This is the first edition of the new radio-style Jazz First podcast series "They Call It Jazz." This is my first radio work for 16 years, and 30 years since my days at the BBC. I'm a little rough around the edges and a few tweeks are needed, but generally, I am fairly pleased with the overall production. Every week I select ten brand new releases to keep AAJers bang up to date with "what's new." The page features New York pianist Emmet Cohen with a "behind the track" video about the title track from his new album Vibe Provider. Always in the groove!

Emmet Cohen, Warren Wolf, Miguel Zenon, And More

Wild-willed vibraphonist Patricia Brennan gets straight down to business without any fanciful mission declaration with the Afro-Cuban, effusively powered, clear-the-dancefloor and blow-the-ceiling-off this joint "Los Otros Yo (The Other Selves)," the opening cut of her third album Breaking Stretch. She does so in a captivatingly, wickedly good way. Brennan—who has...

Patricia Brennan: Breaking Stretch

Rickie Lee Jones, Butch Walker, Jesse Malin, Lucinda... All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Lucinda Williams At Stern Grove 2024

During this week's two-hour program of Jazz and improvised music, new music from Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Milton Nascimento and US bassist and vocalist esperanza spalding, the Fernando Huergo Big Band, the English septet Das Rad, and Irish guitarist Louis Stewart and US guitarist Jim Hall. Playlist. Wayne Shorter "Tarde"...

Milton Nascimento And Esperanza Spalding, Das Rad, Louis Stewart And Jim Hall

When a February 2022 gig at John Zorn's experimental showcase The Stone was unexpectedly canceled due to Covid protocol, Wollesen seized the lemon juicer and booked the band into Shahzad Ismaily's famed Figure 8 studio in Brooklyn for the following two days. The session was engineered by Lily Wen and produced by Will Shore, a composer who plays vibes alongside Wollesen in the utopian art-jazz group Užupis. Playing together for the first time ever, Latralarecorded nearly the entire album and its first session together in a flurry of extraordinary first takes. "I love that energy, that first-time feeling," says Wollesen. "I'm a big believer in the early stages of creating something. It's really exciting! You don't know where you're going, but you're playing with incredible musicians so it somehow works." It is a testament to the band's trust in each other and their willingness to embrace spontaneity and imperfection. This approach ensures that every nuance, every spontaneous idea, and every moment of collective inspiration is preserved, providing listeners with an intimate snapshot of a fleeting, yet powerful creative moment.

Kenny Wollesen: Latrala

PopCulture

The Grammy-winner is remembered for his work with Snarky Puppy and Kirk Franklin.

Grammy Winning Musician Dies After Suffering Stroke in 2023: Shaun Martin Was 45

In the tradition of the great Duke Ellington, I have written this music for these exact musicians... Rachel [Z], Omar [Hakim], and Jeff [Denson] exceeded all expectations and are brilliant. —Dann Zinn. Tenor saxophonist Dann Zinn named Two Roads—his sixth album, set for an October 4 release on Ridgeway Records—for...

Acclaimed Bay Area Saxophonist Dann Zinn Marks A Bold New Creative Direction With 'Two Roads,' To Be Released October 4 On Ridgeway Records

Towards the end of the recording session for “Heart”, I asked Al Foster if he’d be open to playing a few completely improvised things. We had already recorded a lot of standards and, Al being such a fantastic listener and improviser, I wanted to see what would happen without a framework. I wasn’t sure he was going to see yes, but he was down to do it, even though, much to my surprise, he said he had never done it before. He ended up loving it. I had noticed that when warming up for the session, Al played some really great grooves, so for “Lead the Way”, I just asked him to start a groove and we all played off that, hence the title!

Lead the Way by Jerome Sabbagh

Los Angeles, CA

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Herbie J Pilato

It's been more than four decades since former child star William “Billie” Thomas Jr. died in Los Angeles of a heart attack at only 49 on October 10, 1980. Best known as "Buckwheat," the character he portrayed in the original Hal Roach-ignited Our Gang/Little Rascals classic film shorts from 1934 to 1944, Thomas faced similar challenges and misfortunes of several of his co-stars and other former child actors. This is his story.

Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas - 'Little Rascals'/'Our Gang' Child Star: 44 Years After His Tragic Death

In 2019, after I'd been writing for DownBeat Magazine for about a decade, I was asked to review a batch of new albums from Brazil, including one by a Rio de Janeiro-based singer named Delia Fischer who wrote her own songs. I gathered that, in addition, she was a jazz pianist, an arranger, and the musical director for several hit musicals in Rio. She had worked with Brazilian legends like Marcos Valle, Egberto Gismonti, and Milton Nascimento, who recorded one of her songs that became the theme for a TV Globo soap opera. This album, her fifth, was called Tempo Minimo.

Delia Fischer: Beyond Bossa

Los Angeles County, CA

Actor Van Johnson, who died in 2007, was one of Hollywood's ideal films idols. In the 1940s, the charming screen icon was box office gold, and remained a popular presence on TV in shows like Murder, She Wrote (which starred his good friend Angela Lansbury).

The Secret Gay Life & Horrific Car Accident of Actor Van Johnson: 16 Years After His Tragic Death

Trumpeter and flugelhornist Feya Faku is recognized for his contributions to jazz and has built a significant international presence, collaborating with prominent musicians and participating in prestigious festivals worldwide. His latest project Inkumbulo (Reminiscence) is a celebration of this journey of allyship, marking 20 years of the South African / Swiss Exchange program, a creative cross-pollination including paying tribute to his loved ones.

Inkumbulo With Trumpeter And Flugelhorn Player Feya Faku

Several decades into the jazz reissue boom, first on CD and now increasingly on vinyl, one might imagine the bottom of the barrel is being scraped, and that any newly rediscovered obscurities might at this point have been best left alone. Yet so vast are the archives of recorded jazz that diamonds remain in the mine, exemplified by Green Line, a beautiful document of a single session in Tokyo on September 11, 1970, credited jointly to saxophonist Steve Marcus, bassist Miroslav Vitous, guitarist Sonny Sharrock and drummer Daniel Humair. This well-pressed, gatefold vinyl reissue on the Endless Happiness label is a boon for fans of early fusion, just as it emerged from free jazz and incorporated funk and rock rhythms.

Steve Marcus, Miroslav Vitous, Sonny Sharrock, Daniel Humair: Green Line

Holiday Soirée features the dynamic vocals of Courtney Lemmon, Gina Saputo, and Crystal Starr, whose voices weave together like a cozy winter scarf, wrapping listeners in warmth and cheer. Jazz & Blues Revue Featuring George Kahn Unveils Holiday Magic with New Album “Holiday Soirée”. Los Angeles, CA...

Jazz & Blues Revue Featuring George Kahn Unveils Holiday Magic With New Album 'Holiday Soirée'

Piano players are essential to many music genres, including classical, jazz, blues, and contemporary music. Their skills range from intricate classical compositions to improvisational jazz solos and expressive pop ballads. Pianists often serve as the backbone of musical arrangements, providing harmonic structure, melody, and rhythm. Their performances can range from solo piano pieces to collaborative works with other musicians or orchestras. The versatility of the piano allows players to explore a wide range of styles and techniques, making it a central instrument in both traditional and modern music. The artistry and technical proficiency of piano players contribute significantly to the richness and diversity of musical expression.

15 Best Piano Players of All Time

Guitarist Juanma Trujillo's Howl explores some of the ways acoustic guitar can flourish in a small jazz group setting. Instead of playing simple rhythm parts, he is fully engaged in the music made by his three bandmates. His tangled strumming makes an interesting counterpoint to Kevin Sun's barrelling tenor sax on "Catharsis." On "Howl," his abstract phrases pirouette over the stormy bustle of Matt Honor's drums and Andrew Schiller's bass before Sun storms in, stuttering and wailing off Trujillo's chords.

Juanma Trujillo: Howl

New York City, NY

Fellow geezers might remember how, in an item describing the atmosphere at New York City's fabled Rainbow Room, The New Yorker's Goings On About Town section sniffed "where a club soda costs about ten dollars," or words to that effect. The Rockefeller Center boîte is no longer open to the public and the Goings On section has lost its last two words and most of its content, but fret not. Gotham glamour is alive and well in the hands of pianist Bill Charlap's peerless trio. Nothing can evoke the swank of Old New York like Gershwin, and Charlap and his longtime mates, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington show how it's done with four perfect choruses of "The Man I Love," briskly swung and perfectly rendered. And Then Again (Blue Note Records, 2024) is a live recording from the Village Vanguard, a very different sort of room than its Midtown counterpart, but no less an icon of New Yorkishness. As if to tie a bow on the concept, Charlap wryly quotes the iconic big tune from "Rhapsody In Blue" in his tag. I love a Gershwin tune. How about you?

Bill Charlap Trio: The Man I Love

Jason Stein would never in a million years characterize Anchors as his variation of A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1965). But a comparison can be made. John Coltrane's quartet recording was the most personal and profound statement of his career. The same can be said for Stein and Anchors. He had taken time off from recording and performing due to some chronic pain that plagued him. Stein set about diving deeply into the body, studying massage, specifically trigger point therapy, practicing breathing techniques, and taking cold water plunges. One suspects Wim Hof may have been involved by some means in Stein's journey and transformation.

Jason Stein: Anchors

Devra Lee

Disclaimer: This content was written by Devra Lee for general informational and entertainment purposes only. This service is to provide astrological information that has been researched, recorded, and observed by the author.

Horoscope of the Day, Saturday, August 31st

Denton, TX

After many years in the Windy City, most notably as the leader of the JazzTech Big Band, trumpeter Rob Parton wanted a change of scenery, which brought him to the University of North Texas, where he joined the faculty in 2019. And of course, that meant he now had the opportunity to work with lots of premium large-ensemble talent, as the college has been an incubator for big-band jazz for decades. Many of Parton's colleagues from UNT and other stalwarts of the Dallas-Fort Worth jazz scene are featured on Relentless, his initial offering from a group he calls Ensemble 9+.

Rob Parton's Ensemble 9+: Relentless

NewsBreak

New music with Bill Evans, Lydian Collective, Ron Bosse and Josh Meader

New music from Saxophonist Bill Evans, british band Lydian Collective, The Fearless Flyers, and Finnish guitarist Varre Vartianen with special guest Mike Stern. Australian guitarist Josh...

New music with Bill Evans, Lydian Collective, Ron Bosse and Josh Meader

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