The New York City Jazz Record

The City's Only Homegrown Jazz Gazette!

Download our latest issue!

(click cover above to download pdf)

Welcome to TNYCJR’s Black History Month Issue, wherein we dedicate all of our features and a forward-section of the Album Reviews (pgs. 14-19) to this significant month of the year. We’re pleased to recognize and honor past, present and future contributions from the American and international Black music communities, a fact and celebration that of course does not start and end with the month of February. These legacies include not only jazz, but also many musicians’ non-“jazz” work, especially from jazz adjacent, backgrounds. Drummer Dennis Chambers’ (Cover) early roots include George Clinton’s P-Funk All Stars before going on to international stardom in the bands of John Scofield, Mike Stern and Santana. The experiences of cellist Akua Dixon (Interview) range from classical to James Brown and her decades-old Quartette Indigo combines the two influences and more with jazz. Guitarist Rodney Jones (Encore) was the music director to the “Queen of R&B,” vocalist Ruth Brown (R=Ruth & B=Brown), for two decades, and also speaks to the significance of the blues throughout his career. And, speaking of the blues, the late Freddie Roach (Lest We Forget) is one of its greatest and under-sung proponents on organ. You’ll also find features on saxophonist-clarinetist Walter Blanding (Artist), an early and, until recently, longtime member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (né Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), as well as pianist Orrin Evans’ Imani Records (Label Spotlight), in addition to an insightful Special Feature on the state of Black Americans in jazz, in and outside of academia.

Dig into some history that both deserves a listen and demands respect. The widely acknowledged, inherent aspect of jazz is its democracy. As a living example of our nation’s founding principles, jazz is a model of inclusivity and finding harmony in working together—a truism even before this music was commonly referred to as “jazz.” Jazz is profoundly a model for this and future generations to learn from, and that includes the sacrifices and dedication of its practitioners, dating back to well over a century. It is the jazz community’s strength in coming together, whether because of the devastating Southern California wildfires and/or for a night’s-worth of sanity in sounds at a concert. Onwards and outwards and hopefully see you out at the shows….

On the Cover: DENNIS CHAMBERS—Playing It All

(by Russ Musto; photos by Alan Nahigian)

Art Blakey once described fellow drummer Dennis Chambers with unabashed admiration: “This man can play everything. Jazz, rock, funk, fusion, Latin, soul. He plays it all!”…

Interview: AKUA DIXON—A Classical Cellist’s Big Jazz Footprint

(by Jason Gross; photo by John Abbott)

For over a half century, cellist Akua Dixon has helped to extend the musical vocabulary of an instrument most associated with the classical world…

Artist Feature: WALTER BLANDING—Nice Guys Do Finish First

(by Marilyn Lester; photo courtesy of artist)

Precocious in talent and personality, since early on Walter Blanding has been lauded as a genuinely “nice guy” with a maturity beyond his years…

Encore: RODNEY JONES—Building a True Blues Foundation

(by Richard Skelly; photo courtesy of artist)

Like Wynton Marsalis and his late father, Ellis Marsalis, guitarist Rodney Jones agrees with the notion that a grounding in blues is what’s needed to play traditional jazz…

Lest We Forget: FREDDIE ROACH—From Jazz Organ’s Golden Era

(by Brian Charette; photo by Francis Wolff ©Blue Note Records)

When Freddie Roach passed from a heart attack in 1980 at age 49, he’d already established himself as a master of the Hammond B3 organ, yet he remains today generally mostly unsung…

Special Feature: CULTURE & RACE: WHO WILL PLAY JAZZ IN THE FUTURE?

(by Keith Hoffman; photos by Richard Conde, and John E. Kuhlman provided by Historic New Orleans Collection)

Jazz is internationally recognized as a magnificent achievement of Black Americans and of America more broadly. It is institutionalized in academia. And yet we have arrived at the once unthinkable: 50 years from now, there might be virtually no Black Americans playing the music that is their cultural legacy…

Album Reviews: In Print, On Screen, Boxed Set, Drop The Needle Reviews, Globe Unity…

Al Jarreau - WOW!

(Resonance)

Al Jarreau & NDR Big Band - Ellington

(ACT Music)

Andrew Cyrille, Bill Frisell, Kit Downes - Breaking the Shell

(Red Hook)

Avishai Cohen - Bright Light

(Naïve)

Ben Goldberg, Todd Sickafoose, Scott Amendola - Here to There

(Secret Hatch)

Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, Gyan Riley - John Zorn: Lamentations

(Tzadik)

Cannonball Adderley (with Bill Evans) - Know What I Mean?

(Riverside-Craft)

Christopher Hoffman - Vision is the Identity

(Out Of Your Head)

Clark Terry Quartet (with Thelonious Monk) - In Orbit

(Riverside-Craft)

Dave Holland/Lionel Loueke - United

(Edition)

Dawda Jobarteh/Stefan Pasborg - Live in Turku

(April)

Duduka Da Fonseca Trio - Rio Fantasia

(Sunnyside)

Giacomo Merega/Joe Morris - Opus Dichotomous

(Infrequent Seams)

Jakob Bro - Taking Turns

(ECM)

Jason Palmer - The Crossover (Live in Brooklyn)

(Giant Step Arts)

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra - The Music of Max Roach

(Blue Engine)

Jenny Scheinman - All Species Parade

(Royal Potato Family)

Jerome Deupree, Joe Morris, Matthew Shipp - Travelogue

(Fundacja Słuchaj)

Joe Morris/Jeb Bishop/Nathan McBride - Tells or Terrier

(Not Two)

Louis Jordan - World Broadcast Recordings 1944/45

(Circle)

Louis Sclavis/Benjamin Moussay - Unfolding

(ECM)

Lucian Ban/Mat Maneri - Transylvanian Dance

(ECM)

Lux Quartet - Tomorrowland

(Enja-Yellowbird)

Marilyn Crispell & Harvey Sorgen - Forest

(Fundacja Słuchaj)

Marius Van Den Brink - Live at Dizzy's Club

(HighLine Music)

Matthew Shipp - The Data

(RogueArt)

Max Johnson - I'll See You Again

(Adhyâropa)

Mferghu - Manhattanville Serenade

(SteepleChase)

Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir - Wonderful!

(Cellar Music)

Moor Mother - The Great Bailout

(ANTI-Records)

Nat King Cole - Live At The Blue Note Chicago

(Iconic Artists Group)

Neta Raanan - Unforeseen Blossom

(Giant Step Arts)

Nicole Mitchell/Ballaké Sissoko - Bamako Chicago Sound System

(FPE)

Rustin by Colman Domingo

(Higher Ground-Netflix)

Stemeseder Lillinger + Craig Taborn - Umbra III

(Intakt)

Sun Ra Arkestra - Lights On A Satellite

(IN+OUT)

The Dam Jawn (featuring Dick Oatts) - Forward!

(Cellar Music)

Tyshawn Sorey Trio - The Susceptible Now

(Pi Recordings)

Various - Classic V-Disc Small Group Jazz Sessions

(Mosaic)

(Book) Brassroots Democracy by Benjamin Barson

(Wesleyan University Press)

(Book) In With the In Crowd by Mike Smith

(Univ. Press of Mississippi)

 

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.