The Return Of a Real Jazz Master
The News Review:
- The Return Of a Real Jazz Master
- Jazz Listings
- Weighty sounds highlight the year in music and mark talent from jazz…
- Martirio’s Freedom Songs Transcend Boundaries
- Piano Prodigy Matt Savage on Piano Jazz
The Return Of a Real Jazz Master
Washington Post – Dec 28, 2007
His hands may have been small back then but obviously his ears were already big. At 7 Jamal began classical studies and growing up he was particularly drawn to the power of Hungarian-born composer and pianist Franz Liszt and French composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy who made an art form out of the space between notes — as Jamal would years later. Even now Jamal prefers to call jazz “American classical music. “At Pittsburgh’s George Westinghouse High School the piano rolls included Erroll Garner Mary Lou Williams and Dodo Marmarosa. "That’s amazing isn’t it?" asks Jamal adding that Garner "was my major major influence and certainly inspired me to do what I’m doing today. "Another key inspiration was Art Tatum who heard the youngster and hailed him as “a coming great. ” (Jamal was all of 11 at the time.
Jazz Listings
New York Times – Dec 28, 2007
org; cover $30 with a minimum of $10 at tables $5 at the bar except on New Year’s Eve (dinner packages: $150 and $275). (Chinen)TREVOR DUNN’S PROOF READERS (Wednesday) Trevor Dunn a bassist with a strong foothold in underground rock leads an investigation of the music of the free-jazz pioneer.
Weighty sounds highlight the year in music and mark talent from jazz…
Honolulu Star-Bulletin – Dec 28, 2007
Other faves include Lily Allen’s wry and whimsical “Alright Still”; Stephen Marley following in the footsteps of brother Damian with the equally strong “Mind Control”; Cleveland legends (and local faves) Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony proving that despite media claims hip-hop ISN’T dead thanks to their comeback “Strength & Loyalty”; and head Bad Seed Nick Cave’s sidegroup “Grinderman” and its stinging stripped-down rock sound. My remaining pick Miles Davis’ “The Complete On the Corner Sessions” has a special meaning. That avant-garde jazz-funk sound from 1972 was the first music I gamely tried to review at the beginning of my career at the University of Hawaii. Words did fail me when I tried to describe this intriguing morass of music but all I can add is that it still sounds startlingly fresh and original after all these years. I can only hope that 2008 will bring such small meaningful surprises.
Martirio’s Freedom Songs Transcend Boundaries
NPR – Dec 28, 2007
“During the era of Franco there was lots of censorship in respect to all the arts” she says. “We were told by the government what to listen to and it was music that didn’t allow people to freely express themselves. “Music that was not allowed still got in from outside Spain — especially popular music and jazz from America. Quinones was 21 when Franco died. She was already singing in clubs and like Martirio she embraced the new freedom by mixing flamenco with pop traditional Spanish songs and rock. Fusing Old and NewOn her most recent CD Primavera en Nueva York she has mixed things up again by setting boleros — an old style of love songs — to jazz. “To make this kind of fusion you must know the original intention of the composer so the two styles flow naturally” Martirio says adding that what jazz and flamenco have in common is a yearning for freedom.
Piano Prodigy Matt Savage on Piano Jazz
NPR – Dec 28, 2007
With intensive therapy and a special diet Savage has seen his initial aversion to sound replaced by a remarkable attenuation toward music. By age 6 Savage was teaching himself to read music and play piano. His parents enrolled him in classical music studies though it wasn’t long before he’d refocused on jazz. At age 7 Savage began studying at the New England Conservatory of Music and released his first solo album in collaboration with the school later that year. Savage’s amazing abilities are also featured in part two of a three-part documentary called Beautiful Minds — A Voyage into the Brain. At 15 Savage is promoting and performing following the release of his sixth studio album Hot Ticket.