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Artist Bio Submission Thread

Printed From: JazzMusicArchives.com
Category: Site News, Newbies, Help and Improvements
Forum Name: Report errors & omissions here
Forum Description: Seen a mistake in a band bio etc then please tell us
URL: http://www.JazzMusicArchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=825
Printed Date: 28 Mar 2024 at 2:15am
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Topic: Artist Bio Submission Thread
Posted By: andyman1125
Subject: Artist Bio Submission Thread
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 5:42pm
I'm not collaborator here, but I'm sure the collabs wouldn't mind some members doing some work for them. I've noticed a rather nasty trend about JMA. Countless artists have no bio! So, I made this thread so people who can't edit artists and add bios themselves to post bios so collabs can add them. Smile
I'll start with a few favorites of mine:

http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/panzerballett.aspx" rel="nofollow - PANZERBALLETT
PANZERBALLETT is a Munich quintet led by guitarist, composer and arranger Jan Zehrfeld whose music style is best described as jazz-metal. After several years of searching, classically trained guitarist Jan Zehrfeld joined several musicians together with the idea of a jazz metal band. His idea was based around his idea that he was always angry at something, and that this music was a way to channel his agression. In 2005, Panzerballett released a self titled debut and entered into the the German progressive rock scene with rave reviews. In the coming months the band played a series of concerts, mostly in the Munich region, but also at the 15th National Youth Jazz Festival in Leipzig and the renowned Burg Herzberg Festival. A DVD then released, Live at Backstage Munich 2006. After several line-up changes in 2007, the jazz label ACT contracted the band and in February 2008 released their second album, Starke Stücke. A small tour of Germany began after the release of this album, and the album reached 26 on the German Jazz charts. In 2008, multiple concerts and cameo appearances were made, including the Zappanale, the Leverkusen Jazz Festival opening for John McLaughlin and Chick Corea, the Baltic Prog Fest and the self-organized Metal Jazz Festival in Munich. Short television appearances were also made. In August 2009, Panzerballett released their third album, Hart Genossen - from Abba to Zappa'. In September 2009, the album jumped to # 25 on the jazz charts and appeared in the drum magazine Drums and Percussion as the January 2010 "Record of the Month". The band then played multiple shows and cameo appearances throughout Germany (including as a guest of the Arte Lounge and in on3 Radio).

http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/exivious.aspx" rel="nofollow - EXIVIOUS  (From the Netherlands)
Hailing from the historic city of Utrecht in The Netherlands, EXIVIOUS were first formed in 1997 by guitarist/vocalist Tymon Kruidenier, of CYNIC fame. After the release of a self-titled, two-song demo in 2001, the band was put on hold until 2006, when they made their comeback with a new lineup. “Exivious”, their full-length debut, was released in the summer of 2009, in a limited supply of 1,000 copies. 
The band is made up of guitarist Kruidenier, bassist Robin Zeilhorst, who appeared along with Kruidenier on Cynic's 2008 EP "Re-Traced," as well as guitarist Michel Nienhuis and drummer Stef Broks, both from the Dutch progressive metal outfit TEXTURES. 


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Replies:
Posted By: js
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 6:29pm
Thanks, I am very busy tonight, but these will be put up when I can, or someone else will get them.
Now lets talk about your 'nasty trends'. Wink


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 6:35pm
LOL I don't think any artist should be added without a bio Tongue

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Posted By: js
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 6:38pm
Sorry, artists will be added, bios or not, bios can be added later.
We never know if musicbrainz, or musicnobrainz, as I like to call them, is going to add a bio or not until we add the artist.



Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 6:41pm
That's true. I wasn't a collab on MMA when musicbrainz imported all the artists, so MMA may have had the same problem. I just thought this could be an outlet to lift a bit of the burden off the collabs' shoulders.

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Posted By: js
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 9:28pm
Your help is greatly appreciated, drop off as many good quality bios as you want.
I'd have those up right now but I am in the middle of an unbelievably lengthy online training session, it is pure hell. Dead


Posted By: js
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 1:07am
Bios added.


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 12:52pm
Thumbs Up

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Posted By: darkshade
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 2:13pm
So I guess just post the bio in this thread to get it approved?

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http://www.last.fm/user/MysticBoogy" rel="nofollow - My Last.fm


Posted By: js
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 2:38pm
Sure, works for me.


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 20 Jul 2011 at 1:23pm
sources for bio should be mentioned?

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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2011 at 5:20am
Marian Petrescu

Marian Petrescu was born in Bucharest in 1970, and comes from a large family of musicians. He began to play the piano at the age of four, and studied in the classical and jazz conservatory in Sweden, followed by the Sibelius Academy of Helsinki. With his background of solid classical training, dazzling technique and dynamic interpretation, Marian Petrescu then got passionately interested in jazz, and the adventurous world of improvisation. He made his debut at the Pori Jazz festival at the young age of 15. Since then his career has been characterized by international success; in the Martial Solal Jazz piano competition (2nd prize in 1989) and Bucharest jazz festival (1st prize in 1992). Appearances include the Montreux, Paris, The Hague and Copenhagen, jazz festivals in Finland such Pori, April Jazz, Baltic Jazz etc. Marian played with many of the stars; Arturo Sandoval, Toots Thielemans, Al Jarreau, Didier Lockwood, Jon Larsen, Richie Beirach, Tony Williams, Ulf Wakenius, Ray Charles band, Lars Danielsson, Riccardo Del Fra, Ron McClure, Hot Club de Norvège, etc. Today Marian has his own music school which provides both classical and jazz training and he is teaching at the conservatory. Marian’s style is eclectic, and he enjoys all styles of jazz, from ragtime to modern jazz. Marian loves the piano. He treats the piano as a friend, a sparring partner and mistress. His mentor in Paris, Martial Solal, call Marian "the Horowitz of Jazz Piano", and his touch is distinct and clear as glass, obviously inspired by Oscar Peterson


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: js
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2011 at 7:06am
Yes, always list sources. Thanks for the bio, I will wait until he is imported before I add it. Sometimes a bio is supplied with the importation.


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2011 at 10:15am
Just want to inform there some changes on MusicBrainz (source where from we're importing initial info on all added artists) are made and we need to re-tune our import process - it takes some time so it's possible some delay on import of newly added artists for nearest time. Hope we'll solve it soon.


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2011 at 12:50am
Myriam Alter
Myriam Alter received classical music training starting from the age of 8. Being very involved with her studies (graduating from high school, then getting a licence for psychology at the University of Brussels), she stopped practising her instrument at the age of 15. After her studies first she worked in an advertising agency for seven years. Then, without really being aware of it, she returned to the search of music by opening a dancing school which she managed for another seven years.
At 36 she picked up her instrument again and soon discovered her skills as a brilliant composer with an individual approach to romantic moods. (...) Coming from a Judeo-Spanishfamily (Sephardic Jews), Myriam Alter was raised with all kinds of musics such as Latin, Italian, Oriental, Spanish, South American and classical. As a piano player she was trained in classical music, but later found her way into jazz.  Myriam Alter first formed a quartet, then a quintet together with Belgian musicians. After gaining some practical experience, she began to write her own music.When she started to feel comfortable with her music and got recognition for it, she decided to record a first album with Ben Sluys (B) on saxophone, Gino Lattuca (B) on trumpet, Michel Benita (F) on bass, Jan de Haes (B) on drums and herself on piano. As this album was successful, it was followed by another one with the same musicians except Stefan Lievestro (H) playing bass instead of Michel Benita. The second album also got very good reviews. The press emphazised especially Myriam's ability for composing.
So the idea of making an international album occurred. "Alter Ego" was recorded in New York in 1997 with Billy Drewes (USA) on sax and clarinet, Ron Miles (USA) on trumpet, Kenny Werner (USA) on piano, Marc Johnson (USA) on bass and Joey Baron (USA) on drums. While Myriam left the piano seat to Kenny Werner, the quintet only played Myriam's compositions.
Then came the time to write music that would really express "who she was". The resulting album was called "If" (2002), a worldwide success, with  Dino Saluzzi (bandoneon), John Ruocco (clarinet), Kenny Werner (piano), Greg Cohen (bass) and Joey Baron (drums).
In 2007, come the release of "Where is There" with Jaques Morelenbaum (cello), John Ruocco (clarinet), Pierre Vaiana (soprano sax,), Salvatore Bonafede (piano), Greg Cohen (bass) and Joey Baron (drums).

Bio taken from her site http://www.myriamalter.com/


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: js
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2011 at 5:13am
Bio added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2011 at 5:55am
Monty Alexander

In a career spanning five decades, pianist Monty Alexander has built a reputation exploring and bridging the worlds of American jazz, popular song, and the music of his native Jamaica, finding in each a sincere spirit of musical expression. In the process, he has performed and recorded with artists from every corner of the musical universe and entertainment world: Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Quincy Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Barbara Hendricks, Bill Cosby, Bobby McFerrin, Sly Dunbar, and Robbie Shakespeare, among others.  

Born on D-Day (June 6, 1944) and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, he took his first piano lessons at age six, although he is largely self-taught.  As a teenager, he witnessed concerts by Louis Armstrong and Nat “King” Cole at Kingston’s Carib Theater. These artists had a profound effect on Alexander’s aspirations. He formed Monty and the Cyclones in the late 1950s and also recorded on sessions with the musicians who would catapult Jamaican music to international recognition as The Skatalites (Bob Marley’s first backing band). 

Alexander and his family came to the United States at the end of 1961. Less than two years later, while playing in Las Vegas with Art Mooney’s orchestra, he caught the eye of New York City club owner Jilly Rizzo and his friend, Frank Sinatra. Rizzo hired the young pianist to work in his club, Jilly’s, where he accompanied Sinatra and others. There he met Modern Jazz Quartet vibraphonist Milt Jackson, who hired him and eventually introduced him to former Charlie Parker collaborator and legendary bassist Ray Brown. Alexander recorded and performed with the two jazz giants on many occasions. Jazz’s greatest luminaries welcomed Alexander to their “musical fraternity” in the mid-1960s. Among these earliest enthusiasts for his playing were none other than Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Miles Davis. 

To this day, Alexander maintains an active touring schedule, from intimate jazz clubs to concert halls and jazz festivals around the globe. His collaborations span multiple genres, styles, and generations.  His projects have been as varied as assisting Natalie Cole in her tribute album to her father, Nat “King” Cole in 1991 (the resulting album, Unforgettable, won seven Grammy awards), performing George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” under the direction of Bobby McFerrin at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, and recording the piano track for the film score of Clint Eastwood’s Bird, a movie about the life of jazz titan Charlie Parker.  

In August 2000, the Jamaican government awarded Monty Alexander the title of Commander in the Order of Distinction for outstanding services to Jamaica as a worldwide music ambassador.  In Hal Leonard’s 2005 book The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time, Alexander was listed among the top five Jazz pianists of all time. 

With the invitation and encouragement of Wynton Marsalis, Alexander conceived and directed the acclaimed program Lords of the West Indies at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2008, broadcast nationally on BETJ. Alexander returns to Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Fall 2009 with a new program Harlem Kingston Express

As a leader, Monty Alexander has recorded over 60 albums to date.  His 1976 Montreux (Switzerland) Jazz Festival performance with drummer Jeff Hamilton and bassist John Clayton has become one of the most celebrated live recordings in contemporary jazz.  His most recent albums on the Telarc label include trio sessions, such as Impressions in Blue, and the live concert recording Goin’ Yard.  In the late summer of 2005, Alexander traveled to Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and teamed up with top Jamaican session players to record Concrete Jungle, a set of twelve Bob Marley compositions reinterpreted through Alexander’s jazz piano-centered arrangements. The resulting union of musical perspectives digs deep into the Marley legend and brings together the two worlds that Alexander most treasures, building the musical bridges that are the very essence of his craft.  As a testament to his versatility, The Good Life, on Chesky Records is a collection of songs written and popularized by one of his all time favorite artists and good friends, Tony Bennett. His current release on Chesky is Calypso Blues, a tribute to his hero Nat Cole.

Bio taken from artist's site http://montyalexander.com/bio.shtml


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: js
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2011 at 6:07am
got it.


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2011 at 2:25am
Avishai Cohen- trumpet

Avishai Cohen is a leading figure on the international jazz scene and one of the most sought-after players of his generation — “an assertive and accomplished trumpeter with a taste for modernism,” according to Nate Chinen of The New York Times. Though deeply rooted in the bebop and post-bop tradition, Avishai is taking jazz in new directions, making waves as an improviser, composer and bandleader. Originally from Tel Aviv, he began performing at age 10. He toured the world with the Young Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and went on to become the trumpet player of choice for many leading jazz, rock, pop, studio and television projects. He received a full scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and in 1997 he placed third in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition.

Avishai came of age as part of the fertile scene at Smalls, the storied New York jazz club, where he developed his artistic vision alongside such friends and colleagues as pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Omer Avital and vocalist Claudia Acuña. Here the imperatives of jazz tradition and innovation were not in conflict, but rather merged into one powerful creative stream. Avishai flourished in an environment where hard-driving swing, open-ended funk, Latin and Middle Eastern rhythms, complex extended forms and free improvisation converged under one roof, drawing enthusiastic audiences. All of Avishai’s diverse work, as a leader, co-leader and sideman, is informed by this broad-minded legacy, which has given jazz new vitality and relevance in the 21st century.

Avishai made his debut as a leader in 2003 with The Trumpet Player, a burning straightahead session with bassist John Sullivan (Roy Haynes), drummer Jeff Ballard (Chick Corea, Pat Metheny) and special guest Joel Frahm on tenor. His second album, After The Big Rain, is the last part of “The Big Rain Trilogy,” a series of recordings that is now nearing completion. The trilogy also includes Before The Rain (part one), a large-group outing, and Flood (part two), a trio encounter with Yonatan Avishai on piano and Daniel Freedman on percussion. Avishai’s music is alternately moody and joyous, richly atmospheric yet beat-driven and grooving, suffused with compositional depth, inspired improvisation and a profound world-music influence. Avishai plays open and muted trumpet but also routes his horn through electronic effects that range from the dreamy to the snarling and distorted. He’s been developing these sounds over the course of the last decade. “When I play effects, I play a different instrument,” he says. “The whole concept changes.”

Avishai’s other credits range from touring with the celebrated French-American singer-songwriter Keren Ann, to sharing the stage with the great Bobby Hutcherson in the all-star San Francisco Jazz Collective. In addition, Avishai is the co-leader of Third World Love, with Omer Avital, drummer Daniel Freedman and pianist Yonatan Avishai, a group with four recordings to its credit. He also leads a funk-oriented band with bassist Me’shell Ndegeocello and drummer Adam Deitch, and continues to perform extensively with the 3 Cohens, which he formed with his sister Anat and brother Yuval, both gifted reeds players. With his incredible instrumental skill and world-spanning musical interests, Avishai, in the words of critic Ben Ratliff, “has all the power and tenacity he’s going to need.


bio taken from artist's site http://www.avishaicohenmusic.com/html/about.php


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2011 at 3:06am
bio added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2011 at 3:46am
Nik Bartsch

Keyboardist Nik Bärtsch (at times spelled "Baertsch") is a player, composer, and improviser very much in the European classical-oriented style of jazz, but has created a language that transcends these basic categories. A native and resident of Zurich, Switzerland born in 1971, he began his nine-year piano studies at age nine, and also briefly took up clarinet. Listening to blues, jazz, and string quartets, Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, and ethnic musics from Japan, Greece, Romania, and Sweden have all shaped his personalized music. Initially influenced by Chick Corea, Bärtsch attended the Zurich Musikhochschule, then studied philosophy, linguistics, and musicology at the University of Zurich. It was then that he was listening to modern 20th century composers John Cage, Morton Feldman, and Steve Reich, thus fusing the multiplicity of disciplines. In 1980 he first met drummer Kaspar Rast, who is a rhythmic fixture in his ensembles, Mobile and Ronin. He performed and toured with the European guitarist Harald Haerter before performing and recording solo and trio efforts, leading to his initial small ensembles for the Swiss based Tonus label. When Mobile evolved into Ronin by 2001, Bärtsch established his distinct and unique ritual groove music, playing every Monday night at the night club Montags in Zurich, and attracting attention and an audience for his spiritual, minimalist, ethnic, rhythm & blues elevated music that has generally been termed "Zen funk". Occasionally Mobile, featuring Rast and marimba player Mats Eser, regroup to perform. As Bärtsch describes his sound, "to me, music is an art of motion, and thus akin to dancing, an ecstatic groove and an ascetic awareness of form and sound in composed music are not mutually exclusive. They can form combinations that take our senses by surprise." Over the years, Bärtsch has retained that regular early week gig while touring greater Europe, reaching Canada and the U.S. in 2007. ECM records owner Manfred Eicher recognized not only Bärtsch's original approach, but its similarity to the music the label has championed since the early '70s, and signed them, beginning with the revelatory CD Stoa. Ronin expanded to a quintet, with stalwart Rast, percussionist Andi Pupato, bassist Björn Meyer, and saxophonist/bass clarinetist Sha. "The band," says Bärtsch, "has simply reached a much higher level of playing, and as an organism is much further developed."

bio by Michael G. Nastos on www.allmusic.com


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2011 at 8:43am
added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 27 Jul 2011 at 3:22am
Froy Aagre

Saxophonist and composer Frøy Aagre is a rising Norwegian jazz star. Despite her young age she has developed a highly individual expression and her compositions are both imaginative and original. Reviewers have compared Aagre with saxophone legends such as Jan Garbarek, David Liebman and Wayne Shorter. Frøy Aagres recent album Countryside has received world-wide acclaim from critics and musicians alike. The album was rated as one of the top ten albums in 2007 by the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen.

Born on June 8, 1977 in Tønsberg, Norway, Frøy Aagre began playing saxophone at the age of twelve and later moved to England to study saxophone at Birmingham Conservatoire. Her fascination of tango music, resulted a semester as an exchange student at Conservatoiro Nacional Lopez Bouchardo in Buenos Aires. After receiving Bachelor of Music with Distinction at Birmingham Conservatoire, she moved to London to pursue a Masters degree at Middlesex University. Back in Norway, she studied Twentieth-Century Composition at Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. In 2001, she studied with the world famous saxophonist David Liebman in New York.

Besides being leader for Offbeat, Frøy has performed with such musicians as Pee Wee Ellis, Mike and Mark Mondesir, Kris Davis, Jeff Davis, Annette Aguilar, Eivind Opsvik, Michael Bates, Thomas Strønen and Bjørn Kjellemyr. Aagre has toured in Europe, USA and Africa and played at festivals like Copenhagen Jazzfestival, Aarhus Jazz Festival and Prague Jazz Open.

She has received numerous prizes and scholarships. In 1999 she received the annual jazz prize from the Norwegian Association of Jazz and in 2005 she received the prestigous 1-year Composition Scholarship from the Norwegian Government.

Bio from http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=2268


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 27 Jul 2011 at 3:43am
added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 27 Jul 2011 at 4:48am
Verneri Pohjola

Verneri Pohjola has established a reputation as one of Finland's leading -- and busiest -- jazz musicians, but music is in his blood, as he's the son of Pekka Pohjola, one of the country's most adventurous bass players who came of age in the prog rock era of the 1970s. Born in Helsinki, Phojola grew up on movie soundtracks and rock playing "a little bit of everything" before settling mostly on trumpet in a school orchestra. His brother introduced him to jazz which has become his main love. He does still play piano and drums "to fend off boredom." He's active in five bands, Quintessence, the Don Johnson Big Band, Silvio, Q-continuum and his main outlet, the Ilmielikki Quartet, of which he's the leader. The last of these groups came together in 2002 and released their first album, March of the Alpha Males, which received a nomination for an Emma -- the Finnish Grammy -- as Best Jazz Album in 2003. The following year Pohjola was chosen Pori Jazz Festival Young Artist, when he also won Musician of the Year and Best Trumpet Player in a poll of Finnish jazz critics. The band has released a second album, Take It With Me. With Silvio, Pohjola has appeared on Amass All You Can and the EP Silvio, while Quintessence has issued Talk Less, Listen More and AM. Under his own name he's released Agatha , Michelin Star and Aurora.
Bio by  Chris Nickson, All Music Guide



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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 27 Jul 2011 at 5:18am
added


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 27 Jul 2011 at 5:48pm
http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/asa-trio.aspx?ac=asa" rel="nofollow - ASA TRIO

ASA TRIO is an organ/guitar/drums trio based in Iceland. The band is Agnar Már Magnúson on organ, Andrés Thor on guitar and Scott McLemore on drums. The band released their first studio albums, aptly titled "Plays the Music of Thelonius Monk" (as the album is a collection of Monk covers) in 2011, while they also have to live albums, "Live at Domo" from 2008 and "A Love Supreme, Live at Cafe Cultura" from 2009. The band has a multitude of influences, ranging from Monk to Jimi Hendrix.

Official website:  http://www.asa-trio.com/" rel="nofollow - http://www.asa-trio.com/


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Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2011 at 12:40am
added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2011 at 2:18am
Ambrose Akinmusire

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is a forward-thinking musician with a bent toward atmospheric post-bop. Born in Oakland, California, Akinmusire showed early promise by his teens and gigged professionally while also playing in the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble. Early encounters with such luminaries as saxophonists Joe Henderson and Steve Coleman pushed Akinmusire to focus a keen eye on his own development. He earned his bachelor's degree from the Manhattan School of Music and later his master's from the University of Southern California. Along the way, Akinmusire studied with such trumpet luminaries as master teacher Laurie Frink, Lew Soloff, and Terence Blanchard. Akinmusire has appeared as a sideman on many albums, including works by saxophonist Coleman, pianists Aaron Parks and Vijay Iyer, trombonist Josh Roseman, bassist Esperanza Spalding, and others. In 2007 Akinmusire won the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition and the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. A year later he released his debut solo album, Prelude to Cora, on Fresh Sound New Talent. In 2011 Akinmusire returned with his sophomore album, When the Heart Emerges Glistening, on Blue Note Records.
Bio by  Matt Collar., Rovi, from www.starpulse.com


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2011 at 2:25am
Added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2011 at 3:07am
Richie Beirach

Richard Beirach, 23 May 1947, New York City, New York, USA. As a child, Beirach studied both classical and jazz piano before attending the Berklee College Of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. He graduated from the latter in 1972, promptly joining Stan Getz. Shortly after this, he began a long-term and hugely productive association with Dave Liebman. In order to fulfil the broad-based musical demands of Liebman’s group, Lookout Farm, Beirach also began playing keyboards. Nevertheless, his preferred instrument remained the piano. Although this particular group of Liebman’s was soon disbanded, Beirach later became a member of the saxophonist’s group, Quest. In the meantime, he had formed his own group, Eon, and had worked with John Abercrombie’s quartet. Beirach has played and sometimes recorded as sideman with many other leaders, including Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Konitz and John Scofield. Musicians with whom he has collaborated as leader or co-leader include Abercrombie, George Coleman, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette and Liebman.

Throughout the 90s, Beirach had a highly productive working relationship with the French-born saxophonist Henrik Frisk. In his composing and playing, Beirach’s twin musical influences make their presence heard. The classical side is brought out in his compositions through intriguingly mixed echoes of late nineteenth-century romanticism and twentieth-century angularity. Beirach’s playing reflects an array of pianistic influences, notably the dazzling yet diverse styles of Art Tatum, Bud Powell and Bill Evans. Nevertheless, he achieves an exceptionally individualistic sound, partly through a near-classical pastoral impressionism, marking him out as a piano player of consequence.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin





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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2011 at 3:47am
added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2011 at 7:44am
Hijaz

Hijaz is a sextet that combines elements of world music with jazz. Hijaz is the name of an Arab musical motif, but the band’s name also holds a clear reference to jazz.The music of the group is based on the dialogue between Tunesian oud player Moufadhel Adhoum and pianist Niko Deman and started with the release of the record Rag Rag by Tunesian singer Zohra Lajnef on which Hijaz also performed. The record was released in 2004 in Tunesia only but laid the basis for further collaboration.

The group consist of aforementioned musicians plus Moroccan percussionist Azzedine Jazzouli, bass player Rui Salgado and drummer/percussionist Chryster Aerts, both jazz musicians from Belgium. This rhythm sections uses traditions from Morocco to India as influence for its adventurous and solid basis. Above this, oud and piano interact and create a mysterious athmosphere. Elements from the Maghreb, Middle East and western jazz are very strong in the music and create a European-Mediterranean sound. The band may have met in Belgium but their music instantly transports you to the calm inner courtyard of some shady house a stone's throw from the bustle of the market in some North-African town.

In May 2008 Hijaz released the debut Cd Dunes which was very well received in the press (see press section). On it you can also hear renowned Armenian duduk player Vardan Hovanissian who has recently become the sixth member of Hijaz.


Bio taken from http://www.zephyrusvzw.be/database/index.php?q=artists/hijaz/biography




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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2011 at 7:51am
Melody Gardot

The story of vocalist Melody Gardot is as remarkable as any who perseveres against abject adversity. Born in New Jersey in 1985, she took up piano and played as a youngster on the nightclub scene of Philadelphia, influenced by jazz, folk, rock and pop musics. At age 19 she was a fashion student at the Community College of Philadelphia. But, on a fateful day, while riding her bicycle, the driver of a Jeep made an illegal turn, hurdling into Gardot and leaving her in the street for dead. Hospitalized for months with multiple head injuries and pelvic fractures, her love for music was the best therapy she could receive. While in her hospital bed, she wrote and recorded songs that would become the EP Some Lessons. Upon her eventual release from intensive care, Gardot found the strength and determination to further her career as an artist. Blessed with a beautiful voice and grand insight as a songwriter, her cognitive powers slowly but surely became pronounced, leading to the independent recording and release of her debut CD, Worrisome Heart, which was reissued in 2007 by Verve records. Her music could be described as a cross between Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, and Shania Twain, but goes deeper than mere pop convention. Gardot is hypersensitive to light and noise, thus she wears dark glasses, and uses a cane to walk. On-stage she requires a special seating unit, and wears a Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator, a TENS device, to assist in alleviating her neuralgic muscle pain. As amazing as her story is, what is more evident is that she possesses a blue style and persona that reflects not only her afflictions, but conversely the hope and joy of making personalized music that marks her as an individual and original. Though touring is difficult, she has been performing in major cities on the East Coast to support her recordings. In 2009, working with producer Larry Klein and arranger Vince Mendoza -- both known for their work with Joni Mitchell -- Gardot followed up her Verve debut with My One and Only Thrill

Bio by Michael G. Nastos taken from www.starpulse.com

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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2011 at 7:58am
added both


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2011 at 4:43am
Misha Alperin

Mikhail Alperin was born in the Ukraine in 1956 and grew up in a rural area of Bessarabia, the eastern part of Moldavia. Until 1976 he studied classical piano at music schools and academies in the Ukraine and Moldavia. Since 1977 he has worked as a free-lance arranger, composer and practicing musician. In 1980, along with Simon Shirman, Alperin founded the first Moldavian jazz quartet by developing his idea of linking jazz and folk.

Like most of the world's musicians, Alperin was obliged to earn his living with dance and party music. For the young musician, however, this music embodied things old and past. The future and freedom were to be found in music influenced by the West, music like rock and jazz. It was not until he had played in Moscow jazz circles for several years that he discovered the musical sounds of his native country for his own work. In Moscow he found other musicians also interested in integrating the musical traditions of their countries into jazz as an element of equal value, and in drawing from the rich tradition of the music of the peoples of the immense Soviet Union. It was during this period that he made the acquaintance of the brilliant hornist http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb22/Bio_2257.htm" rel="nofollow - Arkady Shilkloper , a member of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra who nevertheless also belonged to the circle of jazz musicians.

In the CD production Prayer Alperin & Shilkloper have expanded their jazz explorations eastward. They not only integrate a genuine singer of traditional Russian music, Sergei Starostin, in their duo, but also risk a spectacular encounter of two very different cultures: that of Mongolia / Southern Siberia, with origins in Buddhism, represented by vocalists from Kyzyl, the capital of small Siberian autonomy Tuva, and the Russian choir tradition. The result is amazing. Our Eurocentric perception is immediately transported into other remote times and spaces. Thanks to Alperin's sense of composition, one cannot help but feel that here jazz meets the Middle Ages.

Alperin's contribution to contemporary music is not only the unbiased integration of the most various peoples' musical traditions and the crossing of stylistic boundaries: Free of care, he also fuses music of the past with contemporary elements.

In 1989, in a duo with http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb22/Bio_2257.htm" rel="nofollow - Arkady Shilkloper , Alperin recorded the much-admired CD "Waves of Sorrow" for ECM; then his new production "North Story", recorded with Tore Brumborg, Jon Christensen, Terje Gevelt and http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb22/Bio_2257.htm" rel="nofollow - Arkady Shilkloper , appeared there in the spring of 1996. With these musicians Alperin has also recorded works of http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb14/Bio_1473.htm" rel="nofollow - Paul Hindemith and other composers of Classical Modernism.

In 1993 Alperin moved to Oslo in order to take on a position as professor of piano at the music academy there.

In the late autumn of 1995, Mikhail Alperin had the musical direction of an unusual project uniting two previously unacquainted musical cultures in Sofia, Bulgaria: the women's choir Angelite with its quite uncommon singing techniques and the four-man ensemble Huun Huur Tu from the Southern Siberian region of Tuva, bordering on Mongolia. The latter group, for its part, cultivates a form of overtone and undertone singing which is also quite foreign for the Western ear. A third independent vocal style is added to the production by the Russian singer Sergei Starostin. Alperin, who has composed works for children's choirs, chamber orchestras, and jazz ballet as well as a concert for flugelhorn, piano and symphony orchestra, wrote the arrangements for all of the pieces in this production.


from www.mymusicbase.ru


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2011 at 4:45am
Tin Hat Trio

Transplanted from New York to the Bay Area, the chamber jazz group http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tin-hat-trio-p365259" rel="nofollow - Tin Hat Trio consists of accordionist http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rob-burger-p321187" rel="nofollow - Rob Burger , guitarist http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mark-orton-p415960" rel="nofollow - Mark Orton , and violinist http://www.allmusic.com/artist/carla-kihlstedt-p250882" rel="nofollow - Carla Kihlstedt . The group's unique blend of structure, improvisation, and contemporary classical, folk, world, and jazz elements reflects each member's other performing experiences. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/kihlstedt-p250882" rel="nofollow - Kihlstedt majored in classical violin performance at the Oberlin Conservatory and went on to become a prominent performer in both classical and improvised music, playing with artists like http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-zorn-p141121" rel="nofollow - John Zorn and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/roscoe-mitchell-p7143" rel="nofollow - Roscoe Mitchell , and recording with http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eugene-chadbourne-p3861" rel="nofollow - Eugene Chadbourne , http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-grassy-knoll-p165070" rel="nofollow - the Grassy Knoll , and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-p5778" rel="nofollow - Tom Waits . She also appeared on http://www.allmusic.com/artist/philip-glass-p3001" rel="nofollow - Philip Glass ' series Music at the Anthology, sings and plays with another Bay Area band ( http://www.allmusic.com/artist/charming-hostess-p367945" rel="nofollow - Charming Hostess ), collaborates with choreographer Jo Kreiter, and is a graphic designer/illustrator as well.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/orton-p415960" rel="nofollow - Orton started playing guitar as a child and eventually studied composition at the Peabody Conservatory and the Hart School of Music. Also a professional recording and sound engineer, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/orton-p415960" rel="nofollow - Orton worked on sessions with http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-frisell-p76334" rel="nofollow - Bill Frisell , http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-zorn-p141121" rel="nofollow - John Zorn , and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-lounge-lizards-p6997" rel="nofollow - the Lounge Lizards , and engineered the sound at the Knitting Factory for two years. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/orton-p415960" rel="nofollow - Orton plays banjo, lute, dobro, lap steel, and electric guitar with his other group, San Francisco's http://www.allmusic.com/artist/old-joe-clarks-p278481" rel="nofollow - Old Joe Clarks , and has composed scores for independent films like Beverly Wachtel's Just Noticeable Difference.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/burger-p321187" rel="nofollow - Burger studied classical piano at Juilliard and explored different improvisational styles at the University of Massachusetts with http://www.allmusic.com/artist/max-roach-p7429" rel="nofollow - Max Roach , Archie Stepp, and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/yusef-lateef-p39968" rel="nofollow - Yusef Lateef . He broadened his range to include Hammond organ and vintage keyboards like the Optigan and Chamberlin, toy pianos and keyboards, and the accordion. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/burger-p321187" rel="nofollow - Burger has toured with http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-frisell-p76334" rel="nofollow - Bill Frisell , http://www.allmusic.com/artist/don-byron-p6222" rel="nofollow - Don Byron , and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joey-baron-p36829" rel="nofollow - Joey Baron , and appeared on http://www.allmusic.com/artist/frisell-p76334" rel="nofollow - Frisell 's Tales from the Far Side soundtrack. Since moving to the Bay Area, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/burger-p321187" rel="nofollow - Burger has worked with artists as diverse as http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tipsy-p202921" rel="nofollow - Tipsy and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mix-master-mike-p155343" rel="nofollow - Mix Master Mike ; he is also a member of http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-oranj-symphonette-p195061" rel="nofollow - the Oranj Symphonette , as well as his bandmate http://www.allmusic.com/artist/orton-p415960" rel="nofollow - Orton 's other project, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/old-joe-clarks-p278481" rel="nofollow - Old Joe Clarks . As http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-tin-hat-trio-p365259" rel="nofollow - the Tin Hat Trio , they released their debut album, http://www.allmusic.com/album/memory-is-an-elephant-r396558" rel="nofollow - Memory Is an Elephant , on Angel Records in early 1999; http://www.allmusic.com/album/helium-r471347" rel="nofollow - Helium followed in spring 2000, boasting appearances from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-p5778" rel="nofollow - Tom Waits and an uncredited http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mike-patton-p112839" rel="nofollow - Mike Patton . Two years later, the ambitious http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-rodeo-eroded-r598946" rel="nofollow - The Rodeo Eroded showcased their own unique music as well as guest appearances from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/phish-p21630" rel="nofollow - Phish drummer http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jon-fishman-p76325" rel="nofollow - Jon Fishman and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/willie-nelson-p1743" rel="nofollow - Willie Nelson . 2004's http://www.allmusic.com/album/book-of-silk-r701061" rel="nofollow - Book of Silk went in a more abstract direction; that year, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/burger-p321187" rel="nofollow - Burger left the band, while frequent collaborators http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ara-anderson-p535759" rel="nofollow - Ara Anderson and clarinetist http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ben-goldberg-p80630" rel="nofollow - Ben Goldberg joined the fold. Reflecting their new status, the group rechristened themselves http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tin-hat-p365259" rel="nofollow - Tin Hat for 2007's http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-sad-machinery-of-spring-r947469" rel="nofollow - The Sad Machinery of Spring .

from www.allmusic.com


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2011 at 4:54am
both added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2011 at 5:53am
Manu Katche


Emmanuel 'Manu' Katche was born in St Maur des Fossés, near Paris, in 1958, though his family roots go back to Africa's Ivory Coast. He studied piano from the age of 5, switching to drums at 14 and studying classical percussion at the Conservatoire National Supérieure de Musique de Paris. He has often said that his drum style is essentially an amalgam of African rhythm concepts and classical drumming, illuminated by the in-the-moment interaction of jazz. “When I play jazz I get called a 'rock drummer'. When I do rock projects, critics write about 'the jazz drummer Manu Katché'. But I'm just being myself, trying to be innovative as the music is played, and I guess that is more of a 'jazz' attitude.”

Music on ECM had been one of Katché's teenage inspirations: “I heard my first ECM album when I was about fifteen, and I remember I was amazed by the sound and by the way the music was played: big and bold but with a lot of respect for silence and a real musical balance between the instruments....” He was to arrive at the label by an indirect route, however. By the mid-1980s his floating beat had become one of the signature sounds of pop and rock, sup-porting singers from Joni Mitchell to Peter Gabriel. Manfred Eicher heard Katché playing on Robbie Robertson's untitled Geffen album and felt that his pulses and patterns, simultaneously modern and tribal, could easily be adapted to improvised contexts.

Invited to participate in ECM's 20th anniversary concerts in Paris in 1989, Katché played first in a trio with Jan Garbarek and Indian violinist Shankar in a concert at La Cigale. The encounter was to lead to Katché's membership of the Garbarek Group and his presence on a series of albums: I Took Up The Runes, Ragas and Sagas, Twelve Moons, Visible World, In Praise Of Dreams. Manu recently rejoined Jan's band for several months of live work with concerts which continue until the

end of 2007 in Germany, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Turkey, Portugal and Switzerland.

from www.allaboutjazz.com


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2011 at 5:58am
Roberto Fonseca

Roberto Alain Fonseca Cortés, 29 March 1975, Havana, Cuba. Taking to music from an early age, Fonseca first emulated his percussionist father by playing drums before turning to the piano. The household was very musical, his mother being a professional singer and two brothers, drummer Emilio Valdés and pianist Jesus ‘Chuchito’ Valdés Jnr., became professional musicians. Fonseca studied at the Guillermo Tomás School of Music in Havana and in 1991, when in his mid-teens, he performed at the Havana Jazz Plaza International Festival and attracted considerable attention. After graduation, through the mid-90s he performed at other festivals and in concert and at clubs playing solo and in various groups that included Agua Pura and Temperamento, co-leading the latter with saxophonist Javier Zalba.

In addition to playing extensively in Cuba, Fonseca has also performed in Colombia, Canada and Australia, and has visited Europe, receiving acclaim in England, France (playing live in Paris for the July 2006 Agnès B fashion show), Germany, Spain and Italy, touring the latter country with singer Augusto Enriquez, with whom he also recorded, Cuando Yo Sea Grande. Among artists with whom he has shared stages and sometimes recorded are George Benson, Michael Brecker, the Buena Vista Social Club, José Luis ‘Chico’ Cortés, Angá Díaz, Ibrahim Ferrer (with whom he appeared internationally as musical director of the singer’s 2005 Mi Sueño: A Bolero Songbook tour), Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Frank Emilio, Rubén González, Giovanni Hidalgo, Papo Luca, Omara Portuondo (with whom he played at 2002’s Tokyo Jazz Festival), Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Wayne Shorter, Timbalada, Bebo Valdés and Chucho Valdés. In addition to his performing schedule, Fonseca has taught at the Cuban National School of Art. Fonseca has also composed music for films and has produced albums for other artists, including Asa Feeston and Obsesión.




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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2011 at 6:17am
added both, what is the source/author of Fonseca's bio?


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2011 at 6:44am
^ www.oldies.com

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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2011 at 1:02am
Lucian Ban

Twice nominated in 2005 & 2006 for prestigious Hans Koller “Best European
Jazz Musician Preis“Award, pianist, bandleader, composer & arranger LUCIAN
BAN is originally from Cluj, Transylvania, Romania. He currently lives in New
York City where is part of the next generation of performers & composers at
the forefront of contemporary modern jazz.
He leads several projects and writes innovative music that reinvents the idiom
of jazz music. His compositions are performed & recorded by other musicians
and ensembles.
Mr. Ban leads the super group ELEVATION featuring world renowned tenor
sax Abraham Burton, Nasheet Waits on drums and bassist John Hebert,
the ASYMMETRY Quartet feat. Jorge Sylvester (alto sax), Brad
Jones (bass) and Derrek Phillips or Gene Jackson (drums), and The TUBA
PROJECT a group featuring the famous Bob Stewart on (tuba), Alex
Harding (bari sax), Bruce Williams (alto sax) and Derrek Phillips (drums).
He co-leads with soprano sax great Sam Newsome “The Romanian-American Jazz Suite” group, a project
that presents Romanian Folk music from a jazz perspective. In 2008 their CD bearing the same name was released to critical acclaim to both US and European audiences, followed by successful tours on both sides of the Atlantic.
He also co-leads with bari sax extraordinaire Alex Harding the LUMINATION Ensemble a group that performs since
2002 featuring special guests such as: Sam Newsome, Art Baron, Jorge Sylvester, Josh Roseman, Bruce Williams and many more.
In 2003 the Lumination Ensemble featuring drum legend Barry Altschul was voted "One of the best shows of
2003 " by the All About Jazz Magazine NYC along with Cecil Taylor and Joe Lovano groups.
Mr. Ban has released 7 critically acclaimed albums as a leader for US and European based labels.
He performs and tours regularly with his projects and as a sideman in New York jazz clubs and Europe Festivals and between 2002 -2005 was a member of The BMI Composers Jazz Workshop. He also writes & arranges for Machito Orchestra and was commissioned by them to write a piece for their opening concert at Super Bowl 2002.
Lucian Ban also wrote music for more than 20 theater productions, film and ballet and for NYC Symphony Orchestra and in June 2001 he composed original music for the Theater/Dance Company MINUS. His original music for the theatre play “Philosopher Fox” produced by East River Comedia was nominated twice for the prestigious IT Awards in NYC. His last theatre score was for Saviana’s Stanescu ‘Waxing West” production at La Mama Theater in NY. Lucian Ban has received his degree in Contemporary Jazz Composition and Arranging from New School University in NYC. He also holds a degree in Philosophy from Bucharest University

from bio at artist's site


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2011 at 1:06am
Aziza Mustafa Zadeh

Aziza Mustafa Zadeh was born in Baku, the Capital of Azerbaijan, to musical parents. Her father, Vagif Mustafa Zadeh, a pianist and composer, became famous by creating a fusion between jazz and the traditional Azerbaijani music known as mugam. His wife, Eliza Mustafa Zadeh, was a classically-trained singer from Georgia. As a young child Aziza enjoyed all forms of art - dancing, painting, singing - and at the age of 3 she appeared in public with her father, improvising with voice. But it was her talent for the piano that eventually shone through.

Having studied classical piano from an early age, and despite her enthusiasm for the compositions of JS Bach and Frederic Chopin, she soon began displaying a gift for improvisation. "I didn't practise enough," she admits. "If I don't feel like playing then I don't play." When her father died tragically on stage at the age of 39, it was a shocking blow to the young Aziza, and a major turning point in her life. Her mother's response to the crisis was to give up her own career as a classical singer and dedicate herself to nurturing her daughter's musical gifts. She now acts as her manager, and Aziza has come to rely on her judgment when she's writing or recording new pieces. "I trust her because she's extremely experienced as a classical musician and she had jazz experience with my father," Aziza points out. "And she knows a lot about music and history and literature."

When she was 17, she won the http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb1/Bio_137.htm" rel="nofollow - Thelonious Monk piano competition in Washington DC, playing some of Monk's compositions but in her own mugam-influenced style. Around the same time, she moved to Germany with her mother, and concentrated on developing her own distinctive musical direction.

In 1991, she released her debut album, entitled simply Aziza Mustafa Zadeh. It was immediately clear that this was an artist with an unusual and remarkable voice, able to blend her ethnic roots with both classical and jazz inputs. Early favourable impressions were reinforced by 1993's Always, which won Aziza both the ECHO Award and the German Phono Association's Jazz Award. So impressive were her talents that a prestigious squad of jazz musicians chose to join her in the studio for 1995's Dance Of Fire. Many less self-assured artists might have been overawed by a line up comprising guitarist http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb4/Bio_440.htm" rel="nofollow - Al Di Meola , bassman http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb0/Bio_19.htm" rel="nofollow - Stanley Clarke , former http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb6/Bio_639.htm" rel="nofollow - Weather Report drummer http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb2/Bio_225.htm" rel="nofollow - Omar Hakim and saxophonist http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb0/Bio_46.htm" rel="nofollow - Bill Evans , but once again Aziza produced an album unmistakeably imbued with her particular musical inclinations. 'Aziza is a genius, both as a composer and as a performer. Her music has much more meaning for me than just straight jazz because what I hear is her culture', said Di Meola. 'I hear Azerbaijan.'

With audiences now packing out her live concerts across Europe and beyond, from London and Paris to Istanbul and Tel Aviv, she created a mild frisson of excitement by wearing little more than long tendrils of hair on the sleeve of Seventh Truth (1996). Perhaps this image was designed to mirror the music within, which was mostly stripped down to solo piano and voice. The follow-up, Jazziza, mixed up her own compositions with jazz standards including My Funny Valentine and http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb2/Bio_271.htm" rel="nofollow - Dave Brubeck 's Take Five.

Now there's Shamans, her first album under a new contract with Decca Records. The disc, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, draws together the varied strands of Aziza's music, brilliantly showcasing her classically-influenced piano playing on Bach Zadeh or Portrait Of Chopin, and giving full rein to her highly personalised vocal technique on compositions such as Ladies Of Azerbaijan or Sweet Sadness. The title piece is an unusual departure for Aziza, using only percussion, the chirruping of a cricket, and multiple overdubs of her own voice to evoke a mystical shadow-world. "For me, the spiritual part of life is the most important," she explains. "Shamans are special people - they can heal you."

from www.mymusicbase.ru


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: js
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2011 at 4:15am
Got both.


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2011 at 3:15am
Colin Stetson

Woodwind player http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,980832,00.html" rel="nofollow - Colin Stetson can play powerfully while circularly breathing for long periods, can draw multiphonics out of a sax with great skill, and can command an audience's attention with his focus and melodic improvisations. http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,980832,00.html" rel="nofollow - Stetson was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI, where he became proficient on assorted saxophones, clarinet, and flute. He earned a degree in music from his hometown school the University of Michigan in 1997, studying with http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,469009,00.html" rel="nofollow - Roscoe Mitchell , Donald Sinta, and Christopher Creviston; afterward, he went on to study with http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,395525,00.html" rel="nofollow - Steve Adams and http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,501682,00.html" rel="nofollow - Henry Threadgill as well. While still in college, he co-founded http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,1153636,00.html" rel="nofollow - Transmission (which later became http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,1153636,00.html" rel="nofollow - Transmission Trio ), and in 1998 he played with progressive Detroit-area jazz-rockers http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,680060,00.html" rel="nofollow - Larval on their Knitting Factory album http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,368101,00.html" rel="nofollow - Larval 2 . He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area that summer along with the rest of http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,1153636,00.html" rel="nofollow - Transmission , which released its first album in 1999. http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,980832,00.html" rel="nofollow - Stetson also branched out to play with the People's Bizarre, a chamber jazz group influenced by Eastern European folk, and Connector, which blended acoustic and electronic instrumentation. In the meantime, he also played live with the likes of http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,430625,00.html" rel="nofollow - Fred Frith , http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,454820,00.html" rel="nofollow - Peter Kowald , http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,487272,00.html" rel="nofollow - Ned Rothenberg , and http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,533642,00.html" rel="nofollow - Kenny Wollesen , and kept up his Detroit/Ann Arbor connections as well. Before moving west, he had played on his friend http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,661053,00.html" rel="nofollow - Recloose 's debut EP for Planet E, and their collaborations continued over the years, culminating in the DJ's acclaimed full-length http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,1635378,00.html" rel="nofollow - Cardiology in 2002. Also that year, http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,506628,00.html" rel="nofollow - Tom Waits tapped http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,980832,00.html" rel="nofollow - Stetson for reed work on his http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,1656845,00.html" rel="nofollow - Alice and http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,1656846,00.html" rel="nofollow - Blood Money albums, which led to significant exposure and a live performance on David Letterman. http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,980832,00.html" rel="nofollow - Stetson had a limited edition 3" CD release of a 2002 performance at the Artship in Oakland, and his full-length debut as a leader came in the summer of 2003 with the quintet recording http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,2672187,00.html" rel="nofollow - Slow Descent . He also has his own website at www.colinstetson.com. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide



-------------
I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2011 at 3:16am
Mathias Eick

Mathias Eick, is a Norwegian jazz musician born (26 June 1979) near the town of Eidsfoss in the county of Vestfold, Norway.

His main instrument is trumpet, but he also plays double bass, vibraphone, piano and guitar.

Mathias Eick has performed with several well-known music groups and musicians, Jaga Jazzist and “Trondheim Jazz Orchestra” together with Chick Corea and Pat Metheny.

Mathias Eick was awarded “The International Jazz Award for New Talent 2007”.

As a trumpeter, Eick is much in the tradition of such players as Kenny Wheeler, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, and Enrico Rava. Eick released his solo debut album, The Door, on ECM in 2008. That same year he was also featured on guitarist Jacob Young's ECM release Sideways. In 2011, Eick returned to his solo work with the more contemporary pop-oriented Skala.

from Allaboutjazz and www.mog.com





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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2011 at 3:43am
added both


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2011 at 8:45pm
http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/100nka.aspx" rel="nofollow - 100NKA
100nka (read: stonka) is a trio from Cracow, Poland. Lineup consist of percussionist  http://www.last.fm/music/Przemek+Borowiecki" rel="nofollow - Przemek Borowiecki , contrabassist http://www.last.fm/music/Adam+Stodolski" rel="nofollow - Adam Stodolski , and guitarist Tomasz Leś.


Debuted in 2004 with the ‘Zimna Plyta’ album, recorded in the Alchemia club in Cracow with guest appearance of saxophonist and clarinettist  http://www.last.fm/music/Miko%C5%82aj+Trzaska" rel="nofollow - Mikołaj Trzaska .

Improvised music by 100nka, with strong groove and free-jazz elements inspired by  http://www.last.fm/music/Miles+Davis" rel="nofollow - Miles Davis ,  http://www.last.fm/music/John+Coltrane" rel="nofollow - John Coltrane ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Ornette+Coleman" rel="nofollow - Ornette Coleman ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Jim+Black" rel="nofollow - Jim Black ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Ellery+Eskelin" rel="nofollow - Ellery Eskelin ,  http://www.last.fm/music/+noredirect/Medeski%2BMartin%2B%2526%2BWood" rel="nofollow - Medeski Martin & Wood ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Drew+Gress" rel="nofollow - Drew Gress  http://www.last.fm/music/DJ+Logic" rel="nofollow - DJ Logic ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Yuka+Honda" rel="nofollow - Yuka Honda ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Dave+Holland" rel="nofollow - Dave Holland ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Scorch+Trio" rel="nofollow - Scorch Trio ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Ken+Vandermark" rel="nofollow - Ken Vandermark ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Hamid+Drake" rel="nofollow - Hamid Drake , http://www.last.fm/music/Joey+Baron" rel="nofollow - Joey Baron ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Tim+Berne" rel="nofollow - Tim Berne ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Herb+Robertson" rel="nofollow - Herb Robertson ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Adam+Piero%C5%84czyk" rel="nofollow - Adam Pierończyk ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Antoni+Ziut+Gralak" rel="nofollow - Antoni Ziut Gralak ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Fisz" rel="nofollow - Fisz ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Dave+Douglas" rel="nofollow - Dave Douglas ,  http://www.last.fm/music/John+Zorn" rel="nofollow - John Zorn , http://www.last.fm/music/Marc+Ducret" rel="nofollow - Marc Ducret ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Hilmar+Jensson" rel="nofollow - Hilmar Jensson ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Chris+Speed" rel="nofollow - Chris Speed ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Ben+Perowsky" rel="nofollow - Ben Perowsky ,  http://www.last.fm/music/Matthew+Shipp" rel="nofollow - Matthew Shipp ,  http://www.last.fm/music/William+Parker" rel="nofollow - William Parker .

Music created with use of 90 years old double bass, drums which remember birth of Polish Jazz and an electric guitar together with a broad arsenal of effects merging novelty with wealth of improvised music.

(Source: Last.fm)


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Posted By: js
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2011 at 9:17pm
got it


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2011 at 8:37am
Lars Danielsson

The bassist Lars Danielsson is reknown and admired in the International Jazz world for his lyrical but groovy playing. Not least his capability to improve the appearance of the melody has brought him around the world in a number of various musical constellations.

Lars Danielsson was born in 1958 and was educated from the Music Conservatory in Gothenburg. Both on double bass, electric bass and cello - (his originally main instrument from the days at the conservatory) - he is an extraordinary soloist and accompanist, who gives the music edge and colourful temperament.

“Lars Danielsson Quartet” with former Miles Davis saxophonist David Liebman, pianist Bobo Stenson and legendary ECM drummer Jon Christensen has been receiving loads of recognition and awards during the 20 years in which the Quartet has existed. This Quartet has been a playground for Danielssons work as a composer and arranger, which he has extended to include both Symphony Orchestra and Big Band music. - During the previous years in co-operation with Danmarks Radios RUO Orchestra (a Symphony Orchestra) as a composer, arranger and producer. He was the conductor and composer of the Jazz Baltica Ensemble for two years.

Extracts from Lars Danielssons Discography: 8 solo-albums since 1980 both with “Lars Danielssons Quartet” and guests such as Alex Acuna and John Abercrombie,Bill Evans and Niels Lan Doky. Other notabilities whom Lars Danielsson has worked with is Randy and Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette, Mike Stern, Billy Hart, Charles Lloyd, Terri Lyne Carrington,Joey Calderrazzo,Gino Vanelli and Dave Kikoski. Lars Danielsson has also been a member of the “Trilok Gurtu Group” .

As a producer Lars Danielsson has been responsible for productions with Cæcilie Norby and The Danish Radio RUO Orchestra among others.


from Allaboutjazz..com




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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2011 at 8:57am
added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2011 at 2:10pm
Vassilis Tsabropoulos

Born in Athens Vassilis Tsabropoulos, who is considered to be one of the greatest Greek pianists, started playing the piano from a tender age. A prodigy, was winning music competitions from the age of ten, and after graduating from the Athens National Conservatory, continued his studies on an Aristotle Onassis Scholarship at the Paris Conservatory, the Salzburg Academy and the Julliard School, with great teachers including http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb16/Bio_1613.htm" rel="nofollow - Rudolf Serkin and Tatiana Nikolayeva.

Tsabropoulos was an early achiever, winning the UNICEF competition when he was only ten. His distinctions and awards are too many and many are his collaborations with Orchestras in Greece and Europe, performing an ever-expanding repertoire in both recitals and concertos. He has future as soloist with Orchestras such as the Czech Philharmonic, the Yuta Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Chamber Orchestra, the Sofia Philharmonic, the Italy Radio Orchestra, the Athens Camerata, the Athens Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Color Orchestra, the Lyon Orchestra and the Huston Philharmonic.

Tsabropoulos has participated in many international festivals all over Europe and he has performed every season in the musical centers of the world, presenting an ever growing repertoire in recitals, concertos and chamber music. He has made the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and Bach central references in his performance repertoire but is also committed advocate of Russian music, frequently playing the works of Rachmaninov, Prokoviev and Scriabin. His playing combines intellectual probity with warm and musical feeling, which is marked by sensitivity to tone color and delicacy of finger work.

While Tsabropoulos began his career as a keyboard virtuoso playing concerto and solo pieces, he has since broadened the range of his activities quite considerably. He has reputation as a classical pianist, an interpreter of 19th and 20th century music, and there is an internationally growing recognition for both his composing and his very special improvising piano playing.

Tsabropoulos has composed works for Orchestra, string quartets, music for violin and cello and many solo piano works include the preludes which he wrote especially for http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb16/Bio_1603.htm" rel="nofollow - Vladimir Ashkenazy . Since 2000 he is an artist of ECM Records label, and since then he has toured in Europe playing with http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb12/Bio_1235.htm" rel="nofollow - Arild Andersen and John Marshal as a piano trio, and in piano solos with concerts in England, Germany, Italy, Austria, Norway, Denmark, France and Greece. Alongside his tight schedules of concert activities, Tsabropoulos has given master classes of compositions and piano and frequently he is a member of piano competitions.

Vassilis Tsabropoulos is considered as one of the most meticulous musicians of his generation. He lives with his family in Athens.

from www.mymusicbase.ru

By the way, his name is wrongly spelled - it should be Vassilis and not Vasillis


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2011 at 3:28pm
added,name corrected


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2011 at 10:45am
Agusti Fernandez

Over the course of his long and successful career, pianist Agustí Fernández has built up an international reputation, not only as one of Spain’s most outstanding performers, but as a reference in the world of improvised music. Fernández was born in Palma de Mallorca, where he studied piano, later continuing his studies in Barcelona, France and Germany. A professional musician since the age of just thirteen, his life changed completely when he discovered the work of Cecil Taylor and Iannis Xenakis when studying with the latter in 1978. Fernández’s career as a solo artist really began to take off at the II Biennial of Young Creative Artists in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1987, since when he has performed at major festivals all over Spain and Europe, as well as composing for dance, theatre, cinema and television.

Co-founder and director of the Orquestra del Caos and director of the Big Ensemble del Taller de Músics in Barcelona, Fernández also co-founded the IBA (Improvisadors de Barcelona) Orchestra with Joan Saura and Liba Villavecchia, directing the impro ensemble until 2001.

Agustí Fernández collaborated regularly with fellow pianist Carles Santos, and took part with him in a number of shows from 1982 to 1998. He has also taken part in performances by the artist Jordi Benito, as well as composing music for the Catalan designer Antonio Miró and collaborating with the flamenco cantaor Miguel Poveda, puppeteer Joan Baixas and draftsman Perico Pastor.

Over the course of his career, moreover, he was worked with such outstanding contemporary dance choreographers as Àngels Margarit, María Muñoz, Ramon Oller, Tomás Aragay and Margarita Guergué, amongst others. He also accompanied the Merce Cunningham Dance Company when this renowned dance troupe presented Event in Barcelona in 2009.

In 1998, Fernández began a close artistic collaboration with choreographer and dancer Andrés Corchero, with whom he has created a number of shows over the years. In 1998, moreover, he formed the Trío Local with Joan Saura and Liba Villavecchia.

In 2003, Fernández became the first Spanish musician to record for the prestigious German label ECM, playing with the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble (of which he has been a member since 2002) on the CD Memory/Vision. Fernández also joined the Barry Guy New Orchestra in 2002.

Three years later, in 2005, he formed the Fernández/Guy/López trio. The new ensemble made its debut at the Grec Festival of Barcelona to present the CD Aurora, which won unanimous worldwide critical acclaim.

Fernández was musical director of the TVE programme Glasnost in 1989-91, and co-director (with Barbara Held) of the Metrònom International Experimental Music Week in Barcelona in 1997-1999. From 2000 to 2006, he directed the Nous Sons contemporary music festival, organised at L’Auditori in Barcelona. Finally, he has curated the Music Nights season at the Joan Miró Foundation in the Catalan capital since the year 2000.

Agustí Fernández has also taught impro at ESMUC, the Catalan college of music, since 2000.

A prolific musician, he has recorded more than 50 CDs to date.


from artist's site




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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2011 at 10:57am
Added    


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2011 at 1:29pm
Julia Hulsman

Jazz singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist http://www.allmusic.com/artist/julia-hlsmann-p833723" rel="nofollow - Julia Hülsmann was born in Germany, and her intelligent, brilliant, and incisive brand of poetic, artful vocal and piano jazz has brought her tremendous critical respect in her native country but little exposure or attention outside of it. Forming her own trio with bassist http://www.allmusic.com/artist/marc-muellbauer-p994813" rel="nofollow - Marc Muellbauer and drummer Rainer Winch (Winch was eventually replaced in the trio by http://www.allmusic.com/artist/heinrich-kbberling-p453106" rel="nofollow - Heinrich Köbberling on drums) in 1995, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/hlsmann-p833723" rel="nofollow - Hülsmann released http://www.allmusic.com/album/trio-r1226560" rel="nofollow - Trio on BIT Records in 2003 as well as http://www.allmusic.com/album/scattering-poems-r893945" rel="nofollow - Scattering Poems , featuring vocalist http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rebekka-bakken-p553867" rel="nofollow - Rebekka Bakken , on the German label ACT that same year. Although she is an accomplished songwriter, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/hlsmann-p833723" rel="nofollow - Hülsmann 's work has often tended toward interpretation, and she has done intriguing reconfigurations of the songs of http://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-newman-p5021" rel="nofollow - Randy Newman , http://www.allmusic.com/artist/nick-drake-p1963" rel="nofollow - Nick Drake , and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sting-p5536" rel="nofollow - Sting and has provided striking jazz soundscapes for the poems of http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ee-cummings-p237381" rel="nofollow - E.E. Cummings and http://www.allmusic.com/artist/emily-dickinson-p238935" rel="nofollow - Emily Dickinson . http://www.allmusic.com/album/come-closer-r893944" rel="nofollow - Come Closer , with vocalist http://www.allmusic.com/artist/anna-lauvergnac-p483630" rel="nofollow - Anna Lauvergnac , was released in 2004 by ACT, followed by http://www.allmusic.com/album/good-morning-midnight-r864159" rel="nofollow - Good Morning Midnight , featuring singer http://www.allmusic.com/artist/roger-cicero-p583227" rel="nofollow - Roger Cicero , in 2006. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/hlsmann-p833723" rel="nofollow - Hülsmann reverted to a straight trio for two ECM recordings, http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-end-of-a-summer-r1442266" rel="nofollow - The End of a Summer , which appeared on in 2008, and http://www.allmusic.com/album/imprint-r2114075" rel="nofollow - Imprint , which followed in 2011.

by Steve Leggett


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: js
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2011 at 3:01pm
Got it


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2011 at 9:26am
Jan Garbarek

b. 4 March 1947, Norway. Inspired by hearing http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb0/Bio_27.htm" rel="nofollow - John Coltrane on the radio in 1961, Garbarek taught himself to play tenor saxophone (subsequently adding soprano and bass saxophone). In 1962 he won an amateur competition, which resulted in his first professional work, and he was soon leading a group with Jon Christensen, http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb9/Bio_977.htm" rel="nofollow - Terje Rypdal and http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb12/Bio_1235.htm" rel="nofollow - Arild Andersen . In 1968 he was the Norwegian representative at the European Broadcasting Union festival, and the recordings of this (notably an impressive version of Coltrane's 'Naima') brought him to wider notice when they were transmitted throughout Europe.

Subsequently his style has become more severe, sometimes almost bleak, although there is a restrained warmth to his sound. Garbarek's playing is representative of the kind of music associated with Manfred Eicher's ECM Records and of a characteristically Scandinavian strand of jazz, melodic and atmospheric, which has little overt emotionalism but does not lack intensity. His writing and playing display considerable concern with tone and texture and appear to have exerted some influence on Tommy Smith and post-sabbatical http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb7/Bio_728.htm" rel="nofollow - Charles Lloyd (with whom he has shared colleagues Christensen, http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb1/Bio_101.htm" rel="nofollow - Keith Jarrett and http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb17/Bio_1724.htm" rel="nofollow - Palle Danielsson ) as well as a variety of European players such as Joakim Milder and Alberto Nacci. In the mid-70s he worked in Jarrett's 'Belonging' band with Christensen and Danielsson, recording the much-praised Belonging and My Song, and also played with http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb7/Bio_737.htm" rel="nofollow - Ralph Towner on Solstice and Sounds And Shadows. In the 80s his own groups have featured http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb9/Bio_903.htm" rel="nofollow - Eberhard Weber , http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb6/Bio_666.htm" rel="nofollow - Bill Frisell and http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb2/Bio_242.htm" rel="nofollow - John Abercrombie among others. His tours in the late 80s with a band including the remarkable percussionist http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb13/Bio_1319.htm" rel="nofollow - Nana Vasconcelos were highly acclaimed and inspired many other musicians and bands to essay the juxtaposition of glacially imposing saxophone lines with exotic, tropical rhythm. Garbarek has also worked with http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb22/Bio_2200.htm" rel="nofollow - Don Cherry , http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb5/Bio_574.htm" rel="nofollow - Chick Corea , http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb9/Bio_924.htm" rel="nofollow - David Torn and with http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb25/Bio_2562.htm" rel="nofollow - George Russell during Russell's residency in Scandinavia in the late 60s - an association which resulted in a fine series of recordings that featured the young Garbarek, notably Othello Ballet Suite, Trip To Prillarguri and Electronic Sonata For Souls Loved By Nature (though none was released until the 80s). Garbarek has also shown an increasing interest in folk and ethnic musics that has not only coloured his own playing but led to him recording with Ravi Shankar on the 1984 Song For Everyone and producing an ECM album for the Norwegian folk singer Agnes Buen Gurnas, 1991's Rosensfole. For Ragas & Sagas (1993), Garbarek collaborated with the Pakistani classical singer, Usted Fateh Ali Khan and trio of musicians playing tabla and sarangi, a 39-string violin. Garbarek's melodic solos effectively complemented the traditional Pakistani instrumental sounds. In the same year, Garbarek's Twelve Moons concentrated once again on the Scandinavian-folk melodies he is continually exploring. The album's emphatic rhythmic 'feel' was due in no small part to the presence of drummer http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb5/Bio_558.htm" rel="nofollow - Manu Katche and bassist http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb9/Bio_903.htm" rel="nofollow - Eberhard Weber . Rather surprisingly, given his avoidance of gallery-pleasing pyrotechnics, Garbarek has steadily acquired a public following equal to his huge critical reputation. Observers of the UK Top 75 album chart in the spring of 1996 would not have been as shocked as would a jazz fan, but horror upon horror, Garbarek's Visible World became a hit. The highly accessible nature of the opening tracks such as 'Red Wind', 'The Creek' and the folk inspired 'The Survivor' aided it's wider appeal. World music followers would also have found a great rapport with the 12-minute mantra 'Evening Land', featuring some wonderful vocals from http://www.mymusicbase.ru/PPB/ppb8/Bio_877.htm" rel="nofollow - Mari Boine .

from mymusicbase.ru


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2011 at 9:29am
added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2011 at 9:46am
Eric Vloeimans

Eric Vloeimans (1963), born in the Netherlands, is regarded as one of Europe’s best trumpet players. He shows an extraordinary talent for playing original music with an outstanding quality. On his cd's Vloeimans prefers to record original compositions. As a composer he does not feel restricted to one particular style, but at the same time, he has managed to create a language of his own. His writing is fresh and creative, yet not without feel and respect for the tradition. The great musical talent and the expressive power of the music of Eric Vloeimans have been honoured by winning the Dutch Edison Award four times, the Boy Edgar Award, the Elly Ameling oeuvre prize and the prestigious Bird Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival.

Eric Vloeimans has been active in a wide variety of ensembles all over the years. The Eric Vloeimans Quartet and his recent Gatecrash group have earned reputations as being Holland's top bands. Vloeimans' performances with a multitude of other formations has shown his versatility. His musical talent, easy-going attitude and great sense of humour have brought him to play with national and international artists. Eric Vloeimans has attained a level that enables him to share the stage with many of the most reputable and established musicians in the jazz scene and beyond. He played with Marc Johnson, Pierre Courbois, The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Michiel Borstlap, Jeroen van Vliet, Nguyên Lê, Anton Goudsmit, Spinvis, Jimmy Haslip, Lars Danielsson, Michael Moore, Joey Baron, Mercer Ellington, John Taylor, Harmen Fraanje, Henny Vrienten and many, many others.

His musical cooperation’s have taken Eric Vloeimans abroad many times. With diverse artists and ensembles he played all over Europe, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, China and Japan. The experiences from his travels influence his work constantly. The music of Eric Vloeimans shows a

... http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=11092#" rel="nofollow - Expand to read entire bio >

remarkable power to create bridges and reach the hearts of people all over the world.

from www.allaboutjazz.com




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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2011 at 10:06am
added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2011 at 7:27am
Jacques Schwarz-Bart was born of mixed races. His early experience as a man taught him that one can be a harmonious receptacle for several cultures, as long as each one is given its value and importance. After graduating from the French School of Government (Sciences Po Paris), Jacques has been working for the French Senate. While his first instrument is the Gwoka Drums from Guadeloupe – his native country, he discovers the tenor saxophone at age 24, and three years later, quits his career to go and study at the Berklee College of music.

After playing alongside such luminaries as Roy Hargrove, Danilo Perez, Ari Hoenig, Meshell n’Degeocello, D’angelo or Chucho Valdes, Jacques finally decides to follow his own vision as a band leader. He then leaves Roy Hargrove’s band in 2005 and finalizes his Gwoka Jazz Project, gathering some faithful and talented musicians such as Sonny Troupé, Olivier Juste or Milan Milanovic. Jacques and his Gwoka Project record two albums for Universal, “Soné Ka La” and “Abyss”, which have built his current career as an internationally acclaimed jazz band leader.

In 2010, he releases “Rise Above”, which revives his long lasting collaboration with singer - and spouse - Stephanie McKay. As Bob Davis puts it: “This album sounds like what might have happened if John Coltrane and Minnie Riperton were to make an album together”.

More recently, Jacques, whose fertile brain seems to never rest, has launched three new projects, ranging from straight jazz to Caribbean roots music. The first one is a free trio with guitar, drums and saxophone. The absence of bass, while freeing the music from the ground, provides an aerial –almost ethereal - quality to the music. The wide open space becomes a formidable launching pad for the multi-dimensional playing of Gilad Hekselman and Obed Calvaire.

During these last years, Jacques had the opportunity to play with drummer Leon Parker, pianist Baptiste Trotignon and bassist Thomas Bramerie. From these encounters, a Quartet came up. The music takes off effortlessly. The players soar with unpredictable but purposeful creativity, while showing an unbreakable sense of unity. All the members of the band contribute in the writing and direction of the music. A recording is in the works for the end of 2011 and should display how special a symbiosis is achieved here.

Last but not least, Jacques has created a project that synergizes modern jazz and ritual voodoo music from Haiti. It features two Voodoo priests: the great singer Errol Josué, and percussionist Gaston Bonga, as well as some of the finest Jazz musicians: Etienne Charles, Obed Calvaire, Luqies Cutis, and Milan Milanovic. While remaining a jazz project, the music is lifted by the powerful spirituality of voodoo music. Band members and audience seem to be sailing together on a sea of light. The music was just presented as the headliner for the opening day of the famous Banlieues Bleues festival on March 11th, 2011 in Paris. Jacques then begins to tour with this project, including concerts in Morocco (Essaouira Festival), Guadeloupe, and more to come.


from artist's site




-------------
I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: js
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2011 at 9:34am
thanks


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2011 at 10:04pm
http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/aievea.aspx?ac=aie" rel="nofollow - AIEVEA
Oozing with innovative charm, Aievea re-invents the meaning of acid-jazz. 
Step into a world of two innovative and multi-instrument players - VLAICU GOLCEA and ELECTRIC BROTHER, brimming with freshly brewed electronic sounds, the must-see-to-believe drummer TAVI SCURTU who juggles with his steady, creative rhythms, sometimes on the soft tip of jazz, sometimes heavy and raw like drum’n’bass. 

Nothing seems to be missing. But there comes MARTA HRISTEA with mellow, delicate or harsh, powerful vocals, versatile lyrics and unforgettable melodic lines in a perfectly accurate intonation. 
Still, there is something more: imagine a story within a story, the eye complementing the ear, the visual cornucopia of CASA GONTZ that will haunt your memories days and nights after the performance. It is no surprise they have highlighted numerous club gigs, radio and TV programs and theaters since their debut in 2002, and seeing them live is always a feast for your ears and eyes. 
Since the release of their first album, SCARED OF JAZZ, Aievea performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, in Budapest, Rome, Ost Klub in Vienna, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Brussels, Val de Reuil, New Jazz Festival Iasi, Timisoara, Gheorghieni, Warsaw, among others.

From Last.fm


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Posted By: Kazuhiro
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2011 at 10:15pm
Thank you. I added it now. Please confirm it.


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2011 at 10:21pm
It's there. Thanks Thumbs Up

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Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2011 at 3:45am
MMMMhhhh!!!....
 
I had no idea we could slap on other site's bio on here...
 
I thoughht it was like in PA, where yuou had to write your own... OK!! I'll try to submit a few ....
 
I'll probably even try to provide them in the submission thread from now on.
 
 
 


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my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicted musicians to crazy ones....



Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2011 at 9:18am
It's more the fact that artists are added without bios, so I thought it would be nice to try to fill out JMA's empty halls LOL

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Posted By: tupan
Date Posted: 15 Sep 2011 at 9:42am
Anette Hanshaw has a bio in Wikipedia (is free for use, but we only must give credit to wikipedia, I think):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Hanshaw" rel="nofollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Hanshaw


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 15 Sep 2011 at 11:16am
thanks, added


Posted By: tupan
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2011 at 11:19pm
Bio of Doc Cheatham, again from wikipedia;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Cheatham" rel="nofollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Cheatham


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 26 Sep 2011 at 1:28am
  added


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2011 at 11:18am
Miguel Zenon:  http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/miguel-zenon.aspx?ac=miguel" rel="nofollow - http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/miguel-zenon.aspx?ac=miguel

Miguel Zenón was born in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan,_Puerto_Rico" rel="nofollow - San Juan ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico" rel="nofollow - Puerto Rico . While studying at the Escuela Libre de Musica in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan,_Puerto_Rico" rel="nofollow - San Juan , he won a scholarship to the “Berklee in Puerto Rico” program of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berklee_College_of_Music" rel="nofollow - Berklee College of Music  and a scholarship to attend Berklee College in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston" rel="nofollow - Boston . While at Berklee, Zenón became immersed in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz" rel="nofollow - jazz  and began performing with  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drummer" rel="nofollow - drummer  Bob Moses’ Mozamba and the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Either/Orchestra" rel="nofollow - Either/Orchestra . After completing his undergraduate degree, Zenón moved to New York, where he was awarded a scholarship to the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_School_of_Music" rel="nofollow - Manhattan School of Music , graduating with a  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_Degree" rel="nofollow - Masters Degree  in 2001.

After gaining initial attention as a  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideman" rel="nofollow - sideman  in the ensembles of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Barretto" rel="nofollow - Ray Barretto  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_S%C3%A1nchez" rel="nofollow - David Sánchez , Zenón organized his own band in 2001, featuring  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pianist" rel="nofollow - pianist  Luis Perdomo,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassist" rel="nofollow - bassist  Hans Glawischnig and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drummer" rel="nofollow - drummer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Sanchez_%28drummer%29" rel="nofollow - Antonio Sanchez  (replaced in 2005 by Henry Cole). The quartet’s first recording, Looking Forward, was released by Spain’s Fresh Sounds/New Talent label in 2002. A year later, Zenón became one of the first artists signed by  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxophonist" rel="nofollow - saxophonist   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branford_Marsalis" rel="nofollow - Branford Marsalis ’ new label  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsalis_Music" rel="nofollow - Marsalis Music , which has subsequently released Ceremonial in 2004;  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jibaro" rel="nofollow - Jibaro , an homage to the rural  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music" rel="nofollow - folk music  of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico" rel="nofollow - Puerto Rico  composed with grant support from the New York State Council of the Arts, in 2005; and Awake, a collection of original compositions in which Zenón’s quartet is supplemented by a  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_quartet" rel="nofollow - string quartet  and horns, in 2008. In addition to his own quartet, Zenón has maintained affiliations with several other leading jazz groups, including the SFJazz Collective, of which he is a founding member;  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Haden" rel="nofollow - Charlie Haden ’s  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Music_Orchestra" rel="nofollow - Liberation Music Orchestra ; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_Klein" rel="nofollow - Guillermo Klein ’s Los Gauchos. Zenón has also participated extensively in jazz education programs, including the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_School" rel="nofollow - New School  in New York, Canada’s  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banff_Centre" rel="nofollow - Banff Centre  and the touring Marsalis Jams program.

Among his many awards, Zenón was named a  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Center" rel="nofollow - Kennedy Center  Jazz Ambassador and toured  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa" rel="nofollow - West Africa  in 2003, won the Rising Star Alto Saxophone award in the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Beat" rel="nofollow - Down Beat  Critics Poll in 2004-6 and 2008 and the Best New Artist award in the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JazzTimes" rel="nofollow - JazzTimes  Readers Poll in 2006, and received a  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenheim_Fellowship" rel="nofollow - Guggenheim  grant to compose an extended work on the subject of Puerto Rican  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plena" rel="nofollow - plena  music in April 2008. He was one of 25 recipients of a  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacArthur_Foundation" rel="nofollow - MacArthur Foundation  “genius grant” in September 2008. His 2009 release, Esta Plena was nominated for a Grammy as Best Latin Jazz Album.

Miguel is signed to the Cambridge, MA based record label,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsalis_Music" rel="nofollow - Marsalis Music .


Source: Wikipedia



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Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2011 at 11:27am
added  


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2011 at 12:32pm
Angles:  http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/angles.aspx" rel="nofollow - http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/angles.aspx

Angles is a Swedish jazz sextet made up of Johan Berthling (bass), Kjell Nordeson (drums), Magnus Broo (trumpet), Martin Küchen (alto saxophone), Mats Äleklint (trombone), Mattias Ståhl (vibraphone). The group just released their latest record, “Every Woman is a Tree” (Clean Feed, 2008). Described by Clean Feed: Angles “spans the artificial divisions imposed between the ‘new’ and the ‘old’ improvising schools. His radical extended techniques, such as in the sonic use of saliva, are fundamental for the abstract, textural constructions on his solo album ‘Homo Sacer. ’ Although these techniques address sound itself rather than music as conventionally considered, Küchen is first of all a free jazz player. Küchen the free jazz artist is in fact what we find on ‘Every Woman is a Tree.’ It is free jazz with a post-bop twist, profiting from contributions from some of the most interesting musicians on the Scandinavian scene.

Source: last.fm


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Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2011 at 12:36pm
Added


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2011 at 12:56pm
Thanks. Smile

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Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:56pm
Do you think the couple threads that I opened could be stickied? It would make them much easier to find, IMO.

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Posted By: js
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 4:51am
done


Posted By: andyman1125
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 4:53pm
Thumbs UpBeer

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Posted By: tupan
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2012 at 11:23am
Esperanza Spalding (from the official website):
 

If “esperanza” is the Spanish word for hope, then bassist, vocalist and composer Esperanza Spalding could not have been given a more fitting name at birth. Blessed with uncanny instrumental chops, a multi-lingual voice that is part angel and part siren, and a natural beauty that borders on the hypnotic, the prodigy-turned-pro might well be the hope for the future of jazz and instrumental music.

Spalding was born and raised on what she calls “the other side of the tracks” in a multi-lingual household and neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. Growing up in a single-parent home amid economically adverse circumstances, she learned early lessons in the meaning of perseverance and moral character from the role model whom she holds in the highest regard to this day – her mother.

But even with a rock-solid role model, school did not come easy to Spalding, although not for any lack of intellectual acumen. She was both blessed and cursed with a highly intuitive learning style that often put her at odds with the traditional education system. On top of that, she was shut in by a lengthy illness as a child, and as a result, was home-schooled for a significant portion of her elementary school years. In the end, she never quite adjusted to learning by rote in the conventional school setting.

“It was just hard for me to fit into a setting where I was expected to sit in a room and swallow everything that was being fed to me,” she recalls. “Once I figured out what it was like to be home-schooled and basically self-taught, I couldn’t fit back into the traditional environment.”

However, the one pursuit that made sense to Spalding from a very early age was music. At age four, after watching classical cellist Yo Yo Ma perform on an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the roadmap was suddenly very clear. “That was when I realized that I wanted to do something musical,” she says. “It was definitely the thing that hipped me to the whole idea of music as a creative pursuit.”

Within a year, she had essentially taught herself to play the violin well enough to land a spot in The Chamber Music Society of Oregon, a community orchestra that was open to both children and adult musicians. She stayed with the group for ten years, and by age 15, she had been elevated to a concertmaster position.

But by then, she had also discovered the bass, and all of the non-classical avenues that the instrument could open for her. Suddenly, playing classical music in a community orchestra wasn’t enough for this young teenager anymore. Before long she was playing blues, funk, hip-hop and a variety of other styles on the local club circuit. “The funny thing was, I was the songwriter, but I had never experienced love before. Being the lyricist and the lead singer, I was making up songs about red wagons, toys and other childish interests. No one knew what I was singing about, but they liked the sound of it and they just ate it up.”

At 16, Spalding left high school for good. Armed with her GED and aided by a generous scholarship, she enrolled in the music program at Portland State University. “I was definitely the youngest bass player in the program,” she says. “I was 16, and I had been playing the bass for about a year and a half. Most of the cats in the program had already had at least eight years of training under their belts, and I was trying to play in these orchestras and do these Bach cello suites. It wasn’t really flying, but if nothing else, my teachers were saying, ‘Okay, she does have talent.’”

Berklee College of Music was the place where the pieces all came together and doors started opening. After a move to the opposite coast and three years of accelerated study, she not only earned a B.M., but also signed on as an instructor in 2005 at the age of 20 – an appointment that has made her the youngest faculty member in the history of the college. She was the 2005 recipient of the prestigious Boston Jazz Society scholarship for outstanding musicianship.

In addition to the studying and the teaching, the Berklee years also created a host of networking opportunities with several notable artists, including pianist Michel Camilo, vibraphonist Dave Samuels, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Pat Metheny, singer Patti Austin, and saxophonists Donald Harrison and Joe Lovano. “Working with Joe was terrifying,” she recalls, “but he’s a really generous person. I don’t know if I was ready for the gig or not, but he had a lot of faith in me. It was an amazing learning experience.”

Spalding’s journey as a solo artist began with the May 2008 release of Esperanza, her debut recording for Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, which went on to become the best selling album by a new jazz artist internationally in 2008. The highly acclaimed release was the first opportunity for a worldwide audience to witness her mesmerizing talents as an instrumentalist, vocalist and composer. The New York Times raved, “Esperanza has got a lot: accomplished jazz improvisation, funk, scat singing, Brazilian vernacular rhythm and vocals in English, Portuguese and Spanish. At its center is a female bassist, singer and bandleader, one whose talent is beyond question.”

Soon after release, Esperanza went straight to the top of Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart where it remained for over 70 weeks. Spalding was booked on the Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, the CBS Saturday Early Show, the Tavis Smiley Show, Austin City Limits and National Public Radio. Other highlights included two appearances at the White House, a Banana Republic ad campaign, the Jazz Journalists Association’s 2009 Jazz Award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year, the 2009 JazzWeek Award for Record of the Year, and many high profile tour dates, including Central Park SummerStage in New York and the Newport Jazz Festival. 2009 was capped by an invitation from President Obama to perform at both the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Oslo, Norway – where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded – and also at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert.

And as well as being on the road with her own band, Esperanza has toured with Joe Lovano, and has also performed with pianist McCoy Tyner.

In early 2010, Spalding was the subject of an in-depth profile in The New Yorker, she was also featured in the May 2010 Anniversary issue of O, The Oprah Magazine’s “Women on the Rise” (in a fashion spread that features portraits of 10 women who are making a difference in various careers), and she was again nominated by the Jazz Journalists Association for their 2010 Jazz Award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year.

If Esperanza marked a brilliant beginning for this gifted young artist, then Spalding’s August 2010 release, Chamber Music Society, sets her on an upward trajectory to prominence. Inspired by the classical training of her younger years, Spalding has created a modern chamber music group that combines the spontaneity and intrigue of improvisation with sweet and angular string trio arrangements. The result is a sound that weaves the innovative elements of jazz, folk and world music into the enduring foundations of classical chamber music traditions. Co-produced by Esperanza and Gil Goldstein (with string arrangements provided by both), Chamber Music Society finds Esperanza with a diverse assembly of musicians: pianist Leo Genovese, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, percussionist Quintino Cinalli, guitarist Ricardo Vogt, and vocalists Gretchen Parlato and the legendary Milton Nascimento. The string trio is comprised of violinist Entcho Todorov, violist Lois Martin and cellist David Eggar.

Esperanza has presented this album with a number of tours across the USA and Europe, as well as travelling to Japan to play at the Blue Note club in Tokyo and also down to the Cape Town Jazz Festival in South Africa. The album has also been supported with TV appearances on the top American late night chat shows, such as David Letterman and Jay Leno.

On Februrary 13th 2011 in Los Angeles, Esperanza received one of the music industry’s most prestigious prizes, the Grammy for Best New Artist. As Esperanza later said, she was surprised and also grateful to receive this award. It had been a very special day, as earlier on Esperanza has cohosted the pre-telecast with Bobby McFerrin and also performed with the Grammy Jazz Ensemble.

As well as a very busy spring and summer touring again in Europe and North America, Esperanza has been working on her upcoming new album, Radio Music Society. This new recording which she herself describes as funkier and more update than its predecessor, is planned to be released in the Spring 2012.



Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2012 at 11:26am
added


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 30 Mar 2012 at 8:42am
Anat Fort -from her site

Having grown up in Israel where she studied classical piano, listened to 80's pop and soaked up the diverse sounds of the Middle East, it is no wonder that this rich kaleidoscope of sounds and influences would eventually become her stylistic signature. 

A natural improviser from a very young age, it was not until her late teens that she discovered the depth of jazz.  The next step was coming to the United States to study with people who were part of shaping up this music like Harold Mabern, Rufus Reid and Norman Simmons.  It was then that Anat started writing music, developing that aspect of her creative talent through the study of classical and jazz composition.  

In 1999 Anat self-produced her first CD, Peel, that features an all-original program.  The CD received excellent reviews, giving her the impetus to form a working band.  But little did she know that the collaboration she would form with drummer Roland Schneider and bassist Gary Wang would continue to be her main vehicle of expression over a decade later.  Having created a strong presence on the New York jazz scene, the Anat Fort Trio has traveled extensively in the US, Canada, Europe and Israel to play the most prestigious jazz venues and festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, The Opera House in Tel Aviv, NDR Rolf-Liebbermann studio in Hamburg, among many others.

Anat received two composition grants from the "Jerome Foundation" and one from "Meet the Composer". She has received commissions to compose pieces for orchestra and improvisational piano (Tzohar, 2000), chamber ensemble (Ketanot, 2002), choir and jazz trio (Mekayitz El Kayitz, 2007) and many more.  She has played with many jazz greats such as Paul Motian, Ed Schuller and Perry Robinson with whom she recorded her second CD, A Long Story in 2004. This collaboration brought her to the attention of ECM Records producer Manfred Eicher who decided to produce the recording without their having initially been in the studio; a rare occurrence.  The CD came out in 2007 and received outstanding reviews worldwide. 

The success of her first ECM CD resulted in a long-awaited project, the first recording of the Anat Fort Trio: And If.  This recording came out in 2010 and like its predecessors, features all Anat's original compositions.  And If was selected by Slate Magazine as one of the Ten Best Jazz CD's of 2010, an honor she shares with one of her most influential jazz heroes, the legendary Keith Jarrett. The trio is currently touring in support of this new recording.


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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: dreadpirateroberts
Date Posted: 30 Mar 2012 at 8:57am
^ added, thanks idlero!

-------------
We are men of action. Lies do not become us.
http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/dreadpirateroberts%28member%29.aspx?reviews=all/" rel="nofollow - Reviews...


Posted By: darkshade
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2012 at 11:04am
OK, so Phish is on JMA, and needs a new pic, and I've also submitted a bio for them.



To their fans, Phish are not just a band, they're a way of life. Although the group's studio albums sell well enough, Phish are primarily a live phenomenon: the living, breathing, noodling embodiment of the term "jam band." Like Deadheads before them, Phish fans have followed the group city to city, traded bootleg tapes with the band's blessings, and feverishly debate the merits of past gigs (Phish never plays the same set twice). By nurturing this grass-roots following, Phish bypassed commercial radio and evolved over the course of a decade into one of—if not the— hottest live attractions in America.

The band first came together in drummer John Fishman's dorm room at the University of Vermont. Fellow students Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth brought their guitars by to jam, and they were later joined by bassist Mike Gordon, who answered a bulletin-board ad posted by Anastasio. Fan Page McConnell, a student at Goddard College, joined as a keyboardist in 1985, and Holdsworth left the following year. Early performances around this time also featured percussionist Marc Daubert, as well as occasional appearances by the enigmatic singer Dude of Life (with whom the band would later record the album Crimes of the Mind.).

In 1988 Phish recorded its first album, Junta, which was sold as a cassette at gigs. By the time the band released its second album, Lawn Boy (1990), on the independent label Absolute A-Go-Go, Phish's growing fan base had begun to establish a presence on the fledgling Internet at Phish.Net. Elektra signed the group a year later and released A Picture of Nectar in 1992, followed by reissues of Lawn Boy and Junta.

Beginning with 1993's Rift (Number 51), the band's popularity began to translate into chart success. The following year's Hoist, which spawned Phish's only video (for "Down With Disease"), went to Number 34, followed by 1995's double disc A Live One (Number 18), Billy Breathes (Number Seven, 1996), the live Slip, Stitch, & Pass (Number 17, 1997), The Story of the Ghost (Number Eight, 1998), the sprawling, six-disc Hampton Comes Alive (Number 120, 1999), and Farmhouse (Number 12, 2000). However the band's live performances, not its recorded output, defined it throughout the decade.

In addition to the band's trademark marathon improvisational jams (drawing equally from jazz, rock, and country), fans could count on such weird variables as Fishman's vacuum-cleaner solos and the band's penchant for oddball covers; in 1994 Phish began a semiannual tradition of performing an entire classic album live on Halloween as a "musical costume" (ranging from the Beatles' White Album to the Who's Quadrophenia and Talking Heads' Remain in Light). In 1997 the band's weekend festival, the Great Went, held in Limestone, Maine, drew an audience of 62,000. The following year's Lemonwheel Festival, also in Limestone, drew a comparable crowd. Phish ended the Nineties playing for 75,000 fans at a two-night millennial concert at Florida's Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation.

After touring in support of 2000's Farmhouse, Phish announced a hiatus. Fans were left with Elektra's official release of The Siket Disc, a collection of studio outtakes, and the feature-length documentary Bittersweet Motel. The group periodically updated its Web site about such band member side projects as Gordon's experimental film Outside Out and Trampled by Lambs & Pecked by Doves, an album by Anastasio and Phish lyricist Tom Marshall. The band also began releasing versions of shows dating back as far as 1989 as part of the Live Phish series. Upon their return in 2002, Phish made shows available for instant download on the Live Phish Web site.

In 2004, shortly before the release of Undermind (Number 13), Phish announced that they were breaking up after their summer tour, culminating in one last festival on a farm in their native Vermont. The festival took on an air of Woodstock as flooding and heavy traffic prevented several fans from reaching the farm before they abandoned their cars and trekked to the venue on foot.

Over the next four years, Anastasio embarked on a moderately successful solo career first with a group informally known as Trey Anastasio Band, which took on many incarnations over the years, and later as a member of the supergroup Oysterhead, which also featured Primus' Les Claypool and the Police's Stewart Copeland. Anastasio and Gordon toured together briefly in 2006. In 2007, Anastasio faced felony drug possession charges and spent the next year in a court-ordered drug program to avoid jail time.

After months of rumors, Phish confirmed in 2008 that they would reunite in 2009. The band played three shows in March of that year before embarking on a summer tour. They released their fourteenth studio album, Joy (Number 13) in September. From October 30 through November 1, Phish took on one of their most ambitious projects to date, Festival 8, which found the band playing eight sets over three nights. Phish finished the year by playing a four-night New Year's celebration in Miami.

Phish has continued to tour in 2010, 2011, and 2012, performing some of their best shows in years. The band is due to enter the studio in 2012 to record the follow-up to Joy, with plans of getting together with no pre-existing material and completely write in the studio together.


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http://www.last.fm/user/MysticBoogy" rel="nofollow - My Last.fm


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2012 at 12:47pm
changed


Posted By: idlero
Date Posted: 15 Nov 2012 at 4:51pm
Tord Gustavsen

Tord Gustavsen (born 5 October 1970 in Oslo, Norway) is a major jazz pianist and composer.

Before studying music, Gustavsen finished a degree in psychology. He studied jazz at the Conservatory of Music Trondheim and music theory at the University of Oslo. He tours extensively world-wide, and he has been a bandleader of a trio and a later ensemble both of which bore his name. The Tord Gustavsen Trio, with Harald Johnsen on double bass and Jarle Vespestad on drums, released three albums by April 2007 for ECM Records; Changing Places in 2003, The Ground (2004), and Being There (2007). He followed them with an album recorded by an ensemble he assembled in 2009, Restored, Returned - an album which was awarded with Spellemannsprisen (the Norwegian Grammy) in 2008. In addition, he has recorded as a session musician, and guested on friends' albums.

Gustavsen's new Quartet with Tore Brunborg on saxophone, Mats Eilertsen on double bass, and Jarle Vespestad on drums, is highly praised for their album The Well (2012).


from http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/6592df44-5b0c-4e39-9f8a-cea53288ac68



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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns


Posted By: dreadpirateroberts
Date Posted: 15 Nov 2012 at 5:11pm
thanks! added

-------------
We are men of action. Lies do not become us.
http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/dreadpirateroberts%28member%29.aspx?reviews=all/" rel="nofollow - Reviews...


Posted By: tupan
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2013 at 12:34pm
Bio for Areia e Grupo de Música Aberta (taken from their official website):

Areia is a member of the Mundo Livre S / A, (Founder of the Brazilian musical movement called Manguebeat). Throughout his life as a composer, has always been dedicated to instrumental music. It has partnerships such as the Norwegian guitarist Steinar Aadnekvam; a trumpeter Dominic Ntumous from Greece and Brazilian artists such as Alceu Valença, DJ Dolores, Jacinto Silva and Maciel Salú, also played with Arto Lindsay, Naná Vasconcelos and Tony Allen.


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2013 at 12:49pm
added                        


Posted By: tupan
Date Posted: 08 May 2013 at 7:19am
http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/bondesom.aspx?ac=Bondesom" rel="nofollow - Bondesom (the band sent to me):

Bondesom is a brazilian music group founded in Rio de Janeiro, since 2002. The sound of the sextet formed by Yuri Villar (soprano/tenor sax and flute), Matias Zibecchi (percussion), Pedro Mann (bass), Antônio Guerra (keyboards), Pedro Silveira (guitar) and Gabriel Guenther (drums) is a mix of brazilian regional rhythms, latinjazz and afrogrooves. Bondesom had already played at some of the best venues (Circo Voador, Fundição Progresso) and city music festivals in Rio (Leblon Jazz Festival, Viradão Carioca). The group has two recorded albums with its own compositions: "Bondesom", 2007 and "Procurando Lola", 2011(this one made after crowndfunding project). The third album is in pre-production and will be released this year.




Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 08 May 2013 at 7:34am
thanks-added


Posted By: tupan
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2013 at 7:26am
The band http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/edo.aspx?ac=edoEdo" rel="nofollow - Edo has a biography in http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=8359" rel="nofollow - PA .


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2013 at 7:27am
added             


Posted By: tupan
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2013 at 7:46am
thanks



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