Dear Friends,
Links to my articles in JazzTimes are, unfortunately, no longer working, as they are currently locked behind a paywall due to a change in ownership of that publication. I am in the process of uploading many of those JT articles and providing new links. Meanwhile, if you want to read one of them and can’t find it, feel free to contact me – I’ll be happy to provide you with a copy. Thanks for your patience, and sorry for the inconvenience.
Allen
Filed under Uncategorized
For my birthday weekend, I gave myself a present and an assignment – review the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival. Here’s the result, at DownBeat Magazine. The nation’s oldest jazz festival was never only about jazz. This year’s edition presented the full gamut of jazz and “jazz-adjacent” music, including big personalities like Samara Joy, Jon Batiste, and Herbie Hancock.
Filed under Bill Charlap, Bob Dorough, Branford Marsalis, Camille Thurman, Charles McPherson, Christian McBride, Derrick Hodge, Diana Krall, George Wein, Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, Kenny Washington, Kurt Elling, Larry Goldings, Lionel Loueke, Louis Armstrong, Marquis Hill, Newport Jazz Festival, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles
What a pleasure to hang with the Brazilian master guitarists Romero Lubambo and Chico Pinheiro for this article in TIDAL Magazine! They recently recorded their first album as a duo, “Two Brothers,” largely for the same reason that some of the world’s leading recording artists hire them: They love being accompanied by each other.
Filed under Chico Pinehiro, Matt Pierson, Romero Lubambo
“Shiri is my favorite kind of singer (and human, for that matter) — open-minded, creative and honest.” –Tierney Sutton.
Shiri Zorn, born in Israeli and now living in Saratoga Springs, NY, received a lesson with Sutton, the world-renowned jazz vocalist, as a birthday present from her guitarist partner. Ultimately, Sutton became so enamored with the Israeli-American singer that she offered to fly to Saratoga from California to co-produce her debut album, Into Another Land (CD Baby), in a trio with guitarist George Muscatello and Brazilian percussionist Mauricio Zottarelli. It’s really something to hear – cool, cerebral, intense, swinging.
I was privileged to write about Shiri and the trio here: Shiri Zorn Finds Her Voice – DownBeat July 2023.
“In Canada once, a student asked me, ‘How do you reconcile what you want to play with what the audience wants to hear?’ And I said, ‘Man, as I get older, I really want to play music that people want to hear.’ I don’t even understand what the question is.”
From my interview with the delightful Delfeayo Marsalis in the March issue of DownBeat.
Wayne Shorter was a hero to everyone in the jazz world, a visionary composer and an unequalled improviser who retained a childish sense of wonder and play. There was no one like him. I’m so glad I got to see him play live with his quartet at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2012. Here’s how the piece began:
An hour before pianist Danilo Pérez went onstage with the Wayne Shorter Quartet on April 28 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, I asked him what the group would be playing. He laughed. “We never know, man.” Well, how did it go last night? “It was exciting—and scary.”
It was an honor to celebrate the innovative pianist/composer Geri Allen on her induction into the DownBeat Hall of Fame. For this article in the August 2022 issue, I spoke to her manager and close friend, Ora Harris, who generously shared many wonderful stories with me; her collaborator and friend, the masterful drummer and composer Terri Lyne Carrington; and Jana Herzen of Motéma Records, her last label before Geri’s untimely passing at age 60. Thanks to DownBeat Editor Frank Alkyer for the assignment.
Filed under Geri Allen, Jana Herzen, Terri Lyne Carrington
For Charles Mingus’s centennial, DownBeat asked me to do a deep dive on the composer, bassist and singular American cultural figure. In this package of three pieces, I explore the place Mingus occupies in the popular imagination, by all accounts well-deserved, as a force of nature, an iconoclastic truth-teller, a volatile, emotional man with a violent streak. But his many friends and fellow musicians, people who knew and loved him, remember a different side: the spiritual seeker, poet, esthete and philosopher; the bandleader who took pains to treat his musicians fairly; and, above all, the artist he was right down to his bone marrow. Among the artists and critics I interviewed: Christian McBride, Charles McPherson, biographer Brian Priestley, and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Vincent Gardner, who served as musical director for JALC’s Mingus centennial tribute. The main article is here. A sidebar on the making of “Epitaph,” Mingus’s magnum opus, is here. Another piece about new Mingus recordings and tributes is here.
Imagine if Sarah Vaughan played saxophone like Dexter Gordon. That’s approximately the effect when the 35-year-old singer and tenor saxophonist Camille Thurman performs. She told me about her struggles with sexism and crippling self-doubt in my interview with her, from the March 2022 @DownBeatMag.
Filed under Camille Thurman, Downbeat, Jazz at Lincoln Center, JLCO, Wynton Marsalis
Charles Mingus – prolific American composer, bass virtuoso, memoirist, poet, notorious truth teller, and all-around badass – would have turned 100 years old this year. I was delighted when @DownBeatMag asked me to write an appreciation of Mingus and his place in jazz history – delighted, and a bit intimidated. How on earth could I summarize his life and contributions to jazz in six magazine pages, give or take? You can judge how well I did soon. My story will be in the May issue, hitting the streets approximately April 1.
Filed under Downbeat
What a beautiful experience it was to be among the first wave of American tourists coming back to Italy last week. I was there to attend “A Night in Anzio,” an invitation-only jazz party in the seaside town south of Rome, assembled by Polish saxophonist Sylwester Ostrowski. Here are my impressions of the experience on Downbeat.com. The line-up included four great tenor saxophonists – Ostrowski, Igor Butman, Alexander Beets and Camille Thurman – Green. Take a look at the video here:
https://www.facebook.com/Jazzcorner/videos/166890075503607.
Their version of Dexter Gordon’s song “Cheesecake” is a classic. I especially loved Igor’s solo at about 53:00. Big thanks to Sylwester, Arlette Hovinga and Lois Gilbert of @JazzCorner.com.
More than a gifted pianist, organist, and 20-yr member of James Taylor’s band, Larry Goldings is also the brilliant comic mind behind the viral CPAC “national anthem” video and, as most jazz fans know, the madcap “Hans Groiner” character, an “expert” on Thelonious Monk’s music who “improves it by making it more relaxing and less offensive to the ear.” Many thanks to Mac Randall of JazzTimes for publishing my interview with Larry. (BTW, don’t miss the priceless “Groiner interview” – an Easter egg embedded within the article.) #LarryGoldings #HansGroiner #JamesTaylor
Filed under Hans Groiner, James Taylor, Jazz Times, Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Victor Borge
A little over a year ago, Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer arrived home from an aborted tour. “At first we all thought, OK, I’m sure we’ll be back at work by the summer.” When that didn’t happen, Janis and her buddy Lauren Kinhan of New York Voices started figuring out a way to convert their monthly “Vocal Mania” shows at NYC’s Zinc Bar to a live-streaming online format. The result, they told me for DownBeat Magazine, is Vocal Gumbo. My interview with Janis and Lauren.
Filed under Downbeat, Janis Siegel, Lauren Kinhan, Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices, Vocal Gumbo
I think it’s safe to say that Stacey Kent is the only jazz singer to have a Nobel Prize-winning novelist writing lyrics specifically for her voice. That novelist is Kazuo Ishiguro. Stacey, Ishiguro and Jim Tomlinson, Stacey’s musical director and husband, are the subjects of my piece in Jazziz Magazine. (Free trials of Jazziz are available if you’re not a subscriber.)
Filed under Jazziz, Jim Tomlinson, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stacey Kent
What a pleasure to interview Sergio Mendes, one of my musical heroes since I was a kid. The article appears in TIDAL Magazine, the highly readable online publication of the TIDAL streaming service (owned by Jay-Z).
Here’s one bit that didn’t make the final piece:
“Mas Que Nada” – Sergio’s signature song since Brasil ’66, a song that became the first-ever worldwide hit in Portuguese. The title means, approximately, “Yeah, right,” sarcastically, in Brazilian Portuguese. Sergio recalled when he heard the song for the first time:
“It was in Bottles Bar (the legendary Rio jazz hangout that witnessed the birth of Bossa Nova), maybe ’61 or ’62. This young kid, Jorge Ben, came in with his guitar and started playing it. It was so different from the very melodic stuff Jobim would do, a different vibe. But a great chant! When I play it in Japan, the Japanese sing along with it – it’s like the national anthem!”
I asked if he had any idea the song could become such an enormous worldwide hit in its original language. “Never!” he said. “When I first heard my record of it on the radio [in 1966], I called Herb [Alpert, his producer at A&M Records]. He said, “Sergio I think we’ve got a big hit here!”
“There’s something really exhilarating about doing something terrifying,” she said, talking about her latest project, Ogresse, her song cycle/performance piece, which she is trying to turn into an animated feature film. For my vocal jazz column in Jazziz Magazine (Jan. 2021 issue), the supremely talented @CecileSalvant, a recently minted MacArthur fellow, spoke to me from Miami, where she was spending the holidays. A beautiful person and artist.
Filed under Aaron Diehl, Cecile McLorin Salvant, COVID-19, Jazziz, Sullivan Fortner
Last summer, with the club and concert scene in the US and Europe shuttered and fear rampant, the sensational 30-year-old pianist @EmmetCohen managed to organize a tour of Europe for his NYC-based trio. Everywhere they went, they were told they were the only American band that had come over and performed. How did they do it? My news piece in DownBeat.
My latest for JazzTimes — Pianist @JohnBeasley is the Zelig of the jazz and pop music world, playing with everyone from Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock to Steely Dan, Carly Simon and Rickie Lee Jones, arranging music for American Idol, playing on James Bond movie scores, and serving as musical director for Jazz at the White House and International Jazz Day. But it’s his brilliant writing for the Grammy-winning MONK’estra that has won him his greatest acclaim. And he’s got a few stories… https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/john-beasley-reflects-on-miles-herbie-and-of-course-monk/
I recently had the pleasure of talking to singer/arranger Amy London of the Royal Bopsters for Jazziz Magazine, then reviewing their new album Party of Four for DownBeat. The Bopsters – soprano London, alto Holli Ross, tenor Pete McGuiness, and bass Dylan Pramuk – specialize in the vocalese of the bebop era and beyond. On the new album, they perform songs by Billy Strayhorn and Tadd Dameron, standards and more modern stuff, including one by Wayne Shorter. They all get the Bopsters’ treatment: twisty, 4-part close harmonies and effervescent scatting.
Since the DownBeat review had rather strict space limits, here’s the full, unabridged version.
The Royal Bopsters
Party of Four
Motéma Music MTM0372
(Four Stars)
No jazz vocal group in the 20th century cast a longer shadow than Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. They had so many things going for them: their skill as arrangers and entertainers; their ferocious swing; their ability to channel horn or sax sections; and Jon Hendricks’ ingenious way with vocalese lyrics.
All those qualities are echoed in the work of The Royal Bopsters. Their first album, which included guest appearances by Hendricks, Annie Ross, and three other all-time jazz vocal greats, Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan, and Bob Dorough, conveyed the sense of a torch being passed. Now, after a five-year hiatus, the Bopsters – Amy London (soprano), Holli Ross (alto), Pete McGuiness (tenor), and Dylan Pramuk (bass) – are back, and their sophomore release is an entertaining gem.
The new CD is like a master class for jazz arrangers and vocalists, with Pramuk and McGuinness steering the artful arrangements, while London, Ross and Pramuk contribute clever lyrics. The album is dedicated to the memory of Ross, whose life was tragically cut short last May after a three-year battle with cancer.
Ms. Jordan and the late Mr. Dorough (in one of his final recordings) return as guests, with delightfully free-spirited vocals. Uber-bassist Christian McBride, who presented the group at the 2019 Newport Jazz Festival, adds his deep pocket to two tracks. Pianist Steve Schmidt, bassist Cameron Brown, drummer Steve Williams, and percussionist Steven Kroon, provide first-rate support throughout.
Among several extraordinary tracks, Pramuk’s arrangement of Tadd Dameron’s classic “On A Misty Night” is a standout. It’s based on two previous records: Dameron’s big band arrangement from his The Magic Touch album; and a lyric written by British singer/keyboardist Georgie Fame to a Chet Baker trumpet solo from yet another recording. The whole album is peppered with such Easter eggs for jazz and vocalese fans.
The late Ms. Ross’s version of Tito Puente’s hit “Cuando Te Vea (When I See You),” for which she translated the lyric with the permission of the iconic Latin bandleader, is another highlight. It features McBride’s compelling tumbao and an uncanny mouth-trombone solo by McGuiness, but they don’t overshadow Ross’s impassioned vocal, a fitting valediction for a terrific singer gone too soon.
Party of Four: But Not For Me; On A Misty Night/Gipsy; How I Love You (Let Me Count The Reasons); Lucky To Be Me; Why’d You Do Me The Way You Did; Day Dream; Cuando Te Vea; Baby, You Should Know It; Our Spring Song; Rusty Dusty Blues; Infant Eyes; My Shining Hour. (58:42)
Personnel: The Royal Bopsters (Amy London, Holli Ross, Pete McGuinness, Dylan Pramuk), vocals; Steve Schmidt, piano; Cameron Brown, bass; Steve Williams, drums; Steven Kroon, percussion (7,11); Bob Dorough, vocals (8); Sheila Jordan, vocals (4); Christian McBride, bass (2, 7).
Ordering info: Motéma.com
Filed under Amy London, Bob Dorough, Dylan Pramuk, Holli Ross, Royal Bopsters
I’m excited that so many of my favorite artists and interview subjects are nominated for 2021 Grammys! The list includes John Beasley; Kurt Elling, featuring Danilo Perez; Kenny Washington; Becca Stevens; Chico Pinheiro; Maria Schneider; Alan Broadbent; Chick Corea; Christian McBride; Brian Blade; Terri Lyne Carrington, and Jacob Collier (album of the year, no less!). Big congratulations to all. And stay tuned for my upcoming portrait of John “Killer Beas” Beasley in JazzTimes.
2. Album Of The Year
Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.
31. Best Improvised Jazz Solo
For an instrumental jazz solo performance. Two equal performers on one recording may be eligible as one entry. If the soloist listed appears on a recording billed to another artist, the latter’s name is in parenthesis for identification. Singles or Tracks only.
32. Best Jazz Vocal Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal jazz recordings.
33. Best Jazz Instrumental Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new instrumental jazz recordings.
34. Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new ensemble jazz recordings.
35. Best Latin Jazz Album
For vocal or instrumental albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded material. The intent of this category is to recognize recordings that represent the blending of jazz with Latin, Iberian-American, Brazilian, and Argentinian tango music.
62. Best Instrumental Composition
A Composer’s Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.
63. Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
64. Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
11. Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
For albums containing approximately 51% or more playing time of instrumental material. For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new recordings.
Stacey Kent, Jim Tomlinson, and Kazuo Ishiguro “Wish They Could Go Travelling Again” (Jazziz, April 2021)
Maria Schneider Profile/Interview (DownBeat, 12/16 Cover Story)
DownBeat Readers Named “The Thompson Fields” Album of the Year in 2016 Readers Poll
Jon Batiste's Love Riot (DownBeat, April 2017)
How he got the Colbert gig, what he learned from Kenny Barron, and more
Anat Cohen – "Perfect Accent" (DownBeat, July 2017)
Clarinet wizard Anat Cohen talks about her love of Brazilian music, and more.
Wynton Marsalis – Building the Cathedral (DownBeat, Dec. 2017)
Kurt Elling on "The Questions" (DownBeat June 2018)
Miles Evans Talks About His Dad, Gil (DownBeat, Mar. 2019)
Singer Allegra Levy: "Lose My Number" (JazzTimes, Dec. 2020)
How I Fell In Love With Jazz – Uncle Sam's Jukebox
Interview on Capitol Public Radio, Sacramento
Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition: London's Deelee Dubé and Denmark's Sinne Eeg Shine (Jazz Times, 11/23/16)
A Conversation with Catherine Russell (Jazz Times, Dec. 2016)
The singer on her legendary parents, her pop past and her new exploration of Harlem’s rich musical legacy
Troubled Genius – The Making of Don Cheadle's film "Miles Ahead" (DownBeat, Apr 2016)
Don Cheadle’s gritty portrayal of a drug-addled, gun-toting Miles Davis is the most anticipated jazz film in decades.
"In Jacob Collier’s Room" (DownBeat, Sept 2016)
Interview with the 21-year-old British jazz phenom
Duchess – Laughing at Life (CD Review, DownBeat 3-17)
Duchess Brings Harmony and Hijinks to NYC's 55 Bar (DownBeat, 2/27/17)
Trio da Paz Celebrates 30 Years Together (DownBeat, 1/3/17)
Newport Fest Highlights Soloists and Teamwork (DownBeat.com 8/17/17)
Catching Up With Russell Malone (Jazz Times, August 2016)
Australian Singer-Pianist Sarah McKenzie, in NYC, is Thinking About Paris and San Francisco
(DownBeat, Sept. 2018)
Bird Lives! Paquito D’Rivera revives “Charlie Parker w/Strings” at JALC (DownBeat, April 2013)
My review of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Charlie Parker with Strings” concert, with Paquito D’Rivera
The New York Voices — 25 Years of Vocal Excellence (DownBeat, June 2013)
The under-appreciated New York Voices (Darmon Meader, Kim Nazarian, Peter Erskine and Lauren Kinhan) are one of the most accomplished vocal jazz groups ever. This year they celebrate their 25th anniversary with their first live album.
Eliane Elias at the Toronto Jazz Festival (DownBeat, 7/2/13)
At the Toronto Jazz Festival in late June, perhaps my favorite moments were with the astonishing Brazilian pianist/singer Eliane Elias and her trio. Here’s the first of my two festival reviews in DownBeat.
Gregory Porter – The Storyteller (DownBeat)
My cover story for the October 2013 DownBeat
Guitarist Ben Monder's Stunning "Hydra" (my review in Nov. 2013 DownBeat)
Guitarist Ben Monder’s Stunning “Hydra” (my review in Nov. 2013 DownBeat)
Donald Fagen – An Eminent Hipster Speaks
Donald Fagen Profile, DownBeat, 12/13
Seven New Vocal CDs – From 'Trad' to Rad
Jazz CDs – Column by Allen Morrison, DownBeat, Dec 2013
"Second Wind" – Chuck Israels' Tribute to Bill Evans, his Former Partner
DownBeat, Jan. 2014
Cassandra Wilson Reprises "Blue Light" in NYC (DownBeat, April '14)
My review in the April 2014 DownBeat
Lauren Kinhan – "Circle In A Square" review
in DownBeat, March 2014
Catherine Russell – "Bring It Back" CD Review – DownBeat, Apr 2014
Rufus Reid: Still Evolving (DownBeat – June 2014)
Rufus has played with everybody from Dexter Gordon to Stan Getz, and now is writing award-winning big-band compositions. My look back at his career from the June DownBeat.
Saxophonist Craig Handy – Serious Fun (DownBeat, March 2014)
Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater used to call him “my Handy-man.” Now he’s back with a new album that blends the music of organist Jimmy Smith with contemporary jazz and N.O. second-line. My interview with Handy from DownBeat (March ’14).
Stacey Kent Weaves a Subtle Spell at Birdland – review from DownBeat.com, 12-27-13
Stacey Kent – The Changing Lights
CD Review from DownBeat, May 2014
Bob Dorough, 90, Is Still Hip
Paquito D’Rivera & Trio Corrente Light Up MIMO Fest in Brazil
Cecile McLorin Salvant: Young Provacateur (DownBeat cover story, 8/14)
Jazz Legends of the Winter (Jazz Fest) – DownBeat 1/28/15
Pianist Mike LeDonne hosts an evening of jazz legends for a worthy cause.
At 80, Bossa Nova Pioneer Joao Donato Isn't Slowing Down (DownBeat, 12/5/14)
"Chick Corea – The Music Defies Words" (DownBeat 12/14)
Taj Mahal Satisfies and Tickles, Too at SFJazz (DownBeat.com, 3/12/15)
Review of Taj’s 2/26 show at the S.F. Jazz Center
Gregory Porter and All-Stars Celebrate Blue Note Records' 75th Anniversary at Sea (DownBeat, Dec. 2015)
Jive Samba – Duduka da Fonseca (Jazz Times)
My review of new CD, in Jazz Times
Bossa Nova Pioneer Carlos Lyra Returns to U.S. for First Time in 50 Years (DownBeat, 6/3/15)
DownBeat Visits Catherine Russell in Studio for ‘Harlem’ Sessions (DownBeat, 12-11-15)
Back In The Studio, Catherine Russell Makes Everything Old New Again
Newport 2014 Review, Part 2 (Marsalis, JLCO, Dee Dee Bridgewater)
Bebop royalty join new vocal jazz group in historic vocalese summit (DownBeat, 9/22/15)
Bill Withers Returns to Spotlight for Carnegie Hall Tribute (DownBeat, 10/6/15)
Guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg – The Underdog (Jazz Times, July 2015)
Newport Jazz Festival 2015 – My Take (DownBeat, 8-7-15)
Turning 90, legendary drummer Roy Haynes celebrates with Pat Metheny & Christian McBride (Jazz Times, 3/16/15)
Charlap and Friends Celebrate B'way & Harlem Tunesmiths at Jazz at Lincoln Center (DownBeat, 4/13/16)
…with help from Cecile McLorin Salvant, Freddy Cole, Houston Person and Ken Peplowski 
Lizz Wright: Total Devotion (DownBeat, Jan. 2016)
Barth Brings Eloquent, Hard-Charging Swing to Mezzrow (DownBeat, May 18, 2016)
Kamasi Washington Presents Jazz-Rock Spectacle in New York (DownBeat 3/22/16)
Live review of Webster Hall show, March 2016
Jon Batiste Chats About His Favorite Jazz Xmas Albums (DownBeat.com Dec 9, 2016)
Becca Stevens Band Embraces Jazz-Folk in-Pittsburgh (DownBeat, May 31, 2016)
Elias Revisits Brazilian Classics at Birdland (DownBeat 4-10-15)
Brazilian singer Clara Moreno, daughter of Joyce, re-imagines a jazz samba classic (DownBeat, Nov. 2016)
Allen Morrison - Music Journalist, Jazz Pianist, Songwriter, Lecturer - Long Island, NY 
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