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2011 Montreal Jazz Festival Anchored by International Artists of All Ages

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-07-06T17:00:00 00:00

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 Forever quintet lineup, Sade, Pink Martini and others, but one of the truly wonderful parts of Montreal's festival is the free music presented around the four-square-block festival grounds that is located between downtown and several historic districts.

Each year, the festival puts together a thousand performances that range from student bands to music legends. The festival has seven clubs, two large theaters and five outdoor stages that dot over the festival grounds. On the plaza at the center between the Downtown Hyatt, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier theater and Theatre Maisonneuve is a variety of temporary restaurants, food stands, children's play areas and seating for just chilling out. On a warm summer afternoon or evening, you can walk the grounds eating, drinking and listening to your hearts content. There are small booths hosting live radio broadcasts, CD stores and intimate performances (We saw Esperanza Spalding playing a small side stage for free just a few years ago).

Tony Bennett Duets With Daughter Antonia at Montreal Jazz Fest

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-07-02T11:06:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, All About Jazz

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 Bennett is simply a legend. These days he spends more time painting than he does performing, so a chance to catch him live is not to be missed.

Bennett and his band played Friday, July 1, at the Montreal Jazz Festival. While his career has been perceived in different ways over the years, Bennett himself has changed very little. He's a classic pop singer who projects emotion. He's also an entertainer who connects with his audience with a likeable personality that balances his humble working class roots in Queens with the sophisticated persona of a romantic who left his heart in San Francisco.

Peter Brotzmann Honored With Lifetime Achievment Award at Vision Festival

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-06-10T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, All About Jazz

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 that isn't the whole story. Yes, the hard-blowing Albert Ayler is an influence on Brotzmann, but some of my favorite moments have come from the sensitive playing that balances the intensity -- his live 'Wels Concert' with Mahmoud Gania on guembri and voice and drummer/percussionist Hamid Drake was a particular eye opener.

The 2011 edition of the Vision Festival in New York City honored Brotzmann on Wednesday, June 8, with a lifetime achievement award and featured the debut of three new Brotzmann groups.

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

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-06-02T18:30:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive, All About Jazz, Q + A

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 the group that recorded Miles Davis' landmark 'Birth of the Cool,' and soon thereafter began to lead bands of his own. One of the great stylists on alto sax, Konitz's tone is light but sharp. He has a singular attack when he plays where the notes seem to bleed over, creating a liquid effect where you'd swear that he was squeezing his horn into different shapes as he plays.

At 83 years old, he's played in just about every setting imaginable (including the landmark 'Duets' from 1967) while always remaining steadfastly unique. His new 'Live at Birdland,' due out June7, is a 2009 live set recorded with drummer Paul Motion, bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Brad Mehldau. Spinner caught up with Konitz at his home in New York City.

The new album features a marvelous quartet of guys you had ongoing associations with.

Long casual relationships, except for the music part of it. Brad lives a couple of blocks from me on the Upper West Side. I actually saw him in the supermarket one day with his daughter. It's small town sometimes, but a big town too. It's different from Los Angeles where guys there won't see each other for years. I walk a lot and I'm always looking for a familiar face. I don't see that many, but I'm always happy when I do.

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

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-05-26T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Exclusive, All About Jazz, Q + A

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 hit it big with Miles Davis' landmark late-'60s electric bands and his landmark '70s fusion group Return to Forever. Recently, he has performed in duos with pianist Hiromi, banjo player Bela Fleck and old friend Gary Burton on vibes. He's also recorded and toured with John McLaughlin in the electric Five Peace Band, performed solo, played in countless trios and worked with various jazz and classical orchestras. In 2008, he reunited the classic lineup of Return to Forever and then toured with RTF's Stanley Clarke and Lenny White in an acoustic trio that tackled jazz classics and reinterpreted some of their electric material.

A new double album, 'Forever,' offers one disc of live tracks from the acoustic tour and a second bonus disc of electric material where violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, original RTF guitarist Bill Connors and vocalist Chaka Khan joined the fun. Corea is taking an electric quintet out this summer with White, Clark, Ponty and guitarist Frank Gambale and later this year he will celebrate his 70th birthday with a month-long run at the Blue Note Club that will feature groups from different points in his career. We caught up with the iconic pianist recently by phone for the latest in AAJ's Jazz Legends interview series.

There is an incredible variety of projects on your resume, particularly in recent years. What's up? Are you easily bored?

Or maybe I can't make up my mind. No, just kidding. Really, I'm just having a lot of fun, man. I have a lot of richness in my life with musicians and artist friends. One of the things I like to do on a project is absorb more and learn more, because I work with musicians who have something artistically to offer. That's the continual student in me. The other reason is that there is a richness to the friendships that results in projects and ideas.

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

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-05-19T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, New Music, Exclusive, All About Jazz

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 brother Roy "Futureman" Wooten on percussion had a funky feel and a jazz-like intuitive rapport. Together, they are capable of cutting their own swath through jazz, bluegrass, European folk traditions and classical, country, rock and pop.

The quartet was originally rounded out by the universally revered chromatic harmonica player and pianist Howard Levy, who dropped out in 1992 after three classic albums with the band. He was subsequently replaced by saxophonist Jeff Coffin in 1996 after a series of special guests had filled in. Coffin then moved on to play with the Dave Matthews Band in 2010. With the fourth seat empty once again, the Flecktones reunited with Levy to record the brand new 'Rocket Science' and tour for much of the summer.

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

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-05-12T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, All About Jazz

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 see how things were progressing and found an artist who literally had a new lease on life, once again playing beautifully and with a vitality he hadn't felt in a long time. At that time he was beginning work on a long form piece called 'My Coma Dreams,' which made its world premiere May 7-8 at Montclair State University's Alexander Kasser Theater.

James Farm Takes Seed as New All-Star Jazz Band

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-05-05T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive, All About Jazz

Jimmy Katz

Yes, many will call James Farm an all-star band. Featuring drummer Eric Harland, bassist Matt Penman, pianist Aaron Parks and saxophonist Joshua Redman, the band certainly has some of the leading lights of today's jazz scene. But to hear Harland and Parks speak about the band's origins, James Farm seems something organically grown rather than a self-conscious assembly of heavy hitters.

"We're just a bunch of guys who like making music together," Parks points out to Spinner. "We have a lot of shared history and ultimately, from my perspective, we are not trying break new ground as much as make music that feels good, that's honest and that is coming from ourselves."

Moroccan Jazz Singer Malika Zarra Embraces Her Heritage on 'Berber Taxi'

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-04-28T17:30:00 00:00

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive, All About Jazz

Becca Meek

Whether one is improvising, composing or even just playing songs, music is a declaration of self. This is never more apparent than with singer and composer Malika Zarra. Born in Morocco and raised in France, Zarra draws upon her roots to inform her jazz by adding elements of North African chaâbi and well as traditional Moroccan styles like Berber, Gnawa, Issawa and Houara. Through it all, her sultry mezzo-soprano bounces between English, French, Berber, Moroccan dialect of Arabic and Arabic.

Now based in New York City, Zarra follows her self-released 2005 debut, 'On the Ebony Road,' with the recently released 'Berber Taxi.' The album once again features her long-running six-piece band, which does an excellent job of putting a new global spin on Herbie Hancock's classic early '70s sound.

Martial Solal Returns to the Village Vanguard for Intimate Show

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-04-21T17:31:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, All About Jazz

Guy Fonck

We're the first to admit that we don't follow the European jazz scene nearly as closely as the one here in the US. Part of the reason is that we live in the US and see the artists play more often. Another part of it is we generally like the music in the American jazz tradition better. Call us provincial. There are exceptions of course, particular the outward-leaning people like Peter Brotzmann, the ICP members as well as some of the stuff on the ECM, Clean Feed and Fresh Sounds labels, but there are a lot of holes.

So it was no surprise that even though Martial Solal had been around since the '40s, it took us until Blue Note put out the French pianist's 'NY1' in 2003 to get a listen to his music. We liked the record a lot -- it was challenging piano-trio work that interspersed original tunes with imaginative remakes of standards like 'Body and Soul' and 'What Is this Thing Called Love.'

Recorded at the Village Vanguard a few weeks after 9/11, there was certain buoyancy to the music that told us that jazz would carry on in the aftermath of that tragedy. Solal had been back to the Village Vanguard a few times since recording that album, even releasing solo live album from there in 2009. On this Thursday night at the Vanguard, the pianist split the difference of the solo and trio albums by appearing in a duo with bassist Francoise Moutin.

Medeski Martin and Wood Celebrate 20 Years of Groundbreaking Jazz

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-04-14T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive, All About Jazz

Liz Penta

Jazz bands have their own kind of dynamic. Usually there is a band leader who writes all or most of the tunes, and the group size is listed after the name, hence the Miles Davis Quintet or the Bill Evans Trio. It's jazz shorthand that tells fans more or less what to expect when they are scanning live listings, record bins and download sites.

From the beginning in 1991, Medeski Martin and Wood have been different. On the suggestion of downtown maven John Lurie of the Lounge Lizards, the band jokingly went by the somewhat controversial name Coltrane's Wig.

"It didn't really work, though in Knoxville, Tenn., they called us that for many years," John Medeski recalls to Spinner. "The reaction we got from owners of jazz clubs in other parts of the country was really funny. I wish I had a recording of when I would call and follow up," he says, laughing. "I guess it was a little irreverent, but we love Coltrane and we love wigs!"

Alex Skolnick Incorporates Thrash-Metal Origins Into His Jazz Work

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-04-07T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive, All About Jazz

Tom Couture

People have their own path to becoming a jazz musician. Sometimes a parent or other family member who plays. Sometimes a musician starts off in one direction and then goes in another. Alex Skolnick has to be one of the most unique examples of the latter. The guitarist joined the thrash-metal band Testament when his was 16, immediately putting him on tours with arena acts like Judas Priest, Megadeath, White Zombie and Slayer. Within a few years he began to wonder if there was more out there for him as a musician.

"When we recorded the third Testament album, we did it at the Fantasy Studios in Berkeley," Skolnick tells Spinner. "I remember being on break and hearing the most amazing saxophone playing I've ever heard in my life. It was scary it was going so many places. I hadn't been that blown away since I heard Eddie Van Halen do 'Eruption.' I had my ear to the door of this studio and I didn't know who was inside, or whether it was even a live band."

Gretchen Parlato Finds 'Peace of Mind' as a New Breed of Jazz Diva

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-03-31T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive, All About Jazz

David Bartolomi

Gretchen Parlato is not your stereotypical jazz diva. You won't see this singer up on stage dressed in a prom dress, and her beautiful voice doesn't have the impressive range of some other singers out there. With a short asymmetrical haircut and a hip fashion sense, her look is her own.

Nonetheless, it is Parlato's voice that stands out. She has singular ear for rhythm and phrasing, texture and subtlety. Her sweet spot is a breathy whisper that beckons with the intimacy of a late-night conversation. The singer's talents are impressive enough that she won the influential 2004 Thelonious Monk Institute International Vocal Competition, and both Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter have sung her praises.

Kurt Elling Puts Jazz Spin on Classic Rock With Producer Don Was

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-03-24T14:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive, All About Jazz

Mark Venema, Getty Images

The first time we came across Kurt Elling was in June of 1997 during a guerilla campaign of gigs in the Northeast over a six-week stretch. It was towards the end of that run and the singer was walking with crutches after a hiking mishap. His iconoclast reputation as a divinity school dropout (one credit short of his Masters degree) only seemed to be heightened by the incongruent idea of a jazz singer performing in a dingy East Village rock club where we saw him. Though the setting was weird, we don't remember a lot about the set, but they closed it out with Herbie Hancock's 'Hurricane.'

"I remember being exhausted and often terrified and hopeful," Elling tells Spinner, recalling that crazy tour during a recent stop in Munich while out in support of his recently issued album, 'The Gate.' "I remember critics being piled into Birdland the first time I was there, and the judge-y looks on some of their faces. It was a hard time, but I believed in what we were doing then, and I believe in what we are doing now."

Roy Haynes, Master Jazz Drummer, Still Going Strong at 86

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-03-10T16:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Exclusive, All About Jazz, Q + A

Samuel Dietz, Redferns

I seem to be on a roll lately with getting bone fide living legends on the phone. This time around, I caught up with Roy Haynes on the eve of his 86th birthday -- and just after he won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys -- at his home on New York's Long Island. To study Haynes' résumé is to basically see the story of jazz unfold before your very eyes. His first gig after leaving Boston at age 19 was with Luis Russell (father of vocalist Catherine Russell) after Russell had taken over King Oliver's band.

He saw the birth and emergence of bebop from the back of the bandstand, playing drums for Bud Powell, Lester Young and Charlie Parker. He went on to become the timekeeper for Sarah Vaughan throughout much of the '50s. He played with John Coltrane in the early '60s when Elvin Jones wasn't able to make it. He did gigs with Lennie Tristano, Eric Dolphy, Miles Davis, Stan Getz and modern-day heroes like Chick Corea, Roy Hargrove, Dave Holland and Pat Metheny.

Haynes has also led a number of bands over the years, and these days he heads up the aptly named Fountain of Youth Band, which will have a yet-to-be named album out in fall 2011. He can still be found upon occasion behind the drums, playing his ferociously hard-hitting style that has enough energy to light a city block.

I talked to Sonny Rollins a few weeks ago and he thought the Carnegie Hall show you did with him went OK, which is a thumbs up from him. How did you feel it went?

I thought it went great. It was sold out. I remember walking out onstage before I played and they gave me such a warm reception. It was almost unbelievable. It was a great night.

David Binney's 'Graylen Epicenter' Marks Creative Breakthrough for Jazz Saxophonist

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-03-03T16:30:00 00:00

Filed under: All About Jazz

Courtesy David Binney

Alto saxophonist David Binney has been on the New York jazz scene for years now, collaborating regularly with fellow saxophonists Chris Potter or Donny McCaslin, or playing the hired gun for icons like Jim Hall, Bill Frisell and countless others. He's released several records as a leader on his own label and smaller European imprints, becoming known as something of a musicians' musician due to the stellar list of players who line up to play on his low-profile gigs at the 55 Bar and other smaller New York City jazz clubs.

"It's like Woody Allen or John Cassavetes with their movies," Binney says with a laugh. "Actors will do anything to be in their films. I've kind of gotten to that point where these really great musicians are just superexcited to be on the record, which is nice."

Sonny Rollins Strives for Perfection, Recalls Freezing on 'The Bridge'

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-02-24T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive, All About Jazz, Q + A

Jordi Vidal, Redferns

Born in 1930, Sonny Rollins grew up in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem and has been at the center of the jazz universe ever since. The saxophonist fell in love with the playing of Coleman Hawkins (who lived in his neighborhood) and Charlie Parker and came to be tutored by the great Thelonious Monk. He played with legends like Miles Davis and Bud Powell before he was 20, and went on to become a legend himself, recording such classic albums as 'Way Out West' and 'Saxophone Colossus' in the '50s. Not only did he record as a leader but appeared on landmark albums from the Modern Jazz Quartet, Monk, Davis and Max Roach/Clifford Brown.

After taking a legendary sabbatical from 1959-61 during which he woodshedded on the Williamsburg Bridge, he returned with breakthrough album 'The Bridge' and subsequently went on to release such landmark efforts as the soundtrack to the film 'Alfie' and 'East Broadway Run Down.' He took another break in the late '60s before returning to recording in 1972 as one of the few sure things in jazz, playing forward-thinking bebop with the same power he had as a youth, even as everyone else seemed to go electric. These days, he's one of the few jazz musicians who plays theaters around the world -- but even more than that, Rollins, along with his friend Ornette Coleman and very few others, are bone fide jazz legends that are still with us today. We recently caught up with Rollins at his farm in the Hudson River Valley to discuss his relentless perfectionism, his approach to composing and improvisation and his time spent practicing on the Bridge.

You are famous for being critical of yourself. If you don't like what you hear, why keep doing it?

Why do I keep hitting my head against the wall? I have an ideal, a certain vision that I feel I can get closer to. I realize that I'm never going to be perfect, but I feel that I can get better, that I am progressing toward the light at the end of the tunnel. Recently, I've gotten close enough that I'm a little more satisfied with my work. That's one thing: I'm making progress. The other thing is I love playing my horn. Right now I have a sore lip and I have not been able to play in four nights, so I'm about to go crazy. I just like playing and can't conceive of life without blowing my horn.

Impulse! Records Celebrates 50 Years of Jazz Innovation With Reissues, Box Set

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-02-17T17:30:00 00:00

Filed under: All About Jazz

Robert Abbott Sengstacke, Getty Images

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of Impulse! Records. Of course, John Coltrane (pictured) was the leading light on this revered imprint, releasing much of his '60s material on the label, but Impulse! was actually founded and run early on by legendary record producer Creed Taylor, who brought the label to immediate prominence under the ownership of ABC.

Now, Verve Records, which is in control of the Impulse! catalog these days, is marking the anniversary by a myriad of different activities that will include live performances celebrating the label and other goodies like reissues.

Joe Lovano Soars on the Wings of Bird With His Jazz Sax Tribute

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-02-10T16:30:00 00:00

Filed under: All About Jazz

Joe Lovano

The legacy of Charlie Parker is something that every jazz musician has to contend with. As a co-creator of bebop up at Minton's with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and others, Parker has assured his legacy by the time he died at age 34 in 1956. He was more than just a landmark innovator, as Bird's outsized playing and personality in a community known for great playing and colorful characters makes him legend.

The classic trajectory of his life is also part of his story: how he struggled in obscurity, grew up on the Kansas City scene, arrived unheralded in New York City and became a famous star, and then an infamous drug addict, which led to his eventual downfall. It's a cautionary tale that wasn't headed by enough jazz musicians, who saw drugs as Parker's magic elixir. Today we have saxophonist Joe Lovano to thank for turning the story back to the music with the new album, 'Bird Songs.' The album features Lovano with his great band US5 taking on the music of Parker and celebrating it.

Charles Lloyd Quartet Take Jazz Eastward at Lincoln Center

Tad Hendrickson — 2011-02-03T17:30:00 00:00

Filed under: All About Jazz

Charles Lloyd

Charles Lloyd first arrived on the scene back in the '50s and soon made a name for himself on the West Coast (and well beyond) playing saxophone in a Coltrane-influenced vein that made him something of a crossover success. In the late '60s and early '70s, he was one of the biggest names in jazz, leading a band that at one point included Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette. His music, then and now, is an open mix of styles that had absorbed the modal approach of Indian music while also delving into sounds from East Asia.

Such importance was Asian culture to Lloyd that he took a sabbatical at the height of his career success and studied transcendental meditation for 10 years. He returned in the '80s to play and record with such talented musicians as Dave Holland, John Abercrombie, Michel Petrucciani, Brad Mehldau, Billy Higgins and Zakir Hussain. Yet his working band since 2007 - pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland - goes down as a late-era classic for the 72-year-old leader. The quartet, along with guest vocalist Alycia Hall Moran, played the Rose Hall at Lincoln Center on Janu. 29, reaffirming the mercurial Lloyd's stature as one of the great elder statesmen of jazz, somewhat of a shaman trickster and a tireless supporter of his sidemen. It was, in essence, a perfect Charles Lloyd show.