IMN : Updates for Joe Lovano

Confirmed Tourdates As Of May 16th, 2013

IMN

May 24th, 2013: The Ellington Jazz Club/Perth Jazz Festival Perth, Australia [Joe Lovano with Katie Noonan & Vince Jones]
May 25th, 2013: The Ellington Jazz Club/Perth Jazz Festival Perth, Australia [Joe Lovano with Katie Noonan & Vince Jones]
May 28th, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Nonet "Streams of Expression" featuring Tim Hagans (Trumpet), Steve Slagle (alto/flute), Ralph Lalama (tenor/clarinet), Gary Smulyan (baritone), Barry Ries (trumpet) Larry Farrell (trombone), James Weidman (piano ), Cameron Brown (bass) a]
May 29th, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Nonet "Streams of Expression" featuring Tim Hagans (Trumpet), Steve Slagle (alto/flute), Ralph Lalama (tenor/clarinet), Gary Smulyan (baritone), Barry Ries (trumpet) Larry Farrell (trombone), James Weidman (piano ), Cameron Brown (bass) a]
May 30th, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Nonet "Streams of Expression" featuring Tim Hagans (Trumpet), Steve Slagle (alto/flute), Ralph Lalama (tenor/clarinet), Gary Smulyan (baritone), Barry Ries (trumpet) Larry Farrell (trombone), James Weidman (piano ), Cameron Brown (bass) a]
May 31st, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Nonet "Streams of Expression" featuring Tim Hagans (Trumpet), Steve Slagle (alto/flute), Ralph Lalama (tenor/clarinet), Gary Smulyan (baritone), Barry Ries (trumpet) Larry Farrell (trombone), James Weidman (piano ), Cameron Brown (bass) a]
June 1st, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Nonet "Streams of Expression" featuring Tim Hagans (Trumpet), Steve Slagle (alto/flute), Ralph Lalama (tenor/clarinet), Gary Smulyan (baritone), Barry Ries (trumpet) Larry Farrell (trombone), James Weidman (piano ), Cameron Brown (bass) a]
June 2nd, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Nonet "Streams of Expression" featuring Tim Hagans (Trumpet), Steve Slagle (alto/flute), Ralph Lalama (tenor/clarinet), Gary Smulyan (baritone), Barry Ries (trumpet) Larry Farrell (trombone), James Weidman (piano ), Cameron Brown (bass) a]
June 28th, 2013: Town Hall New York, NY USA [Wayne Shorter 80th Birthday Celebration Featuring Wayne Shorter Quartet, ACS, Sound Prints: Dave Douglas & Joe Lovano Quintet]
June 29th, 2013: Maisonneuve Theatre de la Place des Arts Montreal, CANADA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
July 9th, 2013: The Betty Nansen Teatret, Valby Jazz Festival Frederiksberg, Denmark [Joe Lovano guest with Benjamin Koppel and Kenny Werner]
July 12th, 2013: Ghent Jazz Festival Ghent, Belgium [Joe Lovano with Brussels Jazz Orchestra]
August 18th, 2013: Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre Salt lake City, UT USA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
August 28th, 2013: Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA USA [Wayne Shorter 80th Birthday Celebration - Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
August 28th, 2013: Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA USA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
August 31st, 2013: Cadillac Square, Detroit International Jazz Festiv Detroit, MI USA [Saxophone Summit featuring Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman & Ravi Coltrane]
September 16th, 2013: Jazz at Lincoln Center, Dizzy's Club New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano and the Berklee Global Jazz Ambassadors]
September 20th, 2013: Monterey County Fairgrounds, Main Stage Monterey, CA USA [Joe Lovano Us Five featuring James Weidman, Peter Slavov, Otis Brown III, and Francisco Mela]
September 22nd, 2013: Monterey County Fairgrounds, Main Stage Monterey, CA USA [Joe Lovano with Next Generation Jazz Orchestra]
September 24th, 2013: Wexner Performance Space Columbus, OH USA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron]
September 24th, 2013: Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus , OH USA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints Featuring: Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh and Joey Baron ]
September 25th, 2013: Williams Center for the Arts Easton, PA USA [Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints ]
October 11th, 2013: La Coursive La Rochelle, France [Saxophone Summit featuring Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman & Ravi Coltrane ]
October 12th, 2013: Theatre Femina Bordeaux, France [Saxophone Summit featuring Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman & Ravi Coltrane ]
October 13th, 2013: Salle Playel Paris, France [Saxophone Summit featuring Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Ravi Coltrane ]
October 19th, 2013: Teatre Auditori Sant Cugat, Barcelona Jazz Festiva Barcelona, Spain [Saxophone Summit featuring Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman & Ravi Coltrane]
October 29th, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slalov, Otis Brown III, and Francisco Mela]
October 30th, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slalov, Otis Brown III, and Francisco Mela]
October 31st, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slalov, Otis Brown III, and Francisco Mela]
November 1st, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slalov, Otis Brown III, and Francisco Mela]
November 2nd, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slalov, Otis Brown III, and Francisco Mela]
November 3rd, 2013: Village Vanguard New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slalov, Otis Brown III, and Francisco Mela]
November 8th, 2013: New Jersey Performing Arts Center Newark, NJ USA [Jazz and Samba featuring Joe Lovano]
December 3rd, 2013: The Stone New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano]
December 4th, 2013: The Stone New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano]
December 5th, 2013: The Stone New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano]
December 6th, 2013: The Stone New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano]
December 7th, 2013: The Stone New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano]
December 8th, 2013: The Stone New York, NY USA [Joe Lovano]
December 13th, 2013: Samueli Theater Costa Mesa, CA USA [McCoy Tyner Quartet with special guest Joe Lovano]
December 14th, 2013: Samueli Theater Costa Mesa, CA USA [McCoy Tyner Quartet with special guest Joe Lovano]
March 6th, 2014: Sanders Theatre, Harvard University Cambridge, MA USA [Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding & Leo Genovese: The Spring Quartet]
April 30th, 2014: Jazz At The Bistro St. Louis, MO USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slavov, Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela]
May 1st, 2014: Jazz At The Bistro St. Louis, MO USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slavov, Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela]
May 2nd, 2014: Jazz At The Bistro St. Louis, MO USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slavov, Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela]
May 3rd, 2014: Jazz At The Bistro St. Louis, MO USA [Joe Lovano Us Five Featuring James Weidman, Peter Slavov, Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela]
May 23rd, 2014: Centralstation Darmstadt, Germany [Guest with HR Big Band]
May 24th, 2014: hr-Sendesaal Frankfurt, Germany [Guest with HR Big Band]

Joe Lovano, joined by family and friends, delivers a virtuoso Tri-C JazzFest performance

IMN

April 29th, 2013

from cleveland.com

Joe Lovano, joined by family and friends, delivers a virtuoso Tri-C JazzFest performance
By: Chuck Yarborough

Treasures come in all forms. For some, it might be Spanish doubloons from an ancient shipwreck. To others, it might be a family heirloom, maybe the brooch mom’s great-great-great-great-grandma brought over from the old country.

For Clevelanders and jazz lovers, it’s gotta be Joe Lovano.

The city’s favorite son – and arguably its most successful performing jazz master – delivered a 90-minute lesson in just what the genre can be in a stunning performance at PlayhouseSquare’s intimate Allen Theatre. The show was part of the 34th annual Tri-C JazzFest – and did triple duty as a primer in the complexity and joy inherent in jazz, a 60th birthday celebration for Lovano and a showcase for the considerable jazz talent that calls Cleveland home.

To read the full article click here

The quintet has never sounded more adventurous or more comfortable

IMN

April 22nd, 2013

from chicagoreader.com

Joe Lovano Us Five

Over the course of his fruitful career, great postbop saxophonist Joe Lovano has made lots of concept records—paying tribute to a classic jazz album or a particular player, for instance, or taking inspiration from vocalists such as Frank Sinatra or Enrico Caruso—but he’s at his best when he focuses on his prodigious skills as an improviser. That’s what his band Us Five lets him do, and on its third album, Cross Culture (Blue Note), the quintet has never sounded more adventurous or more comfortable. Drummers Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela have developed an amazing rapport—as though they’re a single body with eight limbs and two brains—and they create wide-open polyrhythmic gullies into which Lovano and pianist James Weidman can pour their solos. Lovano delivers a lyrical take on Ellington and Strayhorn’s “Star Crossed Lovers,” the only tune on the record he didn’t write himself; the way he strips it down for maximum malleability is a perfect example of the vitality and pliability that makes Us Five tick. Original bassist Esperanza Spalding appears on four tracks of Cross Culture, but tonight she’s replaced by Peter Slavov—he plays on the rest of the record, and in her absence he’s become the band’s working bassist.

To read the original article click here

Joe Lovano comes home to perform with family and friends at Tri-C JazzFest

IMN

April 22nd, 2013

from cleveland.com

Joe Lovano comes home to perform with family and friends at Tri-C JazzFest
By: Chuck Yarborough

Clevelander Joe Lovano had a ready influence growing up – his father, tenor sax man Tony “Big T” Lovano.

That’s why when Lovano the son returns to the Tri-C JazzFest — a gig he first started playing as a bandleader in the late 1980s — he’ll do part of the show with his current band, Us Five, to play music from his latest release, “Cross Culture,” and part with a collection of Cleveland all-stars. Those all-stars include his brother, Tony Lovano on drums and his 85-year-old Uncle Carl Lovano on trumpet.

To read the full article click here

Cleveland’s Joe Lovano Comes home For JazzFest

IMN

April 20th, 2013

from coolcleveland.com

Cleveland’s Joe Lovano Comes home For JazzFest

It’s going to be quite an afternoon for jazz at the Allen Theatre. As soon as Bill Frisell’s Beautiful Dreamers wind up, Grammy-winning Cleveland-born sax player Joe Lovano and his group Us Five will take the stage.

Lovano left Cleveland after high school to become one of the stars of the jazz world. He was born into a musical family; his father Tony “Big T” Lovano was well known in the local clubs. Big T’s son, now 60, went on to international acclaim, playing with a long list of major musicians and recording dozens of albums in his 40-plus year career.

To read the full article click here

Tri-C JazzFest makes a case for genre, hoping to broaden audience

IMN

April 19th, 2013

from cleveland.com

Tri-C JazzFest makes a case for genre, hoping to broaden audience
By: Chuck Yarborough

No matter where you live — from a bustling metropolis to a wide spot in the road with a flashing yellow light as the only traffic governance — you can hear music on your radio.

Maybe it’s rock, maybe country, maybe hip-hop, top 40, urban, oldies or even polka. But the odds are that unless your music comes from satellite radio or you happen to be awake at 3 a.m., the closest you’ll get to traditional jazz is in the elevator Muzak at work. And that’s what makes the mission of the Tri-C JazzFest, which launches its 34th annual foray into the genre at 5 p.m. today with a pre-show party for tonight’s Aaron Neville and Dr. John concert at Playhouse Square’s State Theatre, such a vital one.

To read the full article click here

Galaxy of stars lights up Tri-C JazzFest

IMN

April 17th, 2013

from examiner.com

Galaxy of stars lights up Tri-C JazzFest
By: Frank Kuznik

Jazz fans will have all they can handle and more at the Tri-C Jazz Fest, which opens at the State Theater in Cleveland on Friday, April 19. This year’s program packs an incredible amount of music into 10 days, ranging from hard bop to smooth jazz, with a lineup that encompasses living legends, a departed giant, rising stars and a tasty sampling of regional flavors.

“We know there’s a chance of wearing out the audiences,” says Terri Pontremoli, the festival’s managing director. “But we really hope that people will take advantage of the opportunity to immerse themselves in the music.”

To read the full article click here

Artist's Choice: Joe Lovano on Paul Motian

IMN

March 25th, 2013

from jazztimes.com

Artist’s Choice: Joe Lovano on Paul Motian
By: Joe Lovano

One of the most swinging and creative drummers in jazz history, Paul Motian had a sound, touch, feeling and approach all his own that developed throughout his lifetime, and his relationships fueled his ideas. As a composer he also had a story; his pieces expressed his strong personality and experiences. My focus in this article is to highlight Paul’s innovative contributions as a drummer, composer, collaborator and leader.

“Conception Vessel”
_Paul Motian
Conception Vessel_ (ECM, 1973)
This album was Paul’s first as a leader and put into motion the amazing body of work that resulted over the next 40 years or so. This duet with Keith Jarrett speaks volumes to me and is one of my favorite compositions of Paul’s.

“(If the) Misfits (Wear It)”
Keith Jarrett
Fort Yawuh (Impulse!, 1973)
I had the great fortune to hear the Keith Jarrett Quartet with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Paul live in Boston at the Jazz Workshop, just before they recorded this amazing album live at the Village Vanguard. Before his explosive solo, Paul is swinging so hard in his accompaniment and yet playing free as a bird. Pure music!

To read the full list click here

A Conversation with Joe Lovano about The Tribute Concert for Paul Motian

IMN

March 18th, 2013

from http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com

Podcast 340: A Conversation with Joe Lovano about The Tribute Concert for Paul Motian

Symphony Space in Manhattan will be presenting an all-star cast of jazz greats on March 22, coming together to pay tribute to their colleague, legendary drummer and composer, the late Paul Motian, voted number one in the 2012 Downbeat Critics Poll Hall of Fame. One of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Motian played with Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley, and many other bandleaders, including Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Mose Allison, Tony Scott, Stan Getz, and Johnny Griffin.

The concert, curated by Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano features members of Paul Motian’s distinguished ensembles, such as the early 1980’s Quintet, his longstanding trio with Frisell and Lovano, the Electric Bebop Band, Tethered Moon, and Trio 2000. They reunite to play his music as well as perform in solos, duos, trios, quartets, quintets and larger ensembles, with repertoire and program order to be announced. Joshua Jackson, host of “The Checkout” on WBGO, will serve as MC for the evening.

To read the full article and listen to the podcast here

Lovano’s Us Five Strikes Gold at Mint

IMN

March 15th, 2013

from downbeat.com

Lovano’s Us Five Strikes Gold at Mint
By: Sean J. O’Connell

On Jan. 22, saxophonist Joe Lovano brought Us Five to the Mint in Los Angeles. The quintet—including pianist James Weidman, bassist Esperanza Spalding and drummers Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela—played for nearly two hours and matched the giddy enthusiasm of the standing-room-only audience of 200.

Lovano was a towering presence throughout the night. The spotlight reflected off his large silver medallion as he wordlessly gazed above the crowd. He opened with a brief solo intro before the band jumped in on “Us Five,” a track from the group’s 2009 Folk Art album. From there, each band member took turns introducing themselves with a fast-paced solo.

To read the full article click here

JAZZ CONVERSATIONS: WAYNE SHORTER & JOE LOVANO, PT. 3

IMN

March 15th, 2013

Joe Lovano sits down with Wayne Shorter for Part 3 of a discussion about music and beyond. Now available from Blue Note Records: Wayne Shorter Quartet’s WITHOUT A NET & Joe Lovano Us Five’s CROSS CULTURE.

To watch part 3 of the interview click here

JAZZ CONVERSATIONS: WAYNE SHORTER & JOE LOVANO, PT. 2

IMN

March 8th, 2013

Joe Lovano sits down with Wayne Shorter for Part 2 of a discussion about music and beyond. Now available from Blue Note Records: Wayne Shorter Quartet’s WITHOUT A NET & Joe Lovano Us Five’s CROSS CULTURE.

To watch part 2 of the interview click here

JAZZ CONVERSATIONS: WAYNE SHORTER & JOE LOVANO, PT. 1

IMN

March 5th, 2013

Joe Lovano sits down with Wayne Shorter for Part 1 of a discussion about music and beyond. Now available from Blue Note Records: Wayne Shorter Quartet’s WITHOUT A NET & Joe Lovano Us Five’s CROSS CULTURE.

To watch the video click here

Lovano seeks “universal musical languages”

IMN

February 25th, 2013

from jazztimes.com

Joe Lovano Us Five Cross Culture
Thomas Conrad

Joe Lovano’s Us Five is a unique, drummer-intensive band, Francisco Mela in the left channel, Otis Brown III in the right. James Weidman and Lionel Loueke (a guest on six tracks) play piano and guitar. Esperanza Spalding, now reconciling sideperson work and her post-Grammy solo career, shares bass duties with Peter Slavov. All fulfill defined ensemble roles in support of Lovano. Everyone contributes to the nuanced group interplay.

Their other two Blue Note albums, Folk Art and Bird Songs, sat toward the top of the jazz polls in 2009 and 2011. Cross Culture will make the board in 2013, but probably not at the top. It is a quality project, but in a specialized niche. Lovano seeks “universal musical languages” and “energy that … precedes all the styles in jazz.” Layers of percussion, exotic instruments like the tarogato, Loueke’s guitar colors from Africa: If we are not in the realm of world music, we are somewhere close.

To read the full review click “here”:

Guardian (UK) Review of Cross Culture

IMN

February 22nd, 2013

from guardian.co.uk

Joe Lovano Us Five: Cross Culture – review
By: John Fordham

Saxophonist Joe Lovano’s vast experience gives him a profound awareness of what jazz has been, and feeds a fertile imagination for what it can be. Cross Culture is more or less the two-drummers band that made the excellent Bird Songs in 2011 – with Esperanza Spalding putting in a bass appearance, and gifted west African guitarist Lionel Loueke guesting – in a session celebrating idioms and instruments from all over the world. Lovano’s Ornette Coleman-influenced melodic ear runs free against loose-tempo drumming on Myths and Legends, and explores a kind of abstract blues with Loueke on the title track. Some of the music is infectiously asymmetrical swing, some of it borders on free improv, and Royal Roost is a hip mid-tempo blues displaying Lovano’s and pianist James Weidman’s bebop fluency. PM (written for the late drummer Paul Motian) beautifully balances flying sax variations, stop-start blurts, and a simmering, waterfall-like cymbal sound. This music’s structural latticework is often on display, but the playing mostly floats blissfully free of it.

To read the original review click here

"...a music that seems to exist firmly in two places at once"

IMN

February 20th, 2013

from online.wsj.com

Joe Lovano Us Five
The Allen Room (Jazz at Lincoln Center)*
By:Will Friedwald

Generally speaking, the bigger the band, the more support a soloist has. But leave it to saxophonist Joe Lovano to expand his group in a way that makes him work harder: Us Five, which has just released its third album, “Cross Culture,” features two drummers (Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela), two bassists (Peter Slavov and superstar Esperanza Spalding), pianist James Weidman and, on some tracks, guitarist Lionel Loueke, who becomes a de facto second keyboardist. It’s essentially a double quartet with the iron-skeletoned Mr. Lovano filling the roles of two sax players at once, especially when he plays the amazing aulochrome. You’re not only seeing double when you look on the bandstand at the Allen Room, you’re hearing double—a music that seems to exist firmly in two places at once, within the rules of bebop harmonies and yet somehow completely free-form, controlled and totally open-ended.

In addition to the “Cross Culture” album, Blue Note has also made available a video of Mr. Lovano and Us Five playing the opening track, “Blessings in May” (filmed live at the Mint in Los Angeles), and the two performances are so different that it’s hard to believe they’re the same tune. The live performance opens with a dramatic unaccompanied cadenza, which leads into a fast bop number; it’s several segments into the piece before we hear anything that resembles the recording. On camera, the composition is notable for the way it touches on so many different ideas; there are parts when Mr. Lovano just cuts loose and goes into business for himself, but other spots where he reins himself in to interact with one or another in the band.

To read the full article click here