Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Playlist for Tom Ossana / Dane Brewer – The Thin Edge – June 1, 2016 MST 7:00 to 9:00p.m.
The King TOM OSSANA
www.kzmu.org/listen.m3u ~ Use this link to access the show online.
Italian saxophonist Max Ionata is among the leading players in the contemporary jazz scene. His new 2016 Via Veneto Jazz release, Rewind, gets this week's Thin Edge off the ground with his "Bob's Mood" featuring Max's sax with bandmates Frits Landesbergen - drums and vibraphone, Alberto Gurrisi - Hammond organ. Newcomer Kansan, Allison Burk, and her Quartet gives us a take on "Antlers" with a primarily feminine ensemble from her self-produced Mythos. Seattle's pianist Aaron Parks gets together with Dane's Thomas Fonnesbæk (bass), Karsten Bagge (drums) in Stunt Records' 2016 release, Groovements in a cover of Cedar Walton's "Bolivia." Vibist Warren Wolf joins forces with Christian McBride (b), Jeff "Tain" Watts (d) and famed guitarist John Scofield in a performance of Wolf's "Soul Sister" from Warren's new Mack Avenue Convergence. Woody Herman brings this half to a close with the still relevant Shorty Roger's composition, "More Moon" - based on the chord changes of Nancy Hamilton's "How High the Moon" - recorded by Capitol Records in 1949 (later reimagined by Columbia years later).
The tune features a remarkable solo by saxophonist Gene Ammons as well as solos from vibist Terry Gibbs and Bill Harris' trombone - amazing what early artists compressed into the mandatory three minutes available in 78rpm shellac recordings.
Brand new from one of our favorite reed men comes a cover of Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" from Wheels of Time, a Flying Dolphin Records release featuring Christof Saenger: piano; Rudi Engel: bass; Heinrich Koebberling: drums. Next we'll hear from Polish pianist newcomer, Wójciński Szmańda and his Quartet's Delusions (SLUCHAJ FUNDACJA 2016). Wójciński's "Flood" is eerily similar, but free-jazzier, to Tomasz Stańko's approach in his 2004 ECM Suspended Night featuring our favorite pianist, Marcin Wasilewski.
Beloved Italian trumpeter, Enrico Rava, follows with a new Casa Del Jazz release, My Songbook, featuring the alto of Daniele Tittarelli in a performance of "Choctaw." Closing this segment, we'll hear from famed Argentine pianist, Eduardo Elia, in a solo cover of Coltrane's "Giant Steps" from Eduardo's 2016 Blue Art Records release Solo.
German bassist, Henning Sieverts, gets the third half rolling with his 2016 PIROUET Double Quartet playing his "Hexa Countdown" featuring Loren Stillman on reeds. Brit Matthew Hasall gives a dynamic 6 count waltz, "Music for a Dancing Mind," from his new Gondwana Records' On the Go featuring the leader's trumpet and pianist Adam Fairhall and saxophonist Nat Birchall. Burke and Webster's "Black Coffee" gets an instrumental treatment from Cleveland's trumpeter Dominick Farnacci from his 2016 Mack Avenue Short Stories with help from all-stars Christian McBride, Steve Gadd, Larry Goldings, Jacob Collier, Jamey Haddad and Gil Goldstein.
Elton John - with mysteriously troubling lyrics from Bernie Taupin - gets romance started with one of his finest, "Come Down in Time" from his 1970 release, Tumbleweed Connection. Pianist Victor Gould gives an unusual romantic twist to Miles' "Nefertiti" from his Fresh Sound New Talent release Clockwork with help from E. J. Strickland (d) and Ben Williams (b). Dukes of Hazard alumni, Tom Wopat, becomes one the foremost jazz vocalists, beginning with his cover of Coleman and Leigh's "You Fascinate Me So" from his 2011 LML Music Consider It Swung. Alain Jean Marie, a jazz pianist born in 1945 in Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe, joins forces with Danish bassist Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen performing Marie's "No Tears" from France's IDA Records 1998 Latin Alley.
From Stan Kenton's circa 1948 Stan Kenton and His Orchestra with June Christy we get June's admonition, "I Told Ya I Love Ya (Now Get Out!)" penned by Benny Carter, Herb Ellis and Johnny Frigo. Award winning Charlie Ventura and his 1946 Bop for the People is next with Jackie and Roy Kral's scat vocal, "Euphoria" featuring Ventura's sax and Bennie Green's trombone: wordless romance from the 40s! Roy Ayers slams the door on romance, at least as far as this show is concerned, with "Nasté" from his 1995 RCA recording of the same name. Roy plays the vibes and sings and is supported by James Moody ("Moody's Mood for Love") on soprano sax.
Let's have some fun!
A special thanks to KZMU's Music Director, Serah Mead and the troops @ RoJ for their help putting the show together: Agenor (BRA), Chris do Brasil (BRA), Domi & Victor (SPA), GAB (BEL), JR (SPA), Javi (SPA), Jazzzz61 (SPA), Lira (BRA), Luisa, Menos Que un Perro (ARG), Marcos (BRA), Melokan (VEN), Raz (ISR) and Sonia (SPA). Also friend, Raul Boeira, the Brazilian based in Passo Fundo and Spain's Javier Carrete.
The Rhythm Future Quartet - Travels (2016)
The Rhythm Future Quartet Performs Friday, June 24
At the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival
Celebrating New Album Travels
Acclaimed Group Brings Gypsy Jazz into the 21st Century
“Jason Anick is easily one of the best jazz violinists of his generation.” – Christian Howe
“Rhythm Future Quartet breaks new ground for Gypsy jazz” – Jon Garelick, The Boston Globe
“...among the worthiest current day successors to the legacy of the great Django”
– Will Friedwald, The Wall Street Journal
“These young men are incredible!!!” – Tommy Emmanuel
The Rhythm Future Quartet brings its unique brand of 21st century Gypsy jazz to the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival on Friday, June 24 in celebration of its new CD Travels. The quartet features chief soloists Jason Anick on violin and Olli Soikkeli on guitar, along with second guitarist Max O’Rourke and bassist Greg Loughman. Shows take place at 6 and 10 p.m. at Montage Music Hall. For more information, visit www.rochesterjazz.com
Comprised of forward thinking and prodigiously gifted players, the Rhythm Future Quartet continues its deeply felt mission to situate Gypsy jazz firmly in the here and now. On Travels, scintillating original compositions, dazzling improvisation and one-mind ensemble playing convert the swinging string driven sounds of the past into a viable and vital style that speaks directly to jazz lovers of the present. The album was released February 26, 2016 on Magic Fiddle Music.
As DownBeat publisher Frank Alkyer writes: “The future of Gypsy jazz is in good hands with the Rhythm Future Quartet.... Anick is a fluid violinist and Soikkeli flat-out blisters on guitar... The musicianship throughout this 13-song set is breathtaking.... Rhythm Future, indeed. I look forward to listening to this group for a long, long time.”
Rhythm Future Quartet (named after the Django Reinhardt composition “Rhythm Futur”) has itself evolved since its self-titled 2014 debut recording. Where that critically acclaimed release drew on standards as its core repertoire, Travels is largely devoted to group originals, compositions that touch on the tenants of the Gypsy jazz style yet thoroughly reflect the contemporary mindset of the makers. These ten new pieces are interwoven with shrewd reinterpretations of Bireli Lagrene’s “Made In France,” Paul Durand’s “Je Sui Seul Ce Soir” and, in a slinky arrangement that signals the band’s willingness to expand the scope of the Gypsy jazz idiom, Lennon and McCartney’s “Come Together.” Each of these thirteen performances display the awing virtuosity and sublime lyricism of the featured instrumentalists as well as the enviable cohesion of a musical unit that breathes as a collective entity.
As its title infers, Travels reflects the nomadic nature of the band and its individual members. “Over the past two and a half years, the group has done extensive traveling all over the world,” Anick says, “We used this time to work together to compose and co-arrange all the material that culminated into this new record.” With over 50 different countries between the four members throughout their careers, traveling has certainly been a big part of both their group and individual development, expanding their musical and cultural horizons and ultimately inspiring new compositions that tie all of these experiences together. Besides the literal sense of the word, Anick states, “This album also travels in the musical sense, traversing various musical landscapes from around the world, which opened up new rhythmic and melodic possibilities and allowed the group to take its Gypsy jazz influenced music into the future.” The international influences are easily heard in such Anick pieces as “Vesella” which incorporates Balkan music rhythms within the mix, and “Amsterdam” and “The Keeper” which are inflected with Latin rhythms and textures.
If rousing performances including “Bushwick Stomp” (which celebrates Finnish guitarist Soikkeli’s move to his present Brooklyn home) and “Don’t Tell Me” and “Made In France” are within the traditional Gypsy jazz vein, such pieces as “Travels,” “Still Winter” and “Round Hill” speak of RF’s new musical expression, a vision that makes effective use of more atmospheric textures and reflective moods. “We want to bring it all to the table,” Anick says, “Variety is valuable for our listeners and for us as players.”
Clearly this is not the Gypsy jazz for purists. “Instead of putting our own stamp on beloved material we are trying to bring new material to the forefront,” Anick states. “We’re trying to bridge a gap. We aim to draw in listeners that respond to the best of the tradition–the energy, the rhythm, the exciting virtuosity, the deep emotion–and then take a leap of faith and open their ears up to new soundscapes. We as a group are trying to prove that a music normally associated with older players can now provide personal expression for younger players of today.”
Jason Anick
Olli Soikkeli
Max O’Rourke
Greg Loughman
One of the youngest instructors at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Jason Anick, now 30, is rapidly making a name for himself in the world of jazz violin and mandolin. In addition to leading his own contemporary jazz ensemble and performing with the Rhythm Future Quartet, Anick has been touring and recording with Grammy award-winning Nashville guitar virtuoso John Jorgenson since 2008 when he was recruited while still a senior at Hartt Conservatory. In addition to his work with the Rhythm Future Quartet, Anick has released two highly acclaimed albums as a leader, Tipping Point (2014) and Sleepless (2010). A versatile and sought after side-man, Anick has also shared the stage with an array of artists like Stevie Wonder, John Sebastian, The Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Tommy Emmanuel, and Delta Rae.
Olli Soikkeli was born in 1991 in Nurmes, Finland. He started playing guitar at the age of 12 and, once he heard the music of Django Reinhardt, he was hooked. He’s been performing Gypsy jazz ever since and has performed in jazz clubs and festivals in Finland and beyond. He currently lives in NYC and has performed with Bucky Pizzarelli, Cyrille Aimee, Tommy Emmanuel, Anat Cohen and many more, garnering him the title, ‘the Finish Boy Wonder’. He’s released two albums under his own name in addition to albums with Rhythm Future Quartet. The Wall Street Journal heralded him as “a riveting Finnish guitarist who combines astonishing dexterity and speed with pure soul.”
Vermont native Max O’Rourke is quickly earning a reputation as one of the top young Gypsy jazz guitarists of his day. The 19-year-old was the winner of the 2015 Saga Award from DjangoFest Northwest and is currently a student at Berklee College of Music. In addition to performing with the Rhythm Future Quartet, he has shared the stage with the Gonzalo Bergara Quartet and the Grammy winning John Jorgenson Quartet.
Greg Loughman is an “emphatically lyrical” (JazzTimes), versatile and sensitive bassist who’s performed with numerous jazz greats including George Garzone, Curtis Fuller, Jerry Bergonzi, Joanne Brackeen, Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan and many others. He currently leads his own indie rock group Lowman and performs with the John Funkhouser Trio, Klezwoods, and many others.
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The Rhythm Future Quartet EVENTS
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