"DownBeat" - May 2010

COVER
Miguel Zenón -- The first jazz artist to receive the MacArthur Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship in the same year (2008), saxophonist Zenón has lived up to high critical expectations with the recent release of "Esta Plena." The acclaimed CD, which earned a top rating of 5 stars in the March 2010 issue of DownBeat, reinterprets traditional Afro-Caribbean music from his native Puerto Rico with the sensibility and techniques of modern jazz.

FEATURES
Ramsey Lewis & Kirk Whalum -- DownBeat engages the commercially successful pianist and radio-friendly saxophonist in a spirited conversation about how to integrate elements of pop music into jazz and jazz education.

Evan Parker -- We checked in with one of the true giants of improvised music and free-jazz during the saxophonist's 16-day residency at The Stone in New York City last fall.

Gerry Mulligan: Classic Interview -- The maturation of one of jazz's most influential baritone saxophonist, from deep in our archives (May 26, 1960, by Leonard Feather).

Manfred Eicher: DownBeat Lifetime Achievement Award -- The founder of ECM Records and one of jazz's most important producers receives a special honor from DownBeat.

SPECIAL SECTION: International Summer Jazz Festival Guide -- The jazz world's guide to where to catch the hottest live music on this summer's festival scene. Feature stories include: George Wein: He's Back!; Top Jazz Festival Moments Caught on Film; Vancouver Jazz Festival @ 25.

PLAYERS
Ali Jackson (drums)
Brandon Seabrook (banjo)
Joey Pero (trumpet)
Carolina Chocolate Drops (band)

BLINDFOLD TEST -- Stanley Clarke

THE BEAT
Ed Thigpen obit/appreciation
Sachal Vasandani "Insider" column
Vinyl Freak
Caught: Orvieto festival, Brad Mehldau solo at Santa Barbara's Lobero, New Christian McBride commissioned symphony

WOODSHED
Transcription: Classic Dexter Gordon tenor saxophone solo
Jazz On Campus: Jazz Education Network (JEN) conference coming to St. Louis

REVIEWS
Hot Box
Scott DuBois, Blackhawk Dance (Sunnyside)
Pat Metheny, Orchestrion (Nonesuch)
Don Braden/Mark Rapp, The Strayhorn Project (Premium Music Solutions)
Ramona Borthwick, One Of Us (Leitmotif)

CD Reviews
Mostly Other People Do The Killing, Forty Fort (Hot Cup)
Bassekou Kouyate, I Speak Fula (Sub Pop)
Uri Caine, Plastic Temptation (Winter & Winter)
Gabriel Johnson, Fra_ctured (Electrofone)
Fred Ho, Celestial Green Monster (Mutable Music)
Les Hooper Big Band, Live At Typhoon (Hooperman Records)
Reed's Bass Drum, Which Is Which (self-release)
Brian Lynch Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Bolero Nights (Venus Records/The Orchard)
Al Di Meola, World Sinfonia (Valiana Music and Media)
Lionel Louke, Mwaliko (Blue Note)
Agusti Fernandez & Barry Guy, Some Other Place (Maya Recordings)
Dave King, Indelicate (Sunnyside)
Joe Locke, For The Love Of You (E1 Music)

Jazz
Steve Davis Quintet, Live At Smalls (SmallsLIVE)
Kevin Hays Trio, Live At Smalls (SmallsLIVE)
Ryan Kisor Quintet, Live At Smalls (SmallsLIVE)
David Kikoski Trio, Live At Smalls (SmallsLIVE)
Ian Hendrickson-Smith, Live At Smalls (SmallsLIVE)

Blues
Willem Maker, New Moon Hand (Big Legal Mess/Fat Possum)
Billy Lavender, Memphis Livin (I55 Productions)
Mark Nomad, Soul Proprietor (Blue Star)
Tas Cru, Grizzle 'n' Bone (Crustee Tees)
T-Model Ford, The Ladies Man (Alive)
Alvin Youngblood Hart/Luther Dickerson/Jimbo Mathus, South Memphis String Band (Memphis International)

Beyond
Tom Chant, Decentered (Another Timbre)
Marc Baron and Loic Blairon, Formnction (Potlach)
Eliane Radigue, Triptych (Important)
Katherine Young, Further Secret Origins (Porter)
Burkhard Stangl, Musik (Erstwhile)
Speak Easy, Backchats (Creative Sources)

Historical
American Masters Series on DVD (Media Arts)

Book Review
Robert Palmer, Blues and Chaos (Scribner)