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…
Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog is set to release YRU Still Here? on April 27. The band includes drummer Ches Smith (left), bassist Shahzad Ismaily and guitarist Ribot.
(Photo: Ebru Yildiz)Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog is set to issue a new album that makes clear the bandleader’s opinion of the nation’s current political climate.
The guitarist, who’s joined in the trio by bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith, hasn’t turned in an album terribly burdened by the orthodoxy of the jazz genre. Instead, Ribot seems to have harnessed the adventurous nature of the music and used it to insinuate No Wave, funk and dashes of sitar to constitute YRU Still Hear?, which is being released by the Northern Spy imprint on April 27.
Below is a stream of the album cut “Muslim Jewish Resistance.”
It sports a familiar “never again” refrain while rattling off a list of contemporary political transgressors as the music veers from something that could have emerged from the 1980s rock underground to a skronky sax feature.
“Beyond being a disaster for those deported, imprisoned and living in fear, ICE is building a mass extra-legal prison system into which detainees may disappear without notice, and an armed force of agents who tear apart families and violate international human rights law on a daily basis,” Ribot said. “Does anyone believe that those carrying this out will suddenly refuse to follow orders just because the victims happen to be citizens?”
Prior to the release of the new album, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog has dates planned in the Eastern U.S., including a stop at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 24. For more information about the new album, visit Ribot’s website. 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…
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 —…
