Home » Stories » ECM puts together a 50th anniversary concert@JALC / STEREOGUM

Stories for December 15, 2019

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    DePue Brothers drum rolls / Bellefontaine Examiner
     
    Posted At : December 12, 2019 12:00 AM

    Don Liuzzi, left, chief timpanist and percussion chair for the Philadelphia Symphony, teaches approaches to drum rolls on the snare drum to Bellefontaine Middle School percussionists Wednesday during a visit by the DePue Brothers Band throughout the day with Bellefontaine High School and Middle School orchestra members and BMS eighth-grade band members. The musical ensemble also performs for Benjamin Logan Elementary School students today and conducts a workshop with Benjamin Logan High School band members prior to A Magical Grassical Christmas concert at 7 p.m. tonight at the Holland Theatre, where tickets are still available for $25 to $40. The DePue Brothers are highly celebrated group of four brothers originally from Bowling Green who have pursued professional careers as violinists. The ensemble is now eight members deep and also represents the Indianapolis Symphony and some of the top touring bluegrass bands. The local school performances were made possible by the Bellefontaine Rotary Club, Logan County Electric Cooperative and the Flo Ann Easton Sours Grant. (CHRIS WESTHOFF PHOTO) SEE THE Bellefontaine Examiner PAGE

  • Johann Johannsson - Arrival makes THE WRAP '10 best film scores of the 2010s'
     
    Posted At : December 12, 2019 12:00 AM

    Not all movie scores have the potency to stick with viewers long after the credits rolled. But a great film score not only stands out in our minds, it can bring back the emotions we felt during a particular scene. We can relive the thrill of danger or adventure, tears can well up in our eyes over romantic or mournful notes. Without looking, some scores can even conjure up images from the movie, clear and crisp as when we first watched it, because the music pinned those moments to our memories. There have been hundreds of scores that have had this effect on us over the decade. Here are just a handful of some of our most unforgettable favorites: "Arrival," Jóhann Jóhannsson For a movie about communicating with other lifeforms from outer space, some of the most poignant moments of Denis Villeneuve's "Arrival" are actually more terrestrial. As Amy Adams' character struggles to complete her mission -- figure out why aliens have landed on earth and keep the world's most powerful armies from attacking them -- she must also deal with the memory of losing her young daughter. Jóhann Jóhannsson's compositions melded the sounds of the visiting extraterrestrials into his music, complementing their attempts to communicate with his ambient score. Max Richter's stirring composition "On the Nature of Daylight," a pre-existing work, elevated the characters' emotional journey through loss and uncertainty to hope. SEE THE WRAP '10 best film scores of the 2010s' PAGE

  • 'Christmas Carols with Libera' goes #1 on billboard: Traditional Classical Albums chart
     
    Posted At : December 12, 2019 12:00 AM

    The  boys  who  make  up  the  choral  group  Libera  are  normal  South  London  kids  aged  7  to  16  years.  The  music  they  produce  is  truly  extraordinary.  Their  new album ‘Christmas Carols With Libera' through Invisible Hands Music, takes on both mellow and upbeat holiday songs in this collection including; ‘Ding Dong Merrily On High' which requires real precision, as well as purity. Many of the tracks were recorded during a group ‘retreat' to a rehearsal space in an old school, this allowed a true live feel to the process. The boy who took the lead vocal on ‘The Snowman' had just turned 9 years old, whilst the introductions to the French ‘Noël Nouvelet' and the Irish ‘Wexford Carol' are both handled by native French and Gaelic speakers, Libera is as polyglot as ever. 'Christmas Carols with Libera' goes #1 on billboard - Traditional Classical Albums. See cover image

  • Jenny Lewis, Jackson Browne, Jonathan Wilson team for 'Lape Lanmou' from Haiti benefit album, 'Let the Rhythm Lead' / RollingStone
     
    Posted At : December 12, 2019 12:00 AM

    Jenny Lewis and producer/songwriter Jonathan Wilson have teamed with Sanba Zao, Paul Beaubrun and Jackson Browne for a new song, "Lapé Lanmou (Peace and Love)." The track will appear on the upcoming benefit album, Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit, Vol. 1, out January 31st, 2020 from Artists for Peace and Justice via Arts Music. The bustling song, whose title means "Peace and Love" in Creole, arrived with an equally lively video in which the musicians perform the song in Haiti alongside a crowd of revelers, dancers and singers. The clip captures the mood of the song, which Beaubrun described as "a spiritual awakening." "Haitians along with many others across the globe have been saying [‘Lapé Lanmou'] for a long time," Beaubrun added. "It's about peace, love and unity amongst us all and how we will never collectively move forward as one without it." Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) is a non-profit organization that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty around the world. Our immediate goal is to serve the poorest communities in Haiti with programs in education, healthcare and dignity. We are committed to long-term, sustainable development in direct partnership with the Haitian people. Our model is simple: we believe in empowering local communities, fostering economic growth, and the power of education to change a nation. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL RollingStone ARTICLE & WATCH THE VIDEO

  • The Comet Is Coming - Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery makes Treble '10 Best Jazz Albums of 2019'
     
    Posted At : December 12, 2019 12:00 AM

    Comparing the year in jazz to that of 2018 is a little like comparing this year in metal to its predecessor-on the surface it seems hard to compete with 12 months of obvious ringers. After all, last year revealed the first set of unheard John Coltrane music in decades. I mean, this year also yielded a set of unheard Coltrane pieces, which was pretty cool as well, but they were still essentially alternate versions of pieces we'd already heard, and the novelty wasn't quite as strong. But if the strength of a jazz year can only be measured by the freshness of its rare Coltrane recordings, well, most years would be pretty disappointing. And honestly, to focus on 50-year-old outtakes when so much great new material is being recorded feels at best shortsighted and at worst intransigent. Jazz this year was dominated not by headline-grabbing archival music but by the sheer strength of new artists honing their craft. Some of them have made this list before (Yazz Ahmed, Shabaka Hutchings). Some of them are best known in other genres (Cochemea). And some arrived well out of left-field (Paisiel). But the one thing they have in common is that they all reveal something new about a 100-year-old style. Here are the best jazz albums of 2019. I've always been somewhat skeptical of anything described as "nu-jazz," as more often than not it's less jazz and more downtempo electronic music to pulse through the lobby of a trendy, high-end boutique hotel. The Comet Is Coming, however, are a proper jazz outfit who just so happen to sound like they're prepped to launch into hyperspace, thanks in large part to Danalogue's synth-heavy atmospheres. Yet saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings and drummer Betamax are what bring the project back down to earth with both an emotionally powerful presence and grooves that never relent. One need only give one spin to standout jam "Summon the Fire" to understand that this group is simply not fucking around-they're certainly headed for the cosmos, but they're getting asses shaking on the ascent. Trust In the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery is the group's Impulse! debut, putting them in the league of giants like Charles Mingus and John Coltrane (and Hutchings' other group, Sons of Kemet), and while those might be big shoes to fill, it's to the iconic label's credit that groundbreaking talent like this-making something truly innovative from an electronic/jazz combo that's been stuck in M.O.R. range for too long-is carrying their its forward into the 21st century. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} SEE THE Treble '10 Best Jazz Albums of 2019' PAGE

  • Rachel Barton Pine is back for day 2 with classical radio
     
    Posted At : December 12, 2019 12:00 AM

    Chart-topping, international violin soloist Rachel Barton Pine, joined by multi-faceted conductor Teddy Abrams and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, released Dvořák and Khachaturian Violin Concertos, on AVIE on November 1.  The album features Dvořák's Violin Concerto in A minor Op. 53 and Khachaturian's Violin Concerto in D minor, highlights each composer's prominent use of his own traditional ethnic music. The Dvořák and Khachaturian Violin Concertos marks Pine's 39th recording and fifth album on AVIE records (AV 2375).  In conjunction with the new release, RBP has made herself available for radio interviews on 2 consecutive days. Yesterday and today December 11 & 12. Watch for our tweeths throughout the day.

  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The book, the movie, and tonight in Philly an RBG songfest / Philadelphia Inquirer
     
    Posted At : December 12, 2019 12:00 AM

    She has already achieved icon status from a fan-girl book, a bio-pic, a documentary, and many dissenting opinions, and now Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is being portrayed in music. "The Notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Song" is a one-night-only event at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at Philadelphia's National Museum of American Jewish History, created, performed, and presented by those who know her well: soprano/composer Patrice Michaels (her daughter-in-law) and recording producer James Ginsburg (her son). The evening is based on a recording of the same name on the classical music label Cedille, with operatic music mostly written by Michaels. The Thursday event at the National Museum of American Jewish History will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Michaels and James Ginsburg.   PHOTO: JESSICA HILL / AP READ THE FULL Philadelphia Inquirer ARTICLE & LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

Top 10 for Dec

  • Alexandre Desplat :

    Little Women OMPS

     Sony Music announces the release of LITTLE WOMEN (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) with music by Academy Award®, Golden Globe® and GRAMMY® Award-winning composer ALEXANDRE DESPLAT.
  • Bing Crosby :

    Bing at Christmas

     On the anniversary of the untimely death of the world's first ‘multimedia' star Bing Crosby, October 14th sees his longtime record label, Decca, together with his widow Kathryn and their children, Harry, Mary, and Nathaniel Crosby, announce the release of the brand new album, Bing at Christmas, via Decca/UMe.
  • Jon Batiste :

    Chronology Of A Dream - Live@The Village Vanguard

     The inimitable musician and bandleader, Jon Batiste, sets to release Chronology Of A Dream: Live At The Village Vanguard on November 1.
  • Idina Menzel :

    Christmas A Season Of Love

     Tony Award–winner Idina Menzel has a career that traverses stage, film, television, and music and in time for the holidays she releases an album of traditional and brand-new songs featuring Ariana Grande, Billy Porter, Josh Gad and her husband, Aaron Lohr.
  • Libera :

    Christmas Carols with Libera

     The  boys  who  make  up  the  choral  group  Libera  are  normal  South  London  kids  aged  7  to  16  years.
  • Ola Onabule :

    POINT LESS

     Socially conscious singer/songwriter Ola Onabule has built an enviable career as an international touring performer and has now turned his attention to the North American market with a newly recorded collection of original songs.
  • Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra :

    I Shouldn't Be Telling You This

     JEFF GOLDBLUM WITH BRAND NEW ALBUM  FEATURING - SHARON VAN ETTEN • FIONA APPLE • ANNA CALVI • INARA GEORGE • GINA SAPUTO In DUETS WITH JEFF GOLDBLUM  - OUT NOVEMBER 1 ON DECCA RECORDS "I'm crying with ecstasy over this new album.
  • Sultans Of String :

    Christmas Caravan

     Celebrate the season AGAIN!! with 2015 JUNO Award nominees Sultans of String, for an adventurous musical trip around the world! SOS deliver an exuberant performance featuring originals, world-music inspired classics, and seasonal favourites to warm your heart on a cold winter's night.
  • Cally Banham :

    Cor Christmas

     "Intimate, Warm, Plaintive, Whimsical, Fresh, And Full Of Heart, You'll Feel It To The Cor - " Los Angeles Stage And Cinema "The English horn is an instrument known for it's eloquent voice-like quality, perfect to express joyful lyrical lines, as well as peaceful and reverent emotions.
  • Ludovico Einaudi :

    Seven Days Walking - Day Seven

     Following his sold-out, seven-night residency at the Barbican in early August, Decca announces the release of ‘Seven Days Walking: Day Seven', and the climactic seven-volume collection from composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi – his most ambitious album project yet, with seven albums released over as many months.

ECM puts together a 50th anniversary concert@JALC / STEREOGUM

Posted: November 21, 2019 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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People often talk about particular jazz labels having an aesthetic, a through-line that encompasses most if not all of their releases. Very few labels have been as convincingly tagged this way, in the public mind, as ECM. For five decades, they have been seen as the home for a particular sort of stately, reserved, starkly beautiful jazz that politely requests your focused attention - their CDs begin with five seconds of silence, a sort of cooling-off moment between whatever you were listening to before and whatever's about to come - and rewards it.

Of course, ECM doesn't have a single sound, even if the production favored by label head Manfred Eicher and his longtime engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug (who died 11/5 at 75) always had certain qualities in common, in particular a precise combination of clarity and room sound and very carefully deployed reverb. But within those parameters, the variety of music released on the label is stunning, so when ECM put together a 50th anniversary concert at Jazz At Lincoln Center at the beginning of this month, the question of who would perform was wide open.

The approach they settled on was brilliant. There were close to a dozen acts, each getting 10-15 minutes onstage. It began with Brazilian pianist Egberto Gismonti, performing solo in an extremely lyrical and romantic manner. That was followed by the trio of saxophonist Joe Lovano, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and drummer Carmen Castaldi, playing two pieces from their album Trio Tapestry, released earlier this year.

Throughout the night, solo performers like bassist Larry Grenadier, and pianists Nik Bärtsch and Craig Taborn, alternated with duos and trios. Easily the most thrilling portion of the concert, for me, was two back-to-back sets. The first was a duo performance by pianist Vijay Iyer, who started out on electric piano, and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. The two improvised together for about 10 minutes in a way that was simultaneously soft and gentle, but throbbing with energy. Then Iyer left the stage, but Smith remained. He was joined by guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Andrew Cyrille, and they performed a piece from Lebroba, the album they made together last year. It was louder and more aggressive than what Smith and Iyer had done, but his stunningly beautiful trumpet playing was the common factor, each note like an ice-cold dagger fired straight through every audience member's heart.
PHOTO CREDIT: Delphine Diallo       READ THE FULL STEREOGUM ARTICLE

Crossover Media Projects with Various

  • Various

    Orff: Carmina Burana Live From the Forbidden City

    Recorded live to the highest industry standards in front of the magnificent scenery of Beijing's Forbidden City, this unique gala concert celebrates the 120th anniversary of Deutsche Grammophon. The concert features conductor Long Yu and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, both freshly signed as exclusive recording artists to Deutsche Grammophon, and performances from Aida Garifullina, Daniil Trifonov, Mari Samuelsen, and more.

  • Various

    A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper

    Impulse! has brought together some of the great progressive jazz musicians of our time to pay tribute to The Beatles'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper will be available on vinyl for Record Store Day on November 23, available on CD, digital, and streaming platforms on November 30, with a wide vinyl release on January 18, 2019.

    A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper includes performances and interpretations by artists such as UK saxophonist and Impulse! recording artist Shabaka Hutchings, Impulse! pianist Sullivan Fortner, Verve recording artist Miles Mosley, Onyx Collective, percussionist Antonio Sanchez, guitarist Mary Halvorson, The JuJu Exchange and more. 

    This stellar lineup represents some of the great progressive jazz artists from around the world: Shabaka from the UK Jazz scene, Miles Mosley and Cameron Graves from LA's West Coast Get Down, Onyx Collective from NYC, Makaya McCraven and the JuJu Exchange from Chicago.  

  • Various

    Beethoven

    Many people picture grim-faced Beethoven, shaking his fist at the heavens and persisting through deafness and illness to compose works of transcendent beauty, but he also stirs emotions that feel both deeply personal and ubiquitous. There are moments of red-cheeked optimism, quiet introspection, playful dances, heroic declarations, a restless search for the sublime. And while Beethoven is perhaps most famous for his sonatas and symphonies, he composed an opera, chamber works, songs, sacred music, incidental music for the stage, even dances. Taken together, these selections paint a rich portrait of Beethoven's humanity, which has attracted artists of the highest caliber such as Leonard Bernstein, Carlos Kleiber, Janine Jansen, and Martha Argerich. Some of these recordings are legendary, but all of them jump out with their undeniable virtuosity and brilliance. This collection may remind you of that iconic portrait of immortal Genius suffering for Art, but it will also reacquaint you with an artist from another time who somehow captured so much of the human experience.

  • Various

    The Royal Wedding - The Official Album

    Decca Records is proud to release The Official Recording of The Royal Wedding, one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year. Having recorded the entire service live at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle today, every piece of music, the readings, blessings and the vows will be available to listen to permanently on all streaming services in just a few hours: a first for a Royal Wedding. The physical album, on CD, will then be released into retail stores around the world from 1st June. 

    The musical highlight of the moving and joyous ceremony was British cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, one of the most exciting musicians of his generation, who was personally asked by the bride and groom to perform at their wedding. The 19-year-old musician took centre stage for the all-important signing of the register. Dressed in a black Paul Smith suit with vibrant pink tie, Sheku played three beautiful pieces: "Sicilienne" by von Paradis, Schubert's "Ave Maria," and "Après Un Rêve" by Fauré. He was accompanied by orchestra*, as the Royal Couple officially became husband and wife. Knowing he was performing not only for the Royal Family, 600 invited guests in the Chapel, and an estimated global audience of up to three billion people, the talented teenager was thrilled to be involved in the occasion:

  • Various

    Hopes and Dreams - The Lullaby Project

    History was written in 2000 BC, and 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of Brahms' Lullaby, so this precious musical tradition has deep cultural and emotional roots. These personal songs bring people together, span generations, and tell stories about where we come from, who we are now, and our hopes for the future. The legacy continues with the release of Hopes and Dreams: The Lullaby Project on Decca Gold (Verve Label Group). The recording is inspired by the Lullaby Project, a program of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute which pairs pregnant women, new mothers, and family members with professional artists to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies, supporting maternal health, aiding child development, and strengthening the bond between parent and child. Hopes and Dreams: The Lullaby Project features fifteen lullabies written by parents from across New York City, as performed by Fiona Apple, the Brentano String Quartet, Lawrence Brownlee, Rosanne Cash, Joyce DiDonato, Janice Freeman (The Voice 2017), Rhiannon Giddens (Nashville), Angélique Kidjo, Patti LuPone, Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Dianne Reeves, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Pretty Yende, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

  • Various

    Jazz Loves Disney 2: A Kind of Magic

    The second installment of the Jazz Loves Disney series, Jazz Loves Disney 2: A Kind of Magic features guest artists including Angélique Kidjo, Laura Mvula, Jamie Cullum, Jacob Collier, George Benson, Madeleine Peyroux and more, taking on beloved melodies from the Disney canon. The album will be released on Verve Records on November 10.  The Jazz Loves Disney series celebrates the nostalgia and universal appeal of the music of Disney films. The rich catalogue of Disney songs that span genres and generations inspired producer Jay Newland and arranger Rob Mounsey to continue the series. 

    7 NEW  106 TOTAL
    SYND:     NPR, CBC
    Direct: SiriusXM
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, Detroit, Denver, Memphis, Orlando, Albuquerque, Wichita, Madison WI, Honolulu, HI(Statewide), Barcelona, Berlin
    INTER: Canada, UK, Spain, Germany, South Africa
    Online: LaughingPlace, Troonradio, Quisqueya, udiscovermusic, The Healthy Mouse, The Daily Shuffle, Dis411, NextBop.com, MOJA, GreenArrow, Jazz Gallery 41, The Jazz groove, Sun Music, Jazz Weekly, Radio Free Amsterdam

    19 Jazzweek ADD's

  • Various

    The Passion of Charlie Parker

    The Passion of Charlie Parker is a new album from producer Larry Klein that tells the story of Charlie Parker using his music as inspiration for new songs that narrate his life. Guest artists include Gregory Porter, Madeleine Peyroux, Kandace Springs, actor Jeffrey Wright, and more. The album will be available on impulse!/ Verve digitally on June 16, with physical release to follow on June 30. Larry Klein says, "With this album I've endeavored to do something new and different in an effort to illustrate who ‘Bird' was as an archetypal character, and to draw attention to the huge impact that his work had on Jazz." Rather than create another tribute of traditional bebop tunes, Klein partnered with lyricist David Baerwald to create a musical play that tells the story of Charlie Parker's life while still playing with the jagged melodic nature of Charlie Parker's compositions.

    7 NEW  123 TOTAL
    SYND:     Jazz After Hours, Jazz Happening Now, Jazz Inspired, Voice of America
    Direct: SiriusXM
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Portland, Miami, Detroit, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Austin, Denver, Albuquerque, Orlando, San Antonio, Sacramento, Louisville, Knoxville, Madison WI, Rochester, Tampa, Honolulu, OR(Statewide), WV(Statewide), VT(Statewide), KS(Statewide), MS(Statewide), HI(Statewide), Toronto, Vancouver
    INTER: Canada, UK
    Online: GreenArrow, Jazz & Blues Report, KUHS/Vaya, Soulandjazz.com, Jazz Weekly, Radio Valencia, Que4 Radio, Freaky Party, theguardian

    45 Jazzweek ADD's