Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Destaques da DownBeat de Maio de 2007


Vejam os destaques da DownBeat de Maio. Está sensacional!!! Zawinul era para ter sido matéria de capa na edição de Abril, mas, com a morte de Michael Brecker, que se tornou o destaque maior no número anterior, as peripécias do turbulento tecladista ficaram para Maio.
A revista traz também um superguia dos principais festivais de jazz em todo o mundo, citando as atrações de 2007. Há uma comovente cobertura do "memorial" de Michael Brecker, muitas novidades sobre projetos em andamento (na coluna "Things To Come" de Richard Seidel) e uma penca de reviews.
Os discos mais elogiados são os de Grady Tate (atacando exclusivamente como cantor em "From The Heart", convidando Dennis Mackrel para a bateria), do trombonista Wycliffe Gordon ("Standards Only") e do pianista Sten Sandell ("Oval"), os únicos que ganharam 4 estrelas, mesma cotação concedida ao DVD "The Oslo Concerts" de Bill Evans. Ah, "Nightnoves", de Kurt Elling, faturou 4 estrelas e meia.
Na porção brasileira: "Softly", de Romero Lubambo, e "Carioca", de Chico Buarque, receberam 3 estrelas. "Our Moments" (título americano para "Todas As Coisas e Eu"), de Gal Costa, não passou de 2 estrelas e meia...O desempenho vocal da diva foi elogiado, mas os arranjos...Segundo o crítico Peter Margasak, "the orchestrated strings are gloppy and glib...the instrumental component isn't far from old-fashioned muzak."
By the way, este disco já havia sido detonado pelo New York Times há alguns meses, mais precisamente no dia 8 de Janeiro. O crítico Ben Ratliff, embora elogiando a voz da cantora ("clara e leve, com afinação perfeita e pouco vibrato"), disse que ela foi mal gravada com excesso de compressão, chamou o álbum de "rush project", e taxou o som como "raso e sintético, com arranjos óbvios e açucarados". Pegou pesado.

COVER
Joe Zawinul -- (Previously scheduled as April Cover ... now May.) Not one to rest on his laurels, the legendary keyboardist/composer has broken new ground with the release of Brown Street, as he’s arranged his Weather Report classics for a big band for the first time. The result is a thrilling live ride through one of the best songbooks in jazz. We talk about this process, how he views the compositional arc of his career and songwriting legacy, and much more in this entertaining feature.

Ornette Coleman -- At the IAJE Conference in January, Coleman sat before a live audience for an interview conducted by fellow musical adventurer Greg Osby. They talked about music, racism, family, sex and much more in what was perhaps the most thought-provoking hour of the conference.

Robert Glasper & Mos Def -- The pianist has released his second album on Blue Note, a further exploration of how to incorporate hip-hop elements into acoustic jazz. Mos Def is one of the most innovative hip-hop artists on the planet, and he even dabbles in jazz, including leading a big band. We got them together to discuss intersections of jazz and hip-hop.

Los Angeles Big Band Scene -- From the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band and the Chris Walden Big Band to the Clayton–Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Gerald Wilson Orchestra, L.A. currently boasts an active and innovative big band scene.

Toumani Diabaté -- Last year, the kora player released Boulevard De L’Independance, one of just a handful of albums that received 5 stars. Now, he’s in the States, on a rare tour.

SPECIAL SECTION: International Summer Jazz Festival Guide -- Includes listings of more than 100 festivals, as well as a feature on the 50th anniversary of the Monterey Jazz Festival. Other stories include a piece on the art of the festival commission and jazz being booked at non-jazz festivals.

BLINDFOLD TEST -- Ron Carter (Live from IAJE)

PLAYERS
Anat Fort (piano)
Tony Malaby (saxophone)
Chocolate Armenteros (trumpet)
Gary Lucas (guitar)

THE BEAT
• Riffs—Jazz News From Around The Globe
• Vinyl Freak; The Question; The Archives; Things To Come
• Caught: Chick Corea/Gary Burton begin tour in Princeton, N.J.; Creative Music Festival at Redcat in L.A.; Freddie Redd re-creates The Connection at Merkin Hall in New York.
• Backstage With: Eric Reed
• Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival Turns 40; Orbert Davis goes commercial
• “Regrowing Pains” in New Orleans

WOODSHED
• Master Class: By Antonio Garcia
• Jazz on Campus: Asper Foundation in Winnepeg
• Transcription: Pat Metheny guitar solo from the new CD Metheny Mehldau

GEAR BOX
• Vater Safe N’ Sound ear plugs
• Beyerdynamic Headzone portable surround mixing system
• Gator Pedal Tote for guitarists
• Two books from Sher Music: The Jazz Musician’s Guide To Creative Practicing and Jazz Piano Masterclass With Mark Levine
• Line 6 TonePort KB37

REVIEWS
Anat Cohen and the Anzic Orchestra, Noir (Anzic)
Uri Caine, Plays Mozart (Winter & Winter)
Mavis Staples, We’ll Never Turn Back (Anti-)
Frank Foster, Well Water (Piadrum)
William Parker & The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra (Victo)
Joey DeFrancesco (Concord)
Kurt Elling (Concord)
Tony DeSare (Telarc)
David Liebman (Tone Center)
Conrad Herwig (High Note)
Turtle Island Quartet (Telarc)
Grady Tate (Half Note)
Scott Whitfield (Summit)
Bill Evans Trio (Shanachie, DVD)
Wycliffe Gordon (Nagel Heyer)
Wycliffe Gordon/Jay Leonhart (Bluesback)
Pat Martino (Prestige)
Pete Levin (Motema)
Gal Costa (DRG)
Chie Imaizumii (Capri)
George Kontrafouris (Chicken Coup)
Night Crawlers (Cellar Live)
Rebecca Parris (Saying It With Jazz)
Chris Byars (Smalls)
Huazzteco (Parga)
Pierrick Pedron (Nocturne)
Sten Sandell Trio (Intakt)
Chico Buarque (DVD)

BLUES
Willie Pooch (Chicken Coup)
Elliott Sharp’s Terraplane (Intuition)
T.K. Webb (The Social Registry)
Tad Robinson (Severn)
David Bromberg (Applesed)
Phillip Walker (Delta Groove)

Beyond: King Crimson
The Condensed 21st Century Guide To To King Crimson (DGM)
The Collectable King Crimson, Volume One (DGM)

Reissues:
Memphis Slim & Buddy Guy: Southside Reunion (Sunnyside)
Gatemouth Brown: Gate’s On The Heat (Sunnyside)
T-Bone Walker: Good Feelin’ (Sunnyside)
Clifton Chenier: Frenchin’ The Boogie (Sunnyside)
Loren Connors: Night Through (Family Vineyard)
John Mayall: Essentially Mayall (Eagle)

Book:
Richard Cook: It’s About That Time: Miles Davis On And Off Record (Oxford University Press)

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