The passing of a giant in all categories of jazz. Chick Corea, NEA Jazz Master, 22-time Grammy Award winner, keyboard virtuoso as pianist, composer and arranger has earned, by contribution and breadth of musicianship, all the accolades, awards and recognition. If ever the title applied: a legendary figure in...
Reviews
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Monk: A Legacy of influence both past and present
If legendary jazz musicians were collected together in one giant jigsaw puzzle and each musician was one piece – Thelonious Monk’s individual piece would be impossible to cut out. As a singular artist, his shape or place in jazz is too uniquely non-conforming. From a musical and historical standpoint,...
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Boston’s legendary music impresario Fred Taylor shares life in “behind the scenes” biography
In his upcoming biography (December, 2020), What, and Give Up Showbiz?: Six Decades in the Music Business, Boston‘s late legendary and iconic music impresario Fred Taylor reveals six decades of promoting, booking, and personal friendships with an “A” list of musicians. With an ear for talent, endless energy, and...
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Maria Schneider takes aim at lack of privacy with Data Lords release
Maria Schneider, jazz pianist, orchestral composer and 2019 NEA Jazz Master, has just released a new double-album, Data Lords (artistShare, 2020), which creates poignant musical imagery about our data-driven world. Schneider, who has been an active advocate for musicians’ rights and copyright, has followed-on this impact, citing “big data”...
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2020 FOUR DAY DIGITAL MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL CELEBRATES MULTICULTURALISM
As one of the premier jazz festivals in the world, the Montreal Jazz Festival has taken the impact of their festival’s cancellation this year and turned it into a musical happening that celebrates Canadian multiculturalism. As Canada celebrates the inclusivity of all ethnic groups inside their border, Canada Multiculturalism...
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Low Reed jazz specialist Brian Landrus transforms hardship to melody on “For Now”(photo by Vince Segalla)
Low-register reed specialist and multi-instrumentalist and composer Brian Landrus confronted a difficult period in his life and used adversity to inspire a passionate declaration in song on his 2020 release For Now (BlueLand Records). He took advice from the late valve-trombonist, composer and educator Bob Brookmeyer, “book a recording...
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Jason Palmer’s trumpet reflects on Boston’s famous art theft: The Concert: 12 Musings For Isabella
As infamous as the 1990 heist of thirteen works of art from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was, an approach to address the void has not been pursued artistically. Trumpeter Jason Palmer‘s release “The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella” has taken on the challenge of composing original interpretations of...
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Charlie Rosen’s 8-Bit Big Band with special guest Grace Kelly merges video game themes with Jazz Orchestra!!!
When you think about video game themes, the word “jazz” does not easily come to mind. However, on March 1st at the Berklee Performance Center, Charlie Rosen, “gamer,” multi-instrumentalist and orchestral composer/arranger brought the two together with his 30+ piece jazz orchestra, the 8-Bit Big Band. He wowed an...
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Dianne Reeves Shines at Berklee Performance Center with prowess of legendary jazz voice
The voice as an instrument in the hands of a masterful performer never disappoints an audience. At Berklee Performance Center, Saturday evening, Dianne Reeves showed once again that her depth of vocal range, purity of sound and taking listeners through the note scale on improvisational scat-style singing, is a...
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Two Jazz Masters on stage performing together at last: Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés and special guest Chick Corea
Jazz at Lincoln Center, in the Rose Theater, witnessed a very special meeting which occurred on-stage between two legendary jazz pianists, Chucho Valdés and Chick Corea. Both musically prolific, and having won more than 30 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards combined while redefining modern music in the process. Chucho Valdés hugged and...
