Michael Ambrosino has produced three “Dialogs” of note for 33third.org: Ben Williams speaking to the term “Black American Music”; bassist Mimi Jones on her life and career in jazz, and pianist Omar Sosa speaking to the alchemy of his musical process.
Steve Braunginn has been busy with his podcast Strictly Jazz Sounds these past weeks. His last three guests were Fabian Almazan, Brian Blade, and Laura Ann Gentry. Upcoming episodes will include Jon Irabagon and Yonathan Avishai. (Reminder, episode 1 was with JJA Award winner and pianist Emmet Cohen and Episode 5 featured Alto Sax winner Immanuel Wilkins.)
Enid Farber was invited to participate in an exhibit with three other women photographers at Studio One Multicultural Center in the East Village of NYC. Enid presented some of her new and “vintage” photos, including three hand-painted photos of women in jazz. The exhibition is located at 59-61 E. 4th Street, 3W, NYC and will be up until the end of July. She also delivered a JJA “Seeing Jazz” photography master class, soon to be posted on YouTube.
Doug Hall recently published an interview with Grammy Award-winning Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Pérez, also a composer, educator, and social activist who had a close personal and professional relationship with the legendary shaman Wayne Shorter going back to the Wayne Shorter Quartet formed in 2000. Hall also just published a long-form profile biography piece for WICN PR on Burt Bachrarach, whose songwriting (often with lyricist Hal David) was covered by renown jazz musicians during his lifetime including Stan Getz, Ahmad Jamal and McCoy Tyner.
C. Andrew Hovan has been actively contributing liner notes to several upcoming SteepleChase releases including John Hart’s Resonance, Max Light’s Henceforth, and Alex Norris’ Chess Moves. In addition, Hovan penned completely new notes for pianist Kenny Drew’s 1974 set Dark Beauty, which will be getting a newly remastered vinyl reissue this fall.
Howard Mandel supervised rollout of the 2023 JJA Jazz Awards winners announcements and postings, reviewed Requiem for Jazz by Angel Bat Dawid for DownBeat, hosted Enid Farber’s “Seeing Jazz” JJA photography master class, researched vocalist Mildred Gay’s possible participating in a Jim Beebe recording session, heard Dave Holland and Kenny Barron in concert among several other live sets, attended galas for the Jazz Institute of Chicago and Elastic Arts, and practiced his newly acquired soprano saxophone daily.
Dee Dee McNeil‘s feature article on “Harry Belafonte: A Film Celebrates His Amazing Legacy” and her review of Ramsey Lewis’s autobiography (written with Aaron Cohen) Gentleman of Jazz: A Life in Music was published at LAJazzScene.buzz on her blog Musical Memoirs. The Historical Society of Michigan published her look at the Reverend Albert B. Cleage, “The Extraordinary Rise of the Shrine of the Black Madonna.”
Mike Shanley caught up with Pittsburgh native Don Aliquo, Jr. to talk about the saxophonist’s visit to the city. The conversation appears on his Shanley On Music blog, along with a review of alto saxophonist Greg Ward’s new album Rogue Parade and an entry about Craft Recordings’ relaunch of the Original Jazz Classics series of albums originally on Prestige, Galaxy, Milestone, Riverside, Debut, Contemporary, Jazzland, and Pablo labels.
Michael J. West reviewed WRTI-FM’s album of the week, Sylvie Courvoisier and Cory Smythe’s Rite of Spring – Spectre d’Un Songe. He also profiled drummer Kweku Sumbry in his Swing Beat column for Washington City Paper.
