"DownBeat" - June 2009

Cover Story
Béla Fleck — The banjoist appears to be entering a new phase of his virtuosic career. His latest release, "Throw Down Your Heart," finds him collaborating with African musicians he encountered during a three-month journey through the continent, including kora master Toumani Diabaté. He’s also been busy collaborating with the Sparrow Quartet and a project with Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain. Sure, the Flecktones are still together, but Fleck’s focus appears to be set on a broader horizon these days.

FEATURES
Alex & Nels Cline — The drumming and guitar playing twins have pushed musical boundaries for decades. Today, they are as influential as ever. Alex’s recent release, "Continuation," received a 5-star DownBeat review. Nels’ solo album "Coward" offers a glimpse into a fertile musical mind, as does his Nels Cline Singers and his work with the rock band Wilco. We sat them down for a conversation, which offers an illuminating discussion into their music.

Marcus Roberts — The pianist’s gorgeous "New Orleans Meets Harlem, Vol. 1" is his first album in eight years. He claims to have eight albums’ worth of material ready for release, so after a number of years of occasional touring, this one time Young Lion appears to be emerging with the next act of his career.

Ken Vandermark — Tireless. If one word could sum up the Chicago multireedist, that would be it. But don’t forget innovative, progressive, musical and ambitious. Vandermark has an amazing ability to organize and motivate musicians, and at this point in his career, he’s one of the leading free-jazz musicians in the world.

SPECIAL SECTION: Student Music Awards
Complete list of all the winners, as well as stories on the top soloists, small ensembles, vocalists and engineers. Also includes the DB Education Achievement Awards.

SPECIAL SECTION: Indie Life
• Eric Mintel: Besides playing swinging music, the pianist has developed a increasingly more prominent jazz career through innovative touring and gig ideas.
• Part Time Jazz: From policemen in New York City to lawyers in Chicago, here are some gigging, recording jazz groups that use the music as a diversion from their day jobs.

PLAYERS
Gerald Clayton (piano)
Melissa Morgan (voice)
Mike Holober (piano)
Garrison Fewell (guitar)

BLINDFOLD TEST — Kenny Werner

THE BEAT
• Dave Douglas launches Brass Ecstasy record tour
• Cuban Tiempo Libre do Cuban jazz take on Bach
• Update on jazz societies
• Herbie Hancock, George Duke go on State Department visit to India
• European Scene; Backstage With ...
• Caught: Chick Corea & John McLaughlin; Charles Tolliver big band re-creates Thelonious Monk in Town Hall; Honor! series celebrates first night at Carnegie Hall

WOODSHED
• Jazz on Campus: Charles Mingus Summit at Manhattan School of Music
• Master class: Pianist David Budway
• Transcription: Bill Frisell’s guitar solo on “Strange Meeting”

REVIEWS
Hot Box
Wynton Marsalis, He And She (Blue Note)
Fareed Haque and the Flat Earth Ensemble, Flat Planet (Owl Studios)
Sean Jones, The Search Within (Mack Avenue)
John Scofield, Piety Street (EmArcy)

Reviews
Tony DeSare, Radio Show (Telarc)
Keith Jarrett, Yesterdays (ECM)
Refuge Trio, Refuge Trio (Winter & Winter)
Steve Lantner Quartet, Given—Live In Münster (hatOLOGY)
John Stetch, TV Trio (Brux) (Hale)
Nate Wooley/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Jason Roebke, Throw Down Your Hammer And Sing (Potter)
Brad Shepik, Human Activity Suite (Songlines)
Branford Marsalis, Metamorphosen (Marsalis Music)
White Rocket, White Rocket (Diatribe)
Amadou & Miriam, Welcome To Mali (Nonesuch)
Briggan Krauss’ H-Alpha, Red Sphere (Skirl)
Miles Okazaki, Generations (Sunnyside)
Ralph Alessi and Modular Theatre, Open Season (RKM)
Abdullah Ibrahim, Senzo (Sunnyside)
Townhouse Orchestra, Belle Ville (Clean Feed)
Diana Krall, Quiet Nights (Verve)
Lynne Arriale, Nuance: The Bennett Studio Sessions (Motéma)
Claudia Acuna, En Este Momento (Marsalis Music)
Jason Marsalis, Music Update (Jason Marsalis)
Seamus Blake Quartet, Live In Italy (Jazz Eyes)
Dee Alexander, Wild Is The Wind (Blujazz)
Ernestine Anderson, A Song For You (HighNote)
Martial Solal, Live At The Village Vanguard (Cam Jazz)
Steven Hashimoto’s Mothra, Tradewind (Chicago Sessions)
The City Champs, The Safecracker (Electraphonic)
Booker T, Potato Hole (Anti-)
Tiempo Libre, Bach In Havana (Sony Masterworks)
Fly, Sky & Country (ECM)
Marc Copland, Night Whispers (Pirouet)
Diego Barber, Calima (Sunnyside)
Latin Giants Of Jazz, ¡Ven Baila Conmigo! (Latin Giants Of Jazz)
Teddy Charles, Dances With Bulls (Smalls)
Brian Blade, Mama Rosa (Verve Forecast)
Eric Lindell, Gulf Coast Highway (Alligator)

Jazz
Omer Klein, Heart Beats (Smalls)
Steve Haines Quintet with Jimmy Cobb, Stickadiboom (Zoho)
Vinnie Cutro & New York Coty Soundscape, Sakura (Royal Music Ensembles)
Bop Tribal, Bop Tribal (Pacific Hawaiian)
Brenan Brothers, The Throw Down (Death Defying)
Nathan Eklund, Trip To The Casbah (Jazz Excursion)

Blues
Guy Davis, Sweetheart Like You (Red House)
Roxy Perry, In My Sweet Time (Blue Perry Hill)
Nicole Hart, Treasure (Blues Leaf)
Enrico Crivellaro, Enrico Crivellaro (Electro-Fi)
Little Richard, Live At The Toronto Peace Festival 1969 (Shout! Factory DVD)
Ramon Goose Band, Journey Into The Blues (Tekni)

Historical (2 columns)
Michel Petrucciani Box Set (Dreyfus)
Don Cherry/Nana Vasconcelos/Colin Walcott, The Codona Trilogy (ECM)
Steve Kuhn, Life’s Backward Glances (ECM)

Book
John Brackett, John Zorn: Tradition And Transgression (Indiana University Press)