Live at the Village Vanguard - Adam Rogers Quintet

April 9, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: adam rogers, baby steps, confluence, debut, drums, edward simon, favorite places, firsts, guitarist, Jazz Alive, jazz club, jeff tain watts, legendary jazz, Listening Post, Live Music, mark turner, music site, Places and Spaces, pleasure, scott colley, tain, tenor, village vanguard, wbgo

The Village Vanguard is is one of my favorite places in New York. With that simple statement, it gives me great pleasure to introduce WBGO's newest adventure. We're starting a monthly concert series from the legendary jazz club. Our eventual plan is to air the shows live on WBGO, and stream them simultaneously on NPR's Music site. Last night, we took the first of many baby steps.

Guitarist Adam Rogers made his debut as a leader at the Vanguard, and we recorded our initial show for this series. An evening of "firsts," so to speak.

Here's the basic information:
Adam Rogers, guitar
Mark Turner, tenor
Edward Simon, piano
Scott Colley, bass
Jeff "Tain" Watts, drums

Set List:
Long Ago and Far Away
Absalom
Sight
Phyrigia
Confluence

Recorded 4/8/08

Listen to the concert now.
Check out some photos I took during the soundcheck.

We also recorded the second set. Someday you'll get to hear that, too! Stay tuned to the blog for more information about WBGO's new series, Live at the Village Vanguard.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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"DIGGIN' THE CLASSICS": YUSEF LATEEF EDITION

February 20, 2008. Posted by Stevan Smith.

Add new comment | Filed under: collections, flute, funky, gentle giant, hey jude, instrumental recordings, jazz, Jazz Alive, Jazz Community, Jazz Education, jungle plum, listener, Listening Post, lullabye, music lovers, music world, new releases, nubian, oboe, pleasure, poor fishermen, queen of the night, r&b, Revue, rhythm, satisfaction, soul, talents, tenor, tenor sax

What's going on all! Welcome to my blog series "DIGGIN' THE CLASSICS"! When new releases in the music world get slow, we all tend to dig into our collections for some vintage pleasure. Join me for my weekly (or whenever I feel like it) quest for soundtrack satisfaction. This is a blog for music lovers! "Walk With Me".

This edition celebrates: Yusef Lateef- The Gentle Giant (1972)

Tracklisting:
1. Nubian Lady
2. Lowland Lullabye
3. Hey Jude
4. Jungle Plum
5. The Poor Fishermen
6. African Song
7. Queen of the Night
8. Below Yellow Bell

Now I will admit, I am really picky when it comes to instrumental recordings. There has to be something powerful about a rhythm that speaks without words. Yusef Lateef is most definitely gifted in this area. Lateef defines his brand of music as "-insert here-", but don't call it jazz. "The Gentle Giant" is evidence of his unique talents. With Lateef playing various instruments (flute, tenor, and oboe) and a 9-minute cover of "Hey Jude" (?), there is enough variety on this album to prevent it from boring the "A.D.D." listener. One stand out track is, "Nubian Lady". The title say's it all. With it's melodic rhythms and ultra cool vibes, songs like these leave no room for words. That would just mess things up.
"I'm smiling, but don't call it jazz fool!"

Another track that stands out is "Queen of the Night" (must be something about the ladies). A funky track that has a bass line tailor made for hip-hop. It is this variety that makes this album one of his most interesting works. This Lp speaks to generations, and most likely opened the door for world music. Some refer to this album as being erratic compared to his prior works. I feel this is just a classic display of any artists' journey to evolve. This album is a honest contribution to the foundation of jaz......I mean "-insert here-". It dares to be different. ...And it is the "different" that makes it an instant classic.
"What do you mean by different?"

© 2008 WBGO

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IAJE Evening 3 - Q Music, Rol' Blue Eyes

January 12, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: arranger, ceremony concert, chairman of the board, great cat, IAJE 2008, jazz master, jazz masterworks orchestra, josh jackson, kurt elling, Live Music, luck be a lady, Masters, masterworks, midnight sun, pleasure, quincy jones, sinatra recordings, smithsonian jazz, unenviable position, wee small hours

If you've ever listened to Live at the Sands, you've heard Quincy Jones' work with Frank Sinatra. Quincy was, in fact, the arranger for a number of Sinatra recordings. At the NEA Jazz Master Awards Concert, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra had the pleasure of playing some those charts. Kurt Elling had the unenviable position of Chairman of the Board.

Check out what they did together:

Kurt Elling and SJMO - Luck Be a Lady / The Midnight Sun Will Never Set

Kurt Elling and SJMO - You Make Me Feel So Young / In The Wee Small Hours

Kurt Elling and SJMO - I Only Have Eyes For You

Kurt is such a great cat. I watched him backstage, pacing back and forth before the set. Hope he's relaxing now.

- Josh Jackson

© 2008 WBGO

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