Entries Tagged 'Music' ↓

Oakland-based blogger and fellow jazz aficionado James Knox is gracing the Big Apple with his presence this weekend. While he and I have known each other via the Internet for years, this was our first face-to-face, and it was a pleasure to finally make the acquaintance.

Readers of his site know he regularly writes about the world of jazz. As that is also one of my passions, we made plans to catch the late, late, late show featuring drummer Louis Hayes and the Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band, who were performing at Dizzy�s Club Coca-Cola. Dizzy�s is a part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, one of several beautiful new spaces devoted exclusively to jazz at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle.

After dinner at a quiet little Italian eateria I�ve come to know along Restaurant Row, both of us apparently observing the meatless Friday rule (he of the salmon, me of the red snapper), we walked off dinner for 13 blocks on our way to the club.

Rolling with a recognized name in jazz criticism�although he�s quick to deny it�has its perks. A relationship with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, a member of the band, got us Table #1 right down front, where we saw a wonderful show. In addition to Hayes and Pelt, Vincent Herring was on sax, Anthony Wonsey on piano, Gerald Cannon on bass and Paula West, who also greeted James warmly, was the featured vocalist.

I�m sure when he returns home he�ll have a more detailed review of the evening�s program, including photos, but as far as this reviewer is concerned, it was just a joy to see artists who love their work, enjoy each other�s company (Herring and Pelt seemed to be sharing an inside joke the whole show), and who give the audience a great show in the process. It�s just a pisser that here are more great talents who are not household names or who don�t have big recording contracts, while other far less talented beings in other musical genres �get paid� by putting out crap. But I digress.

Some of my fellow NYC bloggers are scheduled to hook up for brunch in Brooklyn on Sunday and treat our west coast visitor to more east coast hospitality. I�m sure there will be pictures and stories on other sites soon.

The phenomenal Billy Porter performed two shows Monday night at Joe�s Pub in New York, showcasing his many vocal gifts, his skills as a songwriter and his showmanship at entertaining an audience. Enjoyable as the show was however, viewers were left with the thought that if the world were truly a fair and equal place, and people were judged solely on their talent, Porter would be ten times the star he is today.

The evening�s performance coincided with the release of his second album, At The Corner Of Broadway + Soul, and allowed the veteran actor-singer-dancer to draw on his experience in musical theater, his gospel roots in the church and his natural soul instincts. What resulted was an enjoyable program of up tempo R&B, stirring ballads and music with a real message.

This was his first return to Joe�s Pub since his triumphant autobiographical one-man-show, Ghetto Superstar, earlier this year. It is also where he debuted the current material more than a year ago. Porter is quite an accomplished songwriter and performed a number of his original compositions. Feel It to Heal It was penned after 9/11 and speaks of using love to overcome the pain of that event. Hell or High Water is a danceable track with the message that no is not an answer, while World�s Gon Hav 2 Wait had Billy taking us to church, as he puts the world on pause in order to make time for his own needs. Capathia Jenkins, Aisha de Haas and Marty Thomas made a joyful noise in the background.

About two or three songs in, Porter matter-of-factly restated the obvious. �Y�all know I�m gay, right?� Not only was that known but it was also one of the unifying elements to the evening. Gay or gay affirming seemed to be the general audience demographic. He further reminded folks of his recent appearance on Oprah. And therein lies the great paradox of his career.

While record companies fawn over the next teen heart-throb, with talent about as long as the stubble on their pubescent chins, Porter can easily put all of those whiney little kids to shame. He can out sing any number of Grammy-winning adult performers as well. But he�s gay. Open, proud and unapologetically gay. No doubt because of that, he does not have a recording contract and doesn�t neatly fit into the marketing packages producers and record execs try to craft for today�s stars. How do you sell the masses on a great soul singer who happens to be gay and refuses to hide that fact? (The late Luther Vandross clearly took a different approach.) They haven�t figured that out yet, meanwhile Porter forges ahead with his career largely through his own determination and the support of fans enlightened enough to look beyond sexual orientation.

At one point during the show, he and his lover and fellow out gay singer Ari Gold, performed another Porter original All That Matters which may have been the first time two men sang a love song to one another before an audience. Porter joked, �We�re the gay Jay-Z and Beyonce,� coyly asking audience members to guess which one of them was who.

While their song spoke of love being all that should matter in a relationship, it could just as easily have referred to one�s talent being all that should matter in show business. Nevertheless, Billy Porter continues on, demanding the entertainment world to take notice.

One of the jazz world�s greatest living legends was bestowed one of his country�s highest honors this week, when the postal service of Canada unveiled a new 50 cent stamp commemorating the life of pianist Oscar Peterson. The event marking the occasion occurred in Toronto on August 15, Peterson�s 80th birthday, and is the first time that a Canadian stamp pays tribute to a living citizen.

With a more than 50 year career in music, 300 albums, numerous awards including seven Grammys, performances with such greats as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington, Peterson is regarded as one of the world�s greatest jazz pianists. He has also received several honorary doctorates from educational institutions in the United States and Canada and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1984.

He first learned music from his self-taught father, a West Indian immigrant to Canada who worked as a railway porter. Peterson studied both classical and jazz piano and got his big break when he won a contest on the Canadian Broadcasting Company, which led to appearances on a weekly Montreal radio show. He played Carnegie Hall in 1949 and soon after formed the Oscar Peterson Trio.

�I have always considered myself a person proud to be a Canadian,� a soft-spoken Peterson told assembled guests at the stamp unveiling ceremony. �But to have the honor of this stamp issued in my likeness goes beyond my wildest dreams.” Peterson then surprised everyone by playing a number he wrote entitled �Requiem� which he called a tribute to the many jazz artists who have died in recent years.

Four million of the stamps and 500,000 souvenir sheets have been printed and went on sale immediately. Collectors interested in the Oscar Peterson 50 cent stamp can order them online by following the links at the Canada Post website or by calling 1-800-565-4362 from the U.S. and Canada.

In recent years, commemorative stamps in the United States have been issued in honor of James Baldwin, Alvin Ailey and Paul Robeson, among others.

Imagine owning the saxophones of Charlie �Bird� Parker, John Coltrane and Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy Gillespie�s and Clark Terry�s trumpets, J.J. Johnson�s trombones, Benny Goodman�s clarinet and Lionel Hampton�s vibraphone. Imagine the opportunity of owning handwritten compositions and arrangements by John Coltrane or Thelonious Monk, or the unreleased tape recordings of �Bird�, tapes of music no one has heard in half a century.

These original, one of a kind, artifacts are among a vast collection of items that will be auctioned off this weekend in New York. Working with the families of these jazz luminaries, Guernsey�s has produced a comprehensive 200-page auction catalogue with hundreds of images of the objects being sold along with historic Jazz photos. A substantial portion of the proceeds will be going to several worthy Jazz-related foundations. On February 18th and 19th there will be public preview days at Jazz at Lincoln Center�s fabulous new home, Frederick P. Rose Hall, on Broadway at 60th Street in New York City. Then the live auction will take place Sunday, February 20.

Among the many discoveries this event is bringing to light are Coltrane�s early writings leading to his masterpiece A Love Supreme; an uproarious thirty-one page letter written by Louis Armstrong; paintings of Miles Davis, the gowns of Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald, and material from the beginning of Barbra Streisand�s career.

Oh, to be rich enough to bid on and own some of this history.

“Free jazz concert” are three words that are music to my ears, pun intended. When it means an opportunity to hear trumpeter and flugelhorn player Jeremy Pelt and his quartet, there is really no better way to spend an afternoon. Pelt is one of the jazz world’s busiest performers, playing with a veritable who’s who of great performers, and is now getting well-deserved recognition as a soloist and head of his own group.

Pelt appeared as a guest on Newark, NJ member-supported public radio station WBGO FM’s Saturday Afternoon Jazz program, hosted by Monifa Brown, at J& R Music World in lower Manhattan. Backed by Vicente Archer on bass, Danny Grissett on piano, and Israel Bannerman on drums, they performed an hour long set from his new CD Close To My Heart (MaxJazz).

Now I don’t dare venture into the realm of music reviewer, that’s not my forte. I’ll leave that to others more qualified. I only know what I like. The 27 year old California native who now calls New York home, has a style he readily acknowledged as having been influenced by Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Booker Little, Lee Morgan, and Chet Baker. Not a bad list of guys to emulate.

Pelt however hasn’t just copied the jazz greats, he’s played with them. Since graduating from the Berklee College of Music in 1998, the long list he has appeared with includes Jimmy Heath, Ravi Coltrane, Roy Hargrove Big Band, Bobby ” Blue” Bland, Bobby Short, Keter Betts, Vincent Herring, The Skatalites, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, David O’Rourke, Benny Russell/Jorge Sylvester Next Legacy Orchestra, Cliff Barbaro, Winard Harper, Duke Ellington Big Band, Dion Parson, Ron Blake, Charli Persip, Mickey Roker, Cassandra Wilson, Gary Bartz, Harold Ousley, Greg Osby, Frank Lacy, and many others.

Pelt is currently a featured performer in the Mingus Big Band, Ralph Peterson Quintet, Lewis Nash Ensemble, Cannonball Adderley Legacy Quintet featuring Louis Hayes, Vincent Herring, and the Frank Foster Loud Minority Big Band. All of this in just five years!

With his band mates nestled comfortably in back of him, the Jeremy Pelt quartet swung easily yet vigorously through a selection of mostly ballads, including 502 Blues (Drinkin’ & Drivin’), Why Try To Change Me Now and In Your Eyes. While jazz aficionados may not be as numerous as their counterparts in pop or hip hop, they are certainly a loyal following, and the assembled audience in the store was delighted by Pelt’s musical mastery. Equally enjoyable was the accessibility of this star. No entourage, no army of security, just four guys playing great music in front of an appreciative crowd, then sticking around later to sign autographs. Remind me again why I love jazz so much.

The new digital camera came along with me and captured these shots.