Joshua Redman Trio Launches Irish Tour; James Farm to Tour Europe in November

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Aaron Parks, Brad Mehldau Trio, Eric Harland, Gregory Hutchinson, Ireland, Joshua Redman, Matt Penman, Nonesuch Records, Reuben Rogers, The Bad Plus, Wigmore Hall Jazz Series

Joshua Redman

Following his recent European tour with The Bad Plus, Joshua Redman has arrived in Ireland with the Joshua Redman Trio, featuring Reuben Rogers on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums, to launch its Irish tour with a concert at The Button Factory in Dublin tonight. The five-day, five-city tour includes stops in Limerick, Cork, Dún Laoghaire, as well as a show at The Mac in Belfast, Northern Ireland. See below for all of Redman’s currently scheduled tour dates; for additional details and ticket links, go to nonesuch.com/on-tour.

Charles Lloyd -][- Athens Concert [ECM, 2011]

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Charles Lloyd, Eric Harland, Jason Moran, Jazz, Reuben Rogers, Socratis Sinopoulos, Takis Farazis, Tenor Saxophone

Charles Lloyd, Athens Concert

Charles Lloyd -][- Athens Concert -(MP3)- [ECM, 2011]

Recorded at the foot of the Acropolis, at the open air Odeon of Herodes Atticus, on a summer night last year, “Athens Concert” is an entrancing collaboration between Charles Lloyd, uniquely expressive US saxophonist, and Maria Farantouri, venerable Greece vocalist – the soul of Greece for many listeners. With Lloyd’s exceptional band in impassioned support, the project raises the bar for `trans-cultural’ music-making. The music sweeps the listener along in its swirling river of sound. This is music of many moods and currents – celebratory, yearning, melancholic – embracing suites of traditional Greek music, songs of Theodorakis and Eleni Karaindrou, and Lloyd originals. The Lloyd band and Farantouri perform with a commitment that underscores the essential compatibility of the idioms. The great Greek themes of love, exile, nostalgia, and departure find their correspondences, after all, in the history of jazz. And if Farantouri is not a jazz singer per se, she embodies an emotional power comparable with the greatest vocalists of any genre. Lloyd writes in his liner notes: “From her first notes I felt such a power and depth of humanity; she is a modern wonder rising up from the ruins of civilization. She is Alethea, Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter, Gaia, Phemonoe – Mother of the Universe. The resonance of her voice stirred the memory of my love for Lady Day.”

“The Things I Am” by Reuben Rogers [Revisited]

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African American, Bass, Jazz, Reuben Rogers

One of my innermost desires as a music enthusiast is to always be open to explore the fertile ground that awaits us as new artists challenges us with fresh, aspiring and creative music. In this case, I’m honored to introduce Virgin Island native Reuben Rogers. Yes, this young and endowed bassist has played with a host of commendable musicians including saxophonist Joshua Redman, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and guitarist Mark Whitfield.

Initially, I was blessed to hear Rogers play with the aforementioned artists. Early in 2007, I had the pleasure of being introduced to his solo project titled “The Things I Am” which was co-produced by renowned saxophonist Ron Blake who also hails from the Virgin Islands.