DANILO PÉREZ PRESENTS “THINGS TO COME: 21ST CENTURY DIZZY”

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Danilo Pérez, Jazz, Piano

DLMedia

DL Media announces performance dates for Panamanian pianist, composer, and educator Danilo Pérez and his new project, Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy. With performances in Philadelphia, Toronto, New York, Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, and Chicago, these performances will feature an all-star cast of musicians: David Sánchez on tenor saxophone; Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto saxophone; Amir ElSaffar on trumpet and voice; Jamey Haddad on percussion; Ben Street on bass (John Patitucci will substitute for Street on the first three dates); and Adam Cruz on drums.

Danilo Pérez - Things to Come

Pérez, who recently signed with Mack Avenue Records in 2009 and is expected to release his label debut in August, has brought together this diverse and global group of musicians to celebrate the music and bountiful inspiration of his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie. Pérez’s hand-picked all-stars, with roots in Afro-Cuban, be-bop, Indian, African, and Middle Eastern music, will more than honor Dizzy’s legendary vision and keep true to the music that they’ve grown into all their lives.

Things To Come: 21st Century Dizzy showcases music that simultaneously addresses the culture of Panama, the culture of Latin music as it is interpreted by jazz musicians, and classic jazz repertoire together with the leader’s own original compositions (in addition to performing new arrangements of classic Gillespie tunes).

New Music [Jazz] Releases for 3/9/2010

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African American, Geri Allen, Jazz, New Releases, Piano

Hello jazz enthusiast, another week is here with new music beckoning us to check out the latest sounds at Amazon.com.

Featured Album of the Week

Geri Allen | Flying Toward the Sound – [Motema Music, 2010]

Geri Allen - Flying Toward the Sound

Celebrated, multi-award-winning jazz pianist Geri Allen makes her highly anticipated solo piano debut featuring her new suite, “Refractions: Flying Toward the Sound,” composed as her 2008-09 Guggenheim Fellowship Award project. The extraordinary work (with elements of jazz, meditation music, and classical piano) refracts the genius of jazz innovators Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner, and Herbie Hancock through the lens of Allen’s own formidable genius. * A short art film by famed African American filmmaker/photographer Carrie Mae Weems will be co-promoted with the CD, adding a sophisticated visual dimension to the promotion campaign. Portions of the film are included here as enhanced CD content.

Luis Muñoz | Invisible

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Jazz, Luis Muñoz, Percussion

Luis Muñoz | Invisible – [Pelin Music, 2010]

Luis Muñoz - Invisible

From Costa Rican award winning composer percussionist Luis Muñoz (ACAM award, Jazz composer/producer of the Year 2004) comes this melodic, soulful and inventive release.

Luis Muñoz returns with his newest project, “Invisible”, featuring once again David Binney, (winner of both Downbeat Critics’ and Readers’ polls, 2007), on alto sax, Jonathan Dane on trumpet, plus special vocal appearances by the wonderful Guyanan singer Lois Mahalia and by Brazilian sensation Téka. With this new project, Luis Muñoz confirms his place as a music visionary, and as one of the today’s most sensitive, melodic and talented Jazz composers.

..:: Source: CDBaby.com ::..

Dave Holland Quartet | Conference of The Birds

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Acoustic Bass, DAve Holland, Jazz

Dave Holland Quartet | Conference of The Birds – [ECM, 1973]

Dave Holland Quartet - Conference of The Birds

I originally bought the LP of this in early 1974, having heard Holland, Altschul, and Braxton in Chick Corea’s band Circle, and of course knowing Holland’s work on some highly conspicuous Miles Davis recordings (In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew…). I bought CotB under the impression that I knew what I was getting myself into. I’d been wrestling with atonality for awhile — late Coltrane, Schoenberg, whatever I could find that seemed reasonably “important.” I was not getting it. I had the youthful faith that there was something worthwhile happening inside all that cacophony, but I needed a Rosetta Stone to make sense of it. “Conference of the Birds” was my Rosetta Stone. From the opening bars of “Four Winds” I was completely captivated. It swings hard, the improvisations are always coherent — no matter how frenzied and dissonant they sound, and Holland’s compositions are outstanding. The title song is a beautiful folk ballad that makes a perfect breather amid the fiery uptempo rants and cryptic, avant garde soundscapes. This record was the best education my ears ever had. Even though I now have it on CD, I still have my battered vinyl copy of CotB, and hold onto it for purely sentimental reasons.