KARRIN ALLYSON
BIRDLAND / OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 2
Vocalist, pianist, and composer Karrin Allyson is a five-time GRAMMY nominee in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category. Her latest release, A Kiss for Brazil (Origin, 2024), is the third in her series of love letters to Brazil following From Paris to Rio (Concord, 1999) and Imagina: Songs of Brasil (Concord, 2008). On this bold addition that spices up her extensive discography, Allyson accomplished her long-term goal of recording with Brazilian singer and guitarist Rosa Passos, who is considered a national treasure. Karrin, a longtime New Yorker, will perform two sets each night alongside Rosa, who will appear on two songs, and all-stars Vitor Gonçalves on piano, Yotam Silberstein on guitar, Harvie S on bass and Rafael Barata on drums. SBL
YUHAN SU QUARTET
BAR BAYEUX / NOVEMBER 1
Vibraphonist Yuhan Su, Taiwan-born and New York-based, was nominated for the 2024 DownBeat ”Rising Star” of Vibraphone. Yuhan has performed with Vijay Iyer’s group, Amir ElSaffar’s Rivers of Sound Orchestra, Greg Osby Sextet, Matt Mitchell Quartet, and Brian Krock’s Big Heart Machine (Outside In, 2018). The rising star has released four records and won numerous Taiwanese and American awards, including “Best Instrumental Composer Award,” “Best Album of the Year,” “Best Jazz Single,” and “Best Release of the Year.” Her latest and fourth release, Liberated Gesture (Sunnyside, 2023), channels the visual and literary arts as her creative fuel. The album draws from the art of painter Hans Hartung, writer Joan Didion, and photographer Hassan Hajjaj. Audiences will be treated to the quartet consisting of Su, pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist Harish Raghaven, and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. SBL
THE COOKERS
DIZZY'S / NOVEMBER 1-3
Formed over a dozen years ago, The Cookers is an all-star septet that embodies the spirit of both the hard bop and post-bop eras, though on its own terms, incorporating other influences as well. Over the group’s six albums, the band’s extensive repertoire includes classic jazz works from the past, along with originals by each of the band’s members, all of whom are accomplished composers who regularly contribute new music. Each of the musicians is a bandleader in his own right, but they work together in their collective to achieve memorable music that stands the test of time. The current lineup includes trumpeters Eddie Henderson and David Weiss, tenor saxophonist Azar Lawrence, alto saxophonist Craig Handy, pianist George Cables, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart, all jazz masters in their prime. KD
JOEL ROSS' GOOD VIBES
VILLAGE VANGUARD / NOVEMBER 1-3
Creating work both sonically complex and emotionally familiar, Joel Ross leads his longtime band, Good Vibes into new sonic territories. Joel’s dynamic playing, characterized by its shimmering tones and rapid-fire runs, has made him a rising star in the jazz world, carrying forward the legacy of legendary vibraphonists while carving out his own distinct voice. Backed by a stellar ensemble, Joel crafts a collective sound that’s both expansive and intimate. Alto saxophonist Josh Johnson and tenor saxophonist Maria Grand bring a unique interplay of textures, while Jeremy Corren’s piano adds harmonic depth and imaginative flair. Anchoring the rhythm section, bassist Kanoa Mendenhall and drummer Jeremy Dutton create grooves that range from fluid and subtle to explosive, providing the perfect backdrop for Joel’s inspired improvisations. LSG
STEVE DAVIS ALL-STAR SEXTET
SMOKE / NOVEMBER 6-10
Since his debut in the 1980s as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Steve Davis has developed into a virtuoso trombonist worthy of comparison to J.J. Johnson and Curtis Fuller. Steve’s formidable technique and gift for improvising continue to grow. While Steve has focused more on recording his own compositions in recent years, he continues to explore gems by jazz greats who preceded him. For his brand new Smoke Sessions album, We See, his sixth release on the label, Steve recruited a cast of seasoned all-stars for his sextet, including trumpeter Eddie Henderson, tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore, pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Lewis Nash, performing his arrangements of jazz classics. Steve will be joined by his all-star sextet at Smoke to celebrate the record’s release. KD
IMPROMPTU (TEODORA BRODY AND STANLEY JORDAN)
CARNEGIE HALL / NOVEMBER 8
Vocalist Teodora Brody and guitarist Stanley Jordan are joining forces for a landmark performance from Brody’s Impromptu sessions, a regular series of entirely improvised concerts across Europe. The two artists will draw from their respective lived experiences, heritage, and training. Romanian-born, Switzerland-based vocalist Teodora, who has performed with musicians including Les Paul, Johnny Răducanu, Al Copley, Curtis Fuller and Lars Danielsson, is credited with pioneering the fusion of jazz with Doina, a Romanian improvisatory folk singing tradition, and introducing the music to audiences around the world. The U.S. government named Brody a Romanian Cultural Ambassador to the U.S. in 2004. Brody will celebrate Rhapsody (Signum, 2023), her release featuring the London Symphony Orchestra, on a fall tour and join forces with Jordan, known for his unique and masterful touch-tap technique on the guitar. SBL
THE HOT SARDINES
MCCARTER THEATRE / NOVEMBER 8
Several years ago, singer/songwriter Elizabeth Bougerol and pianist Evan Palazzo met and shared a mutual admiration for Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller, leading to the formation of the Hot Sardines, described by The Times of London as “simply phenomenal.” Since then, their popularity has increased rapidly, which meant several recordings, worldwide touring, and millions of streams. WBGO critic Nate Chinen wrote that “not many bands have seized the post-millennial early-jazz spotlight with as much gusto,” and their joy is infectious. This show comes just before a week at Birdland starting on Nov. 12. The lineup for McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton has not yet been confirmed, but regulars include trombonist J. Walter Hawkes, trumpeter Paul Brandenburg, bassist Victor Murillo, drummer David Berger, and dancer John Manzari. DJS
MIKI YAMANAKA TRIO
BIRDLAND / NOVEMBER 9, 16, 30
Miki Yamanaka, a 34-year-old pianist from Japan, has been making waves in the New York jazz scene since 2012. Critics rave about her “light, expressive touch and solidly crafted, mainstream approach,” while audiences are charmed by her vibrant personality. Miki’s latest album, Shades Of Rainbow, featuring jazz greats Mark Turner, Tyrone Allen, and Jimmy Macbride, has garnered international acclaim. Beyond recording, Miki's residencies at Smalls and Mezzrow and her inventive live stream series Miki’s Mood showcase her deep knowledge of jazz standards. Miki is also a go-to sideman for top-tier artists and has a growing reputation as a dedicated and exceptional talent. Miki, with her lush piano tones and keen improvisational skills, always brings something uniquely refreshing. She's joined by bassist Tyrone Allen and drummer Jimmy Macbride, who are both incredible in their own right. Together, they've got this chemistry that just lights up the room. CLR
YOUN SUN NAH
JOE'S PUB / NOVEMBER 13
International award-winning singer-songwriter Youn Sun Nah, hailing from South Korea, sang gospel with the Korean Symphony Orchestra and picked up prizes at jazz festivals and competitions before releasing her debut album Reflet (Sony Music, 2001). Youn Sun has performed across Europe, North America, and Asia and dazzled audiences around the world at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Two of her albums were awarded Gold certification in France and Germany. Youn Sun teams up with New York-based pianist Jon Cowherd to perform a collection of songs from her new release inspired by iconic women including Björk, Sarah Vaughan, Grace Jones, Roberta Flack, Edith Piaf, Grace Slick and Maria João. In Elles (Warner Music Arts, 2024), Youn Sun reimagines standards that transcend gender and generation. Youn Sun Nah will play what some might consider unusual "instruments" including her beloved music box and a kalimba. She will be accompanied by Ukranian-born, GRAMMY-award-winning keyboardist Ruslan Sirota. SBL
THE BAD PLUS
SOPAC / NOVEMBER 14
The genre-defying Bad Plus quartet, now consisting of founding members, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King, with newcomers guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Chris Speed, embark on a new journey without a pianist. Their earlier albums have covered the likes of Cole Porter, Black Sabbath, Ornette Coleman, Aphex Twin, the Pixies, and Nirvana. Complex Emotions (Mack Avenue, 2024) is the group’s 16th studio recording, and a testament to their evolving identity. The album title nods to a phrase Reid and Dave have used since the early days of the band to describe the wide range of territory they have explored together and their yearning to express themselves in all their emotional complexities. The album veers into previously unexplored directions, with the synths by both Reid and Dave and “ambient tapestries” woven by Ben, shooting for sounds that showcase a radically different band. The quartet will capture your (re)imagination with new songs from their new album, which was released in November. SBL
TYSHAWN SOREY TRIO / SANDBOX PERCUSSION
TD JAMES MOODY JAZZ FESTIVAL / NOVEMBER 15
Newark-born drummer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and educator Tyshawn Sorey, a MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize winner, is a drummer of fury and finesse who counts George Lewis and Paul Motian as primary influences. He’s worked with many jazz elites, including Joe Lovano, Jason Moran, and Roscoe Mitchell, and is a member of Vijer Iyer’s trio. Tyshawn’s classical works include Monochromatic Light (Afterlife), and are praised for their balanced blend of composition and improvisation. Tyshawn brings his terrific trio, featuring pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Harish Raghavan – hot on the heels of their new recording, The Susceptible Now – to the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, in collaboration with the Grammy-nominated classical quartet Sandbox Percussion. They will premiere Tyshawn’s newly commissioned work celebrating Max Roach’s M’Boom ensemble. Game recognizes game. –EH
VICTOR GOULD TRIO
MEZZROW / NOVEMBER 15
The California-born, New York-based pianist and composer Victor Gould, brother of singer Vanisha Gould, was hailed by DownBeat as “a new and important compositional voice,” while All About Jazz proclaimed that Gould was “a composer of great ambition and skill.” Though he boasts impressive sideman cred with Bobby Watson, Jeremy Pelt, Donald Harrison and Wallace Roney, Victor’s most cherished association is with vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, much in the same way pianist Tommy Flanagan was Ella Fitzgerald’s accompanist. Gould’s four recordings as a leader: Clockwork (Fresh Sound New, 2016), Earthlings (Criss Cross, 2018), Thoughts Become Things (CD Baby, 2019) and In Our Time (Blue Room, 2021), all ring with a touch of McCoy Tyner compositional and pianistically. Those Tynerisms will be in full effect when Gould leads his trio featuring bassist Eric Wheeler and drummer Sam Bolduc in two sizzling sets at Mezzrow. Fasten your seat belt. –EH
TROMBONE SHORTY / NEW BREED BRASS BAND
BERGEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER / NOVEMBER 20
38-year-old Troy Andrews – AKA Trombone Shorty – has reigned supreme as one of the Crescent City’s most dynamic musicians and cultural ambassadors. A prodigy on the trombone since the age of four, Shorty grew up performing in local bands and was educated at the city’s famed New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. Shorty, who is also a good trumpet player, burst on the scene as a scene-stealing sideman with Bo Diddley, Bruno Mars, Lenny Kravitz, and many other stars. Shorty leads his Orleans Avenue ensemble, and has recorded five albums, including his 2022 recording Lifted (Blue Note), and comes to BergenPAC with the New Breed Band, led by his brother, trumpeter James Andrews, for a swinging evening of R&B, pop, jazz and hip-hop, baked with second line Big Easy beats. EH
KENNY GARRETT
BLUE NOTE / NOVEMBER 21-24
From Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers to Miles Davis, the Detroit-born, alto/soprano saxophonist Kenny Garrett has been mentored by some of the greatest names in jazz, and has been one of the leading lights on his instrument for five decades. Blessed with Charlie Parker’s bop fluency and John Coltrane’s spiritual cries, Kenny has recorded some killer albums, including African Exchange Student (Atlantic, 1990), Beyond the Wall (Nonesuch, 2006) and Seeds from the Underground (Mack Avenue, 2012), and his last two albums, Sounds from the Ancestors (Mack Avenue, 2021) and Who Killed AI? (Mack Avenue, 2024), which both feature hard bop, hip-hop beats, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and electronica. Kenny is supported on this Blue Note gig by percussionist Rudy Bird, keyboardist Keith Brown, vocalist Melvin Santa, drummer Michael Ode, and bassist Jeremiah Edwards. Come see a NEA Jazz Master at the top of his game. –EH
JOHN PIZZARELLI & CATHERINE RUSSELL
NJPAC / NOVEMBER 22
Headlining a show at the Victoria Theater entitled Billie & Blue Eyes, guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli joins forces with GRAMMY-winning vocalist Catherine Russell to pay tribute to Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday. John has built his reputation on fiery guitar work and vocal interpretations of the Great American Songbook as well as salutes to giants including Paul McCartney and, of course, Frank Sinatra. Inspired by Nat King Cole, he also learned from his father Bucky Pizzarelli and will perform Sinatra material known and unknown. Catherine, too, is considered one of the great interpreters and performers of the Great American Songbook and has headlined around the world to rave reviews. Joining John and Catherine at NJPAC will be Mike Karn on bass and Isaiah J. Thompson on piano. DJS
ERIC ALEXANDER
FLUSHING TOWN HALL / NOVEMBER 22
Eric Alexander is a name that resonates deeply within the jazz community. Hailing from Galesburg, IL, Eric has carved out a remarkable career with his warm, burnished tenor sax tone and a knack for melodic and harmonic innovation. From his second-place finish in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition to his extensive discography and influential collaborations, Eric's journey is a testament to his dedication and artistry. Whether he's leading his quartet or contributing to a sextet, Eric's music is always imbued with a rich sense of tradition and a forward-looking creative spirit. As Clyde Bullard, the Jazz Producer in Residence at Flushing Town Hall, puts it, "Jazz plays such an important part in the history of Queens." This concert is a chance to experience that legacy firsthand with a performance by a celebrated artist who's been a fixture on New York's jazz scene for over 30 years. If you're in town, you won't want to miss this. Whether you're a die-hard jazz fan or just curious, Eric's music is sure to captivate. Eric will be joined by David Williams on bass, Neal Smith on drums, and Rick Germanson on piano. CLR
JOHN SCOFIELD QUARTET
BLUE NOTE / NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 1
Three-time GRAMMY winner, guitarist John Scofield has expressed and proven time and time again his stylistic versatility across bebop, blues, jazz-funk, organ jazz, acoustic chamber jazz, electronic fusion, jam bands, and orchestral ensembles. John has released nearly 50 albums and recorded with Miles Davis, Tony Williams, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Dave Holland, Medeski Martin & Wood, Gov’t Mule, Lettuce and Phil Lesh. His latest album, Uncle John’s Band (ECM, 2023), is named for the Grateful Dead song, and features Scofield at his most ”freewheeling” with what John describes as a “mixed bag of tunes…as vehicles for improvisation.” Since the ‘70s, the John Scofield Trio has remained John’s favorite format and in its latest, features Woodstock-born-and-raised Vicente Archer on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. The trio will perform alongside guest GRAMMY-award-winning trumpeter Nicholas Payton, who is bringing his tradition of “postmodern New Orleans music.” SBL
JASON MORAN AND THE BANDWAGON
VILLAGE VANGUARD / NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 1
Since the late ‘90s, Houston-born, Harlem-based jazz pianist/composer/arranger and MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran has proven himself to be a pointillist pianist influenced by Thelonious Monk, Andrew Hill, and Jaki Byard, and a comprehensive composer, who paid tribute to Fats Waller and James Reese Europe, and draws from mainstream jazz, the avant-garde, hip-hop and the blues. Moran’s 24-year-old trio – The Bandwagon: bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits – have been equally impressive in their explorations of the jazz continuum. They’ve established a long presence at the Village Vanguard, and they return there for their annual residency. Jason and company have several recordings to draw from for the gig including Black Stars (Blue Note, 2001), The Bandwagon (Blue Note, 2003) and Ten (Blue Note, 2010). This terrific triad is as modernistic as they come. EH
ABENA KOOMSON-DAVIS
SMOKE / NOVEMBER 27
Vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis is better known for her Broadway performances and duets with Natalie Merchant, but she readily adapts to many different genres, including jazz. The veteran music educator released her debut jazz album Where Is Love (WJ3 Records) earlier this year to critical acclaim. Abena’s soulful, expressive vocals bring out the essence of each song, whether she is singing standards, time-tested jazz favorites, blues, pop or her own compositions, while her vocal range also turns heads. Abena’s record includes the jazz waltz “Up Jumped Spring,” a catchy bossa nova treatment of “That’s All,” the classic blues “Everyday I Have the Blues” and her snappy scat vehicle “Abena’s Bop.” Abena’s band includes her husband Steve Davis on trombone, pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Danton Boller and drummer Jason Tiemann.
GIANTS OF JAZZ
SOPAC / NOVEMBER 30
Celebrating 25 years, Giants of Jazz has become a much-anticipated event in South Orange, bringing together jazz greats for an unforgettable evening of music. Curated by bassist John Lee, a South Orange resident, this year’s program honors drummer Lewis Nash, who Modern Drummer Magazine called “Jazz’s Most Valuable Player” because he has played on more than 400 records! Lewis is known for his ability to be at home in a vast array of genres and has drummed with musicians as diverse as Tommy Flanagan and Don Pullen. Critic Ira Gitler called him “the most talented drummer of his generation.” Lewis first gained fame as a member of vocalist Betty Carter’s trio and in 2017 joined the jazz studies faculty at Arizona State University. Personnel have not been announced. DJS
CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA
Legendary Musician, Philanthropist, Vocalist, and Role Model: Cindy Blackman Santana is Changing the Game
by Joyce Jone & Chrys L. Roney
Born in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Cindy Blackman Santana epitomizes the power of passion and perseverance in the world of music. From the moment she could stand on her two feet, Cindy found herself drawn to the rhythmic allure of the drums. "I was just drawn to everything about the drums," Cindy reminisces. "When I heard music, drums were the instrument that I singled out in my ear." Encouraged by her mother, Ghita Blackman, Cindy would tap rhythms on her mother's back, finding the perfect tones. While her parents initially believed Cindy’s fascination with drums was a passing phase, this intrigue evolved into a lifelong passion and career.
Cindy’s relentless pursuit of drumming mastery guided her trajectory. "I always searched out drums to play, people to play with, things to play music, and everything involved with playing. I was very interested in it, and I loved it, so that’s what I developed," she explains. This fervor for drumming—and a profound admiration for the legendary Tony Williams—led her to enroll at Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, she studied under Alan Dawson, the same instructor who taught Tony Williams. Berklee also introduced her to the late trumpeter and composer Wallace Roney, whose encyclopedic knowledge of music further broadened her horizons. "Wallace turned me on to a ton of incredible records, and it really opened up my head in terms of what I was thinking about," she says with evident appreciation.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/f40bcf9e11.html#page/7
CECILE McLORIN-SALVANT
Cécile McLorin-Salvant: The Aesthetic of a Bittersweet Blue Flame
by Raul da Gama
When Cécile McLorin Salvant stormed onto the music scene by winning the 2010 Thelonious Monk Competition and subsequently clinching GRAMMY Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album three consecutive years for Dreams and Daggers (Mack Avenue, 2017), The Window (Mack Avenue, 2018) and Ghost Song (Nonesuch, 2022), she was rightfully celebrated as a generational talent. Comparisons with legendary jazz vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter and particularly Billie Holiday became inevitable.
Cécile's embodiment of jazz connects her deeply to a lineage of music that stems from pioneers such as Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith. Her artistry is often viewed as a rekindling of the soulful essence embedded in the Black American tradition, breathing life into its rich ancestral heritage.
The artistic parallels between Cécile and Billie Holiday are compelling for many listeners and critics. However, this resemblance is more aesthetic than stylistic. Angela Y. Davis, a renowned critic, offers insightful commentary on Cécile's artistry, prominently highlighted on the artist's official website. Angela articulates, in her characteristically poignant manner:
"Cécile McLorin Salvant sometimes seems reluctant to reveal what she might think of as a voice that is too perfect—so exquisite that it might bar access to the perversities that also inevitably shape our lives. She never wants us to luxuriate in sound that is only beautiful. And her own vocal sounds are never merely 'beautiful.'
"Her music always urges us to apprehend complexity and contradiction—that which can be simultaneously beautiful and a reminder that historical promises of expanding freedoms often reside within what has been marginalized as bizarre or even evil. She is, without a doubt, her generation’s most accomplished jazz vocalist, and easily could have continued along the trajectory of performing and recording standards, punctuated by her own and other compositions both within and outside the borders of the genre…”
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GEORGE CABLES
George Cables: Finding Inspiration
By Ken Dryden
George Cables is one of the living masters who began to make a name for himself in the 1970s, working as a sideman with legends like Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Bobby Hutcherson, Art Pepper and Freddie Hubbard, to name just a few. George is a native New Yorker and longtime resident, aside from a few years living on the West Coast. The pianist is a late bloomer by some standards, as he didn’t begin listening to jazz until high school. He acquired LPs like Art Blakey’s Drum Suite (Columbia, 1957) and the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s bestseller Time Out (Columbia, 1959) very early. “Then a high school friend turned me onto Thelonious Monk,” he says. “That was probably the single most important thing that helped me decide what I wanted to do.”
George attended the High School of Performing Arts, a small school with 650 students who majored in music, drama or dance. “I made two friends immediately. One was Richard Maldonado, who became Ricardo Ray, a great Latin pianist and one of the Fania All-Stars. Richie and Larry Fishkin, the tuba player who studied with Don Butterfield, who played on the Thelonious Monk Town Hall Concert record, opened my eyes. How do you improvise? Richie gave me great, simple instructions. You take the form of the song, then improvise on the form. Larry turned me on to a lot of music, especially that Thelonious Monk record.”
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CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
Christian McBride’s Helping Hand
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
We all know the multi-GRAMMY-winning bassist, composer and bandleader Christian McBride as the matrix of modern music, through his own thrilling works as a jazz artist, and by his famous pop, hip-hop, soul and classical collaborations with Sting, Questlove, James Brown and fellow bassist Edgar Meyer, just to name a select few. But Christian’s influence extends way beyond the bandstand and the recording studio. He’s the artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival and the Montclair Jazz Festival, produced by Jazz House KiDS - a school founded by his wife, Melissa Walker - and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. Christian also hosts NPR’s Jazz Night in America and SiriusXM satellite radio’s The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian.
Christian also enjoys a long and fruitful association with the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, produced by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. For 12 years, Christian has served as the festival’s artistic director/jazz advisor, primarily working with David Rodriguez, NJPAC’s executive vice president and executive producer, and NJPAC president and CEO John Schrieber.
“David Rodriguez is an incredible visionary,” Christian says. “He’s been programming all kinds of different things for a lot of different institutions for a lot of years. He was at the Apollo, he was at BergenPAC before he came to NJPAC. So he knows what he's doing. I had a relationship with John Schreiber for many years when he used to work with [Newport Jazz Festival co-founder] George Wein. And I think John felt that because I had previous experience being an artistic director with the LA Philharmonic, that I have a very deep inside connection to a lot of these musicians.”
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/f40bcf9e11.html#page/8
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM
Abdullah Ibrahim: Ukubuya Kwesibini Kuka Nkele
by Raul da Gama
Legends are dangerous, and South African ones are no exception; they have threatened systems of governance that have impacted countless lives and shapeed the history and memory of the nation.. In this context, it is important to remember Nkele, the “Left-Handed,” or Makana, one of the most remarkable, legendary men in the African continent. He was not a Xhosa-mixed race like the legendary composer and pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, who just turned 90 years of age on October 9. To say that Abdullah Ibrahim is a musical reincarnation of Nkele might not be all that much of a hyperbole. Read on…
Nkele, the "Left-Handed", rose on his own merits to be the leader of the Ndlambe clans in the second decade of the 19th century. It was he who united them against the English after Lord Charles Somerset occupied their country. He led an attack on Grahamstown, and only retreated after the flower of his forces was swept away. To obtain peace for his people, Nkele voluntarily surrendered to the English troops and was sent as a prisoner to Robben Island. In attempting to make his escape from the island in a boat, Nkele was drowned. But his people would not believe that Makana was dead, for they deemed him immortal, awaiting his reappearance long after the event.
Abdullah Ibrahim, the "Two-Handed", rose to eminence around 1959 as the pianist who came to be a pivotal member of the seminal Jazz Epistles, whose mission it was to spread the gospel of jazz. The ensemble was South Africa's first important, short-lived bebop band. Its members included the pianist then known as Dollar Brand, later Abdullah Ibrahim; alto saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi and trumpeter Hugh Masakela, who sparked the formation by initiating a collaboration that included them, saxophonist Makwenkwe "Mackay" Davashe and trombonist Jonas Gwangwa. Johnny Gertze was the bassist, fortified by the rolling thunder of drummers, Early Mabuza or Makaya Ntshoko, on drums. And just like that, Cape jazz was born.
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RENE McLEAN
RENE McLEAN: A PAN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
By Ronald E. Scott
Rene McLean, the master multi-reed instrumentalist (alto, tenor, soprano saxophones, flutes, ney, shakuhachi), has enjoyed a luminous career spanning over five decades. His distinctive ancestral sounds garnered him chairs with such legends as Horace Silver, Yusef Lateef, Woody Shaw, Jackie McLean, Amiri Baraka, The Fort Apache Band, Baba Olatunji, and Dexter Gordon.
As a fixture on the Bronx Latin scene, Rene’s African rhythms were enhanced with the Latin beats of Charlie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguiz, Celia Cruz, Machito and Cesar Concepcion y su orquestra. “Playing Latin music was an enjoyable learning experience,” Rene notes. “You know Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands have their own style and flavor. With Dominican bands, I played merengue and bachata music; with Palmieri, it was salsa. The genre doesn’t matter - Afro Cuban, Latin Jazz, calypso or straight-ahead - an African pulse is there, reflecting the African diaspora.”
It is important to begin with the early phase of Rene’s life because it connects his journey with Africa and American Black Music. “As we talk about my parents, my mother Dollie - [ a native of Antigua, West Indies] - loved calypso music; we listened to the Mighty Sparrow and Harry Belafonte and with my dad [the great alto saxophonist Jackie McLean], we listened to his contemporaries like Freddie Redd, Jimmy Smith and Lee Morgan to Duke Ellington, Bach and Stravinsky. The music was flying at me from all genres, but I was learning its roots were seeded in Africa.” The young musician began to understand the culture and socio-political realities of the 1950s and '60s, which he later recognized as important aspects of how music is played and perceived in the U.S.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/f40bcf9e11.html#page/15
BRANDEE YOUNGER
Brandee Younger: Channeling Harpism in the Key of Jazz
by Raul da Gama
Brandee Younger always dreamed of being a musician – not necessarily a harpist. At the time, she fell into her dream that every school-going musician dreams; she was a flutist who played – dabbled, really – in several other instruments. But that was until…
“One day, “ she says, “My parents and I were visiting a co-worker and friend of my father’s. I discovered that they had a harp sitting in the corner of the living room. So, after dinner I asked to try playing the instrument, plucked its strings, pedaled a bit… and… WOW…! I was hooked.”
Of course, she knew that this happy accident could turn south at any time. Getting her own instrument from her doting parents was never in any doubt, especially after Brandee announced that she had “fallen in love” with the sound of the instrument. Even extracting a promise to “work at it” didn’t take much. Besides, “dedicated practice” was not alien to the prodigiously gifted musician. “But what I hadn’t bargained for was lugging it up (and down) the basement staircase every time I had lessons,” Brandee confesses, “especially when the gigs became more frequent.”
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/f40bcf9e11.html#page/32