Tom Harrell brings new album and group to the Vanguard

by Kelsey Higgins

“Praised by Newsweek for his pure melodic genius, Tom Harrell is widely recognized as one of the most creative and uncompromising jazz instrumentalists and composers of our time,” AllAboutJazz.com said.

Time Out has also referred to him as, “one of the greatest trumpeters alive.”

He is a frequent winner in Downbeat and JazzTimes magazines’ Critics and Readers Polls, a Grammy nominee and a Jazz Journalists 2012 Trumpeter of the Year nominee.

Last night he finished his two week engagement at the Village Vanguard, which was named one of the best jazz shows in New York City for the month of October by the Village Voice.

Colors of a Dream

Harrell was last at the Village Vanguard in March of 2013, with the same group that performed with him on Oct. 8 – 13.  The quintet, which the Village Voice called, “one of jazz’s finest working units,” features Harrell on trumpet and flugelhorn, Jaleel Shaw on alto saxophone, Wayne Escoffery on tenor saxophone, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and popular singer/songwriter Esperanza Spalding on bass and vocals.

The group appears on Harrell’s album “Colors of a Dream,” set to release tomorrow via HighNote records.

Trip

During his second week at the Village Vanguard (Oct. 15 – 20), Harrell performed with his exploratory quartet called Trip, which features Ungonna Okegwo on bass, Adam Cruz on drums, and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, who the Village Voice called, “arguably a legend in the making.”

The band first debuted this month as it premiered a suite Harrell wrote specifically for the group for the Dave Douglas’ Festival of New Trumpet Music.

Further Reading

In a piece published by the New York Times in 1995, writer Mike Zwerin writes of Harrell’s, “clinically diagnosed paranoid [schizophrenia],” and how music has helped him cope.

Multi-reedist and composer Mike McGinnis releases two albums

by Kelsey Higgins

Photo by Michael Weintrob

A native of Maine, clarinetist, saxophonist and composer Mike McGinnis moved to New York City in 1997 and has been active in the jazz scene ever since.

On Oct. 8, 2013 McGinnis released two albums, which showcase his wide array of talents; “Ängsudden Song Cycle” released by 482 Music and and “Road*Trip” released by RKM.

He will be appearing on Thursday, Oct. 24 at Barbès with the nine other musicians who appear on “Road*Trip.”

Ängsudden Song Cycle

Photo by Michael Weintrob

The New York City Jazz Record called McGinnis’ new album, “a poetically driven artistic statement… a clarinet-centered, stringbased song cycle, portraying nature through achingly beautiful arrangements.”

The album was inspired by the paintings and poems of McGinnis’ longtime friend, the Filipino American visual artist MuKha, said 482 music.

Road*Trip

David Garland, host of WNYC radio show “Spinning on Air,” introducted McGinnis to the music of Bill Smith, who has studied with Darius Milhaud and worked closely with Dave Brubeck.

“I loved the fact that he was exploring everything within the ’50s jazz language,” McGinnis said, according to RKM Music. “I see him as some one who explores the full potential of whatever it is that he’s doing.”

McGinnis worked with Smith to master his concerto and Smith encouraged him to write his own and the result is McGinnis’ new Roadtrip, said WNYC. “McGinnis navagates the ensemble through a musical landscape full of adventures, surprises, and beautiful vistas.”

Further Reading

Roulette, which is an organization “committed to supporting work by young and emerging artists as well as by established innovators,” sat down with McGinnis to talk about his work, his peers and what music means to him.