Lazaro Vega

Did anyone make this?

Stevie Wonder tonight in Detroit.

Thanks for listening, too. Tonight, Happy Birthday Sonny Rollins! LV

September 6, 2007 Music Review Meeting of Jazz Minds Is a Four-Hand Conversation in Harmony By NATE CHINEN As an interaction between musicians, jazz is often characterized as a conversation. That analogy, however fanciful or imprecise, finds a clear illustration in duo-piano performance. Here the stage is set for an even exchange, and hopefully a discourse. What enlivens the situation most is a give and take between the two parties, along with any perceptible contrasts in temperament, aesthetic and technique. Fred Hersch qualifies as one of jazz’s most agile conversationalists, and this week he serves as a kind of pianistic Charlie Rose, performing at Jazz Standard with a sharp succession of guests. Last night’s invitee was Brad Mehldau; tonight it’s Kenny Barron. The series opened auspiciously, even exquisitely, with Ethan Iverson on Tuesday night. The pairing was rewarding for a few reasons, including an amiable divergence of style and the sheer quality of the musicianship. There was also the intrigue of a protégé facing his mentor: Mr. Iverson took a moment to credit Mr. Hersch as “the first teacher that taught me a lot.” (He had already acknowledged the presence in the audience of Sophia Rosoff, a renowned piano guru who has instructed them both.) What Mr. Hersch and Mr. Iverson have in common — besides an erudite grasp of postwar jazz piano traditions, which counts for a lot — is their willful sensitivity to touch and tone. This was most obvious throughout Mr. Hersch’s “Out Someplace,” an elegiac tone poem that elicited some carefully collaborative abstraction. But the same approach to articulation could be felt on the Sonny Rollins standard “Doxy,” slowed to a molasses-drip tempo, and on “The Cup Bearers,” a squirrelly tune by Tom McIntosh. Each pianist played one solo piece, making characteristic choices. Mr. Hersch steered “The Wind,” a ballad by Russ Freeman, toward rhapsody: in a flowing rubato, he drew out the ballad’s inherent sense of vulnerability. Later Mr. Iverson offered “Laura,” the theme from the Otto Preminger film, made famous in jazz circles by Charlie Parker. His reading was textbook noir, more Preminger than Parker: shadowy dissonance at both ends of the pianistic register, and a flinty melody emerging from the sober midrange. But even if Mr. Hersch and Mr. Iverson suggested two distinct modes of iteration — longhand versus linotype, perhaps — they managed to enact a genuine colloquy. During a volley of four-bar phrases on Thelonious Monk’s “Bemsha Swing,” they became wickedly inventive; each new phrase was an extension of the last, as well as a quick response. The truest test came when they improvised in tandem, stacking chords and phrases as if by secret design. It happened on “Doxy” and on Mr. Hersch’s halting “Janeology,” and finally on a fox trot version of the bebop standard “Star Eyes.” Somehow both musicians were speaking and hearing at once, without any trace of confusion. Through Sunday at Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan; (212) 576-2232, jazzstandard.net. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/arts/mus...amp;oref=slogin

From the introduction, "But what about that hippie myth in which jazz is 'tomorrow's music' forever and ever, the result of a radical process? The structural innovations of jazz really did slow down precipitously after Coltrane." I have issues with that.

Please join www.bluelake.org/radio.html tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (9 p.m. in Chicago) for the music of Jimmy Giuffre (and possibly Anthony Braxton) as played by bassist James Ilgenfritz and Chicago bass clarinetist Jason Stein. For a complete tour schedule please see, www.jamesilgenfritz.com/home.html Lazaro Vega Blue Lake Public Radio 300 East Crystal Lake Road Twin Lake MI 49457 WBLV FM 90.3 / WBLU FM 88.9 www.bluelake.org

The segment published by Columbia University is on line: http://www.aacm-newyork.com/Text/ExperimentaL%20Music.pdf

These may have been referenced elsewhere around here. If not, highly informative. Thanks again to Max Roach for the inspiration to investigate more of Anthony Braxton's music. http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD13/PoD1...anProposal.html http://www.intaktrec.ch/interbraxton-a.htm https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/Ar...921023/BRAXTON1

Did you play a version of Stardust to end this program?

A crowning achievement King Oliver -- with Louis Armstrong -- made history with 1923 record August 26, 2007 BY JOHN LITWEILER The history of jazz changed forever 85 years ago. That's when Louis Armstrong, a few days after his 21st birthday, arrived in Chicago on an Illinois Central train from New Orleans to join King Oliver's renowned band. Did the addition of Armstrong make Oliver's the first great jazz band? It certainly was the first great jazz band to make a record. Even now it is one of the bare handful of great jazz ensembles, with a distinctive ensemble conception and all players at the height of their creative powers. In fact, four of them, all from New Orleans -- Oliver and his protege Armstrong, Johnny and Baby Dodds -- proved to be among the most original jazz artists ever. We know it was a great band because of their 37 sides from 1923. Those recordings were made in the era before electric recordings, often under terrible conditions. Down through the years, some of the power of the Creole Band survived on scratchy old 78 rpm discs that were the source of earlier reissues. We had to adjust our ways of hearing, our powers of concentration, to listen to those CDs and LPs. What we couldn't hear was just how brilliantly the band played. We can hear that brilliance now on a wonderful two-CD album "King Oliver Off The Record: The Complete 1923 Jazz Band Recordings," issued by the Off The Record label that reveals expressive qualities and many musical elements that were previously hidden. CHICAGO JAZZ FESTIVAL When: Aug. 30-Sept. 2 Where: Grant Park Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Tickets: Free Call: (312) 744-3315; www.chicagojazzfestival.us The time was during the midst of the great migration to Chicago, where thousands of African Americans from the South were moving each year, mostly to the narrow South Side Black Metropolis. Jazz, an invention of African Americans, was the era's new music -- more than a baby but probably only an adolescent by then. Nightly, crowds of up to 700 packed the Lincoln Gardens Cafe, 31st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, to enjoy King Oliver's band. Its style was a final refinement of the New Orleans idiom, which was surely the earliest kind of jazz. The two cornets played the melody, clarinet and trombone played countermelodies and the rhythm section (piano, banjo, drummer Baby Dodds) beat out a steady, four-beat foundation. Even though the primitive recording equipment wouldn't let them play very high or low notes, "King Oliver Off The Record" lets us hear much of their personal sounds: Oliver's cleverly muted lead, Armstrong's harmonies with a richer sound, Johnny Dodds' emotive clarinet, Honore Dutrey's smooth trombone. This is passionate music. Their fast pieces are not just stomps, they swing mightily -- and swing was brand-new in 1923 -- and their blues are not just slow jams. You can hear that passion from the very beginning of these two discs, "Just Gone," in the band's fiery attack and especially in the way Oliver and Armstrong lead them all in the triumphant middle strain. That passion is joyous in tracks such as "Froggie Moore," the Armstrong feature "Tears" and the two versions of Oliver's "Dippermouth Blues" feature. In the second version, especially, the band rocks and there is electricity in the choruses, led by Armstrong, that frame Oliver's famous choruses. There's passion in the terrific momentum of pieces like "Snake Rag" and "Chattanooga Stomp." The fire in those pieces results from not only the band's headlong drive, but also from the closely structured themes that Oliver composed. Among the 15 blues are two of the most beautiful ever performed. If the slower version of "Working Man Blues" expresses the depths of despair in its down-turning themes and Johnny Dodds' final countermelody, "Riverside Blues" leads to hope, even nobility, especially in Armstrong's climbing chorus at the end. And the first version of "Mabel's Dream," with three themes, an Oliver-Armstrong duet chorus and a poignant Johnny Dodds countermelody at the end, yields grandeur. These strong personalities shared an ensemble vision, each player contributed ideas and each piece is full of detail. Solo choruses break out of the ensemble in a few pieces, including two of Armstrong's first cornet solos. And Oliver and Armstrong were famed for their two-cornet breaks. It's exciting music, some of the hottest of hot jazz. The sounds of the horns in "King Oliver Off The Record" show us much of this music's depth of feeling. So the Creole Band's music is more than passionate: If any jazz is ever profound, it is theirs. Its life-enriching qualities are among the first evidence that jazz was more than just another kind of pop music. Inevitably, their closely shared vision dissipated and the band broke up in 1924. The Dodds brothers formed their own band, Armstrong left to play with big bands and Oliver formed his own big band. By then the original New Orleans jazz idiom was almost an anachronism. Yet the Creole band looked to the future in their swing; in their songs that became hits for Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and others; in the many trumpeters influenced by Oliver; in the gang of white Chicago musicians they inspired; and especially in Armstrong, who became the first great jazz soloist. And now, at last, we have "King Oliver Off The Record" to show us how it all began and just how wonderful his Creole Band was. "King Oliver Off The Record: The Complete 1923 Jazz Band Recordings" is sold by Archeophone.com. John Litweiler is a Chicago jazz critic and author.

This week Blue Lake Public Radio features the duo of Max Roach and Cecil Taylor during "Out On Blue Lake," as part of "Jazz From Blue Lake." The program begins at 10 p.m. Wednesday evening and continues to 3 a.m. Thursday morning. "Out" will be heard at midnight during that five hour block.

Scheduled for publication October of 2007 from the University of Chicago Press. Pi Records is promoting this book in their press sheet for the new Muhal Richard Abrams solo piano recording, his first since 1978, "Vision Towards Essence."

Who's edc?

George Lewis, Anthony, Muhal, Mark Helias and Charles Bobo Shaw live...now out of print. Anyone interested in parting with theirs?

Thanks aloc for alerting people to that program.

Jazz from Blue Lake begins tonight at 10 p.m. At 12 a.m. we'll broadcast the 1979 Willisau concert by Max Roach featuring Anthony Braxton.

In the archive at the Jazz Institute of Chicago?

Tonight at 10 p.m. the Blue Lake Faculty Jazz Sixtet will be heard live from our studios until 11 p.m. After 11 and until 3 a.m. Saturday morning we'll be featuring Max Roach. Saturday morning from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. will include a more concentrated retrospective feature on first Benny Carter and then Max Roach. In the Max Roach segment: "JasMe," solo drums; "Woody N You" with Hawk in '44; "Salt Peanuts" from the summer of '44 Town Hall Concert with Diz and Bird; "Koko" from '45 and "Klactoveedsedsteen" from '47 with Bird; "Move" from '48 with Fats Navarro and Don Lanphere; "Un Poco Loco" with Bud; "Carolina Moon" with Monk; "Budo" with Miles's Nonet; "A Train" and "Cherokee" with Brown/Roach; "Drum Conversation" from a concert in Germany on Enja. Hope you can join us: www.bluelake.org/radio.html Lazaro Vega Blue Lake Public Radio WBLV FM 90.3/WBLU FM 88.9

Blurb from the Jazz Institute of Chicago: Join us Thursday in Millennium Park for Legends and Lions with Muhal Richard Abrams and Reginald Robinson! Legend Muhal Richard Abrams is a world renowned composer and pianist originally from Chicago, now residing in New York. He is one of the creators and foremost practitioners of creative improvised music. As performing musician, he has developed a highly respected command of a variety of musical styles both as a pianist and composer. The versatile Mr. Abrams and members of The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), of which he is co-founder, are responsible for some of the most original new music approaches of the last two decades. Reginald Robinson recently won the MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of his brilliant and largely self-taught pianism. He is a young man writing contemporary ragtime compositions that are completely authentic in form, yet utterly contemporary and fresh to the ear. Launching a new direction in his career, Robinson will feature his original compositions with the Fulcrum Point Chamber Orchestra. Jay Pritzker Pavilion Thursday, August 16, 2007 - 6:30pm This is a free event. www.millenniumpark.org http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/47086,0...events.location

Currently sold out...re-pressing....

If anyone is up and reading this, Randy Weston's composition "African Sunrise" will air just after 7 a.m. this Satuday morning (today) on Blue Lake.

His sideman appearances with Billie Holiday in the 1950's often save sessions that could have gone south; and there's his own Verve appearances: "Cosmopolite" with Oscar Peterson as well as "3,4,5 The Verve Small Group Sessions." Favorites, though, include Coleman Hawkins All Star Jam Band in 1933 (the ensemble format further defined on Impulse!) and the incredible recordings by Spike Hughes Negro Orchestra. This summer the Blue Lake sextet played Carter's "Symphony In Riffs" on one of our live broadcasts -- most of the guys in the band hadn't heard the original. When they did they were flabbergasted by the precision of the band's ensemble playing and the rhythm (Teddy Wilson, piano; Big Sid on drums). His various editions of The Chocolate Dandies made some memorable recordings, too.

Piano great Randy Weston can’t be stopped By TIM PERLICH RANDY WESTON'S AFRICAN RHYTHMS TRIO performing as part of JAZZ BY GENRE SUMMERFEST with CANEFIRE, JASON WILSON & TABARRUK, CHRIS BOTTOMLEY'S BRAINFUDGE, WALEED KUSH, KALABASH, KAREN RICHARDSON, TASA, SUNDAR VISWANATHAN & THE AVATAR COLLECTIVE and DJ GOLDFINGER at the Docks (11 Polson), Saturday (August 11), 1 pm. $35-$45. 416-870-8000, www.jazzbygenre.com. While many career musicians lucky enough to make it to their 80th birthday are content to reflect on past accomplishments and receive lifetime achievement honours, indefatigable piano marvel Randy Weston was too busy playing the music of his Zep Tepi (Random Chance) disc for huge crowds across Africa and Europe to look back and admire his work. When I catch him during a brief stopover at his Bed-Stuy home, he's only had a few hours of shut-eye since returning from a festival tour of France and Italy, yet sounds excited about topping Saturday's bill at the four-day Jazz By Genre Summerfest. With hundreds of pages of his eventful life story already committed to a forthcoming autobiography, and a new recording pencilled in for his first clear weekend, Weston hasn't given any thought to the "R" word. The mere suggestion inspires china-rattling laughter from the towering piano titan whose fingertips brush my elbows whenever we shake hands. "You mean... retirement?" cackles Weston, as though it's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard. "Oh, no, heh heh, heavens no. There's no such thing! When I encounter a new hiphop song today, I hear Africa in the rhythms. You can't get away from the Motherland; I'm convinced Africa is the spiritual centre of our planet. There's still so much we need to need to learn about it that I could spend 20 lifetimes studying and absorbing without ever thinking about retiring. "Once you can listen to the birds singing and realize that nature was the first orchestra, you begin to understand how the music is in tune with our planet and the universe. The more connections you discover, the more you want to keep learning." Music has healing power, he insists. "When I go onstage with Alex Blake and Neil Clarke and look out at the audience, I see all the different colours and people of all ages, yet if the music is right, we all become one. To witness that every night is still very exciting." Though well schooled in the vocabulary of jazz music and its twisted history, Weston is primarily a storyteller who employs phrases associated with jazz to carry his colourful true-life narratives. He makes new discoveries every day and can't wait to share his latest revelations. As usual, he's got some surprises in store. "I think my next recording may involve banjo and tuba. I was recently involved in a production paying tribute to the great bandleader and composer James Reese Europe, concerning the period between 1911 and 1918. It showed the rich heritage and how those cats could swing at a time before the term 'jazz' was used," he says. "Many don't realize that back in 1912, James Reese Europe put on a concert at Carnegie Hall involving 150 African American and African Puerto Rican musicians and 10 pianos. "We think what we're doing today is so revolutionary and new, but when you look into the history of this music, you discover the truly incredible things done by our ancestors in the early 20th century. It's mind-blowing." In our drive to move forward, Weston claims, we neglect the lessons of the past. "There's a whole hidden history of music waiting to be uncovered, and the more you investigate what went on before, the more you realize how much you don't know. It's endlessly fascinating for me." timp@nowtoronto.com _________________

Doug Ramsey's site includes a link to Benny Carter performing with Red Norvo on vibes, Horace Parlan on piano, Jesper Lundgaard, bass and Ed Thigpen, drums http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/. A similar group was recorded in performance for Sonet (?) which was issued in America on Gazell (including drummer Ronnie Gardiner who appeared live on Blue Lake this year). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByLxlWiOjII...ted&search= Happy Birthday to Mr. Carter.

She all but admits that on her new one where she writes from the influence of the Peruvian "lando" (sp) which is a polyrhythmic native form. She calls her piece Aires de Lando, or something like "with the air of a lando." Not authentically original but her bit of the process of coming to terms with it. It's "Blue Rondo A La Turk."