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…
The Marsalis Music record label, founded by Branford Marsalis, has joined forces with Berklee College of Music to bring Marsalis Jams to Cafe 939, Berklee’s student-run music venue and coffee house. The program, a combination of concert performance, jam session and classroom interaction will be presented periodically during the college’s academic semesters as Marsalis Berklee Jams. Launching the initiative will be the quartet of Berklee alumnus and Marsalis Music artist Miguel Zenón on April 2–3. These will be the initial concerts in the Cafe 939 space.
The Miguel Zenón Quartet will launch Marsalis Berklee Jams with two public events featuring brief sets by the quartet that will segue into jam sessions. Participation in the jam sessions will be open to all Berklee students. During the day, the quartet will present two master classes open to Berklee students only.
“This is 180 degrees from the typical jazz residency,” said Marsalis Music Creative Consultant and Marsalis Jams Director Bob Blumenthal. “Instead of having established individual musicians perform with student ensembles, Marsalis Berklee Jams allows music students to perform with and learn from working bands.
Marsalis Jams was conceived by Branford Marsalis as an initiative to provide meaningful interaction between established musical ensembles and dedicated student musicians at the high school and college levels. These consist of mini-residencies that include classroom interaction and culminate in performance/jam sessions in which the visiting band follows an opening set of its own music by inviting student musicians on stage to play.
More info: ciaboston.org
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…
The Century Room in downtown Tucson, Arizona, was born in 2021.
May 21, 2024 12:58 PM
Players got to play. It’s long been a part of jazz history: When there’s a venue vacuum, when there are fewer…
“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 —…