Ana Lucia Bizinover took advantage of Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi’s visit to Rio (he has lived in the U.S. for over 35 years) and interviewed him regarding his new album Simpatico. It will be broadcast (follow this link) on October 17, at 6 p.m. Rio de Janeiro time.
Forrest Dylan Bryant was as surprised as anybody to find himself returning to radio just four months after his supposed retirement. He resumed duty as jazz director at Stanford University’s KZSU-FM in September. Also in September and for the sixth year running, Forrest did extensive live-blogging from the Monterey Jazz Festival, reviewing more than a dozen performances at his website, http://jazzobserver.com.
Sharonne Cohen covered the Montreal Jazz Festival for JazzTimes and New York’s Winter Jazzfest for La Scena Musicale; published pieces on the Miles Davis exhibit “We Want Miles,” the DVD Icons Among Us, and Cicily Janus’ book The New Face of Jazz for Down Beat; and published numerous record reviews for both JazzTimes and Down Beat.
Brett Delmage, publisher of OttawaJazzScene.ca, wrote a review of JJA member John Fowler’s book of Canadian jazz musician photographs, Renee Rosnes Playing Glen Gould’s Steinway: Images of Canadian Jazz. The review can be found here.
Pamela Espeland’s interview with Douglas R. Ewart 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.
Enid Farber‘s “Eye Am Still Hear” exhibition at The Knitting Factory in Williamsburg, in conjunction with WILLiFEST (an indie film festival), included 54 of her best-known photographs and some previously unseen and unpublished work. The exhibition has been extended until mid October by request of the venue. For more information please contact Enid at http://farberfoto.com.
Mikayla Gilbreath interviewed trombonist, producer and composer Clifton Anderson for an upcoming article. The article will address the current dearth of trombone-led ensembles and Anderson’s desire to help reestablish the trombone as a leader’s instrument. An appropriate venue for the article has not yet been selected.
George Grella and his wife recently had a baby girl, and taking care of her and enjoying her has set most other deadlines/updates behind! Nevertheless, he is producing lots of reviews, working on his first podcast, and looking forward to the appearance of his first piece in Cent magazine in England.
James Hale reviewed the Guelph and Quebec City jazz festivals for Down Beat, and is working with Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, to help launch its Bachelor of Music in Jazz & Contemporary Popular Music program. MacEwan began accepting applications October 1 for the program’s inaugural 2011-12 year.
Patrick Hinely is exhibiting his photographs of jazz musicians in the gallery at the studios of WVTF-FM — the NPR affiliate in Roanoke, Virginia — during October. His weekly radio program Open Ear continues on WLUR-FM in Lexington, Mondays from 5 to 6 p.m., available on the web via http://wlur.wlu.edu.
Michael Hittman’s radio show with Sam Newsome, “Sam I Am & The Good Doctor” (formerly my “In The Pocket: The Smart Jazz Talk Show”), has resumed on Peconic Bay Broadcasting (88.3 FM)/WLIU (88.1 FM) and on the Internet via iTunes, Monday nights 7-8 pm. First guest was Greg Lewis (“Organ Monk”); upcoming guests include Willard Dyson, Tony Falanga, Mimi Jones and the Strickland Brothers. (The prior 154 radio shows are now available at http://www.michaelhittman.com.) Michael was also asked to curate a series at the Sycamore, so watch out for that.
Lyn Horton’s drawing was selected by Wadada Leo Smith for the cover art of his album, Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer, a duo between Smith and the late Ed Blackwell to be released on Kabell Records.
Willard Jenkins and Randy Weston, in promoting the October publication of African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston, had two very successful book-signing events/Weston performances in New York and Los Angeles in September. Forthcoming events are scheduled for October in New York and Bethesda, Maryland; for November in Chicago and Amherst; and December in New York. Also, Randy Weston will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his landmark recording Uhuru Afrika with an orchestra concert on November 13 at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, preceded by a talk between Weston and Jenkins.
Sanford Josephson will be teaching a jazz appreciation course on Gerry Mulligan, Tuesday, November 16, at the South Orange Maplewood (New Jersey) Adult School. For more information, email info@somaadultschool.org.
Kitty Margolis and Dr. Alfonso Montuori are conducting the workshop Welcoming the Creative Impulse: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Table on October 8-10 at the world-famous Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
Bill Moody has finished the new Evan Horne novel, Fade to Blue, which will be published early in 2011. He recently appeared at the Detroit Jazz festival for a presentation on his books at the Talk Tent venue, and is still playing and recording in the Bay Area jazz scene.
Maxi Sickert, author of the Rolf Kuhn biography Clarinet Bird, held a panel about Jazz & Art at the “Jazzkomm!” as part of the Berlin Music Week 2010. She is going to be part of the 20th anniversary of the Jazz Institute Darmstadt on October 1-2 and will present her book in Zurich, Switzerland on October 20.
Joan Stiles‘ appearance on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz was broadcast in September on National Public Radio. In May, she brought her Hurly-Burly sextet (Jeremy Pelt, Steve Wilson, Joel Frahm, Ben Williams, Lewis Nash) to Iridium for a “Mostly Mary Lou” celebration of Williams’ 100th birthday. Stiles is preparing her third CD, Three Musicians (with Joel Frahm and Matt Wilson), for a projected February 2011 release.
W. Royal Stokes will be the featured speaker at a University of the District of Columbia Jazz Forum on Wednesday, October 20, 7-9 p.m. Royal will speak of his life as a jazz fan, author, journalist, editor, broadcaster and educator. He will also talk about the donation of 2000 jazz and blues books and 3500 CDs that he made last year to the university’s Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives, which will be designated The W. Royal Stokes Collection. He was also recently a guest lecturer at Davis and Elkins College, and is presently seeking publishers for three books that he has underway. His website is http://www.wroyalstokes.com.
Norman Vickers, Pensacola JJA member, was guest performer on chromatic harmonica at Pensacola JazzFest with New York pianist Russ Kassoff, violinist Aaron Weinstein and guitarist Howard Alden. Video of the performance can be seen here.
Jim Wilke has written liner notes for two recent CDs, Denise Donatelli’s When Lights are Low (Savant) and Dave Peck’s Songbook, Vol. 1 (Let’s Play Stella). In addition, he has recorded and produced radio programs of concerts from the 2010 Jazz Port Townsend Festival for KPLU’s Jazz Northwest, so far featuring Ingrid Jensen; George Cables; René Marie; an All-Star Festival Big Band led by John Clayton; and an All-Star Blues Band featuring Wycliffe Gordon, Jeff and John Clayton, Byron Stripling, Benny Green and Butch Miles.
