Wolfgang Muthspiel / Ambrose Akinmusire / Brad Mehldau /Larry Grenadier / Eric Harland - Where The River Goes (ECM 2018)

Where The River Goes carries the story forward from Wolfgang Muthspiel’s highly-acclaimed Rising Grace recording of 2016, reuniting the Austrian guitarist with Brad Mehldau, Ambrose Akinmusire and Larry Grenadier, heavy talents all, and bringing in the great Eric Harland on drums. Much more than an “all-star” gathering, the group plays as an ensemble with its own distinct identity, evident both in the interpretation of Muthspiel’s pieces and in the collective playing.  The album, recorded at Studios La Buissonne in February 2018, and produced by Manfred Eicher, features six compositions by Wolfgang Muthspiel and one by Brad Mehldau, plus group improvisation. It is issued in both CD and vinyl formats. Wolfgang Muthspiel plays music from Where The River Goes on tour this autumn with concerts at major venues in Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Estonia.

Wolfgang Muthspiel   Guitar

Ambrose Akinmusire   Trumpet

Brad Mehldau   Piano

Larry Grenadier   Double Bass

Eric Harland   Drums

1 WHERE THE RIVER GOES (Wolfgang Muthspiel) 07:42

2 FOR DJANGO (Wolfgang Muthspiel) 07:15

3 DESCENDANTS (Wolfgang Muthspiel) 05:32

4 CLEARING (Wolfgang Muthspiel, Brad Mehldau, Ambrose Akinmusire, Larry Grenadier, Eric Harland) 07:26

5 BUENOS AIRES (Wolfgang Muthspiel) 03:37

6 ONE DAY MY PRINCE WAS GONE (Wolfgang Muthspiel) 05:31

7 BLUESHEAD (Brad Mehldau) 07:41

8 PANORAMA (Wolfgang Muthspiel) 03:27

Jakob Bro / Thomas Morgan / Joey Baron - Bay of Rainbows (ECM 2018)

“There is no hurry to this music, but there is great depth,” observed London Jazz News about Danish guitarist Jakob Bro’s trio with two kindred-spirit Americans: bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Joey Baron. This poetically attuned group follows its ECM studio album of 2016, Streams – which The New York Times lauded as “ravishing” – with what Bro calls “a dream come true,” an album recorded live in New York City, over two nights at the Jazz Standard. Bay of Rainbows rolls on waves of contemplative emotion as the three musicians explore five pieces from the guitarist’s catalog, with the gorgeous “Copenhagen” a favorite reprised from Gefion, Bro’s 2015 ECM release. Others – “Evening Song,” “Red Hook” and the volatile “Dug” – are recast intimately and elastically for trio after having been initially documented by larger ensembles. Bookending Bay of Rainbows are two versions of the richly melodic “Mild,” the abstracted second rendering illustrative of Bro and company’s ability to push and pull the music into mesmerizing new shapes, onstage and in the moment.

Jakob Bro   Guitar

Thomas Morgan   Double Bass

Joey Baron   Drums

1 MILD (Jakob Bro) 08:42

2 RED HOOK (Jakob Bro) 08:34

3 COPENHAGEN (Jakob Bro) 05:16

4 DUG (Jakob Bro) 08:29

5 EVENING SONG (Jakob Bro) 04:51

6 MILD (VAR.) (Jakob Bro) 11:17

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg / Kent Nagano - Arche (ECM 2018)

Commissioned to write new music to inaugurate the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, composer Jörg Widmann drew inspiration from the shape of the building itself: “From the outside it resembles a ship. To me, the interior looked like the hold of a ship, an ark…Re-emerging into the daylight, the ark idea would not leave me alone. The inflection of the music I had to compose was clear….”  Arche, an Oratorio for soloists, choirs, organ and orchestra is a compendious work embracing the course of history in the west with a collaged libretto drawing upon a range of writers: from the unknown authors of the Old Testament to Nietzsche and Sloterdijk via Francis of Assisi, Michelangelo and Schiller. Arche looks at the tradition of the oratorio and transforms it. Dieter Rexroth in the liner notes: “What immediately stands out is above all the impression of paradox and the vast diversity of forms and musical resources. Everything happens at once, everything interlocks. Every moment transports us into another world.” Kent Nagano directs the massed musical forces with aplomb in this concert recording from the premiere performance in January 2017.

Jörg Widmann

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Marlis Petersen   Soprano

Thomas E. Bauer   Baritone

Iveta Apkalna   Organ

Kent Nagano

TRACKLIST

CD 1

1 FIAT LUX / ES WERDE LICHT 18:58

2 SINTFLUT 29:03

3 DIE LIEBE 26:55

CD 2

1 DIES IRAE 16:52

2 DONA NOBIS PACEM 09:16

Jakob Davidsen feat. Sissel-Vera Pettersen & Randi Pontoppidan - Silence Trio 2 (ILK MUSIC 2018)

"Silence Trio Series" is the new work by Danish pianist and composer Jakob Davidsen. During the three years 2017-2019, he will release three different trio CDs, all with serenity, rigor, genre freedom and silence as the common theme.

These three publications can be perceived as both a collective work and the statement of an individual.

First edition of "Silence Trio", with the Norwegian saxophonist Torben Snekkestad and Danish / French guitarist Hasse Poulsen, was released in the summer of 2017 and received great reviews in most of the world. Among other things, the reputed American magazine "New York City Jazz Records" chose the CD for one of 2017's most remarkable releases worldwide. The next to follow is "Silence Trio 2" with the Norwegian singer Sissel Vera Pettersen and the Danish singer Randi Pontoppidan.

In 2019, "Silence Trio 3" ends with the participation of the Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen and the Danish bassist Jesper Egelund.

"Silence Trio Series" is published by the uncompromising Danish label, "Ilk-Music".

The trio of "Silence Trio 2" first met during the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2015 where they played a very atmospheric concert, about which the critic of the Danish newspaper, “Politiken”, Christian Munch-Hansen, wrote:

"It was a very special audio universe that met one, with the beautifully colored voices of two experimental singers and rhythmic improvisations that spread in space as fragments of dreams, combined in a very nice way with Jakob Davidsen's highly present piano, also guided by the momentum and spontaneous invitations.

And Davidsen has the sense of contrasts of the experienced chamber musician and improviser - with his abrupt piano figures over the hovering sirens, or vice versa: beautifully circling sounds against the women's sound-playing, rattling percussion and deep vocal drones. "

About the musicians on “Silence Trio 2”:

In their duo, “Lift”, Sissel Vera Pettersen og Randi Pontoppidan have developed a very personal sound for the past 15 years, with their voices and electronics. They strike musical elements such as pygmy song, joik, vocalise, human beat box, jazz and Scandinavian hymns. Individually, they have performed in projects including Lionel Louke, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and Paul Hillier's Theatre of Voices. The pianist and composer Jakob Davidsen is known for his pioneer work with music in the border between improvisation and composition. It has resulted in 3 Danish Music Awards, the Honorary Prize of The Danish Composers Association, DJBFA, more than 15 CD releases in his name and concerts in Europe and South America.

"When the whole world is shouting on the top of each other you can either choose to participate with even louder and more penetrating shouts. Or you can keep silent or speak in a low voice insisting that the silent and the subdued may reveal more depths and nuances than any superficial roar."

Sissel-Vera Pettersen -vocal & elektronics

Randi Pontoppidan -vocal & elektronics

Jakob Davidsen -piano

More info

ZAV: Jesper Zeuthen / Jacob Anderskov/ Anders Vestergaard - Out of the Spectacle (ILK MUSIC 2018)

“Out of the Spectacle” is the crystallization of a continuing

collaboration between three Danish improvising musicians from

three different generations, that places itself somewhere between

textural improvisation, expressive free jazz and abstract soul.

Alto saxophonist Jesper Zeuthen is a Danish legend, that got

public attention already in the late 60’s for his work with the group

“Blue Sun” and has continued to evolve his music through his own

bands and his work with Jakob Bro, Anderskov Accident, Kasper

Tranberg etc.

Jacob Anderskov is one of the most outstanding voices on the

piano and has, since his debut in 2001, received numerous awards

for his music. He has worked with Michael Formanek, Chris Speed,

Airto Moreira etc. In 2018 he is nominated for the Nordic Council

Music Price.

The youngest of the three, Anders Vestergaard, is all over the

Danish underground music scene and known for his personal

touch on the drums. He is a part of the hard-hitting groups Yes

Deer and Laser Nun and has played with Evan Parker, Lotte Anker,

Thomas Morgan etc.

Together the three musicians creates a non-conceptual and bodily

music that meets the audience in a both challenging and atoning

way, emotionally multidimensional and spacious. They have

developed a personal interplay where influences, dynamics and

intensions floats freely between each other, melts together in

synergy and explodes in abstraction, and where the aim is to

create space instead of filling it up. A sort of reconciliatory blues to

the great spectacle.

Jesper Zeuthen - Saxophone

Jacob Anderskov - Piano

Anders Vestergaard - Drums

More info...

Jacob Anderskov - Mysteries (ILK MUSIC 2018)

Listening to KINETICS is a physical, sensual and energetic experience. Their music balances between pulse and no pulse, between groove and creativity, between beauty and abstraction. It’s about feeling, vibe, and structure. The crucial things in the music are – as always with Kinetics – beat, flow, expressiveness and momentum.

Kinetics has been playing intensively around northern Europe since its formation in 2014. The tour up to this recording started in London, featuring the legendary Evan Parker, and passed through several countries before ending at LOFT in Köln, where this album was recorded.

Side A of the LP is the end of the first set, side B is the opening of the second set. So you could argue that the 7 compositions on the album are done in one long take. (The band name) Kinetics, a branch of classical mechanics, is concerned with forces on bodies in motion. This no matter if these bodies be drones, drum sticks or planets – and relating to as well the movement through a terrain as that through outer space to another planet. (The album title), Mysteries, points beyond the physical domain, and into our interpretations of the forces behind the physical phenomena. It suggests an opening towards realms bigger or more incomprehensible than ours. To phenomena that will exist when we are no more here.

Jacob Anderskov, piano

Adam Pultz Melbye, bass

Anders Vestergaard, drums

More info...

Nov. 14-May 11: Jazz at Princeton University dynamic 2018-2019 season

Jazz at Princeton University Announces Dynamic 2018-2019 Season

November 14, 2018 – May 11, 2019

Guest artists include Blue Note Records trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, 

legendary vocalist Nnenna Freelon, Grammy winner and drummer 

Terri Lyne Carrington

Faculty leading groups include Jazz at Princeton head Rudresh Mahanthappa, Trineice Robinson-Martin, Jay Clayton, Matthew Parrish, Darcy James Argue

Jazz at Princeton University, helmed by acclaimed saxophonist/composer Rudresh Mahanthappa, presents a dynamic and compelling 2018-2019 Season, November 14, 2018 – May 11, 2019.

Highlights include performances by student groups joined by guest artists including Blue Note Records trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, legendary vocalist Nnenna Freelon, and Grammy winner and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.  In April, Jazz at Princeton will present Princeton University’s first-ever outdoor Jazz Festival.

“This year’s Jazz at Princeton program is going to be extraordinary,” says Mahanthappa. “With the contribution of so many of jazz's most articulate voices – both as guest artists and ensemble leaders – we are thrilled to offer performances that will engage, inspire and entertain students, educators and the community at large.  I am also excited that we’ll be hosting our first outdoor jazz festival.”

Jazz at Princeton’s six major student ensembles include the Creative Large Ensemble directed by Darcy James Argue, Small Groups I and A directed by Mahanthappa, Small Group X directed by Matthew Parrish, the Jazz Vocal Collective directed by Trineice Robinson-Martin, and the Vocal Improvisation Ensemble directed by Jay Clayton.

2018-2019 Season

Wednesday, November 14, 2018 – Jazz Vocal Collective  
The Jazz Vocal Collective, Jazz at Princeton’s elite vocal jazz ensemble directed by Trineice Robinson-Martin, performs original arrangements of classic and contemporary jazz compositions.

7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall.  Free and open to the public. Information here

Internationally recognized as one of the leading pedagogues in gospel and soul voice training and vocal technique, Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin is a force within the academic, religious, and performance communities. Her pioneering scholarship on gospel vocal techniques and performance practices can be found in Journal of Singing, Teaching in the 21st Century ed. by Harrison and O’Brian; and So You Want to Sing Gospel and Voice Training for the Gospel Soloist. Creator of Soul Ingredients™, Dr. Trineice holds doctoral and master’s degrees from Teachers College Columbia University in music education with an emphasis in contemporary commercial music vocal pedagogy, and a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from Indiana University-Bloomington. Her performance experience spans a variety of musical styles, venues and settings: the intimacy of private parties and local clubs, the grand stages of musical arts centers and large music festivals, and international stages. Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin is the Executive Director of the African American Jazz Caucus, Inc.; serves on the national faculty of Gospel Music Workshop of America, Inc.; and is a certified instructor in Somatic VoiceworkTM the LoVetri Method.

Saturday, November 17, 2018 – Jazz at Princeton University Small Group I with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire
The acclaimed trumpeter joins Princeton’s Small Group I directed by Rudresh Mahanthappa for an exciting collaborative evening of music that includes a commissioned suite in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of W.E.B. Du Bois’ birth.

8:00 pm, Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall. For information and tickets call 609-258-9220 or visit here

Ambrose Akinmusire, “a thrilling young trumpeter and astute bandleader [with a] unique spark in his playing” (The New Yorker), was born and raised in Oakland California. He was a member of the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble when he caught the attention of saxophonist Steve Coleman, who invited him on a European tour when he was just a 19-year-old student at the Manhattan School of Music. After returning to the West Coast to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Southern California, Akinmusire went on to attend the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Los Angeles, where he studied with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Terence Blanchard. In 2007 he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition. He also released his debut album, moved back to New York, and began performing with artists including Vijay Iyer, Aaron Parks, Esperanza Spalding, and Jason Moran. Akinmusire’s highly acclaimed Blue Note debut When the Heart Emerges Glistening was released in 2011. His second Blue Note release is the Imagined savior is far easier to paint.

Friday, November 30, 2018 – Creative Large Ensemble  
Jazz at Princeton University’s Creative Large Ensemble, led by Darcy James Argue, continues to redefine the big band in a program encompassing a broad spectrum of the genre.

8 pm at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall. For information and tickets call 609-258-9220 or visit here

Monday, December 3, 2018 – Jazz Vocal Improvisation Ensemble
VIE directed by the world-renowned Jay Clayton presents its first public performance of the year.


7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information visit here 

Jay Clayton is an internationally acclaimed vocalist, composer, and educator whose work boldly spans the terrain between jazz and new music. She has gained worldwide attention as both performer and teacher. With more than 40 recordings to her credit, Clayton has appeared alongside such formidable artists as Muhal Richard Abrams, Steve Reich, Kirk Nurock, Julian Priester, Jerry Granelli, Jane Ira Bloom, Gary Bartz, Jack Wilkins, George Cables, Fred Hersch, Gary Thomas, and tap dancer Brenda Bufalino, as well as fellow vocalists Jeanne Lee, Norma Winstone, Urszula Dudziak, and Bobby McFerrin, She has taught extensively throughout the world at schools including Cornish College of the Arts and Peabody Institute in Baltimore. Her book “Sing Your Story: A Practical Guide for Learning and Teaching the Art of Jazz Singing,” was published by Advance Music.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018 – Small Groups I & A
Jazz at Princeton University’s small groups, directed by award-winning saxophonist and program director Rudresh Mahanthappa, present an energizing and beautiful evening of music.


7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information visit here

Thursday, January 10, 2019 – Small Group X
Princeton University’s Small Group X performs under the direction of master bassist Matthew Parrish. The ensemble evokes the small group tradition of Art Blakey groups of the 1950s and 1960s where improvisation and inspiring interaction are key. The group performs as a sextet with several featured trio performances.

7:30 pm at Lee Rehearsal Room, Lewis Arts Complex. Free and open to the public. For information visit here

Born in central California to hard-working, music-loving parents of four children, Matthew Parrish epitomizes the heart of jazz bass performance and livelihood. Matthew has performed and recorded with many of the top names in jazz, Regina Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Paquito D’Rivera, Houston Person, Clark Terry, Etta Jones, Miri Ben-Ari, James Williams, Harry Sweets Edison, James Newton, Gary Thomas, Greg Osby, Stefon Harris, and Orrin Evans to name a few. His beautiful, warm, and complex sound has earned him an impressive reputation in the music community as a performer and composer/arranger/producer. He has recorded over 50 works, including his debut CD “Circles” (2000) and his recent recordings with Karine Aguiar, as well as a recording with Houston Person entitled “Rain or Shine” on Highnote Records.

Saturday, February 16, 2019 – Jazz Vocal Collective with Nnenna Freelon
The world-renowned jazz singer, composer, producer, arranger, and six-time Grammy nominee shares the stage with Princeton’s Jazz Vocal Collective, the university’s elite vocal jazz student ensemble.

8 pm at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall. For information and tickets call 609-258-9220 or visit here

Six-time Grammy nominee Nnenna Freelon has earned a well-deserved reputation as a compelling and captivating live performer. In 2014 she starred in the critically acclaimed show “Georgia on My Mind: Celebrating the Music of Ray Charles” in Las Vegas. Freelon toured with Charles, as well as other great artists including Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau, and George Benson. She is the writer, composer, and producer of the original theatrical presentation of “The Clothesline Muse,” a devised theatrical work of dance, music, spoken word, vibrant art and projections. It premiered in Philadelphia in 2013 with a national tour following in 2015. Freelon has always had a passion for education, and in November 2011 was asked by The White House to headline the Asia Pacific Economic Summit for 300 Presidents, Premiers, and Heads of State from around the world. Freelon performed in Laura Karpman’s undertaking of Langston Hughes’ “Ask Your Mama” at the Apollo Theater and at a Hollywood Bowl concert with Jessye Norman and The Roots. She has also performed at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, on In Performance at the White House, and had a featured song in the hit TV show “Mad Men.” Awards include the Billie Holiday Award from Academie du Jazz, Eubie Blake Award from NYC’s Cultural Crossroads Center, and two nominations for Lady of Soul by Soul Train Awards.

Saturday, April 13, 2019
Princeton University’s first-ever outdoor Jazz Festival.  More details coming soon.

Monday, April 15, 2019 – Jazz Vocal Collective
Jazz at Princeton University’s elite vocal jazz ensemble, directed by Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin, showcase their original arrangements of classic and contemporary jazz compositions.

7:30 pm at Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information visit here

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 – Small Groups I & A
Jazz at Princeton University’s small groups, directed by award-winning saxophonist and program director Rudresh Mahanthappa, present an energizing and beautiful evening of music.


7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information visit here

Thursday, April 25, 2019 – Jazz Vocal Improvisation Ensemble
VIE directed by the world-renowned Jay Clayton presents its final performance of the year.

7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information visit here

Monday, April 29, 2019 –Small Group X
Princeton University’s Small Group X performs under the direction of master bassist Matthew Parrish. The ensemble evokes the small group tradition of Art Blakey groups of the 1950s and 1960s where improvisation and inspiring interaction are key. The group performs as a sextet with several featured trio performances.

7:30 pm at Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information visit here

Saturday, May 11, 2019 – Creative Large Ensemble with Terri Lyne Carrington
Jazz at Princeton University’s season closes with renowned drummer and Grammy winner Carrington in a rare performance of Jim McNeely’s Tribute to Tony Williams Lifetime alongside students in the Creative Large ensemble led by Darcy James Argue.

8 pm at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall. For information and tickets call 609-258-9220 or visit here

Grammy Award-winning drummer, producer, and educator Terri Lyne Carrington started her professional career at 10 years old, being the youngest person to receive a union card in Boston. She was featured as a “kid wonder” in publications including People, Ebony, and Modern Drummer. After studying under a full scholarship at Berklee College of Music, she worked as an in-demand musician in NYC and later moved to LA where she was late night TV drummer for Arsenio Hall and Quincy Jones’ VIBE TV show. She has worked with artists including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Stan Getz, Woody Shaw, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Esperanza Spalding, The Yellowjackets, and countless others. She is the first female artist to win a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. She is a professor at Berklee College of Music, where she holds the position of Zildjian Chair in Performance, Berklee Global Jazz Institute. She is also the Artistic Director for the Beantown Jazz Festival and Berklee Summer Jazz Workshop. Her recent recordings include The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul, featuring a cast of female artists including Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, Nancy Wilson, Lalah Hathaway, Lizz Wright, Ingrid Jensen, Linda Oh, Regina Carter, and others. She also released a tribute to Ornette Coleman with David Murray and Geri Allen. She tours with her band Social Science, featuring Aaron Parks and Matt Stevens.

Vancouver-born, Brooklyn-based composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue has toured nationally and internationally with his 18-piece ensemble, Secret Society. Argue made his mark with his critically acclaimed 2009 debut Infernal Machines. 2013 saw the release of Brooklyn Babylon, which, like Infernal Machines before it, earned the group nominations for both GRAMMY and JUNO Awards. His most recent recording, Real Enemies, released in the fall of 2016, earned a third consecutive GRAMMY nomination. Secret Society maintains a busy touring schedule, with European, Canadian, and South American tours and four appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival. Argue has also toured Australia and New Zealand leading the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra. He has led performances of his music by the WDR Big Band, the Danish Radio Big Band, the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, the Big Band Palácio das Artes, and the West Point Jazz Knights. Argue has composed works for chamber duo and string quartet, art songs for Newspeak, and created arrangements for the Atlanta Symphony. In 2015, Argue was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition and a Doris Duke Artist Award. He has received commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation, the Jazz Gallery, the Manhattan New Music Project, the Jerome Foundation, and BAM, as well as ensembles including the Danish Radio Big Band, the Hard Rubber Orchestra, the West Point Jazz Knights, and the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos. He is the recipient of grants and fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, New Music USA, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Composers Now, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the MacDowell Colony.

Jazz at Princeton University under the direction of Rudresh Mahanthappa serves to promote this uniquely American music as a contemporary and relevant art form.  Our goals are to convey the vast musical and social history of jazz, establish a strong theoretical and stylistic foundation with regard to improvisation and composition, and emphasize the development of individual expression and creativity. Offerings of this program include academic course work, performing ensembles, master classes, private study, and independent projects. They also have the opportunity to participate in academic courses from the music department curriculum that encourage the study of the historical, social, theoretical, stylistic, and creative issues that pertain to the jazz idiom.

Hailed by Pitchfork as “jaw-dropping... one of the finest saxophonists going,” alto saxophonist, composer and educator Rudresh Mahanthappa is widely known as one of the premier voices in jazz of the 21st century. He has over a dozen albums to his credit, including the acclaimed Bird Calls, which topped many critics’ best-of-year lists for 2015 and was hailed by PopMatters as “complex, rhythmically vital, free in spirit while still criss-crossed with mutating structures.” Rudresh has been named alto saxophonist of the year for seven of eight years running in DownBeat Magazine’s International Critics’ Polls (2011-2013, 2015-2018), and for five consecutive years by the Jazz Journalists’ Association (2009-2013) and again in 2016. He won alto saxophonist of the year in the 2015-2017 JazzTimes Magazine Critics’ Polls and was named the Village Voice’s "Best Jazz Artist" in 2015. He has also received the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, among other honors, and is currently the Anthony H. P. Lee ’79 Director of Jazz at Princeton University.

Born in Trieste, Italy to Indian émigrés in 1971, Mahanthappa was brought up in Boulder, Colorado and gained proficiency playing everything from current pop to Dixieland. He went on to studies at North Texas, Berklee and DePaul University (as well as the Stanford Jazz Workshop) and came to settle in Chicago. Soon after moving to New York in 1997 he formed his own quartet featuring pianist Vijay Iyer. The band recorded an enduring sequence of albums, Black Water, Mother Tongue and Codebook, each highlighting Mahanthappa’s inventive methodologies and deeply personal approach to composition. He and Iyer also formed the duo Raw Materials.

Coming deeper into contact with the Carnatic music of his parents’ native southern India, Mahanthappa partnered in 2008 with fellow altoist Kadri Gopalnath and the Dakshina Ensemble for Kinsmen, garnering wide acclaim. Apti, the first outing by Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition (with Pakistani-born Rez Abbasi on guitar and Dan Weiss on tabla), saw release the same year; Agrima followed nine years later and considerably expanded the trio’s sonic ambitions.

Mahanthappa has also worked with Jack DeJohnette, Mark Dresser, Danilo Pérez, Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, the collaborative trios MSG and Mauger, the co-led quintet Dual Identity with fellow altoist Steve Lehman, and another co-led quintet with fellow altoist and Chicago stalwart Bunky Green (Apex). His exploratory guitar- driven quartets on Samdhi and Gamak featured David Gilmore and Dave “Fuze” Fiuczynski, respectively. In 2015 he was commissioned by Ragamala Dance to create Song of the Jasmine for dancers and a hybrid jazz/South Indian ensemble. He was also commissioned by the PRISM Saxophone Quartet to compose a chamber piece, “I Will Not Apologize for My Tone Tonight,” which can be heard on the quartet’s 2015 double- disc release Heritage/Evolution, Volume 1. 

Mahanthappa is a Yamaha artist and uses Vandoren reeds exclusively.

Hey! Today's $5.00 album is in celebration of a different album...

Lotte Anker / Gerald Cleaver / Craig Taborn - Floating Islands (Three Pieces) CENTRIFUGA November 1, 2018

The album is a live performance recorded during CPH jazz festival in 2008. Floating Islands was issued on CD in 2009 on ILK music, and finally we are able to make this superb recording available on vinyl in a collaboration between ILK, Insula Music and Centrifuga.

Saxophones – Lotte Anker

Drums – Gerald Cleaver

Piano – Craig Taborn

Mixed and Mastered By – John Fomsgaard

Recorded live at Borups Concert Hall

Sábados Porta-Jazz | Desidério Lázaro "Moving" - 19:00 e 22:00 - 6 Outubro

Com a chegada do Outono a Porta-Jazz volta ao nº 305 da Rua de João das Regras, em parceria com a agenda cultural da Junta da União de Freguesias do Centro Histórico do Porto e com o apoio da Poças Vinhos.

Para além dos concertos semanais, a Porta-Jazz apresenta também  durante Outubro e Novembro Jazz Sem Tretas, uma série de conversas com oito figuras incontornáveis do Jazz Português, em especifico do Jazz do Porto. 

Desidério Lázaro "Moving" 

6 Outubro - 19:00 e 22:00

Desidério Lázaro (Foto: João Hasselberg)

“Moving” é o título do 5º álbum do saxofonista Desidério Lázaro.

Desidério Lázaro, reconhecido saxofonista e tido como um dos melhores músicos de jazz português, regressa às gravações em nome próprio. Neste disco apresenta-se em quarteto, fazendo-se acompanhar de João Firmino nas guitarras, Francisco Brito nos baixos, e Joel Silva na bateria.

“Moving” é um disco de viagens, temporais e físicas, uma soma eclética de géneros e estados emocionais, algo a que o saxofonista algarvio já nos habitou. Assim, desde o enérgico tema homónimo “Moving” ao sereno “Introspective”, passando pelas homenagens a pai (“Hidden Pain”) e filho (“Lullaby”), é impossível não se relacionar com esta música que, embora polvilhada de jazz e rock em doses repartidas, se quer cada vez mais cinematográfica e envolvente.

O 5º álbum de música original do saxofonista Desidério Lázaro, “Moving”, chegou-nos no início deste ano, sob o selo da editora independente Sintoma Records.

Desidério Lázaro - Saxofone tenor

João Firmino - Guitarra elétrica e acústica

Francisco Brito - Contrabaixo e baixo elétrico

Joel Silva - Bateria

Jazz Sem Tretas

Quintas-feiras às 21:30

De 11 de Outubro a 29 de Novembro, a Porta-Jazz convida oito figuras incontornáveis do Jazz Português, em especifico do Jazz do Porto, para em tom de tertúlia após jantar, partilharem na primeira pessoa, as histórias e memórias vividas ao longo da fundação e desenvolvimento do movimento Jazz do Porto. A entrada é livre.

Ações de Formação da Fundação GDA 

Em coprodução com O Eixo do Jazz, Associação Luso-Galaica para Promoção do Jazz 

2 de Outubro a 13 de Novembro 2018

Rua de João da Regras, 305 - Porto 

Um conjunto de módulos de curta duração, que se dirigem maioritariamente a elementos práticos e acionáveis da atividade de gestão e produção das artes performativas.

Preço normal: € 20 por módulo

Preço para membros da Porta-Jazz: € 10 por módulo

PROGRAMA

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INTENSIVSTATION: John Schröder / Wolfgang Zwiauer / Alfred Vogel - POWWOW​!​!​! (BOOMSLANG RECORDS November 9, 2018)

“It is a very rare thing to hear complex music being played in such a relaxed and soulful manner” (jazzthing, Götz Bühler) 

John Schröder is a multiinstrumentalist and kind of a Free Jazz Godfather from Berlin. No matter if he is playing drums for Nils Wogram or guitar for Erdmann 3000, nor piano in his trio – he is always on the edge of artistry! In this certain trio, John is featured on 3 instruments which he is playing simultaneously. So the band sometimes sounds like a quartet or even quintet. Wolfgang Zwiauer on bass is probably one of the most desired musicians in Switzerland and together with Alfred Vogel the two men lay down serious multi-time layered grooves. 

Their second album POWWOW!!! will be released in Jan 2019 (Boomslang Records / distributed by Galileo Music GmbH.

Along comes 12 tracks monthly as a digital release starting November 2018 at this very place since the 3 doctores recorded so much music in the last 3 years which they like to share with you.

John Schröder: fender rhodes, guitar, drums 

Wolfgang Zwiauer: bass + electronics 

Alfred Vogel: drums 

recorded by Olli Rath (2015) and Alfred Vogel (2018) 

mixed and mastered by Alfred Vogel

1. Morpheus 11:56

Morley - Thousand Miles + Joe's Pub Release Party Tonight

October 5th – Record Release Party at Joe’s Pub

All the information about Morley's new work in

Norbert Mayer / Alfred Vogel feat. Joe Bär - ÜÜÜ (BOOMSLANG RECORDS November 2, 2018)

We think about the world or not. Norbert Mayer the poet speaks out what needs to be said, sometimes in Bregenzerwald dialect, but always with german and english counter parts. What you don´t understand is catched up by the drums of Alfred Vogel and floored by the Tuba of Joe Bär ... humorous, serious, gentle, dense, and solid as a rock. Anyway improvised. In the moment. Spoken word meets an alpine rhythm section. You may laugh or cry. It doesn´t make a difference.

Norbert Mayer, words + vocals

Alfred Vogel, drums

Joe Bär, Tuba + loops

1. gäng und schpräng 03:56

2. höümilk hey! 03:22

3. künnö 03:37

4. lällarfüörz 02:09

5. nümma dicht 05:12

6. redo redo redo 03:27

7. schüö so schüö 05:05

8. ufschtau 04:01

9. und? 04:06

10. wia odr was? 03:43

Yan Tregger - Ducks & Drakes (BBE MUSIC October 5, 2018)

Originally released on library music label Musical Touch Sound back in 1979, ‘Ducks & Drakes’ is an instrumental disco LP by pioneering French electronic musician Yan Tregger. Reissued this year by BBE alongside his 1978 album ‘Catchy’, Ducks & Drakes has achieved cult status among crate diggers and DJs, thanks to its ebullient charm and rock-solid leftfield grooves. 

Virtually impossible to find on vinyl for many years now, ‘Ducks & Drakes’ found wider allure in 2008 when Alexis Le-Tan selected album track ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ for experimental disco compilation ‘Space Oddities’. UK music hero Frankie Valentine brought these two magical albums to BBE’s attention and curated the project alongside the team. 

Amazingly (especially given the era in which it was recorded) the album was almost entirely performed, produced and composed by Tregger himself. Presented with its beautiful original artwork and previously unavailable to all but a lucky few record collectors, we’re excited to share the disco-infused magic of ‘Ducks & Drakes’ with the world.

1. Friend Island 03:25

2. The Girl In the Gold 02:50

3. Dawn and Darkness 03:34

4. The Ivy Heart 00:15

5. The Last Girl 04:07

6. Threshold 01:57

7. Haunting Refrain 04:39

8. The Ivy Heart (Reprise) 00:15

9. Girls Will Be Girls 05:21

10. Lanterns and Lances 03:18

11. Head for the Hills 00:13

12. The Way of All Flesh 02:48

13. Huff 02:47

Jerome Sydenham - Cosmic Urban Flight (BBE MUSIC October 5, 2018)

Deep-thinking, heavy-grooving House music for connoisseurs, Cosmic Urban Flight is the new album from revered producer and DJ Jerome Sydenham. 

Recorded entirely in Sydenham’s Berlin studio, the Cosmic Urban Flight project was originally planned as an EP for BBE Music, but a hot streak of musical inspiration soon swelled the proposed track-list and this unique album was born. As Jerome puts it: “It was a nonstop process until I felt, creatively, my point had been made.” 

Musically, Jerome says, “the sound of Cosmic Urban Flight was inspired by the idea of creating an energetic, DJ-friendly form of Deep House to fit into todays diverse sets.” Diversity is something this album has in abundance, as distinctly European house and techno influences meet with afro flavours and carefully weighed spoken word sections, giving a powerful commentary on today’s cultural and social climates. 

Featuring collaborations with Fatima Njai, Janne Tavi, E-Man, Karim Kaz, Mr V and Demetr1us, Cosmic Urban Flight is yet another reminder of why Kerri Chandler once likened Sydenham’s impeccable musical arrangement abilities to those of Quincy Jones. Cover photo by Marie Staggat.

1. Jerome Sydenham - Cosmic Urban Flight (Inflight Dub) 06:01

2. Jerome Sydenham - Soul Descendants 06:41

3. Jerome Sydenham - Purple Beech 05:58

4. Jerome Sydenham - Cortège 06:27

5. Mr. V - Til the Morning (Jerome Sydenham Special Edit) 05:09

6. Jerome Sydenham - Sifah & the Queen 05:14

7. Jerome Sydenham - Talk to Me 05:00

8. Jerome Sydenham - Track Model 17 05:26

9. Jerome Sydenham - The Tombs 06:09

10. Jerome Sydenham - Talk to Me (Instrumental) 04:58

11. Jerome Sydenham - Red Zero 05:55

12. Jerome Sydenham - Purple Beech (Janne Tavi Remix) 06:20

Pianist GEORGE BURTON (10.5) in Boston @ at Scullers + Announces Fall European Tour starting 11.9!

Boston: THIS FRIDAY!

Friday, October 5th at Scullers, Boston, Massachusetts

GEORGE BURTON GROUP

George Burton (Piano, Wulitzer & Effects); Chris Hemingway (Sax); Andy Bianco (guitar) Pablo Menares (bass); Wayne Smith Jr. (drums)

+ NOVEMBER EUROPEAN FALL TOUR:

“Burton speaks the language of Logan Richardson and Ambrose Akinmusire - modern harmonic choices and rhythms with a strong influence of hip hop and r&b, the melody always at the center of the conversation..." - Free Fall Jazz

There’s no doubt that George Burton is a rising star: his debut release, The Truth of What I Am > The Narcissist was chosen as one of the top ten debut albums in the 2016 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll, and hailed as "a fantastic statement of modern jazz" by Downbeat critic Chris Tart and “one of the most exciting debuts I have heard in years” (NextBop). 

Burton and his band are on a roll - they kicked off 2017 playing at NYC Winter Jazzfest; spring found them at The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage; and in August they made their debut appearance at the pinnacle of US jazz - The Newport Jazz Festival. Meanwhile, the raves for the album keep continue to roll in including: TOP DEBUTS OF 2016, NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll

Burton's own work is in a category by itself: he brings not only stunning technique, but music that is complex, uniting all the dimensions of his experience, filtered through the sensibility of a Romantic composer. His compositions are incomparably beautiful - make that scary-beautiful - and powerful - as in mesmerizingly powerful - and haunting - as in "where has this been all my life" haunting. Always creative and unique, he shines on his debut album, "THE TRUTH OF WHAT I AM > (is greater than) THE NARCISSIST," the title a remark on today’s “me” driven culture and art’s ability to transcend the self. His multi- dimensional compositions push the boundaries of the genre and bring to light what many reviewers have noted—his ability to bring out the best in his band. 

JazzTimes wrote that George Burton "seemed destined for great things - and soon."

www.georgeburtonmusic.com