Category: jazz

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arts blues dance jazz Latin music Oklahoma Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame tulsa

The Zuits return on Friday, April 23, 2010, to the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame

Tulsa’s jazz, Latin and Blues ensemble The Zuits will return at 7 p.m. Friday, April 23, 2010, to the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame‘s Depot, 111 E. First Street (Upper Level) in Tulsa, OK. Dance lessons start at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. 
For more information, call (918) 281-8600. Participants may also buy tickets at the door, which will open at 6:30 p.m.
The extra large dance floor will be rolled out, so participants need to wear dancing shoes and come enjoy the ensemble!  
 

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jazz music New York releases United States world Yotam

Israeli Guitarist Yotam to release “Resonance” on May 4

Israeli guitarist-composer Yotam (full name Yotam Silberstein) swings hard with an all-star cast for his debut compact disc, “Resonance” (to be released on  Jazz Legacy Productions).
The New York-based guitarist is joined by the stellar rhythm section of Christian McBride on bass, Aaron Goldberg on piano and Greg Hutchinson on drums. Special guest trumpeter Roy Hargrove also appears on faithful recreations of Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud” and Joe Henderson’s “Mamacita.”  
“Aaron, Christian, Greg and Roy, in my opinion, are a few of the giants of their generation,” Yotam says in a news release. “I was very honored to have them on the record. We have have forged a special chemistry together. And I think you can hear that on the album.”
Yotam is known for his unusual musical blend of bebop, Brazilian music, American blues, Jamaican reggae and Israeli folk songs. According to his bio, he was born and raised in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and started playing guitar at the age of 10, focusing mostly on rock and blues.
In August 2005, Yotam  received a scholarship to further his jazz studies at the New School in New York City. Less than a month later, he was selected as one of 10 top guitar players to participate in the semi-finals of the distinguished 2005 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition. In 2009, in addition to releasing his second release, he toured with the Sam Yahel Trio, opening for Steely Dan in major concert halls. 
Since then, he has played in many of the city’s great venues with great jazz artists like James Moody, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Louis Hayes, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Junior Mance, James Spaulding, Pat Martino, Antonio Hart, Slide Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars to name a few.

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jazz Jimmy Amadie music releases United States

Pianist Jimmy Amadie to release project “Kindred Spirits” on May 11

According to a news release, veteran pianist Jimmy Amadie adds another chapter to his remarkable life story with the May 11 release “Kindred Spirits,”  which features an all-star lineup on a tailor-made selection of blazing swing and tender ballads. Each track features a collaboration with one of three saxophone giants: Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, and Lew Tabackin. As always, Amadie calls on his crack rhythm team of drummer Bill Goodwin and bassists Steve Gilmore and Tony Marino, who adapt to each guest star with stunning dexterity.“Kindred Spirits” finds common ground linking individualistic musicians. As Amadie’s seventh CD, it follows in the footsteps of his last effort, “The Philadelphia Story,” which teamed the leader with Benny Golson, Randy Brecker, and Tabackin.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to record with some of the greatest players who’ve ever lived,” Amadie says. “It’s such an unbelievable experience because you get a chance to learn from them.”
For fans who follow Amadie, the journey has been a long one for him. Amadie has not only struggled with the extreme tendonitis in his hands which waylaid his musical life for decades, but he was diagnosed with lung cancer after the recording of “The Philadelphia Story.” He entered a year-long treatment of chemotherapy and radiation, but it has not stalled his love for music.
“There isn’t anything negative about the playing I did,” Amadie insists in a news release. “I did not play under bad circumstances.”

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arts Black Liberated Arts Center Inc. Charlie Christian charlie christian international jazz festival contemporary jazz festivals jazz Najee Oklahoma Oklahoma City

25th annual Charlie Christian International Music Festival to convene June 1-6 in Oklahoma City

Black Liberated Arts Center Inc. announced this week that the 25th annual Charlie Christian International Music Festival will be held June 1-6, 2010, in Oklahoma City. This popular event will be held at several downtown venues.
 The Charlie Christian International Music Festival is the center piece of Oklahoma’s rich music history that produced international personalities Charlie Christian, father of Bebop; jazz and blues singer Jimmy Rushing; the Blue Devils, famous Territorial Band and Ralph Ellison, the voice of jazz music.
Urban contemporary jazz artist Najee and other well-known music acts (yet to be announced) will be the headliners for this year’s festival. There are more than 12 jazz, blues, gospel, rhythm & blues bands from Europe and the United States features in this year’s festival.
The Charlie Christian International Music Festival has featured music greats such as Regina Carter, the late Isaac Hayes, Branford Marsalis, the late Claude “Fiddler” Williams, Jay McShann and Little Milton; George Benson, Kirk Whalum and many others. Over the past 24 years, more than 500,000 people have danced to the music, snapped their fingers, and had a ball at the indoor and outdoor activities of the festival.
 For more information, call (405) 524-3800 or e-mail blac37inc@yahoo.com.

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contemporary jazz Gianna Welling jazz Oklahoma Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame tulsa

Check out Gianna Welling with Charlie Redd and Full Flava Kings today at Jazz Depot

Rising smooth jazz recording artist Gianna Welling, along with Charlie Redd and Full Flava Kings will perform in concert at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, 2010, at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame‘s Jazz Depot, 111 E. First Street, in Tulsa, OK. Tickets at the door are $15.
Welling’s vocal style is a mix of smooth jazz,  R&B and soul.  Her first album is a critical success, and she is already at work on her second one. Look for her on United Kingdom-based Expansion Records label. Welling is a Tulsa native and graduate of Booker T. Washington High School. 
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame is located on 1st Street between Cincinnati and South Boston Avenue in downtown Tulsa. For more information, call (918) 281-8600.

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arts BLAC Inc. Black Liberated Arts Center Inc. blues classical music events jazz Oklahoma Oklahoma City United States

BLAC Inc. presents “An Evening with Ray Charles” Soul Food Dinner Theater on April 17 in Oklahoma City

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jazz Julia Dollison Kerry Marsh Maria Schneider releases United States vocal performance

Jazz vocalists Julia Dollison and Kerry Marsh releases “Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider” on ArtistShare

Jazz vocalists Julia Dollison and Kerry Marsh have joined forces to produce their latest project “Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider” that compliment the multi-Grammy Award-winning composer’s musical techniques.  The album was released on March 16, 2010.
Using their two voices via studio multi-tracking, Dollison and Marsh created a virtual vocal orchestra by wordlessly singing the brass and woodwind parts in Schneider’s lush, harmonically deep and rhythmically complex compositions. The tracks are all-new improvised solos featuring Dollison and Marsh, which reflect their personal vocal character and expression.
According to a news release, Dollison was the first vocalist to perform wordlessly with the Maria Schneider Orchestra at New York’s Jazz Standard in 2000, singing “Hang Gliding,” “Journey Home” and “Allegresse.”  According to her bio, she has performed under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and Erich Kunzel as well as with Ben Folds during his performances with the Boston Pops Symphony and National Symphony Orchestra. Dollison can be heard on the Academy Award-winning Vera Drake film trailer and on film scores for The Stepford Wives and The Corpse Bride.
Marsh, also a beneficiary of Schneider’s guest artist visits to the Universities of Kansas and North Texas, became one of the very first project participants in ArtistShare history when he joined the 2003 Schneider recording project that became Concert in the Garden.  Schneider’s influence on Kerry’s composition and arranging techniques during his studies helped earn him a DownBeat Student Music Award for best collegiate jazz arrangement later that same year. According to his bio, Marsh has most recently worked as a vocal arranger and choirmaster for indie-pop singer/pianist Ben Folds, performing alongside Folds with major symphony orchestras on tour. Kerry’s arrangement of Folds’ “Selfless, Cold and Composed” was featured on the 2009 Epic Records release Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella.
Regarding the “Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider” project, Schneider says in the news release, “I was a bit skeptical at first because of the enormous range of my pieces, the intricacy of the lines and the general extreme demands of the repertoire, but I decided to give it a shot. Julia was extraordinary! Her range, her sound, her ability to blend with the instruments and her absolutely perfect pitch just blew me away! She was nothing short of amazing.”
For more information on the project, go to http://www.artistshare.com/home/project_experience.aspx?projectID=225&artistID=108.

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arts international jazz music performances world jazz

Danilo Pérez presents “Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy”

Panamanian pianist, composer, and educator Danilo Pérez announces performance dates for his new project “Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy.”  Pérez and special guests will tour the following cities: Philadelphia, Toronto, New York, Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, and Chicago. For more information, go to http://www.daniloperez.com.
According to a news release, these performances will feature musicians David Sánchez on tenor saxophone; Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto saxophone; Amir ElSaffar on trumpet and voice; Jamey Haddad on percussion; Ben Street on bass (John Patitucci will substitute for Street on the first three dates); and Adam Cruz on drums.  The tour celebrates the music and bountiful inspiration of mentor Dizzy Gillespie.
Pérez is best known for his distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz. A member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, Pérez has recorded and performed with the likes of Steve Lacy, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Tito Puente, and Wynton Marsalis, among others. Pérez is the Artistic Director of the Berklee College of Music’s newly formed Global Jazz Institute (a unique focused area of study at the college designed to foster creativity and musicianship through various musical disciplines) as well as the annual Panama Jazz Festival. 

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jazz music One For All releases United States

One For All to release “Incorrigible” on April 6

Jazz group One For All is set to release their 15th project “Incorrigible” on April 6 for Jazz Legacy Productions.
One for All, which consists of tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, pianist David Hazeltine, trumpeter Jim Rotondi, trombonist Steve Davis, bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth, replicate the sound of the quintessential ’50s-’60s Blue Note vibe, of which fans may relate to the classic Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recordings.
According to a news release, the origins of One For All go back to Auggie’s, a jazz club on New York’s Upper West Side near the Columbia University campus where drummer Farnsworth held down a regular gig. The other members joined later at different times.

Although they hadn’t officially named the band, One For All members began playing together as a complete unit at Auggie’s as early as 1995. According to their bio, they first documented their kindred hookup on Steve Davis’ sextet outing for the Criss Cross label, “Dig Deep” (1996). The official band name eventually came from a Steve Davis tune, the title track of Art Blakey’s final recording “One For All” (1990).

One For All members continue to do side gigs and recording solo projects. Davis (who debuted as a leader on JLP last year with “Eloquence”) plays in the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Alumni Big Band, Jimmy Heath’s big band and Benny Golson’s New Jazztet. Alexander works with pianist Harold Mabern and guitarist Pat Martino while also recording prolifically as a leader. Webber  has performed with other notables such as Johnny Griffin, Etta Jones, Tommy Flanagan and Milt Jackson and continues to work with drummer Jimmy Cobb and pianist Hank Jones. Farnsworth works with the Cedar Walton trio and with tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Hazeltine and Rotondi have also worked in a variety of sideman settings while releasing several recordings as leaders. 
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arts contemporary jazz jazz music releases United States Valentine's Day

Jazz Vocalist Jackie Ryan releases a collection of love songs

Jazz vocalist Jackie Ryan will release a collection of 15 love songs in time for Valentine’s Day, according to a news release. Proceeds from the compact disc “Best of Love Songs” will go to Oxfam for ongoing Haiti Relief fund.
Ryan is best known as a “musician’s singer.”  She has performed, recorded, or toured with Clark Terry, Toots Thielemans, Barry Harris, Cyrus Chestnut, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Red Holloway, Eric Alexander, Jeremy Pelt, Ernie Watts, Benny Green, Tamir Hendelman, Jeff Hamilton, Amina Figarova, Mike Wofford, Jon Mayer, Larry Vuckovich, and Jon Hendricks. 
Ryan’s 2009 release “DOOZY” was the third most played jazz CD on radio for the entire year, finished at #3 on JazzWeek‘s Top 100 CDs of 2009, received four-star reviews from both “DownBeat” and “All Music Guide,” and sat atop many critics’ end of year lists. Jackie was one of 5 vocalists voted by critics to make “JazzTimes‘” “Top 50 CDs of the Year.”
Selected from three recordings released from 2002 to 2006, “Best of Love Songs” reflects Ryan’s myriad of musical talent. Joining Ryan on the project is legendary two-time Grammy-Award nominees Ernie Watts and Red Holloway, backed by Jon Mayer, Tamir Hendelman, Larry Vuckovich, Jeff Hamilton, Jeff Chambers and others.