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…
A live Alice Coltrane recording from 1972 marks a turning point in her music.
(Photo: DownBeat Archives)Festivals in the States still aren’t happening, though some in Europe are moving ahead despite the uncertainty around the course of the pandemic. Smalls in New York also recently started streaming live performances of small ensembles, even if a crowd wasn’t admitted to the venue.
So, to tide you over until it’s safe to congregate at clubs and festivals, DownBeat thought offering up some choice live recordings would take the sting out of missing gigs this spring.
What follows isn’t intended to be “the best” or near-comprehensive. It’s just stuff we like.
Duchess, Live At Jazz Standard (2020)
Singers Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Stylianou channel a lot of bracing harmonies and the cheeky wit of the Boswell Sisters, then delve into a batch of vintage jazz tunes. Duchess also tips its hat to its lodestar, the Andrews Sisters, with sterling versions of “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,” “Joseph, Joseph” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Music Of Wayne Shorter (2020)
When Jazz At Lincoln Center established its own orchestra in 1988, part of the idea was to showcase the repertoire of jazz greats. At first, the emphasis was on giants of the past, but with The Music Of Wayne Shorter, recorded live in 2015, the group not only salutes jazz’s greatest living composer, but includes him as featured soloist.
Alice Coltrane Sextet, Live At The Berkeley Community Theater 1972 (2019)
By 1972, Coltrane was at the tail end of her Impulse deal, and on the brink of fully embracing the synthesizer for future studio albums. This live date finds the bandleader opening with a discussion of a trip to India and mentioning Satchidananda Saraswati, whose spiritual influence would guide Coltrane’s music during the ensuing years. Joined by bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Ben Riley, the band is augmented by Aashish Khan on sarod, Pranesh Khan on tabla, and Bobby W. on tambora and percussion. The version of “A Love Supreme” here ranks among the tune’s most intense.
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…
