"DownBeat" - May 2011

The May 2011 issue of DownBeat shines a spotlight on bassist Marcus Miller and provides readers with an extensive Summer Festival Guide. On the cover is James Carter, one of the most respected saxophone players of his generation. Other artists featured in this issue include pianist Monty Alexander, drummer Eric Harland and baritone saxophonist Claire Daly.

COVER
James Carter
After Wynton Marsalis, no one caused more of an uproar than saxophonist James Carter did when he first appeared on the New York jazz scene from his native Detroit. Carter's Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra, originally commissioned by the Detroit Symphony in 2002 and becoming available on CD this spring, marries classical and jazz elements over the course of four movements that showcase his tremendous artistry and virtuosity.

FEATURES
Marcus Miller -- The two-time Grammy-winning bassist/producer/composer captures a once-in-a-lifetime evening with Roy Hargrove, Raul Midón and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra on his new live recording, which had been already released in Europe and Japan in 2010.

Monty Alexander -- The adage "absence makes the heart grow fonder," coined to convey the kindling effect of separation on romantic ardor, applies with equal measure to pianist Alexander's ongoing obsession with the music of his homeland, Jamaica.

Eric Harland -- The drummer who has toured and made more than 80 recordings with some of jazz's top artists, including the acclaimed SF JAZZ Collective, delves deeply into his own thing with a self-release that amounts to an intense travelogue.

Special Section: REED School -- A must-read for saxophone students, includes Master Class, Transcription, Woodshed tips and Toolshed reviews of the latest gear.

Special Section: International Summer Jazz Festival Guide -- Where to catch the hottest live sounds this summer at jazz festivals worldwide.

PLAYERS
Adam Cruz (drums)
Jerome Sabbagh (saxophone)
Theo Bleckmann (voice)
Keefe Jackson (saxophone/clarinet)

BLINDFOLD TEST -- Singer-songwriter Nellie McKay discussed more than half a dozen tracks for the “Blindfold Test”:
Tierney Sutton: “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” from Desire (Telarc)
Madeleine Peyroux: “Love And Treachery” from Bare Bones (Rounder)
Melissa Walker: “Where Or When” from In The Middle Of It All (Sunnyside)
Champian Fulton: “If I Had You” from The Breeze And I (Gut String)
Patricia Barber: “Hunger” from Mythologies (Blue Note)
Jamie Cullum: “Just One Of Those Things” from The Pursuit (Verve Forecast)

THE BEAT
· Los Angeles' Jazz Bakery Reopens
· Trombonist Jeff Albert starts new series, workshops in New Orleans
· Kickstarter becomes significant jazz fundraising tool
· Vinyl Freak
· Caught: Portland Jazz Festival, Nels Cline premieres new conceptual work, Jason Moran and Ken Vandermark team up and square off at Chicago's Green Mill.

JAZZ ON CAMPUS
Xalapa festival brings jazz education to Mexico.

REVIEWS - Hot Box
· Donny McCaslin, Perpetual Motion (Greanleaf Records)
· Paolo Fresu, Mystical Mediterraneo (ECM)
· World Saxophone Quartet, Yes We Can (Naxos/Jazzwerkstatt)
· Eric Reed, The Dancing Monk (HighNote)

CD Reviews
· Matthew Shipp Trio, Art Of The Improviser (Thirsty Ear)
· Alon Nechustan, Words Beyond (Buckyball)
· Odean Pope, Universal Sounds (Porter)
· Doug Webb, Renovations (Positone)
· O'Farrill Brothers, Giant Peach (Zoho)
· Rev. John Wilkins, You Can't Hurry God (Big Legal Mess/Fat Possum)
· Peter Scharli Trio featuring Ithamara Koorax, O Grande Amor (Montreux Jazz)
· Nick Mazzarella Trio, Aviary (Thought To Sound)
· Herb Alpert & Lani Hall, I Feel You (Concord)
· Thomas Marriott, Constraints & Liberations (Origin)
· Jane Ira Bloom, Wingwalker (Outline)
· Rich Haley featuring Bobby Bradford, Life at the Penofin Jazz Fest (self release)
· Szilard Mezei, Bot (Not Two)
· Vijay Iyer-Prasanna-Nittin Mitta, Tirtha (ACT)
· Chris Dahlgren, Mystic Maze & Lexicon (Jazzwerkstatt)
· Gutbucket, Flock (Cuneiform)
· Andy Farber and his Orchestra, This Could Be The Start Of Something Big (Black Warrior)
· T.K. Blue, Latin Bird (Motema)
· Scorch Trio, Melaza (Rune Grammofon)
· Peter Erskine/Bob Mintzer/Darek Oles/Alan Pasqua, Standards 2 (Fuzzy Music)
· Pierre Favre Ensemble, Le Voyage (Intakt)
· Marty Tau Group, Mood Ebony (Summit)

Jazz Column
Various Artists, FMP-In Retrospect (FMP Publishing)

Blues Column
· Roomful of Blues, Hook, Line & Sinker (Alligator)
· Big Joe & the Dynaflows, You Can't Keep A Big Man... (Severn)
· Dennis Taylor, Steppin' Up (Kizybosh)
· Lara Price, Everything (Price Prod.)
· Charlie Parr, When the Devil Goes Blind (Nero's Neptune)
· Chris Antonik, Chris Antonik (self)

Beyond Column
· Various Artists, Black Sabbath (Idelsohn Society)
· Aaron Neville, I Know I've Been Changed (EMI Gospel)
· Rockin' Jason D. Williams, Killer Instincts (Rockabilly)
· Mark Erellis & Jeffery Foucault, Seven Curses (Blue Blade)
· Various Artists: Bloody War, Songs 1924-1939 (Tompkins Square)
· Les Sampou, Lonesomeville (Monando Music)
· Various Artists, The Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Concert (Black Hen)

Historical Column
Dinah Washington, The Fabulous Miss D! (Hip-O Select)

Book Review Column
Randall Sandke, Where The Dark and The Light Folks Meet (Scarecrow)