KUDOS: Catherine Russell Added to Lineup for PBS’s “GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends” Television Special

June 27, 2017

The Recording Academy® will honor its 2017 Special Merit Awards recipients with an awards ceremony and live tribute concert on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award honorees are Shirley Caesar, Ahmad Jamal, Charley Pride, Jimmie Rodgers, Nina Simone, Sly Stone, and the Velvet Underground. Led by GRAMMY®-winning industry icon Paul Shaffer as musical director, the tribute concert will feature rare performances by honorees and never-seen renditions by those they’ve inspired. Just confirmed to perform are recent GRAMMY nominee Catherine Russell, five-time GRAMMY winner Dionne Warwick, and past GRAMMY nominee Charlie Wilson.

Catherine Russell’s latest album, “Harlem On My Mind”, released September 9, 2016, was nominated for Best Vocal Jazz Album by the 59th Grammy Awards. Catherine has appeared on over 200 albums, including Grammy Award winning releases by William Bell, Rosanne Cash, and Levon Helm. In 2012, Catherine appeared as a featured artist on the Grammy Award winning soundtrack album for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, contributing her rendition of “Crazy Blues.” For her appearance on July 11, Catherine will pay tribute to Trustees Award Honoree Ralph S. Peer, a successful recording executive, archetypal A&R man, and music publisher whose career spanned from 1919 to 1960. Peer was the executive producer of Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues,” the first vocal blues recording, released in 1920.

Now in its second year, the “GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends™” event will be produced in partnership with THIRTEEN as part of the “Great Performances” series on PBS, set to air later this year.

At the start of 2017, Catherine joined former David Bowie band mates and surprise guests for concerts Celebrating David Bowie, on January 8 in London and January 10 in New York City. As a member of David Bowie’s last touring band, from 2002 through 2004, Catherine contributed on keyboards, guitar, percussion, mandolin, and vocals. Following those shows, Catherine returned to leading her band, with sold out concerts in New York City, Paris, Munich, and Bern. The Minneapolis Star Tribune says, “There are no lines between blues, soul and jazz when Catherine Russell sings, as she evokes the era when all those genres were swirled together in popular song…touring behind her slyly personal sixth album, “Harlem On My Mind”.

FEATURE: LPO Commissions Béla Fleck To Write Piece For New Orleans Tricentennial

Sam D’Arcanegelo for OFF BEAT MAGAZINE –

The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) a grant to commission banjoist and composer Béla Fleck to write a composition for the New Orleans tricentennial. The $15,000 award is one 1,029 grants that were given out as part of the endowment’s $82 million Art Works program.

New Orleans’ tricentennial will take place in 2018 and feature a variety of celebrations across the city (La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded by French colonizer Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville in 1718).

“This anniversary year will be a time to reflect on the rich history of our region and how it informs the way we build toward the future,” said LPO Chief Executive Officer James William Boyd. “Louisiana is known throughout the world as a mecca for music, from Cajun and country to jazz, ragtime, and R&B, but the full extent of the state’s musical legacy is often overlooked. As such, the celebrations centered around the tricentennial present an opportunity to showcase a new composition that brings together the New Orleans jazz tradition with contemporary orchestral repertoire.”

The Fleck commission will be a part of the LPO’s 2017-2018 season, which will include a trip to New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall for a season celebrating the venue’s composer-in-residence, Philip Glass. Fleck will join the LPO for performances of his new piece—a concerto for banjo—on three occasions: twice in New Orleans and once in Covington, LA.

The newly commissioned work will be the third concerto for banjo and orchestra composed by Fleck, who was inspired to take up the project after a series of appearances with the LPO in 2015.

“The arts reflect the vision, energy, and talent of America’s artists and arts organizations,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as the LPO, in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences.”

NEW ALBUM: Hear the Radiant Title Track From New Charles Lloyd Quartet Album

Nate Chinen for 88.3 WBGO –

Saxophonist and flutist Charles Lloyd has led some rather spectacular bands over the years — from his heralded late-1960s quartet to the Marvels, his current group with guitarist Bill Frisell. Passin’ Thru, due out on Blue Note on July 14, captures the unique intensity of the Charles Lloyd New Quartet, a decade-long proposition with Jason Moran on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass and Eric Harland on drums.

This album was recorded on tour, almost entirely in Santa Fe, New Mexico last July. There are a few recent compositions, including a searching piece called “Part 5, Ruminations” and the self-explanatory “Nu Blues.” But the album also reaches into the past, extracting new sounds and ideas from some of Lloyd’s classic calling cards, like “Dream Weaver,” “Tagore,” and the title track, “Passin’ Thru.”

This new “Passin’ Thru” begins with a dramatic open-form bass solo by Rogers, before kicking into its revved-up Caribbean beat. Lloyd plays the melody on tenor, in sync with Moran’s piano, and each artist takes a rangy, live-wire solo, punctuated by drum fills. (You’ll hear Moran calling out exhortations as he jabbers at the keys.)

Lloyd, who recently turned 79, is a spiritual seeker who tends to frame his musical output as part of a larger calling. He’s a 2015 NEA Jazz Master who can still give the impression of a restless soul: The New Quartet isn’t the sort of ensemble that a jazz elder would convene for the purpose of coasting. Passin’ Thru presents glowing evidence of the band’s flashpoint agility and rubbery cohesion, both natural extensions of Lloyd’s aesthetic instinct.

Read the full article at WBGO

Charles Lloyd on TKA

VIDEO: Ravi Coltrane Performs for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts

Suraya Mohamed for NPR MUSIC –

Yes, Ravi Coltrane is the son of the John Coltrane, one of the most famous and important jazz saxophonists and composers of all time. He’s also the son of multi-instrumentalist, composer and spiritual leader Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda. (In fact, all members of the band here are performing artists in their own right and come from artistically rich families; drummer E.J. Strickland is the brother of saxophonist Marcus Strickland; Adam Rogers parents performed on Broadway and Yunior Terry is Yosvany Terri’s brother, both heirs to Cuban music royalty.) But pedigree is not what makes him (or them) special. It’s the ability to draw on ideology and theory from the past and give already-great music the room to transform. As Coltrane told NPR back in 2013:

As improvisers, that’s really our goal — not just to state the themes that people wrote. In the course of time, night after night you search for better ways to present the music.

Not only did Coltrane and his band offer new interpretations from his repertoire, but varied the rhythmic presentations of the numbers, too. The first song in the set, “Cobbs Hill,” was written by Coltrane’s good friend and colleague Ralph Alessi. Beginning with Yunior Terry’s funky and deliberate bass line, further enhanced by intentional drum rolls the 2/4 time signature, two beats per measure, captures a march-like proclamation.

The second song is Coltrane’s own composition, “Three For Thee”, a fan favorite from the 1998 Moving Pictures album; the original recording included Ralph Alessi on trumpet. Only 32 years old when that record was released, it could be taken as a sign of things to come: Ravi Coltrane, an old soul in a young body, mature and capable of creating work so robust and important. Almost 20 years later, hearing that music again here, even better, is affirming and a testament to Coltrane’s ever-evolving artistic journey. And E.J. Strickland’s opening drum intro couldn’t be more spunky; he teases the audience into the groove with effortless, intentional punctuations.

This performance is likely to be a historical footnote in the book of great jazz moments. The quartet demonstrates its marvelous technical capabilities and keen musicianship, and their imaginative interpretations suggest strength and resolve, a fluid embodiment of question and answer, push and pull, and rising action followed by hypnagogic culmination.

In Movement is available now. (iTunes) (Amazon)

Set List

“Cobbs Hill”
“In Three For Thee”
“Phrygia”

Watch the performance at NPR Music

Ravi Coltrane on TKA

Rest In Peace Sonny Knight

via Secret Stash Records

BELOVED SOUL SINGER, SONNY KNIGHT, PASSES AT 69 YEARS OF AGE

(Minneapolis, MN: Secret Stash Records; June 17, 2017) – It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend, Sonny Knight, at age 69. In March 2017, it was announced that Sonny Knight and The Lakers would suspend their tour schedule for Sonny to focus all of his energy on cancer treatment and recovery. At that time Sonny stated, “I’m canceling my shows because I want to give them the best that I’ve got.” Since the band’s 2013 introduction to the Minnesota scene, and soon after the world at large, Sonny gave just that: his best to his band members and to the music-loving crowds who attended their shows across the globe.Second and third chances often aren’t happenstance but instead made. After a short stint in the mid-‘60s recording singles as Little Sonny Knight and then as a member of funk group Haze in the ‘70s, Sonny traded in his microphone for a stick shift and a breeze as a full-time truck driver who traveled the United States. Much of this was after an honorable few years in the US Army serving the country he loved.

With those experiences in tow, he entered back into the music business in 2014 as a solo artist with a renewed vigor in the studio and on stage. From heartfelt ballads to upbeat dance numbers, Knight captivated audiences the world over with his backing band, The Lakers.

Sonny leaves a legacy of entertainment and a joy for life that won’t soon be forgotten by his family, friends, band, and fans. Upon the release of I’m Still Here, his debut album with the Lakers, Sonny opined, “Sometimes I wonder, why me? Why are all these great things happening now? All I can say is thanks. These are dreams that I had forgotten. Only now that they are starting to come true do I remember that I had them at all.”

Many thanks to all of Sonny’s fans for their support throughout the years. You meant more to him than you’ll ever know.

KUDOS: Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn to Host 2017 IBMA Awards

John Lawless for BLUEGRASS TODAY:

The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced that husband/wife banjo duo Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn will serve as hosts for the 28th annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, to be held September 28 in Raleigh, NC.

This gala awards presentation serves each year as the grand finale of the organization’s World Of Bluegrass convention, which brings together bluegrass lovers and players from all over the world. Professional members of the IBMA, made up of artists, songwriters, record labels, event producers, educators, and media folks, vote for the top entertainers in multiple categories with the winners announced and trophies distributed at the show.

Like most award shows you will have seen, there are also live stage performances from the top names in bluegrass, leading to IBMA Executive Director Paul Schiminger describing it as the biggest night in bluegrass.

“The annual IBMA Awards Show is truly the biggest night in bluegrass music. The unforgettable moments, the unique and incredible performances, and the overwhelming feeling of community, make this a must-attend event for both bluegrass professionals and fans. And, having Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn as hosts will send this one way over the top. I can’t wait!”

For 2017 they are taking the theme of the Bluegrass Songbook, celebrating the shared canon of music that has defined the style for the past 70 years.

KUDOS: Pat Metheny named 2018 NEA Jazz Master

(WASHINGTON, DC) – PAT METHENY, Joanne Brackeen, Dianne Reeves, and Todd Barkan now join the ranks of the nation’s highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters. The 2018 NEA Jazz Master recipients were announced this evening at a DC Jazz Festival concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, where Metheny also performed. The NEA Jazz Masters are receiving this honor for their lifetime achievements and exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz. Each will receive a $25,000 award and be honored at a tribute concert on Monday, April 16, 2018, in Washington, DC.

“The NEA Jazz Masters represent the very pinnacle of talent, creativity, innovation, and vision,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “We look forward to celebrating these four new Jazz Masters and their many contributions to jazz.”

Read the full article on NEA

Pat Metheny on TKA

Monthly Archives: June 2017