The 21st edition of the Puerto Rico Heineken JazzFest kicked off in grand fashion this week. Not only is the festival in its 21st year, but it is also celebrating a posthumous tribute to Dizzy Gillespie and the Cuban Conga player Chano Pozo. One of Gillespie and Pozo’s contributions to music was that during their lifetime they managed to create a fusion between Afro-Cuban music and American Jazz; creating the genre we now call Latin Jazz.
In the last few years there has been a constant rise in online music education, in the realm of jazz guitarists and shred guitarist who are willing to provide guitar lessons to students willing to pay the right amount. The primary vehicle in these lessons is usually a program called Skype. In my experience taking online lessons some of these may cost one from $50 to $160 depending on the time and the player. One of the consequences I found with some of these lessons is that the program one using to stream to the other musicians can at any moment fail either video or audio wise. Another negative aspect is that there is usually no follow through after the lessons and one can’t review the lesson if one doesn’t record it. I believe that the Jimmy Bruno’s Guitar Workshop gives a good option for these musicians who are frustrated with other technology and are looking for more bang for their buck.
With teachers like Johnny Smith and Jim Hall, Bill Frisell has always had one foot in the Jazz world. The other was free to explore countless other genres and styles including fusion, fingerstyle, and even progressive folk. He also has a penchant for ample sonic manipulation, including eccentric effects and loops. That’s why his new album, Sign Of Life: Music For 858 Quartet, is such a far departure. In this instance, he creates melodies and arrangements by exploiting his bluegrass and folk chops, inducing an engrossing vibe and sound.
The Desert and the City is the first release for guitarist Mike Rood. He began his study of guitar at age 8 with lessons from family friend John Patitucci. Rood also studied at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. There he learned from guitarists Vic Juris and Adam Rogers.
It is always a pleasure to receive new material from an established artist, although I do enjoy new musicians and experiences as well. Watching familiar players as they develop, mature and change with the times is truly fascinating.
Round Red Light is the debut recording from Barcelona guitarist Dave Juarez and the album is comprised of all original material. Juarez has assembled a fine ensemble to present his compositions for this recording session, including John Escreet (Piano), Seamus Blake (Saxophone), Lauren Falls (Bass) and Bastian Weinhold (Drums) are solid players. The music is modern in nature and the melodies fairly complex.
Michigan has had a rough go of things in recent years. The economy has taken a pounding and the State has become the poster child for the struggling middle class as America moves into the new century. But, regardless of what the unemployment rate is, how many jobs GM just cut from their factories or where the State budget is going, Michigan has always managed to produce new and exciting music and some of the best musicians in the nation. Bassist, composer and arranger Tom Knific is just such an artist. The Western Michigan University jazz studies faculty has consistently produced solid recordings of hard-swinging, heavy groovin’ jazz throughout his long and successful career as a performer and recording artist. His latest album, Knific: The Muse, is no exception as it showcases all of the things that have made Knific the premier bassist in the Wolverine State for going on two decades.
Aaron Shragge is a young trumpet and Shakuhachi flute player who, on his first recording date as a leader, collaborates with New York virtuoso guitarist Ben Monder in an intimate duo setting. The duo setting of wind instrument and guitar is certainly not a departure for Monder, whose previous record Bloom was recorded with Saxophonist Bill McHenry, a record on which they both bewitchingly achieve loose, ethereal atmospheres. The Key is in the Window is a reflection of Shragge’s musical influences, such as the music of Shakuhachi flute and North Indian Vocal style music. Aaron Shragge, in my opinion, creates a remarkable bond between Oriental and Indian traditions with his own Western musical roots. The talented multi-instrumentalist pays tribute to his influences by performing pieces from the Shakuhachi repertoire, such as “Choshi” and “Kyorei,” as well as music from the North Indian Classical tradition.
In previous eras, there seemed to be two very distinct camps in the jazz world, those that prefer to play “traditional”, bebop-oriented jazz and those that took a more modern approach to the music, which posed a problem in itself since one person’s modern jazz is Wayne Shorter circa 1970 and to someone else it’s Ben Monder. In recent years, it seems that the jazz world has evolved a new subgenre, that of the “Modern Bebop” player, one who’s playing is steeped in the traditional jazz vocabulary, but that are also open to modern harmonic, rhythmic and melodic concepts as well. Sheryl Bailey is just such a player that fits into this new category of jazzer, and her latest album, For All Those Living, is a showcase for her traditionally steeped, yet modernly tinged, approach to jazz guitar, composition and improvisation.
Learning to play jazz guitar, especially Bebop jazz guitar, often seems like a daunting task to say the least. Many books exist on the subject, but many times these books just further to complicate the matter, providing pages and pages of theory and exercises without ever fully explaining how to take all of this information and turn it into an improvised solo. As well, it is often best to study one on one with an accomplished jazz guitarist to get the most out of one’s Bebop learning experience, but many of us don’t live in a city with such a performer and can’t travel to New York or Chicago to take a guitar lesson.
