Jane Ira Bloom has released Wingwalker, her 14th album as leader and fourth album on the Outline label, reuniting the soprano saxophonist with long-time band mates Dawn Clement on piano, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Bobby Previte.
Brett Delmage and OttawaJazzScene.ca editor Alayne McGregor wrote a retrospective of live jazz and improvised music and recordings by artists in Ottawa-Gatineau (Canada’s capital region) for 2010.
R.J. DeLuke wrote profiles for the Albany Times Union on Esperanza Spalding and Joe Lovano, as well as longer profiles of Paquito D’Rivera and Canadian singer Kellylee Evans for AllAboutJazz.com. His recent blog entry lauds drummer Roy Haynes, who’ll soon receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Alex Dutilh interviewed John Zorn for a special 11-hour radio program about Zorn’s works, including contemporary, hardcore and film music, on France Musique (the French NPR), from March 28 to April 2. The full program will be available online on www.francemusique.com, live or by streaming till the end of April.
Yvonne Ervin, JJA Vice President, is just back from a three-month tour of Southeast Asia where she heard very little jazz. She is house hunting in Tucson, Arizona where she spent most of the 1980s and 1990s before moving to New York. She will continue writing for Hot House and tweeting (@yvonneervin) about the jazz she’s hearing in Tucson and at concerts and festivals in the western states.
Pamela Espeland’s interview with saxophonist/composer George Cartwright was published at mnartists.org, a project of the McKnight Foundation and Walker Art Center (Minneapolis). The interview is part of an ongoing series called “Conversations on Improvisation,” which focuses on jazz artists living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Ken Franckling wrote liner notes for blues singer/songwriter/cornetist Al Basile’s newest project, The Goods, which is due for March release. In addition to blogging, Ken also published his annual “The Year in Jazz” reprise for 2010 at AllAboutJazz.com.
Michael Jackson currently has an exhibition of 50 black-and-white jazz portraits showing at Gallery 175, at 175 West Jackson (opposite the Board of Trade building) in downtown Chicago. The show runs through February and will feature a Black History Month concert with Ari Brown and Avreeayl Ra on February 18. In addition, Michael’s recent jazz articles include profiles of Josh Berman, Fred Hersch, Orlando LeFleming and Kenny Werner for Down Beat and reviews of Chick Corea, Chucho Valdés and the AACM 45th anniversary.
Thomas Jacobsen attended the second annual Jazz Education Network conference, held in New Orleans from January 5-8. Review copies of Tom’s book, Traditional New Orleans Jazz: Conversations with the Men Who Make the Music (LSU Press), went out on February 7. The book is expected to be officially released in March.
Rozanne Levine will be touring the East Coast/Midwest U.S. with her band, Chakra Tuning, from March 3-10. Her band mates are Mark Whitecage, Perry Robinson and Rosi Hertlein. They’ll be performing compositions from their debut CD, Only Moment, as well as new material. More information is on Rozanne’s website.
Brian Madden shot video of events at the Jazz Education Network’s second annual convention in New Orleans. His footage has been uploaded to YouTube as JEN NOLA. Also, Brian has completed editing on his one-hour video, “Jazz Journals,” which features interviews and reports with Count Basie, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Milt Hinton, Louis Armstrong, Sonny Rollins, Joe Zawinul, Sammy Nestico, Thelonious Monk, Lionel Hampton, Sun Ra and more. Brian also played tenor with the Andrew Greeney Trio at the Zen Dog Café in Rhinebeck, New York on January 26. They return there on February 16.
Bret Primack, a.k.a. Jazz Video Guy, is fast approaching 16 million views of his YouTube channel, which now averages 30,000 views each day. Recent postings include Billy Taylor Memorial videos, content for the eyeJAZZ project, videos from the JEN conference in New Orleans and archival video featuring Lee Morgan.
Alex W. Rodriguez recently began a part-time position as Digital Content Editor at WBGO-FM in Newark, New Jersey. There he’ll be producing web-based content and developing the station’s online distribution infrastructure. As a regular contributor to the Newark Star-Ledger, Alex looks forward to previewing upcoming concerts by Wayne Shorter and Randy Weston while continuing his weekly New Jersey jazz listings column, which runs on Tuesdays. He is also testing the limits of modern technology by working mostly from his new apartment in New Haven, Connecticut.
John Szwed published a new biography, Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World, with Viking Books.
Michael J. West has just completed liner notes for Daniel Smith’s forthcoming album Bassoon Goes Latin Jazz! (Summit). Next week he will publish a spectator’s guide to the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival on the Washington-based local news website TBD.com.
