Come Out and Play with me on FATHERS DAY JUNE 19

 George Kahn Quartet

Follow Your Heart

Greeting from the French countryside near Coutances.  Today we will go for a walk on the beach, and then go to The Sous Les Pommiers Jazz Festival to hear Tigran Hamasyan.

I get back in June, and I hope you can join me for a special FATHERS DAY JAZZ CONCERT ON JUNE 19 at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. 

Invite your favorite father! Or fathers: invite your children to experience the excitement of live music IN PERSON AND NOT ON A VIDEO SCREEN!

Here is a live sample of what what we will play that night, a beautiful original ballad called Follow Your Heart.

https://youtu.be/s0nAGI6FS8M

 

Join me and THE GEORGE KAHN QUARTET for a special Fathers Day show on June 19th at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood featuring Pat Kelley on guitar, David Hughes on Bass and the amazing Clayton Cameron on drums.. Door open at 6:00 PM, music at 7:30 PM. RSVP by calling (323) 466-2210

OR: CLICK HERE to buy TICKETS

Musical Moments #114 - Stefon Harris

 Stefon Harris

I Fall In Love Too Easily

A great way to ease into the weekend is by listening to a jazz standard played by a master.

Stefon Harris carries on the jazz vibraphone tradition of Milt Jackson and Gary Burton. A native of Albany, New York, Harris intended to work for the New York Philharmonic until he heard the music of Charlie Parker.

He is one of a handful of "young" (as in under 50) players that have really connected with new jazz audiences, playing and recording with Charlie Hunter, Christian Scott, Diana Krall and many others.

https://youtu.be/vFFAqsV9JxQ 

And by the way, please join THE GEORGE KAHN QUARTET for a special Fathers Day show on June 19th at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. Door open at 6:00 PM, music at 7:30 PM. RSVP by calling (323) 466-2210

More info: CLICK HERE to buy TICKETS

Musical Moments #113 - Esperanza Spalding

Exposure

Another favorite of the Grammys (although she did not win this year) is Esperanza Spalding. I am not a real fan of her music, but her talent and artistry is undeniable, and beyond category.

She was born in October 1984 in Portland, Oregon. She was playing piano and violin by the time she was five, and was concertmaster of  the Chamber Music Society of Oregon by the time she was 15.

Spalding picked up the bass when she entered high school at 15. By the age of 16 she had dropped out of high school, got her GED, and received a scholarship to Portland State University to study music. Her bass teacher there suggested she apply to the Berklee School of Music in Boston, and after her audition she received a full scholarship to the school. The day she graduated in 2005 she was hired as a professor at The Berklee School, the youngest ever. 

Spalding started broadcasting the writing, arranging, and recording of Exposure at 9am PST on September 12, 2017 via Facebook Live for 77 hours straight. The live stream took place at NRG Recording Studios and included breaks for sleep and sustenance, adding a layer of reality-TV voyeurism to the experiment. Spalding chose to do the experiment in 77 hours because she was once told by a reverend that "seven is a divine number. It’s the number of completion. It represents the earthly culmination of a divine thought", and she enjoyed that sentiment. She has stated that the premise of Exposure is that all the facets of creators only need the right environment to coalesce into completeness.

This video comes from that 77 hour "session". Esperanza plays bass, sings, and simultaneously walks the band through the complex composition, calling out changes and directions as part of her vocals. It is one of the most amazing examples of live creativity that I have ever seen.

https://youtu.be/966ZswEDkyw

and here is the link to the final recording:

https://youtu.be/vfhaXIIFFSA

Musical Moments #112 - Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette & Gonzalo Rubalcaba

 Skyline: 

Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette & Gonzalo Rubalcaba

Gypsy

I am a member of the Grammys, but not a fan of their award ceremony, which (no mater how they tweak it) mostly ends up a based on recognizable names and record company clout. Having said that, I was very happy to see this album on the indie 5Passion label win "Best Instrumental Jazz Album" this year.

The album falls solidly into the ECM/Blue Note Records style. It is advertised as a Ron Carter album, but it could easily be called the "Gonzalo Rubalcaba Trio" or a Jack DeJohnette album - they are all equals on this outing.

Is Ron's name first because of his age or the alphabet? We will never know, but he certainly has seniority (he turns 85 in May, and as of 2016 the Guinness Book of World Records claimed his appearances on 2,221 recording sessions makes him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history.)

I love the fact that the record company released a couple of live-in-studio videos from the recording session. This music is clearly not everyone's cup of whisky (note the YouTube video has only been watched 21,000 times, while "Silk Sonic" has been viewed 1,436,000 times after four days on Youtube https://youtu.be/-nt_u4vo-DI )

So let me walk you through the highlights of GYPSY with a time chart:

00:00 The song starts with a free improv by Ron and Gonzalo.

01:13 Ron starts a walking groove, Jack picks it up and off they go

01:45 Gonzalo joins in. Is he reading "the head?" Or just playing? You got me!

(Note: many video cuts to the band listening to the playback later - so cool!)

04:45 Gonzalo goes full out "Cecil Taylor" on the piano

05:20 Time to reconsider, then Ron goes double-time

06:10 Jack takes over with a very subtle drum solo

06:52 Now they are wailing! Gonzalo pulls off an incredible uninterrupted line for 30 seconds. Yow!

07:30 Head out. It looks like Gonzalo is reading the music again, and

08:20 final chord, all together now!

This is JAZZ at its finest, respect for the music and each other.

Ron Carter - Bass Jack DeJohnette - Drums Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Piano

https://youtu.be/OScbxZnIZ80

Musical Moments #111 - Midori

 Midori

Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy

Midori was born in Osaka in 1971 and began her violin studies with her mother, Setsu Goto, at an early age. In 1982, conductor Zubin Mehta invited the then 11-year-old Midori to perform with the New York Philharmonic in the orchestra’s annual New Year’s Eve concert, where the foundation was laid for her following career. 

We got to see Midori earlier this year in recital. Now 50 years old, she continues to tour, doing recitals as well as performances with orchestras around the world. It is hard to believe that this "child prodigy" has turned 50!

In 1988, to celebrate Leonard Bernstein's 70th birthday, Midori (at that point a mature 16 years old) was invite to perform. She chose the show piece "Carmen Fantasy" by Pablo de Sarasate. Written in 1882 on themes from the opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet, it is considered to be one of the most challenging and technically demanding pieces for the violin. Seiji Ozawa conducts The Boston Symphony Orchestra.

https://youtu.be/DI7E04suRH0

Musical Moments 110 - Victor Borge

 Victor Borge

Dance of the Comedians

Victor Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum on 3 January 1909 in Copenhagen, Denmark, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family. His parents, Bernhard and Frederikke Rosenbaum, were both musicians: his father a violist in the Royal Danish Orchestra,[5][6] and his mother a pianist. Borge began piano lessons at the age of two, and it was soon apparent that he was a prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was eight years old, and in 1918 was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

Borge played his first major concert in 1926 at the Danish Odd Fellow Palæet (The Odd Fellow's Lodge building) concert hall. After a few years as a classical concert pianist, he started his now famous "stand-up" act, with the signature blend of piano music and jokes. 

When the German armed forces occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940, during World War II, Borge was playing a concert in neutral Sweden and decided to go to Finland.He traveled to America on the United States Army transport American Legion, the last neutral ship to make it out of Finland, and arrived 28 August 1940, with only $20 (about $369 today), with $3 going to the customs fee.

Borge went on to have a very successful career in comedy and music in the United States. He started the Comedy in Music show at John Golden Theatre in New York City on 2 October 1953. Comedy in Music became the longest running one-man show in the history of theater with 849 performances when it closed on 21 January 1956.

He continued to perform until his death in 2000, performing about 60 shows when he was 90 in 1999. Over the years he performed with The Chicago Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, The London Philharmonic, and in this video the Boston Symphony.

There is not enough humor in the world right now - lighten up, folks!!!

https://youtu.be/jDI1XkempTo

Musical Moments #109 - Bill Charlap

 

All The Things You Are

 The other week I had the pleasure of seeing Bill Charlap play piano at the Catalina Jazz Club.

 Bill is a phenomenal New York based jazz pianist who rarely travels west of the Mississippi. He has the ability to play like Art Tatum, Bill Evans and Errol Garner all rolled into one. This video, recorded at a radio station KPLU in 2012, gives you a little sense of his talent.

In 2000, he was signed to Blue Note Records and received two Grammy Award nominations, for Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein and The Bill Charlap Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard. They are both wonderful recordings

In this video Bill takes on two jazz standards, and gives a little talk in between the two songs. Ellington's Sophisticated Lady rounds out the set.

https://youtu.be/zO4UmbBQTQw