blue note september 2012

s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 2 p r o g r a m

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CHICK COREA & GARY BURTONWITH THE HARLEM STRING QUARTET

September 24 & 25

NEW YORK

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SUNDAY BRUNCH

DAVID BERKMAN TRIOseptember 9

JUILLIARD JAZZ BRUNCHseptember 16

WOMEN OF THE WORLDseptember 23

MARIANNE SOLIVANseptember 30

LATE NIGHT GROOVE SERIES

DESSY Di LAUROseptember 7

JESSICA LATSHAWseptember 8

ADRIAN HIBBS september 14

DARREN LYONSseptember 15

CHELSEA BARATZseptember 21

NINA VIDALseptember 22

LAKECIA BENJAMINseptember 28

RUSSEL TAYLORseptember 29

SY SMITH & ZO!september 3

LIONEL LOUEKEHERITAGE CD RELEASEPRODUCED BY JILL NEWMAN PRODUCTIONSseptember 4 - 6

NINETY MILESSTEFON HARRIS, DAVID SáNCHEZ & NICHOLAS PAYTONseptember 7 - 9

SAMMY FIGUEROAseptember 10

BRECKER BROTHERS BAND REUNIONseptember 11 - 16

ROMAIN COLLINPRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION W/ REVIVE MUSICseptember 17

STANLEY CLARKE & HIROMI DUOseptember 18 - 23

GADI LEHAVI: SOLO PIANOseptember 20 - 22, 24, 25

CHICK COREA & GARY BURTONW/ HARLEM STRING QUARTETseptember 24 & 25

ROY AYERS september 26 - 30

SEPTEMBER CALENDAR

TWO SHOWS NIGHTLY:LATE NIGHT GROOVE:

SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH:

8 & 10:30PMFRIDAYS & SATURDAYS 12:30AM MIDnIghT12:30 & 2:30 PM

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with each issue

75-100 REVIEWS In detail: CDs, Books, Products

PHOTO GALLERIES

festivals, artists

DIRECTORIES Artists, Festivals, Education

INTERVIEWS

In-depth — with influential and emerging creators

PLUS: For those who make music:

100-200-page E-BOOK (solos, songs, exercises,

how-to articles & more)

Jazz Inside Magazine P.O. Box 30284 Elkins Park, PA 19027 215-887-8880

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and Emerging Artists PLUS a 100-200 Page e-Book

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Coming from similar schools of musi-cal thought and touring together ex-tensively with the hip-hop/soul outfit (and Grammy nominee) known as The Foreign Exchange, Zo! and Sy come together to present soul music with a certain power and presence that can only be acquired through mutual love of their craft... and perhaps a Wonder Twin fistbump!

Zo!, multi-instrumentalist/producer/composer/educator - perhaps a lot of backslashes, yes. But Zo! has earned each title and to much critical ac-claim; sometimes even being called a “young Quincy Jones.” Hailing from Detroit, Zo! honed his musical chops first on keys, teaching himself piano at 11 and moving on to guitar, bass, drums and more since then. With more than 12 albums to date includ-ing SunStorm and his popular cover series “...just visiting”, Zo!’s mastery of so many instruments might only be trumped by his deft production abilities. Re-arranging, re-interpreting and bravely taking on covers across

the musical spectrum, (think, George Michael to Steely Dan), and compos-ing crowd-pleasing instrumentals (that’s no easy feat) like “Flight Of The Blackbyrd”, Zo! has garnered thou-sands of fans with his sound - layered with gritty drums, complex yet acces-sible chords and an easy-going swing that seems to mimic Zo!’s personality to a tee!

Emmy-nominated vocalist Sy Smith has always wowed audiences with her voice, her sweet soprano seems to drip a funky concoction of honey, vulnerability, bravado and laughter. The joke might be on that same au-dience though, that is, if they missed that Sy is not only a virtuoso vocalist, but she’s also an über-talented key-boardist, composer and producer too! Live, she can be seen nailing notes only Minnie Riperton dared to master AND laying down bass lines worthy of a Larry Graham head-nod. NYC-born, DC-bred and now LA-based, Sy is no stranger to the urban hustle. On her own Psyko Records, she’s released 4 studio albums (including the latest crowd pleaser Fast And Curious), 1 greatest hits, 1 EP and a live DVD; all gaining her fans from around the world. But touring as a featured sup-porting vocalist with acts as varied as Whitney Houston, Meshell Ndegeo-cello, DJ Quik, Usher, Chris Botti and now Sheila E. is a testimony to Sy’s fluid vocal and musical ability.

The Sy/Zo! Show is everything that soul music encompasses, and ev-erything that nu-soul aspires to be. The duo fuses elements of jazz, hi-phop, old-school, and more to cre-ate a musical set that concert-goers have called “unforgettable”! Perform-ing songs from both artists’ catalogs, this set features Zo! on keys, Sy on synth bass/vocals/vocal effects plus a drummer and guitarist to round out this high-energy quartet!

SY SMITH & ZO!

SEPTEMBER 3 8 & 10:30PM $15 AT TABLE / $10 AT BAR

PRODUCED BY JILL NEWMAN PRODUCTIONS

Originally from the small West Afri-can nation of Benin, guitarist Lionel Loueke has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past several years. Praised by his mentor Herbie Hancock as “a musical painter,” he combines harmonic sophistication, soaring melody, a deep knowledge of Af-rican music, and conventional and extended guitar techniques to create a warm and evocative sound of his own. JazzTimes wrote: “Loueke’s lines are smartly formed and deft-ly executed. His ear-friendly me-lodicism draws both from tra-ditional African sources and a lifetime of closely studying the likes of Jim Hall and George Benson, and his rhythmic shifts come quickly and packed with surprises.”

A graduate of the Berklee College of Music and the prestigious Theloni-ous Monk Institute of Jazz, Loueke released his full-length indepen-dent debut, In a Trance, in 2005. Af-ter releasing Virgin Forest in 2007, he signed with Blue Note Records, which released his latest two albums, Karibu (2008) and Mwaliko (2010). He was also named the top Rising Star Guitarist in DownBeat Magazine’s annual Critics Poll in both 2008 and 2009.

On August 28th, Loueke will release Heritage, his dynamic third Blue Note album, which was co-produced by labelmate Robert Glasper. Heritage finds Loueke exploring a more elec-tric sound with a new trio featuring Derrick Hodge on electric bass and Mark Guiliana on drums. The album presents seven new compositions by

Loueke, two by Glasper, and one co-written by the two. Glasper also c o n t r i b u t e s piano and key-boards to six tracks, while singer Gretch-en Parlato provides back-ground vocals on two tracks.

A veteran of bands led by Terence Blanchard and Herbie Han-cock, Loueke is bringing jazz into vi-brant contact

with the sounds of West Africa, in particular his native Benin. The title Heritage is a direct reference to his personal odyssey. “I have two heri-tages,” Loueke says. “One is from my ancestors from Africa, and that goes through my music, my body, my soul, every aspect of what I do. But also I have the heritage from the Occident, from the West, from Europe and the U.S. I speak English, I speak French, and I have that heritage too. I called this album Heritage because I’ve been blessed by all different parts of the world, and most of the songs re-flect that.”

LIONEL LOUEKE HERITAGE CD RELEASEWITH SPECIAL GUESTS ROBERT GLASPER, MARK GUILIANA & DERRICK HODGESEPTEMBER 4 - 6 8 & 10:30PM $30 AT TABLE / $20 AT BAR

L at e N i g h t g r o o v e S e r i e S

Tonight at the Blue Note, Harris and Sánchez bring the Ninety Miles proj-ect to the Blue Note stage, together with trumpeter Nicholas Payton and a dynamic rhythm section.

Ninety Miles is the distance between Miami and Havana, the closest points in the U.S. and Cuba. It’s also the name of the ambi-tious project from New Orleans-born trumpeter Christian Scott, Puerto Rican saxophonist Da-vid Sánchez, and New York vibra-phonist Stefon Harris. Released in June 2011 as a companion to a full-length docu-mentary of the same name, the Ninety Miles al-bum is the latest in a long line of artistic efforts to bridge the Cuba-U.S. divide and emphasize the musical, cultural, and historical kinships between the two nations.

Recorded in Havana, the music on Ninety Miles displays the Caribbean roots that connect traditional Cu-ban music with U.S. jazz and New Orleans, but it looks relentlessly for-ward. Scott, Harris, and Sánchez, along with the Cuban pianists Rem-ber Duharte and Harold López-Nus-sa, whose separate quartets fill out the album, are modern jazz players through and through. Their composi-tions are ambitious, harmonically and rhythmically complex, and diversely influenced.

Although each musician on the album is a virtuosic performer in his own right, the real pleasure in Ninety Miles is when the whole band gets cooking. The interplay between these mas-ters and the expert rhythm sections behind them moves the project well past its efforts in musicology or his-

tory. This is a session, not a study.

A four-time Grammy nomi-nee, Harris has been hon-ored as Best V ibraphonist by JAZZIZ, JazzTimes, and DownBeat. His seventh album and Concord Records de-but, Urbanus (2009), re-ceived rave reviews and garnered a Grammy nomi-nation for Best Contemporary

Jazz Album.

Sánchez is unquestionably one of the finest, most progressive players on the contemporary jazz scene, as more than a decade’s worth of bold, brilliant work has already proven. His latest Concord release Cultural Sur-vival (2008) topped many critics’ Best Jazz Albums of the Year lists.

Hailed as a virtuoso before he even graduated high school, Payton is one of the most prodigious trumpet tal-ents of our time. A Grammy nominee and outspoken jazz pundit, he re-cently released his ninth solo effort, titled Bitches (2011).

NINETY MILES: STEFON HARRIS, DAVID SáNCHEZ & NICHOLAS PAYTONSEPTEMBER 7 - 9 8 & 10:30PM $35 AT TABLE / $20 AT BAR

Dessy Di Lauro delivers a unique fla-vor of original music she describes as “Feathered Frohawk Futuristic Art De-co-Centric Harlem Renaissance Hep Music,” with an up-tempo live show in-corporating classic elements from the speakeasy era.

Di Lauro’s life story has always been about overcoming adversity, from be-ing bullied as a child due to her inter-racial background to surviving do-mestic abuse as an adult. Today, she has grown into a woman of depth and integrity who shares her experiences through music in order to help others who are going through similar trials.

Di Lauro’s latest EP, Jump N’ Jivin’: Live @ The Swing House, was released in 2010. After a successful Blue Note

Jessica Latshaw is a NYC-based mu-sician, dancer, writer, and songwriter. Her credits include appearances in the Broadway tour of of A Chorus Line as Krsitine, the Korean tour of Fame!, and the national tour of The Will Rogers Fol-lies. She is also one half of the duo The Paper Janes and appears regularly as a solo performer. She has played her own music on stages in the U.K., Tokyo, L.A., Toronto, and N.Y.C. Check out her song “Ain’t My Friend,” whose video went viral on YouTube this year.

Dessy Di Lauro

JessiCa LaTsHaW

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 712:30am $10

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 812:30 am $10


debut this past May, tonight, she re-turns with her stellar band and horn section featuring musicians from the current Madonna touring band also performing at Yankee Stadium this weekend with the Queen herself. Ex-pect nothing less from Di Lauro than a high-caliber, modern-day juke joint jamboree from this unique neo-ragtime and contemporary R&B artist.

NINETY MILES: STEFON HARRIS, DAVID SáNCHEZ & NICHOLAS PAYTON

ENFANTs TERRIBLEswith lee konitz, bill frisellgarry peacock & joey baronlive at the blue note

AVAILABLE UPSTAIRS IN THE BLUE NOTE GIFT SHOP!

ENFANTS TERRIBLES features four veteran jazzmen whose collective efforts on stage and in the studio span decades. Together they are saxophonist Lee Konitz, guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Joey Baron; individually, each boasts a distinguished career path and network of associations representing jazz’s wide range of stylistic directions.

Since moving to New York in 1985, David Berkman has been an impor-tant part of the jazz community. He is an award-winning composer and bandleader, a recording artist whose four Palmetto recordings have ap-peared on numerous best records of the year critic’s lists, and an award-winning jazz clinician who has per-formed and taught at numerous jazz camps, universities, and conservato-ries around the United States, South America, and Europe.

Berkman has played in count-less bands, including those of Cecil McBee, Tom Harrell, and the Vanguard Orchestra, and he has performed, ar-

DaViD BerKMaN Trio SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 912:30 & 2:30pm$29.50 includes music, brunch & 1 drink

SUNDAY BRUNCH SERIES

ranged, and recorded for and with numer-ous jazz luminaries, including Sonny Stitt, Brian Blade, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Ray Drummond, Billy Hart, Chris Potter, Scott Colley, and Jane Monheit. His lat-est album, David Berkman Quartet: Live at Smoke, came out in 2010.

Sammy Figueroa was born in the Bronx, New York, the son of the well-known romantic singer Charlie Figueroa. His first professional ex-perience came at the age of 18, while attending the University of Puerto Rico, with the band of bassist Bob-by Valentin. During this time he co-founded the legendary and innovative world jazz group Raices, which broke ground for many of today’s fusion bands. Raices was signed to a contract with At-lantic Records and Sammy re-turned to New York, where he was discovered by the great flau-tist Herbie Mann. Sammy imme-diately became one of the music world’s hottest players and with-in a year he had appeared or re-corded with John McLaughlin, the Brecker Brothers and many of the world’s most fa-mous pop stars, including Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Bob Dylan.

In a career spanning over thirty years, Sammy has played with a multitude of distinguished artists including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Dave Sanborn, Quincy Jones, the Brecker Brothers, Dave Grusin, Mi-chel Camilo, George Benson, Stan-ley Clarke, Grover Washington, Jr., Al Jarreau, Lena Horne, Joe Williams, Mark Murphy, Mike Mainieri, Nestor

Torres, Chico O’Farrill, Mike Stern, Dave Valentin, Arturo Sandoval, Pa-quito D’Rivera, Ruben Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Tania Maria, Jorge Ben Jor, Daniela Mercury, Tom Jones, Mariah Carey, James Taylor, Dr. John, Mick Jagger, Average White Band, David Bowie, Celine Dion, Natalie Merchant, Luther Vandross, Ashford & Simpson, Anita Baker, Roberta Flack, David

Lee Roth, Hall & Oates, Joe Cocker, Rickie Lee Jones, Annie Lennox, Paul Winter, Glen Velez and many more.

In 2001 Sammy relocated to South Florida where he dis-covered an exciting al-ternative to New York’s jazz scene: a vibrant and creative dias-pora of jazz virtuosos from Cuba, Ven-ezuela, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. Put-ting together a band with

some of the greatest players in town, Sammy Figueroa and his Latin Jazz Explosion made their debut in Sep-tember 2002 at the Hollywood Jazz Festival. Three albums and two Grammy Nominations later, Sammy and his band are clearly considered to be one of the most exciting bands in Latin jazz today.

SAMMY FIGUEROASEPTEMBER 10 8 & 10:30PM $15 AT TABLE / $10 AT BAR

Long regarded as one of jazz’s pio-neering fusion outfits, The Brecker Brothers boasted two of the best players in the music’s history: trum-peter Randy Brecker and saxophon-ist Michael Brecker. Together they forged a sound that became a tem-plate for modern electric jazz, scor-ing that rare double-headed achieve-ment of commercial and artistic success.

Founded in 1975, The Brecker Broth-ers were one of the first acts signed to the then-fledgling Arista Records. Recording six albums and garner-ing seven Grammy nominations from 1975-1982, the band enjoyed im-measurable influence with its smart combination of musical devices: so-phisticated compositions, intricate melodies, and inside-out bop heads played over funk rhythms. These ele-ments, along with Randy’s virtuosic trumpet work and Michael’s burning saxophone playing and innovative work on the EWI (“electronic wind instrument”), combined to attract some of the finest players on the scene to join the band: Terry Bozzio,

Steve Gadd, Steve Khan, Will Lee, Chris Parker, David Sanborn, Mike Stern, Dave Weckl, and Lenny White, among others.

After a hiatus of nearly a decade, The Brecker Brothers reunited in 1992 for the GRP album Return of the Breck-er Brothers, which earned three Grammy nominations. The band completed a world tour and then returned to the studio in 1994 to re-cord Out of the Loop, which won two Grammy Awards – one for Best Con-temporary Jazz Performance, and one for Best Instrumental Composi-tion for Michael’s “African Skies.” On tour once more, they became the first international contemporary jazz group to perform in mainland China, including sold-out shows in Beijing and Shanghai.

Though Michael Brecker died in 2007, tonight’s performance at the Blue Note finds trumpeter Randy Brecker inviting to the stage many of those key musicians who helped forge The Brecker Brothers.

BRECKER BROTHERS BAND REUNION

SEPTEMBER 11 -16 8 & 10:30PM $35-45 AT TABLE / $20 AT BAR


Lyons started drum lessons when he was just four. Among his teachers while growing up were Peter Erskine, Adam Nussbaum and Elvin Jones. He started the Darren Lyons Group at the Knit-ting Factory in 1996 and the band has worked steadily ever since.

Evil Genius teams Lyons with guitarist Chad McLoughlin, both Mark Adamy and David Starck on keyboards, electric bassist Skip Ward and, on four of the eight selections, Manolo Badrena joins on percussion. Keyboardist David San-cious, who produced the project, sits in during “Clean.”

The quintet/sextet performs eight num-bers, all of which were written or co-composed by McLoughlin. Darren Ly-ons is heard throughout in a supportive role, preferring to drive the band, make the music funky, and add rhythmic ex-citement rather than be showcased as a soloist.

On Evil Genius, the Darren Lyons Group succeeds in creating high-quality fusion for the 21st century.

After developing his sound in New York City and New Orleans, Adrian Hibbs is now LA-based with his pop-funk-soul sensibilities. As a versatile keyboard player and colorful arranger, his style is a concoction of rhythm, blues, funk, and saturated soul. He’s toured internation-ally, performed and recorded with such shows and artists as Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Isabelle Day, Stanton Moore, Anders Osborne, Buzz Feiten, MTV Awards, Summer Sonic Fest, Sing-fest, Cobra Starship, The Academy Is, Voodoo Fest, Carson Daly, Dashboard Confessional, The Cab, Plain White T’s and Panic! at the Disco. He released a self-titled EP The Adrian Hibbs Project in NYC produced by Scotty Hard (Wu-

Darren Lyons, a well-respected drum-mer based in New York, leads both acoustic and electric jazz bands. Evil Genius features the latter, an ensemble that has been together for over nine years.

aDriaN HiBBs

DarreN LyoNs


SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1512:30 am $10

tang, MMW, Boogie Down Productions) and will release another EP You’re In-vited in Fall 2012 with master drummer James Gadson. His musical influences run the gamut from Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone to Earth, Wind & Fire.


The saxophone has been a focal point in jazz music almost since the begin-ning of the genre. Saxophonists as composers have been innovators and a driving force for a long time in jazz. The month of September just happens to be one of the months that cele-brates many of the jazz legends of the saxophone. This afternoon at the Blue Note, Juilliard Jazz will celebrate the music of the jazz tradition’s many out-standing saxophonists in a program called “The Voice of the Saxophone.”

This afternoon’s performance will fea-ture music by renowned saxophonists like Art Pepper, Clifford Jordan, Sonny

JuiLLiarD JaZZ “THe VoiCe oF THe saXoPHoNe”

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1612:30 & 2:30pm$29.50 includes music, brunch & 1 drink


Rollins, Cannonball Adderly, Joe Tem-perley, John Coltrane, Frank Foster, Sam Rivers, and others. The Juilliard Jazz En-semble will give the music their own treat-ment in what will be an exciting afternoon of great music.

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Described by NPR host Jon Weber as “a visionary composer, an extraor-dinary jazz pianist, and a very bright young rising star in the jazz world,” Romain Collin continues to develop his vision, combining the tradition of improvisation with sound designing and classical music. With each new release, he continues to make his mark on the New York scene, as well as internationally.

In 2007, Collin graduated from the prestigious Thelonious Monk In-stitute of Jazz, where he held a full scholarship as the pianist of an en-semble handpicked by Herbie Han-cock, Wayne Shorter, and Terence Blanchard. With the TMI band, he toured with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter in Vietnam and India, and he shared the stage with art-ists like Marcus Miller, Jimmy Heath, Stevie Wonder, Joshua Redman, and more.

Collin, who was originally born in France, came to the U.S. to attend Berklee College of Music on a schol-arship. In 2009, he released his de-but as a leader, The Rise and Fall of Pipokuhn. Described by All About Jazz writer Phil DiPietro as “an as-tonishingly mature and ambitious debut that secures Collin a place-holder in the continuing evolution of the grand tradition of the piano trio,”

the record received rave reviews internationally and made it to New York jazz critic David Adler’s list of notable debuts of 2009.

Currently based in New York City, Collin frequently performs with his trio in the U.S. and abroad. Recent notable performances include ap-pearances at the Tokyo Jazz Festi-val, the Cyprus Jazz Festival, the An-gel City Jazz Festival, and the Cotton Club in Tokyo, as well as dates at the Blue Note, Steinway Hall, Smalls, and The Kitano. He’s also worked as a sideman with artists like Lauryn Hill, Fredrika Stahl, Tony Grey, Ma-koto Hirahara, Jorscan, and Malika Zarra.

Collin was recently invited to appear on Marian McPartland’s prestigious Piano Jazz radio show to talk about his second record, The Calling, which was released earlier this year. Of all the rave reviews the disc has received, Ian Patterson of All About Jazz summarized it best, putting the arc of Collin’s career in perspective: “With The Calling, Collin has raised his own bar ... Still in his early 30s and immersed in a plethora of widely varying collaborations and projects that can only further broaden his mu-sical palette, the possibilities now seem endless.”

ROMAIN COLLINPRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH REVIVE MUSIC

SEPTEMBER 17 8 & 10:30PM $15 AT TABLE / $10 AT BAR

Tonight at the Blue Note, bass vir-tuoso Stanley Clarke teams up with Japanese jazz piano wiz Hiromi for an evening of duo that promises to be both explosive and intimate.

Stanley Clarke was among the first bassists in history to double on acoustic and electric bass with equal ferocity and was the first bassist ever to headline tours, sell-ing out shows worldwide. Exploding into the jazz world in 1971, he soon landed jobs with famous bandleaders like Horace Silver, Dexter Gordon, Joe H e n d e r s o n , Gil Evans, and Chick Corea, with whom he formed the seminal fusion group Return to For-ever.

In addition to his extensive work with RTF, Clarke’s other no-table collaborations have included the Clarke/Duke Project with George Duke, The Superband with Larry Carlton and Billy Cobham, and proj-ects with Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, Art Blakey, Paul McCartney, and Keith Richards. Of course, he has also worked with Hiromi, featuring her as a member of his trio in his 2009 release Jazz in the Garden.

Clarke has won literally every major award available to a bass player: Grammys, Emmys, every readers’ poll out there, all the critics’ polls,

and numerous Gold and Platinum certifications. He garnered his most recent Grammy Awards for his 2010 album The Stanley Clarke Band and for Return to Forever’s 2011 release Forever.

Global superstar jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara first mesmerized the jazz community with her 2003 Telarc de-but Another Mind. The buzz started by the album spread all the way back to her native Japan, where Another

Mind shipped over 100,000 units and received the Recording Indus-try Association of Japan’s Jazz Al-bum of the Year Award. The buzz continued to build through her sub-sequent releases Brain (2004), Spi-ral (2006), Time Control (2007), and Beyond Stan-dard (2008), as she claimed awards for Jazzman of the Year, Pianist

of the Year, and Album of the Year from Swing Journal Japan’s Read-ers Poll.

Hiromi’s output in recent years has been extensive as well: her latest releases include 2009’s Duet with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke’s Jazz in the Garden (2009), two live con-cert DVDs (2009), and a solo piano release titled Place to Be (2010). With her latest album Voice (2011), a trio project featuring bassist An-thony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips, Hiromi continues, as ever, to forge her own musical path.

STANLEY CLARKE & HIROMI DUO

SEPTEMBER 18 - 23 8 & 10:30PM $45 AT TABLE / $30 AT BAR


nates the distinctive tenor of an emerg-ing player and original composer.

When she picks up her saxophone, the soul of her own life comes alive. Baratz’s inventive sound and vibe carries for-ward the past echoes of Pittsburgh’s gospel, blues and soul heritage into the present day. On In Faith, she catches the ear of listeners with nine original compositions, ending with a Fela Kuti tribute. Her first album as a band leader displays a confident artist who intuitive-ly gathered the right musicians together in the studio to cultivate her distinctive sound, resulting in a “recommended pick” by Jazzchicago.net & 2 “Artist 2 Watch” features with Skope Magazine.

Gadi Lehavi is an example of pure gift and amazing talent. He began flirting with the piano as an infant, balancing on the seat and striving to reach the keys. Playing by ear and experimenting with improvisation drew him naturally to jazz. At the age of 11, he was accepted as a student at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. A visit to the United States when he was 13 years old opened a door to the world and pro-vided him with an opportunity to play alongside senior musicians such as Ravi Coltrane and Chick Corea. Since then, Lehavi has additionally performed and collaborated with Bobby McFerrin, Dave Liebman, and Kurt Rosenwinkel, among others. Sometimes age is just a number.

There’s a new voice on the saxophone, forged in the gritty steel town of Pitts-burgh. Her name is Chelsea Baratz and at 26, her soulful sound is a fiery com-bination of be-bop swing and hip hop hooks. Her debut release In Faith illumi-

GaDi LeHaVi - soLo PiaNo

CHeLsea BaraTZ

SEPTEMBER 20 - 22, 24 &25 6:30PM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2112:30 am $10

The Blue Note is proud to host Gadi per-forming solo piano, opening three nights for Stanley Clarke & Hiromi, and both nights of the Chick Corea & Gary Burton with the Harlem String Quartet show.

OpeNiNg Act


the United States, will officially release its debut EP Koloro at today’s show.

Founded in 2008, Women of the World was the brainchild of Japanese vocal-ist Ayumi Ueda, a Berklee College of Music alumna, who dreamt of bring-ing women from across the globe onto a common creative platform. Over the years, the band has received accolades and collaborated with many indus-try bigwigs, including Bobby McFer-rin, Angelique Kidjo, Mario Frangoulis, and the Boston Pops Orchestra led by maestro Keith Lockhart. With a slate of past performances at venues like Carn-egie Hall and Boston’s Symphony Hall and Agganis Arena, and a collaboration with the United Nations, Women of the World continues to spread its message of peace and unity through music.

Still relatively unknown in her own coun-try, native New Yorker Nina Vidal first came to the public’s attention in 2008 when her self-titled debut broke re-cords in Japan. A week after its release it topped the charts at No. 1, remaining the top jazz album in the country for eight months. She followed this release with her sophomore effort The Open-Ended Fantasy (2010), which claimed the No. 1 spot in less than 24 hours. In total, five of her albums have reached No. 1 outside of the U.S., and more than 20 of her singles have reached the Top 10 around the world.

A throwback to a different era, Vidal’s voice has been described as “a healing and emotional instrument.” Her blend of

Boston-based international folk music ensemble Women of the World makes its Blue Note debut this afternoon! Hot off the heels of its tour of Japan, this 10-member all-female ensemble, repre-senting Japan, India, Italy, Mexico, and

NiNa ViDaL

WoMeN oF THe WorLD

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2212:30am $15

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2312:30 & 2:30pm$29.50 includes music, brunch & 1 drink

jazz, soul, funk, pop, and world music, mixed with her poetic lyrical sense, has resonated with a modern audience look-ing for music of substance and quality.

Tonight at the Blue Note, Vidal will pre-view new material from her upcoming new album, due out in 2013, as well as return to some fan favorites.



Chick and Gary Burton perform material from their new album Hot House, exploring their unique takes on “standards” — by composers from Kurt Weill and Antonio Car-los Jobim to Thelonious Monk and Lennon & McCartney. The multiple Grammy-winning duo also adds the Harlem String Quartet, expanding their legendary chamber-jazz reper-toire on Chick’s composition “Mozart Goes Dancing” and classic Chick & Gary tunes. An NEA Jazz Master, 18-time Gram-my winner, prolific composer and undisputed keyboard virtuoso, Chick Corea has attained living legend sta-tus after four decades of unparalleled creativity and an artistic output that is simply staggering. From straight ahead to avant-garde, bebop to fu-sion, children’s songs to chamber music, along with some far-reaching forays into symphonic works, Chick has touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his illustrious ca-reer while maintaining a standard of excellence that is awe-inspiring. A tirelessly creative spirit, Chick con-tinues to forge ahead, continually re-inventing himself in the process. Self-taught on vibes, Burton devel-oped a remarkable four-mallet tech-nique that brought the vibes into a

new era. Though his own recording debut came in 1961, Burton began distinguishing himself with several genre-defying dates as a leader dur-ing the mid-1960s. There followed collaborations with violin legend Ste-phane Grappelli, pianist Keith Jar-rett and pianist Chick Corea (1972′s Crystal Silence, the first of their duet collaborations). Corea and Burton followed Crystal Silence with Duet (1978), In Concert, Zurich, October 28, 1979 (1979) and 1982′s ambitious Lyric Suite for Sextet, which found the duo augmented by a string quartet. In 1997, Burton and Corea turned out Native Sense: The New Duets. Down-beat magazine wrote: “Native Sense renews a longstanding, very durable friendship … throughout, vibes and piano deftly support each other and smoothy exchange roles, carrying on a dance of their own.” Their 2007 world tour, commemorating the 35th anniversary of their first recording, resulted in the unprecedented dou-ble-album The New Crystal Silence. At the 2008 Grammy® Awards, The New Crystal Silence earned Corea and Burton the honor for Best Jazz Instrumental Album; it was, remark-ably, the fourth Grammy Award for their collaborative works.

CHICK COREA & GARY BURTONWITH THE HARLEM STRING QUARTET



Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Ayers enjoyed a musical upbringing. By the early ‘60s, he was playing regu-larly with a number of local perform-ers, including such fixtures on the Los Angeles jazz scene as Teddy Edwards, Chico Hamilton, and Jack Wilson. In 1966, he joined jazz flutist Herbie Mann’s quartet and recorded with Mann for the next four years, a period that included the release of the flutist’s smash hit LP Memphis Underground (1969).

Ayers left the Mann group and his post-bop past behind in 1970. He moved to New York, where he quick-ly formed his own band Ubiquity, an R&B and jazz-rock outfit with a constantly-shifting roster of musi-cians. When disco emerged in the second half of the ‘70s, Ayers and Ubiquity found themselves squarely in the limelight. Their hit song “Every-body Loves the Sunshine” became a dance floor sensation, their 1977 single “Running Away” broke into the R&B Top 20, and 1978’s “The Freaky Deaky” became popular enough to inspire a dance step of the same name.

After touring with afrobeat super-star Fela Kuti at the end of the ‘70s, Ayers’s career cooled off in the mid-’80s, as he scored a number of mi-nor hits on the Columbia label. How-ever, the ‘90s saw the demand for his sound explode again, as hip-hop, acid jazz, and R&B artists in the U.S. and England began to use samples of Ayers’s ‘70s hits in their work. Sud-denly, he was back in the limelight and began releasing albums again, including 1995’s Nasté and 1999’s Juice.

Although the new millennium has seen Ayers release fewer new al-bums, he remains a pop culture hero, as music industry heavyweights like Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, 50 Cent, A Tribe Called Quest, Will Downing, and Talib Kweli seek him out for col-laborations and sample his old hits. In many ways, his music is still years ahead of its time. “I’m honored that they picked my music,” he was quot-ed as saying. “I’m ubiquitous again.”

ROY AYERS


ing Mary J. Blige, Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott, India Arie, Mint Condition, Tamia, Rahsaan Patterson, Jaguar, Eric Rober-son, Lalah Hathaway, and Omar. With this kind of resume, it should be no surprise that Taylor regularly woos au-diences from Paris to L.A., where they swoon over his soulful voice, pristine good looks, seductive smile, and genu-inely affable personality.

Taylor’s sophomore album, Confes-sional, came out in 2009. In the midst of times that are trying both economically and emotionally, the album revives the true meaning of sacrifice, giving sensu-ally starved listeners an intimate view of romantic relationships draped in musi-cal decadence. Open your ears and re-ceive this blessing.

A streetwise New York City native born and raised in Washington Heights, Lakecia Benjamin has become one of the most highly sought-after players in soul and funk music. Charismatic and dynamic as both a saxophonist and bandleader, she has worked with Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, The Roots, Macy Gray, and more. She has performed on four continents, and her extensive re-cording credits include saxophone and arrangements for Santigold, Maurice Brown, the Clark Terry Big Band, Krystle Warren, and Talib Kweli, among others.

After being so in demand as a collabora-tor, Benjamin has recently taken center stage in her own right with the release

Russell Taylor has the educational pedi-gree and the street cred to bridge the chasm between the block and yacht. His musical C.V. is formidable – he’s shared stages with some of his genera-tion’s most respected musicians, includ-

LaKeCia BeNJaMiN

russeLL TayLor


SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2912:30am $10

of her unconventional soul and funk al-bum Retox (2012), on Motéma Music. The debut disc finds the saxophonist showing off her impeccable purist jazz resume with a deep, kaleidoscopic, and ingeniously arranged mix of original old school soul and funk songs.


Quickly becoming one of the most buzzed-about jazz singers on the New York scene, Marianne Solivan claims, “I don’t recall having a big moment that made me like jazz. I just dug it.” It is that same simplicity of statement that char-acterizes Solivan’s style. The infallible swing of Ella, the daring of Betty Carter, the matter-of factness of Carmen Mc-Crae – they can all be found in the voice of Marianne Solivan, whom trumpeter Jeremy Pelt has called “the modern-day paradigm to which all singers should aspire.”

Armed with degrees from Berklee Col-lege of Music and New England Con-servatory, Solivan is as likely to pop up

MariaNNe soLiVaNSUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3012:30 & 2:30pm$29.50 includes music, brunch & 1 drink

at Smalls Jazz Club with a full band as she is an intimate restaurant with only a piano or guitar for accompaniment. This afternoon, she pops up at the Blue Note. Don’t miss Solivan as she breathes new life into standards with a voice that’s both tender and passionate.


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DESSERTS & PAIRINGS

Sherry, Dry Sack 10Sherry, Harvey’s Bristol Cream 10Taylor Fladgate Tawny 15Royal Tokaji Aszu “Red Label” 21 Vidal Gold Icewine, Inniskillin 20/100 Cab Franc Icewine, Inniskillin 130

DESSERT WINES

BOURBON / RYERedemption Rye 12Basil Hayden 14Booker’s 14 Knob Creek 14Woodford Reserve 15 Whistle Pig 16

Courvoisier 12Hennessy VS 12Hennessy XO 36Remy Martin VSOP 18Remy Martin XO 36Martell VS 12Martell Cordon Bleu VSOP 25Navan Vanilla Cognac 11Tesseron XO – 1990 Avg 15Poli Grappa Moscato 15

BRANDY & COGNACGlenlivet 12 year 12 Glenfiddich 12 year 12Macallan 12 year 14Talisker 10 year 12 Glenmorangie 13 Oban 14 year 14 Dahlwinnie 15 year 15Lagavulin 16 year 16Mackillop’s 1989 Scapa 34Deanston 30 year 40 Scott’s 1967 Glenlivet 58

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH

LIQUEURSAmaretto Lazzaroni 10Aperol 10Baileys Irish Cream 10B & B 11Campari 10Chambord 10Cointreau 11Drambuie 10Dubbonet 10Fernet Branca 10Frangelico 10Grand Marnier 12Kahlua 10Lillet 10Limoncello Meletti 10Nocino Walnut Liqueur 10Pernod 10Poli Miele Honey Liqueur 12Sambuca Meletti 10Tia Maria 11

DIGESTIFS

Chivas 12Dewars 11J & B 11Johnny Walker Red 11Johnny Walker Black 12Johnny Walker Blue 38

SCOTCH BLENDS

RUMBeija Cachaca 11Bacardi Silver 11Bacardi Gold 11Brinley Gold Coconut 11Captain Morgan’s 11Meyer’s 12Mount Gay 12Blackwell 13El Dorado 15-year 15Pyrat XO 15

MANHATTANRedemption rye whiskey,Carpano Antico sweet vermouth

NEGRONIDH Krahn gin, Campari,Carpano Antico sweet vermouth

VESPERTanqueray gin, Chopin Vodka, and Lillet with a lemon twist

FRENCH MARTINIGrey Goose vodka, Chambord& pineapple juice

HENNESSY SIDECARHennessy Cognac with GrandMarnier and fresh lemon juice

BLUE NOTE MARTINIcitrus vodka, blue curocao, lime juice

“MANTECA” MARTINIBrinley Gold coconut rum, coconut-cream & pineapple juice

ITALIAN CHOCOLATE MARTINIMeletti Chocolate Liquer Stolivanilla vodka

APPLE MARTINIKetel One & apple schnapps

COSMOPOLITANCitrus Vodka, Triple Sec,cranberry & lime juice

METROPOLITANAbsolut Kurant with Triple Sec,cranberry & lime juice

MARGARITA MARTINISauza Conmemorativo tequila, agave, fresh lime & splash orange juice

MARTINIS $13

ELDERFLOWER FIZZDH Krahn gin, elderflowerliqueur, fresh lemon

RUBY RYERedemption rye whiskey, grapefruit juice, Chambord

CAIPIRINHAMuddled limes, sugar andBeija Brazilian cachaca

BELLINIProsecco & white peach puree

PCPUNCHGrey Goose pear vodka, Brinleycoconut rum, pineapple juice

MAI TAIBacardi light rum, Meyers darkrum, almond liqueur, Triple Sec,Pineapple juice, splash sour mix

BRANDY ALEXANDERBrandy, crème de cacao & cream

CUBA LIBREBlackwell rum, Coke & freshly muddled lime

TOASTED ALMONDAmaretto, coffee liqueur & cream

MIXED DRINKS $12

IRISH COFFEEIrish whiskey & coffee

NUTTY IRISHMANBailey’s Irish Cream, Frangelico & coffee

BRAVE BULLTequila, Kahlua & coffee

SWISS COFFEEPeppermint Schnapps, crème de cacao & coffee

SPANISH COFFEETia Maria & coffee

MOCA ALMONDMeletti chocolate liqueramaretto, coffee

WARM DRINKS $10

IMPORTED - $8Sapporo, Amstel Light,Corona, Heineken, Guinness,Stella Artois, Bass Ale

DOMESTIC - $8Brooklyn Lager, Budweiser,Bud Light

BELGIAN-STYLE ALE - $14Brother Thelonious Abbey Ale (750 ml)

NON-ALCOHOLIC - $6Buckler

REPUBLIC OF TEA ICED TEAS - $7Pomegranate Green Iced TeaRepublic Darjeeling Black Iced TeaGinger Peach Decaf Black Iced Tea

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