Jul 6, 2020 4:43 PM
Terri Lyne Carrington Tops 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll
Trailblazing drummer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington has made history numerous times in her career, and the…
Pianist, composer and arranger John Beasley returns for his third outing with the MONK’estra on MONK’estra Plays John Beasley (Mack Avenue.)
(Photo: Rob Shanahan)Originally a part of Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown And Beige, the composition “Come Sunday” has taken on a life of its own during the past several decades. And bandleader John Beasley has included the tune on his upcoming album, MONK’estra Plays John Beasley, set for release Aug. 21 on Mack Avenue.
The tune, which features classical baritone Jubilant Sykes, is undergirded by a passionate wash of color, making use of a lyric that’s as salient today as when it was written in 1942.
“I wrote the arrangement of ‘Come Sunday’ shortly after re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and it was sort of like scoring that movie for me,” Beasley said. “We’re still struggling with the same issues of justice as in that book, and I hope this arrangement tells a musical story of hope; the hope that African Americans put in their music, and the hope that they share for the future of this country to strive for equality.”
The version here, Beasley said, leans on the idea that Gospel music has reached generations of jazz players, including Ellington and John Coltrane. Whatever the lens, Beasley’s arrangement, replete with a burning saxophone feature toward the final third of the piece, summons the spirit, exaltation and perseverance present in Duke’s original. DB
Terri Lyne Carrington, who topped three categories in the 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll, is the first female instrumentalist to win the Jazz Artist of the Year category.
Jul 6, 2020 4:43 PM
Trailblazing drummer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington has made history numerous times in her career, and the…
Vocalist Lauren Henderson (clockwise from top-left), broadcaster and journalist Mark Ruffin, manager Gail Boyd, venue-owner Gerry Eastman and bassist John Clayton recount some of their experiences in the jazzworld.
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Though jazz is a genre shared and revered by people of all backgrounds, there’s no equivocating: The music is the…
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Protesters march June 6 in Washington, D.C., following the police killing of George Floyd.
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Kurt Rosenwinkel released Angels Around on his own label, Heartcore Records.
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Kurt Rosenwinkel was three dates into an eight-city tour of Sweden in mid-March. Asked where, exactly, he could only…
