And welcome to new JJA members: Keanna Faircloth, writer, radio/tv program host/producer in Rawah, NJ; Minivera Gail Hawkins, veteran columnist, editor and research now in Burbank, CA; Ron Wesley, radio-tv program host/producer in Phoenix; San Francisco-based writer Daniel King and Chicago-based writer Corey Hall.
Bill Beuttler had his book Make It New: Reshaping Jazz in the 21st Century reviewed in the September 2020 issue of DownBeat. He was also appointed director of the master’s degree program in publishing and writing at Emerson College in Boston.
Paul de Barros has been helping Seattle sculptor/cellist Paul Rucker with his exciting new piece commemorating Seattle’s historic Jackson Street jazz era. The sculpture is a 12-foot steel “record” with a tonearm and “grooves” featuring a spiral of musicians’ and clubs’ names, from early teacher/composer Frank Waldron to trumpeter/arranger/composer/impresario Quincy Jones. De Barros also recently completed an article for Earshot about how teachers from Seattle’s award-winning high-school jazz programs are dealing with the online learning environment brought on by COVID-19.
Keanna Faircloth has been the voice of Afternoon Jazz on WBGO 88.3 FM in Newark, NJ since October 2019. She’s written for NPR Music, recently contributing to the August edition of Heavy Rotation. Additionally, she created a new music feature, The Pulse, on wbgo.org where she has recently profiled Nicholas Payton, Lakecia Benjamin, Warren Wolf, and Michael Olatuja to name a few.
David Hajdu wrote about Mamie Smith for the New York Times and Maria Schneider for The Nation. He also wrote the liner notes for the latest Bill Frisell album, Valentine. His first novel, Adrianne Geffel — a faux oral history of the loft-music scene of the ’70s and ’80s — will be published in September by W.W. Norton.
James Hale hosted 12 live (or live-to-video) performances for a virtual edition of the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival. Among the artists he interviewed were Kris Davis, Joe Morris, Christine Jensen and Dan Tepfer. For DownBeat, he profiled Robert (Doc) Morgan, who was named to the magazine’s jazz education hall of fame, and composer/bandleader John Hollenbeck. For SoundStageXperience.com, he wrote about New Orleans pianist James Booker and the Japanese trio Gato Libre.
Doug Hall covered the Montreal Jazz Festival’s replacement event, which offered a three-day live stream of multicultural bands to celebrate Canada’s Multicultural Day. A wonderful diversity of talent performed 20-minute sets streaming live from MJF stages. He also recently reviewed Data Lords by jazz pianist, composer and orchestrator Marie Schneider.
John Edward Hasse recently published three articles in The Wall Street Journal, one on the 100th anniversary of Mamie Smith’s seminal recording “Crazy Blues,” the others celebrating Charlie Parker’s centennial year and the artistry ofRay Charles (he would 90).
Patrick Hinely continues to vamp until the owner/operator of WLUR-FM, Washington and Lee University, is ready to allow live program producers back into its on-air studio. No date has yet been set, but as soon as that happens, his weekly program OPEN EAR will return on Mondays from 3 to 5 pm, east coast USA time, streaming via wlur.wlu.edu.
C. Andrew Hovan contributed liner notes for two recent recordings released by Cory Weeds’ Cellar Music Group. Tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart’s Rise and Shine and pianist Adam Shulman’s West Meets East were both recorded at the famed Van Gelder Studios by Maureen Sickler. Hovan also voted in the 68th Annual Down Beat Critics Poll.
Howard Mandel blogged at ArtsJournal.com/JazzbeyondJazz about American roots pianist Erwin Helfer, back to life after hospitalization and shock treatment for covid-19 related depression; reviewed Matt Moran Trio’s Return Trip for DownBeat; wrote liner notes for Josie Falbo’s You Must Believe in Spring and Reggie Nicholson’s No Preservatives Added, and edited articles on Charlie Parker at 100, Jazz Rebounds in Romania and Torino for JJANews.org.
Dee Dee McNeil celebrated Harry Belafonte during June (Black Music Month) and reviewed his Sing Your Song documentary film for her column. In July & August she published several articles at https://musicalmemoirs.wordpress.com and on August 5, 2020 LAJazzScene.buzz published her story on Kamau Kenyatta (the prolific, Grammy-winning Producer of Gregory Porter and several others) as their cover story. Dee Dee reviews jazz CDs every month and writes in-depth feature articles on jazz artists. She can be reached at ddmcneil@aol.com.
Larry Melton has faced down the great challenges of this past year by way of writing projects about talented performers, composers, and historians in the Ragtime Community. In addition to trying to stay current and becoming familiar with new artists, he has tried to encourage financial support for the many who have lost gigs and to support venues and events that have had to close down. He applauds publications like The Syncopated Times that continue to publish jazz related news.
Dom Minasi had built up a teaching practice before the pandemic and fortunately was able to switch to online teaching. He recorded a video with materials on the use of major and minor pentatonic and how to analyze chords and play a combination of pents over them. He has a new recording forthcoming, Ten Fingers One Mind (Unseen Rain Records) a series of through-composed compositions with free form playing for four guitars (myself, Hans Tammen, Harvey Valdes and Brian Krauss).
Steve Monroe’s Jazz Avenues editions for Twitter and Facebook for July and August had live-streaming news on performers including Sharon Clark, Craig Alston, Orrin Evans, Warren Wolf, Heidi Martin, Peter Bernstein, Marc Cary, Benito Gonzalez, and others. Jazz Avenues also included news on the Buck Hill mural in D.C. and reviews of a Ron Carter Golden Stryker Trio event and CDs by Jeff Cosgrove, Luke Stewart, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Jeff Reed.
Dan Ouellette continues developing his monthly column “Jazz & Beyond Intel” with lead stories on Gerald Clayton and Arturo O’Farrill; wrote the essay on Jimmy Heath for his posthumous induction into DownBeat‘s Hall of Fame; wrote the bio for the Yellowjackets upcoming release Vintage Jackets; has been writing the press background for Verve’s Signature Sounds high-end vinyl series; continues to write liner notes for videos at Qwest.tv; and has written several non-jazz reviews for Stereophile.
Wilbert Sostre is working on the 2nd edition of the book Boricua Jazz: La Historia del Jazz Puertorriqueño. July was the second anniversary of his radio show Puerto Rico Jazz, originally aired on Radio Vieques, Puerto Rico and Brave New Radio, William Paterson University, New Jersey. Due to the pandemic it is now broadcasting only via podcast on TuneIn Radio, Apple Podcast and Sounder.FM. Hopefully Puerto Rico Jazz will be back on the air soon on both radio stations.
Sammy Stein has two books out this fall. She had an essay commissioned by the Library of Congress and wrote several published pieces during lockdown.
Scott Thompson has been working the new release by Fahir Atakoğlu, For Love. Also new to his client list is the Uptown Jazz Tentet What’s Next. Eva Cortés’ latest Todas las Voces features Christian McBride, Elio Villafranca, Eric Harland, and more. Trumpeter/vocalist Rebecca Coupe Franks released Every Little Thing Counts. Latin Grammys have the self-titled debut release by Raices Jazz Orchestra in the running. Bill Warfield and the Hells Kitchen Funk Orchestra Smile are holding steady on the JazzWeek charts.
William “Bill” Tilford reviewed two important recordings and one collection of recordings covering new Jazz in Cuba in the website TIMBA.com: Mirando al Futuro From Havana Jazz (Unicornio), La Esquina del Jazz (EGREM), and the Jazz Young Spirit collection (Colibrí). All of these present much of the best emerging young Jazz talent in Cuba, most of which does not yet have significant exposure in the United States.
