Miscelando sonorità tipicamente jazz a rock/progressive e ritmiche afro e brasiliane, il Trio Bobo ha creato un sound unico e personale, ormai inconfondibile e, in più di quindici anni di intensa attività live, ha acquisito una fanbase affezionata che ne segue instancabilmente tutti i movimenti sia in Italia che all’estero.
Since it was first published in 1951, Langston Hughes’ poem, “Harlem,” has been a source of awe and inspiration for generations of African American artists, notably Lorraine Hansbury, whose most famous play “A Raisin in the Sun” (1959), borrowed its title to enhance its theme of black families’ fraught and frustrated pursuit of the American Dream.
* * * * * * * * * * *
LANGSTON HUGHES, “Harlem”
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
* * * * * * * * * * *
Ralph Peterson-percussionist, trumpeter, composer, bandleader and educator-has called upon Hughes’ iconic poem to give both title and theme to Dream Deferred, his 20th album as a leader and his sixth on his own label Onyx Music. Dream Deferred is also the first to feature his new quintet, Aggregate Prime, comprising the powerful, all-star tandem of saxophonist/flutist Gary Thomas, guitarist Mark Whitfield, pianist Vijay Iyer, and bassist Kenny Davis. “The album speaks to the question of that final question Langston Hughes asks in ‘Harlem’ and whether we as a society are close to answering it,” says Peterson. “The answer is already there in that if we don’t do the right thing, all of our hopes and dreams will explode.”
Peterson: “The ability of the sword to cut cleanly comes from what seems to be abusive extremes and that’s how we’re all tested by life. When life is heating up on you, your own tensile strength becomes more resilient until things cool down for a while before getting hot again. It’s these extremes that are ideal for stress test in strengthening metal…and your own mettle as well.”
La sua strada di musicista e di compositore Roberto Spadoni la percorre libera da condizionamenti stilistici in questo polittico di emozioni che colpisce lentamente, suonato al meglio in un clima di session nella quale vive una tensione tutta personale, sempre in bilico fra esperienze e tendenze diverse, forte di un respiro intellettuale intenso, mai riverso su modi abusati e, jazzisticamente parlando, “borghesi”.
“Travel Music” è una storia vera nata fra le magie dei Maestri e dai Maestri lontana quanto serve per narrare note proprie, europee quanto newyorkesi, senza astuzie d’immagini d’incanti fatali ; note saldamente legate ad obiettivi originali che intendono innovare senza “tirar fuori gli artigli” a tutti i costi, come testimoniano le piacevoli aperture dei soli e gli arrangiamenti in ottimo Bop, elegantemente disegnati in speziature ampie quanto naturali, amalgamando con prontezza tecnica e finezza armonica ogni diverso stato dell’Arte jazzistica, dal frammento lirico nebuloso e crepuscolare (“L’Italia dal finestrino”) al flusso poliedrico (“Travel Music”), dall’espressività delle Blue Notes coltraniane e davisiane (“Ce la posso fare”) alla complessa vivacità compositiva (“Dolls”) che, immaginifica e fiammante, suona improvvisa nelle voci solistiche del fantasmagorico Deus ex Machina Giovanni Falzone alla tromba e Stefano Menato al sax alto.
Mai concettuale e astratto è il ruolo da Voce Narrante che il nostro chitarrista concepisce in un album in fondo privo delle incertezze del Viaggio cui il titolo allude, del resto concluso con “La pensione degli artisti” che, a parte il rimando ideologico circa l’indifferenza politica verso il problema, allude ad “una piccola pensione che si trova nella parte più antica e forse metafisica di Ferrara, nei vicoli del Ghetto ebraico” dov’è apparso il tema che vibra di Blues e Hard Bop, traslando l’ironia della metrica degli “autunni melanconici pieni di addii” di Corrado Govoni e la sublime (in)differenza dell’intimismo di Guido Gozzano nel serissimo divertissement introspettivo della personalità orchestrale di Gil Evans.
Ecco, come la New Project Jazz Orchestra mostra e dimostra, suonare è azione di autoscoperta, e dunque di Viaggio, perché ogni musicista suona ciò che è, ciò che vede e, ancor più, ciò che sogna.
Jorge Vera combina en su nuevo viaje musical Jazz , latín, barroco , virtuosismo y multiculturalidad acompañado por los mejores músicos de la escena de Madrid presentando su nuevo proyecto titulado LUZ…
The Rossy Vibes Quintet release new album “Stay There” (Pirouet Records 2016)
Renowned drummer Jorge Rossy lays down his sticks and picks up the mallets as he displays his love of melody on the vibraphone and marimba. Jorge has brought along three old friends, contemporary jazz masters tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and bassist Doug Weiss. Add to the mix legendary drummer Al Foster of Miles Davis fame and you have a potent musical elixir. Modern jazz at its melodic best.
Moving Still is the eagerly-awaited follow-up to trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson’s Moment and the Message (Pi 2013), which was voted the top Album by a Debut Artist in the 2013 NPR Jazz Critics Poll and proclaimed “intricate and alluring, melodic but daring, riveting and rare” by Popmatters. Well regarded among fellow musicians for his ability to negotiate complex musical material and his decidedly personal sound and improvisational style, Finlayson was named the Number One Rising Star Trumpeter in the 2014 Downbeat Critics Poll. He has been a member of alto saxophonist Steve Coleman’s Five Elements for over 15 years, while also playing regularly with the likes of such cutting-edge artists as Steve Lehman, Mary Halvorson, Muhal Richard Abrams and Henry Threadgill. Moving Still is filled with enthralling twists and turns, a hallmark of Finlayson’s compositional style. As usual, there is far more to his work than might readily appear. Even though the pieces move forward with a clear thrust, instrumental voices rarely move in unison and counterpoint almost always holds sway. This is apparent on “Flank and Center,” where the melody utilizes hockets - a series of three and two notes played in turn by three voices, a pointillistic effect that is carried throughout the piece. “Space And” is based on a traditional bell pattern of the Dagomba of present-day Northern Ghana while “Folk Song” is inspired by an Afro Cuban melody from the song cycle devoted to Oshun, a deity that reflects one of the manifestations of God in the Ifá and Yoruba religions. “Cap vs Nim” is based on a celebrated chess match between the grandmasters José Raúl Capablanca and Aron Nimzowitsch wherein Finlayson assigned harmonic values to positions on the board with the melody determined by the origin and destination of each move. Guitarist Mile Okazaki states of the music: “It demands restraint and balance. It breathes and moves along unencumbered. You join in for the trip, but travel light and watch your step, because Finlayson will surely take a turn that you don’t expect.” Finlayson’s band, Sicilian Defense, is named after the popular chess opening counter move, and most of the composition titles on Moving Still are also allusions to some aspect of the game of chess, which he plays with great zeal. This latest iteration of the band includes guitarist Miles Okazaki, who is also a member of Steve Coleman’s Five Elements and with whom Finlayson has played with consistently for ten years. Trickster, his next release, will be out on Pi in 2017. Pianist Matt Mitchell (Tim Berne, Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, John Hollenbeck) has also released two of his albums on Pi. Finlayson has played alongside bassist John Hebert (Andrew Hill, Fred Hersch) for years, most recently in the bands of guitarist Mary Halvorson. And the young drummer Craig Weinrib, best known for tackling the challenges of Henry Threadgill’s music as a member of his Ensemble Double up, a band that released the acclaimed Old Locks and Irregular Verbs earlier this year. Finlayson has been a professional musician for a decade and a half despite being only 34 years of age. It’s not uncommon for musicians years younger with far less experience to have multiple albums as leaders under their belt already yet Moving Still is just the second release under his own name. According to Okazaki: “You can’t rush Finlayson. He’s not concerned with expectations. He has confidence that his preparation will allow things to fall into place when the time is right. It has to do with timing and nuance, and allowing the story to reveal itself to those who are leaning in and paying attention.” Or as Steve Coleman puts it: “Jonathan was aware of the entire spectrum of this music from a young age and he’s always taken a panoramic view of what has come before. But for him it’s not about imitating the great players. He has the patience to find his own way and it’s important to him for his music to reflect his own personality and philosophy, to create his own style and sound. He has made a conscious choice to be on the cutting edge so that he continues to make an individual contribution to the continuum of this music.” The result is a daring work with a firm sense of purpose.
Batteur parmi les plus influents du jazz actuel, Nasheet Waits s'inscrit dans l'évolution d'un jeu de batterie plein, subtil, fougueux, bien en dehors des codes d'accompagnement traditionnels. Il alimente le fl ux musical par un jeu reposant sur un usage complexe de la polyrythmie, une approche très particulière de l'instrument qui ouvre la voie à une expression plus libre et authentique, une musique communicative qui révèle un attachement profond aux racines du Jazz, de ses créateurs et compositeurs. L’album « Equality » est né favorablement lors d’une tournée printanière en Italie en 2007. Le quartet était composé alors de Logan Richardson aux saxophones alto et soprano, de Jason Moran et de Tarus Mateen, tous deux musiciens également dans le groupe Jason Moran & The Bandwagon. « Equality » s’est vu enregistrer une première proposition en 2009 chez Fresh Sound Records, intitulé « Alive At MPI » et a entrainé des pianistes virtuoses tels que Stanley Cowell et James Hurt pour plusieurs tournées en Europe de 2007 à 2013. Il a notamment enregistré et tourné fréquemment en Afrique, en Europe, au Japon, au Canada, en Amérique du Sud et aux Etats-Unis. En plus de ses prestations, de ses enregistrements et de ses tournées, Nasheet Waits enseigne la batterie et la musique avec une approche bien personnelle. Tout en défendant la nécessité d’équilibrer entre le traditionnel et le modernisme, Nasheet Waits rencontrent de nombreux musiciens, aussi en Master class. Il est dévoué à explorer son rôle et son parcours artistique dans la musique.
