Lazaro Vega

Don Ellis and his four valve trumpet....

Good to hear the segment on pitch correction technology on Weekend Edition today where you took the human out of Lee Ann Hanson's all too human voice.

November 14, 2008 The Jazz Datebook: Regular Hits: Mondays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The What Not Inn features a jam session open to musicians and vocalists and featuring local, regional and international jazz musicians sitting in with the “house” band with pianist Wally Michaels, bassist Jeff Beavin and drummer Jack Wilkins. No cover charge. Music also presented Saturdays and Sundays. www.whatnotinn.com. The What Not Inn is located at M89 and the Blue Star Highway, 2405 68th Street, Fennville, MI. (269) 543-3341. Tuesday, December 2nd from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 The Truth In Jazz Orchestra plays swinging improvisational jazz at The West Side Inn, 1635 Beidler St, Muskegon, MI. Fronted by West Michigan's legendary drummer Tim Froncek the TIJO is 16 Muskegon’s crowning glory: the highest level musicians play charts from the classic big band era and today's challenging writing for large ensemble. The band was organized by Dave Collee, Ed Spier, and Matt Lintula to perform great songs and the most demanding music literature for big band. They have the players to pull it off, plus it is a great hang! More from www.tijo.org. Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. the Mike Michewicz Quartet plays classic and contemporary jazz on the patio at Zeytin Turkish Restaurant, 400 Ada Dr S.E., Ada Township, 49301. Regular members of the saxophonist’s band are pianist Steve Talaga, drummer/trumpeter Max Colley, and bassist Tom Lockwood. No cover. Thursdays through December from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Junior John plays jazz at Louis Benton Steakhouse, 77 Monroe Center NW, Grand Rapids MI 49503. The group features saxophonist John Gist, pianist Paul Lesinski and drummer Kevin Depree. They’ll be taking Thanksgiving and Christmas off. (616) 454 – 7455 or www.louisbenton.com . Thursdays from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Baton Rouge, LA native Sweet Willie Singleton, or varying cast of Grand Rapids jazz musicians, swing at Gill’s Blue Crab Lounge in The B.O.B., 20 Monroe Ave. N.W., Grand Rapids. Thursday evening local live jazz or blues is featured at Naya’s Restaurant, 1144 East Paris, Grand Rapids, MI. (616) 719 – 4400. www.nayagr.com. Fridays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. live music in the Peter M. Wege Pavilion at The Grand Rapids Art Museum, 101 Monroe Center, Grand Rapids, with a Jazz Encore from 7:45 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, November 21st, bassist Jeff Beaven’s trio; 28th, The Fred Knapp Trio; Jazz Returns Friday, December 26th. GRAM is also presenting classical chamber music Sunday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. See www.artmuseumgr.org or call (616) 831 – 1000. Three Fridays a month trumpeter/vocalist/entertainer Sweet Willie Singleton plays jazz in Ada during the dinner hour (6 to 9 p.m.) at the Thornapple Daily Grill, 445 Ada Drive, Ada, MI. (616) 676-1233 www.thegilmorecollection.com/Thornapple/thornapple.html. Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. live local jazz, blues and other musical forms at The Grand Seafood and Oyster Bar, 24 Washington St., Grand Haven. Live local jazz or blues guitarists on Wednesday evenings from 8 to 11 p.m. (616) 844- 5055. Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pumpernickels, 202 Butler St., Saugatuck, guitarist Chip Kristi plays jazz for breakfast. (269) 857-1196. Timely Hits: Thursday, November 20th at 8 p.m. guitarist Eric Menendez Trio, “All Strings Considered,” performs at Z’s Bar and Restaurant, 168 Louis Campau Promenade NW, Grand Rapids. www.zsbar.com. Friday, November 21st at 8:15 p.m. clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski is the guest artist with the University Jazz Orchestra and University Jazz Lab Band as The Western Michigan University School of Music presents their 26th Annual Tribute to the Great Swing Bands at Dalton Center Recital Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. See www.kenpeplowski.com for more information. Tickets through the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office, (800) 228 – 9858. Sunday, November 22nd from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. The Rhythm Section Jazz Band with vocalist Francesca Amari swings at Westwood at the Crossing, 5760 West River Drive, Grand Rapids. The group performs on there on the third Sunday of each month. Saturday, November 28th Smooth Jazz and Poetry with The Social Exchange at 3668 29th Street, Kentwood. Featuring music by Too Smooth for Notes and poetry by Nalink. Information from www.sonicbids.com/toosmoothfornotes.com or by calling (616) 248 – 4291. See myspace.com/thesocialexchange for more information. Sunday, November 30th from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. a benefit for jazz drummer Randy Marsh’s twin sister Pam Castleman at Knight’s of Casimir Hall, 6th and Davis NW, Grand Rapids. Food, raffle, and music by Organissimo, The Greg Nagy Trio, Root Doctor, The Cooper/Hay/VanLente Trio and others. Donations are requested to help pay Pam’s hospital bills and her eventual rehabilitation at Mary Free Bed. Donations may be made to the Pamela Castleman Benefit Account, c/o Union Bank of Hastings, 529 W. State Street, Hastings, MI, 49058. Wednesday, December 3rd at 9 p.m. saxophonist Eric Alexander leads his quartet featuring Billy Hart, drums, Peter Zak, piano, and Tom Knific, bass, in a concert to benefit the Billy Hart Jazz Scholarship at Western Michigan University. The performance takes place at The Union Cabaret and Grille, 125 South Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo, MI. Admission is $20; $5 for students, and available at the door. See www.wmich.edu/jazzstudies. Thursday, December 4th from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. The Beltline Big Band and the West Michigan Jazz Society present, “’Tis the Season to be Swinging,” a holiday jazz party at The Kopper Top Guest House, 634 Stocking N.W., Grand Rapids, 49504. Tickets are $25 per person and include a buffet dinner of beef sirloin medallions and chicken breasts. Reservations to (616) 458 – 0125 or by mail to The West Michigan Jazz Society, 304 Paris S.E., Grand Rapids MI 49503. The Beltline Big Band, formed nine years ago by Marilyn and Steve Tyree, specializes in jazz and dance music of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Saturday, December 6th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. auditions are being held for the new St. Cecilia Music Center’s School of Music All-Star Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Kurt Ellenberger. The new ensemble is designed for serious high school jazz musicians. For the audition: Students will be asked to perform a solo jazz piece from a “lead sheet” or a school band piece as well as be asked to improvise, play Major and Minor scales and sight read. Rehearsals start January 5th and continue to May 12th every Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. To schedule and audition please phone Martha Cudlipp at (616) 459 – 2224. Sunday December 7nd from 6 to 8 p.m. The Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra performs at Founder’s Brewing Company, 235 Grandville Avenue S.W., Grand Rapids. Information from www.grjo.com. Sunday, December 14th at 5 p.m. pianist Steve Talaga presents a special Christmas Service at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church, 7495 Cascade Road SE, Grand Rapids. (616) 942 – 2741. Saturday, December 20th pianist Steve Talaga and Mind’s Eye is heard from 6 to 7 p.m. in the First United Methodist Jazz Vespers service at 227 East Fulton St. Grand Rapids. Then: January 17th, Hugh DeWitt and Friends; February 21st drummer Keith Hall and Another Dimension; March 21st, Nelson Wood and the Village Jazz Trio; April 18th, drummer/trumpeter Max Colley III; May 16th, vibraphonist Jim Cooper. Information from (616) 451 – 2879 ext. 126 or www.grandrapidsfumc.org. Friday, January 9th from 7 to 10 p.m. guitarist Rick Hicks plays jazz at The Alley Door Club, part of the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Muskegon. Music is heard on the second and fourth Fridays of each month until May 8th. January 23rd, The Buster Blues Band; February 13th, jazz by Organissimo; February 27th, vocalist Edye Evans Hyde sings jazz; March 13th Big Daddy Fox plays R&B; March 27th, Root Doctor plays the blues; April 10th is singer/songwriter night; April 24th Troll For Trout plays modern folk; and May 8th the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Jazz All Stars swing hard. Tickets are $6 at the door. Information from (231) 727 – 8001 or www.frauenthal.info. Thursday, January 15th at 8 p.m. The Tord Gustavsen Trio from Norway performs at 8 p.m. in the Dalton Center Recital Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, as part of the Fontana Chamber Arts Winter Season. See http://www.norway.org/culture/music/tordtrio+turne.htm. Vibraphonist Stefon Harris and Blackout appear Thursday May 14th. Information from (269) 382-7774. The Fontana Chamber Arts is located at the Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Suite 200, Kalamazoo, MI 49007. www.fontanachamberarts.org . Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. vocalist/pianist Freddy Cole, Nat King Cole’s younger brother, appears in St. Cecilia Music Center’s jazz series at Royce Auditorium, 24 Ransom Avenue N.E., Grand Rapids. Tickets are available from (616) 459 – 2224 or from www.scms-online.org .

He was a mofo. The joke, of course, is that the one brother didn't go into music.

Dr. John Hair, a trombonist from Grand Rapids, went to high school with Wilbur Ware's son in Grand Rapids. A couple of years ago Ware's son called me on the air to thank the station for doing well by his dad. The son says he now live in Arizona, I believe it was, but there was a time when his dad lived in Grand Rapids. I think it was last summer, too, when a bunch of Blue Lake faculty jazz musicians were playing a private party in Grand Rapids, something sponsored by the DeVos family for upper echelon Christian ministers. One of them approached the band and asked, "Have you ever heard of my dad or my brother? My name is (can't recall the first name) Ammons." The band couldn't believe it. Gene Ammons brother said that most of the family went into music, but he's lived his life in the church, to which one of the guys in the band said, "Well, no family is perfect!"

Latest news from Aaron Parks: "Thursday, November 06, 2008 M.T. update Hey everyone, The show of support for Mark over the last few days has been incredible. Please keep the positivity flowing in. A lot of people have been asking for an update, so I wanted to pass along the little bit of information that I know. The surgery was this morning, with one of the best hand surgeons in the country, and it apparently went as well as could be hoped for. It'll take some time to know whether the procedure will ultimately be successful in restoring the full use of his hand, but everyone is hoping for the best. Mark is, of course, inspiringly Zen about the whole thing, already accepting things however they turn out. We'll just have to wait: time will tell, I guess. Many people have asked if there's a way they could help financially. I'll look into it to see if he's receptive to that kind of thing. Will let you know. Thanks again for all the love you've shown towards him and his family..." See: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...iendid=71196347

From Aaron Parks... "Hello all, I'm sure that everyone is awaiting the results of this monumentally important election. Hopefully it all goes well, and we will have the chance to begin some of the changes that this country so desperately needs. I'm afraid I have some sobering news to share, though, about one of my friends, someone who is an inspiration to countless musicians, a true genius, and a beautiful spirit: Mark Turner. A few minutes ago, I received a text message from Kurt Rosenwinkel informing me that Mark severely cut two of his fingers with a power saw, and is in the hospital awaiting surgery tomorrow morning. They will be trying to reattach nerves, tendons, and arteries. With luck, the surgery will be successful, and he will eventually regain the use of his injured fingers. It'll be no less than 6 months of rehab, though. I asked Kurt whether I should keep it quiet or not, and he told me it would be okay to blog about it and get as much positive energy sent in Mark's direction as possible right now, especially until tomorrow's surgery is finished. So, everyone, please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers tonight, and tomorrow morning. My heart is hurting as I imagine the pain that they must be going through right now. There's not much more I can say. I'm having a difficult time imagining what kind of silver lining can be found in a senseless accident of this kind. Let's just hope that everything heals, that his recovery is speedy, and that he'll soon regain full command of his instrument and will be once again creating those moments of transcendent musical beauty, in the way that he always so uniquely does."

www.radioink.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shareholders' Group Sues Sirius XM LOS ANGELES -- November 4, 2008: A group of shareholders calling itself "Save Sirius" has filed suit against Sirius XM Radio, accusing the satcasters' management of violating RICO and other laws and seeking to block the issuing of more shares or a reverse stock split.

Yes, I attended a presentation sponsored by Northwestern University's alumni association on the digital newsroom and they pointed to a handfull of small mid-west newspapers that created a hybrid of print and on-line desks, often with an on-line staff the fraction of the size of the print staff (maybe 8 people, the same size as our radio station staff). The interactivity of the on-line experience was knocking people out. For instance a story on heavy metal levels in fish had as a sidebar a little calculator where you could enter your weight, how much salmon and tuna you eat a year and they'd assess your risk level, or some such thing. There were many journalists from the Grand Rapids Press in attendance, but were bemoaning their inability to institute these kinds of innovations. The MI-Live situation, where several papers owned by the same company share a web presence, doesn't make room for each paper to have a dedicated web site on that level. Or that's where they were then.....

And the localism of, say, a jazz concert happening at a certain venue -- a daily paper can rally a crowd much more effectively than a bunch of on-line sources. The print version of The Grand Rapids Press reaches more households than any single local Internet news site. However, the likelyhood of the paper covering any event with an attendance under 1,000 is getting less and less as they model and more on a USA Today type presentation. It seemed counter-intuitive to go that way, to a more generalized news approach and away from localism, and as far as the arts are concerned that is not a good move. There are some innovative things happening in the local arts scene. For instance a group of church choirs banded together and commissioned a piece from Micheal Abene, I believe it was. The choirs all debuted his work as he toured to their locales, and by having more than one group involved in the commission they could afford it. The paper didn't cover this. Great story. Could have garnered them a lot of good will. There are many members to a choir. In a town whose social fabric is based in the church communities to have ignored this because it wasn't "big" enough from an audience point of view, i.e. stadium concert, was suicide. If there's no talking to a paper, if it is all one way, what can they expect? A multiplicty of voices encourages Democracy. To have as large and easily accessed a "voice" as print newspapers cut out of the dialogue is not a good thing. That's on the downside of capitalism (for anyone keeping score).

The sound on the Prestige three CD set is much, much better than this Acrobat release.... ....nevermind.....

I think the loss is more profound than that, especially as regards Democracy.

There's a version of "I Love Paris" by the Marty Paich Orchestra featuring Art Pepper that's cool.

Ee-gads, guys: thanks for the info. In the Acrobat release the personnel is listed as, "Miles Davis, trumpet; Nat Adderley, clarinet; Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, alto sax; Bennie Green, trombone; Gerry Mulligan, baritone sax; William "Red" Garland, piano; Barry Miles, drums; Chris Nirobe, percussion; Candido, percussion." (Those italics were added).

This one, Jim: http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/Th...intet-Sessions/ http://www.amazon.com/Legendary-Prestige-Q...s/dp/B000F5GNXS And Jim you're right about the Jam Session track.

(From the L.A. Times) Here, There and Everywhere: The Times October 27, 2008 - irom By Don Heckman When I attended the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition events this past weekend, I ran into many friends from the jazz community. Since the Competition is an international event, there were folks from L.A., as well as many other parts of the coutnry and the world. Every one asked me about the diminishing presence of jazz coverage in the Los Angeles Times. Knowing that I have been covering jazz, and other musics, at the paper for more than twenty years - as the principal jazz critic and jazz writer since Leonard Feather died in 1994 - they all expressed concern about whether they would continue to read my commentaries in the LAT. Today I've received a flurry of emails, as well as copies of letters sent to the Times expressing concern over the cutback in jazz coverage. Some have distorted or misunderstood the situation, as I discussed it with my friends and colleagues at the Monk gathering. So I thought it would be useful to simply explain what I know about it. The reduction in jazz coverage at the Times actually began 7 or 8 years ago when jazz was moved into the Pop Music area. Prior to that I frequently did three or four reviews a week, as well as a Sunday record review column and a Friday Jazz column. Under Pop Music, the coverage was reduced to two reviews a week, the Sundy jazz record review section to once a month, and the Friday column was discontinued. Several months ago, a new editor took over the reins of the pop music department from the acting editor. I was told, almost immediately, by her that jazz reviews would be reduced in number, and would essentially have to be pitched to her for approval That represented an immediate and significant change, since - as one who is deeply aware of developments in jazz, here and elsewhere - I had generally done my own scheduling of reviews, with oversight from the acting editor. In addition, the Sunday jazz record review spotlight disappeared. In scheduling my reviews - of both live concerts and recordings - I tried to balance the major name programs with as much coverage as possible for the Southland's huge array of world class jazz talent. That approach became virtually impossible when the reviews were cut back to one a week. Within a month or two, they were cut to one every ten days. After that it became a matter of submitting events I thought were important, and hoping that coverage would be permitted. It usually wasn't. About two or more months ago, I was advised by that the free lance budget for Pop had run out for the year, and that I should contact my editor in late December to consider what could be covered when the new budget came into effect in January. Basically that meant that I could do no reviews for the last 3 1/2 months of the year. Let me add a little background here. Despite my 22 years and over 5,000 bylined reviews, articles and stories in the LA Times, I am still nominally a free-lancer, since I've always refused offers to go on staff. What this means, of course, is that - if there is no free-lance budget - a staff writer could be assigned to cover jazz reviews, despite the fact that there is no one on the staff who is qualified to do so. Starting about a month ago, I began emailing my editor, pointing out that - if there if only one jazz event could be covered before the end of the year, it should be the Monk Competition event at the Kodak this past weekend. My request was refused several times. I informed the Monk folks of the situation, and they began to contact my editor to urge coverage. Eventually, she apparently agreed to do so, assigning a staff writer to do the review. It will appear in the paper tomorrow. It may well be that the letters that are being sent to the LAT, expressing concern about the reduction of jazz coverage, will be responded to with some minimal coverage of jazz by staff writers with little knowledge of the music. And tomorrow's review of the Monk event will no doubt be cited as evidence of the paper's continuing interest in jazz. This, despite the fact that it will be the first jazz review in the paper since August 1. But I can only wonder why the Music department seems to have a budget to employ a free-lance reviewer one or two times a week to write about European classical music, while similar funds cannot be allocated to the Pop department to allow me to continue the coverage - however modest in numbers it may have to be - that jazz needs and deserves. I have no inside source of information at the paper, although it's apparent to everyone that the problems seem to be multiplying rather than diminishing. My real concern is for the knowledgable representation of the music that is America's greatest cultural achievement. --

A package of CD arrived yesterday from Acrobat Music including the Miles Davis Sextet in various versions broadcasting from Birdland, The Spotlight in Washington D.C. and The Cafe Bohemia. The info isn't up at the web site yet. But this one was part of the package, too: Brubeck live at Basin Street, NYC, and The Blue Note in Chicago: http://www.acrobatmusic.net/?cid=5&AlbumId=535

(Forwarded message:) Dear Los Angeles Jazz Community, I just learned from a dear friend in our Los Angeles Jazz community that our local newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, quietly ended jazz coverage from the pages of its entertainment section, Calendar, as part of recent "budget cuts." That means no more reviews, previews, feature stories, or even listings of shows/events. I grew up reading the Times at home and when I moved, faithfully resubscribed to it in my own abode. However, I'm not sure that I - in good conscience - could continue supporting a publication that turns its back on my first favorite music... Los Angeles is a city too rich in jazz history and people still contributing to the artform for this music to be cut off from coverage in our major city paper. If you feel as strongly as I do that we - as afficionados, educators and/or creators of jazz music - should have representation in our city's major news publication, the Los Angeles Times, please make your voice heard by writing a polite but passionate piece to Editor Russ Stanton at the address below: russ.stanton@latimes.com Thank you for your urgent concern and consideration. - A. Scott Galloway Music Editor asgbeat@ca.rr.com Urban Network

Love "Creative Orchestra Music," though the mix on the first track is a bit darker than the LP. The symphonic work is a bit much. As Chuck knows, Maestro Murray Gross was the music director of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra in Muskegon for many years (he's one of the conductors on the A.B. opus) who I believe is now in Adrian, Michigan, with their symphony. The work would have benefited from more rehearsal time, perhaps, and as Larry mentioned the ability to discern the different symphonies. With Surround Sound technology what it is now it would good to hear A.B. try this major work again.

Am-mer-i-ka Ammer-i-ka God mend thine every flaw.....

What about the Sun Ra version of Batman?

Jason sent along some you tube links of Braxton: http://www.youtube.com/user/mosaicrecords from: > Jason Guthartz >

You mean the pieces with Bill Dixon that have come out? Yes, they're powerful.

It's back on eMusic again, but it's filed under "Andrew & Chico Hamilton Hill". With an extra track that wasn't there before. The bonus track, Composition B, is also on the new CD issue.

Typo fixed! I like that long free piece in the middle. Yet what's really getting my attention is another one of those Ornette Coleman un-recorded compositions taught to pianist Joachim Kuhn (who's now recorded a handful of them) that came to Stenson via a French bassist and is recorded here as "A Fixed Goal." New Ornette!