The MacArthur Fellowship to pianist/composer/bandleader Jason Moran follows from that Foundation’s ongoing trend to give $500,000 no-strings-attached to musicians who’ve demonstrated accomplishment and seem to promise more. Here’s my City Arts-New York column re what Moran’s done and how things have changed since Monk, Bird, Dizzy et al brought modernism to jazz, without any dream of […]
Archives for 2010
Manhattan music “loft” Roulette takes big chance on Brooklyn
Roulette, since 1978 a formerly humble Manhattan-based presenter of avant-garde “intermedia,” has signed a 20-year lease on a former YWCA art deco 600-seat theater in Brooklyn. This Next weekend (Oct. 7, 8, 9) is the space’s three-night benefit “Easy Not Easy,” assigning emerging (read: little known) artists presumably simple scores by such its longtime stalwarts as […]
Jazz elders cast giant shadows
Why isn’t the amazing current generation of creative (jazz) musicians better known? Maybe because major artists of the not-so-distant past are practicing the art form at splendid peaks, overturning clichés about dwindling powers of octogenarians. Read my column in City Arts New York for a report that touches on Sonny Rollins, Roy Haynes and Muhal […]
If videos of Sonny are removed, will the legend grow?
Gone from Youtube are two brief but vivid excerpts from Sonny Rollins’ 80th birthday concert at the Beacon Theater on Sept. 10 — one showing the great tenor saxophonist in duet with percussionist Sammy Figueroa, the second documenting the surprise, climactic contributions of Ornette Coleman to the set, and Rollins’ inspired improvised responses. What a […]
Video for fans of Sonny Rollins & harmolodics
Too good to not post: Ornette Coleman was surprise guest with Sonny Rollins at his fast-become-famous Beacon Theater 80th birthday party on September 10 (backstage there was birthday cake shaped like a saxophone, made of marzipan). Note SR’s quote at about 10 minutes in of “I’ll Take Manhattan,” which he certainly did. [[As of 9/15/2010 […]
Sonny @ Beacon bootlegged video clip
A bootlegged video excerpt of Sonny Rollins at the Beacon Theater, 9/10/2010 is available on youtube — the sound doesn’t do him justice, and I don’t intend to encourage unauthorized video, but it is out there to give the world a brief idea of last night’s concert. On the other hand, Bret Primack, the Jazz […]
Sonny the sax king
At age 80, Sonny Rollins is indisputably the greatest living jazz tenor saxophonist, proved last night throughout a 2-hour set at New York’s sold-out Beacon Theater in which harmolodic sage Ornette Coleman sat in, backed by drummer Roy Haynes and bassist Christian McBride, on “Tenor Madness.” “Sonnymoon For Two”. Rollins was hunched and hobbled when he […]
Daley bad for Windy City’s music?
Contrary to my paean to Richard M. Daley’s support of Chicago’s music and arts, Chicago Tribune rock-crit Greg Kot writes of the Mayor’s treatment of the local music scene as a “second class citizen.” It’s true the City has messed with club venues — Marguerite Horberg of established the multi-genre Hot House years back and now […]
Mayor Daley’s music and arts
Shocking news from Chicago: Richard Daley won’t be mayor for life. Yet he’s the Windy City’s most significant patron of culture, leaving a legacy that ought to — that is, should, and might — survive him. Which was unexpected when he succeeded Mayor Harold Washington in 1989, but clear from my visit to Labor Day […]
Jazz festival weekend: Is anybody counting?
Can we guestimate how many listeners will be out hearing jazz this Labor Day weekend, at festivals free and/or famous around the U.S.? Chicago, Detroit, Tanglewood, Aspen, Vail, Los Angeles, Washington DC (well, Herndon VA), Philadelphia, San Jose, Macinac Island (Michigan) Indianapolis, St. Louis, Wilmington and Bethany Beach (Delaware), San Diego, Tucson, (see also the Latin Jazz […]
Little known great jazz in Chicago’s neighborhoods
The Jazz Institute of Chicago‘s annual club tour is an urban presentation innovation and a treat, revealing an unheralded depth of local audiences, entrepreneurs and artists. On Wednesday night, Dudley Owens blew tenor sax with the largest sound I’ve heard maybe ever, in combo with an older pianist (sorry I didn’t get his name) who […]
Twitter campaign #jazzlives after one year
#Jazzlives — the Twitter campaign aimed at demonstrating that there is a big and enthusiastic audience for live jazz — is one year old. What has it wrought? First: What is #jazzlives and how does it work? To participate in the campaign, audience members at live jazz performances “tweet” – write a post on their […]
Jazz discoveries abound! Soundscape, Creative Music Studio, Varese
Amazing, historic, never-before-public recordings from an under-documented, under-appreciated but highly developmental era of jazz and new music comes to light! Complete sets and interviews from the international stars who gave birth to world jazz and downtown improv at the Manhattan arts loft Soundscape will be broadcast by WKCR-FM  and archived online starting Sept. 6 — and are […]