Nextbop

A Scholar, An Entertainer, and A Class Act: Geri Allen in Concert

justin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:55:22 +0000

Anthony Dean-Harris
Editor-in-Chief
anthony.deanharris@nextbop.com / @i_ADH

I am a sucker for piano trios, always have been. Anything on top of the piano/bass/drums combo is just icing on the cake to me. This past Sunday, February 19th at the McAllister Auditorium at San Antonio College, the Geri Allen quartet featuring Allen on piano, Kenny Davis on bass, Kassa Overall on drums, and Bruce Williams on saxophone served up some delicious, straight-up, straight-ahead cake.

Romain Collin: Music and Light (Video)

sebastien — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:55:37 +0000

seb.
Co-Founder
s.helary [at] nextbop.com

Sculptor Sydney Cash's dazzling light installation at The Falcon, a renowned music venue in Marlboro, NY, responds to this original composition by jazz pianist Romain Collin. The piece was performed and recorded live at The Falcon on September 20th 2011. Video directed by Yaara Sumeruk. Cinematography by Brian Harnick. Produced by Tony Segreto.

P.S. Romain's got an album coming out on Palmetto Records April 24th and looks like it'll be streaming here a week before the release!!

Album Stream: Ben Wendel's 'Frame'

sebastien — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:07:52 +0000

Marc Rosenfeld Antunes
Staff Writer
mra337@nyu.edu / @mcrantunes

[Listen to Ben Wendel in the Nextplayer]

Being a jazz musician today means being flexible and open to all things. Saxophonist and bassoonist Ben Wendel certainly fits this description; you might have heard him perform with Dan Tepfer. You might have heard him perform with Prince. You might even have heard him perform with Snoop Dogg.

But that certainly is not enough to make a musician interesting; you might say a musician needs a certain mastery of a voice of his own. In listening to his Frame (to be released on the 28th of February, 2012), it seems that this is absolutely true of Ben Wendel.

Album Stream: Johnathan Blake's 'The Eleventh Hour'

sebastien — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:04:29 +0000

Marc Rosenfeld Antunes
Staff Writer
mra337@nyu.edu / @mcrantunes

[Listen to Johnathan Blake in the Nextplayer]

Marcus Miller once said he would never have been noticed by Miles Davis had he never constructed his own voice. And it is true that when we listen to jazz, we are looking for personal expression. It is a well-known fact that a musician’s voice matters. Drummer Johnathan Blake has been a critically acclaimed sideman for most of his career, and yet, he has been able to record a project with an ensemble with a real voice of its own, featuring saxophonists Jaleel Shaw and Mark Turner, bassist Ben Street, and pianist Kevin Hays.

Relevant to His Time: An Interview with Robert Glasper

justin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:47:26 +0000

Jon Wertheim
Staff Writer
jon.wertheim@gmail.com / @rtbjazz

Some conversations bore me. Some don’t. But few are interesting enough that I’ll sit hunched over a cell phone for fifteen minutes, holding a microphone up to the earpiece, and then spend half an hour trying to decipher the grainy voice on the tape for just a few pages of type. This one was.

We could have just written a review of Robert Glasper’s new album, Black Radio, recorded for Blue Note with his Experiment (and a series of distinguished guests including Erykah Badu, Musiq [Soulchild], Ledisi, Lupe Fiasco, Yasiin Bey [né Mos Def], and others). But Glasper has a strong voice, and not just on the piano, so we decided to let him speak for himself about the thoughts that occupy the mind behind the record.