If the summer months thus far have shown what we can expect in the sweatiest month of the year, get ready for an uncomfortably hot, humid and sticky August! Our knee-jerk reaction is to suggest spending your time in a lot of indoor (read: A/C-equipped) venues via this month’s features. You’re welcome.
Veteran vibraphonist Steve Nelson (Cover) welcomes septuagenarian status this month with his annual birthday concert, which will be at Smalls. This issue marks the third time in the past year that a vibraphone player has graced our cover (Ethiopian legend Mulatu Astatke and nonagenarian Warren Smith being the others)—one sign that jazz is in the midst of a vibraphone renaissance, as these older masters have paved the way for a wealth of new, young, modern vibraphonists now on the scene, including Sasha Berliner, Patricia Brennan, Chien Chien Lu, Simon Moullier, Joel Ross and Yuhan Su.
August marks another significant birthday: the centennial of Kenny Dorham (Lest We Forget), one of the greatest yet undersung trumpeters in jazz history, who passed away in 1972 at age 48. In this issue, we look back at his astonishing and, fortunately, well-documented career as leader and sideman, in anticipation of the three-night all-star tribute to Dorham at Dizzy’s Club centering on his Aug. 30 birthday. Conversely, Japan-born, NYC-resident alto saxophonist Erena Terakubo (Artist) has been in the habit of giving musicians their flowers ever since her auspicious 2010 debut album featuring Kenny Barron. She has since featured a long list of legendary figures on her six albums to date, including Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb and Lenny White. Terakubo plays The Django this month.
And speaking of showing appreciation while they’re here, we are fortunate that Argentine octogenarian clarinetist/alto saxophonist Guillermo Gregorio (Encore) has called NYC home for the last decade, after having lived in Buenos Aires, Vienna, L.A. and Chicago. Gregorio has two recent album releases and performs at Ibeam Brooklyn this month. And then there’s guitarist and organizer Joel Harrison (Interview), who the guitar world cannot be thankful enough for. His Alternative Guitar Summit (AGS) has not only given a platform to guitarists spanning generations (from Pat Metheny to Nels Cline to Gilad Hekselman), but also gives close and upfront access for guitarists and guitar fans from around the world. Following AGS Summer Camp week in upstate N.Y., get ready for the annual AGS festival at Le Poisson Rouge.
So, get inside, enjoy the A/C, but don’t forget that the outside offers an array of live (and for the most part free) show options, too, including at many of NYC’s parks, from Jazzmobile Summerfest at Marcus Garvey Park and Grant’s Tomb (Riverside Park), Charlie Parker Jazz Festival at Marcus Garvey and Tompkins Square Parks, Summerstage at Central Park, Piano in the Park series at Bryant Park and Jazz Foundation of America’s sponsored events at various parks including Hudson River Park’s Pier 84, as well as Columbus Park, Bushwick Inlet Park, etc. It’ll be worth braving the elements; just remember to bring sunscreen, an umbrella and plenty of water! Keep hydrated and see you out at the shows.
(by Russ Musto; photos by Alan Nahigian)
Veteran vibraphonist Steve Nelson, who celebrates his 70th birthday this month, got into music in a very fateful kind of way. One day he was with one of his buddies, hanging out in his friend’s basement, and there was a vibraphone there. Nelson recalls, “His father played vibes and it just so happened that this one time when we were down there, his dad came down and was playing ‘Days of Wine and Roses’. I knew from that moment on that was what I wanted to do.” Nelson’s friend’s father happened to be none other than the legendary Milt Jackson-influenced Pittsburgh vibraphonist George Monroe, who would soon thereafter teach the youngster how to play the vibes. Nelson’s 70th birthday concert is at Smalls Aug. 13. He is also at Dizzy’s Club with Louis Hayes Aug. 1-4, The Jazz Gallery with Miki Yamanaka Aug. 16, and Tompkins Square Park with Louis Hayes Aug. 25 (part of Charlie Parker Jazz Festival).
(by Jeff Cebulski; photo by Scott Friedlander)
Joel Harrison—guitarist, composer, writer, teacher, producer—is a very busy person. Founder of the Alternative Guitar Summit (AGS), Harrison gathers and organizes an array of guitarists in a one-of-a-kind summer camp, a guitar festival and interactive performances throughout the year. The 66-year-old performs, records, tours, writes books, creates podcasts and in general acts as a provocateur for all things guitar. AGS featuring Harrison with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mike Stern, Nels Cline, Wolfgang Muthspiel, et al. is at Le Poisson Rouge Aug. 24.
(by Sophia Valera Heinecke; photo by Shigeru Uchiyama)
Discovering our natural talents in a world with so much competing for our attention is difficult. Finding inspiration and accessing the tools to channel this talent is nothing short of a miracle. At best, this pursuit requires us to accept that we must remain students even when we become teachers. Although she discovered her abundant talent at only nine years old, this lesson has been behind the success of saxophonist Erena Terakubo (born in 1992 in Sapporo, Japan). Terakubo is at The Django Aug. 17.
(by Ariella Stok; photo by Jeffrey Hayden Shurdut)
The great Argentine-American clarinetist (and alto saxophonist), composer, architect and graphic artist Guillermo Gregorio was born in Buenos Aires in 1941 and the influences that shaped him present a rejoinder to American and European-centric narratives of jazz. Gregorio is at Ibeam Brooklyn Aug. 22.
(by Ken Dryden; photo by Francis Wolff © Blue Note Records)
Trumpeter McKinley “Kenny” Dorham never achieved the widespread acclaim that he merited during his lifetime, hampered somewhat by his reserved nature. Yet he has become recognized as a great by many, and a number of his compositions (e.g. “Blue Bossa”, “Una Mas”, “Prince Albert”, “Lotus Blossom”) are still frequently performed. “Kenny Dorham Centennial Celebration” is at Dizzy’s Club Aug. 30-Sep. 1.
Album Reviews: In Print, On Screen, Boxed Set, Drop The Needle Reviews, Globe Unity…
Akiko Tsuruga - Beyond Nostalgia |
(SteepleChase) |
Alice Coltrane - The Carnegie Hall Concert |
(Impulse!) |
Altus - Mythos |
(Biophilia) |
Annette A Aguilar & StringBeans - In The North |
(Eagle Seeks Salmon) |
Anthony Branker & Imagine - Songs My Mom Liked |
(Origin) |
aRT (Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson, Julian Thayer) - aRT |
(ScienSonic Laboratories) |
BassDrumBone - Afternoon |
(Auricle) |
Bill Frisell - Orchestras |
(Blue Note) |
Charlie Parker - Now's The Time: The Genius of Charlie Parker #3 |
(Verve) |
Crossing Borders and Playing with Pioneers: My Life in Music by Warren Smith |
(Wispercussion Theatre) |
Dave Douglas Quintet - Songs of Ascent: Book 2 - Steps |
(Greenleaf Music) |
Diego Figueiredo - My World |
(Arbors) |
Dizzy Gillespie - Soul & Salvation |
(Tribute-Liberation Hall) |
Donald Byrd - Byrd's Eye View |
(Transition-Blue Note) |
Eli Wallace, Lester St. Louis, Nick Neuburg - Live at Scholes Street Studio |
(Gaucimusic) |
Eric Person - Rhythm Edge |
(Distinction) |
Fly or Die - Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) |
(International Anthem) |
Harri Sjöstrom/Erhard Hirt/Philipp Wachsmann/Paul Lytton - Especially For You |
(Bead) |
Ivo Perelman, Aruan Ortiz, Lester St. Louis - Prophecy |
(Mahakala Music) |
Jeremy Pelt - Tomorrow's Another Day |
(HighNote) |
Jihye Lee Orchestra - Infinite Connections |
(Motéma Music) |
John Surman - Words Unspoken |
(ECM) |
Kerry Politzer - Ruminations |
(PJCE) |
Louis Hayes - Artform Revisited |
(Savant) |
Louis Stewart Trio - Louis The First |
(Livia-Hawk) |
Luther Allison - I Owe It All To You |
(Posi-Tone) |
Matt Mitchell - Zealous Angles |
(Pi Recordings) |
Matthew Whitaker - On Their Shoulders: An Organ Tribute |
(MOCAT) |
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes by Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro |
(Max Roach Film LLC) |
Olivia Foschi - A Window Within |
(s/r) |
Philipp Waschsmann/Trevor Taylor - Two |
(FMR) |
Ray Anderson - Marching On (Solo Trombone) |
(Doublemoon) |
Ray Anderson & Bobby Previte - Double Trouble |
(Doublemoon) |
Roxana Amed - Becoming Human |
(Sony Music Latin) |
Sestetto Internazionale - Due Mutabili (Live at MUG 2022) |
(Amirani) |
Steph Richards - Power Vibe |
(Northern Spy) |
Tomeka Reid Quartet - 3+3 |
(Cuneiform) |
Wayne Shorter - Celebration, Volume 1 |
(Blue Note) |
Welf Dorr - So Far So Good |
(s/r) |
Look for other sections like Festival Report, NY@Night, Label Spotlight, VOXNews, In Memoriam, Recommended New Releases and our invaluable Event Calendar.
Thanks so much for reading The New York City Jazz Record, the city's only homegrown gazette devoted to the music.