Terri Lyne Carrington Presents Money Jungle at Dizzy’s
Fresh off of her Grammy-award winning ‘Mosaic Project,’ Terri Lyne Carrington went straight back into the studio to create another project of equal quality and substance. ‘Money Jungle’ was originally recorded in 1962 by Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus. Just over 50 years later Carrington brings back the raw tension evoked by Ellington, Roach, and Mingus with her own trio filled out by Christian McBride and Gerald Clayton and featuring additional guests Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Tia Fuller, and more. Check out what Carrington had to say about the record before you see her perform it at Dizzy’s this week!
Alicia Olatuja: A Whole New Sense of Time
Alicia Olatuja came to national prominence with her solo for President Obama’s most recent inauguration with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, but with Olatuja the music goes a whole lot deeper than simply that performance. Between gigs with her husband, Michael Olatuja, as the Olatuja Project and backing up artists like Chaka Khan, Somi, and Christian McBride on vocals, Olatuja has crafted a unique space for her own music which she will releasing this Spring. Be sure to check out her process behind recording the album, working with incredible musicians, and more as we discuss her music.
Terri Lyne Carrington Pays Homage to Duke Ellington
On February 5th, Terri Lyne Carrington will drop her homage to Duke Ellington to coincide with the 50th anniversary of their iconic 1963 Money Jungle album.The album features keyboardist Gerald Clayton and bassist Christian McBride who represent the historic trio.
Ulysses Owens Jr.: Redefining The Commerce of Creativity
Beginning in the church and adhering to the concept of a higher calling as a defining principle of his musicianship, Ulysses Owens Jr. has made his life as much an exercise in nurturing great musicians as it is an effort to find and claim his own place as a drummer. Between drum fills, stages, and studio takes, Owens works to uplift the youth of his hometown in Florida, and imbue the same sense of community that raised him into a slightly splintered jazz scene in New York City. Recognizing his own genius in the company of mavericks and wunderkinds is not enough for Owens, who feels that they should all recognize and celebrate those qualities in one another.
NY Times Features The National Jazz Museum in Harlem
The Jazz Museum in Harlem has been going through some renovations throughout the past few years, and now with associate artistic director Jonathan Batiste on board, things have been going better than ever. Batiste is a masterful musician and educator. In his role at the museum Batiste has implemented the Jazz Is: Now! program in which Batiste and his Stay Human Band (now touring Europe) deconstructs jazz music for fans going through the music and history. Also on board with the museum is legendary bassist Christian McBride who, along with Batiste and artistic director Loren Schoenberg, are preparing to open a new 10,000-square-foot facility for the museum across from the Apollo Theater on 125th Street. Check out the New York Times article below and be sure to follow the programs going on at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
Joe Jackson Creates Tribute Album to Duke Ellington
Five-time Grammy nominee Joe Jackson has brought together a very different group of musicians to help him reinterpret 15 Duke Ellington tracks (compiled into 10 for the album) on his forthcoming tribute album entitled The Duke. “Ellington didn’t consider his own arrangements to be sacred,” Jackson notes. “He constantly reworked them, sometimes quite radically. So I think my approach is in the spirit of the man himself.”
Marianne Solivan: From Small Town to New York Pt. 2
As Marianne Solivan releases her debut album entitled “Prisoner of Love,” we sat down to discuss how Solivan got into the business, the process of creating and recording music, as well as where she sees herself going. In part two, Marianne takes us through her recording process for Prisoner of Love and more!
Two Releases 3/20/12
Esperanza Spalding drops Radio Music Society today featuring producer, Q-Tip and special guests Joe Lovano, Terri Lyne Carrington, Billy Hart, Jack DeJohnette, Lalah Hathaway, Algebra Blessett, and more. The groove-oriented album is rooted is rooted in jazz sensibilities, but made for the average music consumer. It is both relatable and intricate, paying homage to legends and unknowns alike.
Marianne Solivan Live on WNYC 2pm-3pm
In anticipation of her debut release, Prisoner of Love, vocalist/composer Marianne Solivan will be featured live with both a performance and interview on WNYC from 2pm-3pm. Moreover, you can check out the Marianne Solivan Quartet featuring Xavier Davis on piano, Yotam Silberstein on guitar, Boris Koslov on bass, and Jerome Jennings on drums, at Dizzy’s this week (3/6-3/10) beginning at 11pm.
Congrats Grammy Winners!
Congrats to all of the winners from this past weekend’s Grammy Awards. There were many musicians involved with many of the winning projects that didn’t get as much shine. Big shout outs to Chris Dave, Pino Palladino, James Poyser, and Matt Sweeney for their work on Adele’s 21.
Warren Wolf Releases Self-Titled Debut Album
Warren Wolf, the extraordinary vibraphonist and multi-instrumentalist released his self-titled debut album on Mack Avenue Records yesterday. He is joined on the album by legendary bassist and mentor Christian McBride, pianist Peter Martin, drummer Greg Hutchinson, and soprano saxophonist Tim Green, as well as guest trumpeter Jeremy Pelt on a couple of tracks.
Evolution of the Instrument: Bass
That’s why we have launched the Evolution of the Instrument Series, to trace the lineage of legendary musicians who defined what it means to play an instrument. The first installment traces the history of the bass as it began to break into the jazz realm through to the present. There are so many innovators of the bass, add your influences into the comments.
Warren Wolf: Multi-Instrumentalist, Japanese Superstar, & Metal-head?
I would love to get in a playing situation with Chick Corea, but that’s just jazz, there’s a whole other side of music I haven’t even gotten to yet. I’m very much an R&B and hip-hop player too. Shit I would like to do some country, who knows? I’m not interested in the commercial R&B, but people like Anthony Hamilton, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, D’Angelo, Prince. I would only do it with people who still utilize real musicians, I don’t want to do anything where everything is so synthesized or programmed. That’s not really fun for me. I’d be bored.
Tia Fuller Decisive Steps
Decisive Steps, the third solo album from Tia Fuller, is a soulful affair. Channeling her influences, Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane, Fuller keeps her sound full-bodied, clear and in-the-pocket.
