Contributors' Corner - Feature Stories
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DeJohnette Continues to Fly High
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How appropriate that the New Year starts off with a week of Jack DeJohnette at Birdland. Jack DeJohnette’s music has always been about starting anew. And like Birdland, he has a proud history. The element of freshness to his sound is the result of him continually searching for something new.
This year, his reconfigured group features guitarist David Fiuczynski...
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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2009 Favorite CD's & Concerts
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2009! These are some of my favorites from this past year. They are listed in no particular order. The common thread, they all have a strong jazz sensibility, they’re cd’s that I want to play over and over again. I have also listed fifteen of my favorite live concerts. I urge everyone to get out and support live music....
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Viewpoint by Paul J. Youngman
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Terra Brasil
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Imagine fourteen gifted and completely dedicated dancers accompanied by the same amount of superb musicians. Imagine one of the most talented modern choreographers and artistic directors of the day and add a masterful Brazilian percussionist and musical director teaming up to transform a cold Toronto winters night into one of the hottest shows around – imagine then, Terra Brasil....
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Concert Review by Paul J. Youngman
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The Flip Side
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Jazz Skat Gumbo/Kat Walker (2009)
Jazz Skat Gumbo is a blend of the “feel” that only New Orleans can deliver. Vocalist Kat Walker is the guide through the French Quarter back streets of sound. Ms. Walker’s new CD, Jazz Skat Gumbo, is a collection of select traditional compliments, if you will, performed with gifted New Orleans jazz...
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Viewpoint by Karl Stober
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Dianne Reeves Remains True To Tradition
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Looking back at jazz’s rich history and tradition, female vocalists have always had a stand-alone relevance as one of the genre’s most significant influences. Without a doubt, the music of Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and Ma Rainey have served as a series of guideposts to light the way for...
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Concert Review by Sheldon T. Nunn
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Michael Lington Dazzles In Vegas
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“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” ~ Pablo Casals
The intimate Chrome Showroom located inside the Santa Fe Station Hotel and Casino provided the setting for a night of masterful musicianship and beautiful poetic music by one of contemporary jazz’s premier performers. Saxophonist Michael Lington, a native of Denmark, made his fifth appearance...
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Concert Review by Randall Parrish
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Ornette Coleman
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There aren’t many 1960s elders of jazz still performing these days. Pianists McCoy Tyner and Randy Weston come to mind, as does saxophonist Sonny Rollins, but few others come to mind. That’s one of the things that made the appearance by Ornette Coleman and his group at the San Francisco Symphony Hall as part of the San Francisco Jazz...
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Concert Review by Harry S. Pariser
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World Class Big Band Jazz in Music City, USA?
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No excuses Nashville! You have the top shelf, Nashville Jazz Orchestra (NJO) now performing LIVE Big Band Jazz every Tuesday night at the French Quarter Café in East Nashville. First note at 7pm, you catch two mind-blowing sets and be on your way home by 9:30pm. The minimal cover charge of $10.00 and no drink minimum is a perfect...
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Concert Review by Bruce Pulver
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Milford Graves & David Murray
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I had never witnessed a live Milford Graves performance. I had heard his playing on numerous records and recent CD’s. I knew of his powerful style and frenetic energy. I had listened to his chanting and foreign sounding communications that accompanied his recorded performances. I had always imagined that the wall of sound he created was studio enhanced. Special...
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Concert Review by Paul J. Youngman
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Jazz Attack 2009 Las Vegas
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The Jazz Attack Tour 2009 marched into Las Vegas for a highly energetic musical assault on the aural sensory nerves, both entertainingly pleasing and extremely satisfying. Piloted by a blend of world-renown musicians including master trumpeter Rick Braun, peerless tenor saxophonist Richard Elliot, and charismatic guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Butler; this version of the perennial crowd favorite concert attraction packed plenty...
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Concert Review by Randall Parrish
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Guelph Jazz Festival 2009
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I started my Guelph jazz experience on Friday afternoon – the colloquium featured Professor Milford Graves. I ended up arriving early and I caught the tail end of a workshop entitled New Communities of Sound: Improvising Across Borders. The improvisers included Jane Bunnett, Hamid Drake, Jah Youssouf, Abdoulaye Kone, Getatchew Mekuria, Rob Wallace, Alain Derbez, Terrie Hessels and Brad...
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Concert Review by Paul J. Youngman
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Tom Robertson Blues Band Cooks Up A Blues Blast
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I recently attended an extremely interesting and unusual venue for the Tom Robertson Blues Band. This was an outdoor afternoon annual Family Day 2009 at Canada Post’s huge South Central Letter Processing Plant in Toronto. (It’s the largest mail sorting plant in Canada).
This was an ideal sunny day, perfect for listening to ‘da bluz’ outdoors . . . in...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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Jack de Keyzer and Jerome Godboo's Blockbuster Blues Extravaganza
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For the past few months it has been my pleasure to attend several blues shows at the downtown Delta Chelsea’s Monarchs Pub. The Delta has done something that no other major hotel chain in Canada has dared to do … which is to offer world-class live blues shows every Thursday evening, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
One of the two...
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Concert Review by Unknown User
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Ai Confini tra Sardegna e Jazz
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There are not many places where Italian jazz fans, who mostly love free jazz, can hear AACM, avant-garde, radical improvisation and the greatest musicians of these ever fresh sounds: the Sant’Anna Arresi festival “Ai Confini fra Sardegna e Jazz”, near Cagliari in Sardinia, is one of those few.
This is a kind of festival that does not care about how...
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Concert Review by Antonio Terzo
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Ramsey Lewis: The Great Performer
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Piano-bass-drums were the weapons of choice for the highly celebrated trio headed by Ramsey Emanuel Lewis whose performing career alone spans over five decades of recordings, 80 plus recordings, seven Gold records, three Grammys, and the nationally syndicated radio show “The Legends of Jazz.” The 74-year-old jazz composer and classical-trained pianist performed August 13th at Orchestra Hall with...
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Concert Review by Theresa Crushshon
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Nat King Cole Tribute
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Five musicians. The quartet sounded like a full orchestra.
Three vocalists. The trio sang for an unheard of three-hour concert at the Artist's Quarter Friday, September 11, 2009.
Best of all, the music was all Nat King Cole!
When you have the musical library of musical icon Nat King Cole, an evening of music is guaranteed to please. Cole was an...
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Concert Review by Theresa Crushshon
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Buddy Guy & The Damn Right Blues Band
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It was a ‘magical’ night of blues at Toronto’s venerable Massey Hall, when blues guitarist Buddy Guy and his fabulous blues band appeared on stage.
Prior to their always enjoyable show, blues diva Shemekia Copeland and her band played a 45-minute set that got the blues fans in attendance warmed up just right for Buddy.
Buddy’s show opened with the high-energy "Best...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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Prince Edward County Jazz Festival
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Prince Edward County Jazz festival is a different and very special jazz festival. The board of directors and especially Brian Barlow have done an outstanding job of putting together one of the best festivals of straight ahead jazz. They have found a common thread in bringing together Canadian artists with international recognition and bridging young artists with seasoned pros....
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Concert Review by Paul J. Youngman
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Ella Jane Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song
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“Ella,” a fascinating showcase performance at The Guthrie Theatre, is an in-depth look at the life and times of Ella Jane Fitzgerald. Tina Fabrique, on stage for the entire evening as singer and star, truly made this viewer walk away from the hot lights with a tour-de-force performance and a much deeper appreciation of the woman known as the...
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Concert Review by Theresa Crushshon
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A Hummingbird Sang in Bushnell Park…
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A fans artistic ingestion of a vocalist’s performance has, in some way, to do with the backdrop. For a rising vocalist, a live performance creates a technical and emotional euphoria that, in many cases, escapes the studio setting. Such is the case for jazz vocalist Taeko Fukao, as she pierced into the psyche of the crowds, adorning Bushnell...
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Concert Review by Karl Stober
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Paul Taylor and friends
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Holding musical concerts for worthy causes isn’t a new concept. Oftentimes, as with George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh, magical melodious moments result. Such was the case on a hot August Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada. The inimitable contemporary jazz saxophonist Paul Taylor, along with the assist of some other great local Vegas musicians, provided an evening of music...
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Concert Review by Randall Parrish
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Abdullah Ibrahim Live at Yoshis San Francisco
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Africa may be the ancestral home of jazz, but there are few African-born jazz musicians of renown. The best known is undoubtedly Abdullah Ibrahim. A multi-instrumentalist, Ibrahim is justly famed for his sublime piano playing. Born Dollar Brand in South Africa, Ibrahim, who will turn 75 this October, has led an incredible and very complex life.
To summarize, Ibrahim...
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Concert Review by Harry S. Pariser
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Roy Hargrove
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Hard bop jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove filled the house with eclecticism during a two-hour performance June 2nd at the Dakota Jazz Club. Hargrove is a musical genius who is not afraid to explore sounds from various instruments, instrumentalists, and ensembles. Coupled with his versatility and good taste in music is just one reason why Hargrove's concerts draw pivotal figures...
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Concert Review by Theresa Crushshon
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Mood Indigo
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The new CD by Rita de Ghent on Groove Records Sprawl Indigo is a disc that I will be paying close attention to. I recently became aware of Ms. di Ghent during her performance as part of Lisa Particelli’s, Girls Night Out. I could hear a blues influence, a Chicago blues tinge, is that harmonica or sax phrasing from her...
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Concert Review by Paul J. Youngman
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Canada Day 2009
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The big show at the Main Stage - Nathan Philips Square featured a performance that will go down as one of my favorite all time concerts. The opening to this memorable occasion started with the singing of “O-Canada” the full house was led through the national anthem by the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival artistic director, Jim Galloway....
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Concert Review by Paul J. Youngman
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