Aug 7, 2024 2:02 PM
Snarky Puppy’s Shaun Martin Dies at 45
Shaun Martin, a multifaceted, Grammy-winning pianist, keyboardist and producer who was best known for his work in the…
Jimmy Greene will release Flowers—Beautiful Life, Volume 2 on Mack Avenue Records April 28.
(Photo: Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of Mack Avenue Records)Three years ago, Grammy Award-nominated saxophonist, composer and arranger Jimmy Greene recorded Beautiful Life, a tribute to his 6-year-old daughter Ana Márquez-Greene, who was murdered along with 19 other children and six educators on Dec. 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
In the shadow of such unspeakable tragedy, Greene continues to kindle his daughter’s inextinguishable light. He will release Flowers—Beautiful Life, Volume 2, his second album for Mack Avenue Records, on April 28.
Beautiful Life, Greene’s acclaimed Mack Avenue debut, was a poignant recording that honored his daughter’s love of singing with a program of jazz, spirituals, contemporary Christian music and ballads. The album, said Greene, fulfilled a goal to “reflecting the way that Ana lived” through his music.
Volume 2 reveals yet another side of Ana, said Greene, serving to illuminate his daughter’s love of dance with a kinetic, groove-filled program comprising 10 original compositions—including two with lyrics by Greene—and his arrangement of the song “Something About You.”
Greene is accompanied on six of the album’s tracks by Love In Action, a unit comprising veteran musicians Renee Rosnes on keyboards, John Patitucci on bass, Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums and Rogerio Boccato on percussion. On three selections, Mike Moreno lends his lyrically potent guitar to the mix. He is joined on the rest of the album’s tracks by his longtime quartet—with keyboardist Kevin Hays, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Otis Brown III.
Though largely infused with danceable rhythms and buoyant melodies, Greene noted a more serious compositional bent to his new recording, which he contributes to his doctoral studies at Manhattan School of Music, where he matriculated in the fall of 2013 after recording Beautiful Life.
“Although I’ve done a lot of writing, I’d never stepped back and studied it in a directed way,” Greene said. “I needed something to focus on other than my grieving process—some musical goal to work towards.”
Guests on the album include vocalists Jean Baylor, who applies her mezzo-soprano to Greene’s lyric on the song “Someday,” and Sheena Rattai, best known for her association with the folk trio Red Moon Road. Rattai contributes a powerful reading of lyrics on the album’s title track, which refers to a book of hand-drawn flowers that Greene found in Ana’s playroom when he returned home after a long vigil on the day she was killed.
“It was Christmas time, but it wasn’t supposed to be a Christmas gift,” he says. “She just wanted to do something nice for Dad. She’d normally do things like that for no other reason than to brighten someone’s day. That is indicative of who my little girl was.” DB
In addition to his work with Snarky Puppy, Martin freelanced as a keyboardist, producer and music director with prominent gospel and R&B musicians.
Aug 7, 2024 2:02 PM
Shaun Martin, a multifaceted, Grammy-winning pianist, keyboardist and producer who was best known for his work in the…
In addition to his instrumental prowess, Malone was praised for his musical generosity and his singular sense of humor.
Aug 27, 2024 12:09 PM
Guitarist and bandleader Russell Malone died Aug. 23, while on tour in Japan, after battling end-stage kidney failure.…
The June 19 Town Hall celebration of Michael Brecker was the culmination of the 10-night Peperoncino Jazz Festival.
Aug 7, 2024 2:03 PM
Although it’s been 17 years since tenor titan Michael Brecker passed away, the memories of his towering instrumental…
A concert of duets featuring trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and bassist Dave Holland was cerebral and unhurried at this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival.
Aug 13, 2024 11:52 AM
In its third edition since rebounding from senior management changes and COVID-related disruptions, the 44th Festival…
“I don’t focus on the harshness of the music business,” Lloyd says. “I focus on the profundity of what we’re doing because that’s the real stuff. You can change the world with that.”
Sep 4, 2024 1:29 PM
“To get this honor at this late stage, I suppose I’m blessed. I just know that this is a sacred song, and I’m in…
