Matty Bannond reviewed two concerts in Germany during September. The first featured Fay Claassen and David Linx with the WDR Big Band at the Philharmonie in Cologne. The second review covered the return of the Blue Monday series in Hilden, where Axel Fischbacher was joined by Elmar Frey, Christoph Grab and Marcel Thomi. Both reports were published by Jazz in Europe.
Jane Ira Bloom on September 15 released Tues Days, her new duo recording with drummer Allison Miller on Bandcamp.
Anita Brown’s Jazz Orchestra premiered her Hart Island Suite (commissioned by NYSCA with fiscal sponsorship by The Hart Island Project) on August 26. This piece honors the stillborn daughter of her jazz musician parents, Phyllis and Ted Brown, addressing grief and providing her a “second line” jazz funeral. In representing one personal story the piece also offers a broader embrace, extending to all who rest on Hart Island, and those who were laid to rest without ritual during the pandemic.
Ken Franckling previewed Warren Wolf’s Sept. 10 reopening weekend appearance at The Side Door in Old Lyme Ct for the September issue of Hot House, and wrote about trumpeter Dan Miller’s passionate commitment to jazz education in his Jazz Notes blog. He also blogged an appreciation of late jazz impresario George Wein, and previewed concert activity in Southwest Florida after the pandemic’s extended lull.
Doug Hall is spending his last month in Taiwan (he arrived Jan 1st, 2021). He learned of new jazz clubs but ran out of time before his September return date to the US. Doug interviewed L.A.-based jazz pianist Bobby West, who has spent the last 30 years performing abroad in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. He is looking forward to more jazz-related events at home.
Martin V. Johnson wrote a lot in the past few weeks. His review of Lee Morgan’s Complete Lighthouse sides is now outside the WSJ paywall. For NPR, he also did appreciations of the life and work of Phil Schaap and Jemeel Moondoc.
Sanford Josephson is celebrating his two-year anniversary as editor of Jersey Jazz, magazine published by the New Jersey Jazz Society. Two articles — a preview of September ‘Billie & Blue Eyes” concerts by John Pizzarelli and Catherine Russell and a Rising Star feature on baritone saxophonist Tate Hanlon — are available to everyone on the NJJS.org website. The rest of the issue is protected by a firewall available only to NJJS members for $45 a year.
Yuki Kimura is researching the history of Nango Jazz Festival, at 31 years old one of the oldest in Japan. Established by a “George Wein” of Northern Japan and a village mayor-jazz aficionado, the festival location is in Nango district of Hachinohe city, Aomori prefecture of Tohoku, some 400 miles north of Tokyo. Notably, it’s less than one hour drive from U.S. Air Base, Misawa.
Howard Mandel reviewed Herbie Hancock’s return to performance (live in Chicago, streaming from Detroit) for DownBeat, and also Russell Gunn’s latest album, The Sirius Mystery. On his blog Jazz Beyond Jazz he memorialized Donald Newlove, author of the jazz-steeped novel Sweet Adversity, and for the JJA supervised Jazz Hero video clip productions, a Zoom with Nate Chinen, Greg Bryant, Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan, obituaries of Phil Schaap and George Wein, and the JJANews column Bang the Drum: News You Might Use.
Dee Dee McNeil landed two cover stories for LAJazzScene.buzz: One featuring Kenny Burrell on his 90th birthday and one on Harold Land Sr.’s Legacy album. Her Musical Memoirs jazz blog continues to review CDs. Dee Dee covers a flurry of re-releases by legendary artists including Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald. See “Jazz Women to Watch, to listen, to Appreciate” and “Music Heals.”
Michael Pronko, professor of American culture in Japan (with the website JazzInJapan.com), has published Tokyo Zangyo, the fourth volume of his Detective Hiroshi mystery series.
Carol Sudhalter has been awarded a grant under the City Artist Corps Grant Program. With this grant, she will present two concerts: Her seven-piece ensemble, The Friends of Carol Sudhalter, was scheduled at Flushing Town Hall on Wednesday, October 6, at 7:15 p.m., and her 13-piece-band, Carol Sudhalter’s Astoria Jazz Band, at Sunnyside Reformed Church in Queens on Saturday, October 23 at 3 p.m. Both are free and open to the public. Masking and proof of vaccination will be required.
Robert Sutherland-Cohen will present a solo exhibition of his jazz photos, including his most recent work as SOHO 2020: Photos from the Pandemic (along with the accompanying book), in the gallery at J.P. Licks, 397 W Broadway, South Boston, beginning September 12, 2021 through February 12, 2022.
Scott Thompson has been busy working with Music For Love – Vol. 1, a release of 29 artists from eight countries with 100% of proceeds going to humanitarian efforts for children and young adults worldwide. Thompson is also working with Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Nanny Assis (including a new samba project with Japanese-American Karuna Shinsho), with Aggeliki Psoni on “Samba Griega,” and with the Omar Kamal show in JALC’s Appel Room on Oct. 18 (Kamal is a Palestinian crooner of whom Quincy Jones has raved, “Right after Sinatra! Frank would’ve loved him!”).
Michael J. West previewed the D.C. Jazz Festival for the Washington Post and covered it for Down Beat. He also interviewed Marc Cary and Henry Threadgill for Bandcamp, wrote liner notes for Bill McConnell’s forthcoming Savant album A Change is Gonna Come, and served as a talking head for a documentary film being made about D.C.’s Black Fire Records.
