naxos jazz guide 2012
DESCRIPTION
NAXOS JAZZ GUIDE 2012TRANSCRIPT
2 NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE2012
TheArtofImprovisationKeith Jarrett
Fascinating, analytical portrait of a Jazz superstar – Keith Jarrett – this album is a sure winner! The pianist and composer, who celebrated his 60th birthday back in 2005, is now known as one of the most important and influential living Jazz keyboard player: “One of the most original and successful improvising pianists of the postmodern era.” The Guardian
2054119 (DVD)
PlayYourOwnThingAStoryofJazzinEuropeFeaturing Louis Armstrong, Chris Barber, Stefano Bollani, Dee Dee ...
This documentary Play Your Own Thing provides a comprehensive history of European Jazz. It explores the origins of the US-influenced Jazz Clubs after the Second World War. Accompanied by rarely seen archival footage featuring such influential American Jazz legends as Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, this unique document offers a collection of sparkling musical gems from both sides of the Atlantic. A great music film on Jazz!
2055748 (DVD)
MeetRickardMalmsten
Naxos Far East Jazz Label Manager Rickard Malmsten is an award-winning Swedish composer/bassist/jazz musician. Having lived and worked as a musician in Europe, North America, Australia, South America and Asia, Rickard currently resides in Hong Kong with his family and has become one of the most sought-after Jazz musicians in the Pearl River Delta. Rickard has shared the stage with a remarkable array of artists such as Larry Coryell, Uri Caine, Dennis Chambers, Ulf Wakenius, Scott Henderson, Bob Moses, Roy Hargrove, Nils Landgren and fellow bassist as Jeff Berlin, Victor Wooten, Jack Bruce, Hadrien Feraud and Gary Willis. He is represented and endorsed by Warwick Basses and Amps. NAXOS Jazz Label Manager
Rickard Malmsten
TopPicksbyRickard
NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE20123
MastersofAmericanMusicTheStoryofJazzWynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Lester Bowie, Dave Brubeck, Joe Williams, Buck Clayton, Illinois Jacquet, Zilner Randolph, Bud Freeman, Randy Weston, Carmen McRae, Billy Taylor, Jay McShann, Roy Haynes, Billy Eckstine and many others The Story of Jazz puts the crown on the Masters of American Music series. As entertaining as it is informative, this 97-minute album contains an array of performances, rare film clips, commentaries and compelling historical insight. This ‘Limited Edition’ comes in a special packaging!
WayOutMagnus Lindgren
Magnus Lindgren is one of the hottest musicians in the Swedish Jazz scene right now.
His debut album Way Out received raving reviews and he has since been popular with the critics and Jazz fans all over the world. One of his big admirers is Claude Nobs, founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival who personally invited Magnus to play at the festival. Magnus Lindgren’s music was featured in a recent Nobel Prize Banquet.
CAP21609
ContraPostPalle Danielsson
Swedish bassist Palle Danielsson has long been a valuable sideman in a variety of Jazz styles, appearing on releases from ECM, most notably with Keith Jarrett and Charles Lloyd. Certainly in top form as an individual soloist, Danielsson takes the opening Contra Post unaccompanied. It just takes a few listen to be able to get into this swinging yet somewhat forbidding music.
CAP21440
2057158 (DVD)
4 NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE2012
TheOmerAvitalGroupLive at Smalls
Omer Avital is a poet of the bass, widely hailed by international musicians, critics and fans as one of the most innovative and exceptional musicians of his generation.
SL0014
TheSeamusBlakeQuintetLIVE AT SMALLS
Seamus Blake (tenor saxophone), Lage Lund (guitar), Dave Kikoski (piano), Matt Clohesy (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)
The Canadian tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake has garnered a reputation as a hard-edged modernist. He is a member of the award-winning group, The Bloomdaddies which he describes as a “funky, alternative grunge Jazz band”. For this live date he brings pianist David Kikoski, drummer Bill Stewart and guitarist Lage Lund, who is a real discovery and destined for guitar-hero status. The music is fresh and original with one standard
Stranger In Paradise which gets treated in a sensitive, yet unconventional fashion. This is an exciting and original live project and one well worth listening to.
SL0008
PeterBernsteinQuartetLive at Smalls
Peter Bernstein is one of the most pleasing and accomplished guitarists around, a “must-hear, go-see” for fans of straight-ahead jazz with a fresh, in the moment feel.
SL0004
NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE20125
AriHoenigPunkbopUplifting Jazz with a fun funky groove throughout. A great representation of New York Jazz. Featuring the following: Jonathan Kreisberg, Tigran Hamaysan, Danton Boller, Will Vinson and Ari Hoenig.
SL0013
Full Blast
Peter Brötzmann
A dynamic and exciting product from one of the music’s true pioneers, still restlessly pushing forward.Peter Brötzmann has been such a key figure in Jazz for so long, his sound so instantly recognisable, that it’s almost a reflex when contemplating a new release to wonder how well it will stand up alongside cornerstone recordings such as Chicago Octet/Tentet and Little Birds Have Fast Hearts, let alone an established classic such as Machine Gun.
TheNealSmithQuintetLive at Smalls
Neal Smith has been the stalwart accompanist for The Cyrus Chestnut Trio for the last 10 years. His ideals are perfect swing and taste. For this live date, he has assembled an all-star cast of musicians including Mulgrew Miller, Eric Alexander, Steve Wilson and Mark Whitfield. The material is classic with two outstanding pieces by the great Tom McIntosh. Also, a trio version of the Hymn What a Friend You Have in Jesus is destined to be a classic from this era.
SL0007
TheKevinHaysTrioLive at Smalls
Cheryl (Parker) / The Anniversary Waltz (J. Ivanovichi) / Loving You (Hays) / Sco More Blues (Hays) / Ludus Tonalis (Hindemith arr. by Hays) / Sweet And Lovely (Tobias & Daniels) / The Dreamer (Hays)
Recorded live on August 13th & 14th, 2008 at Smalls Jazz Club, Greenwich Village, NYC.
Kevin Hays has been at the forefront of the Jazz scene for the last twenty years racking up an impressive resume with the most demanding leaders including Sonny Rollins, John
Scofield, Benny Golson, Roy Haynes, Chris Potter, Al Foster, Joe Henderson, Buster Williams, Art Farmer and Joshua Redman. His playing is complex and infused with a modern-classical sense of harmony and form (listen to his arrangement of The Ludus Tonalis from Hindemith) but his feel is still pure Jazz. He is joined by esteemed bassist Doug Weiss and the near-legendary Bill Stewart on drums for one of the most satisfying live dates in the series.
SL0002
SL0014
SL0008
SL0004
6 NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE2012
TurnaroundDavid Liebman Group
It’s one thing to pay tribute; another to turn the source material into one’s own. Liebman and his group do just that on Turnaround, demonstrating that inspiration doesn’t mean imitation.
JW079
TheInnocentSorcererKomeda
Polish saxophonist Adam Pieronczyk pays tribute to his country’s Jazz pioneer, Krzysztof Komeda (b.1931, d.1969). Adam Pieronczyk, shines a sparkling light on the work of Komeda without trying to imitate the master. It is said that Krzysztof Komeda injected a fresh, European aesthetic to jazz. Adam Pieronczyk reveals a fresh side of the pioneer’s artistry with Komeda: The Innocent Sorcerer, a magnificent and compelling recording.
JW004
MaxRoachLive in Berlin
Sometimes referred as spiritual hardbop, this album ties all the rich strains of Max’s work from two decades. Players here include the mighty Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet and Odean Pope on tenor saxophone.
JW068
NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE20127
FullBlast
Peter Brötzmann
A dynamic and exciting product from a true pioneer relentlessly pushing forward! Peter Brötzmann has been a key figure in the Jazz scene for a long time. His sound so instantly recognisable that it will no doubt stand up alongside cornerstone recordings such as “Little Birds Have Fast Hearts”, let alone an established classic such as “Machine Gun”.
JW001
BeMusic,NightPeter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet Featuring Mike Pearson
Peter Brötzmann has led a number of large international renowned improvisatory ensembles since the late 1960s of which, the “Chicago Tentet” is one of his best. Founded back in Chicago in 1997, the band has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe in the last decade with a total of nine albums to its name. In 2007, the ensemble celebrated its tenth anniversary with a tour in Europe and concluded with the only North American appearance at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
JW002JW079
JW004
What’sNewLars Jansson
What’s New is the first release of mostly standard tunes by Jansson, who has been focusing on playing his own music until now. And what a beautiful album it turned out to be!
PCD109
8 NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE2012
ExileandDiscoveryDonny McCaslin
It’s evident from this recording that McCaslin fully grasps the Jazz tradition of bending the rules, of tugging at definitions and pushing the language towards personal expression. McCaslin stretches out and digs in with a wide spectrum of what a saxophone can offer.
86014-2
ChangingwiththeTimesSonic Fiction
Daryl Pratt (vibraphone) / James Muller (guitar)Phil South (marimba) / Adam Armstrong (bass)Andrew Gander (drums)
Daryl Pratt performs contemporary fusion jazz with an electric and progressive bent. Changing With The Times is a recording for anyone who wants their jazz to be more than just aural wallpaper.
86034-2
Full Blast
Peter Brötzmann
A dynamic and exciting product from one of the music’s true pioneers, still restlessly pushing forward.Peter Brötzmann has been such a key figure in Jazz for so long, his sound so instantly recognisable, that it’s almost a reflex when contemplating a new release to wonder how well it will stand up alongside cornerstone recordings such as Chicago Octet/Tentet and Little Birds Have Fast Hearts, let alone an established classic such as Machine Gun.
Searchin’Sam Yahel
Throughout the session the trio’s accompaniment and communication is outstanding and shows the kind of rapport that can only come from long hours of music making together. Here is some fresh swinging Jazz, played with passion and maturity that belies the young age of these musicians. Enjoy!
86004-2
NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE20129
FourForOneDejan Terzic Quartet
This CD represents the latest chapter in a steady stream of milestone achievements. The apparent ease in which George Garzone straddles stylistic boundaries between straight ahead and the avant garde has influenced a new generation of saxophonists.
86036-2
IntheBlinkofanEyeBrian Blade (drums), Sam Yahel (Hammond B-3 organ), Peter Bernstein (guitar), Kahlil Kwame Bell (percussion)
The trio has recorded something really special - a soulful, melodic album that is intuitive and subtle. With every chord they put down, every solo improvised and every chorus they bridge, this group leaves its heartfelt imprint. With a cool, laid-back vibe of indigo-shaded organ and guitar grooves, this album speaks for itself.
86043-2
HiddenGardensLan Xang
Like its unique moniker, the band Lan Xang conjures music that is mysterious, exotic and original. The talented quartet aims to take Jazz to a new level, weaving together acoustic and electric elements in some very modern compositions. Lan Xang is a quartet consisting of New York musicians dedicated to playing cutting edge and original music. The foursome’s dense attack, led by the dual saxophones of Donny McCaslin and David Binney, explodes with a real punch that is informed by their genre-bending sensibility. Meanwhile, bassist Scott Colley and Kenny Wollesen’s drum support are downright fierce.
86046-2
10 NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE2012
GeorgeRussellGeorge Allen Russell was an American Jazz pianist, composer and theorist. He is considered one of the first Jazz musicians to have contributed to general music theory with a theory of harmony based on Jazz rather than European music. His book was titled, “The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization”.
BXS1005 (9 CDs)
CharlieHadenBorn in Shenandoah, Iowa, Charlie Haden started his life in music almost immediately, singing on his parents’ country & western radio show at the tender age of 22 months. He started playing bass in his early teens and in 1957, left America’s heartland for Los Angeles where he met and played with such legends as Art Pepper, Hampton Hawes, and Dexter Gordon.
The two-time Grammy winner Charlie Haden was invited to establish the Jazz program at California Institute of the Arts in 1982. He has earned countless awards from around the globe, including the Los Angeles Jazz Society Prize for ‘Jazz
Educator of the Year’; a Guggenheim Fellowship; four NEA grants for Composition; France’s Grand Prix Du Disque (Charles Cros) Award; Japan’s SWING Journal Gold, Silver and Bronze awards and the Montreal Jazz Festival’s Miles Davis Award. BXS1001 (5CDs)
HenryThreadgillHenry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. One of the most important composers and arrangers in Avant-garde Jazz, Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres. Aside from being a remarkable alto saxophone player, Threadgill is one of the most imaginative of Jazz composers today.
BXS1003b (7 CDs)
NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE201211
BXS1005 (9 CDs)
TaylorCecil
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free Jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and intricate polyrhythms. His piano technique has been likened to percussion, for example described as “eighty-eight tuned drums” (referring to the number of keys on a standard piano).
BXS1007 (5 CDs)
PaulMotianPaul Motian is an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction. First coming to prominence in the late ‘50s with the pioneering trio of pianist Bill Evans.Paul Motian has since worked in an array of contexts and has led a number of groups. He is one of the most influential modern drummers, having played an important role in freeing the drummer from strict time-keeping duties.
BXS1008 (6 CDs)
JohnCageRyoanji In 1962, John Cage first visited the small, sparse rock and sand garden Ryoan-ji (Peaceful Dragon) in Kyoto. It was by all accounts a profound experience, and he carried away with him more than just a memory of a quiet, contemplative afternoon. If an experience truly transforms an individual, it becomes an idea, which we carry around with us. This idea is now a place – a point of reference – we may revisit at any time. Cage may have thought about Ryoan-ji often; in 1983, he applied an action to his idea. — Art Lange
ART153
[now] ART
12 NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE2012
PaulBleyFranzKoglmannGaryPeacockAnnette Though seldom revealed, feelings this vulnerable and explicit are real, music this honest and open is real, and the inspiration here is palpable and real. — Art Lange
Hatology 674
OneGreatDay...Ellery Eskelin with Andrea Parkins & Jim Black
I’m gratified that the re-release of “One Great Day...” coincides with its inclusion in the Penguin Jazz Guide’s “The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums”. Of course there are countless recordings deserving of attention and reissue. This group managed to tie together the fractured reality of my musical universe at the time. The acknowledgement is appreciated.— Ellery Eskelin
Hatology 691
TheDistanceRunnerDavid Liebman
Here’s Dave Liebman with his saxophones and a wooden flute in his very first concert of unaccompanied solos. It didn’t happen until his fourth decade as a working Jazz artist, even though he had recorded four solo albums down through the years. Once again we hear his brilliant sound and technique, and his devotion to spontaneity combined with his high instinct to shape improvisations. What Liebman offers most of all is a personal quality of adventure, the result of his endless musical curiosity. This music has so much vitality. — John Litweiler
Hatology 628
NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE201213
ABDRay Anderson, Han Bennink & Christy Doran
Listening to Anderson’s four compositions, Doran’s piece, four free improvisations, and an Ellington tune, from the two sessions strike me as collages of a sort, bringing together very different aesthetics, directions, and materials for a direct confrontation. Not a confrontational confrontation, mind you. A very amenable comparing, contrasting, and combining of sensibilities, the very thing that makes creative music tick.— John Corbett
Hatology 695
Blinks...ZurichLive1983Steve Lacy Five
On Blinks, the listener hears the Steve Lacy group winning, caught live 1983 in the big hall at the Rote Fabrik, Zurich. The band plays with such simultaneous togetherness and fire; they’ve already well-past cleared the ground and taken off as a cohesive ensemble, passed “stiff” period by, able to prod, push, surprise even itself. Just to hear Lacy take over soloing from Potts on “Blinks,” like some Hendrix sharpened tendril of feedback: aggressive, interceptive, but continuous. Model of collectivity, balancing trust and risk. — John Corbett, Chicago 1997
Hatology 697
ThatCertainFeeling(GeorgeGershwinSongbook)Ran Blake Even with songs as familiar as Gershwin’s, so ingrained in our hearts and our history, we can be surprised by the possibilities of expression which Blake (and Ricky Ford, and Steve Lacy) offers us, precisely because of his rejection of the familiar, the literal, the expected, the commonly intended. So stark, evocative, and eloquent is his music that it does sometimes seem that what he is doing is giving shape to smoke in the air.
Hatology 699Hatology 628
14 NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE2012
TheDawnOfLightTineke Postma
Saxophonist Tineke Postma belongs to the‘creme de la creme’of the Dutch Jazz scene and Challenge Records is very happy to be able to work with her. The Dawn Of Light is her new quartet album and debut on Challenge Records. It features Grammy Award winner Esperanza Spalding on the wonderful track Leave Me a Place Underground.
CR 73313
DialoguesLee Konitz (alto saxophone), Bert van den Brink (piano) Hein Van de Geyn (bass), Hans van Oosterhout (drums)
Lee Konitz (1927) is one of the most influential alto saxophonists in the early development of modern jazz. He incorporated many of the harmonic ideas of Charlie Parker into his playing. Konitz grew up in Chicago and played in the great Claude Thornhill band. Lee was a member of Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool Nonet and has been highly regarded as one of the architects of ‘cool’ playing. In 1949, he joined Lennie Tristano and experimented in free jazz with pianist Paul Bley.
CHR 70053
MariaJameau&BlueBrazilDavid Liebman
Maria Jameau & Blue Brazil is a soulful world music quintet based in Sonoma County, California. Comprised of longtimeperforming artists, Bob Afifi (flute), Nate Lopez (bass & guitar), Jacob Harris (percussion), Pablo Rodriguez (guitar and vocals),and Maria Jameau (award-winning lead vocals and percussion), Blue Brazil creates sounds that make the spirit dance and the
mind relax. While their music background range from Latin, Jazz, R & B, funk to Spanish flamenco, North Indian and Eastern European, Maria Jameau and her band, Blue Brazil perform a mix of Brazilian, African, Latin and French music that enchants the soul.
CR 73304
NAXOS(FAREAST)JAZZGUIDE201215
EuropeanQuartetLIVEToots Thielemans
This album is a perfect representation of Toots’ live performances- one that captures the joy, risks and interaction. The majestic melodies suggest the singing of a man that lived a full life filled with music and emotion. The delicate balance between the introspective and the exuberant - alwaysgiving with a desire to communicate to the fellow musicians and listeners. In Toots’ own words, “Between a smile and a tear...” taken from live concerts of Toots Thielemans with his quartet.
CHR 70160
Jazz&HaikuGeoff Goodman
Haiku is a Japanese poetic form. Its strict structure contrasts to the often dreamy and jovial style in Jazz. A Haiku is composed of 5+7+5 (i.e., a total of 17) ‘on’. Each ‘on’ corresponds approximately to a syllable in our language. Its philosophical significance can only be deemed when the reader or listener deals with it actively, allowing his or her thoughts to run freely, inspired by the haiku. Geoff Goodman has dealt with haikus extensively, converting them into songs.
DMCHR 71089
HazyHugsChet Baker & The The Amstel Octet Born 1929 in Yale, Oklahoman Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker Jr. was raised in a musical household with a guitarist father. After playing in army bands, Baker made a name for himself as a trumpeter and singer in his West Coast engagements with Charlie Parker and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet during the Bebop era. With his restrained and intimate playing style, he was seen as a typical exponent of ‘cool’ Jazz. He gained great fame with his solo in My Funny Valentine and his plaintive, fragile way of singing.
CHR 70058
Our Jazz Labels
Naxos International (Far East) Limited www.naxos.com.hk
Tel: 2951 9557email: [email protected]
8.120571 8.120572 8.120588
8.120657 8.120750 8.120772
Charlie ParkerOrnithology
Sarah VaughanInterlude
Thelonious MonkMonks Mood
Gene KrupaStomp
Billie HolidayYou’re My Thrill
Miles DavisBoblicity