All About Jazz is celebrating Sidney Bechet's birthday today! Along with his fellow New Orleanian, Louis Armstrong, Bechet was one of the first great soloists in jazz. His throaty, powerful clarinet and his throbbing soprano are among the most thrilling sounds in early jazz. He went from being a pioneer of jazz in the 1920s to a national hero in France, where he spent the final decade of his life....
The International Songwriting Competition has awarded its 2014 Grand Prize to jazz trumpeter Shunzo Ohno. Ohno has been described as modest and seemingly shy, and he has overcome health challenges in his life that would have potentially ended any musician's career. Surviving both a serious car accident in which his teeth and lips were permanently damaged and a later bout of throat cancer which forced...
Rockville, MD: For ten years, the Maryland Summer Jazz camp and concerts have been rocking the rafters at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville in late July. Workshops help adult jazz musicians improve their chops and learn performing skills. Public concerts delight area jazz fans and summer tourists......
Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, the nationally acclaimed summer arts day camp, announces several new programs for its 2014, 47th season: Musical Theater Dance and Musical Theater Audition Workshop, both for grades 7- 12; and Sewing and Fashion Production, for grades 4-12. The Center, whose alumni include Natalie Portman, Mariah Carey and Jane Monheit, will hold the final Open House...
American post-war snark dates back to October 2, 1950. On that date, Charles M. Schultz's Peanuts comic strip was syndicated by Universal, and Charlie Brown, the strip's protagonist, evolved into an upbeat punching bag for a wide range of recalcitrant characters ranging from an annoying girl to a wiseguy dog. Schultz had tapped into the social network of pre-teens and its pecking order, unleashing...
From StLJN's various in-boxes, word of three more upcoming shows of interest to St. Louis fans of jazz and creative music: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey will return to St. Louis for their second show here this year at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, June 21 at The Blind Tiger at Sutton Place, 7376 Manchester Rd in Maplewood......
Jazz St. Louis has scheduled a press conference for 10:00 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, May 13) at Jazz at the Bistro to announce what's being called a "multi-million dollar project for Grand Center," a "major initiative to change the face of St. Louis arts," and "a major project which reaffirms St. Louis as one of the most important arts and creative cities in the country and around the world......
All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Relative Pitch Records "Matthew Shipp Trio - Root of Things" giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on May 12th. Click here to enter the contest (Tracking Matthew Shipp at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.)......
Paying homage to an elite class of pianos, Steinway and Sons, the Austrian-born pianist and composer Markus Gottschlich, has, through his work, joined the coveted roster of Steinway Artists. Such a designation not only signifies his preference for the brand, in which his entire sophomore album, Of Places Between, was performed on a Steinway and Sons Model D concert grand piano, but also indicates Gottschlicha€(TM)s...
Those rumors of spring might be true! At least in the jazz neighborhood, it will be a hot weekend with enough sizzle to keep us in melt-down mode through the week! And it is an eclectic week ahead— from cd releases from our "minnesota ellington" and "magica improvisado," an outstanding outstate gig, and an orchestra hall return for one of its most popular visiting bandleaders to a highly anticipated...
Tenth Overall Recording and First Studio Album in 8 Years Set For Release May 13, 2014 "Her gift is utterly distinctive and even innovative... a masterpiece. It's revelatory and sounds effortless." a€'Billboard Long known for the enticing smoky quality of her voice and the natural sincerity of her interpretations, My Favorite Color is Jackie's long anticipated follow-up studio release to her...
The music of multi-instrumentalist Don Andrews is alive. It literally breathes and accelerates at a breathtaking pace. On his latest effort, Space and Alienation, Andrews forces the listener to pay attention. No coercion is needed. Calling himself Spirojazz, Andrews crafts hypnotic, thought provoking, and daydreaming instrumentals that inspire various interpretations......
NAPA, CA a€'Grammy Award nominated jazz guitarist m: Chuck Loeb is the latest marquee artist to bring his teaching mastery to ArtistWorks.com, a first-of-its-kind online music and art campus that provides members with personalized interaction with acclaimed musicians and artists. Tens of thousands of members in nearly 100 countries have improved their playing within ArtistWorksa€(TM)...
BALTIMORE, MD a€' Jazz lovers will soon have the opportunity to enjoy the new album Somewhere in Paradise featuring vocalist m: Marianne Matheny-Katz with many of Baltimorea€(TM)s best-known jazz musicians. The CD, on the Indy label Jazzway, goes to radio in the United States and will be available for sale in May 2014......
Los Angeles, CA - Acclaimed singer/songwriter Spencer Day returns to his musical roots with his fifth full-length album Daybreak, and his first independent album in seven years. His past two albums were released on the legendary Concord/Jazz label. With Daybreak, Spencer has created an album of signature interpretations of well-loved songs from the 1960a€(TM)s along with five brand-new compositions...
PA odemA^3nio's debut album introduces the band's powerful, groovy, technical, dynamic and fresh sound, developed since the foundation of this group in mid-2013 as a result of an intense work and experiment with various timbric and textural sonic possibilities, arrangement structures and musical ideas......
Winners include Incoming and Current Students and Awards from Programs run by NEC Alumni New England Conservatory announces 13 winners from the 37th Annual DownBeat Student Music Awards. The awards, considered one of the top student music competitions in the world, feature categories for junior high, high school and university music students and bands......
On May 23rd, 2014, pianist/composer Armen Nalbandian will release Time Waits (Blacksmith Brother Music), his ninth album as a leader and first solo piano album. Time Waits is also one of two solo piano albums that Nalbandian will be releasing this year and features several original compositions by Nalbandian as well as compositions by m: Thelonious Monk , Radiohead, and m: Hoagy Carmichael ......
Hear Palmer, already a habit, always a surprise... Since the 2009 vintage, Palmer reveals its new vintage in music. This year, the 2013 vintage was interpreted by the Daniel Humair Quartet. You can now enjoy the concert on Hear-Palmer.com. Palmer and jazz—A common philosophy. Like Palmer, jazz has deep roots, with a long history that has undergone many influences and inspirations and, while...
m: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey celebrate their 20th Anniversary in 2014 with the Record Store Day exclusive, limited edition LP, Millions: Live In Denver. Recorded over two sold out nights at the esteemed Denver, CO jazz venue Dazzle this past November, JFJO presented classic material from throughout their history that hadn't been performed live in years, including "Muskogee Smalls," "Tae Parade" and...