Jul 9, 2024 11:35 AM
Trumpeter, Educator Jim Rotondi Dies at 61
Jim Rotondi, a renowned hard-bop trumpeter, composer and educator, died suddenly on July 7 at a hospital in France. He…
Eddie Palmieri
(Photo: )The Litchfield Jazz Festival takes place this weekend, Aug. 9–11, atop the rolling hills and lush greenery of Northwest Connecticut.
Just a few hours outside of New York City in Goshen, Conn., the festival kicks off Friday night, Aug. 9, with Tony Award-winning singer and actress Christine Ebersole performing with the Aaron Weinstein Trio. Ebersole and Weinstein, winner of the Rising Star–Violin category of this year’s DownBeat Critics Poll, have been performing classic music from the ’20s and ’30s in clubs around New York since their sold-out show at Birdland in 2011. The set list has included tunes like Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz,” Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” and the Gershwins’ “Shall We Dance.” The Emmet Cohen Trio, fronted by the talented 22-year-old pianist, opens the evening.
On Saturday, Aug. 10, the Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band headlines along with the soulful jazz vocals of Gregory Porter. Other highlights include Gary Smulyan’s Baritone Summit, an explosion of the baritone saxophone featuring Smulyan, Lauren Sevian, Claire Daly and Andrew Hadro. Bassist Avery Sharpe performs Gospel Explosion & Sacred Songs, and The Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble kicks off the day.
The Sunday, Aug. 11, headliner is one of the hottest live Latin acts touring this summer, the Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours. Sparks will fly when the Vincent Herring-Eric Alexander Quintet performs with a special guest—pianist Harold Mabern. The Don Braden Quartet, featuring Geri Allen on piano, brings grace to the stage in the afternoon. And get there early to hear the Orrin Evans Trio at noon as well as the Chet Baker Project with June Bisantz.
Two afternoon Artist Talks sessions have been scheduled. Artist-In-Residence Smulyan and DownBeat Publisher Frank Alkyer sit down to chat with Porter on Aug. 10 and Papo Vázquez on Aug. 11.
For more information and tickets, click here.
DB.
Jim Rotondi was acclaimed for his wide, round trumpet tone, remarkable virtuosity and assured swing.
Jul 9, 2024 11:35 AM
Jim Rotondi, a renowned hard-bop trumpeter, composer and educator, died suddenly on July 7 at a hospital in France. He…
Charles Lloyd, seen here at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, makes DownBeat Poll history!
Jul 11, 2024 12:23 PM
The incomparable Charles Lloyd swept the 72nd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll, becoming the first artist ever to earn…
“Being president of Blue Note has been one of the coolest things that ever happened to me,” Was said. “It’s a gas to serve as one of the caretakers of that legacy.”
Jun 4, 2024 12:21 PM
Sitting with Don Was is a comfortable and unhurried exercise. He may seem slightly reserved at first, but ideas and…
“She reminds me of my childhood and makes we want to cry,” Cécile McLorin Salvant, pictured here with writer Ashley Kahn, said of Dianne Reeves.
Jun 11, 2024 12:31 PM
Italy’s Umbria Jazz Winter is one of those rare annual festivals that not only coincides with a major holiday —…
Maria Schneider said of Decades, her new compilation release: “I just wanted to create something, put it in a beautiful box and say, ‘Look at what we did.‘”
Jun 18, 2024 12:00 PM
Maria Schneider opened the sleek black box and placed it on a coffee table in her Manhattan apartment. Inside lay the…
