Jazz Vocalist and All About Jazz

Norah Jones

2011-03-16T23:52:00.000+07:00

Born: March 30, 1979

When Norah Jones released her debut disc, Come Away With Me, on Blue Note Records in February 2002, the then 22-year-old singer had no idea the album would be a best-seller. In fact, she kept her expectations low. “I like having low expectations, ‘cause then if something turns out well, you’re always surprised in a good way,” says Jones at Sear Studios in New York while doing the final mixes on her new album.

As it turns out, Jones enjoyed an abundance of surprises. A runaway hit, Come Away With Me became a multi-Grammy winner, multi-platinum seller and opened the door for her to perform around the world with her band. Her producer Arif Mardin surmises that the CD was a tipping-point album. “People were ready for heartfelt music,” he says, while working with Jones on the mixes. “Norah is in the vanguard of another kind of pop music listeners have been yearning for. We’re now in a period of time where listeners are looking for real artists.”

Norah Jones returns to the heartfelt on the eagerly anticipated Feels Like Home, her new Blue Note album. The collection features the singer-songwriter-pianist once again teaming with Mardin, engineer Jay Newland and her close-knit touring band. Jones has penned several songs”by herself and with songwriting partner Lee Alexander”gathered other songs from her band mates and friends, and delivers three covers: Townes Van Zandt’s “Be Here To Love Me,” Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan’s “The Long Way Home” and Duke Ellington’s “Melancholia,” which she wrote lyrics to and retitled “Don’t Miss You At All.”

Feels Like Home was recorded in two sessions. Last April Jones and her band convened in an upstate New York studio and worked on new songs, including some they had been performing in concert. After an extensive U.S. summer tour, everyone reassembled in New York City to revisit the tracks already recorded, work on different arrangements that had been road-tested and add new numbers to the mix.

On the disc, Jones plays piano, Wurlitzer electric piano and pump organ and features her core group, comprising guitarists Adam Levy and Kevin Breit, background vocalist Daru Oda, bassist Lee Alexander and drummer Andrew Borger. She also brings aboard a select short-list of guests, including Dolly Parton, drummer Levon Helm and organist/accordionist Garth Hudson of The Band, long-time friends guitarists Jesse Harris and Tony Scherr, drummer Brian Blade and keyboardist Rob Burger.

Mardin oversaw the production and again watched Jones work her magic. “These new songs have been a wonderful journey. This album is not about synthesizers or computers. It’s about Norah being au natural. She doesn’t need pitch correction. She’s always in tune, and her voice always touches you. Millions of people around the world feel the same way.”

Like the first album, Jones imbues the music on Feels Like Home with country, pop and jazz colors. Unlike the quiet, balladic mood of Come Away With Me (which she once characterized as “mellow”), Jones varied the tempo on the new album to reflect the evolution of her live performances. “I’m very proud of my first record, but I was ready for something a little different,” she says, then jokes, “This time it’s not quite as mellow. But it’s still pretty low-key.”
The first single of the CD, “Sunrise,” has a bright, buoyant feel and is a tune co-written by Jones and Alexander. “We’ve been writing a lot together the last two years,” she says. “We finally figured how we work best.”
The Borger-Oda tune “Above Ground” grooves with funky tinges and chills with gorgeous harmony vocals. “We played this song for the first time in April, and the rehearsal ended up being the take. I’m glad Jay taped it!”
Levy’s contribution, “In the Morning,” features Jones pushing beyond the mellow zone with a bluesy wail and a Wurlitzer solo. “Well, that’s rockin’ out for us,” she says with a smile. “Actually, that was one of the first new songs that we played when we started.”
Alexander’s hoedown, “Creepin’ In,” another Jones and Co. upbeat in-concert highlight, almost didn’t make it onto the record because the group wasn’t sure it would mesh with the rest of the material. But after Jones was invited to Nashville to sing with Dolly Parton at the 2003 Country Music Awards, she decided to ask the country singer for a favor: to duet with her on the bluegrass-spiced number. “We asked Dolly if she’d like to sing on the album and she said yes,” says Jones. “We were so nervous when she came into the studio. She came in and sang her butt off. She sounds great, and Kevin has a great guitar solo on it.”

Equally exciting for Jones was the participation of Helm and Hudson. A big fan of both, she brought the pair in to help her finally nail “What Am I to You,” her tune that had been recorded previously. “We’ve recorded that song five times but never quite got it.” On a whim, she called Tony Scherr to take a stab at it when her other two guitarists were out of town. Then she brought in Helm and Hudson. “It was real special. I have a lot of respect for both of them, and they’re so nice.”
There are several other band originals in the collection, including two slow-tempo beauties with Harris guesting on guitar: Jones and Alexander’s melancholic “Carnival Town” and Alexander and singer-songwriter friend Richard Julian’s lyrical “Those Sweet Words.” Jones and Alexander also collaborated on another live favorite, the gently flowing “Toes”; Breit contributed the character sketch “Humble Me,” and Jones co-wrote “The Prettiest Thing” with Alexander and Julian.
As for covers, Jones renders Townes Van Zandt’s “Be Here To Love Me,” which she points out has “my favorite Adam Levy guitar moment on the album.” Originally she chose the tune to help pick up the tempo on the CD. “But we ended up slowing it down,” she says. “Garth sounds great on the accordion, and Kevin, Adam and Daru sang background vocals.” She hastens to add, “It’s a great song. I love Townes.”

Jones is also an admirer of Tom Waits, whose song “The Long Way Home” (co-written by Waits’ wife Kathleen Brennan), driven by an upbeat Johnny Cash-like guitar bass line, appears on the album. “I met Tom and Kathleen at a concert he was doing. Tom asked me if I had listened to the demos he sent me,” Jones says. “I didn’t even know he had sent me anything, but I assured him I would track them down.” She did and she liked what she heard, but was reluctant at first to record it. “We’ve covered a couple of his tunes in concert, but it’s hard to do because I like his versions so much. I’m a huge fan. We pretty much recorded it like he did.”
Feels Like Home also features a song Jones developed four years ago. She wrote lyrics to the Duke Ellington instrumental “Melancholia,” recorded a demo of it and has been performing it regularly in concert. She decided to record it for the new disc (as “Don’t Miss You At All”) especially because Blue Note President Bruce Lundvall loves it so much. “I didn’t set out to write lyrics to this song,” she says. “Just the thought of touching an Ellington composition scares me. But I was so inspired by it.”

Inspiration is at the heart of Feels Like Home. While Jones approached recording her follow-up to Come Away With Me with the same sense of musical integrity, she maintains that she did not set out to duplicate its achievement. “I’m glad that people liked the last album. It was where I was at the time, musically. This is where I am now. That’s what a recording is for me, like a snapshot. We had so much fun making this record.”

Maya Nova

2011-03-15T00:07:00.002+07:00

Maya Nova is a passionate and soulful jazz vocalist from Bulgaria.
Born into a family with great love for music and singing, Maya started playing classical guitar at 10 and later on took piano as her second instrument.
Upon graduating with Masters in Jazz & Pop Voice Major from Pop Art Department of National Music Academy in Bulgaria, she started appearing on the live music stage with several group projects: Mayrose Jazz Trio; funk bands – Chameleon and Infinity; pop-band – Forte.

Finalist at 2 Voice Competitions for young talents: “Golden Orpheus” and “Star Moments”, where she performed with National Radio Big Band. Other credits include appearances at Sofia Jazz Fall Festival with Maya Nova Jazz Quartet and the popular TV program “Todor Kolev’s Night Show” with National Music Academy Big Band.

Maya Nova has performed internationally at concerts, festivals and jazz clubs in Denmark, Norway, Cypress, Singapore, Malaysia, India, China, South Korea.
In 2009 Maya was a semi-finalist of the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition performing at the 43rd Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Singapore is currently her second home, where she holds the position of Main Study Voice Lecturer at LaSalle College of The Arts combining it with a busy performing schedule.

In September 2010 Maya Nova has released her-self produced debut album OPEN. Comprising renditions of jazz standards like: My Shining Hour, I’m Old Fashioned, Speak Low, Wild Is the Wind, Grooving High and two of her originals – the Bulgarian folk song based Polegnala e Todora Blues and Open.

The sound of this record carries the intimate feel of an honest soulful voice backed by an acoustic jazz trio – Tan Wei Xiang on fender rhodes, Andrew Klein on double bass and Tan Boon Gee on drums.

With all her love, Maya has dedicated this album to her late father!

All about Maya Nova, visit her official website...

MUSIC: OPEN

Groovin High (Open)

Dindi (Open)

Wild Is The Wind (Open)

Speak Low (Open)

Polegnala E Todora Blues (Open)

I'm Old Fashioned (Open)

You And The Night And The Music (Open)

Open (Open)

My Shining Hour (Open)

Kathy Sanborn

2011-03-12T01:23:00.000+07:00

Blues For Breakfast, the hot new jazz CD from sultry pianist/vocalist Kathy Sanborn, releases March 8, 2011 through popular vendors such as Barnes&Noble and Amazon.com.

Blues for Breakfast treats you to a sumptuous feast of lively, memorable tunes and sensual, heartfelt ballads. The album also features GRAMMY® nominee Scott Petito's distinctive bass, Chris Carey's sizzling drums, and Wayne Ricci's soulful trumpet.

Already being aired by radio stations across the nation, Blues for Breakfast serves up a menu of tasty tunes to fuel you throughout your day. The Pulse of Entertainment says: “Ten delicious selections . . . You will find yourself playing it continuously."

The fiery title track, “Blues for Breakfast," showcases Sanborn's love of jazz history and her affection for the famed musicians of the 1930s-50s who performed on New York's 52nd Street. Sanborn says: “I wrote the song, 'Blues for Breakfast,' as a fond tribute to the jazz masters of days gone by. On New York's 52nd Street, the greats would 'walk the high wire' and enthrall and inspire new generations of jazz players. As jazz continues to evolve in the modern era, I imagine the masters are looking down and nodding their approval."

Blues for Breakfast is a tasty musical treat that jazz lovers will want to savor over and over again. JazzTimes says of Blues for Breakfast: “Steamy . . . Classic jazz with a torchlight finish . . . A jacuzzi for the ears."

Sanborn wears many hats on the Blues for Breakfast album: composer, performer, producer, and engineer. GRAMMY® nominee Scott Petito's NRS Recording Studio in New York shares recording and engineering credits as well.

Now putting finishing touches on tour plans to promote Blues for Breakfast, Sanborn is looking forward to performing the new songs for live audiences. “All tour dates will be announced via our web site," Sanborn says.

How to Start a Jazz Band

2010-09-26T23:01:00.002+07:00

Do you love jazz? A lot of people do. Well you might've been thinking of starting a jazz band. If you're not sure how to do that, hopefully after reading this you'll know how.

Listen to jazz. Before you even get your band together, make sure you know what jazz sounds like so it's a lot easier for you to write original songs.

Learn the church modes: Lygian, phrygian, locrean, and blues are the most common. Learn the wholestep/half step patterns and you can play all scales (you can also just learn the realationship between the modes. Ex: the phrygian scale is the major scale with a lowered 2, 3,6,and7th scale degree). The pentatonic scale is also a good one to learn for solos.

Decide if you're going to be an instrumental group or a vocal group. Obviously the difference between those two is that instrumental groups don't have singers, and are more like small jazz orchestras. If you have a vocalist, they need to have a good range of singing styles.

Get a pianist. They should be able to play well and should have a fluent knowledge of jazz chord progressions.

Get a drummer. The drummer should be able to keep a steady beat, and should be able to play quite fast.

Get one or two guitarists. They should know how to read real notes(not tab) and at least one of them should be able to solo.

Get a bassist. They will be able to provide a good solid foundation over which to play. they should be able to play both double bass and electric bass.

Get a trumpet player. They should have fairly good tone and should know basic tricks like trills and vibrato.

Get saxophones. Saxophones are the spirit of jazz, and they are extremely important. You will need a tenor sax, and an alto sax. If you like you can also get a baritone sax. (if you dont get a baritone sax, you probly need to get a bass trombone)

Decide on whether or not to have a singer. If you want one, you'll have to decide on whether you want a male singer, female singer, or both! They should have good breath control.

Come up with a genre. Well obviously jazz, but what kind? If you don't know exactly you can find a list of genres here...

Make a band name. It should reflect your style, but it can be anything you like! Just get your band together and brainstorm band names.

Start practicing! Practice a lot! The more you practice, the better! There's no such thing as perfect. When you're practising, just make sure every one's following along, and not behind. If anyone is having trouble, try to help them. If they refuse to practice, replace them.

Start writing songs. No band will get anywhere if you don't have an original song list. Write some songs, and lyrics, and make sure the whole band is involved. You should only start writing original songs when you think you're ready, and when everyone is confident in playing many covers, and you should all be quite experienced musicians by this point.

Start searching for gigs. You can start off with parties and basements, but once you become a little more well-known, you shouuld ask around and play at your local jazz bars, clubs or whatever! And don't forget to keep practicing!

Have a myspace. It will drastically help you with marketing, as lots of people will be able to hear your music, and fans can check your blog for news.

Record a demo. It should have at least five songs. Put your best song on track one, and your second best on the last track. You can now send this demo to record labels, and sell them to fans at your concerts.

Just have fun! You might not get signed, but you can have fun playing local shows, and hey , you never know...

Soukma

2010-08-14T01:30:00.002+07:00

Born: February 15, 1977

has been amazing international audiences for over 10 years, the petit lady with the mammoth voice. Her high impact, poised performances range from powerful to subtle, sassy to wistful, elegant to sublime. Her unique voice brings back memories of the first half of last century. She is inspired by the likes of Billy Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Carmen Mc Rae. The music of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and many others places her at comfort.

This 29-year-old graceful lady from central Java fills a stage, despite her minim measurements of merely 38 kilos. Soukma has been performing in Indonesia and beyond with numerous Jazz musicians. Apart from participation in nationwide live television broadcasts, she performed extensively at Jazz venues, festivals and events.

Indra Aziz

2010-08-14T01:23:00.004+07:00

born September 3rd, 1978 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Started singing since his early childhood, taught by his mother who’s an actress, singer, painter, and traditional dancer, Rosita Sanusi.

Indra’s first musical instrument was the drums, inspired by one of Indonesia’s leading drummer Jelly Tobing. While still in the elementary school, Indra took several instruments, including the guitar, electric bass, and keyboard, but never really studied them comprehensively.

In highschool, Indra joined the highschool’s choir and played the guitar in the school’s pop rock band.

After highschool, Indra studied in The Faculty Of Arts And Design of Trisakti. Indra took up the alto saxophone, studied in Farabi Music School with Indonesia’s best oboe player Juhad Ansyari. He then switched to the tenor saxophone after watching Arief Setyadi played with the funky thumb.

Indra’s first professional gig as a sax player was with Dwiki Dharmawan’s Orchestra alongside trumpet player Didit Maruto. While in Farabi, Indra performed in several concerts with the other students. He also played with other groups, including a soul funk group and a Ska group.

Then in 2000, Indra met Deviana Daudsjah, a music professor, in a jazz workshop held once a week in Jakarta. Deviana encouraged Indra to give his vocal more attention. Indra then joined the first formation of Daya Big Band, as a second Tenor Sax player. In 2002, Indra joined The Daya Swara. All led by Deviana Daudsjah. In 2002, Indra studied music in the Preparatoty program of Daya Music School for 1 semester. After graduating from Trisakti in 2003, Indra enrolled as a student in The Daya Music School, majoring in vocal. In 2004, Indra resigned from Daya Group.

Indra began singing jazz professionally since 2001, as a band leader and a sideman, playing regular gigs in clubs, cafes, and restaurants, singing and playing the tenor sax in jazz festivals, and jazz concerts. Putting his name on the local jazz map.

Concerts Highlights:

• Farabi Anniversary, Erasmus Huis, 1999 • SCTV anniversary, dwiki dharmawan orchestra, 2000 • Jakarta Open Jazz Fest, 2001 • Indonesia Open Jazz Fest, 2001, 2002, 2003 • Jazz Goes To Campuss 2001, 2002 • Independence Day Concert, National Museum 2001 • Independence Day Concert, National Palace 2002 • Angelique Jazz Quartet (Germany), opening band, Goethe Haus • IMD evening, Erasmus Huis 2003 • Vocals Night, Erasmus Huis 2003 • Malin Kundang the musical, GKJ, 2003 • Java Jazz Festival 2005, JCC

Regular Gig Highlights: • The Twilite Café, Kemang • Klub 45, Mahakam • The Venue, Kemang • The Dharmawangsa Hotel • Jamz Pub • Aksara Bookstore, Manna House (with Tomorrow People Ensemble) • Circa, wisma BNI 46, 48 floor

Events Highlights: • Starbucks Coffee Stores Opening, Jakarta (Plz Indonesia, Kemang, Thamrin, Plz Senayan, etc.) • Starbucks 25th store opening, Pasaraya • Plaza Indonesia Friday Jazz Month Event • Pondok Indah Mall Ramadhan Jazz • New York Times Jakarta Cocktail Party, Menteng • KLM dinner party • BOSCH exhibition, Mal Taman Anggrek • 4th of July Party, American Embassy, 2003 • Financial Club Anniversary • New Honda Launching, Gran Melia • Pia Alisjahbana’s Birthday Party • Arts Awards, National Gallery, 2002

Syaharani

2010-08-14T00:59:00.001+07:00

Born: July 27, 1971

When you talk about Indonesia Jazz, it will never be completed without saying her name. Born in Batu, Malang, East Java, Indonesia 27 July 1971, she build her career in music since teenager. She become the icon of jazz in Indonesia.With her soulful and husky voice she performed in some prestigious domestic and international events. From Jazz Goes To Campus at University of Indonesia, to North Sea Festival in Denhaag.Al Jarreau, Dave Koz, Keith Martin, and the Yellowjackets has shared their the stages with her on their concerts in Indonesia. Syaharani is a multi-talented artist, succesfull as an actress in the teatre productions Nyi Dasima (2002), Gallery of Kisse (2004) and the film Garasi (2006) by Miles Production. She writes many of her compositions herself, as on The Queen's Fireworks, and has worked as a composer/lyricist for the soundtrack of several major Indonesian films. She is also a diligent author and contributes regulary to some of Indonesia's printed press, such as Kompas, Suara Pembaharuan and Tribun Batam. Currently she is working on her first book, Life Stage Delight, which will be published this year (2008).

For SIEM Festival 2008, Syaharani will contribute some of compositions from her "Magma Project Syaharani -- Electronica World Music".

Jerry Costanzo

2010-08-03T01:46:00.003+07:00

Born into a musical family, Jerry started listening to Jazz at an early age. His father, Joseph Costanzo, began his music education early and taught him to play saxophone when he was in the third grade. Jerry's parents played the radio every morning and weekend he and the family would all try out their crooning abilities to the songs of Frank Sinatra, Jerry Vale, Perry Como, Nat Cole and others. Jerry learned all the classic standards through "osmosis."

After high school, Jerry studied acting at the Herbert Berghoff studio in NYC. One of his teachers was William Hickey (You may remember him; he went on to be nominated for best supporting actor in the film Prizzi's Honor). While he attended acting school, Jerry landed a job working for Al Pacino as his personal aid and chauffeur, where he got to rub elbows with a lot of famous people.

Around 1980, Jerry's father started a Big Band called The Memories Of Swing. Around 1985, Jerry started subbing on alto with the band. "I wouldn't say I was ever a very good sax player but I got by" says Jerry. Up until then, he had been playing with the horn section in a classic rock band and did some singing. That all changed the day his father asked him if he would like to sing with the big band. Jerry was never truly happy playing rock or Pop. "My heart was always in Jazz & Big Band Swing".

Jerry is now a full-time vocalist & bandleader. He has recently released his first CD entitled "Destination Moon" and formed his own label Semi-Quaver Jazz. Jerry leads his own big band - The Jerry Costanzo Orchestra, directed by Mike Carubia, and is working with saxophonist, arranger and producer Mr. Andy Farber & his Swing Mavens octet, as well as his smaller ensembles; Trios, Quartets, and Quintets. Jerry has also been very fortunate to be working with many of the best jazz musicians on the scene today, and continues to work with such names as Steve Ash, Ted Firth, Tardo Hammer, Neal Miner, Joe Cohn, Dave Glasser, Mike LeDonne, Jerry Weldon, Mark Sherman, Ben Wolfe, Jimmy Madison, Alvestor Garnett, Hilary Kole, Amy London, and others.

Jerry Costanzo with Andy Farber & The Swing Mavens @ CD release party "Smalls" Jazz Club NYC. From his new CD "Destination Moon"

Andy Farber : Tenor
Dave Glasser : Alto
Dan Block : Bari
Brian Parechi : Trumpet
Wayne Goodman : Trombone
Isaac Ben Ayala : Piano
Jennifer Vincent : Bass
Stephan Shatz : Drums

Dee Cassella

2010-08-03T01:33:00.002+07:00

Dee grew up in Connecticut, in a household filled with music. Her late brother, Joe Berlingo, the jazz saxophonist and leader of the Joe Berlin Quartet, taught his sister Dee, 10 years his junior, to play blues chords on the piano so that she could jam with him. Dee remembers "As a child, I would sit for hours at my brother's feet as he practiced his scales on the tenor sax, clarinet or flute." The music of Joe's heroes-Stan Getz, Stan Kenton, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Mark Murphy-filled her with wonder. "I would scat to tunes played on the radio, not really knowing what I was doing." Young Dee had developed a passion for jazz.

But music wasn't a big part of Cassella's life until fairly recently. After raising two daughters, she left her 17-year career as the owner of a real estate company in Norwalk, CT and began to practice as a Body Psychotherapist in Connecticut and Manhattan. Her supportive, positive energy could now be channeled to making a difference in people's lives. But in the early years of working with clients, Dee was surprised to find that she herself had a deep resistance to making vocal sounds.

Many years of therapy revealed that a hidden message of "don't make a sound" was integrated as an unconscious belief. This was due to Dee being traumatized in infancy. When she was two months old, she had congestion and began to cough. In an effort to go to her, Dee's mother was taking boiling water off the stove, and in an effort to get to Dee she put the pot on the floor. Dee's sister, Nancy, 2 ½ years old, fell into the pot of boiling water and died two days later. This created the unconsciousness block to making any vocal sound.

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Dee decided to work with a voice teacher, Arlene Stone, to overcome this block. It amazed her to learn that she had voice- indeed, real vocal talent. But in the beginning, she was severely limited in what she could do with that talent because she still could not overcome her inhibitions. She began to explore singing with different teachers, but the emotional block continued for seven years, even as she began to sing and perform in concerts and clubs.

Dee found the key to desensitizing her deeply-rooted anxiety while training for certification in Francine Shapiro's EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reproces-sing)-a practice that specializes in removing uncomfortable feelings connected to trauma. That was when she uncovered the freedom to be a jazz singer. When she performed the following week, it felt like a miracle had happened. She has never again had a problem with singing discomfort. Dee says: "EMDR has changed my life. It opened up a new world to me and I now integrate this wonderful therapy into my current body-oriented psychotherapy practice. In addition to working with people with trauma issues, I feel I can be of help to those with creative problems such as performance anxiety" Dee has a private practice in Connecticut and in New York City.

Dee now finds joy performing regularly in New York, Connecticut and Internationally. She attributes her winning style of singing to jazz legend Carol Fredette. "The first time I heard Carol Fredette sing I was blown away and knew I had to study with her! For three years, she taught me the art of communicating a lyric, phrasing, and special attention to great diction, space and rhythm; the result changed my singing completely. My ability to "tell the story" in a song is due to her dedicated work in perfecting this art, for it is an art, says Carol, to masterfully combine all these elements in a song, and have it come out Yours!"

Cassella captivated and thrilled her audience at her sold out CD release show in Milford, Connecticut as well as an encore performance of her standing-ovation-crowned performance at the New York Metropolitan Room. "My debut CD, 'I'm Here Now,' is a tribute to my long journey to finding my voice and feeling myself worthy of it," she says, "Each and every time I sing I have to pinch myself that I'm really expressing the pure joy of my life force. " Dee chose each song "for the truth it holds for me, and the wisdom that unfolds within it." Brother Joe passed away in 1989 never knowing his little sister could sing. "My voice is now my life force, and I sing for Nancy and for Joe, in my heart--forever and always. It would have been such a hoot to have been a vocalist in his 16-piece jazz band. Maybe he's up there smiling down at me now."

Al Jarreau to Resume Touring on Aug. 3

2010-08-03T00:09:00.001+07:00

Management issues statement clarifying Jarreau's situation on singer's web site

According to a statement posted on Al Jarreau's web site, the singer will resume touring on August 3 in Germany. According to his management, Jarreau did not collapse during a performance as had been reported in the international press, but rather he was feeling weak in his dressing room, hours before his performance. A doctor was called for immediately and Jarreau then went to a local hospital where he was treated for arrhythmia, a common heart-related ailment.

According to his management, his condition has stabilized and so they are expecting him to continue with all but a few of his upcoming dates.

Here is the statement posted on Jarreau's site about his condition and plans:

"Al Jarreau is relieved to announce plans to resume his concert tour on August 3. The concert that day will be in Hanau, Germany, at Amphitheatre Schloss Philippsruhe.

Mr. Jarreau now expects to complete the remainder of his Europe tour (Hanau and onward), and expects to be able to perform all other scheduled concerts in the USA, Japan, and elsewhere.

But, with great frustration, the singer has announced the cancellation of 3 more concerts prior to the Hanau date, following his doctors’ recommendation.

The cancelled dates are:
29 July Nuremberg, Germany, at Serenadenhof
30 July Gleisdorf, Austria, at Forum Kloster
31 July Nové Mesto nad Váhom, Slovakia, at Open Air Fest Zelena Voda

Ticketholders for these 3 cancelled concerts should contact their point of purchase – the venue box office or ticket agent.

On July 26, Al Jarreau’s medical team in Marseille performed a Catheter Ablation, to treat an arrhythmia that had recently developed. The procedure went just as the doctors hoped and expected. He moved out of the Intensive Care Unit later that day. He has been working hard to recover and prepare himself for his return to work."

By Lee Mergner

Michael Franks

2010-07-06T23:18:00.003+07:00

Rendezvous in Rio - biography

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Over the languorous course of 33 years and 16 albums, Michael Franks has mesmerized an international legion of fans with his one-of-a-kind artistry. Seamlessly weaving lyrics of stunning sensuality, wit, reflection and literary eloquence over music that tastefully utilizes top shelf shadings of jazz, soul, pop, chamber and music from around the globe, Michael Franks the songwriter has set a bar in the music world that places him as nothing less than a statesman of song craft. His best known works include “Popsicle Toes,” “Monkey See-Monkey Do,” “The Lady Wants To Know,” “When the Cookie Jar is Empty,” “Tiger in the Rain,” “Rainy Night in Tokyo” and “Tell Me All About It” (covered by artists ranging from Diana Krall and Natalie Cole to Manhattan Transfer and the Carpenters). As if that weren't enough, Michael Franks the singer is gifted with a gentle, deliciously expressive voice - identifiable from note one.

For his 17th album, Rendezvous in Rio (his first for Koch Records - in stores June 27), Michael Franks sways to a very familiar South American beat. The CD marks a 180-degree shift in scenario and temperature zone from his previous project, the holiday/winter CD Watching the Snow. On Rendezvous, Michael collaborates with old friends/producers Jeff Lorber, Jimmy Haslip (of the fusion band Yellowjackets) and guitarist Chuck Loeb, as well as newer partners engineer/bassist Scott Petito and his touring Musical Director and keyboardist Charles Blenzig. Blenzig proved literally 'instrumental' in the creation of the funky, melodic bossa that became the title track, "Rendezvous in Rio." "That song was originally an instrumental with a different title from a record that Charles recorded," Michael shares. "It was more Latin than Brazilian, but that was the first music I sat down and wrote to for this album in September of 2005."

Brazilian music, culture and vibe have haunted Michael's work from early on. The country's renowned composer Antonio Carlos Jobim has been such a significant influence on his writing that Michael has dedicated three songs to him over the years: "Antonio's Song (The Rainbow)," "Like Water, Like Wind" and "Abandoned Garden." And for his third album, Sleeping Gypsy (1977), Michael flew down to Rio to record two now-classic compositions: "Down in Brazil" and "B'Wana-He No Home." Listening to his catalog as well as new songs like "Under the Sun," one might assume that Michael has journeyed often to the land of the cafe' au lait cariocas...but he's only been once.

The first song Michael recorded for Rendezvous in Rio, which set the tone for the CD, represents a rarity for Michael - a cover. Though he has written lyrics for previously composed songs before, the songwriter isn't one to do straight renditions of other people's material. The fortunate exception here is a charming piece by Paolo Jobim and Ronaldo Bastos titled "Samba do Soho" that features lovely exchanges between the guitar and flute 'trading 8s.' "I admire this piece very much," Michael states. "There's just something so enduringly happy about it. My friends Astrud Gilberto and Paolo gave me a demo cassette of the song years ago. She'd recorded it on an album with the James Last Orchestra and Paolo had sung it on his father’s (Antonio Carlos Jobim’s) album, Passarim." Dueting with Michael on the chorus in Portugese is singer Pamela Driggs (wife of guitarist Romero Lubambo who plays on the title track).

Another gem of the album is "The Chemistry of Love", an evocative meditation on organic oneness between a man and a woman. It's a composition of Michael's that was first recorded as the title track of an album by Japanese Flugelhorn player, Toku. For his own version, Michael called upon keyboardist Jeff Lorber at the start of this project and, as always, received simpatico results. "I gave Lorber 'Chemistry' and we talked about possible players. Jeff jumped on the song right away and e-mailed me an arrangement a few days later that was great."

Receiving that track from Lorber so quickly got Michael's creative juices flowing for the tasks ahead of laying out the rest of the album, the most important aspect of which - beyond composing - is casting the proper musicians for each song as he goes...something for which he has become an undisputed master. From Gary Meek's laidback solo and sectional sax work that colors the clever wordplay of "Scatsville" (dig Michael's recurring scat line here) to Eric Marienthal's tangier tenor on the more robust ‘unrequited love’ song "The Question is Why," every player is hand-picked with the finesse of first class interior design.

Moving into the meat of Rendezvous in Rio, we find four exceptionally introspective pieces that provide a peak into Michael's past and the fabric of his artistic self.

The first is yet another selection from his musical Noa Noa that explores the life of the painter Gauguin. Since 1990, selections from this musical have appeared on Michael's albums Blue Pacific ("Vincent's Ear," "On the Inside" and "Woman in the Waves") and Abandoned Garden ("Without Your Love" and "In the Yellow House"). For this CD, we are treated to "The Critics Are Never Kind," a musical conversation between the painters Gauguin, Van Gogh and Degas. In a more traditional type of 'casting,' Michael asked his friend Robbie Dupree (of 1980's "Steal Away" fame) to voice Gauguin and singer Larry Hoppen (of Orleans) to be Degas while he took the role of Van Gogh himself. The joy and pain of uncompromised artistry is explored in both the lyric and the music of this song. It opens as a moody urban blues as the gentlemen turn the tables to skewer the critics. Later, a brightening bridge cascades into the chorus as the men sing together of the satisfaction derived from "what it's like to get high on sweet inspiration."

Noa Noa was briefly work-shopped off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 1995, but its 28 songs have yet to be given a proper showcase. Michael hopes to remedy this by recording a cast album, then taking a cast on the road to perform it like summer stock. Stay tuned for further developments.

Personal and musical revelations abound in a pair of the album's jazziest numbers, "The Cool School" and "Hearing 'Take Five'" - the origins of which stretch back to a fateful day in Michael's early `60s teen years growing up in the San Diego area. "I never studied music formally," he reflects. "Blues and folk were really popular then and I was just starting to play guitar. My parents' taste leaned toward vocalists of the day like June Christy and Peggy Lee. But I remember going to a friend's house one weekend where his father played me some of his new records. He took me into the living room where they had this audiophile Hi-Fi - very minimalist with tubes and stuff. The one my parents had was a console that looked like it could double as a liquor cabinet, so I was really impressed! Anyway, he played me Mose Allison's "Your Mind is On Vacation" (from I Don't Worry About A Thing - 1962 - Atlantic) and Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" (from Time Out - 1959 - Columbia). When I heard those two songs, I felt like the blinders had been taken off - like I'd had some kind of musical cataract surgery to discover that there was so much more music out there to hear. It was a turning point."

Michael brilliantly uses that turning point to reminisce on an era when musical giants roamed the earth. On "The Cool School," a jazz waltz with a smoky Wes Montgomery feel in the lead guitar played by Chuck Loeb, Michael muses, "Am I dinosaur, yeah you bet / I grew up listening to Mose and Chet / Let others fume and fuss / Belabor the obvious / Me, I'm a child of the cool school." Then on "Hearing 'Take Five'" - a masterful 5/4 musing produced by bassist Jimmy Haslip, arranged by pianist Roger Burn and featuring the first drum solo ever on a Michael Franks album (courtesy of the volcanic Vinnie Colaiuta) - our hero sings, "For once pure genius also was fame / And once I heard it I was never the same / Paul Desmond, Gene and Joe and Dave / Brought my Philco alive / Playing 'Take Five.'"

Thoughts on the bittersweet tinge of time's passing bring Michael's latest masterpiece to a heartwarming close with "Songbirds," offering hypnotic reflections on the passing of singular singers and artists. Thoughts such as this grow more profound each time we read or hear about another great musician making their transition from the planet. Michael dedicates "Songbirds" to singer/writer Randy VanWarmer (who sang stellar background vocals on Michael's Quiet Storm classic "Tahitian Moon" from Objects of Desire) and drummer/songwriter John Guerin (who played on Michael's salad days albums The Art of Tea and Sleeping Gypsy, co-writing "Don't Be Blue"). The men passed away within four days of each other in January of 2004. Michael eloquently eulogizes within the song, "When I consider your absence / Then my smile erases / Sure, the Creator creates / But rarely He replaces..."

"The thing that gets me when we lose someone within that stratum of people," Michael reflects, "especially when it comes to the elders of the jazz community - there's no one to fill their shoes. It's like the end of an era."

As long as Michael Franks continues to put pen to paper, lending life and voice to song, and creating poetically inspired albums such as Rendezvous in Rio, the tradition of true artistry will gracefully endure...like branches braving the night breeze in Brazilian banana trees.

Michael Franks performs "Antonio's Song" at the Civic Center in Atlanta, GA, on March 21, 2008.

Veronica Nunn, vocals
Charles Blenzig, piano
Karel Ruzicka, sax
Willard Dyson, drums
Jay Anderson, bass

A. Scott Galloway
(Spring 2006)

How to Play Tenor Saxophone : Jazz Improvisation for the Tenor Saxophone

2010-05-15T01:33:00.001+07:00

The Saxophone

2010-05-15T00:49:00.001+07:00

The saxophone (also referred to simply as sax) is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument which is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented byAdolphe Sax in 1841. He wanted to create an instrument that would both be the most powerful and vocal of the woodwinds and the most adaptive of the brass, which would fill the then vacant middle ground between the two sections. He patented the sax in 1846 in two groups of seven instruments each. Each series consisted of instruments of various sizes in alternating transposition. The series pitched in B♭ and E♭, designed for military bands, has proved extremely popular and most saxophones encountered today are from this series. A few saxophones remain from the less popular orchestral series pitched in C and F.

While proving very popular in its intended niche of military band music, the saxophone is most commonly associated with popular music, big band music,blues, early rock and roll, ska and particularly jazz. There is also a substantial repertoire of concert music in the classical idiom for the members of the saxophone family. Saxophone players are called saxophonists.

The sxophone was developed in the 1840s by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian-born instrument-maker, flautist, and clarinetistworking in Paris. While still working at his father's instrument shop in Brussels, Sax began developing an instrument which had the projection of a brass instrument with the agility of a woodwind. Another priority was to invent an instrument which would overblow at the octave, unlike the clarinet, which rises in pitch by a twelfth when overblown; an instrument which overblew at the octave would have identical fingering for both registers.

Prior to his work on the saxophone, Sax made several improvements to the bass clarinet by improving its keywork and acoustics and extending its lower range. Sax was also a maker of the then-popular ophicleide, a large conical brass instrument in the bass register with keys similar to a woodwind instrument. His experience with these two instruments allowed him to develop the skills and technologies needed to make the first saxophones. Adolphe Sax created an instrument with a single reed mouthpiece like a clarinet, conical brass body like an ophicleide, and the acoustic properties of both the french horn and the clarinet.

Having constructed saxophones in several sizes in the early 1840s, Sax applied for, and received, a 15-year patent for the instrument on June 28, 1846.^[1] The patent encompassed 14 versions of the fundamental design, split into two categories of seven instruments each and ranging from sopranino to contrabass. In the group Sax envisaged fororchestral work, the instruments transposed at either F or C, while the "military band" group included instruments alternating between E♭ and B♭. The orchestral soprano saxophone was the only instrument to sound at concert pitch. All the instruments were given an initial written range from the B below the treble staff to the F three ledger lines above it, giving each saxophone a range of two and a half octaves.

Sax's patent expired in 1866;^[2] thereafter numerous saxophonists and instrument manufacturers implemented their own improvements to the design and keywork. The first substantial modification was by a French manufacturer who extended the bell slightly and added an extra key to extend the range downwards by one semitone to B♭. It is suspected that Sax himself may have attempted this modification. This extension was adopted into almost all modern designs.

Sax's original keywork was very simplistic and made playing some legato passages and wide intervals extremely difficult to finger, so numerous developers added extra keys and alternate fingerings to make chromatic playing less difficult. While the early saxophone had two separate octave vents to assist in the playing of the upper registers just as modern instruments do, players of Sax's original design had to operate these via two separate octave keys operated by the left thumb. A substantial advancement in saxophone keywork was the development of a method by which both tone holes are operated by a single octave key by the left thumb which is now universal on all modern saxophones. One of the most radical, however temporary, revisions of saxophone keywork was made in the 1950s by M. Houvenaghel of Paris, who completely redeveloped the mechanics of the system to allow a number of notes (C♯, B, A, G, F and E♭) to be flattened by a semitone simply by lowering the right middle finger. This enables a chromatic scale to be played over two octaves simply by playing the diatonic scale combined with alternately raising and lowering this one digit.^[3] However, this keywork never gained much popularity, and is no longer in use.

Description

The saxophone consists of an approximately conical tube of thin metal, most commonly brass and sometimes plated with silver, gold, and nickel, flared at the tip to form a bell. At intervals along the tube are between 20 and 23 tone holes of varying size, including two very small 'speaker' holes to assist the playing of the upper register. These holes are covered by keys (also known as pad cups), containing soft leather pads, which are closed to produce an airtight seal; at rest some of the holes stand open and others are closed. The keys are controlled by buttons pressed by the fingers, while the right thumb sits under a thumb rest to help keep the saxophone balanced. The fingering for the saxophone is a combination of that of the oboe with the Boehm system, and is very similar to the flute or the upper register of the clarinet. Instruments that play to low A have a left thumb key for that note.

The simplest design of saxophone is a straight conical tube, and the sopranino and soprano saxophones are usually of this straight design. However, as the lower-pitched instruments would be unacceptably long if straight, for ergonomic reasons the larger instruments usually incorporate a U-bend at or slightly above the third-lowest tone hole. As this would cause the bell of the instrument to point almost directly upwards, the end of the instrument is either beveled or tilted slightly forwards. This U-shape has become an iconic feature of the saxophone family, to the extent that soprano and even sopranino saxes are sometimes made in the curved style even though this is not strictly necessary. By contrast, tenors and even baritones have occasionally been made in the straight style.^[4]^[5] Most commonly, however, the alto and tenor saxophones incorporate a curved 'crook' above the highest tone hole but below the top speaker hole, tilting the mouthpiece through 90 degrees; the baritone, bass and contrabass extend the length of the bore mainly by double-folding this section.

Materials

Most saxophones, both past and present, are made from brass. Despite this, they are categorized as woodwind instruments rather than brass because the sound waves are produced by an oscillating reed, not the player's lips against a mouthpiece as in a brass instrument, and because different pitches are produced by opening and closing keys. Brass is used to make the body of the instrument; the pad cups; the rods that connect the pads to the keys; the keys themselves and the posts that hold the rods and keys in place. The screw pins that connect the rods to the posts, and the needle springs and leaf springs that cause the keys to return to their rest position after being released, are generally made of blued orstainless steel. Since 1920, most saxophones have 'key touches' (smooth decorative pieces placed where the fingers touch the instrument) made from either plastic or mother of pearl.

Other materials have been tried with varying degrees of success, such as the 1950s Grafton plastic alto saxophone. A few companies, such asYanagisawa^[11] and Bauhaus Walstein, have made some saxophone models from phosphor bronze because of its slightly different tonal qualities^[12]. For example, although their designs are identical apart from the metal used, the bronze Yanagisawa A992^[13] saxophones are said to sound "darker" than the brass versions. Yanagisawa and other manufacturers, starting with the King Super 20 around 1950, have made saxophone necks, bells, or entire instruments from sterling silver.^[14] Keilwerth and P. Mauriat have made saxes with a nickel silver body like that of a flute^[15]^[16]. The effect of material on sound is controversial among sax players, and little solid research has been published.

After completing the instrument, manufacturers usually apply a thin coating of clear or colored acrylic lacquer, or silver plate, over the bare brass. The lacquer or plating serves to protect the brass from oxidation, and maintains its shiny appearance. Several different types and colors of surface finish have been used over the years.^[17] It is also possible to plate the instrument with nickel or gold, and a number of gold-plated saxophones have been produced.^[17]Plating saxophones with gold is an expensive process because gold will not stick directly to brass. As a result, the brass is first coated with silver (which will stick to it) and then gold-plated on top.

Some argue that the type of lacquer or plating, or absence thereof, may enhance an instrument's tone quality. The possible effects of different finishes on tone is a hotly debated topic, not least because other variables may affect an instrument's tone colors e.g. mouthpiece design and physical characteristics of the player. In any case, what constitutes a pleasing tone is a matter of personal preference and tastes vary.

Mouthpiece and reed

The saxophone uses a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. Most saxophonists use reeds made from Arundo donax cane, but since the 20th century some have also been made of fiberglass. Fiberglass reeds are more durable, but are generally considered to produce an inferior tone. The saxophone mouthpiece is larger than that of the clarinet, has a wider inner chamber, and lacks the cork-covered tenon of a clarinet mouthpiece because the saxophone neck inserts into the mouthpiece whereas the clarinet mouthpiece piece is inserted into the barrel. The most important difference between a saxophone embouchure and a clarinet embouchure is that the saxophone mouthpiece should enter the mouth at a much lower or flatter angle than the clarinet. The embouchure for clarinet must also be more firm than that for saxophone. The muscles in the lip and jaw will develop naturally the more one plays, and the "long tones" exercise helps a great deal with this aspect of playing.^[20]

Mouthpieces come in a wide variety of materials, including vulcanized rubber (sometimes called rod rubber or ebonite), plastic, and metals such as bronze or surgical steel. Less common materials that have been used include wood, glass, crystal, porcelain, and even bone. According to Larry Teal, the mouthpiece material has little, if any, effect on the sound, and the physical dimensions give a mouthpiece its tone colour,^[21] however this view is controversial. Mouthpieces with a concave ("excavated") chamber are more true to Adolphe Sax's original design; these provide a softer or less piercing tone, and are favored by some saxophonists, including students of Sigurd Raschèr, for classical playing. Conversely, mouthpieces with a smaller chamber or lower clearance above the reed, called high baffle, produce a brighter sound with maximum projection and are favored by many jazz and funk players. Most skilled saxophonists settle on a mouthpiece somewhere between these extremes regardless of their primary idiom and most that play both jazz and classical music have different equipment for each.

Like clarinets, saxophones use a single reed. Saxophone reeds are proportioned slightly differently to clarinet reeds, being wider for the same length. Each size of saxophone (alto, tenor, etc.) uses a different size of reed. Reeds are commercially available in a vast array of brands, styles, and strengths. Each player experiments with reeds of different strength (hardnesses) and material to find which strength and cut suits his or her mouthpiece, embouchure, tendencies, and playing style.

Claire Martin

2010-04-24T00:19:00.005+07:00

Born in Wimbledon, South London, Claire Martin was born to sing. Growing up in a house full of music, she loved Judy Garland and learned all her songs by the time she was 12. But it was hearing Ella Fitzgerald’s legendary Song Books that changed her life inspiring her to go to Stage School and then to study singing in London and New York. A further seminal moment came at 18 when she saw the great improvising singer Betty Carter at Ronnie Scott’s. It confirmed what she already felt – she had to be a jazz singer. Like many singers Martin paid her dues and learnt her craft by embarking on the QE2 and the Cunard Princess.

Back on dry land and just 21, Claire formed her first quartet (featuring guitar legend Jim Mullen). Her break came when renowned Scottish jazz label Linn signed her in 1991, the start of a creative relationship that is still going strong today.

Rightly acclaimed as the outstanding voice of her generation, Claire's 1992 debut The Waiting Game (Linn AKD 018) scored rave reviews and was chosen as a Times Album of the Year. Interestingly, the liner notes were written by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, co-star of Martin’s 2005 album (a beautiful collection of outstanding songs featuring just the two of them). Claire achieved one of her ambitions later that year, opening for Tony Bennett at the Glasgow International Jazz Festival.

By the mid-nineties Claire had received the Rising Star and Best Vocalist awards at the British Jazz Awards while receiving rave reviews on her American debut with four sell-out shows in Washington DC. Another ambition was fulfilled with the recording of a live album at Ronnie Scott’s in 1995, an album that moved the New York Times to comment "In an era when young jazz singers tend to sound far too much like their idols, there is no mistaking the voice of Claire Martin who combines a cool, burnished tone with the ear of a born musician".

Increasingly popular across the pond, Martin recorded her fifth album Make This City Ours (Linn AKD 066) in New York reaching number 1 in the prestigious Gavin Charts and staying there for two weeks – the only European singer to achieve this. Future albums saw her collaborating with guitarist/producer Paul Stacey and she even had Noel Gallagher join her on a rendition of the Beatles classic Help. Later that year she met Paul McCartney and delivered the reworking by hand. Her second album with Stacey featured a duet with cult singer/songwriter the late John Martyn who was one of her all time favourite singers.

During the Spring of 2000 Claire was chosen by BBC Radio 3 to present a new weekly jazz show called Jazz Line Up. This is still going from strength to strength and next year will be celebrating it‘s 10th birthday. Claire has interviewed some of her all time musical hero‘s including; Pat Metheney, Brad Mehldau,, Tania Maria, Mike Stern, Joe Locke, Joshua Redman, Diane Reeves and the late Micheal Brecker. A 'dream job' as she rightly describes it!

She continued to gather awards, winning the Best Vocalist category for the fourth time at the 2002 British Jazz Awards and going onto win Best Vocalist at the BBC Jazz Awards in 2003 (when she performed a duet with a certain Mr Cullum, who won the Rising Star Award that year).

Subsequent albums Too Darn Hot (Linn AKD 243) and Secret Love (Linn 246) further galvanised Claire‘s jazz credentials investigating an imaginative range of standards from the Great American Songbook as well as more contemporary material like Elvis Costello.

This was followed in 2005 by the critically-acclaimed duo release with composer and pianist Richard Rodney Bennett. Using material from their long-running shows, this intimate recording saw them offer takes on some rare repertoire from great writers like Sigman, Coward and Arlen. It prompted one Jazz Times reviewer to comment “For my money she's not only the finest female British jazz singer of her generation but possibly of all time.” This was followed by a highly successful national tour of the UK with Sir Richard to celebrate his 70th birthday. The tour finished with a star studded party at the Wigmore Hall where Claire and Richard performed the late set.

In 2007, Claire released an album dedicated to her all time favourite musician the late Shirley Horn, often called the singer’s singer. Hailed by most critics as her finest recording to date, He Never Mentioned Love (Linn AKD 295) captures her in intimate mode, paying tribute to her greatest musical influence. It led to widespread acclaim, with Observer Music Monthly hailing Martin as “the complete jazz singer she's always threatened to be.”

2007 also saw her make her debut at the world famous Oak Room at the Alqonguin Hotel in New York. Her two week run was a huge success with Tony Bennett dropping into hear his fave Brit singer on the opening night and Martin’s trademark cocktail of standards, sass, swing and lesser known gems had the new York critic’s purring with one New York paper purring “A world-class performer, offering proof-positive that jazz can be sung in a British accent”.

In September she returned to New York with pianist/singer and dear friend Ian Shaw to headline for 3 sell-out nights at 'Dizzy's Co-Co Cola' as part of the Lincoln Centre's 'Women in Jazz' Festival 2007.

They both opened the 2007 London Jazz Festival at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the 'We Love Ella' celebrations with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

2008 saw Claire headlining the 'Picnic in the Park' series in Dubai with Pete Long's big band and performing with her trio for the first time at the prestigious Trondheim Jazz Festival in Norway. In June she flew out to perform at the Los Gatos Festival in Carmel, California and performed with the legendary L.A singer/songwriter Mark Winkler.

During July 2008 Claire embarked on a new musical adventure with conductor John Wilson and singer Curtis Stigers. Together with actor Mark McGann they celebrated the life and music of John Lennon with brand new arrangements of Lennon's work for the LIverpool Symphony Orchestra by Andrew Cotty. The concerts received rave reviews with 15 minute standing ovations!! This show is to be repeated in Dublin with the RTE Orchestra this Summer. Wilson also conducted the RTE for their New Year's Eve concert which Claire headlined to ring in 2009. They have worked together over the last 10 years with Wilson conducting Claire with the Halle Orchestra on several occasions when they performed the Ella Fitzgerald songbook.

2009 started with a tour of the UK with Sir Richard Rodney Bennett – performing their show Withcraft a tribute to Cy Coleman. "Worldclass" described Clive Davis of The Times.

They went on to do a two week engagement at the Oak Room at the Algonquin hotel in May/June and received reviews from both the New York Times and The New York Observer which described the show as "Wise and cultivated, satisfying, heavenly and fulfilling". Claire‘s headline piece by Rex Reed simply stated "Nobody does it like Claire Martin – a British singing sensation".

Claire's latest release A Modern Art was recorded during March of 2009 and features the amazing talents of Nigel Hitchcock, Laurence Cottle (who also produced and arranged the sessions), Mark Nightingale, Phil Robson and Gareth Williams. Always keen to surround herself with the best musician's in town, the CD is a modern take on jazz singing in the 21st century. Two new original songs by Claire and Laurence are alongside new songs by Mark Winker, Joshua Redman, Lauren Kinhan, Colin Lazzerini and all time favourite writers Donald Fagan, Micheal Franks, Cy Colemand and Rodgers & Hart.

Jazz at Kineo,Brighton.June 2nd 2010.

Claire Martin, vocal,Jim Mullen,Guitar,Laurence Cottle,bass,Dave Ohm,drums.

Natalie Cole

2009-12-06T01:33:00.001+07:00

Natalie Cole performs first post-surgery concert

AP - Sep 10, 2009

Natalie Cole has returned to the concert stage for the first time since a successful kidney transplant. The 59-year-old singer performed Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Cole had... More »

Natalie Cole Discharged From Hospital

E! Online - May 26, 2009

Natalie Cole is on the mend. Less than a week after receiving a kidney transplant and losing her sister Carol "Cookie" Cole to lung cancer on the same day, the Unforgettable chanteuse was released... More »

Natalie Cole Recovering From Kidney Transplant

E! Online - May 20, 2009

Natalie Cole will be hard-pressed to live through a more unforgettable experience. The Grammy-winning singer, who has been undergoing dialysis since last fall, successfully underwent kidney transplant... More »

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Unforgettable: With Love

R&B/Soul, Jul 2008

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Anthology

R&B/Soul, Mar 2003

Listen in iTunes

2009-08-17T01:54:00.001+07:00

Al Jarreau's Diary from SE Asia 2008 Tour with George Benson

Hi everybody,

I haven’t made a diary entry in a very long time. I don’t like that…but, I got swamped and so busy that I had to let go of some stuff. Still, somehow I’ve got to check in with you at least intermittently, even if briefly and update you. Losing touch for so long is not okay. So, I apologize and will really try to talk to you more.

I’ll save the general catch up highlights for another time. Right now, I must mention that George Benson and I just closed out a seven city asia tour. Seoul, Beijing, shanghai, manila, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and last night our closer in Jakarta. It was wonderful!

This tour was a continuation of the world tour which began just after the release of our ‘givin it up’ record. I owe a really special thanks to all of the promoters who invited us. There’s no sure thing in the concert biz these days and so promoters are always a little nervous, especially international places where you’ve never been. Thanks guys!

Here’s another special thank you to Eric John and wife, the American ambassador of Thailand, who had a beautiful reception for us at their home. That’s wonderfully thoughtful U.S. officialdom… they even met us at the airport.

Going to Asia is so rare and wonderful that it’s always a little frustrating that there isn’t time for sightseeing and ‘getting the feel’.

We arrived in Beijing between the close of the 2008 Olympic games, and the start of the Paralympics. The air was just buzzing with the energy of the games, and when I mentioned ‘congrats’ on what great hosts they were and the china medal count – they erupted.

Shanghai was buzzing and banging and klanging with all of the new building going on. It’s eye-popping, jaw dropping the amount of new construction. Canyons of glass and steel, and new bridges of the most wonderful modern design.

By the way, there was a terrific 2 page Time Magazine Asia article, with Sarah Palin on the cover. Thank you time magazine, I’m so flattered. Thanks Fiona for all of you hard work.

And of course BIG HUGS and KNUCKLE BUMPIN to our fantastic band and crew. Also, to our tour manager Anna, and our management rep Joe Gordon. This was a band made up of some of George Benson’s band, and some members of our band. Larry Williams, Joe Turano (my musical director), David Garfield (George’s musical director), Mike O’Neill (has been with GB for 20+ years), Stanley Banks (of the ‘Breezin’ record), Thom Hall, and Mark Simmons playing drums during Both sets.

Thank you band, You were fantastic! Standing ovations, and encores all over the place.

BREAKING NEWS: WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPROACHED TO RETURN TO SE ASIA TO DO ANOTHER 6-8 CITY TOUR. DETAILS TO BE UPDATED LATER.

2009-08-10T22:26:00.003+07:00

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Play Sarah Vaughan Radio

Sarah Vaughan

Newark, New York NJ, United States (1924 – 1990)
Sarah Lois Vaughan (nicknamed “Sassy” and “The Divine One”) (March 27, 1924, Newark, New Jersey – April 3, 1990, Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz singer, described as “possessor of one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century”. Jazz critic Leonard Feather called her “the most important singer to emerge from the bop era.”Ella Fitzgerald called her the world’s “greatest singing talent.

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Sarah Vaughan song lyrics :

Broken Hearted Melody
C'est La Vie
Eternally
Fabulous Character
How Important Can It Be
It Never Entered My Mind
Its All Right With Me
Lullaby of Birdland
Make Yourself Comfortable
Mr. Wonderful
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
The Banana Boat Song (day-o)
Whatever Lola Wants

Tagged as:
jazz, female vocalists, jazz vocal, blues, vocal jazz
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George Benson

2009-07-08T21:12:00.001+07:00

George Benson is simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history, but he isalso an amazingly versatile musician, and that frustrates to no end critics who would paint him into a narrow bop box. He can play in just about any style -- from swing to bop to R&B to pop -- with supreme taste, a beautiful rounded tone, terrific speed, a marvelous sense of logic in building solos, and, always, an unquenchable urge to swing. His inspirations may have been Charlie Christianand Wes Montgomery -- and he can do dead-on impressions of both -- but his style is completely his own. Not only can he play lead brilliantly, he is also one of the best rhythm guitarists around, supportive to soloists and a dangerous swinger, particularly in a soul-jazz format. Yet Benson can also sing in a lush soulful tenor with mannerisms similar to those ofStevie Wonder andDonny Hathaway, and it is his voice that has proved to be more marketable to the public than his guitar. Benson is the guitar-playing equivalent of Nat King Cole -- a fantastic pianist whose smooth way with a pop vocal eventually eclipsed his instrumental prowess in the marketplace -- but unlike Cole, Benson has been granted enough time after his fling with the pop charts to reaffirm his jazz guitar credentials, which he still does at his concerts.

Benson actually started out professionally as a singer, performing in nightclubs at eight, recording four sides for RCA's X label in 1954, forming a rock band at 17 while using a guitar that his stepfather made for him. Exposure to records by Christian, Montgomery, and Charlie Parker got him interested in jazz, and by 1962, the teenaged Benson was playing in Brother Jack McDuff's band. After forming his own group in 1965, Benson became another of talent scoutJohn Hammond's major discoveries, recording two highly regarded albums of soul-jazz and hard bop for Columbia and turning up on several records by others, including Miles Davis' Miles in the Sky. He switched to Verve in 1967, and, shortly after the death of Montgomery in June 1968, producer Creed Taylor began recording Benson with larger ensembles on A&M (1968-1969) and big groups and all-star combos on CTI (1971-1976).

While the A&M and CTI albums certainly earned their keep and made Benson a guitar star in the jazz world, the mass market didn't catch on until he began to emphasize vocals after signing with Warner Bros. in 1976. His first album for Warner Bros., Breezin', became a Top Ten hit on the strength of its sole vocal track, "This Masquerade," and this led to a string of hit albums in an R&B-flavored pop mode, culminating with the Quincy Jones-produced Give Me the Night. As the '80s wore on, though, Benson's albums became riddled with commercial formulas and inferior material, with his guitar almost entirely relegated to the background. Perhaps aware of the futility of chasing the charts (after all, "This Masquerade" was a lucky accident), Benson reversed his field late in the '80s to record a fine album of standards,Tenderly, and another with the Basie band, his guitar now featured more prominently. His pop-flavored work also improved noticeably in the '90s. Benson retains the ability to spring surprises on his fans and critics, like his dazzlingly idiomatic TV appearance and subsequent record date with Benny Goodman in 1975 in honor of John Hammond, and his awesome command of the moment at several Playboy Jazz Festivals in the 1980s. His latter-day recordings include the 1998 effort Standing Together, 2000's Absolute Benson, 2001's All Blues, and 2004'sIrreplaceable. Three songs from 2006's Givin' It Up, recorded with Al Jarreau, were nominated for Grammy Awards in separate categories.