SAVION GLOVER will be tap dancing with the jazz masters from November 17 - 22 at the Blue Note. Enter to win a chance to see him for 10:30pm sets only on Tuesday (with special guest McCoy Tyner), Wednesday (with special guest Roy Haynes), Thursday (with special guest Eddie Palmieri) or Sunday (with special guest Jack DeJohnette). Tickets will be awarded via email by noon on the day of the show, so make sure you check your email to see if you are a winner, and follow the instructions below:
TO ENTER:
1. Email your name and phone number to contests@bluenote.net
2. In the Subject Line, please title your email "BN BLOG CONTEST - SAVION GLOVER"
3. Indicate which night you would like tickets for: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday, all 10:30pm sets.
BLUE NOTE TWITTER FEED
Monday, November 16, 2009
ENTER TO WIN: 2 FREE TICKETS TO SAVION GLOVER: JAMMIN' WITH THE MASTERS @ THE BLUE NOTE!
Monday, October 12, 2009
ENTER TO WIN: 2 FREE TICKETS TO OMAR SOSA AT THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM ONE NIGHT ONLY 10/18/09!
A LIMITED NUMBER OF FREE TICKET PAIRS are being offered for OMAR SOSA AT THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM featuring Marque Gilmore, Childo Tomas & Mola Sylla for one night only on Sunday, October 18. The contest will end on Friday, October 16, at 5:00pm ET. To win 2 free tickets to see Omar Sosa and his band at the Highline, follow the directions below. We will contact you via email if you are a winner:
1. Email your NAME and phone number to contests@bluenote.net
2. In the Subject Line, please title your email "BN BLOG CONTEST - OMAR SOSA AT HIGHLINE BALLROOM"
*If any of these instructions are not followed, you will not be included in the contest! Read More......
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
"The Very Thought Of You"
This video features one of jazz's greatest stylists, the one and only Frank Wess, performing "The Very Thought of You," one of the most beautiful ballads of all time.
"The Very Thought of You," composed by Ray Noble in 1934, was originally made a hit by Bing Crosby.
Noble, born in 1903 in England, composed many jazz standards including: "Love is the Sweetest Thing," "Cherokee," and "The Touch of Your Lips."
While many people who love jazz and read about it online know about the musicians performing in videos being described, it is much rarer to know the story behind the song, or the songs connecting one another via composer, songwriter, or arranger.
For example, consider "The Very Thought of You." Many people often think of tunes that are today considered jazz standards as being originally written for something; for a play, for a film, etc. I once saw a show in which jazz musicians paid tribute to Broadway. "The Very Thought of You" was a featured tune. However, "The Very Thought of You" was never on Broadway. It was never featured in a play - it wasn't written for one - and it wasn't on film until 1950, in Young Man With A Horn. It was written by Ray Noble for his orchestra for the purpose of performance.
Noble led a very successful English orchestra whose records sold very well in America. Upon arriving in America, Noble hired Glenn Miller to recruit American musicians for his new band. While they did have a successful run at the Rainbow Room, his American band wasn't as successful; the musician's grew to look up to Miller and resent Noble.
It is really interesting to discover these fascinating relationships between tunes that we all know and love, but may or may not know the complete story behind them.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Happy Birthday Bud Powell
Last week marked what would have been the 83rd birthday of John Coltrane. As an avid reader of jazz writings on the internet, I saw how much publicity this event drew. While certainly a big occasion, I was shocked this morning when I discovered, via a Wikipedia browse, that last week also marked Bud Powell's birthday. While no one would argue against the influence Coltrane has had on jazz, neither would anyone argue against Bud Powell's influence - which may be greater - however, somehow, Coltrane's odd numbered birthday greatly overshadowed Powell's barely publicized, certainly momentous 85th birthday.
I find it shocking that despite the high regards with which jazz fans and jazz critics hold Powell, there was no online mention of this historic milestone.
I wonder why this is so.
Matthew Shipp posted his response to this on Justin Desmangles' Blog, "New Day." (http://sisterezili.blogspot.com/2009/09/matthew-shipp-justin-desmangles.html)
He wrote, "To answer your question about how Bud gets lost in the discourse -in jazz piano now everybody views things through a post-miles prism which means piano is viewed through the -keith-chick and herbie prism with people seeing bill evens as the father of that.
other than that now it is hip to view monk as a weird genius-and the marketing of that idea is easy because the
name-and the persona all fit together in a way where that idea can be marketed. So bud just becomes a bebop pianist in a lot of people's minds and to make matters worst when people think of bebop they think of bird and diz who are the salesman of the idea of bebop and who most people think of the founders of it. That is a paradox considering bud was the heaviest of all of them.
thanks,
matthew shipp"
As a student of jazz in New York, a pianist of whom Powell is a main influence, I notice how many of my friends and fellow students listen to and are influenced by Coltrane. I also notice how few young pianists and musicians truly listen to Powell, but for some reason, always mention him as one of the "greats." It's as if somehow, in their education, the name Bud Powell has been put on a pedestal, but in all honesty, his music has barely been surfaced. It seems that to many, he has been dismissed as a Charlie Parker clone on the piano, a disciple of the bebop founder. However, in truth, Bud was one of the founders, he has many times "out-birded Bird," and is, in Matthew Shipp's opinion and certainly others', "the heaviest of them all."
Has Bud Powell become less influential over time?
I would love to start a discussion about why the 83rd birthday of John Coltrane has overshadowed the 85th birthday of Bud Powell.
Please post your comments and let's start a discussion!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
ENTER TO WIN: 2 FREE TICKETS TO JAMES CARTER & JOHN MEDESKI'S HEAVEN ON EARTH BAND @ THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM
A LIMITED NUMBER OF FREE TICKET PAIRS are being offered for HEAVEN ON EARTH's CD RELEASE SHOW AT THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM FEATURING JAMES CARTER, JOHN MEDESKI, ADAM ROGERS, JAMES GENUS & MATT WILSON for one night only on Wednesday, Steptember 30. The contest will end on Tuesday, September 29, at 5:00pm ET. To win 2 free tickets to see The Heaven On Earth band at the Highline, follow the directions below. We will contact you via email if you are a winner:
1. Email your name and phone number to contests@bluenote.net
2. In the Subject Line, please title your email "BN BLOG CONTEST - HEAVEN ON EARTH AT HIGHLINE BALLROOM"
*If any of these instructions are not followed, you will not be included in the contest! Read More......
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Blast From The Past: Piano Duo
Searching through the vast video archives of YouTube, I stumbled upon this gem.
While piano duets are fairly common, it isn't often that piano duets feature pianists of different generations, especially pianists of these generations.
While Hank Jones has teamed up with everyone from Kenny Barron to Brad Mehldau in recent years, it isn't often that Earl Hines teamed up with someone of a more modern generation.
While Byard is certainly influenced greatly by Hines and certainly plays in a Hines-ish style here, a video and pairing of this sort is very uncommon.
All of that aside, this video is truly phenomenal. It shows the great interplay between two fantastic pianists and a drummer. It is amazing to watch the awe in Byard's face as he plays with one of his heroes.
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
NY TIMES REVIEWS THE OVERTONE QUARTET AT THE BLUE NOTE
Music Review Overtone Quartet
Photo by Hiroyuki Ito, NY Times
The change registers at almost every level. Throughout the first set on Tuesday, Mr. Moran was far more than a different piece of the puzzle: his rumbling cadences and insinuating voicings took their place at the core of the band, inspiring a more elastic interaction from the others, particularly Mr. Harland. The only person who seemed not to yield to any shift was Mr. Holland, holding down a series of syncopated vamps with his usual definitive aplomb.
Every member of the group had at least one composition in play, and their selections were characteristic. Mr. Moran’s was “Blue Blocks,” a tune with a cascading line and flickers of gospel consonance; it brought out Mr. Potter’s soulful, pithy side. “Treachery,” by Mr. Harland, opened the set on a radiant note, with rhythmic jolts and a fanfare-like melody. “The Outsiders,” by Mr. Potter, was a heady contraption, home to enough moving parts and somber harmony to suggest the influence of chamber music.
Because this is the sort of group that can feel overstocked with poise, there was an important place for ballads in the set. “Maiden,” by Mr. Harland, readily fit the bill, sounding at times like a lullaby. “Walking the Walk,” by Mr. Holland, was more of a border case, with a serpentine bass line in 10/8 meter. What brought it into ballad territory was the tone struck by Mr. Moran, on Fender Rhodes electric piano. Apart from some small discursive tangents, his solo revolved around two notes, and he made this feel like a product of deep focus.
After so much new music Mr. Holland placed a chestnut at set’s end: “Interception,” from his landmark 1973 album, “Conference of the Birds.” With its asymmetrical rhythmic pulse it sounded strikingly contemporary — and the musicians, straining brightly against tempo and tonality, managed to strengthen that impression, all together.
The Overtone Quartet performs through Sunday at the Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village; (212) 475-8592, bluenote.net. For more tour dates, daveholland.com.
