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…
On October 14, Sanctuary Records released The Illustrated Band, the second studio album from Phish keyboardist Page McConnell’s organ trio, Vida Blue. The Spam Allstars joins the group on the album.
McConnell befriended the Afro-Cuban sextet in Miami last March, sitting in with them at a few local shows. The collaborations sounded good enough to record.
McConnell, with bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Russell Batiste, went into the studio last April with the Latin Grammy-nominated Allstars—turntablist DJ Le Spam, timbalist Tomas Diaz, saxophonist AJ Hill, flutist Mercedes Abal, trombonist John Speck and percussionist Lazaro Alfonso.
The sessions went well according to McConnell. “Russell really got off on the Cuban rhythms, and Oteil’s playing some great stuff on this album as well,” he said. “We’d just finished our tour when we went into record, and Russell and Oteil were playing really well together. It was storming.”
The Illustrated Band has four tracks, two of which are more than 20 minutes, combining improvised Afro-Cuban rhythms with turntables and samples. A U.S. tour with both groups is currently in the works.
For more information, visit www.vidablue.net
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…
Jul 11, 2024 12:23 PM
The incomparable Charles Lloyd swept the 72nd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll, becoming the first artist ever to earn…
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…
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…
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 —…