The Joy of Vinyl

During this year’s holiday season I decided to set up my turntable which had been purchased during my college years back in the 70s. Sometime after the advent of CDs in the 80s my records and turntable had been relegated to storage in my basement. On rare occasions I would peruse through my collection, and at times I would bring a record to the radio station where I host a jazz show and play it over the air.

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in vinyl long playing records (LP’s). Ironically, the impetus for this has not been from my generation which grew up with this medium, but with millennials who’s current popular format for music is digital streaming.


Digitization of the music industry has been a double edged sword. While there is more music available with unlimited streaming at the touch of your iPhone, music has also become a cheap commodity. The experience of discovery, acquiring and listening to your music is now so easy and commonplace that its value has been diminished.

The LP “experience” was a significant part of my formative years. Leafing through albums in the record store, marveling at the cover art, shelling out my hard earned cash, unwrapping, carefully handling the disk, setting the needle down on the spinning turntable is an experience that is totally lost in the digital age.

Listening to records was also a social experience. Untold hours were spent with friends taking in the music, passing around the album covers, reading the lyrics and liner notes, sharing our recently purchased LP’s, discovering new music together. Admittedly we were often stoned as we enjoyed the music and each other’s company. We listened to the music intently. It was not background sound or dance music. We listened to the lyric, musicianship, compositions and arrangements.

I am now re-discovering much of this experience. Listening to these old albums is like getting back together with old friends, re-experiencing some important times of our lives. My collection has some iconic rock albums (Meet the Beatles, Sargent Pepper, Electric Ladyland). However, my most cherished albums are those that introduced me to Jazz (Kind of Blue, Miles Smiles, A Love Supreme). I remember buying Miles Davis Bitches Brew at Sam Goody’s because I was enthralled by the artwork. That album along with Mahavishnu John McLaughlin's Inner Mounting Flame introduced me to Jazz/Rock Fusion and eventually to Miles and Coltrane which began my obsession for Jazz. Those albums changed my life. Another life altering experience was listening to Chick Corea’s  Light as a Feather. Playing this LP in my dark smoke filled dorm room one evening with new friends was responsible for hooking up with my wife of over 40 years.

Cover art by Mati Klarwein (click to enlarge)

But, enough of nostalgia. There really is something to recordings on vinyl. There is a warmth to the sound that is unique to this format . Vinyl fans had told me this, but I always discounted it. Digital is cleaner, more accurate, truer to the source, I always thought.  But now I hear a lush warm sound that is comforting like a warm blanket over the music. It is a softening of the edges that is inherent in analog recordings compared to the antiseptic feel from a digital format.

Besides the obvious differences in packaging, handling and playing of records versus digital, there is something wonderful in the format itself. Records have a physical “limitation” of having two sides of about 20 minutes of music, 40 minutes in total. This is a perfect amount of time to stay immersed in the music. It requires you to get up and turn the disk after 20 minutes, keeping you engaged. Artists used this time-frame to sequence their songs into a cohesive story. I find that this format lends itself to listening to an entire album from the first track on Side One till the last one on Side Two. Not so with CD’s, which are nearly 1 1/2 hour in length, or streaming digital where single tracks and shuffle modes are more common.

I've only listened to a dozen or so albums in the last couple of days, but I look forward to getting to know my old records once again. And, due to the resurgence of vinyl, there are record shops here in Connecticut like The Telegraph in New London, or Integrity in Music (Wethersfield) where I can get lost flipping through isles of record bins and filling in the holes in my collection of classic Jazz releases, and maybe some new vinyl too!

Newport Jazz Festival 2014 Review

This years Newport Jazz Festival was a very wet affair, but that didn't keep Jazz fans from showing their love and devotion to this art form. Thousands endured the rainy weather to hear both classic jazz and modern new music. This year, the 60th anniversary of the Festival added a third day to the weekend schedule. It was a good thing they did, because the added Friday schedule was the driest day of the Festival. Here is my day-by-day review of the acts we caught during the Newport Jazz Festival. There were 43 shows scheduled over 3 days. We saw about 20. Below are the highlights of what we saw.

Jon Batiste Stay Human

Friday was a perfect sunny day for the outdoor concerts at Fort Adams Park. Hightlights for me were two modern big bands. Darcy James Argue Secret Society, and Miguel Zenon & The Identities Big Band. The former featured Darcy's "Steampunk Jazz" sound; industrial complex rhythm changes over lively horn arrangements. Miguel Zenon's large ensemble featured his regular quartet fronting a tightly arranged big band, playing compositions inspired by his Puerto Rican heritage. The day concluded for us with a rousing performance by Jon Batiste and Stay Human, evoking a New Orleans street band performance to the big Fort Stage. They had the crowd on their feet.

Pedro Martinez Group

Day two brought a deluge of rain. Usually one would be sampling the concerts, running between the three stages that are in Fort Adams State Park. But because of the heavy downpours, once you got a seat under a tent of one of the two smaller covered venues, you are best to stay put and enjoy the shows, keeping as dry as possible. We planted ourselves under the Quad Stage and heard great performances by Brian Blade Fellowship featuring his understated hymn inspired sound that had a folk music quality to it. SF Jazz Collective resurrected a "best of" set from its previous 6 albums. An outrageously awesome percussive Cuban band, Pedrito Martinez rocked the audience with its Latin beats. Late in the afternoon, the rain subsided enough to leave that tent and hear a tremendous set by the Kurt Rosenwinkel's New Quartet. The rain held off to venture to the open air large Fort Stage to hear Wynton Marsalis leading the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. We finished the day back under the Quad Stage Tent to hear Dave Holland and Prism. This band totally rocked out, with guitarist Robin Eubanks channeling Mahavishnu, Hendrix and Jimmy Page all at once.

Anat Cohen

Sunday, day three had more of the same weather issues, and once again we claimed our space under the Quad tent. The Cookers kicked it off with their all-star lineup of Billy Harper, Donald Harrison, Billy Hart, Cecil McBee and more. Just when I think I am growing tired of straight ahead classic jazz, I am blown away by how this music can swing so hard. Next up was Vijay Iyer's Septet. Vijay brought some modern new compositions and arrangements that ventured into avant garde, yet never lost its foundations. At one point, they broke into a very tight funky refrain that had everyone's head bobbing. That was followed by George Wein's All-Stars featuring Anat Cohen, Randy Brecker, Lew Tabakin and others. Again, the straight ahead jazz classics were kicked up a notch with heavy swing and virtuoso soloing. Gary Burton took the stage with his quartet featuring Julian Lage on guitar. No surprises here, just solid playing with that great bright sound coming from expertly executed vibes and guitar. We concluded our Newport Jazz experience at the Harbor Stage with Danillo Perez Panama 500 band. It was a laid back performance with Latin rhythms over the thoughtful improvisations by the creative Perez on piano and a harmonica soloist as well. Danillo's 3 year old son took the stage and actually played the Congas on the final piece delighting the crowd.

Despite the nasty weather, this Newport Jazz Festival was one of the best I've attended. The quality and variety of the music, the appreciation, devotion and the feeling of community shown by the jazz fans trumped any negativity that the weather brought on. It's great to see Newport Jazz Festival's founder George Wein, more than holding his own on piano at 88 yrs old, still active in organizing this historic festival for most of its 60 year existence.

Check out our complete photo gallery here:

Wynton criticism

Wynton Marsalis is one of the best trumpet players and band leaders on the scene today. It can't be denied that he has exceptional chops on his horn and will stand with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown and other greats in the history of post bop jazz. He has been an advocate for elevating traditional jazz as an art form in our culture and consciousness.

That being said, while he has kept the flame of traditional and bebop jazz alive, he has also been an obstacle to moving jazz forward with a young generation of listeners. Wynton's emphasis on preaching history and tradition is partially responsible for sustaining the old stereotypes of what jazz music is. It has held back recognition of more modern jazz music that might otherwise flourish with a younger audience brought up with funk, hip-hop and rock influences.

Listen to brother Branford Marsalis, Terrance Blanchard, Robert Glasper and Nicholas Payton to name a few. I don't agree with everything these cats say, but you will hear a more open modern view as to the future of jazz. Watch the film Icons among us, Jazz in the Present Tense to see how this art form is evolving to relate more with a younger audience without compromising its creative spirit.

Unfortunately, these voices rarely get heard beyond jazz's "inner circle". Wynton Marsalis remains the de facto Ambassador of Jazz through his association with Jazz At Lincoln Center (JALC), CBS News and other mainstream outlets.

Don't get me wrong. I love Wynton's playing. I dig his music for what it is, jazz founded in the hard bop era. However, his words and music are not the future of jazz and it is not the music that will endear jazz to future generations.

View the full length feature, Icons Among Us on iTunes

Great Jazz Albums of 2013

These are my favorite jazz releases of 2013. I hesitate to call this a Best Of list, as one can't possibly claim to have heard all of the jazz releases in this age of independently produced recordings. While several of these picks are from established jazz masters (Wayne Shorter, Gary Burton, Chick Corea), there are others that rarely get the press or recognition they deserve (Earl MacDonald, Russ Kaplan). I urge you to seek out some of these lesser known artists and support their efforts.

click artist or album name to purchase on iTunes.

Wayne Shorter - Without a Net; Shorter's great quartet redefines free jazz. Great empathy between these long time collaborators is apparent throughout.

Chick Corea - The Vigil; Chick reaches back to the fusion sounds of the electric Return to Forever days, with new compositions and young virtuoso musicians.

Dave Douglas - Time Travel; Douglas pushes this fine quintet of new and established jazz cats to new heights of creativity and freedom.

Kenny Garrett - Pushing the World Away; KG continues the vibe of this quintet's prior album with new compositions that exude passion and intensity.

Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit; Porter's much anticipated 2nd LP exemplifies his soulfulness and gospel roots combined with real jazz sensibilities

Gary Burton - Guided Tour; Burton assembled this fine quartet for his latest album. Together they bring to life his compositions and arrangements.

Noah Preminger - Haymaker; Noah's third album is a great one. A wide range of sounds and influences, from ethereal to rocking out to gorgeous ballads.

Earl MacDonald - Mirror of the Mind; Earl's use of cello instead of bass creates a colorful palette for his wonderful arrangements for this fine quartet.

Antonio Sanchez - New Life; This outstanding drummer shows his skills as a bandleader keeping all these strong soloists focused on his thoughtful arrangements.

Terance Blanchard - Magnetic; Terance knows how to tastefully use electronics to create a modern sound and stay true to his traditional jazz roots.

Chris Potter - Sirens; A quality album in its writing, arranging and playing from perhaps the best tenor player on the scene today.

Russ Kaplan+7 - The Ulysses Cycle; Kaplan has created a concept piece based on Homer's Odyssey. The listening experience is enhanced  when combined with the liner notes and illustrations provided.

Dave Holland - Prism; This great bassist and bandleader released an electric, fusion oriented album with a talented and powerful quartet or Holland, Taborn, Harland and K. Eubanks.

Greg Abate Quintet - Featuring Phil Woods; Two greats on alto sax combine for a hard hitting bop session that swings with the best of them.

Anoushka Shankar - Traces of You; Not a jazz album, but I love this release that fuses East and West musical forms that doesn't seem to compromise the quality or originality of the music.

Trayvon, Looking Back

It's been several weeks since the George Zimmerman verdict of "Not Guilty" was handed down. I've invested too much of my time watching testimony both during the trial, and researching testimony after the trial. I've had exhausting arguments on social media and elsewhere on the topic. Now, for some reason I feel compelled to sum up my feelings and opinions on the matter.

First the undisputed facts. George Zimmerman, in the role of a neighborhood watchman, was suspicious of a young black teen walking through his gated community. He took a loaded handgun and followed the teen. He called the police who told him not to leave his car; advice he chose to ignore. He pursued the teen on foot, a scuffle ensued, resulting in Zimmerman sustaining injuries deemed insignificant by the medical examiner. Zimmerman then shot and killed Trayvon Martin.

Days of testimony revealed other circumstances that led the jury to conclude George Zimmerman acted in self defense in the last few seconds or minutes prior to the shooting. The most convincing testimony may have come from Zimmerman's video taped walk-though of the events with investigators the day following the tragic event. That description was George Zimmerman's side of the story. All the first hand evidence was that of George Zimmerman's.  He never took the stand and therefore was not subject to cross examination. The jury never heard the events through Trayvon Martin's eyes.

The difficult burden of proof on the Prosecution, the slanted evidence favoring Zimmerman's side of the story, and the Florida laws as they were presented in the instructions to the jury (including Stand Your Ground), left little opportunity to convict George Zimmerman of murder. 

This statement sums it up pretty accurately (Allen Clifton-Forward Progressive);

 "(Zimmerman's) “not guilty” verdict wasn’t as much a declaration of innocence as it was a decision based upon the specific charges the prosecution sought against him. But it’s indisputable that George Zimmerman stalked, provoked and then killed Trayvon Martin." 

In other words, George Zimmerman got away with murder. Those that choose to defend the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial based on existing laws and how they were applied are a shameful reminder of those that justified racist treatment of minorities (e.g. lynchings, police brutality, segregation) using Jim Crow laws in the South. One has no choice but to accept the not-guilty verdict, but all fair minded people should be outraged at a legal system so terribly tainted by predjudice.

Here is some music, from harpist Brandee Younger, inspired by the tragedy of Trayvon Martin that you may want listen to and meditate on.

Newport Jazz Festival 2013

I have been covering the Newport Jazz Festival for WHUS FM for the last 5 years, and the 2013 festival is one of the best I've had the pleasure to attend.

Musically, the festival covered a wide range of jazz styles; fusion, latin, avant garde, funk, modern post-bop. So many of the artists were exploring new sounds. There was a lot of experimentation with electronics and effects creating interesting sonic textures. Rhythmically the music was moving away from bop and more towards progressive rock-fusion or "free" jazz. In general I felt that most of the musicians, young and old were taking the music beyond its reliance on traditional jazz constructs from the past. 

Highlights at the festival for me were:

The Festival was themed as an 80th birthday celebration for Wayne Shorter. Herbie Hancock was his special guest. They played a duo performance before Shorter's quartet took over with a rousing somewhat avant-garde set. Wayne took a much more aggressive role in his playing than I had seen in his past performances with this group. Herbie took the stage again at the end of the set to share the piano with Danilo Perez in a 4 hands one piano accompaniment.

Terrence Blanchard with a surprise appearance by Herbie sitting in to play Footprints. Terrence's entire performance was memorable. It was a modern sound, with subtle electronic effects that provided sonic interest but did not overwhelm the music.

Chick Corea's new band was reminiscent his electric bands of the fusion era, with a bit of a latin feel, and based more on Chick's compositions and arrangements than the musicians pyrotechnics. 

Jon Batiste brought the New Orleans feel to his music with a fresh modern sound. It combined R&B with straight ahead jazz chops. His use of the melodica added an interesting twist to his great performance.

Gregory Porter is an outstanding new vocal force in jazz. You can hear the influence of R&B and Gospel with his tremendous vocal chops. He has a talented jazz band that know how to swing hard to his tunes.

Guitarist David Gilmore was the final show we saw at the Festival. He had a great All-Star band with Miguel Zenon (sax), Jeff Tain Watts (dr), Christian McBride (b), Luis Perdermo (p) and Claudia Acuna (v). They played his Numerology suite, an hour long set that was smoking.

Other notable performances we saw: Marcus Miller, Mary Halverson, Robert Glasper Experiment, Eddie Palmieri Salsa Band, Bill Charlap w/Anat Cohen & Bob Wilber, Lew Tabakin, Joshua Redman, URI Big Band, Jim Hall, Hiromi, (and more).

It was a thrill to meet the great Chick Corea backstage

Check out our picture gallery from the 2013 Jazz Festival (credit Claire Laster)

Links:

• Newport 2013 Recap Podcast - Jazz and Beyond
• Claire's excellent photo gallery
• Ken's photo gallery
• NPR's coverage including audio recordings
• Newport Jazz Festival Website

Jazz Art

Jazz inspired art of Andres Chaparro

Here is my Chaparro:
Behold Gods Shine Round Midnight
Andres Chaparo 2011
36x48

Miles Davis album 'Round About Midnight. Columbia Records 1955

Miles Davis - Trumpet
John Coltrane - Tenor Sax
Red Garland - Piano
Paul Chambers - Bass
Philly Joe Jones - Drums

Jazz and Beyond for your iPhone

If you dig my weekly podcast In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond and you dig your iPhone as well, I now have a mobile web app that you can install on your iPhone or other smartphone. Simply go to this mobile In the Groove site using Safari on your iPhone or iPad, and follow the instructions to add the icon for the web app to your home screen. See the screen shots below.

link: http://jazzandbeyond.podbean.com/mobile/

If you have an Android or other smartphone, you should still be able to link to the mobile site and add a  shortcut to your home screen.

Jazz is For Your Heart

excerpted from liner notes to Mood Swing by Joshua Redman.

"According to popular notion, jazz is something which you research and study, inspect and dissect, scrutinize and analyze. Jazz twists your brain like an algebraic equation, but leaves your body lifeless and limp. In the eyes of the general public, jazz appears as an elite art form, reserved for a select group of sophisticated (and rather eccentric)intelligentsia who rendezvous in secret, underground haunts (or accessable ivory towers) to play obsolete records, debate absurd theories, smoke pipes, and read liner notes. Most people assume that the appreciation of jazz is a long, arduous, and painfully serious cerebral undertaking. Jazz might be good for you, but it just isn't any fun.

This image is simple, powerful, and dangerously appealing. But it is also egregiously false.

Jazz is music. And great jazz, like all great music, attains its value not through intellectual complexity but through emotional expressivity. True, jazz is a particularly intricate, refined, and rigorous art form. Jazz musicians must amass a vast body of idiomatic knowledge and cultivate an acute artistic imagination if they wish to become accomplished, creative improvisers. Moreover, a familiarity with jazz history and theory will undoubtedly enhance a listener's appreciation of the actual aesthetics. Yes, jazz is intelligent music. Nevertheless, extensive as they might seem, the intellectual aspects of jazz are ultimately only means to its emotional ends. Technique, theory, and analysis are not, and should never be considered, ends in themselves.

Jazz is not about flat fives or sharp nines, or metric subdivisions, or substitute chord changes. Jazz is about feeling, communication, honesty, and soul. Jazz is not supposed to boggle the mind. Jazz is meant to enrich the spirit. Jazz can create jubilance. Jazz can induce melancholy. Jazz can energize. Jazz can soothe. Jazz can make you shake your head, clap your hands, and stomp your feet. Jazz can render you spellbound and hypnotized. Jazz can be soft or hard, heavy or light, cool or hot, bright or dark. Jazz is for your heart”.

-Joshua Redman

Obama-Monk 2nd Inaugural Suite

I offer you this musical mash-up of Thelonious Monk's Straight No Chaser combined with excerpts of Barack Obama's inspiring 2013 Inaugural Speech. The President articulated a vision for America where there is equal opportunity for all including gays, immigrants and women. Where we are guided by our forebears who took a stand at Seneca Falls, Selma, and Stonewall. It speaks to American values where safety-nets like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are not looked upon as sapping our initiative  but strengthening our commitment to the elderly the sick and the disadvantaged.

Click here for the
Obama-Monk 2nd Inaugural Suite.

Thelonious Monk  piano; Barack Obama – voice; Thad Jones – cornet; Sam Jones – bass; Charlie Rouse – tenor saxophone; Art Taylor – drums 

  

20 Notable Jazz Releases from 2012

Best Overall Picks

Black Radio ~ Robert Glasper Experiment - Ground breaking, chart topping, Jazz-R&B-HipHop crossover album.
Star of Jupiter ~ Kurt Rosenwinkel - Unique sound with a spatial quality and a jazz-rock fusion influence.
Rayuela ~ Miguel Zenon and Laurent Coq - Concept album inspired by a the novel of the same name. Jazz album with Latin, Classical and Indian influenced sound.
Circle House ~ Kris Allen - This quartet led by Hartford based alto sax player shows some great hard bop chops along with raw emotion in these original compositions (and one standard).
Seeds From the Underground ~ Kenny Garrett - Non-stop intensity from start to finish. Soaring alto sax lines over African rhythms.
Four MF’s Playin’ Tunes ~ Branford Marsalis - Hard driving modern bop from some extroadinary jazz cats.
All Our Reasons ~ Billy Hart - Thoughtful compositions and expressive drumming leads the way with this great quartet's explorations.
Unity Band ~ Pat Metheny - Metheny's great all-star touring band of 2012. Chris Potter is paired beautifully with Metheny's playing.
1619 Broadway ~ Kurt Elling - Elling's interpretations of some great popular songs from the 60's and 70's with fine modern jazz arangements behind them.
Initial Here ~ Linda Oh - This great young bass player shows off her intricate writing and arranging skills with a fine quintet.
Accelerando ~ Vijay Iyer - An intense set of piano trio works from this forward thinking creative jazz artist.
The Eleventh Hour ~ Jonathan Blake - Blake explores many facets of jazz in first CD as a leader. He has a modern sound steeped in a swinging tradition.
Spirit Fiction ~ Ravi Coltrane - Ravi continues to grow creatively as an artist. Produced with Joe Lovano, and his influence is felt in these tracks.
Family ~ 3 Cohens- Anat, Avishai, and Yuval shows that a family that plays together, swings hard together. 3+3 play as 1 with these great sextet arrangements. Fine soloing as you would expect from the Cohens.

Best from Connectiuct Jazz Artists

Grandma’s Revenge ~ Frank Varela - Soaring guitar work showing influences from Wes to Hendrix on this fine guitar trio album
Tales & Stories ~ Sinan Bakir - Fine compositions, great chops with an Eastern European influence from this Turkish born, Hartford guitarist.
Live at Smalls ~ Dezron Douglas - Hartfords up and coming bass player is getting some world-wide attention playing with Cyrus Chestnut, Ravi Coltrane and many more. His first major release as a leader swings hard.
Underground ~ New Jazz Workshop - This long standing project by leaders Dezron Dougas (bass) and Lummie Span (sax) puts a hard swinging groove to their original compositions.
Books on Tape, Vol 1 ~ Craig Hartley - Skilled piano chops and wonderful writing from one of Hartfords best jazz cats on this trio album.
State of Emergency ~ Nat Reeves - One of the best jazz session bassists shows how to lay down the perfect rhythm and push the music ahead with this quartet. Fine trumpet playing by newcomer Josh Bruneau deserves your attention.

Circle House -Kris Allen - CT artist listed above in "Best Overall Pics"

Time Out - Remembering Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck is remembered in this week's jazz podcast. Brubeck passed away this week on December 5, just one day shy of his 92nd birthday. His album Time Out was the first jazz album to sell one million copies and to go Platinum. For many, like myself, Dave Brubeck and Time Out was our first introduction to jazz music.

We begin the podcast with his music and then we will hear from some modern artists that have been influenced by Brubeck's unique use of time.

Pat Metheny's Orchestrion

We saw Pat Metheny concert last night and part of the show included a scaled down version of the Orchestrion.

A CBS Morning feature on Metheny's Orchestrion project.

Review of Litchfield Jazz Festival 2012

After many years of being a big jazz fan, it is surprising that I never had attended the Litchfield Jazz Festival right in my home state of Connecticut. One of the reasons I hadn't attended is that I cover the Newport Jazz Festival for WHUS which was on the same weekend. This year, that changed and it gave me the opportunity to attend.

The Festival has moved to the Goshen Fairgrounds. It is a beautiful ride into the country side, and the site has two performance tents as well as tents set up for vendors selling the usual food and wares you might find these events. The main performance stage hosted a great lineup of jazz musicians. A smaller stage is for students that attended the Litchfield jazz camp to perform and attend the informal master classes that the jazz artists put on in between sets. Combine the country setting, with the aspiring young students and the great music on the main stage, and you get a great vibe for a jazz music festival.



The Sunday lineup covered a superb range of many jazz styles. Here is a short review of each of the musicians we saw.

Gregoire Maret is a harmonica player unlike any other since Toots Thielman hit the scene many decades ago. Maret seems to be appearing on every ones new album as a guest artist. His quartet began with a very cerebral sound that escalated in intensity as his set progressed. At times he sounded like Shorter on the mouth harp. It was an exceptional performance.

Donny McCaslin showed his extreme chops on tenor sax. Jason Lindner on Fender Rhodes used lots of electronic echo and modulation effects for that jazz-rock fusion, spaced out sound. At times, those special effects over-shadowed Lindner's real soloing abilities and McCaslin's complex compositions. Tim Lefebvre and Mark Guilliana rocked out on bass and drums. It was a hyper kinetic modern set.

Next up, Hubert Laws, master of flute took the stage. Laws made his mark in jazz with that slick, highly arranged sound that the CTI record label was known for back in the 70's. Hubert still has that sound today. While the music sounded fairly dated, particularly after McCaslin's set, Hubert Laws showed off that pure perfect tone he gets from the flute and piccolo.

Miguel Zenon is one of my favorite alto sax players, composer and arranger, and his set did not disappoint. He played from his latest album which arranges traditional Puerto Rican songs for a modern jazz quartet. These songs had extended soloing which showed Miguel and the quartets skills on their instruments and improvisational abilities.

Lastly, singer Kevin Mahogany and guitarist Dave Stryker finished the show with Kansas City Swing. Swingin' is what they did. It was great to see alto player Mike DiRubbo, who cut his teeth at U of Hartford playing with these cats. They finished off the show with a romping version of Route 66 that had the crowd leaving with a smile.

Litchfield Jazz Festival was a great time. I will be sure to return next year and I urge you to check it out as well.


Clockwise, Gregoire Maret, Hubert Laws, Miguel Zenon, Mike DiRubbo and Dave Stryker

Check out the links below for more photos, podcast and info on the Litchfield Jazz Festival
My complete photo album

My pre-festival podcast

Litchfield Jazz Festival website.

Newport Jazz Festival 2012 Review

Now that we are basking in the afterglow of the most famed and historical annual event in the jazz world, it is time to review the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival. The lineup featured great jazz artists; grand masters and young lions, modern progressives and traditional purveyors of bebop standards.

The festival has three stages. The large main "Fort Stage" is host to the some of the biggest names in Jazz. It has open lawn seating and a beautiful view of the Newport harbor . There are 2 additional stages that are smaller more intimate settings under tents. Here, you will find young emerging jazz cats or established masters playing with their latest ensembles.

For me, the most interesting performances were ones that explored new sounds and stretched beyond traditional jazz bebop forms with free soloing, and unconventional composing. Dafnis Prieto's Sextet best exemplified that style of music with a powerful driving sound. Rudresh's Samdhi set combined rockin' jazz-fusion with Indian melodic influences. Dave Douglas/Joe Lovano's Soundprints Quintet blew freely within compositions inspired by Wayne Shorter.

Rather than reviewing all the performances we saw, I would refer you to the NPR's coverage of the Festival that has great audio and video recordings.

Here are my picks for the standout performances of the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival.

Saturday Fort Stage

• Pat Metheney Unity Band

Saturday Tent stages

• Jack DeJohnette Group
• Dafnis Prieto Sextet
• Dave Douglas/Joe Lovano Soundprints

Sunday Fort Stage

• 3 Cohens

Sunday Tent stages

• Miguel Zenon Rayeula Quartet
• Rudresh Mahanthappa Samdhi
• John Hollenbeck Claudia Quintet+1

Below are some of my favorite pictures that I took at the festival, but please see my entire picture gallery here.

(l to r, t to b) Joe Lovano, 3 Cohens, Dana Leong, Pat Metheny, Me with Anat Cohen, Rudresh Mahanthappa

Hear some tunes from artists appearing at the festival on my Newport Preview podcast.
My live tweets during the festival, follow @DigginJazz for all my Twitter posts!

For more information, check out the official Newport Jazz Festival website.