WBGO Blog
  • Eli Yamin and Evan Christopher With Gary Walker

    April 11, 2013. Posted by Tim Wilkins.

    Pianist Eli Yamin and clarinetist Evan Christopher talk with Gary Walker about their new CD, Louie's Dream, an homage to Louis Armstrong. Enjoy!

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  • J.P. Jofre, Bandoneon! Coming to JazzSet

    April 11, 2013. Posted by Becca Pulliam.

    Hear J.P. Jofre with Strings on JazzSet .. Sunday, April 14, at 6pm and Wednesday, April 17, at 6:30pm.

    Juan Pablo Jofre lives in New York, but he's from San Juan, Argentina. A lover of heavy metal - Metallica even - he traded his drums for a bandoneón. In his home country, he studied with two protégés of Astor Piazzolla (1921-92), the creator of the New Tango. Piazzolla himself had lived in New York, and he loved to play with jazz musicians as well.

    The bandoneón is a remarkably empathetic instrument. When the player trembles, so does the sound he is producing on the bandoneón. To play it requires a dancer's sense of balance. Toward the end of the video above, J.P. pulls far left and right, then signs off with a smile. His brief at-home recital/demo is exclusively for JazzSet.

    Below, Jofre is onstage with I Solisti di Perugia, the string orchestra, in the fabulous Morlacchi Theater at the Umbria Jazz Festival. The music: tango! We have highlights from the concert on JazzSet.

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  • Live From The Village Vanguard: Jeff Ballard Fairgrounds

    April 10, 2013. Posted by Tim Wilkins.

    WBGO presented drummer Jeff Ballard's "Fairgrounds" project live from the Village Vanguard on Wednesday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m. You can watch video, and review the live chat from this event, on this page.

    Like WBGO's other live broadcasts, these shows live on in our video archive and at NPRmusic.org.

    Ballard was joined by Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Kevin Hays on piano, Jeff Parker on guitar and Larry Grenadier on bass. The group's performance and broadcast were originally scheduled for last October, but were canceled because of Hurricane Sandy.

    If you like what you hear, WBGO's The Jazz Bee regularly features recordings by Ballard and his bandmates. Enjoy!

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