special guest tap dancer Maurice Chestnut. Sung will also perform in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Chamber Jazz Series in Washington, D.C. on April 12, 2011.
Sung recently released a collection of re-worked jazz standards from the American songbook, titled (re)Conception.  Sung said in a release, “Nils Winther, owner of Steeplechase Records, called me on a Thursday in October 2009 asking if I’d like to do a trio recording session for him that coming Sunday: there’d been a cancellation. I’d done a couple of Steeplechase sessions before with other bands (Greg Tardy, Ronnie Cuber) and enjoyed them; besides, recording is always a terrific multi-faceted learning experience: producing, arranging, composing, the whole studio setting with its constellation of booths, mikes, the control room. Thus, I accepted this last minute opportunity.”
“I’ve always felt the American songbook is one the great proving grounds in jazz artistry,” Sung said. Referred to as “jazz standards”, these songs are timeless and have a strength that can withstand almost any type of treatment. For  more information on Sung’s tour dates, go to http://www.helensung.com/.




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jazz Oklahoma Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame tulsa

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame inductee Pat Moore to perform final concert on April 8, 2011

According to a news release, Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame inductee  Ms. Pat Moore, will perform her farewell concert at 8 p.m. Friday, April 8, 2011, at the Jazz Depot, 111 E. First St. (Upper Level) in Tulsa.
Due to continued health issues, the Oklahoma jazz piano/vocal legend has decided to thank the Tulsa community for their many years of support and love in her final concert. Moore will be accompanied with drummer  Edward “Spike” Gore and Leon Rollerson on bass. Reserved table seating is $30 and general admission $15 per person. Tickets may be purchased online at http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2762&pid=6995721. For more information, call (918) 281-8609.

In other news, Jeff Jones and Primal Swing will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 3, 2011. Jones and his quartet will feature jazz standards and original tunes with special guest vocalists Misty Lane and Loren Stidham, Brent Deacon on guitar, Tom Shannon on sax, Rod Clark on bass and Mr. Jones on drums. Reserved table seating is $20, and general admission is $15. Tickets may be purchased online at http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2762&pid=6950616.

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Jared Johnson, others honor longtime Tulsa jazz drummer Art Blakey on March 27, 2011

Art Blakey

The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame will close out the month of March with a tribute to Tulsa jazz icon and drummer Art Blakey at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 27, 2011, at the Jazz Depot, 111 E. First Street (Upper Level) in Tulsa, OK.  Jared Johnson will lead some of Tulsa’s finest jazz musicians to honor this legendary jazz drummer.   

 Swinging the night away, the all-star cast includes trumpeter Jeff Shadley, tenor saxophonist Dr. Tommy Poole, bassist Jim Loftin, Scott McQuade on piano and Johnson on drums. Doors open at 4 p.m. General admission is $15 and front-row table seating is $20. For more information, call (918)  281-8609 or go online to http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2762&pid=6950615.
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Trumpeter Sean Jones to release sixth album “No Need for Words” on May 24, 2011

After five previous albums, Sean Jones is particularly adept at plumbing complex emotional depths through his trumpet playing and composing.
“I didn’t want to do your typical love songs record that just deals with one aspect of love,” Jones said in a news release. “Not just the love from a man to a woman or the positive emotional side of falling in love. I wanted to do an album that really dealt with a few different shades of love.”
2010 was certainly a year of change for the trumpeter. In the spring, he stepped down from his position as lead trumpeter of Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a position that Jones held for over half a decade. Additionally, he formed a new relationship with Marcus Miller, joining the bassist this past summer for a European tour.
This year, the title of Jones’ sixth CD for Mack Avenue, No Need For Words, sums up his overall approach. This is music that cuts straight to the emotional heart, whether dealing with passion, sensuality, parental nurturing, or spiritual forgiveness. Regardless of the particular feeling involved, Jones and his band communicate directly and movingly.
“It’s definitely an emotional statement,” Jones said. “I tried to make sure that the melodies I created and the vibe that I put on each particular tune really carried the message rather than having it expressed verbatim.”
Joining Jones on the project is Philadelphia-based pianist Orrin Evans, whose recent projects include his raucous Captain Black Big Band and the collective group “Tarbaby”; bassist Luques Curtis, who co-leads a Latin-oriented quartet with his pianist brother Zaccai; and Miami-born drummer Obed Calvaire, who has also performed with Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Watson, Lizz Wright and Steve Turre. 


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Trombonist Joe Fiedler releases “Sacred Chrome Orb” on March 29 on Yellow Sound Records

Trombonist Joe Fiedler’s Sacred Chrome Orb (to be released on Yellow Sound Records) represents a delight in the incongruous, a refreshingly skewed perspective, and an off-kilter sense of humor, all qualities that pervade the music of his unique, intensely expressive trio.
Sacred Chrome Orb is the Joe Fiedler Trio’s third project. Playing with Fiedler is bassist John Hebert and drummer Michael Sarin – two highly individual voices who meld into a chameleonic unit, able to morph from the airy to the explosive with supple, surprising grace. Fiedler is an inventive trombonist whose talents have found him founding the eccentric brass band Big Sackbut, working with visionary leaders Andrew Hill, Lee Konitz and Maria Schneider and avant-garde giants Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor; in big bands led by Satoko Fujii and Charles Tolliver; a member of the Captain Beefheart tribute band Fast and Bulbous; or accompanying pop stars like Jennifer Lopez and Wyclef Jean.
Fiedler announces his bold take on multiphonics from the outset, entering the opening track, “Occult”, with a sound like a train whistle. The atmosphere that this striking sound creates is sustained throughout the ensuing six minutes, with both the leader and Hebert stretching out over Sarin’s simmering intensity.
As its title implies, the groove-heavy “Two Kooks” is an opportunity for the trio to embark on a more light-hearted excursion. “I felt like we needed to just swing and get funky on something,” Fiedler says in a news release, “to do something fun and not as serious.”
On a more personal note, “Chicken” was named for the composer’s six-year-old daughter, though, as Fiedler says, “it’s not really a kid tune. When I played it for her, she ran out of the room and buried her head in the sofa. I’m not sure what that means.”
Whatever it means for Fiedler’s young daughter, Sacred Chrome Orb is likely to provoke strong reactions in any listener, even if it doesn’t send them scrambling for the couch cushions. 

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Cynthia Simmons jazz Mardi Gras Mary Cogan music Oklahoma Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame tulsa United States

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame hosts Saturday Mardi Gras Celebration at the Depot

Mary Cogan

The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame presents a Mardi Gras bash at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5, 2011, at the Jazz Depot, 111 E. First Street (Upper Level) in Tulsa, OK.
Mary Cogan is the entertainment for Mardi Gras 2011. Joining Cogan will be Shelby Eicher (mandolin and violin), Pat Savage and Ron Morgan, as well as a surprise musical guest.  Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.   King Cake and New Orleans Gumbo will be served and participants are encouraged to wear masks and costumes.  For tickets, call Bettie at (918) 281-8609 or go online to http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2762&pid=6962783. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

Cynthia Simmons

At 5 p.m. Sunday, March 6, 2011,  jazz vocalist Cynthia Simmons plans an evening of the “Songs I Love to Sing” highlighting many of her favorite jazz standards, including My Funny Valentine, Cry Me a River, Mood Indigo, Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me and more.   Joining Simmons is special guest vocalist Pam Crosby and trumpeter Jeff Shadley. Doors will open at 4 p.m. For tickets, go to http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2762&pid=6950612.

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Vijay Iyer introduces new band and album Tirtha on March 8, 2011

(Left to right: Nitin Mitta, Vijay Iyer, Prasanna)               Photo credit: Alan Nahigian       

Vijay Iyer, 2011 Grammy nominee & JJA Musician of the Year, Chennai (formerly Madras)-born guitarist-composer Prasanna, and Hyderabad native and tabla player Nitin Mitta have achieved a fully realized, deeply thoughtful, and truly innovative collaboration called Tirthia. 
Tirthia, to be released on March 8, 2011, combines the elemental directness of rock, the chamber-like intimacy of raga, and bebop’s hard, angular drive, and achieves a profound interplay of melody and rhythm that characterizes jazz.
“Tirtha (the band) formed in response to an invitation,” said Iyer in a news release. “In 2007, I was asked to put together a concert celebrating 60 years of Indian independence. Normally I’ve steered clear of fusion experiments that attempt to mix styles – to “create something,” as John Coltrane famously admonished, “more with labels, you see, than true evolution.” For this event, I hoped to avoid those pitfalls, and offer something personal.
“I invited along Prasanna and Nitin Mitta, two outstanding musicians from India who have settled in the States. None of us had collaborated previously, but at our first rehearsal we felt a jolt of recognition. There was no question of “fusion,” no compromise, no attempt to sound more or less “Indian”; just a fluid musical conversation among three individuals, an atmosphere of camaraderie, a sense of beginning.”
Composer-pianist Iyer is one of today’s most acclaimed and respected young American jazz artists. He received the Musician of the Year Award in the 2010 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, the 2010 Echo Award (the “German Grammy”) for best international ensemble with his trio, and the Downbeat Critics Poll for rising star jazz group of the year. His latest recordings on the ACT label include Solo (2010) and the trio album Historicity (2009). Historicity subsequently received a Grammy Nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.