This weekend, TKA is proud to celebrate our roster in New York City with a selection of showcases presented during the 2016 APAP Conference. Click here to check out our schedule!
Read more PREVIEW: TKA SHOWCASES AT THE 2016 APAP CONFERENCE
Author: TKA
Stacey Kent collaborates with legendary Brazilian producer and composer Roberto Menescal on her new album “Tenderly.” Album Available January 15, 2016.
(1/15/16)
Tune in to episode 836 of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce to hear Hot Club of Cowtown play a selection of hits for NPR Music. Check your local listings or download the podcast from iTunes here.
(1/15/16)
On January 15, 2016, Blue Note will release I Long To See You, the profound new album from Charles Lloyd & The Marvels. The album finds the iconic saxophonist and recent NEA Jazz Master in the company of a new band featuring guitarist Bill Frisell and pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz, along with his longtime quartet members bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland. The album also includes two remarkable guest vocal appearances by Willie Nelson and Norah Jones. All together they have created a sumptuous collection of 10 songs that range from traditional hymns to anti-war folk protests to re-envisioned Lloyd originals from his earlier recordings.
The album’s lead single “Of Course, Of Course,” a fresh reworking of the title track of his 1965 Columbia album, was released today and is available from digital retailers and on streaming services. Fans who pre-order a download of the album will receive the track right away. I Long To See You will also be released on CD and vinyl. Lloyd will also begin a run of winter tour dates with the Marvels on January 24 which will include performances in New York (Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jan. 29-30), Boston (Berklee Performance Center, Jan. 31), and Austin (Paramount Theatre, Feb. 10). Visit charleslloyd.com for more info.
(12/18/15)
Stephen Holden for THE NEW YORK TIMES
At a moment when the world can seem dangerously out of balance, it is still possible for a musician to convey a groundedness and a joy that don’t seem smiley-faced and goody-goody. A fine place to find it is Birdland, where the jazz singer Catherine Russell began a short run with her sextet on Tuesday evening, projecting a strength, good humor and intelligence that engulfed the room in a mood of bonhomie. She reminded you that even in the most chaotic times, there are oases of calm.The daughter of Louis Armstrong’s longtime musical director Luis Russell and the singer Carline Ray, Ms. Russell is steeped in early jazz — from Dixieland to ’40s and ’50s R&B. Ms. Russell is not a nostalgist examining the past for curiosity’s sake. The vintage songs she chose were treated as standards whose sentiments apply as much today as ever.
THE HUFFINGTON POST — Meet Charly and Margaux, also known as Chargaux. They play violin and viola, respectively, but not the kind you tuned out at your high school orchestra concert. The two Brooklyn-based artists rework the traditionally classical instruments’ vibes, releasing bubbling, boiling liquid sounds, somewhere between the brashness of jazz and the mellowness of R&B.The musicians met by chance three years ago and have been playing together ever since. Their EP “Broke and Baroque” comes out next week — you can hear their single “I’m So Pretty” here — but they’ve already captured the attention of New York’s art and fashion set with their infectious and unexpected covers of songs like Beyonce’s “Partition” and Kanye’s “Flashing Lights,” which they played at last week’s Opening Ceremony fashion show. Oh yes, they also did the “cute little solo” at the end of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” The fact that the ladies have flawless style themselves certainly doesn’t hurt.
The National Endowment for the Arts will honor four jazz leaders – including Gary Burton – with the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters award for their significant accomplishments in the field.
This year’s honorees range from fiery saxophonists who cut their teeth with the legendary John Coltrane, to a vibraphonist who reshaped the direction of jazz by introducing rock elements, to one who has dedicated her life to assisting jazz musicians in need.
The NEA Jazz Masters award is the highest honor that our nation bestows on a jazz musician and includes a cash award of $25,000 and an award ceremony and celebratory concert, among other activities. As part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ 50th anniversary events, the annual NEA Jazz Masters celebration will take place in April 2016 in the nation’s capital, in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Read the full summary at the National Endowment for the Arts
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Natalie Nyhus — We are starting a new series on the WCCO This Morning show about Minnesota women who rock.
We know all Minnesota women rock, but we are featuring the women on stage who lead with their voices and musical talents. We start with Davina from “Davina and the Vagabonds.”
We are coming out of the gate hot with this one. Davina puts a new twist on an old sound. WCCO’s Natalie Nyhus went into the home and closet of the woman who rocks a piano and killer vintage looks.
Davina, of Davina and the Vagabonds has been spreading sunshine from her piano seat since she was 6 years old.
Read more on CBS Minnesota
Davina and The Vagabonds on TKA
Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins will be presented with the Jazz Foundation of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Oct 22, at the Apollo Theater during the foundation’s 14th Annual “A Great Night in Harlem” gala concert.
The concert segment honoring Rollins will feature performances by Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan), Jimmy Heath, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Bartz, Billy Harper, Randy Brecker, Clifton Anderson, Kenny Garrett, Ravi Coltrane, Al Foster, James Carter, Wallace Roney, the Cecil Bridgewater Big Band, and more.
Sonny Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. Born in New York City in 1930, his life was changed by a concert by Frank Sinatra which was accompanied by a plea for racial harmony.
Read the full preview on Jazziz.com
THE NEW YORK TIMES –
Bill Charlap popped a preview of his latest CD, “The Silver Lining,” in the music player last month as he drove from his new job as director of jazz studies at William Paterson University in Wayne to his trio engagement at the Village Vanguard in New York City. Out came the unmistakable voice of Tony Bennett singing “All the Things You Are,” with Mr. Charlap accompanying him on piano.
On the recording, Mr. Bennett was in playful form, and when he pulled one of his signature surprises — a sudden change of key — Mr. Charlap responded without missing a beat. As he listened in the car, the pianist smiled as he recalled the ensemble class he had just finished teaching at Paterson, the first of the semester with this small group of students, which was also observed by a reporter. There, he had warned his students of the need to be prepared for sudden key changes.
“That was a perfect example of why you do your homework,” Mr. Charlap said as the CD played on.
Read more at The New York Times
(10/8/15)