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2011 Montreal Jazz Festival Anchored by International Artists of All Ages

Eva Hambach, AFP/Getty Images The Montreal Jazz Festival is known as one of the great jazz festivals in the world, thanks to the fact that it brings in world-class talent from everywhere. Running from June 25 to July 4, the 32nd annual Festival International de Jazz de Montreal had keynote performances by Tony Bennett, the new Return to ...

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Tony Bennett Duets With Daughter Antonia at Montreal Jazz Fest

Ross Gilmore, Redferns Tony Bennett has gone through various phases in his career. That's not surprising considering the 85-year-old has been singing since the swing era. He was a young star, a pop singer trying to grow beyond silly pop repertoire, a master storyteller of song, the comeback act who played for the kids on MTV. Now, Tony ...

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Peter Brotzmann Honored With Lifetime Achievment Award at Vision Festival

Thomas Hendrich German reedist Peter Brotzmann got his start in the '60s, quickly making a name for himself in the European free jazz and avant-garde music scene. Thanks to classic albums like 'Machine Gun,' Brotzmann is best known for conjuring a tone on his tenor sax that is not unlike an ill-tempered V8 engine with straight pipes. But ...

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Lee Konitz at 83: Taking It Slow and Steady on 'Live at Birdland'

Andy Sheppard, Redferns The latest entry in All About Jazz's Legends series is alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, who first arrived on the scene back in the late 1940s when he played in Claude Thornhill's orchestra. As a teen, he studied with the legendary Lennie Tristano, eventually playing and recording with the master. He was also a member of ...

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Chick Corea Plans Month-Long Jam Session for His 70th Birthday

Barbara Zanon, Getty Images It's safe to say that most people who reach their 70th birthday have started to slow down and take it a bit easier than in their youth. But that is certainly not the case for keyboardist Chick Corea, whose early career saw him make his debut as a leader in 1966 and perform alongside Joe Henderson and Stan Getz. He ...

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Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Court 'Danger' With Return to Original Lineup

Jeremy Cowart It's hard to figure out where to position Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Since their inception in 1988, the Grammy-winning band has been at the vanguard of the newgrass movement, primarily because Fleck started out in bluegrass and is one of the greatest living banjo players. The rhythm section of bassist Victor Wooten and his ...

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Fred Hersch Debuts 'My Coma Dreams' Three Years After Falling Gravely Ill

Steve J Sherman By now, everyone with a passing interesting in current-day jazz is familiar with the story of Fred Hersch, the HIV-positive pianist who was so ill with pneumonia in 2008 that he was put into a medically induced coma for two months. Around the time of the release of his 2010 trio album 'Whirl,' we checked in with Hersch to ...

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