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Blanchard/Lee film partnership explored

The modern jazz musician has learned how to make a living in a variety of ways. Beyond recording and touring, doing workshops at universities or television/video gigs, one of the most prestigious and creative avenues of expression is the film score.

Terrence Blanchard

It is truly the collaboration of sight and sound, and one of the most consistent and successful teams has been the firebrand maverick Spike Lee and the chameleon-esque Terrence Blanchard.
Lee will introduce an evening dedicated to Blanchard’s highly-regarded jazz scores and R&B-tinged songs from Jungle Fever, Bamboozled, Malcolm X, Clockers, Inside Man, 25th Hour, Mo Better Blues, When the Levees Broke, and Miracle at St. Anna at the New Jersey Performing Center at 8 p.m. Nov. 1 in Prudential Hall.
The Terence Blanchard Quintet -- Aaron Parks, piano; Brice Winston, saxophone; Michael Olatuja, bass, Marcus Gilmoret, drums; and Fabian Almazan, piano -- and The Terence Blanchard Orchestra will be joined by three distinctive and diverse guest vocalists: Grammy-winning, R&B/jazz song smith Patti Austin, rising singer-songwriter Raul Midon and neo-soul up-and-comer Bilal, who will help recreate the vocal selections from the films. The mult-media event also will feature stills from each film segment projected on a screen above the orchestra.
For more information, visit the NJPAC Web site.

Don Byron retrospective planned
Oct. 16, 2008
Reedman/composer/arranger Don Byron’s sonic palette is so expansive, he needs more than one set of musicians to adequately present music from his vast repertoire. This will be evident Nov. 13-16 at New York City’s Jazz Standard when his diverse pantheon will be celebrated along with his 50th birthday.

Don Byron

For almost two decades, Byron’s unique music persona has charged filament of a variety of music from classical, salsa, hip-hop, funk, klezmer (Jewish secular folk funk), rhythm & blues, or any jazz style from swing and bop to cutting-edge improvisation. He, in his words has persistently pursued the goal of achieving “a sound above genre."
“Calling Don Byron a jazz musician is like calling the Pacific wet – it just doesn’t begin to describe it... Byron has carpentered an extraordinary career precisely by obliterating the very idea of category.” –TIME Magazine’s
The bands:
Nov. 13, 7:30-9:30 p.m,
Don  Plays the Music of Mickey Katz
Byron, clarinet; Ralph Alessi, trumpet; JD Parran, saxophones, clarinet;  Alan Ferber, trombone; Todd Reynolds, violin; Uri Caine, piano; Kenny Davis, bass; Ben Wittman, drums; Sam Guncler, vocals.
This is a re-formation of the groundbreaking and virtuosic klezmer ensemble that recorded Byron’s eponymous Nonesuch album.
Nov. 14, 7:30, 9:30-11:30 p.m.
Bug Music Sextet -- Byron, clarinet; Rob DeBellis, saxophones; Ralph Alessi, trumpet;   Uri Caine, piano; Mark Helias, bass;  Ben Wittman, drums
Named after Byron’s 1996 album Bug Music, this sextet performs arrangements of works by three Swing-era composers Swing Era – Duke Ellington, Raymond Scott, and John Kirby.
Nov.15, 7:30, 9:30-11:30 p.m.
Don Byron Quartet -- Byron, clarinet, tenor saxophone; Edward Simon, piano;   Kenny Davis, bass; Eric Harland, drums.
Evolved from his acclaimed Ivey-Divey Trio, Byron’s new quartet mines the work of Lester Young and Eddie Harris as muse. The repertoire also includes Byron’s Lester Young-inspired compositions recently commissioned by Chamber Music America and other new original works influenced by these tenor sax icons.
Nov. 16, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Music for Six Musicians -- Byron, clarinet; James Zollar, trumpet; Edward Simon, piano; Leo Traversa, bass; Milton Cardona, congas; Ben Wittman, drums.
This set will reflect Byron’s Latin and Afro-Carribean heritage ot music that Spin magazine calls “hothouse arrangements.” Featured on a self-titled 1995 disc and on 2001’s You Are #6, this is simultaneously Byron’s longest- running band and one of his most innovative, validating the past while establishing new frontiers.
Visit Don Byron's Web site

Ukranian jazz fest bows

Ukranian Jazz!? Swedish tango bands!!? Okay. Okay. I know jazz is like a cosmic spore, inculcating all who come in contact with this metamorphic music. It’s, you know, like the Borg: “Resistance is futile!”
And so it goes.

Dave Holland

Thusly, the Jazz in Kyiv festival is going to make Kyiv the European jazz capital for three days, Oct. 17-19. The festival includes concerts and master classes held by world stars and the best Ukrainian jazzmen, jazz photo exhibitions and movies. Kyiv hasn’t seen so much jazz before. You betcha!!
Three-time Grammy winner Dave Holland and his band, Al Jarreau and Charlie Hunter are among the internationally recognized musicians that will be on hand for the festival.
The goal of the project was to present all kinds of jazz music. Guests on the first day include Swedish musicians New Tango Orchestra, who don't actually play jazz, but their appearance at the festival will be a commemoration to Argentinean music and creator of new tango, Astor Piazzollo.
The first day finishes with British bassist Holland, a representative of modern jazz.
The best Ukrainian jazz musicians will open Day Two as a part of Misha Tsyhanov’s United Quintet and Alex Fantayev band. The day will conclude with Ukrainian-Israeli

Al Jarreau

bassist and vocalist Avishai Cohen and a new vocal project. He will perform ethnic music, his own compositions and improvisations.
The third day will start with American guitarist Charlie Hunter, whose guitar-bass play has forged for him a unique identity. The headliner of the fest is iconic vocal usician, Al Jarreau, the only singer in history who received Grammy awards in three categories at once – jazz, pop and R&B. It will be his first concert in Kyiv.
Go to jazzinkiev.com for more information.

Oct. 15, 2008
Shorter gets birthday fete

Absolutely Live Entertainment, LLC and New Audiences Productions will help legendary music innovator Wayne Shorter celebrate his 75th birthday with a concert at 8 p.m. Dec. 2 at Carnegie Hall, at 57th Street & 7th Avenue in New York City. 

Wayne Shorter

Saxophone master Shorter will present a repertoire of his classics music and also the New York premiere of his collaborative work, Terra Incognita, performed with his quartet and the Imani Winds Ensemble. Shorter's quartet features established young luminaries such as pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade. Shorter was commissioned by the La Jolla Music Society in 2006 to compose a piece for the Imani Winds Ensemble.
The National Endowment for the Arts “American Jazz Master” has forged an indelible path as a member of groundbreaking groups and as a soloist, starting in the late 1950s as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He spent six years with a mid 1960s Miles Davis band that included Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Ron Carter, recording about a dozen albums, among them the groundbreaking Bitches Brew.
Along with fellow Miles Davis alum, the late Joe Zawinul, Shorter formed seminal fusion act Weather Report, which prevailed through the 1970s and into the 1980s. The band served as a finishing school for many young players, most notably bassist Jaco Pastorrius.
The Newark, NJ native’s style, which is distinguished as much for the absence of excess as it is for flourishes of color, has earned him substantial recognition from his peers, including nine Grammy® Awards and 13 Grammy® nominations to date.
The events in his incredible life's journey have been compiled by author Michelle Mercer in "Footprints: The Life And Music of Wayne Shorter" (A Tarcher/Penguin.)
Tickets for his celebration concert are on sale now at the Carnegie Hall box office, at www.carnegiehall.org or by calling Carnegie Charge at 212-247-7800.
More information about Absolutely Live Entertainment, a festival, tour and concert production company led by industry veteran Danny Melnick, can be found at absolutelylive.net.

Free Internet access may arrive

The Federal Comunications Commission plans to auction some airwaves to a carrier who will set aside some of the space for free national free access. The costs will be offset by advertising and a subscription-based plan for consumers willing to pay for faster access.
Telecom carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are understandably upset about the potential loss of revenue that they receive charging customers for Internet access. They

the plan will disrupt service for their customers and that the FCC favors n in the auctiM2Z Networks Inc., a Kleiner Perkins-backed start-up that originally broached the free-Internet plan two years ago.
The decision is a blow to the telecoms, as the FCC could begin auctioning the airwaves as soon as the first quarter of 2009. The proposed network would have to reach 50 percent of the U.S. population in four years and 95 percent within a decade.
We won't know whether the FCC will proceed with the idea (the commissioners vote on June 12), but the fact that the proposal is even up for consideration must be gratifying to the millions of Comcast and Cox victims who may pay upwards of $40 per month for erratic broadband access and arrogant costumer service.
For more, got to Wired Blog Network

Three icons and a birthday--Aug. 30,2008

They become 75, 80 and 90, and have contributed more to the bright filament of music in their lifetimes than the collective years of myriad other musicians.
Monday, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter turned 75. On Sept. 2, pianist Horace Silver reaches the  80 year milestone.  And on Sept. 4, bandleader Gerald Wilson–perhaps the last great living link to the swing era–sees in his 90th birthday.

Hubbard back on the Real Side
Freddie Hubbard used his trumpet work to preserve tradition – even he as forged new

Freddie Hubbard

paths with his vivid series of releases for Creed Taylor’s equally legendary CTI Records label. Albums like Red Clay and First Light set an aesthetic in progressive music that gave him purchase on audiences that Miles Davis had lost during his groundbreaking excursions of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.
Well: Heeeee’s baaaaack! At age 70 on Times Square Records, which will release On The Real Side June 24, his first outing as a leader in seven years.
Once again he will be by backed by the New Jazz Composers Octet, which accompanied the trumpeter on his 2001 release New Colors, Hubbard revisits some of his own classic tunes from yesteryear, ambitiously re-arranged by trumpeter David Weiss, trombonist Steve Davis and bassist Dwayne Burno of the NJCO. And while Hubbard finds himself unable to play for long stretches these days – the  result of a split lip that became infected when he refused to curtail a series of engagements during the '90s -- he brings soul on "SkyDive," "Gibraltar," the hard boppish "Life Flight," the uptempo blues "Theme For Kareem," the rhythmically intricate "Take It To The Ozone" and his most frequently covered number, the lyrical waltz-time vehicle "Up Jumped Spring." Hubbard also contributes one new original, the loping soul-jazz number "On The Real Side," which features guest guitarist Russell Malone.
Freddie again plays flugelhorn exclusively throughout On The Real Side, as he did on New Colors. And while the dazzling speed, stunning high note facility and uncanny endurance may be diminished, the phrasing is still quintessentially Hubbard. "I can't expect myself to play like I was when I was 30," he says. "Sometimes I want to bash it, play hard, but you can't do it. I have come to the realization as to what I can do now...play a couple of choruses and get out."
Decades of mythic trumpet work have taken their toll on Hubbard’s approach. In late 1992 his top lip popped and later became infected. A biopsy was taken and cancer was ruled out, but Hubbard was left with upper lip tissue so sore he was unable to play with the same swagger and abandon he that was his trademark.
"It's really something when you lose your chops like that," says Hubbard. "You feel like a motherless child.”
Well, he has been found in the womb of reverence. Rebirth. Renewal.
Playboy Jazz with a Cos--May 19, 2008
The headline is that Bill Cosby reprises his role  as the grand master of ceremony at the

Bill Cosby

30th anniversary of the annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. But Herbie Hancock, album-of-the-year winner at this year's Grammys Al Jarreau, Poncho Sanchez and Keb' Mo' to Dr. John and Dee Dee Bridgewater, among others join the party.
The June 14-15 festival will bring back Cosby, who's only missed three turns as host since the first presentation in Los Angeles in 1979.The diverse program in the 18,000-seat outdoor amphitheater will feature mainstream and contemporary jazz, big bands, R&B and Latin sounds. Among the headliners will be Herbie Hancock, Al Jarreau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. John, Poncho Sanchez, Tower of Power, Keb' Mo', the all-women's band DIVA and RnR (Rick Braun-Richard Elliott).

Herbie Hancock	Dee Dee Bridgewater	Pancho Sanchez

With an Oscar and 12 Grammy awards, Hancock will bring a deep repertoire to the fest, including his latestst CD, “River: The Joni Letters," a tribute to songwriter Joni Mitchell that won the 2008 Album of the Year Grammy, only the second jazz album to win the award.. He will perform with bassist David Holland, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, saxophonist Chris Potter and guitarist Lionel Loueke,.
Vocalist Jarreau, returning for his fifth festival, has won Grammy awards in  jazz, pop and R&B. His catalog of platinum and gold albums includes the hit singles, “We're In This Love Together" and “Moonlighting," theme from the popular TV series.
Returning to the Playboy stage for the third time, Grammy and Tony award-winning vocalist Bridgewater makes her festival debut with a group from Mali, including musicians and singers who will perform music from her latest album “Red Earth, A Malian Journey." Among the predictable crowd-pleasers will be the always-colorful Dr. John, performing New Orleans blues and boogie-woogie music. Recently inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame and widely known for his hit, “Right Place, Wrong Time," he continues to tour with his Lower 911 band.
The R&B band Tower of Power will energize listeners with its signature horn-driven sound and high-energy performance that melds jazz, funk, rock and soul. The band is experiencing renewed popularity.
Grammy-winning Latin jazz percussionist Poncho Sanchez will be joined by guest singer-songwriter Eddie Floyd in a first-time performance together. Floyd, known for his classic hit, “Knock on Wood," recently collaborated with Sanchez on the percussionist's new CD, featuring an updated version of that classic.
Rick Braun (trumpet) and Richard Elliot (tenor sax), have formed their new R n R and will perform music from their eponymous CD.
Octogenarian saxophonist James Moody will debut as the leader of his own group, having appeared previously at Playboy as a guest of Poncho Sanchez and Dizzy Gillespie.
Singer-songwriter and blues guitarist Keb' Mo' will be back with his distinctive brand of Delta Blues. The singer-songwriter recently received his first gold album and a third Grammy for “Best Contemporary Blues Album.
Redefining the contemporary jazz scene is pianist Hiromi. Fronting her own group, she creates an eclectic melange of traditional piano, bass and drums in the jazz, rock, funk and punk modes.
The 15-woman DIVA Jazz Orchestra will play the festival for the first time, led by drummer Shari Maricle.
Other highlights: Grammy-winning trumpet great Roy Hargrove; Guitars & Saxes , featuring saxophonist Gerald Albright; acoustic guitarist Peter White, electric guitarist Jeff Golub and keyboardist Jeff Lorber; songwriter Ivan Lins will perform with fellow Brazilian guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves; Plena Libre, a 13-member Afro-Rican group, founded by bassist Gary Nunez;  drummer Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet, featuring Bruce Williams (alto and soprano sax), Wayne Escoffery (tenor and soprano), Jay Brandford (baritone), Freddie Bryant (guitar) and Koyoshi Kitagawa (bass); and  pianist Robert Glasper New ticket options this year are online purchases at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone (213-365-3500 or 714-740-7878), at Ticketmaster outlets or by downloading a ticket order form available at www.playboyjazzfestival.com. There also is a link to the Ticketmaster website on the festival website. All box seats are sold out, but Saturday and Sunday seats still are available. The festival hotline is 310-450-1173.

Temecula jazz Fest feels green
An international jazz festival in Temecula Valley? Yes there is, and not only does it feature local and regional artists, but through the sponsorship of  Downbeat Magazine, L.A. Jazz

Richie Cole

Scene and others nationally-known talent also finds its way July 10-12 to this bucolic southwest California enclave.
The 5th annual Temecula Valley International Jazz Festival's headliners include: Gerald Wilson, Herb Jeffries, James Torme' Jimmy Mulidore, Richie Cole, Sal Marquez, Theo Saunders, Dick Berk, Llew Matthews, Henry "skipper" Franklin, Marshall Hawkins, Gunner Biggs, Al Williams Jazz Society, George Lesiw Band, Jazz 88 All-Stars, among others.
But that’s only part of the story: the event in  Old Town Temecula is getting greener thanks to solar powered sound and stage lighting provided by Sustainable Waves. The stage alone will eliminate about,1000 pounds of CO2 in one day. The stage itself is a 24-volt system capable of putting out close to 3,000 watts of sound.
Sustainable Waves specializes in sustainable energy solutions for the entertainment industry.
“We integrate with existing business models and strive to inspire the currents of the global economy," said Sustainable Waves spokesman Mark McLarry. “Our solar powered stages, sound, and lighting systems are fully functioning examples of a complete design."
The jazz fest is being presented by the City of Temecula, and Paul & Diane Garrett of the Garrett Group, and Better World Together.
Joining Downbeat and L.A. Jazz Scene as sponsors are by JazzTimes Magazine, KJAZZ 88.1 FM and the Web site All About Jazz.
Produced by Jon and Jane Laskin of Musicians Workshop this event is more of a cultural enrichment event than a fundraiser, however any proceeds benefit children's performing arts & music scholarships and the Temecula Valley Cultural Arts & Music Center. For more information visit TemeculaJazzFest.com or call (951) 678-2517.

Paint the White House ... jazz --May 20, 2008
Even though jazz was highly popular in the 1920's and 1930's in the U. Street area in D.C., the earliest performance of jazz in the White House did not occur until November 19, 1962. This first performance was during a children's program in the East Room by the Paul Winter Jazz Sextet. But since the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, jazz has become a regular part of the White House landscape.
Since the Kennedy administration, most Presidents have increasingly used jazz as a White House entertainment staple. During the Johnson administration, Pearl Bailey became the first jazz performer in the White House to appear before an adult audience. Later, President Gerald Ford established jazz performances as a unique form of American entertainment for state dignitaries.

Paul Winter	Pearl Bailey	Chick Corea

Jimmy Carter's administration was responsible for creating the first large-scale jazz production on the White House's South Lawn. This event, which marked the 25th Anniversary of the Newport Jazz festival, included 800 guests and over 50 jazz musicians.
Although jazz had been an important American art form for more than half a century, President Carter's public identification of jazz was deeply significant.
In 2004, President George W. Bush recognized the National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters program in a celebration of Black Music Month. A concert, A Salute to NEA Jazz Masters, took place in the East Room of the White House and featured three NEA Jazz Masters and six young musicians. Those Jazz Masters were pianist Dr. Billy Taylor performing with his trio; drummer, Chico Hamilton; and saxophonist, James Moody.
The following is  a list of jazz artists who have appeared at the White House. John F. Kennedy 1961-1963: Paul Winter Jazz Sextet; Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969: Sarah Vaughan; Richard Nixon 1969-1974: Pearl Bailey and Duke Ellington; Gerald Ford 1974-1977: Pearl Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, Earl Hines, Harry James, New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble, Gunther Schuller, George Shearing, Billy Taylor, The World's Greatest Jazz Band with Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart; James Carter 1977-1981:  Invited to the 25th anniversary celebration of the Newport Jazz Festival, 6/18/78, including artists such as Eubie Blake, Ornette Coleman, Mary Lou Williams, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Papa Joe Jones, Katherine Handy Lewis, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylor,; other artists include: Clark Terry, Ray Brown, Benny Carter; 'Lil Jazz Elridge, Dexter Gordon, Milt Hinton, John Lewis, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, George Russell, Billy Taylor, McCoy Tyner and Teddy Wilson;  Ronald Reagan 1981-1989: Art Blakie, Chick Corea, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Roy Haynes and George Shearing;  George Bush 1989-1993: [none known; William J. Clinton 1993-2001; Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr.

Divas in degrees
Three distinct divas are set to drop fresh product in the coming weeks: Stevie Holland, Myriam Alter and Cassandra Wilson. They sing. They compose. They play instruments. They engage.
The rich, womanly voice of Wilson will grace a set of standards on the CD release, Loverly, coming on June 10 on the Blue Note label. Romantic classics and standards are the raw fabric of Stevie Holland's new CD Before Love Has Gone , which also features original songs penned by Holland and her collaborator, award winning composer Gary William Friedman. Belgian composer Myriam Alter offers her newest creative endeavor, Where Is There.

Cassandra Wilson	Stevie Holland	Myriam Alter

The connective tissue between this latest material and Wilson’s most recent work is her unmistakable interpretive skills, that envelope a song like a comfortable garment.
She’s joined on the album by Marvin Sewell on guitar, Jason Moran on piano, Herlin Riley on drums, Lekan Babalola on percussion and Lonnie Plaxico on bass with bassist Reginald Veal and trumpeter Nicholas Payton supplementing as guests.
"I wanted to work with spare arrangements this time," says Wilson of Loverly. "And I decided to dig back into standards with a small, compact group of musicians. I don't record the typical jazz standards a lot, but I love them and that's how I honed my craft."
"Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "Caravan," "Gone With the Wind," "Black Orpheus," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "Till There Was You," "A Sleeping Bee," "The Very Thought of You" and "St. James Infirmary" are among the selections.
Wilson and her aggregants also conjure up a joint original, "Arere," inspired by the Yoruban deity of iron and willpower. The also breathe fresh life into "Dust My Broom," a Robert Johnson original made famous by blues slide guitarist Elmore James."
For the recording sessions, Wilson rented a house in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, converting itnto a studio so she could set up shop with her band from noon to midnight for six days.
Even though Wilson is credited as the producer of Loverly, she says that the songs came together in a joint effort with her band. "I am the unproducer," she says with a laugh. "I listen to everyone's opinion about the songs. I like the democratic approach.”
This year marks Wilson's 15th Anniversary on the Blue Note Records label.
Holland's 10-track set begins with Vincent Youman's "Carioca" and continues with  "Before Love Has Gone", "Where Or When" (Rodgers/Hart), "Lazy Afternoon" (Jerome Moross/John Latouche), "The Music In Me That Plays" (Holland/Friedman), "Make Our Garden Grow" (Richard Wilbur/Leonard Bernstein), "Daybreak" (Harold Adamson/ Ferde Grofe), "How Deep Is The Ocean" (Irving Berlin),  "Riverboat Gambler" (Carly Simon/Jacob Brackman) and "Here's To Your Illusions" (Sammy Fain/Yip Harburg).
Grammy award winner Todd Barkan serves as co-producer of Before Love Has Gone, contributing his vast experience to the shaping of this album.
Holland is joined by Martin Bejerano, piano, Edward Perez, bass and Willie Jones III,drums. Saxophonist Ole Mathisen and guitarist Paul Bollenback also appear on several tracks.
Due out on 150 Music.
Building on her acclaimed Enja/Justin Time release from 2002, If, joininjg Alter in the studio is an international crew familiar with her sensibilities, including  Brazilian cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, soprano saxophonist Pierre Vaiana and Italian pianist Salvatore Bonafede. Rounding out the group are some familiar faces from If, clarinetist John Ruocco, bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Joey Baron.

Symposium offers interaction -- May 19, 2008
The second International Jazz Composer’s Symposium expects more than 100 jazz composers, musicians, and scholars when it convenes June 12-14 in Tampa, Fl. Presented by the University of South Florida Center for Jazz Composition in partnership with BMI, is three-day event is designed to allow composers, scholars, and students frohm around the globe to interact with each other, master artists and leading industry representatie.
More than two dozen composers and scholars from across the U.S., Canada, and Denmark have already been selected to present and discuss their works in addition to those of the guest composers.
Symposium registration is $225 ($195 for students) and includes admission to the opening reception and all evening concerts. Registration application forms, as well as additional information on hotel accommodations, travel to Tampa, conference schedule, and much more can be found on the Center's website: http://centerforjazzcomp.arts.usf.edu es.

Connick gets ... Work
Jazz pianist/vocalist  Harry Connick Jr returns to Broadway in spring 2009 in Nice Work If You Can Get It, a new musical comedy using Gershwin standards.

Harry Connick Jr.

Connick will play a Long Island playboy in the show, which will feature a book by Joe DiPietro, one of the authors of “I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change"; music by George Gershwin, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
Nice Work If You Can Get It will play a pre-Broadway engagement at Boston's Colonial Theatre. The show will begin preview performances on Broadway in February at a theater to be announced and open in March. Other casting will be announced later.
Kathleen Marshall will direct and choreograph. Marshall and Connick last worked together in the Tony-winning revival of “The Pajama Game" in 2006.

Resonance comes to fruition
George Klabin's vision of providing a conduit for innovative musicians to ply their craft comes to fruition April 8 with release of the first four CD projects from Resonance Records, an outgrowth of Klabin's Rising Jazz Stars Foundation.
The releases include a previously unreleased quartet recording, part of the label's Heirloom Series, made in London by pianist Gene Harris, whose group The Three Sounds was with Blue Note Records during the '50s and '60s. The new release Gene Harris: The Quartet Live in London features his previously undocumented British quartet with repertoire made up almost exclusively of tunes Harris had never before recorded in quartet form.
The first Resonance CD, A Letter To Herbie is a tribute to Herbie Hancock by pianist/ composer John Beasley, who has toured with Miles Davis and Queen Latifah,among others, and who has composed extensively for film and television. On A Letter To Herbie, he is joined by a group stellar musicians, including Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride and Jeff "Tain" Watts.

Gene Harris	Mike Garson

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