Tonight at the Rex you won’t want to miss the Andy Ballantyne Large Ensemble A.B.L.E CD release at 9:30 pm. How big is it… 11 pieces big! Friday things get going early with the Hogtown Syncopators followed at 6:30 by the Justin Bacchus Group and then Frank Tiberi who’s in from Boston. Saturday it’s David French & Trios followed by the Rob Campbell Quartet at 9:30 pm.
Pianist and vocalist Alexis Cole is in at the Opal Jazz Lounge with violinist San Murata until Saturday.
The Pilot has Norman Marshall Villenueve in Saturday afternoon from 3:30 – 6:30 pm, and then it’s the Andrew Jacob Scott Quartet in Sunday.
Cheers!
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In 1963, a young South African singer named Beattie Benjamin, living in exile in Zurich, catches Duke Ellington after his own performance and convinces him to come to hear her her boyfriend, Dollar Brand, perform. Duke not only agreed to hear Dollar, he also insisted that Beattie sing for him. Enthralled by what he heard, Duke sent the musicians to Paris to record for Reprise Records. While Dollar’s recording became an instant classic, Beattie’s were mysteriously never released and until the mid-90’s, thought to be lost.
Ekapa Records has reissued A Morning in Paris for us all to rediscover, and I for one am thankful. With a session includeing Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Abdullah Ibrahim (her would be future husband) as pianists, you know your in for a listening treat.
This is a joy to listen to from start to finish. The opening track Darn that Dream introduces the sultry, smoky tone of Benjamin that immediately draws you into the smoky speakeasys of Paris 1963. From there your taken through a series of standards including Your Love Has Faded, The Man I Loved, I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good) and Solitude. These last two being the ones in which Ellington’s piano is present.
sathimabeabenjamin.com
iTunes
Michael Enright added a new segment to his popular show The Sunday Edition this weekend, JAZZ, INSTRUMENTALLY SPEAKING.
The battle rages on. The music we play here on The Sunday Edition continues, apparently, to delight most of you while at the same time dumbfounding those who just don’t like the jazz we play. A year or more after our “Jazz is good, jazz is bad” debate, we continue to get letters from both sides of the musical divide.
Since we kind of like the sound of the show and think it works most of the time, we’re going to stay the course and hopefull win some of you over along the way. So we thought it might be both useful and fun to look at jazz from a slightly different angle – that is, through the individual instruments that make the sounds and what they each bring to the music.
Week one was the piano, and next week is a focus on the trumpet.
Check out cbc.ca
And while your at it, listen to the rest of his show. It will make you smarter!
Sorry for the unexpected two weeks off from posting, I got a little busy here and had to focus on the work thing for a little. Plenty to see and here this week.
Tonight at the Rex it’s the CD release for the Davidson, Murley & Braid Quintet at 9:30 pm. Friday things get going early with the Hogtown Syncopators followed at 6:30 by Lester McLean and then Trish Colter. Saturday it’s the James Brown Duo followed by the Warren Commission at 9:30 pm.
Pianist Norman Amadio is in at the Opal Jazz Lounge with violinist San Murata until Saturday.
The Pilot has the Kevin Turcotte Quartet in Saturday afternoon from 3:30 – 6:30 pm, and then it’s the Del Dako Quartet in Sunday.
Sunday you can catch the Tara Davidson Quartet at Chalkers Pub from 7:00-10:00 pm.
That’s it, again sorry for the lack of posts recently but we are back on track.
Cheers!
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