Chick Corea & Gary Burton: Tiny Desk Concert

Yo ví estos dos gigantes en 1984 en el Centro de Bellas Artes de Santurce.



June 13, 2016 by SURAYA MOHAMED • Sometimes big-name artists need special attention. But in this case, it wasn't because they've been jazz pioneers and innovators since the 1960s and are considered to be founding fathers of jazz fusion, not to mention two of the most important jazz figures performing today. It's not because they've collectively recorded more than 100 albums and won 29 Grammy Awards. The agitation was because both of their instruments couldn't fit behind Bob Boilen's Tiny Desk.

There were logistical hurdles to overcome before the jazz giants' arrival. We had to move the desk to make a bigger "stage." Piano movers hauled the 900-pound Yamaha C7 grand piano from our first-floor performance studio up the freight elevator to the fourth-floor Tiny Desk area. But weeks of meticulous measuring and planning paid off when the rented vibes were delivered and just fit alongside the piano.

Gary Burton and Chick Corea were in town for the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters Concert. The NEA Jazz Masters fellowship is the highest honor our nation bestows on jazz artists. Each year, the program honors a select few living legends who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz. Burton was a newly appointed 2016 recipient, while Corea received the honor in 2006.

These friends first played together 44 years ago, when they recorded their very first album, Crystal Silence. In his autobiography, Gary Burton tells the story:

We set aside three days for the recording. Except for ... one tune in Munich, Chick and I hadn't worked together before Berlin, so we figured we would need a fair amount of time to choose songs and finalize arrangements. But to our amazement, it all went incredibly fast. We would spend maybe twenty minutes creating an arrangement, and then record. We did every song in just one take, except that we required a second spin through "Senor Mouse."
The record was finished in just a few hours, and the two realized they had a unique musical chemistry with the ability to anticipate each other's improvisational ideas. That album went on to become a classic: flawless yet fresh and forever new.

A few thousand concerts later, the jazz masters showed up at NPR HQ to perform a concert at our newly expanded Tiny Desk. On this day, it had been almost two years since Chick Corea and Gary Burton had played together — the longest break they'd ever had. But once again, their remarkable ability to connect was demonstrated in two songs they play together all the time.

Hot House is available now:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hot...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hot-House-Chic...

SET LIST:
"Love Castle"
"Crystal Silence"

Jane Bunnett and Maqueque: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

by FELIX CONTRERAS 


Jane Bunnett knows a few things about Cuban music. She and her husband, trumpeter Larry Kramer, have been traveling to the island from their home base of Toronto for more than 30 years. They've collaborated with musicians there, as well as back home in Canada and on tours around the globe.

So it should come as no surprise that when Bunnett chose to perform with some of the top young women musicians from the island, she'd choose some of the best of their generation. As you can sense from this video, the members of Maqueque are conservatory-trained, but also schooled in Afro-Cuban tradition.

If you want to hear what Cuba sounds like today, then be sure to listen. It's a pleasure to watch and listen as Jane Bunnett and Maqueque share their passion with the world.

Jane Bunnett & Maqueque is available now: 
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/jan...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jane-Bunnett-M...

Set List:
"Little Feet"
"Maqueque"
"25 New Moves"

Charles Lloyd y Jason Moran: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

June 28, 2016 by FELIX CONTRERAS • Together, saxophonist Charles Lloyd and pianist Jason Moran make jazz that draws from the past while looking to the future. Lloyd's body of work stretches back to the mid-1960s, and has always shown a disregard for boundaries and cliches. He seems determined to work through the later part of his career with artistically and spiritually motivated playing that simply astounds.

Moran is the sound of today and tomorrow. You can hear reverence in his duo playing with Lloyd — and you may also notice playing that taps into Lloyd's ever-present youthful spirit. Together, their performance behind Bob Boilen's Tiny Desk was as refreshing and energizing as deep meditation.

Hagar's Song is available now:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hag...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hagars-Song-Ch...

Set List:
"Hagar's Lullaby" (by Charles Lloyd)
"Prayer" (by Charles Lloyd)
"Sand Rhythm" (by Charles Lloyd & Jason Moran)

Recordando a Hilton Ruiz, a diez años de su partida

http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com/2006/06/recordando-hilton-carmelo-ruiz-marrero.html

Recordando a Hilton

Carmelo Ruiz Marrero

(Publicado en El Nuevo Día, 18 de junio 2006)

EXTRACTO:

A través de su carrera, Hilton tocó con muchos otros jazzistas de renombre como Mongo Santamaría, Pharoah Saunders, Archie Shepp, Charles Mingus, Don Cherry, Chico Freeman, Tito Puente, Jerry González y Paquito D’Rivera, y apareció en programas televisivos con David Letterman, Joe Franklin y Bill Cosby (este último tiene una pasión descomunal por el buen jazz). Su música también se usó en las bandas sonoras de las películas “Crimes and Misdemeanors” de Woody Allen y “American Beauty”. En agosto de 2002 el Congreso de Estados Unidos le hizo un reconocimiento por su servicio a la comunidad y su gran aportación a la música.

En sus giras de concierto llegó a lugares tan lejanos como Australia, Nueva Zelandia, Singapur, Turquía, China, Dubai, Europa y Japón, pero a pesar de eso nunca olvidó a Puerto Rico. Ofreció clínicas musicales en la Universidad Interamericana, la Universidad de Puerto Rico, la Universidad Católica de Ponce y el Conservatorio. Ramón tiene un sinnúmero de gratas memorias de Hilton en Puerto Rico, incluyendo la vez que lo acompañó en una accidentada travesía por lo más recóndito de Maricao buscando parientes. En un período de doce meses entre 2004 y 2005 tocó en la isla ocho veces, acompañado porJay Hoggard, Giovanni Hidalgo, Dave Valentín y el ya mencionado Freeman, entre otros, en lugares como el Hotel Normandie y el Nuyorican Café.

dublab goes jazz

https://www.mixcloud.com/dublab/jeffery-plansker-w-george-
fludas-jazz-advance-have-you-met-mr-jones-elvin-jones-tribute/

Jeffery Plansker w/ George Fludas – Jazz Advance: “Have You Met Mr. Jones (Elvin Jones Tribute)”

Legendary drummer George Fludas drops by to play records from his collection and talk about the late, great Elvin Jones.

Starting from the crosshairs of 60’s hard bop, Jazz Advance moves through time and location, covering everything from contemporary Northern European avant garde to Brazilian bossa nova and rare groove to the cake walks of the early 1900s. This program draws from personal record collecting and in-studio performances of local and international players. Each show finds a unique look at this ever evolving and always influential form called Jazz.

Jeffery Plansker is a commercial film director and native of Detroit. He runs the “occasional” online radio station pocketradio.org and the art & design business pocketstudio.org. Additionally, he maintains a record & DVD label called geodesic.com where the project “Beneath Detroit” is currently under way. His collection of jazz recordings is in the thousands.

This upload features tracks from Roland Kirk, Larry Young, The Jones Brothers, Elvin Jones,Thad Jones, Billy Mitchell, Terry Pollard, Alvin Jackson, Elvin Jones and more.

Cécile McLorin Salvant - WomanChild

Cécile McLorin Salvant was born and raised in Miami, Florida of a French mother and a Haitian father. She started classical piano studies at 5, and began singing in the Miami Choral Society at 8. Early on, she developed an interest in classical voice, began studying with private instructors, and later with Edward Walker, vocal teacher at the University of Miami. 

In 2007, Cécile moved to Aix-en-Provence, France, to study law as well as classical and baroque voice at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory. It was in Aix-en-Provence, with reedist and teacher Jean-François Bonnel, that she started learning about improvisation, instrumental and vocal repertoire ranging from the 1910s on, and sang with her first band. In 2009, after a series of concerts in Paris, she recorded her first album "Cécile", with Jean-François Bonnel's Paris Quintet. A year later, she won the Thelonious Monk competition in Washington D.C.

Cécile performs unique interpretations of unknown and scarcely recorded jazz and blues compositions. She focuses on a theatrical portrayal of the jazz standard and composes music and lyrics which she also sings in French, her native language as well as in Spanish. She enjoys popularity in Europe and in the United States, performing in clubs, concert halls, and festivals accompanied by renowned musicians like Jean-Francois Bonnel, Rodney Whitaker, Aaron Diehl, Dan Nimmer, Sadao Watanabe, Jacky Terrasson (she was the guest singer on his latest album, Gouache), Archie Shepp, and Jonathan Batiste.  She is the voice of Chanel's "Chance" ad campaign for the third consecutive year. In August 2012, Cécile recorded WomanChild for the Mack Avenue Label with Aaron Diehl, Rodney Whitaker, Herlin Riley and James Chirillo.

http://www.cecilemclorinsalvant.com/

Brad Mehldau - Waltz for J. B.

During the '90s and into the 2000s, Brad Mehldau was one among a plethora of young jazz pianists who rose to prominence. He is one of the more absorbing and thoughtful practitioners within that idiom, and he is receptive to the idea of using material from the rock era (Paul McCartney's "Blackbird," for example). Though Mehldau's training is primarily classical, his interest in jazz began early. He played in the Hall High School jazz band of Hartford, Connecticut, winning the Berklee College of Music's Best All-Around Musician Award while still in his junior year of high school. He studied jazz at New York's New School for Social Research under Fred Hersch, Junior Mance, Kenny Werner, and Jimmy Cobb. Cobb soon hired him to play in his band, Cobb's Mob, and Mehldau also played and recorded with the Joshua Redman Quartet before forming his own trio in 1994 and recording his first Warner Bros. album, Introducing Brad Mehldau, in 1995. Art of the Trio, Vol. 1 followed in 1997, with the next two volumes in the series appearing over the following months. Two years later, Mehldau returned with Elegiac Cycle, as well as Art of the Trio, Vol. 4: Back at the Vanguard. Places followed in 2000, consisting of all-original compositions focusing on various cities, hence the title of the album. 

Another Art of the Trio album came out in 2001, but the most significant release was Largo, which recorded Mehldauperforming with other groups outside of his usual trio format. This was a big change from his previous work, and offered new challenges as he adapted to several interesting lineup situations. Mehldau followed the genre-bending album with the standards-based Anything Goes and Live in Tokyo in 2004, with Day Is Done arriving the following year. In 2006, he released House on Hill as well as Love Sublime, the latter with soprano vocalist Renée Fleming on Nonesuch Records. Mehldau chose to work with his trio plus Pat Metheny on Quartet in 2007; he followed it up with with the double-disc Live in 2008, which was recorded with his trio at the Village Vanguard.

Richard S. Ginell
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/brad-mehldau-mn0000934305/biography

Bill Bruford, Ralph Towner and Eddie Gómez: "If Summer Had Its Ghosts"

Bruford, Towner y Gómez. ¡Qué combinación! Me encontré este CD de pura casualidad en el ya desaparecido negocio The Book Store en el Viejo San Juan en 1998.

Terence Blanchard: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

When he started to make the music that appears on his new album, trumpeter Terence Blanchard wasn't thinking of Eric Garner, Michael Brown or any of the other recent high-profile police killings of African-Americans. He was thinking of desired collaborators: Donald Ramsey, a bassist and high-school classmate; Oscar Seaton, a drummer with whom he'd worked on film projects; Fabian Almazan, the pianist of his other band; and Charles Altura, a guitarist he'd encountered online. And he was thinking about a sound different from the left-center jazz quintet he leads: something overtly funky, with electric bass and guitar and processing and human voices and dance grooves.

As the E-Collective came together — both as a band and in terms of its repertoire — it took on another guiding light. Blanchard, no stranger to political statements, saw the music as an opportunity to speak out on current events he was unable to ignore, especially as a black man. The eventual recording came to be a commentary on the treatment of minorities by American law enforcement, in the vein of the #blacklivesmatter movement. The album's title references Eric Garner's last words, "I can't breathe"; it's called Breathless.

The heavy and the party recently came together for a week-long run at a jazz club in D.C., though the mood was much more on the party side when the E-Collective stopped at NPR headquarters. The mood was relaxed and jovial from the time the group stepped into the lobby, with Englishman Chris Bailey supplying plenty of backbeats on our house drum set — though there was a moment toward the end of the set when Blanchard casually explained the project, setting up a lyrical, almost elegiac solo. This music was a modern update on jazz fusion, sure, but also one where we dance to ward off despair.

Set List
"Soldiers"
"Confident Selflessness"
"Breathless"

Credits
Producers: Patrick Jarenwattananon, Morgan Walker; Audio Engineer: Brian Jarboe; Videographers: Morgan Walker, Adam Wolffbrandt, Lani Milton; Assistant Producer: Elena Saavedra Buckley; photo by Lani Milton/NPR

Chick Corea - After Noon Song [Piano Improvisations Vol. 2]

Originalmente posteado el 7 de septiembre de 2014

De los mejores jazzistas que ha parido este planeta.

A Prolific Explorer Of Jazz And Classical Music

A DownBeat Hall of Famer and NEA Jazz Master, 20-time Grammy winner, and keyboard virtuoso, Chick Corea has attained living legend status after five decades of unparalleled creativity and an artistic output that is simply staggering.

Chick is the fourth-most-nominated artist in the history of the Grammys, with 61 nominations. He's also earned 3 Latin Grammy Awards, the most of any artist in the Best Instrumental Album category.

From straight ahead to avant-garde, bebop to fusion, children's songs to chamber music, along with some far-reaching forays into symphonic works, Chick has touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his illustrious career while maintaining a standard of excellence that is awe-inspiring. A tirelessly creative spirit, Chick continues to forge ahead, continually reinventing himself in the process.

Fuente: http://chickcorea.com/about-chick/

Siberian Khatru - Steve Howe Trio

El Steve Howe Trio interpretando la canción "Siberian Khatru" de Yes.

"Human Nature" - Vijay Iyer Trio Live at KPLU

Vijay Iyer Trio: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

May 04, 2015by PATRICK JARENWATTANANON • Vijay Iyer is probably best known as a pianist and bandleader in the African-American creative improvisational tradition — most say "jazz" for short — though he's also several other things in music. He's a composer of chamber, large-ensemble and mixed-media works; a Harvard professor; a student of Indian classical music; a father and New York City resident. Committed as he is to multiplicity, there's one place where you can see many of his interests distilled at once: in the trio he's led for nearly a dozen years.
The long-standing relationship Iyer has forged with Stephan Crump (bass) and Marcus Gilmore (drums) accommodates all sorts of risk and translates into reward. The three play daring games of rhythmic interaction. They take Iyer's pieces designed for strings or big band and reduce without losing vitality. They do John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, Flying Lotus and M.I.A.
http://www.npr.org/event/music/404165838/vijay-iyer-trio-tiny-desk-concert

Manu Katché "Clubbing" from the album "Manu Katché - Live in Concert", A...

How many drummers can you tell from the first bar? Can there be a more easily identifiable drummer in popular music than Manu Katché. The signature double crash accents, the colorful flourishes of Splash cymbals, the unmistakable swing of his groove. This native of Paris, France began classical piano studies at age 7. From the age of 15 he studied classical percussion attending the prestigious Conservatoire National de Paris. He then began a career in the recording studios of Paris rapidly becoming France's first call session drummer for records and tours.

It was the incredible groove and feel that Manu supplied for Peter Gabriel's multi-platinum mega hit album "So" released in 1986 that shot Manu to international stardom. Staying with Gabriel for countless tours, Manu also began to lend his funky and tasteful signature drumming to everyone from Sting, to Joe Satriani, to European Jazz great Jan Garbarek. He toured and recorded with Sting on his "Brand New Day" CD and tour, and can also be heard on the album "Sacred Love."

Manu continues to keep busy with sessions and tours, and produced a DVD about his last 20 years in the music business, featuring playing, interviews and clinic performance footage.

In addition to his incredible groove, Manu's drum and cymbal sound make him one of the most sought after session players in the world. He relies on Zildjian A Customs to provide the colors, including those unmistakable Splash cymbal flourishes. He also uses Zildjian Manu Katché Artist Series Drumsticks.

Since 2006, Manu has been touring with his own band after releasing 3 solo albums on EMC label: "Neighbourhood", "Playground", and "Third Round".

- http://zildjian.com/Artists/K/Manu-Katche

Manu Katché - Keep on trippin' (clip officiel)

6 de septiembre de 2014

Escuché a Katché por primera vez en los años 80 en el disco So de Peter Gabriel. Este bravo percusionista ha tocado también con Sting, Jan Garbarek, Tracy Chapman, Simple Minds, Jeff Beck, Al Di Meola, Manu Chao, Tori Amos, Joe Satriani, Youssou N'Dour, Tears for Fears y Ryuichi Sakamoto, entre muchísimos otros artistas.

Pat Metheny - New Chautauqua

Esta es la canción titular del disco New Chautauqua de Pat Metheny, el cual salió en 1979 en el innovador sello discográfico ECM. Metheny toca todos los instrumentos en este disco.

Carmelo loves jazz - Who is Don Pedro?

http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com/2011/11/p-margin-bottom-0.html

WHO IS DON PEDRO?

Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero

To Louise Maher-Johnson

(A Spanish language version of this article was published in Claridad on February 12 2004. An English language version was published on this blog on November 22 2011)

Back in the 1980's I used to walk often through Esteban González street in the neighborhood of Santa Rita in the urban heart of Río Piedras, very near the University of Puerto Rico campus. Inevitably, that meant passing by theTaller de Jazz Don Pedro (Don Pedro Jazz Workshop)...

Back in those years, the Taller emitted phenomenal sounds into the street, a hi-hat doing swing, a saxophonist inventing a new tonal vocabulary, and other equally fascinating fragments of music. Before the decade ended a hurricane flooded the basement and the locale was closed, but the Taller as an institution has lived on. Now, what is the Taller and just who is Don Pedro? The answers to those questions would have to wait until the 21^st century.

Jazz is the music of the uncomprehended. Lovers of this musical genre live in a world of endless fascination, moving from one exciting sonic discovery to the next, often finding themselves in a gray, jaded world which does not share their enthusiasm. These unrepentant audiophiles collect records and interesting facts about this music and its performers with the same passion that sports fans collect and memorize statistics of their favorite teams and players.

******

While jazz arrived in Puerto Rico from the United States, it is no less true that Puerto Ricans have made significant contributions to the genre. Doña Ana mentions various Boricuas that left their imprint in the history of jazz, like percussionists Manuel Tió and Ray Barreto, the late great pianist Hilton Ruiz, bassist Eddie Gómez, flutist Dave Valentín, the immortal Tito Puente, Noro Morales- whose niece Alicia Torres was my neighbor and music teacher and who has been to me like a second mother since the 1970's- and Ram Ramírez, an organ player from the city of Mayagüez who in 1941 co-wrote “Lover Man” for Billie Holiday, a song that has since been performed also by Barbara Streisand, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Whitney Houston, Norah Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Stan Getz, and many more.

But, she tells me, one of the most important and yet underrated Puerto Ricans in jazz was trombonist Juan Tizol, from the town of Vega Baja, who wrote some of Duke Ellington's most memorable tunes, like “Caravan", “Perdido”, “Pyramid” and “Moonlight Siesta”.

To read the full article: 

http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com/2011/11/p-margin-bottom-0.html

El Taller de Jazz Don Pedro

http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com/2014/09/que-viva-el-jazz.html

¿Qué es el Taller de Jazz Don Pedro?

(Una versión de este artículo salió publicada en Claridad el 12 de febrero de 2004)

Carmelo Ruiz Marrero

En la década de los 80 solía caminar a menudo por la calle Esteban González en Santa Rita, lo cual inevitablemente me llevaba a pasar por el Taller de Jazz Don Pedro. Ubicado en el sótano de un edificio cerca del Burger King de los poetas y del antiguo local de La Tertulia, el Taller despedía a la calle sonidos fenomenales, un hi-hat en tiempo de swing, un saxofón inventando un nuevo vocabulario cromático, y más cosas por el estilo. Los estragos de un huracán forzaron el cierre de ese espacio, pero el Taller como institución todavía vive. ¿Qué es el Taller? ¿Y quién es Don Pedro? Sigan leyendo para que vean.

El jazz es la música de los incomprendidos. Los amantes de este género musical viven en un mundo de fascinación sin fin, viajando de un emocionante  descubrimiento sónico a otro, a pesar de vivir en un mundo gris y cuadrado que no comparte su entusiasmo con el jazz. Estos audiófilos empedernidos coleccionan datos interesantes sobre esta música y sus intérpretes con la misma pasión que los fanáticos del deporte se memorizan estadísticas de equipos y jugadores.

PARA LEER EL RESTO:
http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com/2014/09/que-viva-el-jazz.html

Pat Metheny Group_The Epic

Una canción excelente aunque poco conocida de un disco de Pat Metheny Group que ha sido casi totalmente olvidado. American Garage, lanzado en 1979, fue el segundo disco de la banda, y el último que hicieron con Mark Egan en el bajo.

Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny - Spiritual

Jazz legend Charlie Haden has just passed away. Here is a cut from a wonderful album he did with Pat Metheny back in the late nineties.