Oct 24, 2019 8:03 AM
ECM and Manfred Eicher on the Search for the Sublime
A search for the heart of the ECM Records operation leads to a small, quiet space located on the second floor of a…
Doug Beavers will release a new album, Art Of The Arrangement, on Aug. 25.
(Photo: Courtesy the artist)Trombonists are the unsung heroes of the jazz world. Though the instrument may not grace as many frontlines as it did in its pre-bop heyday, trombonists are often hard at work behind the scenes, crafting material for ensembles of every size and stylistic stripe. At least, that’s the thesis put forth by Grammy-winning trombonist-composer Doug Beavers on his new album, the exceptional Art Of The Arrangement, due out Aug. 25 on the ArtistShare label.
The idea for the album grew from an astute observation. At the time of the release of his previous CD, the fantastically trombone-centric Titanes Del Trombón, Beavers took note of the fact that many of the great trombonists of the past were also first-rate arrangers. The realization steered him toward the music that now constitutes his latest release, such as the album’s single, “El Truquito,” which Beavers arranged based on the original by Ismael Rivera. You can listen to that track—in all its low-brass splendor—below. Be sure to pay special attention to the leader’s positively roaring trombone solo.
The new collection features a total of 12 tributes to the greatest Latin jazz and salsa arrangers of our time, including Gil Evans, Ray Santos, Jose Madera, Oscar Hernández, Angel Fernandez, Marty Sheller and Gonzalo Grau. Throughout the history of Latin jazz, and jazz in general, it’s the arrangers who have shaped the music, and quite often their contributions have been overlooked, or ignored altogether. Beavers sets out to change that fact on the ambitious Art Of The Arrangement. DB
Fifty years ago, Manfred Eicher co-founded Edition of Contemporary Music, better known as ECM, and has issued more than 1,600 titles spanning jazz and classical sounds.
Oct 24, 2019 8:03 AM
A search for the heart of the ECM Records operation leads to a small, quiet space located on the second floor of a…
Wayne Shorter (shown here in a scene from the documentary Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes) won three categories in the 2019 DownBeat Readers Poll: Jazz Artist, Jazz Album (for Emanon) and Soprano Saxophone.
Oct 21, 2019 5:36 PM
DownBeat is proud to announce the results of its 84th Annual Readers Poll.
Wayne Shorter is a huge winner in…
New York brass band Lucky Chops recently released its full-length debut.
Oct 18, 2019 9:23 AM
Maybe you’ve run into them shedding at a New York subway stop.
Brass band Lucky Chops recently issued its…
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah values cultural pluralism in American storytelling.
Nov 15, 2019 9:01 AM
Roy Hargrove (1969–2018)
Dec 2, 2019 9:14 AM
As the jazz world continues to mourn the death of Roy Hargrove, the bandleader has been given a posthumous honor,…
