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In This Issue
- Melissa Aldana: A Sprinkle of Stardust ║ By Phillip Lutz
- The tenor saxophonist’s musical journey has been sprinkled with stardust and hard work. The latest example? Being signed to Blue Note and presenting her latest recording, 12 Stars. Aldana sits down with contributor Phillip Lutz for an update.
- Abdullah Ibrahim: The Illusion of Moonlight ║ By Gary Fukushima
- A year after his triumphant appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for the NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony, the South African pianist and composer’s plans were derailed by COVID-19. A planned 86th birthday concert back in Germany instead became a recording session where Ibrahim played alone in the intimate performance space that otherwise would have been filled to its 350-seat capacity. The result was Solotude on Gearbox Records. When asked how different it was to be performing in an empty room, he answered dryly, “I do it all the time. When I started, no one wanted to come hear me play. I played to empty houses.” He bursted into joyous laughter.
- Marquis Hill: Pushing Forward ║ By Aaron Cohen
- Trumpeter Marquis Hill speaks in quietly determined tones. Hill’s conversational personality reflects his performance style where his subtle strength eschews unnecessary leaps and descents. These qualities shape his recently released live album, New Gospel Revisited on Edition Records. His sense of contemplation also may be a big part of what has kept him even-keeled throughout seven momentous years.
- We Love Vinyl! A Special Record Store Day Section ║ By Frank Alkyer
- With Record Store Day landing April 23, it’s time for another installment of We Love Vinyl. Here are just a few selections the DB staff looks forward to digging into.
- Blindfold Test: Steve Slagle ║ By Josef Woodard
- Veteran alto saxophonist Steve Slagle has been around several blocks and musical situations since the move from his native Los Angeles to New York City in the late 1970s. Beyond early work with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, the Carla Bley Band and ongoing links to the Mingus Big Band, Slagle has created a sizable discography as a leader, and a partnership with guitarist Dave Stryker, among other liaisons. During pandemic times alone, he has cut and released two albums — Nascentia and the new Ballads: Into the Heart of It (both on Panorama). This was Slagle’s first Blindfold Test, conducted via Zoom from the lockdown home base of his Manhattan apartment.
- Indie Life
- • Ben Allison: Happy on the Outside • Le Coq: A Startup Label with All-Star Ambition • Claire Dickson's Valley of Sound
- Woodshed
- • Master Class: Five-Note Morphing • Solo: Brandee Younger's Solo on "Reclamation" • Technology: Jeff Coffin's Connect The Dots App
- The Hot Box
- • Ethan Iverson, Every Note Is True (Blue Note) • Kenny G, New Standards (Concord) • Mirrors, Mirrors (GroundUP) • Nicholas Payton, Smoke Sessions (Remixed) (Smoke Sessions)
- The Beat
- • Keith Jarrett's Facing You at 50 • Bill O’Connell's Hope for Change • Gordon Grdina: The Artist as Label Head • Alexander Flood: From Australia with Drums • Alexis Cole Keeps Saluting Jazz
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About DownBeat Magazine
Founded in 1934, DownBeat magazine is the world's premiere international jazz periodcal. It enjoys a rich legacy as “The Bible of Jazz,” having covered the most dynamic American music and musicians to emerge in the 20th and 21st centuries. Over the decades, millions of readers have been led to artists and recordings on the strength of DownBeat reviews, interviews, profiles, instructional articles and news reporting. DownBeat is owned and operated by Elmhurst, Illinois-based Maher Publications, a family-owned business. It is published 12 times annually.
Category: Music
Publisher: DownBeat Magazine
Published: Monthly
Language: English
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