Jan 15, 2021 9:00 AM
John Coltrane, Out Of Obscurity
In late June of 1964, in between Impulse Records studio dates for Crescent and A Love Supreme, saxophonist John…
Naná Vasconcelos (1944–2016)
(Photo: Courtesy of nanavasconcelos.com.br)Naná Vasconcelos, the acclaimed percussionist and master of the single-string berimbau, died March 9 from lung cancer in Recife, Brazil, the city where he was born. He was 71.
Among his accolades were numerous wins in the two DownBeat polls. Vasconcelos won the Percussionist category in the DownBeat Critics Poll every year from 1983 to 1991. Additionally, he won the Percussionist category in the DownBeat Readers Poll in 1983, 1984 and 1987.
During his long career, Vasconcelos collaborated with dozens of musicians, including guitarist Pat Metheny, vocalist Milton Nascimento, saxophonists Jan Garbarek and Gato Barbieri and trumpeter Don Cherry.
Vasconcelos helped popularize interest in world music with albums such as 1988’s Asian Journal, on which he collaborated with Badal Roy (tabla), Steve Gorn (bamboo flute, soprano saxophone) and Mike Richmond (bass) to create intriguing musical textures that combined elements of jazz, traditional Indian classical music and Middle Eastern influences.
As a leader, Vasconcelos’ discography included Saudades (ECM), Storytelling (EMI), Fragments: Modern Tradition (Tzadik) and Sinfonia & Batuques (Azul), which won a 2011 Latin Grammy in the category Best Native Brazilian Roots Album. DB
John Coltrane’s Blue World takes its name from a contrafact of Harold Arlen’s “Out Of This World.”
Jan 15, 2021 9:00 AM
In late June of 1964, in between Impulse Records studio dates for Crescent and A Love Supreme, saxophonist John…
Carla Bley (left), Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard recorded Life Goes On for the ECM label.
Dec 15, 2020 8:57 AM
The list below is a roundup of the 5-, 4.5- and 4-star reviews that ran in the print edition of DownBeat during 2020.…
James Erskine’s documentary Billie includes vintage photos that have been digitally colorized by artist Marina Amaral.
Dec 4, 2020 1:53 PM
How does one craft a biography of Billie Holiday with a surprise ending?
She is perhaps the most intensely…
Guitarist Pat Metheny topped two DownBeat Readers Poll categories this year: Guitar and Jazz Album, for his disc From This Place (Nonesuch).
Dec 4, 2020 8:47 AM
A conversation with Pat Metheny is similar to one of his shows: Some parts seem carefully constructed, while others are…
Veronica Swift has both a historical connection to the music and a desire to expand its artistic purview.
Nov 27, 2020 9:00 AM
Welcome to our enthusiastic, optimistic look at the future.
Below, DownBeat presents short profiles of two dozen…
