See Igmar Thomas at Rockwood Music Hall Free Tonight
Returning from touring with Esperanza Spalding on the Radio Music Society tour, trumpet extraordinaire (and Revive Big Band leader) Igmar Thomas has been playing a few spot gigs around NYC. Tonight will feature him with keyboardist Yuki Hirano, drummer Justin Tyson, and guest emcee Raydar Ellis. These gigs are always fire and tonight it’s free!
Talib Kweli + Live Band at Brooklyn Bowl Next Week
Talib Kweli is one of the most respected rappers alive, so it is extremely fitting for him to have one of the dopest live bands to grace the hip-hop medium. This Sunday and Monday (3/17-3/18), Kweli and his band will be hitting at Brooklyn Bowl for his hometown crowd. Opening for them will be respected producer Cory-Mo out of Houston, Texas.
Winter JazzFest 2013: Marcus Strickland’s Twi-Life
In preparation for Winter JazzFest this weekend we dropped by the rehearsal for Marcus Strickland’s Twi-Life to get a sneak peak of this all-star band featuring Strickland on saxes, the legendary Ku-umba Frank Lacy on trombone, Yuki Hirano holding down the keys, Mark Kelley on bass, Charles Haynes on the drums, and emcee Raydar Ellis on the mic.
Lex Sadler: Rhythm & Stealth
We caught up with bassist and producer Lex Sadler for a look into how he’s bringing his passion for electronic music into the jazz realm. Touring as Blitz the Ambassador’s bassist and planning projects with Ari Hoenig, Sadler has spread himself over a wide range of musicians and is bringing it all together with his numerous innovative projects. With the release of ‘Twenty Three Seven,’ Sadler shows us a glimpse of the future of integrating live musicians with loops and samples. Check out our interview and take a sneak peak at how the album was made in the video below.
Talib’s Musicians: Freedom of Expression
The legendary Talib Kweli sat down to give The Revivalist some straight talk on the dynamics behind his myriad of projects. From DJ’s to live bands, and from hip-hop to jazz Talib walks us through what it takes to be in his band and why a group without a DJ can’t be playing hip-hop…with a few notable exceptions. Talib lays loose into why he loves to play with a live band and what it takes to be a go-to musician for Idle Warship.
Key Bass As An Instrument
photo by Chris Carr The first time I ever remember hearing the term “key bass” was during several episodes of Diddy’s, MTV show “Making His Band.” He was assembling the tour band for his group Dirty Money. There were brief moments of discussions and decisions about which bass/key bass player to choose, but those moments were [...]
