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Six Picks: June 2010
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, June 2010: Geri Allen, Flying Toward the Sound (Motéma) Jimmy Amadie, Kindred Spirits (TP) Ernesto Cervini Quartet, Little Black Bird (Orange Grove/Anzic) John Hébert Trio, Spiritual Lover (Clean Feed) Lee Konitz New Quartet, Live at the Village Vanguard (Enja) Adriano Santos Quintet, In Session (ind.)
No, Mr. Ebert, Israel is not worse than North Korea
In response to this disastrous incident at sea involving the Israeli military and the Free Gaza Movement, Roger Ebert, the movie critic and prolific liberal tweeter, wrote this morning: “Why isn’t Israel firing on a humanitarian aid ship worse than North Korea firing on a warship?” This was quickly retweeted by Jeremy Scahill, who appended the word “Exactly.” Scahill, to
On David S. Ware
My feature article on David S. Ware appears in the June 2010 issue of JazzTimes, now on the stands. Teaser here. And don’t miss the articles by my colleagues Shaun Brady and Mike West (on Fred Ho and Steve Coleman, respectively).
Koboku Senju in Philly
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: Koboku SenjuFri., May 28, 8pm. $10. With Eric Carbonara. Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, 1616 Walnut St. Suite 100 215.545.7562 www.arsnovaworkshop.org No, it’s not a person. It’s a Japanese phrase meaning “selection of dead trees,” and also the moniker chosen by a unique quintet of Japanese and Norwegian improvisers: Tetuzi Akiyama on guitar, Toshimaru Nakamura on no-input mixing
The week on disc (72)
In case you missed the last one… Marc Cary Focus Trio, Live 2009 (Motéma) Yotam, Resonance (Jazz Legacy) Denny Zeitlin, Precipice: Solo Piano Concert (Sunnyside) Dan Willis and Velvet Gentlemen, The Satie Project (Daywood Drive) Ran Blake & Christine Correa, Out of the Shadows (Red Piano) John Tchicai Lunar Quartet, Look to the Neutrino (ZeroZeroJazz)
Hank Jones
The great pianist has passed. Jones was the subject of my first full-length feature in JazzTimes in 2004. Toward the end of the piece I quote him as saying, “I’m just going to keep going until I get it right.” I should have also included his next thought, which I’ll paraphrase: “Although in jazz, there really is no ‘right.’ It’s
Nikki vs. Nancy
Having just heard vocalist Nancy King on Wednesday in a duo with pianist Fred Hersch, I’m all the more unmoved by 16-year-old vocal phenom Nikki Yanofsky, whose Decca debut Nikki grates on my last nerve, and whose rise to stardom has been ably dissected by my colleague Nate Chinen. This child is going to “save jazz” — here we go
Metheny/Kreisberg
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: Pat MethenyTue., May 18, 8pm. $52.50. Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside 215.572.7650 www.keswicktheatre.com The former teen prodigy turned jazz guitar icon has done it all — or so it seemed until Orchestrion, Metheny’s latest for Nonesuch. Recording a suite of new music for fully automated acoustic instruments was the first step. Now Metheny