"Down Beat" - August 2009

COVER
Christian McBride - The "Acoustic Bassist of the Year" has manned the bass chair in some of the most significant groups of the past couple of years, from the Pat Metheny Trio and the Chick Corea/John McLaughlin Five Peace Band to the Sonny Rollins Trio with Roy Haynes. His monster chops are unquestioned, but it's his band-leading, producing, organizing and teaching skills that have led him to become one of the most influential jazz artists on the planet. Last year saw him serve as artist-in-residence at the Detroit and Monterey jazz festivals, man the jazz chair with the L.A. Philharmonic and work as co-director of the Harlem Jazz Museum. This year, he's as busy musically as ever, rolling out a new album from a new band and releasing a series of conversation podcasts with jazz greats through his web site.

FEATURES
Sonny Rollins - To celebrate the "Jazz Artist of the Year," several of the critics who voted Rollins' Road Shows, Vol. 1 as Jazz Album of the Year will weigh in on what made this live album a 5-star release.

Hank Jones - Make it a trifecta of Jones brothers into the DownBeat Hall of Fame, as pianist Hank joins drummer Elvin and bandleader/trumpeter Thad in the Hall. We talk to Hank about how, at 90, he still tours the world, playing music that's filled with the wisdom of eight decades of playing professionally.

Oscar Pettiford & Tadd Dameron - DB pays tribute to the two legends inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame through the Veterans Committee.

Chick Corea - DB talks to the Electric Keyboard/Synthesizer Player of the Year about his past year of fusion, from the reunited Return To Forever to the Five Peace Band with John McLaughlin.

Rudresh Mahanthappa - The Rising Star Jazz Artist and Alto Saxophonist of the Year has been smashing stylistic barriers with his mix of hardcore jazz, classical Indian music and free improvisation.

Shemekia Copeland - As the Rising Star Blues Artist of the Year, the vocalist has seen her music reinvented in the past year, as she mined new blues veins with the release of the exciting Never Going Back.

PLAYERS
Logan Richardson (alto saxophone)
Ben Wendel (tenor saxophone)
Jeff Albert (trombone)
Shaynee Rainbolt (voice)

BLINDFOLD TEST - Hugh Masekela

THE BEAT
· Terence Blanchard records new disc in New Orleans library
· Los Angeles Jazz Bakery forced to move
· Harlem Jazz Museum progresses
· New York Freddie Hubbard Memorial
· Nina Simone's North Carolina hometown builds statue, launches scholarship and music festival in her honor
· European Scene; Backstage With ... Frank Wess
· Caught: Cheltenham, Cape Town and Tri-C Jazz Festivals

WOODSHED
· Jazz on Campus: New York Jazz Standard Jazz for Kids sessions
· Master class: Guitarist Tim Fitzgerald on Wes Montgomery
· Transcription: Anat Cohen's clarinet solo on "Cry Me A River"
· Legal Session

REVIEWS
Hot Box
Otis Taylor, Pentatonic Wars And Love Songs (Telarc)
Tortoise, Beacons Of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey)
Jack DeJohnette/John Patitucci/Danilo Perez, Music We Are (Golden Beams)
Darren Johnston, The Edge Of The Forest (Clean Feed)

Reviews
Luciana Souza, Tide (Verve)
Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra, El Viaje (PGM)
Charnett Moffett, The Art Of Improvisation (Motéma)
Pat Metheny/Gary Burton, Quartet Live! (Concord)
Derrick Gardner and the Jazz Prophets, Echoes Of Ethnicity (Owl Studios)
Stanley Clarke Trio, Jazz In The Garden (Heads Up)
Joe Lovano Us Five, Folk Art (Blue Note)
Aki Takase/Rudi Mahall, Evergreen (Intakt)
Steve Lehman Octet, Travail, Transformation, And Flow (Pi)
Justin Vasquez, Triptych (self-released)
Michael Musillami Trio, From Seeds (Playscape)
Corey Wilkes and Abstraky Pulse, Cries From Tha Ghetto (Pi)
Rob Mazurek Quintet, Sound Is (Delmark)
Charles Tolliver Big Band, Emperor March (Half Note)
Fast 'N' Bulbous, Waxed Oop (Cuneiform)
NOMO, Invisible Cities (Ubiquity)
Rudder, Matorning (19/8)
Jane Bunnett, Embracing Voices (EMI/Blue Note Canada)
Lars Danielsson, Tarantella (ACT)
Freddie Hubbard, Without A Song: Live In Europe 1969 (Blue Note)
Jim Beard, Revolutions (Sunnyside)
Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra, Live At Jazz Standard (Sunnyside)
Dave Douglas and Brass Ecstasy, Spirit Moves (Greenleaf Music)
John McLaughlin/Chick Corea, Five Peace Band Live (Concord)
Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! (Lost Highway)
David "Fathead" Newman, The Blessing (HighNote)
Frank Wess Nonet, Once Is Not Enough (Labeth)
Geoffrey Keezer, Aurea (ArtistShare)

Jazz
Red Holloway, Go Red Go! (Delmark)
Charlie Kohlhase (Boxholder)
Tony Malaby, Paloma Recio (New World)
Jimmy Greene, Mission Statement (RazDaz)
Jerome Sabbagh, One Two Three (Bee Jazz)
David Binney, Third Occasion (Mythology)

Blues
Various Artists, And This Is Free ... Maxwell Street (Shanachie DVD/CD)
Nick Moss, Live at Chan's (Blue Bella)
Shirley Johnson, Blues Attack (Delmark)
Various Artists, Chicago Blues-A Living History (Raisin' Music)
Little Walter, The Complete Chess Masters (Chess)
Muddy Waters, Live At Chicago Fest (Shout!)

Beyond
Bell X1, Blue Lights On The Runway (YepRoc)
The Decemberists, The Hazards Of Love (Capitol)
Gomez, A New Tide (ATO)
U2, No Line On The Horizon (Interscope)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz! (Interscope)

Historical
Charles Mingus, Ah Um-50th Anniversary (Columbia/Legacy)
Miles Davis, Sketches Of Spain-50th Anniversary (Columbia/Legacy)
Dave Brubeck, Time Out-50th Anniversary (Columbia/Legacy)

Book
Dan Ouellette, Ron Carter: Finding The Right Notes (ArtistShare)