Manfred Eicher must have loved that Charles Lloyd Quartet as well. In the 80s he recorded several of now-NEA Jazz Master Jack DeJohnette’s seminal recordings; likewise Eicher recorded Lloyd’s 90s return to record, a relationship which extends to Charles’ present recorded exploits. Four of those Jack DeJohnette sessions have just been reissued by ECM as a Jack DeJohnette Special Edition box set. Following on the heels of the DeJohnette box is Charles Lloyd Quartets, reprising five of Lloyd’s 90s recordings. Befitting ECM’s tight, simplistically-focused design tradition both sets are the same no-frills white boxes; no bells and whistles (recalling certain extravagant reissue boxes, like the over-designed lucite box number from Herbie Hancock’s vault that is so “cute” one can hardly fit the discs back in the attendant slots), each of these ECM boxes come with sufficiently informative liner and session notes.


While Lloyd’s unit of choice remains the quartet, DeJohnette has exercised a broad range of personnel configurations down through the years. These include the powerful lineup he assembled for his original Special Edition release: David Murray and Arthur Blythe on saxophones were at the time a kind of California expat sax dream team, having each made big impacts on the scene when they arrived in New York in the late 1970s. Bassist Peter Warren rounded out this exceptional piano-less cast. (At that Lloyd quartet sighting in ’68, little did I know at the time that DeJohnette was also a gifted keyboard player. In an interview last winter Billy Hart told me how surprised he was to see Jack playing drums when DeJohnette got to New York; he’d seen him around Chicago playing piano and organ! Small wonder that DeJohnette is one of our most supremely musical drummers.) to Coltrane is payed via John’s tunes “Central Park West” and “India,” however the key to this recording is DeJohnette’s “Zoot Suite.” Tin Can Alley casted Jack’s fellow Chicagoan Chico Freeman and John Purcell on reeds and flutes, plus the sturdy Warren. Jack’s extended ballad “Pastel Rhapsody”, with its lovely harmonies and DeJohnette’s overdubbed piano (or were the drums overdubbed?). But don’t sleep the raucous, bump & grind blues “I Know,” with Jack signifying vocally. Inflation Blues reprises the twin reeds of Freeman and Purcell, adding the free-leaning trumpet of St. Louis’ Baikida Carroll and Jack’s Chicago homeboy Rufus Reid on acoustic bass, plus a rare Rufus hearing on bass guitar. From this session Jack’s piece “Ebony” always struck me as something that might have been the hippest evening news intro tune had someone had big enough ears to so adapt it. Album Album closes out the box. Remember the lovely, woodsy shot of Jack’s family that graced the original Lp version? A couple of years ago when I met Jack’s youngest daughter Minya at the Panama Jazz Festival I reminded her of that cover shot, which pictured her in the position of precocious child; (she’s now married to Jack’s sound technician Ben Surman, son of saxophonist and frequent DeJohnette collaborator John Surman) she grinned and blushed at the memory of that apparent childhood embarrassment. From that session comes two of Jack’s more indelible compositions, “Ahmad The Terrible,” his homage to Ahmad Jamal, and “Zoot Suite.” Tuba and baritone saxman Howard Johnson lends additional bottom to the Purcell-Murray-Reid lineup in the ensemble. And if you can find it, get the Lp; besides the very warm front & back cover DeJohnette family photo treatment (doubtless standing in the Woodstock forest), this rare ECM gatefold package contains a priceless DeJohnette and sidemen black & white family photo montage inside (including Johnson in his Massilon High School marching band uniform and Murray as a schoolboy high jumper).

Meanwhile Lloyd’s ECM affiliation is ongoing, including brilliant documentations of his deep relationships with subsequent pianists Brad Mehldau, Geri Allen, and currently Jason Moran (including their most recent ECM duo session Hagar’s Song). The Charles Lloyd box contains his five ECM releases spanning 1990-97: Fish Out of Water, Notes from Big Sur (an obvious homage to the idyllic, fairly isolated life he and wife Dorothy Darr carved out in that “God’s country” sector of the California coastline), The Call, All My Relations, and Canto. Though many writers have remarked substantively on the key role of pianists in Lloyd’s music, from the salad days with Jarrett to his 80s reawakening by the late Michel Petrucciani, to Mehldau, Allen and his current piano mate Moran, recalling his Quartet days with DeJohnette, Charles Lloyd has long had a thirst for resourceful, challenging drummers who push his artistry to great limits. After DeJohnette came Sunship Theus, Jon Christenson, Billy Higgins (the latter two being more about texture than explosion), Ralph Peterson, and for three of the dates in this box the broad artistry of Billy Hart. Currently Lloyd is further challenged by Moran’s Houston homie, the crafty and propulsive Eric Harland.

Downtown Performing Arts for All New York

For Further Press Inquiries, Please Contact:
Allyson Morgan
Publicity Associate, BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Phone: (212) 220–1459 / Email: amorgan@tribecapac.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center Presents
Lost Jazz Shrines 2013: Bird – A World’s Eye View
(New York, NY) – BMCC Tribeca PAC’s Lost Jazz Shrines series is dedicated to restoring the memory of legendary New York City jazz venues to the consciousness of the world with a thorough remembrance and celebration. In celebration of the resonant history of Birdland, join us on May 3, May 17, and May 31, as we will examine the musical and stylistic legacy of Charlie Parker through three completely different lenses and cultural perspectives. This will be achieved through the efforts of three exceptional alto saxophonists (TK BLUE, MARTY EHRLICH & RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA) who have expanded the lessons of Bird. Each saxophonist will bring elements of his diverse backgrounds to our stage for fresh interpretations of the oeuvre of Bird. Each saxophonist will include their own combo.

Each concert will be preceded by a FREE Humanities program at 7PM with live panel discussions or film that showcase some of the celebrated figures associated with this year’s honorees, followed by the concert at 8:30PM. Tickets are $25 for each concert. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticketing Services at (212) 220-1460 or online at www.tribecapac.org.

Schedule:

Latin Bird
TK BLUE – Musical Director
Friday, May 3
Concert at 8:30PM
$25 / students, seniors $15

Saxophonist/flutist-composer-educator TK Blue, whose family heritage is from the Caribbean (Jamaica and Trinidad), explores the Latin influenced rhythms and melodies of the great Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, the legendary Bird. In the 40s and 50s Charlie Parker had a number of fruitful interactions with such Latin music legends as Machito, Mario Bauza, and Chano Pozo. TK Blue’s concert will reflect that rich vein of Parker’s experience.

Performers:
T.K.Blue–flute, soprano and alto sax
James Weidman–piano.
Essiet Essiet–bass
Winard Harper–drums and
Steve Turre–shells and trombone

Birdland: Reminiscing in Tempo
Panel Discussion with NEA Jazz Masters Randy Weston and Dan Morgenstern
Moderated by Willard Jenkins
7PM – FREE

Charlie Parker: Timeless Innovation
RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA – Musical Director
Friday, May 17
Concert at 8:30PM
$25 / students, seniors $15

Rudresh Mahanthappa will present recontextualizations of Charlie Parker’s work as well as new material based on extractions of Bird’s vocabulary as both composer and improviser. Mahanthappa’s celebrated groundbreaking approach of synthesizing the traditions of jazz with modern musical concepts exemplifies the spirit of Bird. With some of NYC’s finest instrumentalists as a rhythm section, this evening will highlight the relevancy of Parker as a contemporary and timeless icon of modern music.

Performers:
Rudresh Mahanthappa – alto saxophone
Matt Mitchell – Piano
François Moutin – Acoustic Bass
Rudy Royston – Drums

Film screening: Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker
Celebrating Bird is a revealing look at an enigmatic yet endlessly appealing man, who soared to the heights of creative freedom but couldn’t beat a lifelong addiction to heroin. It includes a TV appearance with Dizzy Gillespie and rare footage with jazz greats including Billy Eckstine, Count Basie, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong, Kenny Clarke and Lucky Thompson, Lester Young, among others.
7PM – FREE

The Cartographies of Flight
MARTY EHRLICH – Musical Director
Friday, May 31
Concert at 8:30PM
$25 / students, seniors $15

“Charlie Parker Place. That’s my corner, just down from Bird’s house, now a historic landmark in the East Village. At times I imagine hearing him practice as I go by, infusing each rhythmic step and melodic turn with his characteristic sense of exaltation. “Bluing a new cartography of flight” is how poet Arthur Brown put it. Tonight’s concert will celebrate that Bird’s music points us forward, combining music with the images and syntax that he and his compatriots inspired in poets, then and now. “ – Marty Ehrlich

Performers:
THE MARTY EHRLICH ENSEMBLE
Marty Ehrlich – woodwinds
James Zollar – trumpet
Marc Ribot – guitar
Michael Formanek – bass
Nasheet Waits- drums
Erica Hunt – poet and reader
Charles Bernstein – poet and reader

The Impact of Charlie Parker
Panel Discussion with TK Blue and Marty Ehrlich.
Moderated by Willard Jenkins
7PM – FREE

Performers Subject to change.

BMCC Tribeca PAC is Downtown Manhattan’s premier presenter of the arts, reaching audiences from the college community, downtown residential and business communities, local schools, families, and audiences of all ages. BMCC Tribeca PAC strives to present a broad global perspective through the presentation of high-quality artistic work in music, theatre, dance, film and visual arts. BMCC Tribeca PAC is located on the Borough of Manhattan Community College campus, 199 Chambers Street (between Greenwich Avenue & West Street) and is convenient to the 2/3, A/C/E and R/W subway lines and the New Jersey Path Train. For more information please visit our website, www.tribecapac.org.

What’s your background in music media and how did you get started down this path?

I’m originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. I got started in television production in high school at WJEL-FM/TV at North Central High School. They offered a class where they taught teens how to produce, write, and direct their own shows which aired on the local public access channel. They also had a student run radio station and we had to produce radio spots and DJ live shows and all the sporting events. It had a low signal, but teens played the music they wanted to for their shifts. This was also the time I joined the Youth Telecommunications Workshop for Indiana Black Expo. This program was created to teach African-American teens between the ages of 13-17 television production skills in which they produced local programming geared towards teens but as a need to get more students of color behind the scenes in television and film. It was also this program that got me to make a guest co-host of Black Entertainment Television’s “Rap City” with host and now comedian Chris Thomas. Upon graduation I was a producer and director for Indiana Black Expo’s video and public relations department working with international clients like Coca Cola and McDonalds.

I attended the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff where I got a job as the weekend disc jockey at KPBQ and KZPY-FM. It was there I got wonderful on-air experience doing country music and urban soul for Pine Bluff Radio, INC which owned three stations. One of my dear friends got me a radio producing job at WMC-AM in Memphis, Tennessee. I ended up transferring to The University of Memphis where I was working at the number # 1 news/talk, television, and FM station in the city. While there, I produced news segments and co-anchored the “Sunrise” with the late Dave Black who was the agriculture news director for WMC news. I was also blessed to intern on the television side at WMC-TV while working at WMC-AM and studying in college at the same time. During my time in school I worked as a producer for WHBQ-AM, and DJ and producer at WPLX-AM. When I finished school I moved to Detroit where I took many jobs in broadcasting like reporter/producer at WXYT-AM, Executive Producer and Reporter for the I.E. American Radio Network, Writer and Production Assistant at WXYZ-TV, and Marketing and Promotions at WCSX-FM. I was also the stateside reporter for Mississippi Public Radio for one year. Later I produced freelance work for WBGO Journal for WBGO-FM in Newark, New Jersey.

How did jazz come on your radar screen and what’s been your experience with the music in your media pursuits?

Jazz music was always played at my Grandparents home in Detroit, Michigan. In fact, all forms of popular Black roots music was played there. Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Soul, and Jazz was where my deep love of the culture came from. My grandfather was a barber, math and carpenter teacher at Mumford High School, and was also a private contractor. My grandmother was a labor organizer for one of the major unions in Detroit. My grandfather was jack of all trades and used to cut Kenny Burrell and Elvin Jones‘ hair in the 1950′s. My granddad built this beautiful bar in the basement of their home in northwest Detroit and that was a staple where many of their friends would come over and stay all night playing cards and dominoes. In the basement “Paw Paw”(that’s what I call my grandfather) and “Granny” used to play those gothic Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff records. I think this was also how I’ve been able to shoot film and work late night into the morning working with artists today due to my grandparents all night shindigs!

My real first exposure to the music was when he’d try to teach me to play checkers and he played one of his favorite pianists, Dave Brubeck. “Jazz Goes To College” was my real foray into jazz music at 7 years old. I can see why now, looking back some 30 years. My granddad was an educator and an intellectual. Brubeck was the music of my grandparents generation long before rock and roll came along. But, Paw Paw was also an avid Louis Jordan and Charles Brown fan as well. The real record that my granddad played me that moved me was Duke Ellington‘s “Live at Newport”. Man, he had three copies of that record. Every year my granddad bought me jazz recordings and would teach me what big bands had the best players as well as the history of the music.

In addition to my hangs with Paw Paw, one of my favorite hangs was going to the famous Bakers Keyboard Lounge on Livernois which was under 10 minutes from their house. I used to see live jazz music at an early age and loved it just as much as hip-hop, which is the music of my generation. One more VERY important part of my love for the music and culture was Mr. Eugene Potts in Detroit. I used to hang at the barber shop with my granddad on the east side of Detroit. The shop was located on the corner of Chene and Mack. Right around corner was Potts Record Shop. Mr. Potts in addition to running his record store, was also a choir director and arranger. Mr. Potts taught me about Thomas A. Dorsey and some of the elements of the Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music. He’d give me stacks of records that were monumental in my learning of the music and history of Black music. At age 12 he gave me Stanley Jordan‘s debut album, and to this very day I am still his biggest fan. Mr. Potts gave me Roland Kirk, Pat Metheny, Stan Getz, Jean Luc Ponty, Bob James, David Sanborn, David “Fathead” Newman and endless records in my early teens. By the time I was 16, my musical tastes were so advanced due in part to my granddad and Mr. Potts.

Talk about some of your more successful encounters with jazz artists in your work.

I think every encounter with the artists I shoot for The Pace Report is successful. One, the artists or group gets treated equally. Two, The Pace Report was needed in that I needed to build and maintain a relationship with the record labels, publicists, management, artists, club venues, and music fans so that they can all interact via the internet and social networking platforms. The internet is what radio used to be! For the people, by the people! And The Pace Report has done great job getting the fans in touch with their favorite artists and the artists want to communicate with their fans. I still have some goals to accomplish but I haven’t lost sight nor God’s vision for me to fulfill his will.

With Branford Marsalis at the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters event at Dizzy’s

Your credo says the Pace Report is about “Presenting the Truth in Media”. Speak to that emphasis on the “Truth” as it pertains to your various observations of the music media.

There have been times where I’ve interviewed artists where the source of info was incorrect! Some of these sources are from credible and famous books and magazines, only to find out some or most of the information was inflated or not accurate at all. For years as a journalist readers and viewers have placed certain reporters or publications on a pedestal and hold them as “the law.” Now, with the over-saturation of bloggers and news websites, with slanted political views or favoring a certain position, then you’re misleading the people with false info. Plus, today’s news has gone in the way of the tabloid “crack” mode, meaning, “If it bleeds it leads, but lets make money by any means!” And some of the news organizations have made money by not checking the facts and its just business as usual.

I’m “Presenting the Truth in Media” because I’m going to the direct source! The artist will tell their side of their history not some journalist’s inflated version of their interpretation just to gain views or to sell copies. Every artist or group I’ve interviewed and profiled have been candid as well as frank about what makes them do and create what they do. In presenting their truths, its up to me to let them speak and bring everything to light that needs to cleared and open and let the viewers decide and learn from my dialogue with them.

How did jazz journalism and your media efforts intersect and develop?

I began The Pace Report based on three major influences of media that I saw as a teenager. On Sunday nights, Dr. Ben Sidran hosted and performed a groundbreaking show on VH-1 called “New Visions”. The show was my foray into the live jazz performances and interviews with the legends and newcomers to the world of jazz and blues. I saw the Marsalis Brothers, Courtney Pine, Dr. John, Jon Hendricks, Terri Lyn Carrington, The Microscopic Octet and endless others play and share their ideas about their music and works. Then, pianist Ramsey Lewis hosted a show on Black Entertainment Television that did the same thing as Dr. Sidran, but it wasn’t like “New Visions.” Then, Dr. Billy Taylor used to host the jazz segments on CBS’s “Sunday Morning” and he, like Dr. Sidran, became my heros! These guys really got me schooled on the art of our culture and got me to start reading biographies and studying the legends.

Now lets fast forward to 2003. Ramsey Lewis hosts the nationally syndicated PBS show “Legends of Jazz”. Mr. Lewis interviewed the legends and I began to see the lack of a couple of things. One, the focus of showcasing the culture was being weeded out to reality TV programming like “American Idol” and “The Real World.” Two, people of color are not carrying on the legacy of Dr. Taylor and other respected broadcasters like Gil Noble, Ed Love, Carl T. Rowan, and Tavis Smiley. So when I took my rich television and radio skills that I learned over the years and fused it with the social networking media that we’re in, I created a personal and up-front multi-media format that viewers and readers can pull up on their tablets, smart-phones, and internet driven devices.

What brought you to your current Harlem home-base?

Harlem is where one of the most important cultural experiences took place. The Harlem Renaissance was where the literary, music, fashion, religions, and language took shape that changed the Black experience forever. The new Harlem still reflects some of the old 1920′s. I wanted to come back to the roots of the experience and I think the spirits of old have had a strong presence in my work and attitude as well. I live a half block from the old Savoy Ballroom. That corner still speaks volumes without saying a word.

Given your observations of jazz and the jazz community, what’s your overall sense of the music here in the year 2013?

I believe jazz, like hip-hop, still is evolving and moving forward. I just posted my interview with pianist Christian Sands. This brotha is “outta this world”! He’s the last descendant of the late Dr. Billy Taylor, yet be brings a different flavor to the music and game. So do other pianists like Eldar, Orrin Evans, Marc Cary, John Medeski, and Gerald Clayton.

What I’m tired of is, the jazz community, especially writers, have gotta stop rehashing the past and riding their own coattails! What I mean by this is simply, BECAUSE YOUR A WRITER THAT’S BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR DECADES, IT DOESN’T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO PUT DOWN AND BE HARSH TOWARDS AN ARTIST’S WORK OR BODY OF WORK! I feel so sorry for the veteran writers that continue to bash producer and instrumentalist Robert Glasper. Glasper did what Miles Davis did with fusion jazz in the late 1960′s. Or, jazz writers who don’t want to acknowledge and respect guys like Medeski, Martin and Wood or US 3 or drummer Jamire Williams‘ EMiMAJ project. I love and respect all forms of music and for a writer to diss or disrespect ones work, that’s not a good move.

Many established writers feel that they’re entitled to being the so-called authority on the music and people quote them as the law! They may even have degrees to back their knowledge. But, a lot of times speaking and reading other writers work, they put their views on a high pedestal and have many times left the reader not interested in reading their work again. James Baldwin, and Ralph Ellison wrote about what they knew, the black experience. They wrote critical analysis on music, politics, the arts, and religion. But what sticks out about their work is that they wrote from the heart and touched a nerve with readers. That’s what I’m doing with The Pace Report. I want viewers and readers to be compelled to spend time in a jazz club or music hall from Ramsey Lewis to soul icon Lenny Williams. My point, GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE AND WRITE FOR THE PEOPLE!

The major important fact of The Pace Report is that I’ve created community. I wanted as a journalist to let the artist set the record straight, as I stressed earlier. Some writers have forgotten that readers and viewers make the final decision. One or two bad reviews or negative interviews set musicians away from journalists. I’ve been told endlessly from many musicians over the years that they’ve enjoyed speaking with me and that they’ve expressed a disconnect with writers in general. Some have told me that writers can be mean-spirited and cold. Respected writers like you, Greg Thomas, and music websites like irockjazz.com and NextBop.com respect the basics of journalism. The who, what, where, why, when, and how.

With NEA Jazz Master conguero Candido

Speaking of writers like Ellison from yesterday, and today Greg Thomas, what’s your sense of African Americans writing about jazz?

I think the way the media industry is going, people of color have a great way to express what we need to say as a people via the social networking means of communication. Jazz is just another sidebar of what I write about. Now that the American people have elected the first President of Color and he’s invited soul, blues, and jazz musicians to perform at the White House, now is the time to make your voice known!

That’s why The Pace Report has taken off. I’m talking with the movers and shakers of the music world and they’ve been candid about their lives and art. So, as a Black journalist I hope that I’m carrying on Dr. Taylor’s legacy with his CBS segments that he hosted and produced for some 20 years. I hope that my race and political dialogue with the artists opens the door for people to have constructive conversations that both blacks and whites can agree to disagree upon. Me allowing to this helps other young journalists to do what I do via the black experience so other up and coming journalists can do the same, but better.

With Pat Metheny

What have you got on tap for the Pace Report and what are some of your aspirations with the work?

With The Pace Report about to enter it’s 5th anniversary in July, I will be getting more contemporary in the artists I interview. Jazz and soul music will be what my viewers will always expect, but its also time to interview the Paul Simons and Stevie Wonders of the recording industry. It’s beginning to move in that direction with some of the names that I’ll be interviewing soon and later in the year. Also, artists are hiring me to shoot their video and still photos for their upcoming recording projects. I’m glad that I’m working for myself for my production company and at age 40 more and more new doors are opening for me.

Frankly – and I’d hazard a guess that I could recruit a multi-voice chorus of amens on this from my fellow journalists, radio programmers and presenters working in jazz who are privy to new releases – the great majority of these (overwhelmingly women) vocalists making records today are either too green or too mediocre to have survived in the bygone era of artists needing labels to choose and subsequently release, distribute and publicize them; many of them simply would not have passed muster. But because we’re in the DIY era as far as record production is concerned, these singers just keep plugging.

Now and then a voice of true distinction, a vocal artist of obvious promise, and someone blessed with requisite humility to go with that great talent, comes along. The most recent such vocal artist is Cecile McLorin Salvant. Based on her brand new release Woman Child for the Mack Avenue label, Ms. Salvant is clearly one to watch, someone whose career arc will delight many, and whose meteoric talent is literally bursting at the seams for wider recognition.

The Woman Child title of this recording is quite apt; at the startlingly young age of 23 (you’ll hear what I mean by “startling” as soon as you hear her) Cecile displays all the qualities of a young woman with an old soul. Of Haitian descent, she was born in Miami and moved to Paris to study at 18 – an immersion which broadened her approach and is borne out in many ways by her subsequent artistry (for reference on Woman Child check her original song “Le Front Cache Sur Tes Genoux”, based on a poem by Ida Faubert). Three years ago Cecile won the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition and I had the pleasure of presenting her as part of our annual Monk in Motion young artist concert series at Tribeca Performing Arts Center (along with two other very promising young voices: Charenee Wade and Cyrille Aimee; based on subsequent sightings, as far as Monk Competition finalists go there’s been no better trio). On that occasion I was taken by Cecile’s range and zeal to address older and in some cases obscure songs; mark her in the book as someone to watch. The progress she has made since that appearance to the release of Woman Child gives one further faith in young talent, especially this woman!

Last week was the capper for me. Cecile performed along with trumpeter Dominic Farinacci and her piano accompanist, the equally precocious and mature pianist Aaron Diehl (whose Mack Avenue debut The Bespoke Man’s Narrative is also recommended) as part of Dominic’s ongoing Young Artist residency series with Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland (full disclosure: this writer has served as artistic director of that festival for 17 years). In addition to being a fine trumpeter, Dominic is a sharp young guy and a Tri-C JazzFest alum who came up through our education program, along with such other trumpet aces as Sean Jones and Donald Malloy (you’ll be hearing about him soon) and a keen judge of the talent pool of his peers. In this case Dominic was beyond prescient in bringing Cecile to our festival.

I had an opportunity to small-talk with Cecile on several occasions during last week’s Cleveland residency and was impressed by her humility, grace and obvious intelligence (and don’t let the serious looks on her album cover photos throw you; girl’s got a radiant smile as well). When Dominic introduced her to our audience on April 23 and she eased onstage with her close cropped natural hair, in a billowing black dress, her characteristic oversized white framed glasses adding further distinction to her face, and wearing hot pink pumps, she already had our audience captivated. When she opened those rangy pipes, and particularly when she plumbed the lower depths of her impressive range, that audience was completely hers. You hear a coquettish youthfulness, colors ranging from little girl highs to learned woman low register expressions; a melange of influences that include shades of Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan – hell, make that the pantheon of great jazz women!) and the kind of keen Afro-folk awareness embodied by Nina Simone and the sisters of (scroll down for reference) Sweet Honey in the Rock (dig her take on “John Henry” on the new release). And she’s got a fine sense of drama; dig her incredible rendition of the obscure song “You Bring Out the Savage in Me” on Woman Child. Such high-positive response as embodied by her Cleveland audience is almost certain to be the case going forward, and I’d hazard a guess that the audience for her Saturday, May 18 performance at the Kennedy Center’s annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival will be equally taken. Look out for this one; she’s ‘da truth!

In between the UMD and UDC band performances I was humbled to receive a 2013 Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) Jazz Hero Award for Washington, DC. It was indeed a lovely experience for which I am eternally grateful. On hand to present the award were my fellow jazz journalist Bill Brower (who frequently contributed to DownBeat under the byline W.A. Brower), and longtime congressional aide – and driving force behind the annual Congressional Black Caucus Jazz Day, Cedric Hendricks; also pictured in these photos is Cheryl Hawkins of UDC Media, who had previously hosted Randy Weston and me on her television program.

Edward “Kidd” Jordan Named 2013 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Hero

Award to be presented on International Jazz Day
Tuesday, April 30, 5:30 p.m. Café Istanbul, 2372 St. Claude Ave. (MAP)

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans chapter of the Jazz Journalists Association is pleased to honor Edward “Kidd” Jordan as the city’s inaugural Jazz Hero, an award which is being bestowed in conjunction with

The Jazz Journalists Association’s annual Jazz Awards honoring significant artistic and journalistic achievements in the music.

These honorees are activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities. Mr. Jordan was selected by members of the New Orleans JJA based on his career-spanning dedication to expanding the horizons of the music itself, and educating the next generation of musicians — both in fundamentals and in the essential risk-taking spirit of the art form.

Please join the JJA and members of the city’s cultural community at a reception following the presentation of Mr. Jordan’s award on International Jazz Day, Tuesday April 30 at 5:30pm at Cafe Istanbul. The event is free and open to the public.

*For more information about Kidd Jordan’s nomination, please visit his Jazz Hero page .

*To learn more about the Jazz Journalists Association, please visit the JJA website.

*Press inquiries: please contact Jennifer Odell at jennieodell@gmail.com or Vincent Sylvain at vincent@sylvainsolutions.com.

The deeply organic, folkloric, and humanitarian expressions of the a cappella ensemble known as Sweet Honey in the Rock has made the ensemble an institution. Sweet Honey in the ROck was founded in 1973 by the distinguished freedom fighter Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon. Dr. Reagon retired from the group several years ago and they continue to soldier on in their rich tradition. Throughout the ensemble’s history Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell has always been an imposing presence, her burgundy voice most often occupying the bottom register of their characteristic harmonic pallet. Though not a jazz ensemble, their level of interplay and soloist support reflects that of the best small ensemble jazz tradition. Their latest recording, titled A Tribute (Appleseed Recordings), pays homage to Odetta (whose ancestral presence is best represented by Ms. Barnwell in the ensemble), Miriam Makeba, Nina Simone, and Abbey Lincoln. A bonus with this release is Ms. Barnwell’s renewed violin playing. We caught up with the multi-tasking Ms. Barnwell recently for some questions, about this latest Sweet Honey in the Rock release as well as her plans now that she too has retired from the ensemble that has brought so much definition and distinction to her career.

Clearly for you the latest Sweet Honey in the Rock release is special; but other than the fact that it marks your recorded transition from active performance with the group, why do you feel this new release is special?

This is the first recording in which we pay tribute to women musicians who have influenced each of us on a deep personal, artistic and political level. Personally, I feel I was politicized by ODETTA, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln and Miriam Makeba and was inspired by all of them. In 1963 I entered the State University College of NY at Geneseo, and there were 7 Black people on the campus (faculty, students and staff) and there were no books by Black authors or about Black people in the library. This was shocking coming from NYC. These women literally provided the sound track which helped me define who I was in that environment, helped me to understand my issues in a much larger context and gave me a vocal repertoire with which to express myself.

Your new release A Tribute, recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center (Appleseed Recordings) has been characterized as perhaps having a stronger relationship to jazz than previous Sweet Honey releases; please talk about that aspect.

For me one of the strongest elements of jazz in the evolution of African American music was the introduction of instrumentation. Sweet Honey In The Rock (SHIR) is principally an a cappella group and while there are elements of Jazz improvisation in our vocals and while we have a few jazz inspired tunes in our repertoire and in our own compositions, it is the addition of the jazz trio (piano, bass and drums) [on A Tribute] that tips the balance for us and allows us to explore new territory as vocalists.

How have you gone about developing your distinctive role as the “bottom” of the Sweet Honey sound?

I think that I am the only member of SHIR who did not identify as a singer when I came into the group. I had studied violin for 15 years, majored in music in High School, and had sung in choirs in Junior High School and College. I learned to play guitar while in College and sang folk songs in the manner of ODETTA, Richie Havens, etc. but earned both a Bachelors and Masters in Speech Pathology. I gradually completed these studies in 1968 and came to DC to teach at Howard University. I left the faculty for 2 years to earn a PhD and returned. Being a musician was never on the radar although music was a vital part of my life. So when I was invited to audition and then join SHIR, I had no preconceived notions about my voice; no actual repertoire or genre that I was attached to. I had learned from ODETTA and Nina that women could utilize the low register at will and so when asked to harmonize it was no problem to “go there” since that territory was available. Through the years my vocal range has expanded in both directions and I have had the opportunity to use my full range in the group.

What would you say have been some of the high points of your tenure in Sweet Honey?

There have been many. Here re a few.
-I don’t remember the year but one year on my birthday (2/28) SHIR performed a concert on the stage of Central High School in Little Rock AK with Daisey Bates sitting on the first row in an integrated audience.
- When Nelson Mandela was released from prison and toured the US, SHIR sang at the rallies in NYC, DC and CA. SHIR had been singing about apartheid in South Africa for years and Bernice and I had both been arrested for demonstrating and being messengers at the South African Embassy.
- SHIR was the first concert at the Obama White House during his first administration. He and family members including his mother and sister in Hawaii have seen us perform in various locations before any of us actually met.
- I gave up the violin when I went to college and not majoring in music and continuing with this instrument severely damaged my relationship with my father who had been my only teacher. The first time SHIR performed at Carnegie Hall, I invited my parents and they came. My father was proud and loved the group. Our relationship changed after that.
- Now, after exactly 40 years of not playing the violin, I have begun to play again. My initial feeble attempts can be heard on the Tribute CD recorded 2 years ago at the premiere of this concert. I’m getting better now, have found a great teacher and when I have time I study and practice consistently, so you never know…
- Being in SHIR has led me to a number of profound opportunities which I have grown from and which I will now continue to pursue with greater intensity and devotion; composing, conducting my Building a Vocal Community Workshops and leading Community Sings, and being open to new collaborative projects several of which have brought music and my background in Public Health into wonderful alignment.

Now that you’ve announced your intention to retire from Sweet Honey, what opportunities or projects are you looking at on the horizon?

- I have just trademarked THE FORTUNE’S BONES PROJECT and hope that it will have greater visibility in the future.
I want to create several more children’s books based on my songs.
I want to expand my teaching opportunities.
I’d love to do some recording projects.
I’d love to collaborate with other artists.

Contact: www.ymbarnwell.com

Ted Panken
W. Royal Stokes
Willard Jenkins
Stanley Crouch (declined to participate)

…And many thanks for Willard Jenkins’ selection as one of the 2013 JJA “Jazz Heroes”…

Willard Jenkins- Washington, D.C.

Willard Jenkins is a giant among jazz journalists, and that’s not even accounting for his 6 foot 7 inch frame, which helps the more vertically challenged of us easily find him in a crowd. The man whose invitation in 1986, while he was working with Arts Midwest, to jazz writers and broadcasters inviting them to convene in Chicago — which led to the founding of the Jazz Journalists Association, has been a feature writer, radio programmer, television show host, co-author (or, as he puts it, “arranger”) of Randy Weston’s autobiography African Rhythms, a blogger, a concert and festival artistic director, an educator and consultant.

With these efforts and also invaluable behind-the-scenes work, Willard has helped keep jazz honest and advancing, usually from his home base in Rockville, Maryland (suburban Washington D.C.) although his activities spread across the U.S. and to Africa as well. He got his start as a journalist in the early 1970s at the Cleveland Plain Dealer and since then he’s written for virtually every jazz-oriented publication, and many online platforms (he maintains his own provocative blog, the Independent Ear, on his website OpenSkyJazz.com). He’s been an editor and done oral history interviews for the Smithsonian Institution and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation; he’s had a radio show since 1989 on WPFW, Washington’s Pacifica Radio Station, and in 1994 he became affiliated with Black Entertainment Television, hosting, writing and producing series, specials and documentaries for its BET Jazz and BET J channels.

Having worked in the late ‘70s with the Northeast Ohio Jazz Society, he got involved with the Tri-C Jazz Festival in Cleveland, and appointed its artistic director in 1995. Since 2005 he’s taught the online course Jazz Imagines Africa for Kent State University, his alma mater, and he’s contributed educational content to the International Association for Jazz Education website and the Thelonious Monk Institute’s Jazz in America website. As executive director of the National Jazz Service Organization from 1989 to 1994 he was responsible for many powerful projects, perhaps most significantly the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest National Jazz Network of presenting organizations and regional arts organizations. Most recently Willard has worked with Paul Carr and the Jazz Academy of Music to establish the Mid-Atlantic jazz Festival as an important winter season event for the metropolitan Washington area.

The efforts cited above only begins to suggest the enormous amount of work Jenkins has done on behalf of jazz, blues and other American culture resulting from the African diaspora. He has, most essentially, connected people throughout diverse and sometimes conflicting facets of the jazz world to one another. It should be said, though, that his demeanor is that of a modest man, who nonetheless has an engaging laugh and the wit to discern quality music, good journalism, useful ideas. It’s about time the Jazz Journalists Association recognized its former vice president for what he is: a Jazz Hero.

– W.A. Brower

You’ve been identified with the Chicago scene for so long, as musician-composer, as an officer in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), it was kinda surprising to hear that you’d relocated to California. What implications has this had on your music and your efforts as a creative artist in general?
Nicole Mitchell’s latest recording for the Chicago-based Delmark label

Chicago will always be home, and I’m really thankful for the wonderful community there. I learned so much and I know my connection to Chicago is forever. Like most of my friends, I had hard times and great times there. In 2010, twenty years after moving to Chicago, I went through a real change in my life. Things were simultaneously amazing and bleak. For example, it was a life-changing opportunity to be Artist in Residence at the Chicago Jazz Festival that year, and yet in between rehearsals and performances, it was comical that I found myself stranded several times that weekend because my old rickety Volvo finally petered out! Months before my flute had been stolen, which was devastating, but it gave me the opportunity to realize how many people cared and how strong the international arts community is, and the result was an endorsement with Powell Flutes. Those were just a few of many the contrasting details of that year, but by the time 2011 came along, my life had shifted 180 degrees. I felt a real calling to come to California, and I didn’t have it all figured out why, or how it would work. I told my finance, I really wanted to go, and said “Let’s do it!” It was almost as if once the decision was made, everything just came together. I looked up and I had a new life: a new marriage, a new job, a new flute and in a new place to call home. I miss Chicago and will always be connected in some way to the AACM, but I’ve also embraced change.

I’m teaching at UCI (University of California, Irvine), which has been incredibly rewarding. The program I’m in is called ICIT (Integrated Composition, Improvisation and Technology) – a really unique program that is more expansive than a traditional jazz or composition program. I have a group of super nice, talented and brainy colleagues at Claire Trevor School of the Arts. I’m probably going to sound too sappy, but it’s been really inspiring! I especially enjoy giving guidance to students that are doing such creative and exciting work.

All these things have definitely had an impact on my music, although it’s not clear to me yet how I would define it. One big recent change that didn’t have to do with moving is that I spend so much more time composing!! Right before we moved, I had started doing works for orchestra, and I ended up having pieces premiered with the American Composers Orchestra, Chicago Composers Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta. It’s super challenging, and it seemed to have an impact on my music overall. I used to write music really fast, and it seems the more experience I have writing, the LONGER it takes!!

I’m still busy traveling and performing outside of the country, and I’m hoping….dreaming, that during this period I can actually do some more performances here in the USA. I’m super psyched that Ice Crystal will be playing the Kennedy Center [Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival] this spring!

Nicole with Ice Crystal vibist Jason Adasiewicz

Have you found a compatible community of artists in California, comparable to those you’ve collaborated with in Chicago all these years?

Being a part of a vital arts community is still really important to me, and I’m still finding my role here. It takes time to get rooted, but I will say there’s a place in south LA (Leimert Park) that reminds me so much of the Velvet Lounge in Chicago. It’s called the World Stage. Many musicians that perform there have a history with Horace Tapscott and the Pan African Arkestra. The spirit of the music of these musicians is so connected to the AACM, except they never incorporated as an official institution. Horace is gone but his legacy lives on. I’ve also met and heard some great musicians at this other place called the Blue Whale. I started working again with my first mentor, Najite Agindotan, a Nigerian master drummer who studied with Fela and who has an Afrobeat band called Olokun Phophesy. And Dwight Trible is a vocalist that you would swear was from Chicago, the way he sings. There are many amazing musicians here, and so far I’ve worked with pianist Anthony Davis, trombonist Michael Dessen and bassist Mark Dresser and Devin Hoff, among others. Maia (multi-instrumentalist) and Wadada Leo Smith, Roscoe Mitchell and Jeff Parker (guitarist) are other AACM musicians that got here before me. It’s definitely different in California and my biggest observation is that there is so much talent and so many interesting things going on, but the geography is split up into little cities, so it’s more challenging for people to get the word out about what’s going on. You don’t feel the connectedness as much, but I’m hoping somehow I can help that. For example, I’m working with my Chicago friend (cellist) Tomeka Reid on putting together a Women’s Jazz Composer Festival for the fall. The first one happened last fall and it was very empowering.

Has your overall artistic outlook changed much since you relocated?

The biggest change was a discovery I made a few weeks ago. I was minding my own business, composing, and unintentionally I started hearing electronics for the project and have now incorporated them for the first time with my music. This is a direct influence of the ICIT program at UCI, and it surprised me! I’m excited and challenged to do new things. That’s always been my outlook – to keep growing.

Talk about your new Delmark record “Ice Crystal”. The record seems a bit of a departure as well, not only in terms of overall textures, but in musical cohorts as well.

Does it? Ice Crystal has been around for a little while – since 2007. We just were kind of in the background, with so much great stuff happening in Chicago, and the other projects I was doing. The record just brought it a little more to light, hopefully. I really love the sound of the vibes with flute – always have! When I was a student at Oberlin, the first music I wrote and performed had vibes in it. I’ll never forget that. The song “Yearning” on the album came from way back then. In terms of the band, Joshua (the bassist) has been working with Black Earth since 2000. Wow does time go fast!! I met Jason when Rob Mazurek invited me to play with Exploding Star Orchestra in 2005. He’s a gem. And I’ve always admired Frank’s playing; we just never got much of a chance to work together until now. I have big hopes for the group and the album.

Now that you’ve teaching full-time, how do you envision that experience impacting or dovetailing with your performance career?

Actually, I’m not really teaching more than when I was as an adjunct in Chicago, because I always had 2-5 jobs while I was simultaneously playing the music. It’s actually less stressful (just having one job!!) So the teaching commitment doesn’t really affect my commitment to writing and performing. I just have to be mindful to keep a good balance.

What’s next for Nicole Mitchell?

This weekend, as we speak, I’m preparing for a “Virtual Tour” — a series of telematic concerts where a group of us will be playing in San Diego with a live audience (Myra Melford on piano, Mark Dresser on bass, Michael Dessen on trombone and myself on flute), and simultaneously playing with musicians in other geographic locations in real time via the internet and through video streaming. The audience will see the other musicians on video and hear them as if they’re in the room. Pretty trippy.

Sonic Projections with David Boykin (sax), Craig Taborn (piano) and Chad Taylor (drums) just recorded a new album for Rogue Art. The project is called “The Secret Escapades of Velvet Anderson” and I CAN’T WAIT to share that music with people!! Also, FPE records is going to release my second chapter of music inspired by Octavia Butler, called “Intergalactic Beings”, hopefully in fall 2013.

Sonic Projections is yet another of the diverse Nicole Mitchell’s ensemble projects

I’m also in the development stages of a new multi-arts project called Mandorla Awakening. I’m asking the question: “What would a technologically and spiritually advanced society that is built in harmony with nature be like?” And I’m inviting as many people as possible to imagine with me and contribute to the project in a story of two merging worlds that intersect in the same time/place, but different dimensions. I’m working with video artist Ulysses Jenkins and choreographer Lisa Naugle and also hoping to get students and community members involved in the project, which premieres fall 2013 at UCI’s Xmpl Theater.

More than before, I’m really trying to dig in and do the things that are most important to me as an artist. For example, I’m super excited to premiere this chamber work with the Tri-centric Orchestra April 21st, because I’m finally starting to incorporate some of the poetry and writing that I’ve done over the years with my music and this project does that. I’m really honored to have vocalists Fay Victor, Carl Hancock Rux and Kiran Ahluwalia involved. It’s called “When Life’s Door Opens,” and it’s an expression of what happens when we are at the crossroads of deciding to take our path (whether in art or something else).

Thanks so much for asking these tough questions!

For those not familiar, Stockton is about 75 minutes due southeast of the San Francisco Bay Area, though its closer and more convenient to fly into Sacramento. With a student body just north of 5K, the private University of the Pacific is one of those orderly, leafy-green, pristine campuses where students evidence a bit more carefree attitude than one might find on the typical state school mega-campus. One might easily envision student Dave Brubeck wandering around curiously seeking inspiration for the music that must surely have been buzzing around his head during his undergrad days there; in fact there was a lovely story recounted at some point during the weekend about the exact spot on campus where Dave met his eventual wife Iola. And therein was another of that weekend’s revelations. Admittedly I’ve not studied deeply on Brubeck’s stellar career, beyond knowing his key recordings, compositions, and bands. But the importance of Iola Brubeck to so many aspects of Dave’s hallmark career, from composition development to essential career advisories and bringing a level of common sense to a head constantly muddled by all manner of compositional and band leadership minutia, was driven home by the many stories and anecdotes I heard all weekend. Theirs was truly a partnership. Iola Brubeck was a serene presence at all of the festival activities – sans any sense of the ever-vigilant widow’s guardian of the flame, micro-managing posture I might add.

I suppose the same could be said of the two Brubeck sons on hand for the festival as well, bassist-trombonist Chris Brubeck and middle brother, drummer Dan Brubeck, both of whom appeared quite pleased at how their beloved dad’s legacy is being preserved at UOP. Apropos, their band set brought a rousing closure to the festival’s concert component. Their energetic performance included several re-imaginings of chestnuts from Dave’s book, like my personal Brubeck favorite “In Your Own Sweet Way.” And no, despite the fact this was a three evening festival (with some free music by the Brubeck Fellows on the lawn Saturday afternoon), audiences were not worn out by tired, rote versions of “Take Five” or “Blue Rondo a la Turk”, though they were both in the house.

In addition to the festival the Brubeck presence on the UOP campus also houses an extensive Dave Brubeck Archives. On-site we examined some fascinating documents relative to Brubeck’s various pronouncements and stances on civil rights – including a newspaper nugget detailing the fact that he gave up $40K in income as a result of his hardline stance that he would not bring his most famous quartet, integrated by bassist Eugene Wright, to play for segregated southern audiences in the turbulent ’60s at the height of his popularity. That kind of conviction is not common; an impression enhanced all the more by a quick calculation of what $40K would mean in 2013 dollars versus 1960s bucks! Dave Brubeck the humanitarian is highlighted in his archives at nearly the same level as Dave Brubeck the pianist-composer. We were treated to at least one rare recording, a rehearsal tape for Dave’s performance of “The Real Ambassadors” at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Dave rehearsing Louis Armstrong‘s vocal with Carmen McRae in Pops’ absence. Ever heard Dave Brubeck sing? Archivist Michael Wurtz can hook you up! Facts surrounding the development and staging of “The Real Ambassadors” and Iola Brubeck’s key role were also made crystal clear at the archives. The Dave Brubeck Archives are housed in the UOP University Library; learn more at http://go.pacific.edu/specialcollections or contact Michael Wurtz at 209/946-3105.

Arriving on Thursday afternoon, a couple of days after the festival kicked off, our first stop was a festival reception at an art exhibit at the LH Horton Gallery titled “The Art of Jazz” featuring jazz- themed works adjacent to the campus of Delta College. Among other interesting pieces we encountered the meticulously collaged baby grand piano conversion in the photo below, significantly with the equally iconoclastic Thelonious Monk, a Brubeck favorite, gazing down from an adjacent wall.

That evening the resourceful trumpeter-flugelhornist-composer Tom Harrell led his superb quintet – Danny Grissett on piano, Jonathan Blake on drums, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and tenor man Wayne Escoffery – through a harmonically expansive program of his original music. Particularly impressive was drummer Blake, whose accommodating style balances an innate sense of pushing and prodding the music in a way that brings real heft to the ensemble. There’s an impressive economy of motion in Jonathan Blake’s work, his cymbal set-up is low at drumhead level. And Tom Harrell remains one of the craftiest trumpeters in the music.

Friday afternoon presented the heart of the Brubeck Festival humanities component: interview/symposia with Gunther Schuller and Wynton Marsalis. In the company of fellow journalists Ashley Kahn and Howard Mandel, we had the pleasure of motoring to several activities with the erudite Schuller, mind still razor-sharp despite the physical infirmities of his senior years that have slowed his gait. For Schuller’s symposium he was quizzed by Simon Rowe on his brilliant career, including anecdotes from his fruitful Third Stream efforts of the 1950s when he and cohorts including pianist John Lewis endeavored with varying degrees of success to bridge the supposed gap between jazz and European concert music. Inevitably there were also details on Schuller’s participation on french horn in the Miles Davis Nonet billed as The Birth of the Cool. Part of that legend had musicians experimenting at Gil Evans‘ midtown Manhattan apartment. When Mandel inquired further, Schuller chuckled that apparently the place was awash in the blue haze of “smoke” and mattresses strewn across the floor; somewhat the crash pad. The ever-accommodating and erudite Wynton was quizzed by a squad of four eager UOP students before a rapt, full-house audience. Marsalis warmly recognized Schuller in recounting his successful teenaged audition for a spot in the annual summer intensive at Tanglewood. Among the judges of the young aspirants, Schuller championed Wynton’s admission to the program despite the fact that Marsalis fell south of the age limitation. Gunther recalled spotting Wynton off in a corner prepping for his audition, whispering to his trumpet not to fail him.

Later that evening the festival’s musical highlight was provided by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Arriving at the Bob Hope Theatre in downtown Stockton, it was refreshing to see an energetic audience lined up around the block to enter the sold-out theater. Once the band was announced the audience erupted in a display of pure joy that was startling. And the joy never let up as they lifted what had been a tired Orchestra on the final date of a 3-week tour to heights they likely hadn’t imagined when they dragged themselves onstage, weary from travel. The true fireworks came from the second half of the show when Wynton programmed a set that included arrangements of pieces associated with some of Brubeck’s favorite pianists, including Thelonious Monk’s “Light Blue,” and Chick Corea‘s “Windows.” Dave himself was represented by the week’s most successful “Blue Rondo a la Turk” essay.

The festival closed with a Saturday evening concert featuring the Brubeck Fellows (preceding the Brubeck Sons), augmented by choir and horn quartet, in a program of Brubeck’s work for jazz band and voice that was conducted by Dave’s longtime manager Russell Gloyd, who proved a most affable navigator guiding the audience through several delightful Brubeck anecdotes and generally demystifying what might have been a ponderous program in less skilled hands.

The latest crew of Brubeck Fellows studying at the Dave Brubeck Institute

Each evening the festival was capped off by an afterglow set at the club Take Five, just off the Stockton strip known as the “Miracle Mile.” A very accommodating room carved out by the wise woman who owns the joint, adjacent to her lively sports bar, Take Five serves as club/workshop for the Brubeck Fellows quintet and whatever visiting artists, or in this case festival artists, arrive at the Brubeck Institute to educate. The first of our three Take Five nightcaps we heard Simon Rowe on piano in a band that included impressive alto man Patrick Langham (below), the director of jazz studies at UOP, and guest vocalist Janeice Jaffe. Closing night of the festival at Take Five featured the Brubeck Fellows, eager and impressive young musicians to be sure.

Patrick Langham

To learn more about the Brubeck Institute, including their Fellowship Program for young musicians and the Brubeck Summer Colony, visit http://pacific.edu/community/centers-clinics-and-institute/Brubeck-Institute. You’re going to witness more and more Brubeck Fellows on the frontlines of jazz development in years to come, including one exceptional alum I saw recently in a performance of his own music, young drummer Justin Brown, who is seen most often these days as a member of Gerald Clayton‘s trio, along with bassist Joe Sanders who also prepped at the Brubeck Institute.