IMN : Updates for Joe Lovano

Benefit Concerts at Blue Note, Dizzy’s Fund Jazz Causes

IMN

May 11th, 2012

from downbeat.com

Benefit Concerts at Blue Note, Dizzy’s Fund Jazz Causes
By: Russ Musto

“Nobody said it was going to be easy, and nobody was right,” declared Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola Programming Director Todd Barkan, quoting the witty insight of the late pianist John Hicks into the life of a jazz musician. Barkan was introducing the Playing Our Parts concert benefiting the Jazz Foundation of America, which for more than 20 years has made the lives of countless jazz artists easier in times of need. The annual show, which has earned tens of thousands of dollars for the foundation’s Jazz Musicians Emergency Fund during the past five years, was instituted to raise money for the medical care of ailing bassist Dennis Irwin, who passed away on March 10, 2008, only hours before that evening’s poignant affair. Since then, saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist John Scofield, close friends of Irwin, have joined forces in a yearly event at Jazz at Lincoln Center that donates 100 percent of its proceeds to a foundation program that provides free cancer screening for musicians.

This year’s April 24 event got off to a scorching start with Lovano and Scofield, along with bassist John Patitucci and drummer Lewis Nash, firing on all four cylinders for the guitarist’s funky “Wabash III” and the tenorist’s gritty “Big Ben.” Playing with a tight, unified sound, the quartet set the tone for the artfully assembled evening. The music flowed on beautifully with the addition of trumpeter/flugelhornist Eddie Henderson to the foursome on a stirring rendition of “Jitterbug Waltz” that danced with grace and strength.

To read the full article click here

Confirmed Tourdates As Of April 24th, 2012

IMN

May 22nd, 2012: Birdland New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five]
May 23rd, 2012: Birdland New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five]
May 24th, 2012: Birdland New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five]
May 25th, 2012: Birdland New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five]
May 26th, 2012: Birdland New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five]
June 23rd, 2012: The Grand Theatre Kingston, ON, CANADA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
June 25th, 2012: Studio Ottawa, ON, CANADA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 6th, 2012: North Sea Jazz Festival - Amazon Stage Rotterdam, Netherlands [Joe Lovano special guest with Metropole Orchestra ]
July 6th, 2012: North Sea Jazz Festival - Hudson Stage Rotterdam, Netherlands [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 7th, 2012: De Bijloke Muziekcentrum Gent Gent, Belgium [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 8th, 2012: Copenhagen Jazz Festival - Copenhagen Jazz House Copenhagen, Denmark [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 9th, 2012: Copenhagen Jazz Festival - Copenhagen Jazz House Copenhagen, Denmark [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 10th, 2012: Arena Santa Giuliana Perugia, ITALY [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 12th, 2012: Soho Factory Warsaw, Poland [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 13th, 2012: Arena Del Castello Brescia, ITALY [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 14th, 2012: Parco Le Najadi Pescara, ITALY [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 15th, 2012: Piazzale delle Armi di Castel S. Elmo Napoli, ITALY [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 17th, 2012: Mendizorroza Arena Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 19th, 2012: Club Alexandra Molde, NORWAY [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 21st, 2012: Bohemia Jazz Festival České Budějovice, Czech Republic [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 22nd, 2012: Dinant Jazz Nights Dinant, Belgium [Joe Lovano Special guest with Midnight Trio]
July 26th, 2012: Blue Note New York, NY USA [Conrad Herwig with special guest Joe Lovano ]
July 27th, 2012: Blue Note New York, NY USA [Conrad Herwig with special guest Joe Lovano ]
July 29th, 2012: Blue Note New York, NY USA [Conrad Herwig with special guest Joe Lovano ]
August 4th, 2012: Fort Adams State Park Newport, RI USA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
August 26th, 2012: National Concert Hall Taiepi, Taiwan [Joe Lovano Us Five]
August 26th, 2012: National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center, National Taipei, Taiwan [Joe Lovano Us Five]
September 2nd, 2012: Detroit International Jazz Festival, Cadillac Squa Detroit, MI USA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
October 15th, 2012: Chamber Music Room Brussels, Belgium [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
October 31st, 2012: Theatre de Municipal Lausanne, Switzerland [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
November 10th, 2012: Guimaraes Jazz Festival Guimaraes, Portugal [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints]
April 12th, 2013: Rice Auditorium - Western Oregon University Monmouth, OR USA [Joe Lovano and The American Metropole Orchestra]
April 13th, 2013: Rice Auditorium - Western Oregon University Monmouth, OR USA [Joe Lovano and The American Metropole Orchestra]
April 19th, 2013: Auditorium Dufour Chicoutimi, QC, CANADA [Joe Lovano Us Five]
May 4th, 2013: Outdoor Amphitheatre Scottsdale, AZ USA [McCoy Tyner Quartet with special guest Joe Lovano]

"Tenor Masters" Offers Plenty of Sax Appeal at Jazz at Lincoln Center

IMN

March 23rd, 2012

_from nydailynews.com

“Tenor Masters” Offers Plenty of Sax Appeal at Jazz at Lincoln Center
By: Greg Thomas

Three distinct tenor sax voices — Joe Lovano, Benny Golson and Bennie Maupin — will share the stage Friday and Saturday at the Allen Room of Jazz at Lincoln Center for “The Music of the Tenor Masters.”

Lovano, 59, the musical director, is one of the reigning stars on tenor sax today.

“When JALC asked me to put this event together, this celebration of the tenor masters in jazz, Benny Golson was the first one I wanted to have on the program,” says the Hudson Valley resident. “He’s one of the true masters of all time, as a composer and as an improviser, and one of the leading voices in the music. “Benny Maupin, as well, is a true voice on the instrument and in the music. And with a rhythm section like Kenny Barron (piano), George Mraz (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums), we’re going to explore a lot of ways to play together. We’ll play compositions by some of the great instrumentalists in our history.” The father of the tenor saxophone, Coleman Hawkins, will be the starting point. “We start out in the beginning playing his classic version of ‘Body and Soul,’ which happens to be the second-most recorded song in the history of song. Then, we’ll explore as individuals and come back as a threesome with rhythm section,” says Golson.

To read the full article click here

Joe Lovano Remembers Paul Motian

IMN

March 19th, 2012

from jazztimes.com

Joe Lovano Remembers Paul Motian
The tenor saxophonist pays tribute to the legendary drummer
By: Joe Lovano

I grew up listening to a lot of music that Paul was a part of. Obviously Bill Evans’ music, and a lot of things with Mose Allison. I was just hip to him from my dad’s record collection. In the early ’70s I went to Berklee after high school, and saw the Keith Jarrett Quartet at the Jazz Workshop. For me, that was the next quartet after the Coltrane Quartet, as far as the creativity and the spirit of the music. So I strived to play with those guys, and I joined Paul around 1981.

Paul was the type of cat who embraced the people he played with. All the bands that he played with, he turned them into really creative collective ensembles, and from the earliest recordings of Bill Evans we could hear that. But if you look at his discography, during the same period he was playing with Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz as well as Mose Allison and Bill Evans’ trio. And then he played with Albert Ayler in the ’60s and was still doing things with Jarrett. And then Arlo Guthrie. Paul lived a beautiful experience in the world of music.

As a composer he developed like that as well. That’s why his music was really folklike and he created vehicles to improvise. He didn’t write pieces of music that you just played and then repeated; he wrote pieces of music that were springboards.

To read the full article click here

LIVE REVIEW: Joe Lovano in concert in Málaga

IMN

March 12th, 2012

from lausti.com

Joe Lovano in concert in Málaga
By:Tapani Lausti

Joe Lovano walked on to the stage looking relaxed, waving his tenor sax as a way of greeting to the clearly enthusiastic audience. From the very first notes one could feel the power of an artist at the height of his creative powers. Having enjoyed his albums over so many years I was expecting a great concert, and still he managed to surprise. I had never heard him live before. I immediately felt the music with the whole of my being. After the first number, the audience was shouting “olé!”.

The music included compositions by Dexter Gordon, Paul Motian and others, played with a breathtaking dexterity mixed with some fascinating and often humorous exchanges with the spectacular Cuban drummer Francisco Mela. And then there was a special moment of wonder when Lovano burst into a tribute to the late great tenor saxophonist, Stan Getz. Lovano played a wonderful rendition of “Early Autumn” which was one of Getz’s early hits with the Woody Herman orchestra in 1948. Lovano played the tune with an authority of a jazz great who included the whole history of jazz tenor sax in one amazing ballad performance. He brought out the beauty of Ralph Burns’s song in a way that makes one wonder why so few jazz musicians have included this gorgeous melody in their repertoire.

The concert got a personal touch as Lovano announced that Mela had recently become a father. The newly-born daughter had been named Naima. Lovano played John Coltrane’s tune of that name with touching beauty, followed by another Coltrane composition, “Peace on Earth”. This reminded me of a wonderful album which I played at home after the concert. It is pianist Steve Kuhn’s Mostly Coltrane (ECM 2009) on which Lovano appears as the guest artist.

To read the full article click here

Joe Lovano: Inimitable Streams of Expression

IMN

March 6th, 2012

from allaboutjazz.com

Joe Lovano: Inimitable Streams of Expression
By: Angela Davis

Penned as “one of the greatest musicians in jazz history,” saxophonist Joe Lovano has successfully created a unique voice within the jazz tradition and has contributed significantly to the continuance and development of the idiom.

In just over a quarter of a century he has created an expansive body of work that has covered a broad spectrum of styles. This includes swing, bebop, hard-bop, post-bop, the avant-garde and interpretations of the music of Frank Sinatra and Enrico Caruso. He has explored an array of group settings, including duo with drums, the coveted trio with drums and bass, numerous quartets, a two-drummer quintet, nonets and a full symphony orchestra. Add to this his unique exploration of unconventional woodwinds, including the alto clarinet, wood flute, and the aulochrome (the first polyphonic saxophone invented specifically for him), it becomes readily apparent that his body of work is unique and multidimensional.

Not only has Lovano created a distinctive voice within the tradition, he has created a voice that is arguably inimitable due his extremely wide scope of influences and his constant endeavor to play spontaneously both in practice and performance.

All About Jazz: Can you talk about growing up under the tutelage of your father, saxophonist Tony Lovano?

Joe Lovano: My dad was a real hot player, like an Illinois Jacquet and Gene Ammons style of player. He heard Lester Young live, heard Charlie Parker live, and he had a wispy thing about his playing also that came from Lester. But he liked to play “Flying Home,” those kind of tunes and things, also. He was a real bebopper. My dad was born in 1925 and [John Coltrane and Miles [Davis] were born in 1926. So he grew up in that same swing, modern jazz, free jazz world. In the early 50’s my dad played a jam session with Coltrane in Cleveland. Coltrane was playing in a band with Guy Cross. It was kind of a blues band, and they were in Cleveland for a while, maybe months. So my dad met Coltrane, played a jam session with him. You know, with local cats and all that.

From that time on, he loved Coltrane and had all his records. Growing up, I heard the whole spectrum of Coltrane’s career, in a way. He passed away in 1967 and I was born in 1952, so when I was a teenager, my dad had Kulu Se Mama (Impulse!, 1965), and Meditations (Impulse!, 1965) as well as the Prestige Records—Soultrane (1958), Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1960), and all those things. Later, when I went to Berklee, I bought a Coltrane transcription book, gave it to my dad for Christmas. When I came home the next time he was playing “Locomotion,” and all these solos, he was practicing all these things. I gave him this book, and before I knew it he was playing all those transcriptions from the Blue Train (Blue Note, 1957) record. Because he knew the record, but didn’t really play in that kind of notey way. But I gave him all this stuff to practice, and he was playing the heck out of all of it. Which was really far out because I hadn’t even really studied it like that—especially that “Locomotion” solo.

To read the full interview click here

In the Family of Jazz, Joe Lovano is the Godfather

IMN

March 5th, 2012

from elpais.com

En la familia del jazz, Joe Lovano es el padrino
By:Iker Seisdedos

Spanish:
Como el resto de las madres sobre la faz de la tierra, la del saxofonista de ascendencia siciliana Joe Lovano, nombre decisivo en el jazz de las últimas tres décadas, opina que su hijo no la visita lo suficiente. Ella aún vive en Cleveland, donde se enamoró del padre de Joe, el también saxofonista y héroe local Big T Lovano, al verlo tocar con Stan Getz y Flip Phillips. La ciudad de Ohio está a unas 10 horas en coche de Nueva York, la cima del mundo para los tipos como Joe. Y sí, a él le gusta volver a casa, “perder el tiempo con los amigotes, visitar la vieja barbería, llegar a comer a mesa puesta”, pero no, no siempre hay tiempo.

Lovano, recién nominado a un Grammy por su último disco, Bird Songs, es uno de los artistas más reclamados del negocio por escenarios de medio mundo, como los cuatro que pisará esta semana al final de una extensa gira española. A Giusepina, que así se llama la mamma, le queda al menos el consuelo de admirar a su hijo de cuando en cuando en la portada de la revista Down Beat, “de la que”, afirma el grandullón Lovano, “es gran lectora”.

Saxofonista tenor de amplios registros, el músico aterrizó el viernes en Málaga para la primera fecha de sus conciertos en el festival itinerante Jazz in Blue. Se trata de una curiosa iniciativa y consiste en poner a girar a Lovano, Robert Glasper o The Bad Plus, nombres clave del presente de Blue Note, escudería de glorioso pasado, no solo por las grandes capitales (nuestro hombre actuó ayer en Barcelona, antes de continuar su programa en Santiago, Valladolid, Madrid y Avilés).

English:
Like all mothers on earth, the saxophonist Joe Lovano Sicilian descent, named jazz instrumental in the past three decades, believes that his son did not visit enough. She still lives in Cleveland, where he fell in love with Joe’s father, also a saxophonist and local hero Big T Lovano, seeing him play with Stan Getz and Flip Phillips. Ohio City is about 10 hours drive from New York, the top of the world for guys like Joe. And yes, he likes to go home, “wasting time with buddies, visit the old barber shop, get to eat at a table set”, but no, there’s always time.

Lovano, recently nominated for a Grammy for his latest album, Bird Songs, is one of the artists claimed the business for half the world stage, as the four who will step this week at the end of a long Spanish tour. A Giusepina, it’s called the mamma , he is at least admire the comfort of your child from time to time on the cover of the magazine Down Beat, “that,” says Lovano big guy, “big reader” .

Extensive records tenor saxophonist, musician landed Friday in Malaga for the first date of his concerts in the traveling festival Jazz in Blue. This is an interesting initiative is to make turn Lovano, Robert Glasper and The Bad Plus, this key names for Blue Note, team with a glorious past, not just the big cities (our man acted yesterday in Barcelona, before to continue its program in Santiago, Valladolid, Madrid and Avilés).

To read the full article click here

Joe Lovano’s Us Five bring energy to burn

IMN

February 2nd, 2012

from theglobeandmail.com

Joe Lovano’s Us Five bring energy to burn
By: J.D. Considine

Jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano brought his hot young quintet Us Five to Toronto Tuesday, in a makeup gig for an October show that had to be postponed after a freak blizzard grounded the band in New York.

Here are five things you should know about those Five:

Why Lovano is first among five

That Us Five is Joe Lovano’s band was obvious from the first notes. It wasn’t just that his tenor led the band into the opening tune, Us Five; Lovano both set the pace and directed the flow of the band, shaping the music even when he wasn’t playing.

In his grey Mao suit and black porkpie hat, Lovano was clearly the dominant figure onstage, and the fact that he played with such fire only underscored his authority. But he also has the great bandleader’s gift of being able to make each of his players shine brightly, and shine together, and that’s key to the band’s chemistry.

To read the full article click here

INTERVIEW: Joe Lovano on BBC Radio 3

IMN

January 2nd, 2012

Paul Motian, drummer, bandleader, composer and one of the most influential jazz musicians of the last 50 years, died on November 22, 2011 in Manhattan. He was 80 and lived in Manhattan. Joe Lovano was a close personal friend of Paul and worked with him on many releases. Most notably, his trio work with Paul and Bill Frisell. After his passing, BBC Radio 3’s “Jazz on 3” asked to sit down with Joe talk about working with Paul and his music.

The interview will air tonight at 11pm (local time). You can stream it live and for one week after it airs here

“Paul’s passion and inspiration in music was fueled by his associations and collaborations with the most creative improvises in Jazz which made him one of most influential mystical and magical musicians of all time.Paul was a hard swinging free jazz drummer with an uncanny sense of time, phrasing and form beyond description.. His sound and touch were unmatched and personal. Playing and knowing Paul over the last 30 years under his leadership in multiple Quartets,Quintets and in Trio with Bill Frisell since 1984 has been the foundation of my development as a leader and composer. I will celebrate Paul Motian’s inspiration and influences in all of my future explorations in music for the rest of my lifetime…God Bless you Paul…”
– Joe Lovano

Joe Lovano Pays Tribute to Sonny Rollins at KCH

IMN

December 26th, 2011

from jazztimes.com

Kennedy Center Honors with Sonny Rollins to be Broadcast Dec. 27
By: Jeff Tamarkin

Sonny Rollins and his fellow 2011 Kennedy Center Honorees—Barbara Cook, Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma and Meryl Streep—ere celebrated for their professional accomplishments and artistry on Dec. 4 at the annual Honors Gala in Washington, D.C. Seated with the President of the United States and Mrs. Obama, the Honorees were saluted in turn by an array of world-class and deeply personal performances.

The Honors Gala will be broadcast on CBS on Tuesday, Dec. 27, from 9:00-11:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Rollins’ segment was introduced by Bill Cosby. Musical director Christian McBride assembled an all-star band consisting of Rollins colleagues (and friends) Jim Hall, Benny Golson, Joe Lovano, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Heath, Jack DeJohnette, Ravi Coltrane, Billy Drummond and Roy Hargrove, who performed in different configurations before coming together for the finale of “St. Thomas.”

To read the full article click here

LIVE REVIEW: Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas at Sculler's

IMN

December 1st, 2011

from blog.thephoenix.com

LIVE REVIEW: Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas at Sculler’s
By: Jon Garelick

A jazz supergroup of sorts made its debut at Scullers this week. The Joe Lovano/Dave Douglas quintet, calling itself Soundprints, rolled into town for sets Tuesday and last night. Advance word was that this was a Wayne Shorter-devoted project, which Douglas confirmed from the stage Wednesday night. His own 1997 album Stargazer was a Shorter dedication, and this band’s name itself is an allusion to Shorter’s “Footprints.” But — seeing as Douglas and Lovano are themselves two of the most foremost composers in the music these days — this wasn’t just a covers band. Only one of the nine tunes the band played in the nearly 90-minute set came directly from Shorter — “Infant Eyes,” in an arrangement by Lovano. But you could say that Shorter was everywhere in the music — in the loose-unison themes for trumpet and tenor, in the odd-length phrases with their feints and stops, and in the free-flowing lyricism.

In a way, this was an ideal band of different styles brought together by a single purpose. Which you could say is true of any jazz band, but not if you think of the singled-minded syncopated jazz-rock grooves of Rudresh Mahanthappa’s quartet at the Regattabar a few weeks ago, or even the cohesive post-bop of Lovano’s Folk Art quintet. Douglas is all nervous energy, even when he’s standing still. Whereas Lovano is mellow and laid back, even when he’s pouring on the heat. Pianist Lawrence Fields tends toward florid chromatic chords and warm color. Bassist James Genus has an old-school firmness of articulation, but he plays his solos in long, breath-like arcs, and sings along with himself. Drummer Joey Baron is equal parts precise and loose. Which is something you could say about the band as a whole. The set began with Douglas’s trumpet against Lovano’s soprano in extended counterpoint over a free tempo. Then they found a unison theme and a groove, segueing from Lovano’s “Soundprints” to Douglas’s “Sprits.” There were echoes of Shorter in various guises — Lovano’s “High Noon” might have been a revision of Eddie Harris’s “Freedom Jazz Dance” as it was played by Shorter with the Miles Davis Quintet: discontinuous rhythms, odd rests, headlong starts and stops. And Douglas’s “Hipatia” suggested the wave-like passacaglia of Shorter’s “Nefertiti.”

To read the full review click here

Paul Motian

IMN

November 23rd, 2011

From The New York Times

Paul Motian, Jazz Drummer, Is Dead at 80
By: Ben Ratliff

Paul Motian, a drummer, bandleader, composer and one of the most influential jazz musicians of the last 50 years, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. He was 80 and lived in Manhattan.

To read the full article click here. IMN artists share their memories of Motian below:

“Paul Motian’s sense of intuition as a drummer was on such a high level, it forced me to bring that aspect of my playing to a higher level whenever I played with him. Anything “intellectual” or half-baked sounded very false when playing with Paul, because his music was coming from such a deep place. He taught me many important musical lessons early in my career, and he became a source of inspiration for all the young musicians who he generously chose to work with in the last phase of his career. Of course I’m saddened by his passing because I’m going to miss him and his music, he meant a great deal to me. On the other hand, I think he had a very well-spent life, and that will always be a source of joy and inspiration to me.”
– Chris Potter (From The Ottawa Citizen)

“Some have used phrases like “supportive” and “tasty” to describe Paul Motian’s drumming. I guess he was those things for Bill Evans in the beginning, but since leaving Evans in 1965 Paul was an avatar. Musicians who worked with Paul had to support him, not the other way around! If he liked the music, he offered a serious opinion and everyone else had to deal. Since his opinion was always the right opinion, it usually brought out the best the band had to offer. The exception was when the band didn’t realize that Paul wasn’t going to change his opinion and begin “supporting” the music like a normal, “tasty” drummer. I liked seeing those gigs, too, though: a boring band on one side, the universe of Paul Motian on the other. Sometimes you can learn as much from failures as triumphs.

The pianist who meant the most to Paul in recent years was Masabumi Kikuchi. On stage they played a chess game in another sphere, like solemn Cheshire cats or combative Buddhas. But Paul worked with other pianists, too, including myself on a few occasions. This past March we did a week with Larry Grenadier at the Vanguard. I started the set opener “It’s Easy to Remember” slower than Paul liked, so he changed the tempo in the first bar. He was right: his aggressive, unsentimental bangs and crashes render this performance breathless and heartbroken. He’s hitting amazingly hard on a ballad that most would play with brushes. I think he really loved this tune. On Saturday and Sunday we began “It’s Easy to Remember” not with piano but with drums. Paul played a chorus of melody — loud, brisk, clear melody — before Larry and I came in. Larry and I were fine, but really Paul unaccompanied on “It’s Easy to Remember” was a complete statement. The emotion was staggeringly clear.”

I hear you whisper
“I’ll always love you.”
I know it’s over, and yet,
It’s easy to remember
But so hard to forget.

- Ethan Iverson (From Do The Math)

Lovano, Saxophonists Showcased in Québec

IMN

November 16th, 2011

from downbeat.com

Lovano, Saxophonists Showcased in Québec
By: John Murph

The saxophone was the focal point of the 5th annual Festival de Jazz de Québec, and from Oct. 20–30, three distinct major-league voices—Dave Liebman, Maceo Parker and Joe Lovano—set the bar. Festival President and founder Gino St. Marie also invited 60 Québécois saxophonists to flesh out the event, which occupied 27 venues throughout the area. The festival reached a new benchmark this year hit by securing major sponsorship from TD Canada Trust and Banque Nationale du Canada. St. Marie also executed another keen strategy by having the event several months after other major Canadian jazz festivals. “There [was] no festival in October,” St. Marie said. “All the international jazz musicians are available during that time.”

During the latter days of the fest, Lovano captivated a packed house at the city’s beautiful Palais Montcalm venue. He and his exciting Us Five ensemble illustrated an evolved sense of group accord and bristling interplay since the release of 2009’s Folk Art and this year’s Bird Songs (both on Blue Note). Those two albums comprised much of the set list. Lovano concentrated on tenor saxophone as he powered his tart, hearty sound and whiplashing improvisations over combustive-yet-swinging drummers Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela. The drummers’ stupendous ricochet of quicksilver rhythms and mesmerizing role exchanges stole the show from Lovano, especially on the loping groove of “Folk Art,” and Charlie Parker’s blistering “Passport” and jovial “Barbados.”

To read the full article click here

Do Jazz Critics Need to Know How to Play Jazz?

IMN

November 15th, 2011

from bostonjazzblog.com

When the bostonjazzblog asked several jazz critics whether playing an axe would make them more proficient with their pens, the answers varied from “not at all” to “absolutely.” Here, we share musicians’ responses to the same question.

Joe Lovano:

I think the question should be “Do jazz critics need to know how to listen to jazz?” To be a frustrated jazz musician turned critic could be a true nightmare for everybody. Musicians and critics alike have various degrees of experience playing, listening and studying the history of the music and the people that create it. They either have no roots, shallow roots, substantial roots or deep roots. As a serious musician I love and live the music day and night. A serious jazz critic should as well, so his or her viewpoints will be informative, clear and honest.

Terri Lyne Carrington:

I am a bit on the fence with this question, but basically I lean toward feeling that yes, they should know how to play in some way. I am not suggesting they be totally proficient on an instrument, but just that they know first hand about the discipline, dedication, creativity, intelligence and even physical ability it takes to play an instrument. It is sometimes hard to accept criticism from someone that really does not know all that goes into this kind of mastery. On the other hand, there is something refreshing about hearing what people think or feel about any given music without knowing anything technical about it because we are communicating on many levels and to touch OR offend someone without them knowing exactly what it is we are doing is quite powerful… My issue or problem is when it feels like a frustrated musician is talking about a successful musician with animosity or envy, then it’s not cool and that’s when artist and critics butt heads… I am happy when the criticism really seems like the critic knows what the heck he or she is talking about whether complimentary or not.

To read all of the Artist’s responses click here

WBGO Champions of Jazz Benefit at Lincoln Center

IMN

November 2nd, 2011

Tonight is WBGO’s Champions of Jazz Benefit at Frederick P. Rose Hall at Lincoln Center.

The “Champions of Jazz” honorees of the night are Jimmy Heath (NEA Jazz Master, Saxophonist, Composer and Educator) and
Tommy LiPuma (GRAMMY® Award Winning Producer and Chairman Emeritus of the Verve Music Group) along with special guest Natalie Cole

Joe Lovano will be a featured performer.

For more information and tickets click here

LIVE REVIEW: Master Parker

IMN

November 1st, 2011

from voir.ca

Master Parker
By: Antoine Leveillee

When the soloist and composer Joe Lovano Us quintet founded the Five in 2008, the idea was to have a set tailored to showcase his own compositions. The first album, Folk Art , is the proof. But during a tour in Barbados a year ago and a half, the saxophonist has decided to put aside his work to linger in the work of Charlie Parker with his acolytes James Weidman (piano), Esperanza Spalding (bass), Otis Brown III (drums) and Francesco Mela (drums). “In this context, it is impossible not to play Barbados for Parker, says he. I decided to shake a little rhythmic pattern of this piece is to say that famous blues progression on 12 measures . I reduced to 10 steps. This created a circular effect, a spiral rhythm. That we were so happy that when we came back from this tour, it was clear that we would get into a tribute to Bird. “

To read the full article click here