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| Fountains of Swinging Youth at Newport Jazz Festival Jazz is music of creation in real time, and there is nothing more satisfying than to witness the evolution of a young jazz artist creating him/herself in the improvisational arena of the bandstand. And for six decades, George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival - now presented by Natixis Global Asset Management - has been one of the most dynamic places for an up-and-coming musician to shine, and this year is no exception. From Lee Morgan to Wynton Marsalis, young trumpeters have always been the pace setters of their generation. And this year's festival is fortunate to have two leading lights on that celebrated instrument. The Israeli-American trumpeter Avishai Cohen (not to be confused with the bassist of the same name), is a future brass master who emerged from New York's Small's club with bold and buoyant tone that stretches from Manhattan to the Maghreb. He placed third in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition in 1997, and has worked with some of the most accomplished musicians of his generation, including Claudia Acuna and Jason Lindner, and also worked with pop chanteuse Keren Ann and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. He comes to the Newport stage on Sunday August 7, to play selections from his trio CD, Triveni - named after the Sanskrit word meaning "the place where three sacred rivers meet;" an appropriate metaphor for this cross-cultural mélange of old and new worlds. Joining the leader will be his equally accomplished sister, clarinetist Anat Cohen, and drummer Eric Harland - also performing at this festival with the supergroup James Farm - and bassist Drew Gress. Three thousand miles on the Left Coast, the Oakland-born trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is the perfect bookend to Cohen. The 28-year-old trumpeter burst on the scene with two impressive first place awards at the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition and at the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition and released his debut recording Prelude To Cora on the Fresh Sound New Talent label that same year. Along with his BA from the Manhattan School of Music and his MA from the University of Southern California, Akinmusire worked with Joe Henderson, Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer, Esperanza Spalding and Jason Moran, who featured Akinmusire on his recreation of Thelonious Monk's 1957 Town Hall Concert. In 2011, Moran co-produced Akinmusire's Blue Note debut, When The Heart Emerges Glistening, a scintillating, 21st Century, post-bop recording which earned the leader the Up And Coming Artist of the Year and Trumpeter of the Year awards from the Jazz Journalist Association. Akinmusire's formidable and fluid trumpet lines - buoyed by drummer Justin Brown, bassist Harish Raghavan, pianist Sam Harris, and tenor saxophonist Walter Smith - will appear on the bandstand on August 6th. Be prepared to crown this emerging trumpet king in-the-making. But the festival is not going to let the trumpeters have all of the fun! The fleet-fingered, Indian-American alto saxophonist and Guggenheim Fellow Rudresh Manhanthappa, who along with his comrade-in-arms, pianist Vijay Iyer is creating a new century soundtrack pulsed by American and sub-continental swing, comes to festival for a blazing set on Sunday with his older Chicago counterpart Bunky Green, a legendary educator who brings his broad-shouldered, Windy City sound into the hallowed halls of academia. The ever-ascending Puerto Rican alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon - the recipient of the coveted Mac Arthur Genius Grant in 2008, and member of the SF Jazz Collective -- will show the Newport audiences why he's the "it" guy of the jazz world, when he performs music from his forthcoming CD, Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook, featuring the music of Puerto Rican composers Rafael Hernandez, Bobby Capo, Tite Curet, Pedro Flores, and Sylvia Rexach, performed by Zenon's quartet with a ten-piece wind ensemble conducted by the Argentine keyboardist/composer Guillermo Klein. And Zenon also performs with a special sax collaboration, - A Meeting of Saxophone Masters, Featuring Steve Coleman, and Ravi Coltrane that Sunday, which figures to be one of the most anticipated events on the jazz calendar. The same island that gave us Zenón has yet again provided us with another saxophonist, the youthful Berklee alto sax phenom Mario Castro and his quintet: trumpeter David Neves, Kyumin Shin on piano, drummer Jonathan Pinson, and Tamir Shmerling. A fast learning improviser whose old-school chops are as adept in mainstream jazz and the Afro-Cuban tradition, Castro is a proud graduate of Puerto Rico's Escuela Libre de Musica, his big break came with a sensational performance at the Heineken Jazz Festival with the Berklee in Puerto Rico student big band, earned him a full scholarship to attend Berklee's 2005 Five-Week Summer Performance Program. With one CD under his leadership, Opposite Directions, Castro comes to the Newport stage on Sunday, and serves notice of exciting things to come from this new generation of jazz masters. Produced by George Wein and the Newport Festivals Foundation, the Newport Jazz Festival Presented by Natixis Global Asset Management takes over Newport, RI, August 5-7 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport Casino and Fort Adams State Park. The Festival features Wynton Marsalis and Michael Feinstein "Come Fly with Me" with Special Guest Joe Negri on Friday, August 5. On Saturday August 6, don't miss Wynton Marsalis; Esperanza Spalding and Friends; Hiromi; Regina Carter's Reverse Thread; Al Di Meola World Sinfonia Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody Tour 2011 with Special Guest Gonzalo Rubalcaba; Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; Randy Weston's African Rhythms Trio; Michel Camilo "Mano a Mano with Giovanni Hidalgo and John Benitez; Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet; Joey DeFrancesco Trio; Grace Kelly with guest Phil Woods; Steve Coleman and Five Elements; Mostly Other People Do the Killing; and New Black Eagle Jazz Band. On Sunday, August 7, catch Angélique Kidjo; James Farm with Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman and Eric Harland; Charles Lloyd's Sangam featuring Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; Hiromi: The Trio Project featuring Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips; Mingus Big Band; Ravi Coltrane Quartet; Esperanza Spalding and Friends; Brubeck Brothers Quartet with Special Guest Dave Brubeck; Ravi Coltrane Quartet; Apex: Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green; Miguel Zenón presents the Puerto Rican Songbook with conductor/arranger Guillermo Klein; John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble; Avishai Cohen's Triveni with special guest Anat Cohen; Berklee College of Music: Mario Castro Quintet; Plus a special bonus set: A Meeting of Saxophone Masters featuring Steve Coleman, Ravi Coltrane and Miguel Zenón. write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Jazz News :: home page |