Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the complianz-gdpr domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/mitchmus/domains/mitchmuse.com/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131 United States – Page 23 – Mitch's MuseSkip to the content
Fresh Express® has developed a breakthrough, eco-friendly produce wash called Fresh Rinse™ that is 7x more effective in cleaning salads than traditional chlorine wash,1 but is still gentle on lettuce.
1Based on average reduction of bacteria (Total Aerobic Plate Counts, and indicator for the level of microorganisms on a product)
*Must be a Vocalpoint member; limited quantities available. Only one package will be mailed per member. Please allow 5-7 weeks for delivery. Offer only available in certain areas.
Dallas, TX – In October 2010, several renowned stars came to celebrate and help raise operating revenue for the Black Academy of Arts and Letters that was founded by Curtis King 34 years ago. “In a bad economy the first thing that gets cut is arts funding,” says King, whose 250,000 square foot complex is adjacent to the Dallas City Hall, in a news release. “However, it’s the plays, concerts, poetry readings and other inspiring programming we offer that helps people get through rough times like these. So, we’re thrilled that these artists came together to make a CD that will raise money to help keep these programs going.” The majority of the songs on the 13-track, Medicine – Live At The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (MCG Records/ $13.99 SRLP), were written or co-written by Sam “Shake” Anderson, a veteran bassist who has toured with the likes of Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield and Bruce Hornsby. It was recorded live at The Black Academy. Backed by the 80-voice Black Academy Choir, American Idol champion Ruben Studdard performed two of the album’s highlights. “Medicine For Someone Else” has a bluesy feel and shows off a raspier tone for Studdard, while the ballad “Teach Me to Love” boasts an unplugged groove. The album is not a typical gospel set. On it, the songs range from a brash critique of parasite preachers on “PTYHOMP (Please Take Your Hands Out My Pocket)” to the bloody waters of the Atlantic Slave Trade on Jasmine Guy’s spoken-word recitation of Curtis King’s “My Language” poem. Ann Nesby (former lead singer for The Sounds of Blackness) wraps her big voice around the poignant anthem, “What Would You Have Me Do?” Yarbrough & Peoples, best known for their 1981 #1 R&B smash “Don’t Stop the Music,” deliver the funk on the percolating street jam, “Jump Til’ You Feel Something.” Tommie Young West, who recorded classic R&B sides for Louisiana’s Soul Power label in the early ’70s, rocks the house on the pulsating “Won’t Have to Worry” while Brenda Ellis’ full alto pulverizes the paean, “Bask (In the Presence of the Lord).” “I look back on my days of the handling of such mega superstars as Phillip Bailey of Earth Wind & Fire, Leon Patillo of Santana, Helen Baylor, Shirley Caesar, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Denise Williams, and the incredible Al Green,” says James Bullard, president and CEO of Majestic Communications Group (MCG). “This project, in my opinion, is comparable to those superstars. My blood is pumping like never before. This is going to be a big project and is destine to go all the way to the top. I am excited beyond words about this project.” Although, The Black Academy has been a fixture on Dallas’ local arts scene for over three decades, the organization also has a national standing. Its 1987 fundraising CD by Eartha Kitt entitled, My Way: Musical Tribute to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (Caravan of Dreams) sold over 250,000 copies. The Academy later funded national touring productions of “Black Music and the Civil Rights Movement,” “Symphony with the Divas,” and the musical, “Blues Bar.” For more information, go to www.tbaal.org.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced via news release the recipients of the 2012 NEA Jazz Masters Award – the nation’s highest honor in jazz. The five recipients will receive a one-time award of $25,000 and be publicly honored at the annual awards ceremony and concert, produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center at its home, Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.
With this class, the NEA is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the NEA Jazz Masters Awards, which recognizes outstanding musicians for their lifetime achievements and significant contributions to the development and performance of jazz.
*Jimmy Owens is the recipient of the 2012 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy.
“These artists represent the highest level of artistic mastery and we are proud to recognize their achievements,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman in a news release. “Through their contributions, we have been challenged, enlightened, and charmed, and we thank them for devoting their careers to expanding and supporting their art forms.”
“Jazz is considered by many as one of America’s greatest cultural gifts to the world,” said Wayne S. Brown, NEA Director of Music and Opera. “These artists are being recognized for their extraordinary contribution to advancing the art form and for serving as mentors for a new generation of young aspiring jazz musicians.”
The NEA Jazz Masters awards were announced in conjunction with the announcement of the NEA National Heritage Fellowships and NEA Opera Honors recipients. Please go to arts.gov for the list of these recipients.
The release of Warren Wolf, the eponymous debut album for Mack Avenue Records by Warren Wolf on August 16, will make it as apparent to jazz fans as it already is to jazz insiders that the 31-year-old vibraphonist is the next major voice on his instrument.
Joined by a unit of authoritative swingers (bassist Christian McBride, pianist Peter Martin, drummer Greg Hutchinson, alto and soprano saxophonist Tim Green, and, on two tracks, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt), vibraphonist Warren Wolf, 31, offers a ten-piece program that admirably represents his singular blend of efflorescent chops, muscular attack, lyric sensibility, harmonic acumen, encyclopedic knowledge of hardcore jazz vocabulary, tireless groove and downright musicality.
“I’m trying to bring forth what most cats did back in the day, coming out right at you swinging, nice and hard, not a lot of hard melodies or weird time signatures,” Wolf said in a recent news release. “I like to play really hard, fast and kind of flashy. I like to take it to a whole other level.”
“What he does on vibes is pretty incredible,” said McBride, Wolf’s employer since 2007 in the Inside Straight band and co-producer of this album along with Mack Avenue EVP of A&R, Al Pryor. “You can’t hear Warren and not be highly impressed. Give him some music to learn, he pretty much has it committed to memory in a matter of minutes. In a couple of days, he has it on the piano. Then suddenly, he’s internalizing every part of the music-the melody, the chord changes, the song’s overall personality.” You’re listening to him, thinking, ‘Yeah, that’s what I had in mind.'”
Born and raised in Baltimore, where he currently resides, Wolf is less widely known to “civilians” than his bona fides would merit. Still, he’s anything but a newcomer on the scene. In addition to two self-released recordings and two dates for the Japanese market on which he tears through producer-selected repertoire with panache and an informed point of view, his CV includes gigs with such eminent veterans as McBride, Bobby Watson, Mulgrew Miller and Tim Warfield, and recent encounters with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the George Coleman-Joey DeFrancesco Quartet and a Music of the Modern Jazz Quartet project led by pianist Aaron Diehl, the 2011 American Pianists Association Cole Porter Fellowship winner. He also leads a strong working unit with Green, pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Kris Funn and drummer John Lamkin.
“I don’t think there’s anything Warren can’t handle,” McBride said. “My dream for him is that he eventually gets to collaborate with the super-duper heavyweights. I can’t wait to see where he’ll go next.”
According to a recent news release, Grammy Award nominated recording artist and producer Troy Sneed’s latest radio smash, “My Heart Says Yes” is continuing to hold steady at #2 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart for the second consecutive week. This summer, Sneed makes his first TV appearances in years on BET’s “Bobby Jones Gospel” and TCT’s “Dorinda Clark Cole Show.”
The public probably first noticed Sneed as a choir member in the film “The Preacher’s Wife.” He also coached the Georgia Mass Choir for the Whitney Houston soundtrack. He later recorded solo albums for Savoy Records before launching his own Emtro Gospel Records label in 2005. Ever since, the label has placed 18 songs by various artists on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart, including a half dozen by Sneed such as “Work It Out,” “The Struggle is Over” (#1 for 12 weeks) and ”Hallelujah.” His new Top 10 CD “My Heart Says Yes” is in stores now. For more info on Sneed, visit www.troysneed.net, www.Facebook.com/emtrogospel or www.Twitter.com/TroySneed.
Philadelphia icon Jimmy Amadie returns to the spotlight with a new project called “Something Special” on Aug. 16, 2011, and he will make his first public performance since 1967 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 5:45 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. Amadie, 74, has battled many struggles over the years, but he is happy to share his love of music with his fans. “This is the best time of my life,” Amadie said in a news release. “I’m 74 years old and I’m getting better every day.” Amadie’s story has been recounted often since his miraculous return to the piano bench in the mid-1990s, but it bears repeating. The North Philadelphia native was a promising young pianist in the 1950s, accompanying the likes of Mel Torme, Woody Herman and Red Rodney, when his performing career was brought to an abrupt halt by severe tendonitis in both hands. Playing the piano suddenly became sheer agony, and Amadie was reduced to improvising only in his head for the next 35 years. He managed to maintain an influential presence on jazz through those decades thanks to his own teaching (students included Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Di Martino and famed TV composer Edd Kalehoff) and the publication of two highly-regarded instructional volumes: Harmonic Foundation for Jazz and Popular Music and Jazz Improv: How To Play It and Teach It. His own belated recording debut finally arrived in 1995, thanks to a series of surgeries and his own indomitable fighting spirit. Just as his luck seemed to be improving he was faced with a further setback. Following the 2007 recording of The Philadelphia Story, he was diagnosed with lung cancer; having reached the summit of one mountain, he suddenly found himself at the base of another.
Something Special is, in many ways, a direct result of that diagnosis. Most people are forced to reassess their priorities when confronted with a life-threatening illness; for Amadie, the cancer, which he continues to battle successfully, helped him come to the decision of recording his first trio session. “I didn’t know if I was going to get another chance to play,” Amadie said. “I decided to give it my best shot and play without holding back. I’m glad I did. I can’t tell you what I learned.”
One of Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s favorite vocalists, Olivia Duhon sings at the Jazz Depot, 111 E. First St. in Tulsa, OK, at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 19, 2011, for a special Fathers’ Day concert. One of Urban Tulsa’s “Hot 100” artists, a “Best of Tulsa” nominee, and the Jazz Hall’s Legacy Tribute recipient in 2009, Duhon performs throughout Oklahoma. Accompanied by the Frank Brown Trio, Duhon delivers the standards that Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday made famous with a “mesmerizing” voice. General admission is $15, and reserved table seating is $20. Attendees may order tickets online at http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2762&pid=7047841. For more information, call (918) 281-8609.
With Common Ground, Gary Burton, the Grammy-winning pioneer of the four-mallet technique of playing the vibes, is not only delivering his first studio album since 2005, but is also introducing his latest band. Known as the New Gary Burton Quartet, the group is comprised of guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez.
Common Ground features 10 tunes, including six remarkable originals by quartet members as well as two impressive numbers by pianist Vadim Neselovskyi (a former Burton band member), a gem from the Keith Jarrett songbook and an intriguing arrangement of the standard “My Funny Valentine,” spotlighting Lage.
Well-known throughout his five-decade career for his quartets (beginning with his 1967 group featuring Larry Coryell, Roy Haynes and Steve Swallow), Burton is returning to the configuration for the first time since the mid-’90s.
The quartet served as a reunion of Lage with Burton, who has known the guitarist since he was a teen wunderkind and has featured him in his bands up until three years ago. (During the hiatus from working together, Burton was focusing on revisiting the 1973 chamber jazz classic Crystal Silence duo with Chick Corea, while Lage finished college and worked on his long-awaited debut album, Sounding Point.)
“Julian has matured so much since I first met him 10 years ago when he was 12 years old,” Burton said in a recent news release. “Julian has kept on growing and developing a sound of his own. He’s a knock out.” Lage fills the quartet guitar chair that was once held by such rising-star six-stringers as Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Kurt Rosenwinkel, among others.
“I’ve always liked the vibraphone-guitar sound,” says Burton, whose masterful vibes glisten throughout Common Ground. “It’s something that I discovered when Nashville country guitarist Hank Garland invited me in the ’60s to record with him. The sound of the two instruments together has an ideal timbre and coolness.” For the quartet’s rhythm section, Burton called Sanchez, who has played with the vibraphonist on and off in recent years. But Colley is new to Burton’s employ. “Once I decided to have Antonio be a part of the group, I asked him what bass player he’d suggest, and he said Scott is the one,” says Burton. “They are a terrific rhythm team.”
While Burton has crossed multiple stylistic borders since he broke into the jazz ranks in the ’60s, he finds that he often returns to the straight-ahead jazz quartet setting. That’s why Common Ground by the New Gary Burton Quartet is so special to him.
“Since my very first group in 1967, I can count maybe three times that one of my groups over the years clicked so perfectly,” Burton said. “Whenever I start a new group, I often wonder how things will work, to see if the musicians will enjoy playing together and are ready to take the music to a higher level. With the new band, I’m thrilled. It’s proving to be one of the standout bands of my career and has already quickly developed its own identity.”
Canadian jazz vocalist Alex Pangman will make her Justin Time Recordsdebut in the United States with a new disc, appropriately titled, 33, on July 12, 2011. The vocalist explains the meaning behind the title in a recent news release: “as a longtime devotee of music from the classic genre, I find something of a kinship with the music that buoyed nations through the ‘dirty thirties.’ The initial concept of this record was to honor that kind of spirit with songs popular in 1933; indeed the bulk of the material (save for one self-penned number) are songs that were popular in the year 1933 – recorded while I was 33.” Along with her longtime band the Alleycats and featuring guest vocalists Ron Sexsmith and Denzal Sinclaire – the music is presented with all the love, fun and respect it deserves. A compelling talent in her own right, Pangman’s voice can be regarded as even more impressive, knowing she received a double lung transplant just a few years ago. The smoke-filled venues where Pangman often frequented finally caught up to the singer, who was battling lung disease at the time. She reluctantly took a break to recoup; her interest in singing and playing music never waning. A bit of background: After discovering a songbook of classics at an early age, Pangman quickly began delving deeper into the sophisticated shellac of the 20s and 30s, which eventually led to a fortuitous connection with the late guitar great Jeff Healey, who knew a rare talent when he heard it. In very short order, Healey produced her impressive 1999 debut ‘They Say’ (Sensation Records) as well as the 2001 follow-up, ‘You Can’t Stop Me From Dreaming.’While facets of Ella Fitzgerald, Connie Boswell and Ruth Etting could be discerned in Pangman’s zesty delivery, that crisp clear voice was unequivocally her own. After receiving a Songwriter of the Year nod from the National Jazz Awards in 2001 and a slew of other nominations shortly after, Pangman quickly became busy scheduling collaborations with everyone from Grammy-nominated trumpeter Kevin Clark and the dashing Denzal Sinclaire to pianist Tyler Yarema and even Jim Galloway’s All-Stars.
(From left to right: Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright)
According to a recent news release, Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festivalat the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs, New York, will present the U.S. debut of Sing The Truth!, a new production that honors the music and spirit of great women of jazz, folk, R&B, gospel and the blues. Featuring African-born songstress Angelique Kidjo, pre-eminent jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves, and genre-defying jazz singer Lizz Wright, this meeting of three critically-acclaimed, powerhouse vocalists will pay musical tribute to the legacies of three recently departed, iconic female artists: South African singer and civil rights activist Miriam Makeba, American jazz vocalist, actress, civil rights and political activist Abbey Lincoln, and “the Voice of the Civil Rights Movement,” American folk musician and human rights activist Odetta. Sing The Truth! will also feature songs by other great women of music, ranging from Billie Holiday to Aretha Franklin, Joan Armatrading and Lauryn Hill, along with original songs. The original Sing The Truth! premiered as a 2004 JVC Jazz Festival concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City, and celebrated the music of Nina Simone.
The all-star Sing The Truth! ensemble for the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival performance will feature Geri Allen on piano and keyboards, music director Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, James Genus on bass, Munyungo Jackson on percussion, and Romero Lubambo on guitars. This remarkable group of musicians will go everywhere and anywhere that Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves and Lizz Wright feel the music takes them. The audience will be along for a memorable ride. Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center runs from Saturday, June 25 to Sunday, June 26, 2011. Other artists scheduled to appear include Michael McDonald, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Wein & the Newport All Stars, Donald Harrison, Jr., The Bad Plus, Ben Allison, Marcus Strickland, and many more. For the complete lineup of artists and performances, go to www.spac.org. Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival is produced by SPAC and Absolutely Live Entertainment. Located in scenic Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Performing Arts Center has been the site of the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival since George Wein established it in 1978. With an inside seating capacity of 5,200, lawn seating of 20,000, world class talent and just three hours driving time from either Boston or New York City, SPAC’s Jazz Festival draws thousands of jazz lovers from across the Northeast and the United States.
