"DownBeat" - March 2010

Cover Story:
Ahmad Jamal -- Preeminent pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal is an exemplary ensemble player who always inspires his musicians to surpass themselves. Considering his trio an orchestra, Jamal not only achieves a unified sound, but subtly inserts independent roles for the bass and drums. Audiences delight in Jamal's total command of the keyboard, his charasmatic swing and daringly inventive solos that always tell a story. One of the most influential pianists in jazz, the 79-year-old Jamal is also the music's first crossover artist.

FEATURES
Hiromi -- The international piano/keyboard sensation continues to push the limits of jazz to new compositional and technical frontiers.

Michael Moore -- The expatriate alto saxophonist, clarinetist and bass clarinetist occupies a peculiar insider/outsider position on the fertile Amsterdam jazz scene.

The Jazz Producer's Role -- With fewer label-driven jazz recording projects than ever before, more artists have become masters of their own sound by making albums without a producer's guidance.

SPECIAL SECTION: Indie Life -- An exploration of artists and labels bubbling up on the independent music scene. This section includes a profile of trumpeter, Brian Groder.

Indie Spotlight Ad Section: Showcase your indie release with these 1/6 page, 4color blocks for only $500 net each!

SPECIAL SECTION: Jazz Camp Guide -- The jazz world's guide to where to study music this summer.

PLAYERS
Leonardo Cioglia (bass)
Robby Ameen (drums)
The Tiptons (group)
Benny Reid (saxophone)

BLINDFOLD TEST -- Stanley Clarke

THE BEAT
Update on Jazz Museum in Harlem
Gary Niewood Remembered in Rochester, N.Y.
Vinyl Freak, The Question
Caught: London Jazz Festival; Philadelphia Rashied Ali Memorial Concert; Mathias Eick big event at Berlin Jazz Festival

WOODSHED
Master Class: Wayne Shorter
Transcription: Jim Hall's guitar solo on "All Across the City," from CD Hemispheres (2008)
Jazz On Campus: Savannah Music Festival presents big competition for high school bands

GEAR BOX
Hal Leonard
Alfred Publishing
Jamey Aebersold
Sher Music
Carl Fischer

REVIEWS
Hot Box
Myra Melford's Be Bread, The Whole Tree Gone (Firehouse 12)
Arturo O'Farrill, Rise Negra (Zoho)
David Murray & the Gwo Ka Masters, The Devil Tried To Kill Me (Justin Time)
ACT, Act (BJU - Brooklyn Jazz Underground)

CD Reviews
Keith Javors, Coming Together (Inarhyme)
American Music Project, On The Bright Side (Inarhyme)
Andrea Fultz, The German Projekt (andreafultz.com)
Bill Laswell, Method of Defiance (Rare Noise)
Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Detroit (Mack Ave.)
Jack Cortner Big Band, Sound Check (Jazzed Media)
Poncho Sanchez, Psychedelic Blues (Concord Picante)
Miguel Zenon, Esta Plena (Marsalis Music)
Terrell Stafford/Dick Oatts Quintet, Bridging The Gap (Planet Arts)
Myron Walden, Momentum (Demi Records)
Tyshawn Sorey, Koan (482 Music)
John Mayall, Tough (Eagle Records)
John Hammond, Rough & Tough (Chesky)
Ronnie Cuber, Ronnie (SteepleChase)
George Colligan, Come Together (Sunnyside)
Joe Morris, Colorfield (ESP)
Kevin Brady Trio, Zeitgeist (Fresh Sounds)
Yaron Herman Trio, Muse (Sunnyside)
Bobby Selvaggio, Modern Times (Arabesque)
Paul Motian Trio 2000, On Broadway Vol. 5 (Winter & Winter)
Yellowjackets DVD, New Morning (Heads Up)
Andrew Rathbun, Where We Are Now (SteepleChase)
Anthony Wilson Trio, Jack Of Hearts (Groove Note)
Paul Murphy/Larry Willis, Foundations (self)
Jacam Manricks, Labyrinth (Marnicks Music)

Jazz
Casey Driessen, Oog (Red Shoe)
Mads Tolling, The Playmaker (City Hall)
Carla Kihlstedt and Satoko Fujii (Tzadik)
Svend Asmussen, Makin' Whoopee! (Arbors)

Blues
Arthur Adams, Stomp the Floor (Delta Groove)
Hamilton Loomis, Live in England (Ham-Bone)
Andrew Jr. Boy Jones, Gettin' Real (Electro-Fi)
Long John Hunter, Looking for a Party (Blues Express)
Texas Slim, Driving Blues (Top Cat)
Delbert McClinton, Acquired Taste (New West)

Beyond
Alan Lomax, In Haiti box set (Harte Recordings)

Historical
John Coltrane, Sidesteps (Concord)

Book Review
David Robertson, W.C. Handy, The Life and Times of The Man Who Made The Blues (Knopf)