Pianist Herbie Hancock has been appointed a “goodwill ambassador” by UNESCO. The 71-year-old multiple Grammy winner, Chicago-born child prodigy, Miles Davis’ keyboards man ushering open-form improvisation, electronic instruments and studio procedures into the past half-century of jazz-based music and talent scout with global interests joins an international coterie that currently includes Nelson Mandela, Pierre Cardin, […]
Archives for July 2011
Free funk electric bassist gets $60k Pew Fellowship
Jamaaladeen Tacuma, free-funk electric bass virtuoso, protege of Ornette Coleman and one of the dancingest musicians on the planet, has been named one of 12 Philadelphia artists receiving $60,000 fellowships from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. Two other musicians are also 2011 Pew fellows: electronic music improviser Charles Cohen and exploratory folk/rock/goth guitarist Chris […]
Beyond music in the waters off the City
Take a night-time jazz cruise with saxophonist Avram Fefer, guitarist Joe Cohn and rhythm in New York Harbor on Wednesday nights for respite from NYC – I detail it and other unusual musical staycations for July in my new City Arts New York column. If you’ve got 10 minutes, check out my dark video of […]
House Appropriations Committee to NEA: Keep Jazz Masters
The National Endowment for the Arts has been directed by the US House Appropriations Committee in its report to Interior  to continue the American Jazz Masters Fellowships and dump its proposed American Artists of the Year honors. The report also supports continuation of the NEA’s National Heritage Fellowships program (but not its Opera Honors) and recommends a 2012 NEA budget […]
Urban Realism and Treme
“Life is glorious and vibrant and joyous at points, but it is essentially tragic. That’s not a unique David Simon perspective.” So sayeth David Simon, (pictured left; right is a Mardi Gras Indian portrayed by Clarke Peters), executive producer with Eric Overmyer of Treme, in a long interview on Salon conducted by Matt Zolar Seitz.  The HBO series about […]
Hurray for Treme
“Do Watcha Wanna,” the season finale of Treme, had everything I watch the series for: Compelling characters embodied by terrific actors; plausible and suspenseful quick-cutting across and interweaving of plot strands; confident command of realities afflicting post-Katrina/pre-Gulf oil spill New Orleans, and the extraordinary depiction of living, breathing, hugely enjoyable music as a central factor […]
Symphonic “jazz” compositions, big bands and holiday blasts
The American Composers Orchestra readings of short symphonic works by jazz-oriented composers which I wrote of in my CityArts column and posted about here are now available to hear, thanks to Lara Pelligrinelli at NPR’s A Blog Supreme. The 23rd annual BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra concert, featuring “New Works for Big Band” and the naming (not […]