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| Marc Johnson's Shades of Jade, Featuring Eliane Elias & Joe Lovano Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola continues the Stretchin’ The Ivories Festival with veteran bassist Marc Johnson and Shades of Jade, featuring the gifted pianist Eliane Elias, the omnipresent saxophonist Joe Lovano and the versatile, rambunctious, but tasteful drummer Joey Baron. Marc will be leading this quartet through music from his latest ECM release Shades of Jade, a tribute to fellow Bill Evans bassist, the late Scott LaFaro and his composition “Jade Visions.” Next week is “Phantom Of The Bopera”, a celebration of and tribute to Joe Henderson, featuring Renee Rosnes in the company of a stellar, world-class ensemble: Jimmy Greene, Eddie Henderson, Peter Washington and Lewis Nash! January 31-February 5 7:30pm & 9:30pm with additional 11:30pm set on Friday only. Marc Johnson (bass), Eliane Elias (piano), Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone), Joey Baron (drums) Bassist Marc Johnson is perhaps best remembered as the last bassist for pianist Bill Evans from 1978 to his death in 1980. On the bassist’s third ECM CD Shades of Jade, Johnson pays tribute to another great former Evans band member, the late bassist Scott LaFaro, and his composition “Jade Visions”, from 1961’s Sunday At The Village Vanguard. The music here has the same kind of quiet intensity as its touchstone even if the group is larger – guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Joe Lovano, pianist Eliane Elias and drummer Joey Baron round out the line-up. Johnson and Elias handle the composition responsibilities, both together and separately, and Elias’s playing really shines as she provides prodding accompaniment. A wonderful expansion of Evans’s lyrical trio concept, Shades of Jade accomplishes everything Johnson could have hoped for. Pianist/composer/singer, Eliane Elias is known for her distinct and immediately recognizable musical style that blends her Brazilian roots with her impressive jazz and classical skills. Born in Sao Paulo, Elias' musical talents began to show at an early age. She started studying piano at age seven and at twelve, was transcribing solos from the great jazz masters. By the time she was fifteen she was teaching piano and improvisation at one of Brazil' s most prestigious schools of music. Her performing career began at age seventeen, working with Brazilian singer/songwriter Toquinho and the great poet Vinicius de Moraes who was also Antonio Carlos Jobim's co-writer/lyricist. In 1981 she headed for New York and in 1982 landed a spot in the acclaimed group Steps Ahead. She has since recorded and toured as a leader to critical acclaim. Joyous Encounter, Joe Lovano’s 17th recording for Blue Note, is an anomaly in his extraordinary career, as it marks the first time that the saxophonist has returned to the studio with the same band to record a sequel to his celebrated 2004 quartet record, I’m All For You: Ballad Songbook, a masterwork featuring Hank Jones on piano, George Mraz on bass and Paul Motian on drums. Lovano, whose discography is expansive both stylistically and thematically and who regularly changes ensemble configurations from one album to the next, decided to revisit the quartet magic, this time with a broader range of tempos, rather than rev up another one of his projects waiting in the wings for documentation. Drummer Joey Baron was born into a Jewish working class family in Richmond, Virginia. He is largely self-taught by means of watching others play and listening to recordings, radio and television. His early influences ran the gamut from Ed Sullivan show guests, to "The Wild Wild West" television show theme, to records by Art Blakey, Ray Charles, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, James Brown, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. Besides being a member of the Bill Frisell Band for ten years until 1995, he has performed and recorded with an impressive list of musicians - including Carmen McRae, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Hampton Hawes, Chet Baker, Laurie Anderson, Art Pepper, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, Vinicius Cantuaria, Jay McShann, David Bowie, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Big Joe Turner, Philip Glass, John Abercrombie, Mel Lewis, Pat Martino, Harry Sweets Edison, David Sanborn, Al Jarreau, Jim Hall, Randy Brecker, Marian McPartland, John Scofield, Marc Johnson, The Lounge Lizards and many others. February 7-12 7:30pm & 9:30pm with additional 11:30pm set on Friday only Renee Rosnes Quintet with Jimmy Greene Plays The Music of Joe Henderson Renee Rosnes (piano), Jimmy Greene (tenor saxophone), Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Peter Washington (bass), Lewis Nash (drums) The extraordinary pianist and composer Renee Rosnes clearly enjoys the challenge and freedom of playing jazz in numerous formats. On her ninth Blue Note release, Renee Rosnes and the Danish Radio Big Band, Rosnes mines the experience gained during her impressive tenures with both the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Renee Rosnes and the Danish Radio Big Band puts her in the spotlight with the revered Copenhagen ensemble, and reveals her capacity to shine within a jazz orchestra context. Renee is also a founding member of the San Francisco Jazz Collective, an all-star resident and touring octet led by artistic director Joshua Redman. Drawn from the top ranks of today's jazz artists, the band includes master vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and the young alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon. Rosnes has just released worldwide a new CD, A Time For Love (Videoarts Music), featuring Peter Washington and Lewis Nash. The late, legendary saxophonist and composer Joe Henderson was a major influence and creative force in jazz, and a much sought after artist by fans and fellow musicians for more than three decades. From the moment he emerged in the 1960s Henderson’s playing was distinctive, unique, unflinchingly powerful and beautiful. Many of his compositions have become standards, including the first tune he ever put to paper, “Recorda Me.” He went on to have a successful recording and touring career through much of the 1990s and was named an NEA Jazz Master in 1999. His legacy will live on forever as an inspiration to players and listeners, and as a benchmark that all future generations of jazz musicians will recognize and embrace. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |