Jazz & Colors returns to Central Park this Saturday

Jazz & Colors has returned for its second year in Central Park, and according to the Village Voice it is a must see for the month of November.

According to Jazz Times the event is produced by independent music and film entrepreneur Peter Shapiro, in partnership with the City of New York and the Central Park Conservancy.

Shapiro told The New York Times that, “the idea was to put music throughout the park, wherever you went, but the key to that was no tickets. No seats. No V.I.P.s. That’s where I had to make a decision to fund it myself.”

The event is booked by  Brice Rosenbloom who is best known for conceiving and producing the Winter Jazzfest.

This year will be a little different though, said The New York Times, as all of the bands will simultaneously play the same two sets of jazz standards, from noon to 4 p.m.

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.

Back-to-back Saturdays with guitarist Mary Halvorson

by Kelsey Higgins

Guitarist, Mary Halvorson has been taking the New York jazz scene by storm ever since 2002 after finishing her studies at Welseyan Univeristy and The New School.

According to her website, she appeared with the Brian Questa Trio last night at Spectrum; however, that is not all this month for Halvorson. She will also perform with the Tom Rainey Trio on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Cornelia Street Cafe and on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Dither Extravaganza with Weasel Walter (drums) and Peter Evans (trumpet).

Who is Mary Halvorson?

In February 2008, She and her trio gained recognition from the New York Times after their performance at the Tea Lounge in Brooklyn. The Times said she, “orients herself around jazz, yet stands about two steps removed from it.”

Since then she has been called, “the most forward-thinking guitarist working right now,” by Lars Gotrich of NPR and, “one of today’s most formidable bandleaders,” by Francis Davis of the Village Voice.

Photo by Peter Gannushkin / DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET

The Mary Halverson Quintet

Halvorson still works with her original trio, comprised of John Hebert on upright bass and Ches Smith on drums. They gained recognition from NPR for their dual traditional and unconventional style with their debut album “Dragon’s Head.” They have since released two other albums.

The Halvorson trio combined with Jon Irabagon (saxophone) and Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet) to form The Mary Halvroson Quintet. They released “Saturn Sings” and earned slot six in NPR’s Top 10 jazz albums of 2010 list.

AllAboutJazz.com’s John Sharpe said the quintet’s sophomore album, “Bending Bridges,” had an end result that again, “defies classification, touching on spidery improv, jazz tradition and avant rock in a cleverly idiosyncratic brew. Only this time out, she is even more successful.”

Click here to hear the Mary Havlorson Quintet perform an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. 

The Mary Halvorson Quintet by Peter Gannushkin / DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET

Last April Halvorson was ranked at number 21 out of Timeout’s Top 25 Essential New York Jazz Icons.

Further Reading

On Friday the Village Voice interviewed Halvorson and another influential guitar player, Brandon Seabrook, who appeared together at Roulette on Friday.

Welcome to the Hot Plate

The word “hot” is often used to describe great jazz music. The term “hot plate” refers specifically to a hot recording. The Big Apple Hot Plate Report is a content curation site centering around New York based jazz clubs and musicians. Content will range from weekend event postings, the history of clubs, artist profiles, festival coverage, special event announcements, performance and album reviews and much more. Stay tuned to hear from all the hottest clubs and publications including:

The Village Voice

This online publication, “has been recognized as one of the nation’s premier online sites for journalistic quality and local content.” The magazine has been awarded three Pulitzer prizes, a National Press Foundation Award and the George Polk Award. The Voice was founded in October of 1955 and ever since it has covered all the latest in New York politics and the cultural scene. This is one publication New York natives swear by.

Time Out New York

This is another magazine that many New Yorkers rely on to get their nightlife and entertainment updates. On their website, Time Out identifies themselves as “the obsessive guide to impulsive entertainment.” The online publication provides readers with full access to magazine content including event postings and reviews.

NPR Music

The National Public Radio replaced the National Educational Radio Network in 1970 and has been distributing “award-winning news, information, and music programming to a network of 975 independent stations…. programming reaches 26 million listeners every week. News, interviews, profiles and reviews are all published on this site. NPR also runs The Record and A Blog Supreme: NPR Jazz, which are both blogs centered around the music industry.

Downbeat

Although this is a publication with roots in Chicago, Downbeat has been around and thrived in the jazz scene since the start of it all. Almost no other publication can claim to have done the same. According the website Downbeat published its first issue in July of 1934 and “collected the first important body of pre-1935 jazz history. It became monthly, then semi-monthly, a diary of the swing era as it happened, then tracked the progression of bop, rock, freedom, fusion, and nineties neoclassicism, all from the perspective of the musician.”

JazzTimes

Starting off as Radio Free Jazz, this publication changed its name to JazzTimes in 1980 when the magazine began to expand. It is “widely regarded as the world’s leading jazz publication.” Several contributing writers have received ASCAP and Deems Taylor awards for jazz journalism, and the magazine has also received several Gold and Silver Ozzie Awards. Every month JazzTimes releases a list of CD releases of “what’s worth purchasing–and what isn’t,” among many features and columns. JazzTimes also offers readers a wide range of directories for clubs, education programs, record labels and music festivals.

Jazz Inside

This New York based magazine was founded in 1997 and is available online for free with  many recordings and play along tapes. Jazz Inside includes, “exclusive in-depth interviews, excerpts from books about jazz supply insights into the ever-evolving lives, events, ideas and contributions of jazz music’s most famous luminaries. You’ll also find as many as 100 detailed jazz CD reviews.” Also available are complete transcriptions and analysis of improvisation solos and instructional articles designed to help jazz musicians and enthusiasts of any level better understand the art.

Hot House

This is another duel print and online publication. It was founded in March 1982 and has been providing “music enthusiasts with a handy printed guide to the best in New York jazz clubs, concerts and festivals – with informed commentary on up-and-comers, as well as established talent.”

NY Jazz Report

This site provides links to all of New York’s hottest jazz clubs and restaurants along with links to many recordings and articles in the spot light. There is also a column on the left hand side of the page dedicated to performances for the week, which include artist names and where they will be performing.

The New York City Jazz Record

Founded in 2002, this gazzette has a readership of over 20 thousand, according to the website. Over the past seven years it has been nominated as “Best Jazz Periodical” by Jazz Journalist Association Awards six times. Issues are available for free, their latest can be downloaded here.

Naturally, the New York Times and the New Yorker are also prime sources for cultural events, features, interviews, reviews and news. Among these publications content for this blog will be drawn directly from venue’s websites including: Smalls Jazz Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Fat Cat, Blue Note, Birdland and The Village Vanguard.

Stay tuned to hear what’s cookin’ in the Big Apple on the Hot Plate Report, and don’t miss a single beat!