29/09/2010

Ry Cooder and the amateur spirit


Ry Cooder on the music he likes and why. Taken from a radio interview about his album I, Flathead in WNYC's Studio 360 (you can hear the whole thing there.)

26/09/2010

Jazz in Chile, today: Tempo / Gonzalo Palma Trio

This is the last post (for now) of this "Jazz in Chile, today" series. Before we go on to today's video, be advised that the 11-episode Tempo documentary will be launched tonight at 21:30 local time (same as US Eastern Time, that's UTC/GMT-4) on Canal 13 Cable, which can be watched on line (go to http://cable.canal13.cl/ and click on "véanos en vivo"). A new episode will be broadcast every Sunday, with repeats during the week (Tuesdays at 20:00, Wednesdays at midnight, 3:00 and 14:30, and Saturdays at 14:30, all local time, same as US ET). You can click here for a detailed schedule, or visit Tempo's slick website for more information, videos and pictures.

24/09/2010

A boxed set bonanza ~ Avalancha de cajas

(Edited to include info provided by Tomajazz's Pachi Tapiz - thanks!)


As we say in Spain, "troubled waters, fishermen's gain." The music industry is going through a lot of changes and cuts and whatnot, and one of the consequences for us poor consumers is the release of budget boxed sets without any luxuries such as new liner notes or even a booklet with texts in readable typesize.

18/09/2010

It's been so long...

Stevie Ray Vaughan, 20 years on August 27



***

Bill Evans, 30 years on September 15



***

Jimi Hendrix, 40 years today, September 18

13/09/2010

Jazz in Chile, today: Martin Joseph & Pacific Ensamble

More from Tempo:


Martin Joseph and the Pacific Ensamble:

Martin Joseph: piano and leader,
Pablo Menares: double bass,
Andy Baeza: drums,
Sebastián Jordán: trumpet,
Edén Carrasco: alto sax,
Claudio Rubio: tenor sax, and
Jorge Prieto: trombone,

recorded in June 2008 at the Musicámara hall in Universidad de Valparaíso.



11/09/2010

Jazz in Chile, today: Ensamble Quintessence

More from Tempo:

Ensamble Quintessence:

Sebastián Jordán: trumpet,
Jaime Navarrete: trumpet,
Marcelo Maldonado: trombone,
Cristian Gallardo: flute, alto sax,
Claudio Rubio: soprano sax,
Andrés Pérez: tenor sax,
Agustín Moya: tenor sax,
Diego Manuschevich: bass clarinet,
Lautaro Quevedo: piano,
Roberto Dañobeitía, Federico Dannemann: guitar,
Rodrigo Galarce: bass,
Félix Lecaros: drums,
Francisco Nuñez: conductor,

plus guest Mario Lecaros: piano,

on Tempo, Episode 5, filmed in June 2008 at the Musicámara Hall in Universidad de Valparaíso.

09/09/2010

Sobre la relevancia

Short note about cultural relevance. While others have used more solemn texts as the basis to play jazz, guitarist Dani Pérez (Argentina, 1967) has used a joke by the very idiosincratic and popular Chiquito de la Calzada (below).



Uno de los problemas fundamentales de la renovación del jazz es su relevancia cultural. En pleno siglo XXI, y fuera de Estados Unidos, cabe preguntarse qué sentido tiene tocar standards.

07/09/2010

Happy 80th birthday, Sonny Rollins!

"The Bridge" (1962)



(Jim Hall, guitar; Bob Cranshaw, bass; Ben Riley, drums)

***

"Weaver of Dreams" (1959)



(Henry Grimes, bass; Pete La Roca, drums)


***



(Kenny Drew, piano; NHØP, bass; Albert 'Tootie' Heath, drums)


Links/Enlaces:

* The Complete Sonny Rollins on Spotify (1949-2007)

This list has 540 tracks - about two days' worth of music - everything that's available in Spotify, as a sideman (starting with Babs Gonzales) and as a leader (including his complete Prestige, Riverside, Blue Note, and RCA recordings, and most of his massive Milestone output), both in the studio and live... and two tunes by the Stones.

~~~~~~~

Esta lista contiene 540 temas -un par de días seguidos de música-, todo el material disponible en Spotify, como sideman (desde su debut con Babs Gonzales) y como líder (incluyendo sus grabaciones completas para Prestige, Blue Note, Riverside y RCA, así como la mayor parte de su mastondóntica producción para Milestones), tanto en estudio como en vivo... y dos temas con los Rolling Stones.

* SonnyRollins.com
* Ira Gitler entrevista a Sonny Rollins (en español).

04/09/2010

I don't understand ~ No entiendo

If I got a penny each time I heard a friend say "I don't understand it" when jazz comes up in conversation... Not that I think that "understanding" is really necessary to enjoy music, but veteran record executive Jac Holzman (b. 1931), founder of the Elektra (1950) and Nonesuch (1964) labels, explains, in an interview for the LA Times (where he makes other important points about music and technology), his very simple solution when he's confronted with music he doesn't understand:

02/09/2010

Jazz in Chile, today: Nicolás Vera Quinteto

More from Tempo:

Nicolás Vera Quinteto:

Nicolás Vera: guitar,
Claudio Rubio: tenor sax,
Lautaro Quevedo: piano,
Pablo Menares: double bass, and
Félix Lecaros: drums,

recorded in June 2008 at the Musicámara hall in Universidad de Valparaíso.




Extra: "Bellavista"