Saxophonist Jan Garbarek was a teenage protege of American composer George Russell in Norway in the 1960s and later played in Keith Jarrett's Scandinavian quartet. More recently, he has collaborated with the vocal quartet the Hilliard Ensemble, improvising as they sing medieval music.
Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 5:13 pm
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis, oldest son of New Orleans pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis, released an album with his quartet this week. He spoke to weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz about the failings of modern jazz, his hopes for the next generation and leaving New York City to move back to the South.
On the drive from his home in Charlottesville, Va., to the Manhattan studios of Piano Jazz, pianist Hod O'Brien was inspired to compose an original tune in honor of the occasion. By the time he'd arrived, he'd worked out a swinging little ditty in his head, so he kicked off this session with a tune he called "Clarion for Marian."
"His playing was wonderful," recalls host Marian McPartland. "And I really enjoyed playing on Charlie Parker ['Now's The Time'] with Hod. I thought it came off very well."
Originally published on Thu August 9, 2012 4:10 pm
The Litchfield Jazz Festival leads off with a weeks-long camp for high-school students and New York's finest musicians on the faculty, then climaxes with a two-day festival. This year it's August 11-12 in Goshen, Conn., but here we have two sets from the 2010 festival, featuring two groups with young leaders.
Fresh Air's Terry Gross has been listening to jazz singer Susie Arioli since she first heard Arioli's 2002 album Pennies From Heaven. Arioli is Canadian and has a big following there, but she's not well known in the U.S., and hasn't toured in many American cities. So when Arioli and her longtime guitarist and arranger, Jordan Officer, stopped in for an in-studio concert and conversation, Gross was thrilled.
Here's a pairing that raises the question: "Why hasn't this happened before?" The Bad Plus have been a revisionist cover band and today mostly make original piano trio music sui generis. Bill Frisell is the quintessential jazz collaborator: The guitarist, making the second of three appearances at this year's Newport Jazz Festival, is down for anything involving good musicians, and can be counted on to execute it well. Together, they paid tribute to one of their mutual heroes, the late drummer Paul Motian, in a set comprised mostly of his haunting compositions.
Originally published on Fri October 5, 2012 10:41 am
A classic male singer, Kurt Elling has an old-school vibe to everything from his mannered stage banter to his declamatory, full-chested delivery. But he isn't afraid to write brainy, twisty lyrics over an obscure jazz number, or take a pop song back to the drawing board. He can do a lot with his voice, you see, and the band featuring long-time collaborator Laurence Hobgood, a pianist, helps to set the stage.
The Mom and Dad's Record Collection series on All Things Considered continues with a memory of music and family from the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and authorLeonard Pitts.
Pitts says his childhood mischief was set to the music of Nat King Cole, often courtesy of his mother's own voice. One afternoon, he remembers, she was singing "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" while he played out back.
David Gilmore from Rudresh Mahanthappa's Samdhi is all smiles at the Newport Jazz Festival.
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Pedrito Martinez Group performs on the Quad Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — John Ellis and Doublewide performs on the Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Christian McBride and Inside Straight play on the Harbor Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Christian McBride and Inside Straight play on the Harbor Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Jack DeJohnette Group plays the Quad Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Bill Frisell Plays John Lennon on the Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Bill Frisell Plays John Lennon on the Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Bill Frisell Plays John Lennon on the Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Dafnis Prieto Sextet plays the Harbor Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Dafnis Prieto Sextet plays the Harbor Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Dafnis Prieto Sextet plays the Harbor Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Darcy James Argue's Secret Society performs on the Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Darcy James Argue's Secret Society performs on the Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Soundprints performs on the Harbor Stageat the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Soundprints performs on the Harbor Stageat the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Jack Dejohnette All Stars play an interlude with Jason Moran on the piano at the Quad Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Jack Dejohnette All Stars play an interlude with Jason Moran on the piano at the Quad Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Jack Dejohnette All Stars performs on on the Quad Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Concert goers listen music outside the Fort Stage at Fort Adams State Park at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — Concert goers, including Corliss Wise of Columbia SC (Center), listen to music outside the Fort Stage at Fort Adams State Park at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Bad Plus with Bill Frisell play on the Quad Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Bad Plus with Bill Frisell play on the Quad Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The Bad Plus with Bill Frisell play on the Quad Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
The reedy convocation billed as 3 Clarinets brought Ken Peplowski on stage with Evan Christopher and Anat Cohen (both not pictured). An able supporting cast included Howard Alden on guitar and Greg Cohen on bass.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Before noon Saturday, the quartet led by charismatic conguero Pedrito Martinez had its audience gyrating to Afro-Cuban rhythms. Bassist Alfaro Benavides provides additional encouragement from the stage.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Song titles like "Three-Legged Tango In Jackson Square" and "Zydeco Clowns On The Lam" clue us into the Southern Gothic imagination of saxophonist John Ellis and his band, Double-Wide. New Orleans resident Matt Perrine played sousaphone bass during the festival's first main-stage show.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Vibraphonist Warren Wolf brought a crystalline resonance to bassist Christian McBride's band Inside Straight. His bandleader looked on approvingly.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Christian McBride was all smiles while steering his quintet, Inside Straight. Hours later, he would jam with master drummer Jack DeJohnette during an all-star performance.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Drummer Jack DeJohnette turns 70 the week following Newport 2012, and celebrated the birthday early by performing twice. His first set featured his working band, including microtonal and exotic guitar specialist Dave Fiuczynski.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Violinist Jenny Scheinman performs with guitarist Bill Frisell's John Lennon tribute project on the Fort Stage. The following day, she and Frisell would also perform as a fiddle-and-guitar duo.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Bill Frisell is known as an improviser, but at 61, he says Beatles songs were a huge part of his musical upbringing. It showed in his reinvention of classic John Lennon songs.
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Saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum also picked up the melodica during the riveting sextet set led by his colleague of many years, drummer Dafnis Prieto.
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The Cuban bassist Yunior Terry was happy to perform in the band of his countryman, drummer Dafnis Prieto.
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Sharply dressed for the occasion, composer Darcy James Argue led his 18-piece big band, Secret Society, at the main Fort Stage on Saturday.
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Darcy James Argue's Secret Society opened with a tribute to Argue's late mentor, the composer/arranger and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, and gave us an extended peek at its upcoming recording Brooklyn Babylon.
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Two veteran bandleaders in their own right, saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas, teamed up this summer to co-lead a band they call Soundprints. They also offered roles to younger musicians like pianist Lawrence Fields and bassist Linda Oh.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Pianist Jason Moran stepped up to the Quad Stage for a loose-limbed duet interlude with master drummer Jack DeJohnette. Moran also played later in the weekend with his own trio, the Bandwagon.
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Jack DeJohnette, shown here jamming with an all-star group, has a long history with Newport: He played in the Miles Davis Quintet when it came to the festival in 1969.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Vocalists Kurt Elling (left) and Theo Bleckmann (center) were crucial to drummer John Hollenbeck's setting of the poems of Kenneth Patchen. Hollenbeck brought his unique Claudia Quintet, which was actually a sextet with the addition of a pianist.
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
B.B. King's signature adorns a guitar, as seen behind the Fort Stage before the start of Sunday at the Newport Jazz Festival.
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Preparations are underway on the main Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival, overlooking the Pell Bridge and the pleasure craft of Narragansett Bay.
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Drummer Lewis Nash performed several times at Newport as a sideman, but was also given the opportunity to lead his own quintet during the first performance on Sunday morning. His frequent associate, Peter Washington, held down the bass chair ably.
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Rudresh Mahanthappa presented music from his album Samdhi with a quartet featuring bassist Rich Brown. The alto saxophonist told the audience he was inspired by doping at the 1996 Olympics ("Enhanced Performance") and the leader of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party ("breakfastlunchanddinner").
Credit Erik Jacobs for NPR
Tabla player Dan Weiss was one of 24 musicians who appeared on stage for Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Centennial Project. Weiss would later play both tablas and drum set with Miguel Zenón and Laurent Coq's Rayuela Quartet.
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The legendary composer/arranger Gil Evans was never able to direct his own music at Newport. But Ryan Truesdell (left) has spent years researching and resurrecting lost Evans masterpieces; he presented some of his findings on the Fort Stage.
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Members of the Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Centennial Project, including David Peel on French horn and Ryan Keberle on trombone, hang out backstage at the Newport Jazz Festival.
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The siblings Yuval (left), Avishai (center) and Anat Cohen play the Fort Stage. As 3 Cohens, they've already released three albums; their Newport set was filled with originals and arrangements of classics by Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker.
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The folky singer-songwriter Becca Stevens was billed as a special guest with the duo of Lionel Loueke and Gretchen Parlato.
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Gretchen Parlato (right) and Lionel Loueke met in a prestigious graduate jazz program and have been performing together ever since. They've previously led their own bands at Newport, but on Sunday at the Harbor Stage, they were offered a more intimate billing.
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Kurt Elling offered twisty original lyrics and fresh re-scorings of pop songs during his set at the Quad Stage.
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The Berklee Global Jazz Ambassadors feature students from around the world, including saxophonists Lihi Haruvi (left) and Matthew Halpin (center) and violinist Alex Hargreaves. Professional drummer Adam Cruz anchored their Fort Stage performance.
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The husband-and-wife team of guitar hero Derek Trucks and mighty singer Susan Tedeschi perform on the Fort Stage. The 11-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band closed out Newport with a show which lasted nearly two hours.
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A large and relaxed crowd scattered about the Fort Stage plain for the closing Tedeschi Trucks Band performance.
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The Tedeschi Trucks Band inspired a few dancers as blue skies turned to misty twilight on Sunday of the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival.
'8/4/12 Newport, RI. — The 3 Clarinets: Ken Peplowski, Evan Christopher and Anat Cohen play on the Harbor Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival August 4, 2012. Photo by Erik Jacobs for NPR.'
Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 5:13 pm
The tents have been collapsed, the fog has rolled in and the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival has come and gone — but not before photographer Erik Jacobs captured these brilliant images for us.
