Home Articles posted by Ekreader (Page 13)

Exploring the Jazz Trumpet of David Weiss – When Words Fail…

One of the albums that has been in my rotation this week is When Words Fail from jazz trumpeter David Weiss. David Weiss (born October 21, 1964 in New York City) is a jazz trumpeter and the founder of The New Jazz Composers Octet, a group dedicated to innovation in jazz. He studied music at North Texas State University, graduating in 1986. Returning to New York, he performed with Jaki Byard, Frank Foster, and Jimmy Heath. He continued his studies with trumpeters Tommy Turrentine and Bill Hardman, as well as attending Barry Harris’s jazz classes. Eventually leading an “After Hours”…

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Exploring the Jazz Trumpet of Seattle’s Thomas Marriott – Urban Folklore

The other day I posted about the new album Motif   from the Greg Abate Quartet, which is among the most added albums on the JazzWeek chart. Another album among those albums, actually with one more add then Greg is the new release from Thomas Marriott Urban Folklore. The Seattle-based trumpeter is not a stranger to the national radio airplay charts, as three of his eight albums as a leader have made it into the top-ten. His 2009 release East-West Trumpet  made it all the way to number one! His albums have been featured on NPR’s “Morning Edition” and his 2010 release…

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Jazz Album of the Day – Motif from the Greg Abate Quartet

A good point guard on the basketball court elevates the players around him and makes them better players. That’s just what jazz saxophonist, flutist,  and composer Greg Abate does on his latest release Motif and as a result the album is currently among the most added albums on the JazzWeek Chart and I look forward to tracking its upward movement on the chart, over the coming weeks! It doesn’t hurt though, that the other members of his quartet are, like Greg professors at the Berklee College Music, even so, on the album Greg’s compositions give each member of the quartet room to…

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Today in Music – Oct 26, 1940 – Jazz Trumpeter, Doctor and Teacher -Eddie Henderson is born!!

So as many of us struggle to find ourselves, we try to do many things in trying to plot our course through life. Some of us succeed, others of us, while we muddle through life, we never find our true calling, and while we have lived a comfortable life, we know that something is missing that true passion. What sometimes makes you feel even worse is when you find someone who excels at several things! One such person celebrates his birthday today! Imagine Louis Armstrong gives you your first few trumpet lesson at the age of nine. At sixteen, Miles Davis…

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Exploring the Music of Rodney Whitaker – When We Find Ourselves Alone – “Is He Ever Alone?

Rodney Whitaker’s new release When We Find Ourselves Alone his been in my music rotation for a while now and I am enjoying it more and more with each listen. After listening to the album several times, I went to his web page to find out a little more amount the Mack Avenue bass player. What I discovered aside from the fact that he has released seven albums as a leader or co-leader, but he has recorded and recorded with a plethora of artist that include:  Jimmy Heath, Eric Reed, Cyrus Chestnut, Vanessa Rubin, Kathleen Battle, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall,…

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This Date in Music – October 17, 1976 – Jazz Guitarist Gary Tu was born!!

When you listen to as many albums as I do over the course of a year, there are many that you forget, not because that they are not great, but because your mind can only remember so much! Anyway looking back at the albums that I wrote about on whatever day it is, serves as a good reminder! Today’s reminder is about jazz guitarist Gary Tu, who is celebrating his 38th birthday today. Here’s is last years post…… and Happy Birthday Gary!! (oh, by the way I’m listening to his album Looking East right now!!) Among the Jazz Artist who…

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Exploring the New Age Music of Germany’s Uwe Gronau – Thoughts of Tomorrow!!

The other day I visited the Zone Music Reporter Chart for August 2014 to check out what’s new in the world of New Age music. As I looked down the chartthe album at No 7 Thoughts of Tomorrow caught my attention, not just for the title,but also for the artist’s name Uwe Gronau. So I went to Spotify, figuring that I’d give the album the 30 to 60 second test and come back later to give it a full listen after checking out more of the albums on the chart. I think the album stayed long enough that I heard and…

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This Date in Music – October 16, 1969 – Jazz Trumpeter Roy Hargrove was born!

Today is the birthday of another of the great musicians of the last 20 years, who I  discovered last year when I listened to his album Earfood– what’s new!! It’s what happens when you’re paying more attention to the past and not the present. Anyway, today is the 45th birthday of trumpeter Roy Hargrove. From All About Jazz…. Trumpeter Roy Hargrove was born in Waco, TX on October 16, 1969. Inspired by the gospel music he heard in church on Sundays and the R&B and funk music that played on the radio, Roy began learning the trumpet in the fourth grade. By…

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Jazz Artists of the Day – Lee Konitz and Pharoah Sanders

Lee Konitz and Pharoah Sanders share an October 13th birthday    Lee Konitz And Pharoah Sanders   Two iconic jazz saxophone players share October 13th as their birthday. One, is alto sax player Lee Konitz. Konitrz is considered one of the main figures in the cool jazz movement. However, Konitz also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings throughout his career. The other,is  tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Sanders is an important figure in the development of free jazz. In 1949 and 1950 Konitz was a member of Miles Davis’s band that recorded with the tracks that became the Birth of the Cool album. From Wikipedia: The…

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Jazz Artists of the Day – Lee Konitz and Pharoah Sanders on their shared birthday – October 13th!!

Two iconic jazz saxophone players share October 13th as their birthdays. one, alto sax player Lee Konitz, is considered one of the main figures in the cool jazz movement, although Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings throughout his career. The other, tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders is an important figure in the development of free jazz. Konitz recorded with Miles Davis  in 1949 and 1950 tracks that became the Birth of the Cool album. From Wikipedia.. The presence of Konitz and other white musicians in the group angered some black jazz players, many of whom were unemployed at the time, but Davis…

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