The Week in Jazz is your roundup of new and noteworthy stories from the jazz world. It’s a one-stop destination for the music news you need to know. Let’s take it from the top.
Noteworthy
Previously Unheard John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy Live Recordings: Impulse!/UMe will issue never-before-heard live recordings from John Coltrane’s 1961 residency at the Village Gate with a lineup of musicians that included McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, Elvin Jones and the fiery playing of Eric Dolphy. Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy will be released globally on July 14 on Impulse! Records/UMe.
New Jon Batiste Single and Video: GRAMMY-winning artist Jon Batiste has released his latest single and music video, “Be Who You Are (Real Magic)” for the Coke Studio program. The song, co-written by Batiste, brings together a stellar lineup of collaborators, including global breakouts NewJeans, Camilo, Cat Burns, and J.I.D. Watch the official music video via the player below.
New Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf Reissues: Jazz Dispensary will reissue Jack DeJohnette’s Sorcery (1974), Idris Muhammad’s Black Rhythm Revolution! (1970), and Leon Spencer’s Where I’m Coming From (1973) as part of its Top Shelf series of high-quality, hand-picked rarities. These reissues, out on July 14, will mark the first wide vinyl release of all three albums in over 40 years.
Terence Blanchard Appointed SFJAZZ Executive Artistic Director: SFJAZZ has announced the appointment of Terence Blanchard as Executive Artistic Director. This new position will lead the organization’s artistic programming and guide its overall creative direction. Blanchard’s appointment comes as SFJAZZ Founder Randall Kline prepares to step down this year from the organization he founded in 1983. Listen to our recent JAZZIZ Podcast interview with Kline via the player below.
Louis Armstrong House Museum Announced New Center Opening: The Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens, has announced July 6 as the official opening date of its new building, preserving and expanding the legacy and ideals of Louis Armstrong. Grounded in the new building design by Caples Jefferson Architects, the new Center will be a permanent home for the 60,000-piece Louis Armstrong Archive and a 75-seat venue offering performances, lectures, films and educational experiences.
New Albums
Simona Premazzi, Wave in Gravity (Jazz Trail): Italian pianist Simona Premazzi continues her momentous creative journey with Wave in Gravity, her sixth album and first solo piano recording. “This was my first time recording a full-length solo album in the studio,” she explains via a press release. “The pieces I chose have been a source of meaning and understanding of my connection with music – the way it challenges me, gives me security, and also the way it scares me.” Wave in Gravity was issued on February 17.
Aymée Nuviola, Havana Nocturne (Worldwide): Cuban Vocalist Aymée Nuviola displays her assured command of the jazz language on Havana Nocturne while paying tribute to her enchanting native city of Havana. This elegant 13-track collection also features acclaimed pianist Kemuel Roig and takes cues from Filin, a Cuban musical movement described as a jazz-influenced romantic song that rose to prominence in the early-mid 20th century in Havana.
Bill Laurance and Michael League, Where You Wish You Were (ACT): Multi-instrumentalist and Snarky Puppy founder Michael League and pianist Bill Laurance reveal new, quieter sides of their musical personality on Where You Wish You Were, which was released on January 27. This is an intimate dialogue with elements of jazz, oriental and Mediterranean music that is also described via a press release as a “virtual place where you want to return again and again.” Click here to read more about this album.
Avishai Cohen and Abraham Rodriguez Jr., Iroko (Naïve): Jazz bassist/composer Avishai Cohen joins forces with New York Latin icon Abraham Rodriguez Jr. for their new record, Iroko, released on March 24. Recording as a duo, this decades-in-the-making project finds the pair exploring a spectrum of Afro-Caribbean styles informed by their respective combined backgrounds in jazz fusion, Afro-Latin jazz, traditional folk music and more.
Live Music and Festival News
BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Annual Summer Showcase June 20: The BMI Jazz Composers Workshop will present its big band and jazz orchestra compositions produced throughout the year at its 34th Annual Summer Showcase Concert on June 20 at Symphony Space in New York City, New York. The evening will feature the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece modern repertory ensemble made up of leading New York musicians, performing eight new compositions developed in the workshop this season, as well as a new commission from last year’s prize winner, Helen Sung. The Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize and the Manny Albam Commission will also be awarded at the event. More here.
Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post Announces New Residencies with Jazz at Lincoln Center and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Jazz at Lincoln Center and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will return to the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post in Brookville, New York, for residencies as part of its 2023/24 season. The collaboration will feature four jazz performances, three chamber music concerts, the first-ever Long Island regional Essentially Ellington band competition, arts education programs in Long Island schools, and master classes for LIU Post Students and area high school students. More here.
Top Teen Instrumentalists Come Together in New York to Form Carnegie Hall’s Three Acclaimed National Youth Ensembles This July: More than 200 of the finest teen musicians from across the United States wil gather this summer to perform as part of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), NYO2 and NYO Jazz. All three ensembles will take part in an intensive training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) before performing at Carnegie Hall and embarking on tours across the country and around the world. For the first time, the second half of NYO Jazz’s residency (July 17–24) will take place in Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing. In total, 220 musicians will take part in this year’s program, representing 39 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. More here.
Featured photo courtesy of SFJAZZ.
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