SFJAZZ Blog

On The Corner: SFJAZZ's New Blog

2016-07-13T14:43:00.003-07:00

We've moved! Head over to SFJAZZ.org/onthecorner for all the awesome features, photos, playlists, videos and all the other content you've enjoyed here.

See you On The Corner!

How Blue Note Helped Lou Donaldson Become A "Major Leaguer"

2015-11-16T17:23:00.001-08:00

"The most successful type of major league baseball team can usually point to a strong farm system as one of the main reasons for prolonged success. The parent team is constantly stocked with players developed within its own organization. It takes good scouts to find this talent. Blue Note has got a good scout (and manager) in Alfred Lion, as witness the parade of home-grown talent on the Blue Note roster. Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and, the man in motion on this album, Lou Donaldson are all good examples. These players were introduced on the Blue Note label and have developed into major leaguers here."

IRA GITLER
Blues Walk Liner Notes

Hampton Hawes (1928-1977): Raise Up Off Me Alley

2015-11-13T12:50:00.000-08:00

In honor of Hampton Hawes (1928–1977), whose birthday falls on November 13, we'd like to draw attention to a unique tribute you can find at the SFJAZZ Center.

The loading area and passageway on the west side of the building is named “Raise Up Off Me Alley” in tribute to the West Coast jazz piano great and his incendiary autobiography Raise Up Off Me. The memoir chronicles Hawes’ meteoric career that included the 1956 DownBeat award for New Star of the Year and work with Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Dexter Gordon, as well as Hawes’ struggle with heroin, his five-year imprisonment on drug charges, and his ultimate redemption with an Executive Pardon by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. He lived in the Bay Area in the 1970s, and died of a brain hemorrhage at age 48.

The Five Spot: Happenings In The Jazz World (11/8-13)

2015-11-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

Jazz organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith returns to Blue Note Records, announces new LP featuring Robert Glasper.
In honor of Veterans Day, a salute to many of the jazz legends who served.
Music legend Allen Toussaint passes at age 77. Read Tribute.
Vanity Fair writes feature on The Jazz Youth-Quake: Others on the Upswing.
Producer Orrin Keepnews to be honored at a Memorial Concert at Yoshi's, Oakland, on Nov. 29

The Five Spot pulls together the five most important happenings in the jazz world each week.

High School All-Stars Alumni Interview: Kevin Coelho

2015-11-13T12:10:00.000-08:00

When you think of a high school jazz band, your “mind’s ear” may not immediately jump to the funky landscape of the Hammond B3 organ… but maybe it should. Kevin Coelho is one of the only organists ever to be involved in the High School All-Stars program, and he carved out a niche for himself in the way that talented auxiliary instrument players have to. Now at Stanford University, Kevin’s musical pursuits are taking many different shapes – from composer, to president of a musical consortium, to sometime SFJAZZ collaborator -- but we wouldn’t expect much less from this surprising contributor to the jazz scene.

You play an instrument that is not typically a part of big band jazz. What's your favorite recording that makes use of organ in a larger ensemble?

"Although organ may not be thought of as a typical big band instrument, there are lots of recordings of organ players with big bands, and they sound great. My two favorite albums are Joey DeFrancesco with City Rhythm Orchestra, and The Big Band of Jimmy McGriff."

Tell us about what you've been up to since you graduated.

"I’ve been studying computer science and doing some work in MST (Music, Science, and Technology) at Stanford. I’ve also been running my own 501(c)(3) student group, the Stanford Jazz Consortium. We’ve presented some medium to big names in jazz, -- Jon Batiste, Pete Escovedo, Marcus Shelby, Joe Gilman, Taylor Eigsti, -- and we host lots of workshops, jam sessions, and other opportunities for student musicians and local community members."

What upcoming shows are you looking forward to at SFJAZZ?

"So far this year, my student group has reserved tickets for Peter Bernstein, Wayne Shorter, Brad Mehldau, Esperanza Spalding, The Bad Plus Josh Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Terence Blanchard’s Champion, and Cassandra Wilson, so I’m looking forward to (and have already heard great things about) those shows!"

Keep up with Kevin’s upcoming shows on his website and keep an eye out for future SFJAZZ guest blogs by this young organist.

Travel in Cuba: A Recommended Reading List

2015-11-12T14:10:00.001-08:00

Cuban music is a global phenomenon, and has been part of SFJAZZ since the beginning. As travel restrictions have eased in Cuba, more Americans are planning trips to explore the vast cultural wealth of our island neighbor to the south. If you are planning a trip, SFJAZZ Director of Education Rebeca Mauleón has provided a recommended reading list to help prepare you for the unforgettable experience you are sure to have. In her words:

"A lifetime of reading will never adequately prepare you for the Cuban experience; the island must be witnessed firsthand, and even then you will probably leave with more questions than answers!

Meanwhile, here are a few recommendations of books to explore – from top picks of classic Cuban literature, to recent investigative reports on the ever-changing landscape.

To start things off, we have Tom Gjelten’s excellent account of one of Cuba’s most iconic families, Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba.

Fascinated by underworld kingpins? Be sure to check out Havana Nocturne by T.J. English, an eloquent tale of pre-revolutionary Havana and the role of American organized crime.

If Cuban literary masterpieces translated into English are more your style, we suggest the 19th century classic, Cecilia Valdés by Cirilo Villaverde, an account of the “depravity caused by slavery and colonialism.”

Budding musicologists should not miss Ned Sublette’s excellent tome, Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo.

For those appreciating a contemporary perspective on the island’s political and economic transformation, try Cuban Revelations by Marc Frank, or Julia Cooke’s The Other Side of Paradise.

Love detailed historical accounts? Jon Lee Anderson’s critically-acclaimed book, Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life is a no-brainer. If you prefer a more biting and witty style, try Guillermo Cabrera Infante’s Three Trapped Tigers. Just DO NOT take your copy to Cuba, as the book has been BANNED there! (Seriously.)

And finally, Lithuanian photographer Marius Jovaisa, who was granted special permission to shoot arial photos over much of Cuba, released his extraordinary collection in Unseen Cuba. This is a must-have for photography buffs."

– Rebeca

Jazz Musicians Who've Served In The U.S. Military

2015-11-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

In honor of Veterans Day, we take a look back, and salute many of the jazz legends who've served in the U.S. Military - many lending their musical talents to boost troop moral.

Allen Toussaint (U.S. Army)

Artie Shaw (U.S. Navy)

Clark Terry (U.S. Navy)

John Coltrane (Seaman First Class, U.S. Navy)

Glenn Miller (Major, U.S. Air Force)

Vince Guaraldi (U.S. Army)

Hampton Hawes (U.S. Army)

Jo Jones (U.S. Army)

Lester Young (U.S. Army)

Tony Bennett (U.S. Army)

Wayne Shorter (U.S. Army)

Any additions? Please share on Facebook or Twitter.

Remembering Allen Toussaint (1938-2015)

2015-11-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

Allen Toussaint at the 2009 San Francisco Jazz Festival (S. Chernis)

The phrase “living legend” is often carelessly bandied about in popular culture, but could well have been coined specifically to describe composer, pianist, singer, producer, and New Orleans music icon Allen Toussaint, who passed away from a heart attack on November 10 in Madrid, Spain following a performance.

An artist synonymous with the gritty, funky R&B of the Crescent City, Toussaint played an integral part in many of the greatest hits to emerge from New Orleans since the 1950s, and his indelible contributions to popular music earned him a much-deserved induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Toussaint's presence graced hundreds of recordings for dozens of artists, including New Orleans mainstays Dr. John, The Meters, the Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indian Tribe, and Irma Thomas. He recorded 19 albums over his career beginning in 1958 and culminating with his 2013 solo release Songbook, showcasing the composer’s immortal tunes in an intimate piano and vocal setting. The album is a fitting finale to Toussaint’s life and career.

The breadth of Allen Toussaint’s influence is truly incredible. His compositions have been recorded and performed by a veritable who’s-who of artists from all areas of popular music. The Pointer Sisters, Lee Dorsey, Ringo Starr, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors, Iron Butterfly, Glen Campbell, Bo Diddley, The Yardbirds, The Band, Devo, Little Feat, the Jerrry Garcia Band and Otis Redding all covered his songs at points in their careers.

From writing immortal tunes like “Working in a Coal Mine,” “Fortune Teller,” “Southern Nights,” and “Get Out of My Life Woman” to producing albums for Patti Labelle, Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney and Solomon Burke, Toussaint’s influence spanned genres and generations. His legacy will live on forever.

Toussaint performed for SFJAZZ numerous times over the years, including his final appearance at the SFJAZZ Center last November with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

5 Jazz Covers of Radiohead

2015-11-09T17:32:00.002-08:00

"Exit Music (For A Film)" (Brad Mehldau)

Perhaps no one has interpreted Radiohead as well as pianist Brad Mehldau. His covers not only do justice to the mood, melodies and textures we love Radiohead for, but they are always distinctly Mehldau (one of the reasons he's garnered such a following). Keep an ear out for "Exit Music" and more Mehldau-Radiohead covers ("Paranoid Android," "Knives Out") when Mehldau's Trio comes to SFJAZZ Novemeber 10-11.

"Maiden Voyage / Everything In Its Right Place" (Robert Glasper)

At a time when mash-ups were the rage, Robert Glasper (always hip to the times) mashed Herbie Hancock's classic "Maiden Voyage" melody over Radiohead's heady, odd-time "Everything In Its Right Place." Runner-up goes to Glasper Trio's sumptuous cover of Radiohead's "Reckoner," heard at the 33rd Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival back in June (find it on his new album Covered).

"The Eraser" (Christian Scott)

Although technically not a Radiohead cover ("The Eraser" is the title track off Thom York's debut solo album), Christian Scott captures the mood beautifully with his Harmon-induced "whisper technique" over a grainy piano vamp. Even York dug it, inviting Scott up to the stage to perform "The Eraser" at the Roseland Ballroom back in 2010!

"Karma Police" (The Bad Plus)

Known well for its covers, The Bad Plus have interpreted Nirvana, Niel Young, Aphex Twin, Black Sabbath, Pixies and Stravinsky. Not until the compilation album Exit Music: Songs With Radio Heads did the longstanding trio put its sonic stamp on Radiohead's "Karma Police." Now, if only Joshua Redman got on this track when The Bad Plus Joshua Redman comes to town in December!

"The National Anthem" (Chris Dave / Meshell Ndegeocello)

Off the same Exit Music compilation, Chris Dave and Meshell Ndegeocello's "The National Anthem" takes the edgy rock vamp of Radiohead's original and makes it super funky. Ndegeocello, using tasteful effects, doesn't imitate Thom York (impossible to do, which is why most Radiohead covers here are instrumental). The go-go veteran does her own thing, and it works. Fans of "The National Anthem" probably dig the raw horn lines. Chris "Daddy" Dave gives the horns even more space to experiment.

Want more Radiohead covers? Check out SFJAZZ's "Radiohead Meets Jazz" Playlist!

Five Spot: Happenings In The Jazz World This Week (11/2-7)

2015-11-06T12:22:00.003-08:00

Raul Rekow, 1954-2015

Percussion great and longtime Santana conguero Raul Rekow passed at age 61.
Chucho Valdés reflects on Irakere and his career (The New York Times).
Bay Area latin jazz maestro John Santos turns 60, celebrates at SFJAZZ.
The Jaco Pastorious Documentary is set for a red-carpet premiere.
John Coppola, endeared SF trumpeter (Green Street Mortuary Band), passed at age 86.

Five Things To Know about Will Bernard and Beth Custer

2015-11-05T10:31:00.002-08:00

GRAMMY-nominated guitarist Will Bernard is a Berkeley native, now living in Brooklyn
He’s led a half-dozen albums with his trio, quartet and Motherbug band, and has worked with Stanton Moore, Robert Walter, and Jai Uttal
He was a member of Peter Apfelbaum’s Hieroglyphics Ensemble, who made their recorded debut on trumpet legend Don Cherry’s 1990 album Multikulti
He was a part of the short lived but acclaimed Bay Area band T.J. Kirk featuring fellow guitarists Charlie Hunter and John Schott, as well as drummer Scott Amendola. The funk-infused band was dedicated to the music of James Brown, Thelonious Monk, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk
In describing him, JazzTimes writer Dan Ouellette said: “Will Bernard is one of the best-kept jazz-guitar secrets on the planet”

Beth Custer is an award-winning clarinetist, composer and bandleader who has released over 35 albums
Her ensembles have included My Grandmother, assembled to perform Custer’s score to the banned 1929 Soviet Georgian film of the same name, the improv-heavy Beth Custer Ensemble, Clarinet Thing featuring fellow reedists Sheldon Brown, Ben Goldberg and Harvey Wainapel, world-fusion group Trance Mission, and the large-scale Vinculum Symphony that brings together chamber musicians and instrument builders from around the world
She performs with the Club Foot Orchestra, the premier ensemble devoted to silent film scoring and accompaniment
She has composed for a number of notable performers, ensembles, and dance and theatre groups including the Kronos Quartet, Turtle Island Quartet, Zeitgeist, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Magic Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Joe Goode Performance Group, and the California Shakespeare Theater, among others
This duo performance with Will Bernard will make clear why the San Francisco Chronicle calls her “a virtuoso of collaboration”

Will Bernard and Beth Custer perform in the Joe Henderson Lab on 11/14. Tap here for more information.

Django Reinhardt: 5 Deep Cuts

2015-11-04T11:51:00.003-08:00

Pioneering Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt lamented that he might be neglected by history, but today the swinging “jazz manouche” sound he created with French violinist Stéphane Grappelli is more pervasive than ever—a big reason why SFJAZZ continues to present French guitarist and violinist Dorado Schmitt and his Django All-Stars.

Before Schmitt kicks off his four-night SFJAZZ Residency celebrating the music of Reinhardt, dig into five deep cuts from the man they called "Three Fingered Lightning"—from lesser-known collaborations with Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter, to a rare improvisation and a musical homage to Brazil.

Five Guitar Greats Talk About Django Reinhardt

2015-11-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

The impact of gypsy jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt reaches beyond the jazz world, influencing legions of guitarists from all areas of music. Here are five legendary guitar players and their thoughts on Django.

“By far the most astonishing guitar player ever” — Jeff Beck

“...nobody has really come to the state that he was playing at. As good as players are, they haven’t gotten to where he is. There’s a lot of guys that play fast and a lot of guys that play clean, and the guitar has come a long way as far as speed and clarity go, but nobody plays with the whole fullness of expression that Django has.” — Jerry Garcia

“The passion that he put into each note was unbelievable. He was ferocious.” — Peter Frampton

“He was the greatest guitarist in my mind. I'd do anything to play as great as he did.” — Les Paul

“Charlie Christian had no more impact on my playing than Django Reinhardt or Lonnie Johnson. I wanted to play like all of them. All of these people were important to me. I couldn't play like any of them, though.” — B.B. King

Renowned guitarist and violinist Dorado Schmitt pays tribute to Django's legacy 11/5-11/8. Tap here for more information.

Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim, and the South African Jazz Tradition

2015-11-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Hugh Masekela

With both Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim performing during the 2015-2016 Season, it’s appropriate to shed some light on how the jazz tradition reached South Africa and influenced these two musical legends to be, making them into the artists they are today.

New Orleans jazz became known in South Africa shortly after the first commercial recordings of the music were made in 1917, making the trek to Cape Town on merchant vessels from the United States in the early 20s. Bands inspired by early jazz began forming shortly after, primarily among the Western-educated Xhosa nation in Queenstown and the Johannesburg ghetto Sophiatown, an area that became a hotbed for innovation and experimentation. As the music continued to evolve over the years, the ever-increasing level of sophistication gave rise to a new crop of South African musicians deeply versed in the jazz vocabulary, having been exposed to the current state of jazz via recordings and radio in addition to the American groups that toured the country during the period. One of the biggest bands of the late 1930s, the Jazz Maniacs, melded the influence of Count Basie and Duke Ellington with Zulu styles – a mix that made a lasting impression on a new generation of aspiring musicians including Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim. Born in Kwa-Guqa Township in 1939, Masekela began learning piano and singing from an early age, and was inspired to take up the trumpet at 14 after viewing Young Man with a Horn, the American film based loosely on the life of early jazz icon Bix Beiderbecke. The noted English Anglican bishop and anti-Apartheid author, Trevor Huddleston, gave Masekela his first instrument.

Abdullah Ibrahim

A Cape Town native, Ibrahim was born Adolph Johannes Brand in 1934, and demonstrated an innate talent for the piano as a youth. He made his professional debut at 15, and developed an advanced bebop approach as leader of his own trio under a stage name, Dollar Brand. In 1959, Masekela and Ibrahim formed the Jazz Epistles, an important but short lived group inspired by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers that had the distinction of being the country’s first bebop group and the first to record an album. The Sharpeville Massacre of March 1960 led to drastically increased enforcement of apartheid and greater repression of African culture, and the Jazz Epistles were dissolved, with Masekela fleeing to the United States and Ibrahim to Europe before he also immigrated to the U.S. The trumpeter immersed himself in the burgeoning New York hard bop scene of the early 1960s and entered the Manhattan School of Music, where one of his classmates and collaborators was the masterful pianist, composer and arranger Larry Willis, with whom he reunites for his SFJAZZ performances. Masekela released his debut album, Trumpet Africaine, in 1963, and moved to Los Angeles in the late 60s during the ‘Summer of Love,’ scoring a #1 hit on the American ‘pop charts with his GRAMMY-nominated single “Grazin’ in the Grass.” He has since released over 40 albums and is recognized around the world as the greatest living ambassador of South Africa’s jazz legacy.

Upon leaving South Africa in 1962 for safe haven in Zurich, Ibrahim was joined by other exiled members of the Jazz Epistles to reform the Dollar Brand Trio in Europe. Duke Ellington, who was in Switzerland on tour, heard the trio at the Club Africaine in Zurich where Ibrahim had a residency. Ellington was suitably impressed, and became a mentor and champion of the young pianist, getting Ibrahim a record deal and attaching his name to Ibrahim’s debut release, Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio. Upon settling in the U.S., Ibrahim subbed on tour dates for Ellington, and began an illustrious career as a bandleader and composer, converting to Islam and performing with jazz greats Max Roach, Elvin Jones and Randy Weston. He returned to Cape Town on a pair of occasions, settling there after the end of apartheid, and maintains deep connections to the culture of his homeland and its impact on the jazz tradition.

Hugh Masekela performs with pianist Larry Willis 11/27-11/29. Tap here for more information. Abdullah Ibrahim will present four shows, solo and with his projects Mukashi Trio and Ekaya, 4/28-5/1. Tap here for more information.

Five Spot: Happenings In The Jazz World This Week (10/26-31)

2015-10-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Gilles Peterson compiles an epic new Sun Ra collection To Those Of Earth... And Other Planets
Drummer Antonio Sánchez won Score of the Year and Discovery of the Year (for Birdman) at the World Soundtrack Awards in Belgium.
DownBeat Readers Poll announced - Chick Corea, Tony Bennett & Wayne Shorter among top honors
Pioneering guitarist Lionel Loueke drops new album GAÏA on Blue Note Records
Jazz-playing robots will explore human–computer relations

All set for two #BirdmanMovie screenings tonight. Antonio Sanchez plays the live drum score! #FilmAndMusic #SFJAZZ #SoldOut 📷: @jfshigeru

A photo posted by SFJAZZ (@sfjazz) on Aug 22, 2015 at 7:05pm PDT

Dennis Chambers: Roots & Grooves

2015-10-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Ask any musician for a list of the greatest living drummers, and the name Dennis Chambers is sure to be near the top of the list. Innumerable recording and performing credits in the worlds of R&B, jazz, fusion, and rock crowd his résumé, with artists including Parliament/Funkadelic, Santana, Maceo Parker, John Scofield, The Brecker Brothers, John McLaughlin, Steely Dan, George Duke, Kenny Garrett, Stanley Clarke, Mike Stern, and others. Superlatives like “incredible”, “unbelievable”, and “amazing” are freely thrown around in reviews and music publications when talking about Chambers’ playing, and he is a rare artist whose astounding technique and speed are balanced by an unshakable groove and musical sensitivity that very few possess. The mere mention of his name in music circles elicits an attitude of reverence and deep respect, and like other percussionists who have existed in that rarefied air, the self-taught Baltimore native started young – first picking up the sticks at four and performing in local clubs by age six.

Chambers joined George Clinton’s funk juggernaut Parliament/Funkadelic in 1978, a hugely influential collective including saxophonist Maceo Parker that married R&B, rock, and soul with a bitingly satirical edge, political and social conscience, and elaborate themes of Afro-Futurism as pioneered by jazz iconoclast Sun Ra. Parliament/Funkadelic was Chambers' musical home for seven years, and he has maintained a musical connection to Parker, appearing on the saxophonist’s triumphant 2007 release Roots & Grooves featuring the WDR Big Band. He has recently returned to tour with Parker and will appear with him and his band during their four-night New Years engagement at the SFJAZZ Center.

The pioneering record label Sugar Hill made Chambers their “house drummer” in 1981, enlisting the then 22-year-old to perform on their first single, the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” – a seminal recording that introduced the American public to the hip-hop genre and is included in NPR's list of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. Chambers and bassist Chip Shearin recorded the entire 15-minute track in one take.

From the mid-80s on, the drummer worked extensively with guitarist John Scofield, appearing on his acclaimed early albums Loud Jazz, Blue Matter, and Pick Hits: Live, and became one of the most recorded session musicians in New York, appearing on upwards of 200 records and releasing four albums under his own name. Since the 1990s, Chambers has been part of a pair of notable organ trios – The Free Spirits, a renowned modern jazz unit with guitarist John McLaughlin and organist Joey DeFrancesco, and Niacin, a powerful rock-meets-jazz project featuring bassist Billy Sheehan and organist John Novello.

Since 2005, he has been recording and touring with Santana.

These dates at SFJAZZ are a “coming home” for Dennis Chambers, who powers Maceo Parker’s band like a freight train, a master of groove.

Dennis Chambers performs with Maceo Parker in Miner Auditorium, 12/31-1/3. Tap here for more information.

11 Irakere & Chucho Valdés Songs You Must Hear (by Rebeca Mauleón)

2015-10-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Bacalao con pan (Grandes Momentos) - One of Irakere's 1970s dance hits, "Bacalao Con Pan" (literally translated as "cod fish with bread"), represents the obvious influence of iconic American groups such as Blood, Sweat and Tears, and featured late guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales in full-on "wah-wah" pedal mode. While the album credits the song to Raúl Valdés (Chucho Valdés; brother), it was, in fact, penned by Chucho. The juxtaposition of electric guitar, vintage Farfisa organ and sacred batá drums is precisely what has defined Irakere as one of the most genre-defying Cuban bands of all time.

Anabis (Felicidad) - While there are several renditions of this on different albums, my personal favorite is the live version, given I was sitting in the audience at Ronnie Scott's club in London when Irakere recorded it! The haunting intensity of Chucho's piano intro is matched by the frenetic tempo of the main theme, not to mention the crackling ensemble breaks that highlight the extraordinary precision of rhythm section members Miguel Angá Diaz (congas, who takes an amazing solo), Enrique Plá (drums), Oscar Valdés (timbales) and Carlos Del Puerto (bass). This was the second iteration of the Irakere band, encompassing most of the 1980s and into the early 90s.

Contradanza (Felicidad) - Another tune from the same live album, "Contradanza" is Chucho's homage to the 19th century nationalist genre that coalesced as an extension (or collision) of both European and African influences. After the synth-laden introduction, the remarkable horn section takes off, and highlights the extraordinary flute work of a then very young Orlando "Maraca" Valle, just fresh out of the School of the Arts in Havana.

Misa Negra (The Best of Irakere) - The studio version of this suite brought to light a more constrained, almost theatrical interpretation of Chucho's opus, but the live version is undoubtedly one of the most memorable performances Irakere has ever given. With the first iteration of the band - featuring legendary figures Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval, among others - this tribute to the deep African roots of Cuban music melds the sacred and the secular, informed by jazz and splattered with funk and rock. It is, simply put, epic.

Nanu (New Conceptions) - Some of Chucho's most brilliant solo piano work wasn't necessarily limited to the few solo albums he recorded. This piece is mostly piano solo with the Maestro at his most lyrical and tender, evoking an exquisite and almost heart-wrenching honesty. An amalgam of Chopin, Lecuona, McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans, Chucho's mastery is clearly evident in this gorgeous piece.

Mambo Influenciado (Lucumi Piano Solo) - Contributing to a musical canon often referred to as "Latin Jazz" is Chucho's now standard minor blues piece, "Mambo Influenciado." Recorded in the 1960s with the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna (the Cuban Modern Music Orchestra) in the decade before Irakere's formation, this piece was originally conceived as a jazz tune influenced by the Cuban tinge. Chucho's solo piano recording on the Termidor label is by far the supreme version, but the tune is now part of Latin Jazz standard repertoire and is played by bands around the globe.

Chucho's Steps (Chucho's Steps) - Inspired by the Coltrane composition "Giant Steps," and also a challenge to deconstruct the jazz standard, Valdés deliberately sought out to reframe the typical jazz composition by creating an extended form with one continuous melodic line. "Chucho's Steps" is built as a 50-measure head with no bridge, and also manages to modulate through multiple keys in a seamless and fluid way. This recording marks Valdés' new venture into a more Blakey-inspired role with his newly formed Afro-Cuban Messengers ensemble, a smaller group of much younger musicians, many of whom grew up listening to and learning from Irakere.

Aguanile (The Best of Irakere) - The first time I heard Irakere's live 1979 Newport Jazz recording, I immediately imagined what it must have been like for those innocent jazz fans to witness this as yet unknown ensemble of future heavyweights. If there is one song on the album that highlights how incredibly tight, funky and mind-boggling this band was, "Aguanile" is it! Featuring vocalist/percussionist Oscar Valdés and the blazing horn section, this piece highlight's the band's penchant for transforming sacred Yoruban chants, and is relentless in its danceability.

Xiomara (Live at Ronnie Scott's) - Cubans tend to love anything they can dance to, and as Irakere often discovered, their main obligation to their home crowd was to keep them happy! Combining funk, jazz, and Cuban rumba, "Xiomara" takes a folkloric concept to new heights and gives both listeners and dancers something to agree on.

El Duke (Misa Negra) - Irakere's cover of Dave Brubeck's tune is a prime example of how informed Chucho Valdés has always been by the jazz canon, as well as his admiration for the titans of the music. He has an uncanny ability to embrace many musical elements and create one seamless expression that is distinctly his, while creating the perfect opportunity for his amazing musicians to shine, much like Duke Ellington did for his players.

Bailando Así (Live at Ronnie Scott's) - Unabashedly danceable, this tune is another example of how the groove can be the most important part of any song, no matter how simple. "Bailando Así" is, much like "Xiomara" (mentioned above), for the dancers!

— Rebeca Mauleón

Chucho Valdés & Irakere perform at SFJAZZ October 29 - November 1, 2015.

The Clarinet in Jazz

2015-10-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Johnny Dodds

Originally a German invention of the early 18th century, the clarinet has played an illustrious role in the development and history of jazz, but is an instrument that arguably had its greatest impact and visibility during the music’s New Orleans infancy and later during the Swing Era of the 30s and 40s. Leon Roppolo with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Sidney Bechet’s early work on clarinet and the playing of Johnny Dodds with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives bands of the mid-20s were all highly influential, and by the mid to late 1930s, clarinetists Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman were towering figures in the world of swing music as both instrumentalists and bandleaders. But, the end of the instrument’s relevance was seemingly in sight.

Eric Dolphy

The late 40s saw the explosive rise of bebop, and with the exception of a few superlative artists like Buddy DeFranco and Edmond Hall, the clarinet was largely pushed to the side in favor of its younger brass cousin, the saxophone, as the primary wind instrument of the period. Despite Goodman and Shaw’s dalliances with bebop and Duke Ellington’s continued employment of the instrument, the clarinet was generally considered passé among the cutting edge artists of the 40s and 50s, and only slightly less-so into the 1960s, when post-bop wind genius Eric Dolphy performed regularly on bass clarinet and Jimmy Giuffre emerged as an under-appreciated innovator. Eschewing the influence of bebop, New Orleans clarinetist Pete Fountain made a notable impact in the early 1960s with his nouveau-Dixieland approach, but the jazz world still seemed to largely consider the instrument unfashionable. But was it? Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that use of the clarinet became more specialized as the styles and definitions of jazz began to fragment into hard bop, the avant-garde, soul jazz and myriad other sub-genres, and a continuum certainly exists upon close examination.

Anat Cohen

By the 1970s, the clarinet had devotees within the avant-garde including Anthony Braxton, Alvin Batiste, and World Saxophone Quartet co-founder David Murray, who performs extensively on bass clarinet in addition to tenor saxophone. Cuba’s Paquito D’Rivera broke out as a giant of Latin Jazz during the decade, and the clarinet began to enjoy a mainstream resurgence in the hands of the jazz and classical master Eddie Daniels, swing revivalist Ken Peplowski, and later Don Byron, an artist whose talent for crossing genre boundaries made him a major critical and popular figure in the 1990s, continuing to today. Israeli-born clarinetist Anat Cohen has been a dominant force bringing the clarinet to new levels of notoriety in recent years, winning eight consecutive DownBeat Critics Polls and a Rising Star Jazz Artist of the Year nod in 2010. Baltimore’s Todd Marcus is one of the rare instrumentalists who have chosen the bass clarinet as their primary means of expression, and is easily one of this era’s defining voices on the instrument. Jazz’s current trove of clarinet specialists has assured that the instrument is no longer a second-class woodwind, and that its future is assured for generations to come.

Don Byron, David Murray, Anat Cohen, and Todd Marcus perform at Grace Cathedral on Thursday, 11/12 in a celebration of the clarinet. Tap here for more information.

Five Spot: Happenings In The Jazz World This Week

2015-10-23T16:14:00.001-07:00

Archie Shepp, 2016 NEA Jazz Master

'Cuba: The Conversation Continues' w/ Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra on NPR Music's Jazz Night In America.
Endeared jazz vocalist Mark Murphy passed at age 83.
National Endowment for the Arts announced the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters.
Herbie Hancock is working on new music with Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Pharrell & more.
SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Esperanza Spalding rocks new single “One” on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

High School All-Stars Alumni Interview: Kai Lyons

2015-10-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

Guitarist Kai Lyons was an alternate in the High School All-Stars program 2011-2012. Recently, he stepped back on the scene serendipitously: a quartet of All-Stars was performing at AT&T Park this summer when Kai approached them, introduced himself, and asked if they would like to add a guitar to the mix. For the next 45 minutes, the group played from the top of the visiting team’s dugout as though Kai had been a part of it all along, showing us what a professional who can adapt to any performance looks like.

Tell us about your school experience after the All-Stars.

“I received a full tuition scholarship to attend William Paterson University's Jazz Studies program directed by Mulgrew Miller in the NYC Metro area. After completing two years there, I decided to pause my studies and return to the Bay Area where I remain very busy. I gig regularly at Club Deluxe, The Burritt Room, and Mint Plaza. Until recently I worked at Creative Arts Charter School teaching Spanish through music. I am now taking a two-month break from to focus on my CCSF course load, composition, private lessons, percussion, guitar practice, and warm-heartedness.”

There are a lot of guitarists out there, but far fewer jazz guitarists. What is the most challenging thing about jazz guitar in your opinion?

“Rhythm, rhythm, rhythm. It is easy to overlook what gives the music its heart and soul and jump into theory and harmony prematurely. The hardest thing about jazz guitar, in my opinion, is falling into this trap."

You do a lot of work with kids these days. Can you tell us what these projects are and about the trajectory in which you hope to take jazz and music education?

“For several months I directed a group of tweens and taught them how to play in a rock band together. They are called The KHEAS (pronounced "Keys") and taught me a lot about what it takes for ensemble music to sound GOOD. Even though we were playing rock music, I felt like what I learned about jazz pedagogy aided me tremendously in getting the group to good for their age and experience. In January I plan to start music classes at Balboa High School. I am looking forward to the novel experience of working with a different age group. As an educator, I am still fairly young and am still establishing what age group I work best with. A goal of mine is to gain proficiency in educating all ages.
As far music education is concerned, our society needs to reemphasize the value in providing music classes in the schools, acknowledging that not only does this make kids perform better in other subjects but it makes kids more musical. We need to cultivate a new generation of culturally intelligent people. Music is just a part of that puzzle. As far as jazz is concerned, I hope to continue to see the music in a larger context by drawing from music of all times and places that speak to me. This is a never-ending process to be savored every step of the way.”

Check out Kai’s solo and group projects below, and catch him playing guitar as well as 5-string bass at his performances around the Bay Area.

Kailyons.com
https://www.facebook.com/Soltronofficial?fref=ts

Six Things to Know About Márcio Faraco

2015-10-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Born in Alegrete in southern Brazil, he began playing the guitar at age 10 and composing at 17.
He was championed by the iconic Brazilian singer/songwriter Chico Buarque, who invited the then-unknown Faraco to perform at an Antonio Carlos Jobim tribute concert also featuring Hermeto Pascoal and Maria Bethânia.
He left Brazil at age 28, moving to the south of France and eventually Paris, his current home.
Known worldwide as a “Francophone Brasileiro,” he began working his own compositions into his repertoire of Brazilian classics, eventually releasing his debut album in 2000, Ciranda, featuring all original compositions.
His newest WorldVillage/Harmonia Mundi album, Cajueiro (Portuguese for “cashew tree”), paints a picture of the Brazil from his memories, but firmly planted in his adopted home. In his words: “For a few years, I’ve had a song in my head about a Brazil which only exists in my memory. When I started recording, it was part of the playlist but had been put on hold as the album title, the idea that brought everything together. In the end, it was in Paris, France, that I planted this essentially Brazilian tree full of meaning.”
The New York Times had this to say about Márcio Faraco: "While bossa nova never disappeared from Brazilian music, Mr. Faraco wants not only to revive it, but to extend it.”

Márcio Faraco performs in the Joe Henderson Lab, November 5-8. Tap here for more information.

SFJAZZ Collective Previews Michael Jackson Arrangements

2015-10-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

SFJAZZ Collective's Sean Jones, Matt Penman and Robin Eubanks kicked off the Collective's SFJAZZ Center Residency on Wednesday (10/21) with a special Members Listening Party. To give you a teaser, we asked each of them about the Michael Jackson song they chose to arrange.

Sean Jones on "Rock With You"

My song choice, "Rock With You" (Off The Wall), is based on a few things: I absolutely love the tune and the feeling it gives me. Also I, at times, write with a sense of humor. The bridge of the tune starts with the lyric, "and when the groove is dead and gone"... So, I decided to make the groove "dead and gone" during the solo section by making the top of the phrase land in the middle of the solo form. The top of the arrangement also works this way with a piece of the chorus thrown in.

Matt Penman on "Blame It On The Boogie"

I chose the Jacksons' "Blame it on the Boogie" (Destiny) because it's a perfect mantra for abdicating all personal responsibility. Just kidding! I love it because it's infectiously fun and funky, has nice chords and mentions 'Frisco in the lyrics!

Robin Eubanks on "The Love You Save"

I went back to the beginning of Michael Jackson's career, with the Jackson 5. I arranged one of their first hits, "The Love You Save" (ABC). It's a light hearted song but it has a nice groove section that resonated with me and I thought I could develop it into a arrangement for the Collective. Here is a section of Michaels vocals demonstrating how talented he was at such a young age.

List of Collective Arrangements:

"Rock With You" (Sean Jones)
"Blame It On The Boogie" (Matt Penman)
"Thriller" (Obed Calvaire)
"The Love You Save" (Robin Eubanks)
"Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough" (David Sanchez)
"Smooth Criminal" (Miguel Zenon)
"Human Nature" (Warren Wolf)
"This Place Hotel" (Edward Simon)

(Each SFJAZZ Collective member was also commissioned to compose an original for the all-star octet.)

> SFJAZZ Collective Tour Dates.

Merle Haggard: The Bakersfield Sound

2015-10-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Music was part of Merle Haggard’s life from the start. The Oildale, California native first heard the Western swing of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys when he was a child of four, and Wills’ music, as well as that of honky-tonk king Lefty Frizzell and singer/songwriter Jimmie Rodgers, remained constant companions into Haggard’s adolescence. Haggard would later pay tribute to each with albums devoted to their songs and influence. The gift of a battered acoustic guitar from his brother cemented the youngster’s musical inclination at age 12, but the path to international stardom as a singer, guitarist and songwriter would not be a simple or direct one.

With his father’s death in 1945 and his mother’s demanding role as sole breadwinner, Haggard was left to his own devices as a youth, and became increasingly rebellious. He regularly ran afoul of the law by his early teens, and bounced from juvenile detention to jail for burglary and bad checks. He continued playing music at dances and nightclubs, but even after deciding to pursue a music career seriously, he still struggled financially and was sent to Bakersfield Jail after a failed robbery, eventually landing at San Quentin Prison after an escape attempt. While an inmate at San Quentin in 1958, Haggard attended Johnny Cash’s first-ever prison performance – a show that launched a series of concerts that have become legendary in the annals of country music. The experience was the inspiration for Haggard to finally clean up his act for good and embrace music as a path to turn his life around.

Jumping headlong into the emerging country scene in and around Bakersfield, Haggard helped establish a distinctive musical approach that became known as the “Bakersfield sound” – a rebellious rejection of the orchestrated, slickly produced songs coming out of Nashville at the time. The Bakersfield sound embraced the electric instruments and backbeat of rock-n-roll, and reveled in a stripped-down, direct and rough-hewn presentation. Other prominent practitioners of the Bakersfield sound included Wynn Stewart, Buck Owens, and Tommy Collins.

Merle Haggard at the White House for the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors

For Haggard, the momentous career that followed saw him inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994. He has recorded 38 songs that have hit #1 on the Billboard country chart, including the classics “Mama Tried”, “Okie from Muskogee”, “The Fightin’ Side of Me”, and “Pancho and Lefty” with fellow country legend Willie Nelson. His songs have been recorded by the likes of the Grateful Dead, Dean Martin, Joan Baez, and Gram Parsons, and he was named a Kennedy Center honoree in 2010. Haggard’s latest album is his best-selling 2015 collaboration with Nelson, Django and Jimmie, their salute to gypsy guitar pioneer Django Reinhardt and early country vocal star Jimmie Rodgers.

Merle Haggard performs at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre on Friday, December 4. Tap here for more information.

SFJAZZ Collective performs Michael Jackson's "Working Day And Night"

2015-10-16T17:00:00.002-07:00

The SFJAZZ Collective debuts new compositions and fresh arrangements of the music of Michael Jackson during its 2015-16 Tour, including an upcoming 4-night run at the SFJAZZ Center (10/22-25). Here's a performance of Jackson's "Working Day And Night" arranged by vibraphonist Warren Wolf at NYC's Subculture during Winter Jazz Festival 2015.

© KIDAM / MEZZO / BD2P 2014
Directed by Mathieu Mastin
Director of Photography Stephane Puccini
Editing by Mathieu Mastin and Louis Macera
Post Production by François Nabos

Five Spot: Happenings In The Jazz World This Week

2015-10-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Esperanza Spalding performs at the White House

Barack & Michelle Obama host "In Performance at White House: A Celebration of American Creativity" featuring Esperanza Spalding, Trombone Shorty, Buddy Guy & more.
Seattle Weekly takes a look back at "The Night That John Coltrane Played Seattle & Pushed Afro Futurism Forward" 50 years later.
Another clip from Don Cheadle's "Miles Ahead" was leaked—a conversation between Cheadle (Miles Davis) and Ewan McGregor (journalist).
Amoeba Records wants to convert its "jazz room" into Berkeley's newest medical marijuana dispensary.
U of Illinois professor is building a jazz-improvisation computer.