 Top from left: Eric Miller, Dave Robaire, Miro Sprague, Mike Cottone. Bottom from left: Wayne Shorter, Diego Urbano, Josh Johnson, Jonathan Pinson, Herbie Hancock. (Photo: Chip Latshaw)
Monk Institute Increases West Coast Presence
A roving, moveable feast of an operation, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz has been making waves and introducing new young voices to jazz for a quarter century—more of an institution in motion than a physical locality. As of fall 2012, for instance, it has returned its Jazz Performance program to Los Angeles.
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 HEADLINES
Louisville’s historic Brown Theatre was the perfect setting for the classic New Orleans jazz of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (PHJB) …
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Pianist Chick Corea, bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding, vocalist Luciana Souza and saxophonist Kenny Garrett are among the artists …
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The house lights dim, a hush falls over the crowd and a lonely video camera on a 30-foot boom slowly moves toward center stage as Mr. Zhang Xiaolu …
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Sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar died on Dec. 11 at San Diego’s Scripps Hospital. The preceding week, he had undergone heart-valve replacement surgery …
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REVIEWS // EDITORS’ PICKS
 BY BOBBY REED
Robert Glasper Experiment’s genre-mixing Black Radio was released on Feb. 28, 2012, and it has stayed at the forefront of fans’ minds for 10 …
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 BY FRANK ALKYER
José James says he doesn’t want to be called a jazz singer any longer. Up to this point in his career, the 34-year-old, genre-bending vocalist has felt uncomfortably painted into the jazz corner. …
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 BY BOBBY REED
Canadian pianist Pamela York explores sacred music that predates the 20th century on her latest album, the excellent Lay Down This World: Hymns And Spirituals. …
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 BY FRANK ALKYER
Every few months, I’ll get a package in the mail that brings a true smile. It’s the latest set of recordings from the SmallsLIVE record label—usually three or four new discs, all recorded live at Smalls Jazz Club in New York. …
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 BY AARON COHEN
Right after Allison Miller’s group Boom Tic Boom performed at Switzerland’s Willisau jazz festival in August 2011, the drummer says she couldn’t wait to release the results. …
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 BY BOBBY REED
The news of Dave Brubeck’s death on Dec. 5 sent me on a long sonic journey, back through the titles of his illustrious career, including the massive box set The Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1955–1966 …
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 BY FRANK ALKYER
John Zorn is in the midst of an incredible outpouring, with 35 new recordings in the past three years. His album The Concealed is proof that Zorn is the rarest of artists—one who can produce expansive amounts music with vision, detail and quality. …
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 BY HILARY BROWN
Tap dancer Savion Glover says he thinks in terms of notes and beats, rather than steps and combinations. He recorded Fours—a series of vastly different “jams” with pianists McCoy Tyner and Eddie Palmieri and drummers Roy Haynes and Jack DeJohnette—with that same sensibility. The rhythmic dialogues between Glover …
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BY AARON COHEN
Brazilian singer Marcos Valle made his mark during the early-to-mid-1960s bossa nova wave with such international hits as “Samba De Verão”—a.k.a. “So Nice (Summer Samba).” He could have continued along this lyrical path to guaranteed financial success …
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BY AARON COHEN
Very few people have done more to preserve America’s music than folklorist Alan Lomax. Starting in 1933, Lomax (then working with his father) traveled throughout the country and amassed hours …
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JAZZ SCHOOL // TOOLSHED
Toca is marking its 20th anniversary with a collection of special-edition drums, including an 11-inch quinto, an 11.75-inch conga, a 12.5-inch tumbadora, 7-inch and 8.5-inch bongos and a 12-inch rope-tuned Freestyle II djembe with a goatskin head. …
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EMG’s new 57 active humbucker is a bridge pickup suitable for any genre of guitar-playing. The combination of Alnico V magnets with steel pole pieces produces a type of tone that suits …
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PreSonus has released Studio One 2.5. Free to Studio One 2 DAW users, this update adds nearly …
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Carlsbro’s new ADD501SL electronic drum kit features 400 percussion voices with 20 preset drum kits and 15 user-defined setups. …
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Travis Reuter’s new book Compositions (Mel Bay) examines the concepts and frameworks behind nine of the New York-based guitarist’s original compositions. The book focuses on abstract forms, rhythmic counterpoint …
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CURRENT ISSUE
CLASSIC INTERVIEW
by Ralph Gleason // August 8, 1957
David Warren Brubeck, at the age of 36, is a successful man in his chosen profession, a man who has designed his life to suit his own taste, and despite the rigors of a high-pressure business, manages to spend more time at home with his wife and five children than can almost anyone in a comparable position.
During the year 1956, Brubeck spent only 180 days on the road. He frequently flew back to Oakland, Calif., for a week with his family. Perhaps it was for only one or two days. And during the time he was off the road, much of it was devoted to digging and raking and shoveling on the mountaintop he owns in the residential district of Oakland.
He was born in 1920 in Concord, Calif., a small town inland about 30 miles from San Francisco. His father was a cattleman, buyer of herd beef and manager of cattle ranches. His mother was the daughter of a stage coach operator who ran a regular passenger and mail coach from Concord over the hills to Oakland.
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57 Pickup
Plugged-in Drums
Composition Concepts
