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| The National Jazz Museum in Harlem October Events Wednesday, October 7 7:00-8:30 pm Desert Island Discs: Ron Carter Location: The New School 55 W. 13th Street Jazz Performance Space Arnhold Hall, 5th floor Host: Ted Panken FREE TO THE PUBLIC "Ron is an innovator and a great storyteller. Probably 99.9 percent of the bass players out here play stuff from Ron. There's Paul Chambers, and you can go back to Pettiford, Blanton and Israel Crosby, and a few people after Chambers-but a lot of it culminated in Ron, and then after Ron it's all of us. Ron to me is the most important bass player of the last fifty years. He defined the role of the bass player."-Stanley Clarke Still going strong and maintaining an active touring schedule at 78, Ron Carter remains the gold standard of jazz bass playing. Generations of musicians have closely analyzed Ron Carter's ingenious bass lines on the studio albums and live recordings he made between 1963 and 1968 with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams, who considered it their mandate to relax the rules of the 32-bar song form as far as possible while still maintaining the integrity of the tune in question. They've paid equivalent attention to the several dozen iconic Blue Note and CTI dates on which the bassist accompanied Shorter, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson and Antônio Carlos Jobim. They're on intimate terms with Carter's creative, definitive playing with a host of trios-grounding Bobby Timmons' soul unit in the early '60s; performing the equilateral triangle function with Williams and Hancock or Hank Jones, and with Billy Higgins and Cedar Walton; or navigating the wide-open spaces with Bill Frisell and Paul Motian-on which he incorporates a host of extended techniques into the flow with a tone that has been described as 'glowing in the dark.' They're cognizant of his uncanny ability to shape-shift between soloistic and complementary functions with such duo partners as Walton, Jim Hall, Kenny Barron, Richard Galliano, Rosa Passos and Houston Person. Not least, Carter's admirers know his work as a leader, with an oeuvre of more than 30 recordings in a host of configurations, most recently the Golden Triangle, with pianist Donald Vega and guitarist Russell Malone; the Ron Carter Quartet, with pianist Renee Rosnes; and the Ron Carter Big Band. Wednesday, October 14 7:00-8:30 pm Javon Jackson Meets Art Blakey and Others Hosted by Javon Jackson Location: The New School 55 W. 13th Street Jazz Performance Space Arnhold Hall, 5th Floor FREE TO THE PUBLIC Javon Jackson's musical world includes many diverse influences, including a long stint with the legendary Art Blakey. This series will explore many corners of music through the eyes and ears of a distinguished saxophonist, Javon came into international prominence as a member of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, touring and recording with the legendary drummer. In addition to Blakey, Jackson has toured and recorded with Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Betty Carter, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, Donald Byrd, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Richard Davis, Bobby Hutcherson, Curtis Fuller and Stanley Turrentine. As a recording artist, Jackson has appeared on over 125 recordings. Additionally, he has developed a formidable career as a leader, recording and touring throughout the world. Javon's current musical group, The Javon Jackson Band, incorporates many styles including jazz, funk, R&B and rock. Lucky 13, Javon Jackson's thirteenth recording as leader, is a combination of five recently composed originals, one cover from the songbook of Stevie Wonder and three selections with the iconic soul jazz pianist, vocalist and composer Les McCann. Jackson and McCann have been touring together for the past five years and quoting Jackson, "Les is a living legend and it is a blessing to have him on tour with the Javon Jackson Band." Their live experience is captured beautifully from a performance of "Compared to What" in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center in 2008 included on Lucky 13. The trio for this recording are three young lions that as Jackson puts it emphatically, "All three have dynamic careers ahead of them." This trio consists of Joel Holmes-piano, Corcoran Holt-bass and McClenty Hunter-drums. Recently commissioned by the Syracuse International Film Festival, Javon composed a full length score for the Alfred Hitchcock film, "The Lodger". An early outing by the master of suspense, "The Lodger" is a silent film based on the story of the hunt for Jack the Ripper. Javon debuted his original score at the festival and one composition from that score, "Sun Up", is performed on Lucky 13 by Jackson and the trio. Tuesday, October 20 7:00-8:30 pm Jazz and Contemporary Culture: Jazz and Classical Music Host: Greg Thomas Guest: Mark O'Connor Location: The New School 55 W. 13th Street Jazz Performance Space Arnhold Hall, 5th Floor FREE TO THE PUBLIC Mark O'Connor and Courtney Bryan Mark O'Connor, student of American fiddle pioneer Benny Thomasson and French jazz violin icon Stephane Grappelli, is a premier American master of violin, integrating jazz improvisation with other virtuoso violin styles into a whole new American approach to strings performance. Courtney Bryan, a New Orleans native, is a prolific and eclectic composer, pianist, and arranger with compositions ranging from solo works to large ensembles in jazz and new music idioms, film scores and more. In April 2015, the world premiere of her composition of SANCTUM for orchestra and recorded sound took place at Jazz at Lincoln Center as part of the American Composers Orchestra Blues Symphony & Beyond. Friday, October 30 7:00-8:30 pm A MUSICAL MOSAIC: The World of Legendary Jazz Record Producer Michael Cuscuna Location: Jazz at Lincoln Center, 10 Columbus Circle Host: Michael Cuscuna Guest: Dan Morgenstern FREE TO THE PUBLIC Michael Cuscuna has been one of the key figures in the reissue boom of the 1980s and 90s. When he produces a reissue, the emphasis is on coherent packaging, the reissuance of complete sessions and consistent high quality. Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and flute early on but his goal from the start was starting his own record label. He broadcast a jazz program on WXPN, worked for the ESP company in the late '60s and wrote for Jazz and Pop Magazine and Downbeat. Cuscuna left radio in the early '70s and became a producer for Atlantic (he had earlier produced a George Freeman date for Delmark), working with Dave Brubeck and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Other jobs included a brief stint at Motown, reissuing Impulse records for the ABC label, producing sets for Arista and Muse and working on the five-LP Wildflowers sessions for Alan Douglas. Cuscuna was involved in the Freedom and Novus labels with Steve Backer in the late '70s. During 1975-81 he ran an extensive program in which he unearthed scores of important sessions for Blue Note. In 1983 Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie founded Mosaic, which has since been recognized as the #1 reissue label, reissuing complete sessions in lavish limited-edition box sets. In addition to Mosaic, Cuscuna has continued making major contributions to other reissue programs (including GRP's Impulse series and Blue Note's ongoing program) and has often been voted Producer of the Year in Downbeat's Critics Poll. Guest: Historian Dan Morgenstern. We will explore the birth of the second wave of jazz independent labels. Learn why labels such as Commodore, HRS and Blue Note came into existence and found their niche. Within a few years, they were established and acclaimed internationally. They became the home for Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Thelonious Monk and others, and played a large write your comments about the article :: © 2015 Jazz News :: home page |