Lazaro Vega

I think Bethany went to Michigan State. He's mentioned one of his daughter's did.

How about an Organissimo/Cuong Vu trio double bill at The Intersection, or the Creole Gallery?????? He wants to come back and play at Schulers, though a club would be ideal with their volume level.

Note from the tenor: Hello Friends: I am writing to let you all know that I will be performing with my long-standing trio (with Jesse Dulman-Tuba and Ravish Momin-Percussion) at the prestigious Tel Aviv Jazz Festival on Saturday, Feb. 18th. Thank you all for your support, past and present. Peace and Blessings, Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre http://www.aacmchicago.org/members/kalaparush_bio.html

Yes, that was music from "It's Mostly Residual," Cuong Vu's recent recording. Randy Marsh called from the road to say tonight's live broadcast was like a black belt kung fu battle. Anyone else happen to catch the program live? Cuong said, "I sweat blood for you tonight." Drummer Ted Poor with low tuned loud kit playing off inspiration from Jack DeJohnette in hard driving rock vocabulary morphing through into free improv. Are those fat Art Blakey size sticks double AA's? Electric bass and effects by Stomu Takeishi sounding like multiple overdubs. He is gone to his own world, with an eye on how it contributes to the ensemble effect. And his speaker case will survive next to the roaches. Thing weighs a ton. Three instrumentalists playing music of gradual but extremely varied ensemble textures and dynamics hung on Vu's compositionally suggested moods. Special thanks to the grapes of Argentina and the Luberon region of France.

Nice Klook discography included, too. A meaningful addition to the library.

John J: by all means go see Ornette. You won't forget the experience.

Jim Eigo has a promotional company which sends out press releases on a variety of jazz events and record releases. We get many such things at the radio station. I didn't even think of the commercial implications when posting that, it's just information flowing over the desk that I thought people might be interested in (and I have no time to re-write something like that to make it anything other than a press release). But Chuck is right: if Jim wants to reach this audience with his commercial activity he could buy an ad-banner or something. Otherwise I need to be cognizant of net-i-quette for this sort of thing. It isn't a controversy, it is Ann Landers.

p.m. arriving from the heliocentric world of cyberspace

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=7451

February 14, 2006 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, jazzpromo@earthlink.net IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB 1650 BROADWAY (Corner of 51st) NEW YORK, NY 10023 RESERVATIONS: 212-582-2121, www.iridiumjazzclub.com Sets at 8 & 10PM Weds. March 15, 22, 29 THE MUSIC OF WAYNE SHORTER WITH THE WAYNE SHORTER REPATORY ORCHESTRA “ENDANGERED SPECIES” UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DAVID WEISS Jeremy Pelt (March 15), Keyon Harrold (March 22 and 29), Taylor Haskins- Trumpets Myron Walden- Alto Sax, Jimmy Greene (March 15 and 22), Eli Degibri (March 29), Bill McHenry- Tenor Saxes Baritone Sax- tba, Josh Roseman, Joe Fiedler- Trombones, Xavier Davis- Piano, Dwayne Burno- bass, EJ Strickland- Drums The Iridium Jazz Club is pleased to present “Endangered Species” The Music Of Wayne Shorter With The Wayne Shorter Repertory Orchestra Under The Direction Of David Weiss for three Wednesday’s in March. Wayne Shorter is one of the most important composers of the post be-bop era and perhaps the greatest jazz composer alive. His all-encompassing work starts with the hard bop classic compositions he wrote for Art Blakey, on to his groundbreaking Blue Note records which featured many tunes that have become timeless jazz standards, his innovative, conceptual records like “The All Seeing Eye”, his fusion hits with Weather Report, his brilliant almost through composed work such as “Atlantis”, and his later orchestral reworkings of some of his classic tunes. It is very unlikely there has been another composer who has covered more musical territory more brilliantly than Wayne Shorter. The concept of the Endangered Species band is to pay tribute to one of jazz’ greatest composers while he is still alive and approach his work as he would, as an ever changing, always evolving body of work. The group will perform music from all eras of Mr. Shorter’s great career from the Blakey era (“Mr. Jin”), through music from “The All Seeing Eye”, up to his latest compositions from “Alegria” and “High Life”. Award winning composer (winner of the prestigious Chamber Music America Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project: New Works Creation and Presentation grant and the American Composers Forum’s Jerome Composers Commissioning Program.) and arranger (Down Beat Critics Award, Rising Star Arranger) David Weiss has reimagined Mr.Shorter’s work for a 11 piece mini big band that features many of the finest young players and rising stars on the jazz scene today including Jeremy Pelt, Keyon Harrold, Jimmy Greene, Eli Degibri, Myron Walden, Bill McHenry, Josh Roseman, Joe Fiedler, Xavier Davis, Dwayne Burno, EJ Strickland. ##### Edit per Chuck's suggestion.

I grew up loving Grover, Herbie's Headhunters, all the funk jazz crossover that reached millions of idiots in the 70's. Yes, if you're going to start somewhere you might as well start stupid. That's America. That's "crossover." Except it isn't far from "Headhunters" to "Maiden Voyage" and then into one of Miles great bands, so there was something there. With Kenny G you're Wile E. Coyote trying to run on air after moving off of the Kenny G. butte. Saw Grover on his Mr. Magic tour which was, you know since Grand Rapids is about a decade behind the rest of the world, like the cover of "On the Corner" come to life: cats dressed to the nines in 70's chic, giant Thomas McAnn shoes, furs or maxi black leather super fly double breasted leather coats, leather brimmed hats, and their women were all feathered up or in shiny mini's. It was great. Went with a drummer. We were both in high school and about the only two NOT fly people in the Aquinas College field house. Grover was a Philly man and though is music was melody based with a beautiful sound it was groovy as hell -- all about rhythm. Kenny doesn't have that part of Grover figured out which is why his music sounds so empty. Grover's recordings would include a Strayhorn number here and there, you know, Passion Flower. Grover had that tradition to play off of whereas, as Zerwin notes, Mr. G. sniffs his nose at the idea of ideas in evolution. Sanborn still gets traction with me, too, though I'm happy to say it isn't all nostalgia: he's great for a beer party prequil to the orgy dance party. Or just some hard driving rhythm playing. He and Maceo would make a hell of a record together.

As far as I can tell from recordings and his web site, yes, all original music. Maybe you can tune in and see what you think.

Cuong Vu Trio on tour right now: 2/13/2006 Philadelphia U of Penn Houston Hall/Bodek Lounge 3417 Spruce Street CV Trio 2/14/2006 Cleveland Passport Project 12801 Buckeye Road CV Trio 2/15/2006 Listen in live at www.bluelake.org FM 88.9 (Grand Rapids, MI), FM 90.3 (Musekgon, MI) CV Trio at 10pm 2/17/2006 Cedar Falls, IA UNI Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center CV Trio 2/18/2006 Cedar Falls, IA UNI Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center CV Trio 2/19/2006 Green Bay FIVE SIX 405 W. Walnut Street CV Trio 2/20/2006 Ann Arbor Kerrytown Concert House 415 North Fourth Avenue CV Trio 2/21/2006 Ann Arbor Univ. or Mich, Room 1321, School of Music CV Trio - Workshop 2/22/2006 Chicago HotHouse 31 E Balbo Ave CV Trio 2/23/2006 Buffalo Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center 341 Delaware Ave CV Trio 2/24/2006 Columbus, OH Acme Art Company 1230 Courtland Ave CV Trio 2/25/2006 Baltimore An Die Musik 409 North Charles St. CV Trio 2/26/2006 Syracuse Jazz Central - 441 E. Washington St. CV Trio 2/27/2006 Eastman School of Music 26 Gibbs St CV Trio Clinic 2/27/2006 Rochester BopShop Atrium 274 Goodman Street North CV Trio 2/28/2006 Boston Berklee College of Music CV - Artist in Residence

I see Nat Hentoff will be featured on "Piano Jazz" this week for those of you who have NPR stations who carry it. Blue Lake will broadcast the Hentoff program at 10 a.m. this Saturday morning. www.bluelake.org

He left out Golf and Jeff Lorber but otherwise this is a perfectly insulting piece of straight up biography.

Portrait: Kenny G From Ice Capades to Web Controversy By Mike Zwerin PARIS, 26 July 2000 - The first time 10-year-old Kenny Gorelick took this neat little sax out of its case and put it together he thought wow, this is fun, I'm going to have a great time with this thing. By the fourth grade he was already the best sax player in the school. The teachers gave him perks and encouraged him. Older guys would ask him how he did this or that and he thought gee whiz, they're asking me and I'm just a kid, I guess I have a knack for this thing. Teachers patted him on the back and said "hey, you're great" and even if he wasn't as good as all that it made him want to try harder. Grover Washington Jr. was already making records playing the sax. Kenny liked Grover's style. He decided that, if Grover could do it, he could make a living playing the sax, too. The band director at the University of Washington was contracting musicians for shows that came through Seatlle - The Ice Capades, Johnny Mathis, Liberace, Sammy Davis Jr. and so on. The band director took Kenny under his wing. He gave Kenny some calls and it was easy for him. He was the only young musician included with all those older union guys. It was fun. It was no problem. Twenty years later, now billed as Kenny G, his albums are in every elevator and airport you have the misfortune to go down in or pass through. (One nice thing about the French is that he is not popular in France.) It has gotten so by now that any pop album without a vocal on it is called "smooth jazz." As if the rest of it were bumpy. Millions and millions of units sold. G's success gets a lot of jazz people mad. The late Grover Washington and David Sanborn are the only two saxophone players who even come close in sales. G can't really say what's different between his style and theirs, but he does hint, accompanied by expressive eye-contact, that his music must be better than theirs because he sells more records than they do. I am not making this up. An angry critique of G by the guitarist Pat Metheny has recently been widely circulated on the internet. Metheny is correct but he wastes his time and energy. The music isn't good enough to deserve an intelligent analysis. There's nothing new about the success of dumb music. The fight against vulgar and dishonest music is long lost. Better to spend your time listening to Mozart. Critics describe his music as bland, sappy, shallow, soporific, and boring. Some people call it "yuppie jazz." Kenny does not believe that yuppie is meant in a flattering way. It's not something he'd like to see on his tombstone. But it doesn't really bother him. Yuppies are people who are better educated getting those accounting firm jobs, the advertising firms and the lawyers. He's not saying they're better people, but they need to relax more than blue-collar people. It's fine either way. Nobody's better than anybody or anything but if it's true that yuppies are under more pressure, then his kind of music seems to relax them. It's just a theory he has. Might be 100 percent wrong. Probably is. It's a question of taste. It so happens at this time that people are inclined to be more attracted to Kenny's music. Kenny imagines from his 44 years on this earth that women like softer music. They are the ones who are buying his records. He's sold a lot of records. That's great. But it doesn't mean he's going to change everything because of success and notoriety. It doesn't mean he's going to be a singer or movie star. People get crazy. They think they can do anything. He's been playing sax for 34 years. He can't all of a sudden do something else. Sometimes he gets calls to do music that isn't his own. He has to say no. Music is easy for him or he can't do it. That big hit he had, "Songbird," it wasn't written to be a hit. That's just the kind of music he writes and it became popular anyway. That's the way it has to be. Easy. Other guys drive themselves nuts looking for better equipment. He has the same Selmer sax with the same mouthpiece and the same brand reed since he started. The saxophone is an extension of himself. When he wakes up, he doesn't say let me change my left arm today. If he feels good, his sax feels good. It's part of himself. If neither of them feels good one day, that's fine, he can live with imperfection. He'd rather go to the movies with his girlfriend than spend time in shops looking for the magic horn. He already has it. He'd rather go swimming, or for a hike, or a bike ride. He wants to be a well-rounded person. He's always thinking about how to become a better leader. He believes in leading by example. You have to be a good communicator. If somebody has a problem, wait for the right moment and get it settled. It's difficult, the guys in the band are on the road as much as experiencing the same hardships and their rewards are not as much as his. He's known two of his guys for 26 years. They're not quite as peer-like as they were. When he comes into the middle of a conversation and they're talking about financing a new synthesizer they say something to him like, "Go out and buy a Porsche. Come back later." They don't want him around right then. It hurts his feelings. He'll live with it. He has to - short of splitting everything seven ways which isn't fair either. So he tries to give better perks, like flying their girlfriends to Hawaii. But people don't remember those things. Ten days later they're mad at you for not giving them enough per diem. That's just the way it is. He's the boss. He never listened to Coleman Hawkins and those older guys. Early Coltrane, that's as far back as he can go. He never learned the old standard songs either, just started off with the Ice Capades in Seatlle and then his own things. If you gave him a page with chords on it, he couldn't play a note. He watches other guys reading all those complicated symbols, he can't imagine how they do it. He guesses he could learn how if he had to but he can do his own stuff in his context better than anybody and he's getting a lot of radio play. He must be doing something right. He'd like to live more in the present. He envies people who can stop planning who don't think about the future, like about what to do for dinner tonight. That's difficult for him. He's always been one of these achiever-type people. Very motivated. An American dream guy all the way. Push push push. Try try try. Study study study. One of the guys in the band tells him he should stop and smell the roses. He'd like to come to Europe to live, he wishes he could learn other languages and other cultures instead of being isolated and ignorant. A lot of Americans are ignorant about what goes on in the world. He envies somebody who can speak French. He loves Seattle, though. Seattle's a great town. Mike Zwerin has been jazz and rock critic for the International Herald Tribune for the last twenty years. He was also the European correspondent for The Village Voice. Mike Zwerin is the author of several books on jazz and the jazz editor of Culturekiosque.com.

Jim are you talking about "Lost Brother"? http://www.hopscotchrecords.com/assif.html

Good for the Jammies to realize what a fine band is in their midst.

But he's more convincing on "So Tired" now.

100 copies of John Hollenbeck's album is, wow. You'd think with a piece inspired by the theme to Marian McParland's "Piano Jazz" ("Folkmoot") he'd have garnered airplay all over the country, Earl. Of course, air play is not the same as passing over a laser and into Sound Sca(m)n. I imagine there were at least four promo copies sent into Michigan for radio airplay, and if they went out in those numbers to other states...In any case, it's not a bad album. Glad the Gram Nom helped open up some doors for sir stick a lot.

The Cuong Vu Trio performs live on Blue Lake Public Radio Wednesday, February 15th from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. est. Please join Cuong Vu, trumpet; Stomu Takeishi, bass; and Ted Poor, drums, on WBLV FM 90.3 (Muskegon and the Lake Michigan shoreline)/WBLU FM 88.9 (Grand Rapids, Michigan)/ and streaming live over www.bluelake.org . Jazz Director Lazaro Vega will host and Program Director Steve Albert is broadcast engineer for this performance. There will be no archiving of Vu’s appearance on the Blue Lake web site, though the recording will be available for future broadcast on the radio. For a full schedule of this tour, and for great photos of Vu on tour with Pat Metheny, see www.cuongvu.com Bio from www.cuongvu.com Cuong Vu is widely recognized by jazz critics as a leader of a new generation of innovative musicians. A truly unique musical voice, Cuong has lent his trumpet playing talents to a wide range of artists including Pat Metheny, Laurie Anderson, David Bowie, Dave Douglas, Cibo Matto, Mitchell Froom, and Chris Speed. Since moving to New York in 1994, Cuong has been active leading various groups, most notably his trio with Stomu Takeishi (bass) and Ted Poor (drums). He has toured extensively throughout the world and has given clinics and master classes throughout the US and Europe. As a leader, Cuong has released four recordings, “Bound” (OmniTone), “Pure” (Knitting Factory Records), “Come Play With Me” (Knitting Factory Records) and “It's Mostly Residual” (ArtistShare) to critical acclaim, with each one having been considered among the best recordings of their respective years. Each record displays how he has carved out a distinctive sonic territory on the trumpet while blurring all stylistic borders. Cuong was born on September 19, 1969 in Saigon, Vietnam. He immigrated to Seattle at the age of 6 and began playing the trumpet at the age of 11. His intense dedication and love for music led him to a full scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies with a distinction in performance. While at NEC, Cuong was greatly influenced by saxophonist Joe Maneri who encouraged him to push the established sonority and role of the trumpet into areas that had yet to be explored. A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Cuong was awarded the Colbert Award for Excellence: The Downtown Arts Project Emerging Artist Award and was mentioned as one of the top 50 young Jazz Artists in an article called “The New Masters” from the British magazine, “Classic CD”. In 2002 and 2006, Cuong was a recipient of the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album as a member of the Pat Metheny Group. Press from www.cuongvu.com There are few trumpeters in downtown music who play with as much authority as Cuong Vu. His compositions…with their skillfully written sequential episodes through patches of woolliness and calm, are fast gaining pace with his strong tone and improvisational skill. NY Times It’s Mostly Residual is more about crafting haunting sounds capes than running scales...So it’s all right, then, that to me It’s Mostly Residual’s title track opens like a dawn-chorus invocation of a sun-and-surf summer’s day, or that “Brittle, Like Twigs” is reminiscent of an urban car chase in which every corner turned reveals a surprise, or that “Blur” appears to meld ambient drone-scapes with the kind of ever-rising melody that wouldn’t be out of place behind the closing scenes of a Hollywood epic. Georgia Straight "It's hard to avoid references to Miles Davis when talking about the trumpet, but Cuong is the nearest thing I've heard to someone encapsulating and surpassing Davis' range of textures. Imagine, if you will, Bitches Brew or On The Corner, but with more cinematic clarity and less drug-addled wank. That's where Cuong Vu and his musical juggernaut are sitting, just waiting to crush you. And you'll love it." Splendidezine.com

In the liner notes to “Thirteen Pictures: The Charles Mingus Anthology” (Rhino Records). Andrew Homzy writes “Among Mingus’ extended works, ‘Meditations on Integration’ ranks with his greatest accomplishments.” At one point he writes, “The penultimate, and perhaps best, ensemble performance of 'Meditations' was that done for a CBC television program in Toronto on Halloween 1964. For this occasion the composer augmented his reed section to include five saxoponists and an oboist. One reason this version sounds so good is that adequate rehearsal time was provided --- if only to allow the camera operators to block out their positions!” Anyone have a lead on that program? Homzy's source?

Tricky Sam!!!! Thanks for listening. Billie Holiday tonight.

wblv fm 90.3 serving Muskegon and the Lake Michigan shoreline wblu fm 88.9 serving Grand Rapids, MI www.bluelake.org (includes links to NPR jazz stories and live streaming schedule) Lazaro Vega, jazz director Midnight Cooper-Moore (with David S. Ware), Ensemble 1 redo ; 1978 Outtakes: Hopscotch Records Oliver Lake, Cloth; Live: Passin' Thru Assif Tsahar/Cooper-Moore/Hamid Drake, Seeking the Punto Fijo; Lost Brother: Hopscotch Records Cuong Vu (who appears live on Blue Lake, Weds 2-15 at 10 p.m.), Brittle, Like Twigs; It's Mostly Residual: Cuong's label Mike Reed, 3. w/Nicole Mitchell; In the Context Of: 482 Music The Respect Sextet, Our Nation's Capital; Respect In You: Roister Records Albert Ayler, Spirits Rejoice; Spirits Rejoice: ESP Disk' Positive listener comments on this seque set from late last night: Joachim Kuhn, She and He is Who Fenn Love/Allotropes, Elements Different Forms or Same; Allegro Vivace: ACT Ornette Coleman/Joachim Kuhn, Night Plans; Colors live from Leipzig: Verve Dominc Duval/Joe McPhee, While My Lady Sleeps; Rules of Engagement V. 2: Drimala

Pistons 97 Clippers 87 AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Tayshaun Prince scored 22 points to help the Detroit Pistons snap the L-A Clippers four-game winning streak 97-to-87. The Clippers were without Sam Cassell, who sat out with back spasms. The Pistons have beaten the Clippers seven straight times. Rasheed Wallace had 19 points for Detroit while Chauncey Billups added 18 points. Elton Brand led the Clippers with 30 points, and Cuttino Mobley added 27. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-02-08-06 2233EST