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Six Picks: May 2010
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, May 2010: Anat Cohen, Clarinetwork: Live at the Village Vanguard (Anzic) Jorrit Dijkstra, Pillow Circles (Clean Feed) Yusef Lateef & Adam Rudolph, Towards the Unknown (Meta) Olivier Manchon, Orchestre de Chambre Miniature – Volume 1 (ObliqSound) Wallace Roney, If Only for One Night (HighNote) Ralph Towner &
ELEW
There’s been lots of derisive tweeting about pianist Eric Lewis, now known as ELEW, and his self-coined “Rockjazz.” I’m in agreement with Peter Hum. Lewis is hiding behind the specious argument that jazzers playing rock is new and controversial, something critics can’t handle. The truth is that the music stands or falls on its merits, and ELEW’s music falls hard.
Defying the boycott thugs
Proponents of an anti-Israel boycott have tried to pressure Amitav Ghosh, one of my intellectual heroes, to turn down the Dan David Prize. Ghosh has declined to do so, and his reasoning is characteristically eloquent. Margaret Atwood, Ghosh’s co-recipient of the prize, has also rebuffed the boycotters, and just as eloquently. [Via Normblog, Engage.] In marked contrast, Gil Scott-Heron seems
Undead
Another NYC mega jazz fest to pair with Winter Jazz Fest. This one in June. Details here.
Wayne Shorter in Philly
Oh, I do wish I could go. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has commissioned Shorter and the quartet to premiere a new work inspired by the museum’s Asian art collection. Details on the flyer below. Click to enlarge or go here for a clearer image.
On Bill Mays
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: Bill MaysSat., Apr. 24, 8 & 10pm. $20. Chris’ Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St. 215.568.3131 www.chrisjazzcafe.com Bill Mays was once a Hollywood session hand, but he rose to become a fine jazz piano modernist, paying dues with the likes of Bud Shank and Shelly Manne and recently succeeding Bill Charlap in the eminent Phil Woods
The week on disc (70)
In case you missed the last one… Samuel Blaser, Solo Bone (SLAM, 2009) Adam Rudolph & Ralph Jones, Yèyí: A Wordless Psalm of Prototypical Vibrations (Meta) John Blake, Jr. Quartet, Motherless Child (ARC) Earl MacDonald, Re:Visions: Works for Jazz Orchestra (Death Defying) Harris Simon, The Mastery of Passion (Resonance) Nick Hempton Band (ind.)
On a lighter note
Via Huffington Post, via @coolmcjazz: