Jazz Music News

The News Review:

- Children’s book melds music and message
- Exclusive First Listen: Terence Blanchard
- Summer Jazz in Paris
- Weekend To-Dos
- From Ennio Morricone to Patti Smith Music Takes a Hold of …
- The Maine man: Jason Ricci makes a case for the blues

Children’s book melds music and message
News Transcript
Rubin describes the main character Ashti Freeborn as “a multicultural pudgy 9-year-old who is fun mischievous imaginative creative and energetic. ” In “Ashti Meets Birdman Al” Ashti and her mother befriend an elderly and talented jazz musician named Al who enjoys singing to the birds in a park. He explains to the two that he is concerned about the longevity of jazz music because not enough children today are exposed to that genre of music. Birdman Al inspires Ashti and her mom to organize a benefit evening at Ashti’s elementary school to keep music alive and well in the local schools.

Exclusive First Listen: Terence Blanchard
NPR
Bilal a soul singer with a tremendous vocal range contributes songs to the band’s complete set of original music on Choices. Throughout the recording Dr. Cornel West an avowed fan of the “courageous engagement” that makes jazz a music of the spirit functions as the lone voice of a Greek chorus both in his understanding of the jazz musician’s role in society and in his own knowledge of historical linguistics and philology. He’s a true believer. The more times you ingest this record the more it becomes evident that Choices is Blanchard’s compendium of decision-making — the choice to move home to stay there after tragedy to rebuild it to raise a family there to live as a member of the largest definition of community to play music to mentor the brightest young people in music to be a steward for progress to write a narrative to leave a plan for succession and maybe to provide some new soil for the next cycle. As a bonus to the recorded music be sure to listen to the live concert premiere of Choices from New rleans which you can.
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Summer Jazz in Paris
Jazz.com
Second the concerts are not scheduled at night but in the afternoon two (sometimes three) each Saturday and Sunday. Third in spite of its name it isn?t really located inside Paris but in the beautiful Parc Foral de la Ville de Paris just outside of the Bois de Vincennes facing the huge historical Chteau de Vincennes with its famous dungeon?where some 18th century philosophers used to be offered a cool lonely vacation when our beloved kings didn?t find their writings appropriate. Would the kings or the philosophers have appreciated the sound of jazz music coming from the Parc Floral? Maybe not more than the roar of the metro that brings thousands of listeners to the Paris Jazz Festival every weekend and especially so when the sun shines. For the PJF takes place outdoors as you?ll have understood and is free once you?ve paid the 5 ? entrance fee to the Parc Floral. This will allow you to walk along the lanes and enjoy the fragrances of a great diversity of flowers and blossoms or to picnic with your friends or family or to take a nap on the lawns while listening to live music. In a city like Paris where public parks are rare and tiny that?s a bargain you can hardly refuse whether you?re a local enjoying his weekend break or a tourist visiting the capital. This summer the daring new team that was chosen by the Paris Cultural Authority to program the PJF made a bold move as far as musical choices are concerned.

Weekend To-Dos
Gresham utlook
Fridays and Saturdays. Blues and jazz music. John Bunzow Trio 4 to 8 p. Roots rock and blues.

From Ennio Morricone to Patti Smith Music Takes a Hold of …
Balkan Travellers
Also on July 10 as part of a concert series called FFest New York punk rock legend Patti Smith headlined at Universal Hall making her Balkan debut. Although summer is winding down the Macedonian concert series isn’t. The Skopje Jazz Festival is scheduled for this autumn which will be headlined by American jazz pianist Chick Corea. "The leading jazz music journal … last year again proclaimed Mr. Corea as the best jazz musician. He will come with the trio composed by another two famous jazz musicians and his close associates from the time of the group ‘Return to Forever’ — bass guitarist Stanley Clark and drummer Lenny White. This strong trio … will play most of the famous songs of ‘Return to Forever’ in acoustic and electric variant" said festival spokesperson Kostadin Surbanovski.

The Maine man: Jason Ricci makes a case for the blues
Boston Herald
Ricci’s band shows are not strictly blues events although they are “events. ” His music fuses blues rock funk Eastern rhythms and jazz in a surprisingly cohesive “jam band” set. Comparisons to 1990s-era Phish and Grateful Dead extended sonic excursions have been made. “I more or less become infused with supernatural powers during the shows” Ricci says in a telephone interview from his home. “It’s sort of like possession. I’m definitely in the passenger seat and there are other forces at work.