Eclectic mix of international artists touch down this fall
One
of the more exciting themes at each San
Francisco Jazz Festival is the proliferation of
talented young musicians, brimming with creative energy.
With a wide-ranging cast of instrumentalists and vocalists
whose budding careers are on a sharply ascendant trajectory,
the 24th
season is
no exception.
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| Stefon
Harris |
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| Lionel
Loueke |
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| Ana
Moura |
The
SFJAZZ E-News recently reported on two Festival artists named “#1
Rising Stars” on their respective instruments in the 2006 DownBeat Critics
Poll: Stefon
Harris (vibes) and SFJAZZ Collective
member Miguel
Zenón (alto saxophone). The two are
featured in a double bill (10/26), with Harris fronting
his eclectic, electric band Blackout, and Zenón’s quartet drawing
from the altoist’s
recent exploration of his native Puerto Rican jíbara music. Read
about this project from the online
liner notes for Zenón's CD,
Jíbaro.
The following night, up-and-coming guitarist Lionel Loueke and
his group Gilfema open for the Cyrus
Chestnut-Russell Malone Quartet.
Composed of Benin-native Loueke, Hungarian drummer Ferenc Nemeth and Swedish-Italian bassist Massimo
Biolcati, the trio plays an upbeat,
intelligent fusion of jazz and world music.
Another
2006 DownBeat poll winner for “Rising Star Trumpet,” (his
fourth such consecutive honor), Jeremy
Pelt (10/25)
has four albums under his belt, as well as a distinguished record
of side work with the Mingus Big Band, World Saxophone Quartet,
and Wayne Shorter. His Festival performance with elder statesmen Jimmy
and Tootie Heath is an intriguing grouping of experience and youthful
verve.
Like
a lot of teens, vocalist Ana
Moura (11/12) wanted to be a rock and roll singer.
Her decision to sing the traditional Portuguese fado has been
greeted by critics and audiences with widespread acclaim, including
a nomination for the prestigious Dutch Edison Award for her latest
album Aconteceu (already a hit in Europe, and releasing stateside
in October).
And don’t
forget the rousing sounds of the SFJAZZ
All-Star High School Ensemble. The band’s 2006-2007 lineup
kicks off the Festival October 17 with a free
concert in the heart of San Francisco, Union Square.
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Marisa Monte, featured in a cover article in the New York
Times' Fall Arts Preview (9/10/06). |
The
New York Times Fall Preview Features SFJAZZ headliners
This
past weekend, The New York Times "Fall
Arts Preview" featured a number of Festival artists with
exhilarating new work that is sure to help stave off the
autumn chill.
A
front-page feature on Brazilian vocalist Marisa
Monte (11/4-11/5) celebrated “one
of those supple, knowing voices that make Brazilian pop so inviting.” Her
two stylistically diverse new albums out this week —one tackling the
samba, the other Brazilian pop— are both “wonderfully introspective.” [Note:
Monte's 11/4 concert is sold out. Some tickets for her
11/5 show still remain, but are going fast. Buy
tickets online
today.]
The Times describes
guitarist Nels
Cline’s latest
offering, New Monastery (releasing 9/26) as “an overview
of the knotty and beautiful music” of Andrew Hill. The double bill
of Hill
and Cline (10/29) promises to be a wide-ranging
celebration of the hard bop pioneer’s
compositions.
 Myra
Melford's (11/4) latest offering The Image
of Your Body is "the definitive statement of her new phase: long,
slowly unfolding, rapturous themes, crossed with the jagged
metrical discipline of new jazz.” She'll perform her original
suite, "The
Whole Place Goes Up," inspired by the Sufi poetry of Rumi and al-Jawahiri.
The
"Fall Arts Preview" also notes an exciting New York-only collaboration
by the hip-hop flavored pianist (and Spring Season 2006 artist)
Robert Glasper with two Festival artists, guitarist Lionel
Loueke (10/27) and pop-funk
bassist and singer Meshell
Ndegeocello (10/22).
 Get
the complete list of upcoming shows and albums
(Be warned, however, that articles are
typically only available for free on The
New York Times Web site for a few days.)
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TONIGHT
SFJAZZ
Members-only
Listening Party
with Zakir Hussain
Thurs, Sept 14 • 6-8pm
Masonic Center (California Room)
One
final reminder: SFJAZZ Members will enjoy a
rare up-close-and-personal evening with Indian
tabla phenomenon and world-music trailblazer Zakir
Hussain.
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Wednesday,
Sept 20, 12-1:30PM
Levi's Plaza | San Francisco |
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Son de Madera |
Los Angeles-based ensemble Son de Madera pulses
with the vibrant joy of son jarocho, a wonderful Mexican
folk style born in long-ago Veracruz from a fusion of Spanish,
African, and Native American rhythms. |
Complete
Summerfest Schedule
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| Pre-Festival
Buzz... |
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The
Mercury News calls the San Francisco Jazz
Festival "arguably the best
extended jazz event on the continent." Read
the article
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Kudos to last week’s pair of winners, Don Guralnick of
Berkeley,
and Darrell Hamamoto, who knew that Lil Hardin-Armstrong was the pianist
for Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Hot Sevens, as well as his
second wife.
And
now this week's question:
 Robert
Altman's 1996 film Kansas City featured a stunning cast
of modern day jazz musicians. Which four
festival artists appeared in the film as
musicians at the Hey-Hey Club?
 E-mail
Your Answer (include "Kansas City"
in the subject line)
The fifth
person to answer correctly will receive two (2)
tickets to Planet
Drum on September 23.
The
fine print: Our contest winner
will be notified directly by email, and
both the winner's name and the correct answer
to the question will be published in next
week's e-News. The following are not eligible
to enter: employees and current contractors
of SFJAZZ and its seasonal sponsors; past
e-News Jazz Trivia Contest winners. |
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