Contributors' Corner - Feature Stories
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Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith Blues Band
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The Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith Blues Band played Toronto’s Silver Dollar Room, Saturday, March 3, 2007, and filled this excellent blues venue with some of the finest Chicago blues around.
Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, is a much-revered and appreciated bluesman, who was the one and only Muddy Waters’ drummer for over 20 years, (replacing renowned Waters Band drummer Francis Clay in 1961),...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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Johnny Winter at The Phoenix Concert Theatre
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Johnny Winter never fails to please! This icon of all that is good in blues and rock ‘n’ roll guitar playing … whether it be scorching rhythms, outstanding melodic leads, or slithery slide – was all here to savour and enjoy by this packed house of Johnny Winter fans at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, here in Toronto, Ontario, on Monday,...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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Toru Dodo Trio at The Blue Note Jazz Club’s Jazz Brunch
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Jazz does have a sense of humor. Pianist Horace Silver has proven that throughout his career with titles like “Doodlin’”, “Filthy McNasty”, “Finger Poppin’”, “The Sophisticated Hippie”, “Funky Bunky”, and “Rockin’ with Rachmaninoff”. Fellow pianist Toru Dodo may not have such colorfully named tunes on his new release Dodo 3 (Jazzcity Spirit Productions, Inc.), but his charming wit brought...
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Concert Review by Cheryl K. Symister-Masterson
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Junior Mance At Strathmore Center For The Arts
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As another event to compensate for the postponement of this year's East Coast Jazz Festival, the Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship Fund (FMJS) organized a President's Day open house in co-operation with the Music Center at Strathmore (www.strathmore.org). A fine arts complex and concert facility located one-half mile outside the Capital Beltway in North Bethesda, Maryland, Strathmore "provides affordable, accessible,...
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Concert Review by Peter Westbrook
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James Newton with The Flutes of Howard University
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Dr. Saïs Kamalidiin, Assistant Professor of Flute at Howard University and director of the Flutes of Howard University continues to present his ensemble, with a guest artist, in his annual Flute Fête. Since 2001, the event has featured: Yusef Lateef, Sherry Winston, Frank Wess, David "Fathead" Newman, Dave Valentin, and Harold Jones. This year's Fête was rather special, as...
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Concert Review by Peter Westbrook
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The Rubin Museum of Art Presents: Harlem in the Himalayas
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Percussionist Andrea Centazzo co-founded Ictus Records in 1976. Somewhere amidst his passion for the music and the fickle and indifferent attitudes of listeners, Ictus Records disappeared almost a decade later. But passions can burn for a long time. Though he was not producing recordings for his label, he was producing music - scoring film soundtracks in Los Angeles for...
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Concert Review by Cheryl K. Symister-Masterson
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Stefon Harris Ensemble at The University of Maryland
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Having already presented McCoy Tyner's sextet and the Maria Schneider Orchestra, the 2006/7 jazz concert series at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performance Center has focused on a balance between composition and instrumental performance. The Stefon Harris ensemble which appeared February 11th exemplified that balance as well as anyone could. Harris presented sections from recent commissions and his...
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Concert Review by Peter Westbrook
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Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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The jazz program has been especially rich at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts this season. As befits a national institution, the center aims to honor jazz masters while also supporting younger musicians and new music. A case in point is the flurry of visitors during the last month.
February 9th, for example, saw bassist/composer Dave Holland bring...
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Concert Review by Peter Westbrook
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Maurice Brown Soul'd U Out
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I recently had the good fortune of being able to review Ernest Dawkins' New Horizons Ensemble DVD, The Messenger, which features the prodigious trumpeter, Maurice Brown. This young musician left such an indelible impression that I immediately resolved to get out and see him perform live if I ever had the chance.
Downbeat Magazine has referred to Brown as "one of the most exciting young trumpeters in jazz—be...
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Concert Review by Veronica Timpanelli
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Thursday Night Coffeehouse Series
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Good music brings out good people. Even multi-instrumentalist Howard Johnson had to comment on the attentiveness of the standing-room only audience in the small campus dining area. Some had cozied up to warm beverages and evening meals while others caught up on their text messages. Those in the throes of studying in the outside lobby drifted in once the...
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Concert Review by Cheryl K. Symister-Masterson
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Sabang Brings Jazz To Wheaton, MD
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The Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship Fund (FMJS) is a non-profit organization that was created in memory of Elmore "Fish" Middleton to continue his vision of the perpetuation of jazz and supporting emerging jazz artists. Its major event is the annual East Coast Jazz Festival that I have reported on in previous years (www.jazzreview.com/articledetails.cfm?ID=4059). This year's event...
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Concert Review by Peter Westbrook
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Presidents' Weekend Jazz Party Big Success
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Great jazz was seen and heard this last President’s Weekend at the 7th annual Newport Beach Jazz Party before sell-out crowds. As well, since these four-day events began, the music seemed better than ever this year.
Thursday night through Sunday night, there were performances virtually every hour of the day–breakfast jazz brunches, afternoon Pool Stage sessions and, of course,...
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Concert Review by Larry Taylor
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The 2007 All Star Smooth Jazz Cruise Concert Was A Funk Fest
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Of all the jazz related events coming through the greater Houston metropolitan area, the launch of the All Star Smooth Jazz Cruise stands at the top of the list of must do and see events. Tantamount to the cruise, is the pre-launch concert held the night before at Moody Gardens Convention Center in Galveston, Texas. Billed as the most...
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Concert Review by Sheldon T. Nunn
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Boney James is Smooth Jazz's Ultimate Provocateur
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One of the most dynamic saxophonists in jazz blew through Houston on February
11th with a concert that was thought to be a highly evolved presentation of
funk. Anyone with any conceivable knowledge of Boney James will recognize
him as the ultimate funkateer; however, he also manages the versatility to
exhibit a high degree of sensitivity as well.
Riding high...
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Concert Review by Sheldon T. Nunn
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Jazz at Farley Hill in Barbados
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The Barbados Jazz Festival is a very special event. Attended largely by locals and returning Bajans (as Barbadians call themselves), along with a smattering of Americans and resident expats, the festival takes place in several halls (which host evening performances) as well as in Farley Hill National Park in the island’s north where two outdoor afternoon concerts take place....
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Concert Review by Harry S. Pariser
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A Night With Larry Carlton & Spyro Gyra Never Disappoints
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How many can say that they have heard great music, met a guitar legend’s family, met some of jazz’s royalty, and seen one of the greatest sax players of all time perform an entire show with his fly down, all in one night? Well, last night, the crowd of folks who were lucky enough to be at the Celebrity...
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Concert Review by Mary Jo Conniff
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McCoy Tyner Trio: Transcendence
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When an individual has the opportunity to hear one of the greatest jazz
pianists of all time perform, accompanied by three no-less notable musical
peers, it is truly a magnificent occasion. On a brisk December evening, the
excitement in the air was tangible, as an eclectic crowd consisting of
multi-generational jazz aficionados and music fans alike converged at the...
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Concert Review by Katrina-Kasey Wheeler
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Sassy, Scintillating And Sultry
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In the cultural reshaping of Canada’s fastest growing city Calgary, Alberta the Beat Niq jazz club on January 20th once again proved to be key player in that cultural evolution. World-class jazz singer Adi Braun from Toronto took to the stage and performed two sets consisting of original compositions, standards and tunes featuring some Canadian songwriters.
Braun’s curly auburn hair...
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Concert Review by Joe Montague
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Jack de Keyzer's Silver Blues DVD Release Party
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This was my first time at Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse, here in Toronto. It is also the first appearance here for the inimitable and always entertaining Jack de Keyzer. De Keyzer is a multi-awarding winning blues guitarist, with prestigious blues wins at the Junos and the Maple Blues Awards over the years. He was also at one time or another...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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Mike Stern in Hollywood
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It was the week before Christmas when Mike Stern came to Hollywood; the occasion was a five-night engagement at Catalina Bar and Grill, and for the area's countless guitar enthusiasts it was as if the holiday arrived early. Supporting his star packed current release Who Let the Cats Out on Heads Up, the electric guitarist led a streamlined but...
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Concert Review by Edward Kane
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Unfurling the Spectrum
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William Parker believes in unleashing creativity. His willingness to open those doors is inexhaustible. His practice will lead anyone who is receptive to him. Through the network that is the tapestry of William Parker converts, the world could be at peace. This concert was dedicated to the memory of Malachi Ritcher, who died by self-immolation November 3, 2006, in...
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Concert Review by Lyn Horton
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Sillan & Young Wow Their Audience
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In the acoustically challenged Beat Niq nightclub located in downtown Calgary, Alberta Canada the jazz ensemble Sillan & Young still managed to wow their audience on December 21st. Led by alto vocalist Johanna Sillanpaa and guitar virtuoso Aaron Young the quintet performed two sets comprised mostly of Christmas tunes.
The blonde haired Swedish chanteuse took to the intimate stage...
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Concert Review by Joe Montague
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A Smooth Jazz Christmas Comes To Houston
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On December 1, 2006 Houston, Texas was privy to one of the best concerts of the year. Billed as “A Smooth Jazz Christmas” and sponsored by KHJZ 95.7 “The Wave,” four of the genre’s most notable musicians hit the stage of the Verizon Wireless Theater. Although David Benoit, Jonathan Butler, Michael Franks and Kirk Whalum have all been to...
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Concert Review by Sheldon T. Nunn
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Beholding the Brilliance
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Without doubt, the fifth annual Solos and Duos series offered an opportunity to hear the voices of musical innovators whose focus is honed to an edge of unsurpassed acuity. Cecil Taylor, the duo of Joe Morris and Daniel Levin, and Joe McPhee were the performers. UMass Amherst was the venue.
Cecil Taylor
Writing about Cecil Taylor is like trying to translate...
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Concert Review by Lyn Horton
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Petula Clark Captivated The Audience
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Petula Clark, recognized by many as the greatest female singing sensation of the 1960s, graced the stage of Toronto's Hummingbird Centre, Sunday November 6, 2005. This is the second time this writer has had the great pleasure of being entertained live by this lady of song.
Growing up as a child star in war-time Britain, singing on the B.B.C. and...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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