Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Southern California Fires Hit the Jazz Community
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
Leo P wants to bring the party back to jazz.
(Photo: Justin Borucki)Named Baritone Saxophonist of the Year in the 87th Annual DownBeat Readers Poll, Leo P will be releasing his debut solo recording, Comin’ Up Aces (Shanachie), on Nov. 4. The energetic, charismatic ball of technique and dance steps offers an eclectic set of jazz and beyond with a batch of catchy originals and tributes to some of his heroes, including Eddie Harris, Maceo Parker and Charles Mingus.
Click on the album cover for a premiere of Leo’s tip of the cap to Mingus with “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”:
With 100 million YouTube views, Leo P has burst onto the scene in a very different way. Via his videos busking and dancing on the streets of L.A. — sometimes with his 2SAXY partner-in-crime alto saxophonist Grace Kelly — the saxophonist has developed quite a large, international following. He has been featured in guest spots with everyone from the Dixie Chicks to Beyoncé and has received invites to perform as part of a popular BBC tribute to Mingus. Leo P. is joined on Comin’ Up Aces by guests Stanton Moore (Galactic) on drums, saxophonist Richard Elliot as well as Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce) on trumpet. As for Leo P’s modus operandi? “I want to bring the party back to jazz,” he said. “I want to make people dance. I want to wear badass suits and look cool as hell and present something special to people that they will always remember.” DB
Gerald and John Clayton at the family home in Altadena during a photo shoot for the June 2022 cover of DownBeat. The house was lost during the Los Angeles fires.
Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
“She said, ‘A lot of people are going to try and stop you,’” Sheryl Bailey recalls of the advice she received from jazz guitarist Emily Remler (1957–’90). “‘They’re going to say you slept with somebody, you’re a dyke, you’re this and that and the other. Don’t listen to them, and just keep playing.’”
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In the April 1982 issue of People magazine, under the heading “Lookout: A Guide To The Up and Coming,” jazz…
The Old Country: More From The Deer Head Inn arrives 30 years after ECM issued the Keith Jarret Trio live album At The Deer Head Inn.
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Last November, Keith Jarrett, who has not played publicly since suffering two strokes in 2018, greenlighted ECM to drop…
“The first recording I owned with Brazilian music on it was Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer,” says Renee Rosnes. “And then I just started to go down the rabbit hole.”
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In her four-decade career, Renee Rosnes has been recognized as a singular voice, both as a jazz composer and a…
“If you don’t keep learning, your mind slows down,” Coleman says. “Use it or lose it.”
Jan 28, 2025 11:38 AM
PolyTropos/Of Many Turns — the title for Steve Coleman’s latest recording on Pi and his 33rd album overall —…
