The 2012 Copenhagen Jazz Festival, July 6-15, Announces Its Full Program

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Ambrose Akinmusire, Brad Mehldau Trio, Christian Scott Quintet, Dave Douglas, Gerald Clayton, Jim Hall Quintet, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz, The Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Vijay Iyer Trio, Wayne Shorter

“New Orleans and New York are renowned for being the world epicentres of jazz, but leave State-side to find yourself in Europe, and there’s truly only one city that approaches that same spirit, passion and swing: Copenhagen, called by some ‘Europe’s Jazz Capital’.” – The Copenhagen Post

“The richness of Denmark’s jazz tradition is beyond question. The country whose love of the music once embodied resistance to the Nazis and later offered a comfortable home to American exiles such as Stan Getz, Ben Webster and Dexter Gordon continues to breed formidable new talents and ideas nearly nine decades after its first homegrown artists appeared. But knowing this doesn’t prepare one for the mammoth scope of the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Its sheer size-the most lightly programmed of its 10 days (of which this writer saw the final five) featured 76 performances-is overwhelming by itself, even without considering its stylistic and international breadth.”
– Michael J. West – JazzTimes

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Jazz Journalists Association Announces Nominees for 16th Annual JJA Jazz Awards

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2012 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, African American, Ambrose Akinmusire, Craig Taborn, Eric Harland, Esperanza Spalding, Gary Burton, J.D. Allen, Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Keith Jarrett, Lee Konitz, Mary Halvorson, Pat Metheny, Ron Carter, Roy Haynes, Sonny Rollins, Warren Wolf

Finalist nominees for the 16th annual Jazz Awards presented by the Jazz Journalists Association have been announced at www.JJAJazzAwards.org. The nominations demonstrate the rich diversity of music that may have been overlooked by mainstream media and other music industry-generated Awards programs.

Iconic veteran instrumentalists including Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett, Phil Woods Lee Konitz, Gary Burton, Ron Carter, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny and John Scofield are among the nominees who will vie for votes with newly emerged talents such as trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, pianist Craig Taborn, tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen, guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Esperanza Spalding, vibist Warren Wolf and drummer Eric Harland in some of the 40 categories celebrating excellence in jazz and jazz journalism. Winners of the Jazz Awards will be selected from the nearly 200 nominees through voting by the JJA’s international membership of writers, photographers, broadcasters and new media producers professionally involved with jazz. Awards are for accomplishments and productions from calendar year 2011, except in two categories for Lifetime Achievement.

Flux Jazz Essentials for 2011?

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African American, Ambrose Akinmusire, Bass, Ben Williams, Christian Scott, David Binney, David Sanchez, Drums, Eric Harland, Fabian Almazan, Female Vocalist, Flux Jazz Essentials 2011, Flux Music Essentials, Gerald Clayton, Gretchen Parlato, Hiromi, Itai Kriss, Joshua Redman, Miguel Zenón, Miles Español, Piano, Rez Abbasi, Saxophone, Sean Jones, Stefon Harris, Terri Lyne Carrington, Trumpet, Yellowjackets

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to my fellow jazz enthusiasts, as always it’s great to be with you. Although, it’s been an extremely stressful year economically and politically for so many globally I’m thankful regardless for those of us who are still here despite the mayhem that’s currently causing all this strife and pain. With that said, as a optimist times like this has a tendency to draw us closer to our love ones, make new friends and on the entertainment side of the spectrum expand our music collection to give us a positive outlet to delve into. In this case, as music goes so far this has been an exceptional year jazz wise. Therefore, this among many reasons led me to return and share with you a few of my favorite jazz albums that I stumbled into this year. If you haven’t, I hope that you find time to listen some of these titles (their well worth your effort). If not, please share with us some of your favorite recordings you’ve embraced this year. Thanks in advance, I’ll be delighted to hear from you!

The following selections in no particular order are some of my favorite Jazz albums for 2011!

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In my absence, I appreciate those of you who drop by and followed me on Twitter at your convince. One thing for sure, I plan to return in the near future to continue sharing with you some of the finest jazz, news, and reviews available.

Until then, take care and God bless.

Rob Young |The Urban Flux [… is jazz with abstract xpressions shaped by vibrant and unique voices!]

David Binney Sextet -][- BAREFOOTED TOWN [Criss Cross]

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Ambrose Akinmusire, Dan Weiss, David Binney, David Virtelles, Eivind Opsvik, Jazz, Mark Turner, Saxophone

David Binney Sextet - BAREFOOTED TOWN

David Binney Sextet -][- BAREFOOTED TOWN – [Criss Cross, 2011]

Considered one of the finest and most individualistic alto saxophonists and composers on the jazz scene, David Binney continues his ascending artistic evolution with Barefooted Town.

Joined by rising trumpet star Ambrose Akinmusire and longtime collaborator, tenorist Mark Turner on the front line, Binney turns in another fine example of his skills as a distinctive player, composer of music both intellectual and emotional powerful, and seeker of a new jazz expression.

On piano the young Cuban, David Virtelles, Eivind Opsvik on bass and the great Dan Weiss on drums.

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

New Jazz Releases for the Week of 4/4/2011

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Ambrose Akinmusire, Dave Douglas and United Front, Gretchen Parlato, Jazz, New Releases, Sergio Mendes, Terell Stafford, Tim Berne

Greeting’s fellow jazz enthusiasts, I’m elated to present new jazz releases to jump start the month of April. With each visit, you’ll discover a montage of new jazz recordings featured at Amazon.com that encompasses a generous diet of nuances which includes a wealth of complex and distinctive styles, textures, melodies, and rhythms exalted by a host of definitive and creative voices in the world of jazz.

New Jazz Releases for 4/4/2011

For more details, please visit Amazon.com for a complete list of this week latest jazz releases!

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

At the Jazz Standard | Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet ” Few But Far Between”

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African American, Ambrose Akinmusire, Fabian Albmazon, Harish Ragavan, Jazz, Justin Brown, Trumpet, Walter Smith

Featuring: Ambrose Akinmusire -trumpet; Walter Smith– tenor sax; Fabian Albmazon, piano; Harish Ragavan, bass; Justin Brown, drums

..:: SOURCE: YouTube.com ::..

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire Announces Tour Dates and Album Artwork

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African American, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jazz, Trumpet

Ambrose Akinmusire - WHEN THE HEART EMERGES GLISTENING

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire has announced his upcoming tour dates to support his debut album “When the Heart Emerges Glistening” on Blue Note. He will be playing with his quintet featuring Walter Smith III, Sam Harris, Harish Raghavan, and Justin Brown.

TOUR DATES:

April 14-17 – Jazz Standard – New York, NY
April 26 – Redwood Jazz Alliance – Arcata, CA
April 28 – Outpost Performance Space – Albuquerque, NM
April 29 – Detroit Institute of the Arts – Detroit, MI
May 1 – Tri-C JazzFest – Cleveland, OH
May 6 – Vincenza Jazz – Vincenza, ItalyMay 7 – La Spirale – Fribourg, Switzerland
May 9 – Musig im Ochsen – Muri, Switzerland
May 10 – A-Trane – Berlin, Germany
May 11 – Sendesaal Bremen – Bremen, Germany
May 12 – Club Unterfahrt – Munich, Germany
May 13 – Théâtre de Cavaillon – Cavaillon, France
May 14 – Bimhuis – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
May 16 – DeWerf – Brugge, Belgium
May 17 – Jazz à Saint-Germain-Des-Pres 2011 – Paris, France
May 18 – Ronnie Scott’s – London, United Kingdom
May 19 – Club Fasching – Stockholm, Sweden
May 21 – Athenaeum’s San Diego Studio – San Diego, CA
May 22 – SFJAZZ @ Yerba Buena Center for the Arts – San Francisco, CA
May 23-24 – Daly Jazz – Missoula, MT
June 11 – Playboy Jazz Festival – Los Angeles, CA

Stay in touch with this prolific voice and talent by visiting http://www.ambroseakinmusire.com

David Binney -][- GRAYLEN EPICENTER [Mythology Records]

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Ambrose Akinmusire, Chris Potter, David Binney, Gretchen Parlato, Jazz, Saxophone, Wayne Krantz

David Binney - GRAYLEN EPICENTER

David Binney -][- GRAYLEN EPICENTER (MP3) – [Mythology Records, 2011] – MUSIC REVIEW –

It was only a few years ago I had the pleasure of being introduced to an album titled “FREE TO DREAM,” (1999) by this exceptional composer and saxophonist from Miami (via Southern California) named David Binney. Since then, I’ve regrettably fallen off course and haven’t seriously pursued the opportunity to become more familiar with the music of this amazing artist with any frequency … that’s until I finally come to my senses and decided to dive head first into his phenomenal new project “GRAYLEN EPICENTER.”

At first glance, while listening I skimmed through the superb line-up summoned by Binney to record this outstanding album I knew immediately that I was in for an impeccable journey! As I embrace this new frontier I dare not deny myself a chance to embellish what might very well be one of the top jazz recordings of 2011?

“All of Time” the opener takes the art of innovation into a new dimension on this extensive palette of groundbreaking music. From the onset, as the compositional architect of this project Binney shapes this gem by flexing his improvisational skills as an inexhaustible player by hurling inferno of abstract notes and rigorous tones from the core to eventually become envelope sonically by the lively interplay of this persistent ensemble features the gifted Gretchen Parlato vocally.

Trumpeter | Composer Ambrose Akinmusire Debuts on Blue Note Records … April 5, 2011

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African American, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jazz, Trumpet

I’m looking forward to this …

Ambrose Akinmusire

On April 5, trumpeter-composer Ambrose Akinmusire will release his tour de force Blue Note debut, When The Heart Emerges Glistening. Co-produced by Akinmusire and his label mate and mentor Jason Moran, the 12 song set (10 of which were composed by Akinmusire) features his quintet-tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Justin Brown-a close-knit group of longtime friends and frequent collaborators that breathes a remarkable collective identity. The New York Times wrote that the quintet “seems destined for much wider recognition, ” and described their unique sound as “limber, straight-ahead jazz with mystery and pop instincts that gets around most of the old, pervasive mainstream influences, both of trumpet playing and bandleading.”

The Los Angeles Times recently named Akinmusire one of their 2011 “Faces to Watch, ” and offered this descriptive of the quintet’s recent LA performance: “Akinmusire and his band demonstrated a remarkably fluid, adventurous interplay and patiently imaginative way with melody that sounded as steeped in the music’s history as it was hard-wired with the sound of something new. With a chameleonic tone that can sigh, flutter or soar, Akinmusire sounds less like a rising star than one that was already at great heights and just waiting to be discovered.”

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire Signs with Blue Note Records

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African American, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jazz, trumpeter

JAZZ TRUMPETER & MONK COMPETITION WINNER “DESTINED FOR MUCH WIDER RECOGNITION” (NEW YORK TIMES)

Ambrose Akinmusire - Photo @ Emra Islek

EMI’s Blue Note Records has signed jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Ambrose Akinmusire. The 28 year-old winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition will head into the studio this Fall to record his major label debut with labelmate Jason Moran as co-producer.

“Mr. Akinmusire is among the latest to put together a quintet that seems destined for much wider recognition,” recently wrote critic Ben Ratliff in The New York Times. “It’s limber, straight-ahead jazz with mystery and pop instincts that gets around most of the old, pervasive mainstream influences, both of trumpet playing and bandleading.”