Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane has been maturing noticeably during recent years, and he reiterated that fact dramatically Thursday night at the Jazz Showcase. Playing with consistent seriousness of intent but also with plenty of fire, Coltrane led his quartet in a performance that had no throwaway moments, no nonchalant phrasings and scant moments of relaxation.
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Ravi Coltrane on TKA
Hailed as a “crown prince” in the world of jazz, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane has more than earned his place in the jazz pantheon since first coming on to the scene with his father’s former drummer Elvin Jones. From the start of his career, Coltrane has developed with maturity, eschewing familial notoriety as he waited until he was more than 30 years old before releasing his first album as a leader.
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Ravi Coltrane on TKA
Jazz guitar and deep compositions are Pat Metheny’s bag. He’s been at it for decades, growing as a player and as a writer while bringing equally monstrous musicians along for the ride. When stage hands pulled away the cloth for the show’s second half, an array of items — bells, drums, an accordion, a xylophone, bottle organs — were housed in casings that gave the stage a steampunk jazz look. And they weren’t just for show.
Read the full article on THE ROANOKE TIMES
Pat Metheny on TKA
Pat Metheny, one of the world’s leading jazz guitarists, has assembled a typically unusual band for his current tour. The five-man Unity Group could well be the only one on America’s summer concert circuit that peps up its performances with an orchestrion. The orchestration may not be to all tastes, but its use in these concerts is emblematic of Mr. Metheny’s fresh approach to contemporary jazz, which shows no signs of wilting after more than four decades.
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Pat Metheny on TKA
Stony Plain Records proudly announces the release on July 17 of Father’s Day, the new CD from Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters. Any day a new Ronnie Earl album is released is cause for celebration, but on this powerful new release, he and the band truly create a new blues holiday.
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Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters on TKA
Gary Hoey came onto the guitar scene like a Whirling Dervish. He was determined and focused on where he wanted to take his career. Almost a quarter of a century later, Hoey is still looking for new avenues to explore. Needless to say, Gary Hoey is man of many faces, but he always lets his guitar do the talking.
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Gary Hoey on TKA
To say Cécile McLorin Salvant was great in her Kilbourn Hall performance Sunday evening would be an understatement. She understood, inhabited, and delivered the Great American Songbook like no one else I’ve ever heard. In fact, you could say she excavated forgotten parts of it and struck gold. Her vocal range, from way down low to the register of angels was impressive but her emotional range was far wider. She packed more into one word than most singers put into a whole song.
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Cecile McLorin Salvant on TKA
When asked if he considers himself prolific, blues guitarist Ronnie Earl says with a laugh, “I don’t know if I would call myself prolific at anything.” With a career spanning close to 40 years (25 of those with his band, the Broadcasters) Earl isn’t one to oversell himself.
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Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters on TKA
You’re playing 300 shows a year worldwide. Have you always worked this hard?
My father died when I was 11, leaving six kids. My brothers Chris, Phil and I had to be the breadwinners. From when I was about 12, we were living in Parkes, NSW, and I stocked supermarket shelves, mowed lawns, taught guitar, and Phil and I had a band playing every weekend. And I went to school. I was very industrious.
Read the full interview on THE AUSTRALIAN
Tommy Emmanuel on TKA
Cecile McLorin Salvant made it two back-to-back triumphs at the New Orleans Jazz Fest on Friday at the Jazz Tent. Salvant, a romping 21st century singer, made it look easy with sterling support from the trio of pianist Aaron Diehl.
If you’re a fan of jazz singers, please note that Salvant, age 25, already stands with the best. Her organ pipe chest voice is a resonant match for Sarah Vaughn in high diva mode. Her harmonic imagination and vaulting dynamic shifts are a match for those of Betty Carter. And, when she swings, she walks the same clouds of joy trod by Ella Fitzgerald.
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Cecile McLorin Salvant on TKA