Apr 25, 2019 8:59 AM
In Memoriam: Frank Caruso
Chicago-based pianist and educator Frank Caruso died suddenly on April 22 at a relative’s home in Cary, Illinois. He…
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
Frank Caruso (1948–2019)
Apr 25, 2019 8:59 AM
Chicago-based pianist and educator Frank Caruso died suddenly on April 22 at a relative’s home in Cary, Illinois. He…
In 1958, John Coltrane turned 32. He’d just rejoined Miles Davis’ band after a sojourn with Thelonious Monk, and had in the previous year finally freed himself of his addiction to drugs and alcohol.
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Perhaps the most striking thing about the current resurgence of interest in John Coltrane is the extent to which it…
Since the 1980s, London-based DJ and record label founder Gilles Peterson has been a force in music. The first installment of his We Our Here festival is set to run Aug. 15–18 in Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire, U.K.
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John Patitucci says that his latest outing, Soul Of The Bass, is something of a sequel to his 1991 album Heart Of The Bass.
May 10, 2019 9:00 AM
Jazz pianists and guitarists perform solo all the time. Jazz bassists? Almost never. A program of unaccompanied jazz…
Bassist and bandleader Linda May Han Oh calls Aventurine her most ambitious compositional work to date.
May 31, 2019 9:00 AM
Linda May Han Oh has gotten used to carrying her double bass up the four flights of stairs to the Harlem walk-up she…
