DJ Raydar Ellis Presents: Dubs Mix #1 (Winter Jazz Fest 2013 Edition)
Here is a 20-ish minute mix of some of todays DOPEST Jazz. I made this in preparation for Winter Jazz Fest 2013 where Revive Music will be hosting a 2 night stay. Rich Medina & I will be holding down the decks all night long, so come through and party with us!!
Esperanza Spalding to Headline “A Night Of Freedom” Benefit Concert at City Winery
After a triumphant two night run at the world famous Apollo Theater, Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding returns to New York City armed with her bass, and a message. The prodigy from Portland will headline “A Night of Freedom,” an intimate concert at City Winery on December 4, with featured vocalists Bobby McFerrin and Gretchen Parlato, to benefit the Free The Slaves organization.
Otis Brown III Featured in Downbeat
After raising nearly $12,000 from hundreds of donors for his debut record as a bandleader, Otis Brown III is getting down to business. He recorded the album in April 2011 with a set of musicians that have defined music in there own right including Robert Glasper, Ben Williams, John Ellis, Keyon Harrold, Bilal, Esperanza Spalding, Gretchen Parlato and Nikki Ross.
Jake Sherman: The Inner Workings of an Organist
Jake Sherman has grown to become a quiet force within both the jazz and pop realms. Between laying down organ on projects with the Armand Hirsch Trio, Gretchen Parlato, Kenneth “Gizmo” Rogers, and many others, as well as recording every instrument on his own solo record, Sherman has amassed a repertoire to match any and has harnessed his own style on the organ, something that is lost to many today. In our interview Jake takes us through his work as well as the inner workings of the organ on a technical scale.
Lionel Loueke Drops Heritage 8/28/12
Acclaimed and inventive guitarist, songwriter, vocalist Lionel Loueke will drop his latest endeavor, Heritage, August 28, 2012 on Blue Note Records. The album is co-produced by Robert Glasper who is also featured on piano with Derrick Hdoge on electric bass and Mark Guiliana on drums. Gretchen Parlato also adds in her flavor with some background vocals. In total, Heritage will feature seven compositions by Loueke, two by Glasper, and one co-written by the two of them. The title comes from Lionel’s personal ancestry.
Tillery: A Quiet Intensity
The ladies of Tillery, Rebecca Martin who has been play music for over two decades in the jazz world as well as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, Gretchen Parlao one of the most respected jazz vocalist of our time, and Becca Stevens the youngest of the three who is already a prolific song-writer and guitarist are a powerful team. It is not everyday that you see three jazz vocalist coming together which makes Tillery a quite refreshing and important group. Grounded in friendship and love their music exudes compassion and warmth. The Revivalist spoke with Tillery while they were together at Rebecca Martin’s house in Upstate New York. These ladies shared their giggles, infectious energy, and wise words on what it means to be a jazz vocalist today.
Best 2011 Features: The Instruments Issue
The Instruments Issue centers on exceptional, challenging or thought-provoking moments and movements in jazz. At the heart of our creative energy for this issue is an insistence on understanding the musician’s experience and illuminating the mystery around their instruments.
Alan Hampton at The Living Room Every Tuesday
Singer, multi-instrumentalist Alan Hampton will be bringing his band to The Living Room every Tuesday night in September to play material from his debut solo album The Moving Sidewalk which was released in this past spring. He is also gearing up to release a new solo album this fall, so look out for brand new original compositions from Hampton and the band.
Terri Lyne Carrington The Mosaic Project
By giving birth to this project, these women are not only speaking to the intrinsic biological ability of the female species to give life, but of the infinite amount of ways in which they are able to do that, literally and metaphorically. Here, they just happen to employ powerful words and impressively thoughtful arrangements to conceive and deliver one of the most stunning albums that has been released by anybody this year; black, brown, green, purple, man, woman, or child. For that reason alone, it could be argued that Teri Lyne Carrington’s reluctance to execute an all-female project was an exercise in patience that The Mosaic Project and its contributors have made well worth the wait.
The Jazz Gallery Launches Kickstarter Campaign To Create Free Rehearsal Space for Musicians
The Jazz Gallery, an “international cultural center” that produces close to 150 performances a year, is working on a Kickstarter campaign to offer free rehearsal space for jazz musicians. The Jazz Gallery is one of the most innovative and fresh performance spaces for up-and-coming artists. For audiences, $75 a person ($50 per student) get significantly discounted ticket prices to see artists like Gretchen Parlato, Ben Williams, Gerald Clayton and many more.
Evolution of The Instrument: The Vocalists (Part 1)
The quality of the voice coupled with the emotional content of the individual behind it creates, each time, a unique product. With the help of one of our favorite contemporary vocalists at The Revivalist, here is a list of jazz singers born before 1920 as part of our 1st installment of vocalists in “Evolution of The Instrument,” curated by Gretchen Parlato.
Gretchen Parlato at the Jazz Standard
The entire set was mesmerizing, which, though full-length, was unfairly short. The band did great treatments of the albums’ material, demonstrating the evolution of songs they’ve been touring with for months now. The constant development of the songs is what makes Parlato and her band so engaging from show to show; what keeps us fans listening, eager for more.
Don’t miss Gretchen Parlato at Jazz Standard, May 6-8
In our review of Gretchen Parlato’s latest release The Lost and Found, our writer Kyla Marshell wrote, “Miles Davis once famously said, “It’s not the notes you play; it’s the notes you don’t play.” He meant that there was another way of entering jazz than through rapid-fire chord changes and solos; that restraint could be just as illuminating, if not more so, than the blistering dexterity so common to his day.” Here in this line, encompasses what you can expect from a Gretchen Parlato show; a quiet restraint that is both strong and beautiful. We are huge fans of Parlato’s latest release and have been waiting with baited breathe for her return to New York to perform upcoming string of dates at the Jazz Standard this weekend, May 6th-8th.
“Shedding Everything”: Gretchen Parlato’s The Lost and Found
Miles Davis once famously said, “It’s not the notes you play; it’s the notes you don’t play.” He meant that there was another way of entering jazz than through rapid-fire chord changes and solos; that restraint could be just as illuminating, if not more so, than the blistering dexterity so common to his day.
Gretchen Parlato seems an undeniable descendant of this school of thought. Her voice, feather-soft, rarely rises above that unmistakable, signature whisper. She improvises, but bypasses intricate scat singing for solos with fewer notes and less-pronounced syllables. In a similar fashion to Davis, her music is more about what she doesn’t do than what she does.
Back Otis Brown III’s Debut Album
You may know Otis Brown III from his stints as drummer for the likes of recent GRAMMY award winner Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano, Kurt Elling, Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, John Legend or any number of other gigs, but now it’s time for Otis to do his own thing and he needs your support!
Alan Hampton’s Album Release Party at Rockwood Tonight
Tonight multi-instrumentalist Alan Hampton will be performing at Rockwood Music Hall to release his new album The Moving Sidewalk. After making a name for himself in NYC as a bassist for talented musicians such as Kendrick Scott and and Gretchen Parlato, Hampton went to work on his own album, expanding on the range of talent he has shown thus far.
Esperanza Spalding at the Union County Performing Arts Center
Going to an Esperanza performance post Grammys evokes a similar feeling as Obama’s presidential win shortly after the 2008 elections. All music aside, the commentary from the audience at this Saturday’s performance at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Nahway, New Jersey, was more than an admiration for her technical prowess, but the collective rejoicing [...]
New Gretchen Parlato Album Out April 5th, Associate Produced by Robert Glasper
Gretchen Parlato, whose last album In A Dream cemented her in the jazz vocal world, has announced details for her next album The Lost and Found due out April 5, 2011. Associate produced by Robert Glasper and in collaboration with drummer Kendrick Scott, bassist Derrick Hodge, guitarist/vocalist Alan Hampton, tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens and pianist Taylor Eigsti, the album’s lineup is chock full of heavy hitters. To celebrate the announcement, Gretchen is taking her show on the road.
Alan Hampton: Pre-Release Party TONIGHT
Performing with the likes of Gretchen Parlato, Sufjan Stevens, Robert Glasper, and Elizabeth & the Catapult has given Alan Hampton a reputation in NYC as a talented and reliable sideman, but don’t underestimate him. Not only is he a talented bass player, but as his debut LP The Moving Sidewalk attests, he is also a masterful singer, songwriter and musician in general.
