Wednesday, November 5, 2014

New Music Monday for November 10, 2014


 New Music Monday for November 10, 2014

Click here for the New Music Monday Playlist on YouTube or on the individual spotify playlists below. 

     “There’s something about being the age I’m at now,” reflects iconic guitar hero Bill Frisell.” I turned 63 this past spring, and after playing for more than 50 years, it just feels right to once again play some of the music which shaped my consciousness during my formative years, even to play some of it for the first time.” As a baby boomer who came of age in the 1950’s and ‘60s, there is an undeniably autobiographical bent to the tenor and tone of the repertoire which Frisell explores on “Guitar in the Space Age,” along with long-time collaborators Greg Leisz on pedal steel and electric guitar, Tony Scherr on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums and vibes. The disc, says Frisell, “isn’t really an exercise in nostalgia, but about a re-commitment to keep learning, to firm up the foundation—and to showcase one of the best bands I’ve ever had.”


     Banjoist Bela Fleck has praised vibraphonist Jason Marsalis for “brilliant ideas that sound as if he’s played them his whole life but are really coming off the top of his head.”  Some of those brilliant ideas are on display on Marsalis’ second release with his Vibes Quartet, “The 21st Century Trad Band.”  Backed once again by Will Goble on bass, Austin Johnson on piano and David Potter on drums, the disc puts a spotlight on the growing synergy between these young and talented musicians. In addition to including original compositions from his band mates, Marsalis has taken a step further in encouraging the vanguard of the next generation of jazz by including compositions from a couple of young graduates of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

    Also this week, “The Art of Conversation” showcases the duo partnership of pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland with a simple, beautifully understated mix of standards and originals; pianist Marcus Roberts and his new big band the Modern Jazz Generation offer up “Romance, Swing, and the Blues”; and acclaimed multi-reed instrumentalist Steve Heckman is joined by guitarist Howard Alden and others on his fourth album, “Search for Peace.”




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