Toronto pianist/singer Fern Lindzon has expansive tastes, embracing everything from jazz standards to Brazilian material to her own arrangements of Yiddish and klezmer music. She makes her first appearance at Café Paradiso (199 Bank St.) on tonight and Saturday (May 6 and 7), joined by John Geggie on bass and Nick Fraser on drums. They will perform material from Lindzon’s new disc, Two Kites.

Below, Lindzon elaborates on her musical journey to date.

1. How were you bitten by the jazz bug?
Jazz kind of snuck up on me. When I was in high school I had a music teacher who invited me to an evening of free improvisation. It was a fascinating event where I was introduced to found and man-made instruments, a prepared piano and group improvisation. It had a huge effect on me, something that I didn’t realize until years later. After high school I studied musicology at the University of Toronto with a particular interest in ethno and 20th century classical music. During my third year there, I happened to be walking through Yorkville with a friend and we ended up stumbling into the Ship of Fools, a jazz club where the old Riverboat used to be. Among the musicians playing that night were Lorne Lofsky and Ted Moses. I was completely dumbstruck by what I heard and I knew that this was the direction I wanted my own music to take (that is, as soon as I finished my history degree!!!!). So this interesting combination of modern classical, free improvisation, ethno, bebop and post-bop became the basis of my growth as a jazz musician. I’m always reaching forward, backwards and sideways.

[Here's one example of Lindzon and her group tackling a sort of musical melange -- Loro, by the Brazilian genius Egberto Gismonti... ]



2. I see that your studies have included lessons with Don Thompson, Fred Hersch and Barry Harris, among others. What did you take away from each of these great musicians and teachers?
My first jazz teacher was Frank Falco. Frank was great at the basics, and to help pay for my lessons I’d copy Bill Evans charts for him. (I kept copies!) Through Frank I learned about voicings, transcribing solos, comping and playing a lot of tunes.  

My next major teacher was Don Thompson. Don was totally intuitive and studying with him was profound and transformative. Every two weeks I’d show up at Don’s house for my two-hour lesson and most of the time my lessons went an hour or two overtime. I still have all the tapes! Don stripped away everything that was not real about my playing. At my first lesson he said, “from this point on you will never play another note that doesn’t mean something.” (I thought I was sounding pretty good at the time!!) That comment deeply affected me, and still does to this day. Much of the time Don and I just played duets!

I adore Barry Harris and have attended several of his master classes. I was introduced to Barry at a time when I was feeling that I needed a different kind of structure to my playing as well as a deeper understanding of bebop and harmony. Although I honestly feel overwhelmed by a lot of Barry’s ideas, one of the central things I learned from him was the concept of playing through changes and connecting everything harmonically. Chords are not isolated events. There is a beautiful fluidity to Barry’s playing and his ability to codify and explain bebop is quite amazing.

I first met Fred Hersch at the point when he was winding up his teaching because of health issues, so unfortunately I didn’t get to spend much time with him. However, a few years ago I audited a week-long master class he was giving along with Ralph Alessi, Jane Ira Bloom, Jason Moran and Kenny Barron at the Weil Institute at Carnegie Hall. That turned out to be an incredible experience. Fred has an exercise that I try to do as often as I can: take a tune, set a timer for 20 minutes and play a solo in which you deliberately give yourself one thing to focus on — a technical and/or musical problem. You play through your repertoire of “tricks” pretty quickly, and in order to stay interested and focused, this kind of exercise really forces you to become the musician you truly are and find your own sound. I’ve probably learned more about myself as an artist through this exercise than just about anything else I’ve ever done.
 
3. Which came first -- piano or voice -- and what's been involved in integrating the two into your music?
I think I have always sung. My teachers used to comment that if I could sing through my classes I’d get straight A’s. When I was eight my mother started taking piano lessons. She practiced after putting me to bed, and I would look forward to getting into bed just so I could hear the piano. When I was nine I finally was able to take lessons, and I studied classical piano as well as voice right through university. Integrating piano and voice has been a long process. I’m now at the point where they can truly work together either as one unit or as isolated lines of counterpoint. I’m feeling much freer in my accompaniment, and I really enjoy surprising myself. It feels like a very natural and organic thing to be doing, though it certainly has been a long road.

4. Tell me what motivates you to incorporate Yiddish and klezmer music into your work.
Several years ago I attended KlezKanada for the first time. KlezKanada is a week-long, summer music camp in the Laurentians. I went there essentially to learn about klezmer music for another project I was working on. However, at the first faculty concert, I heard a duet by Christian Dawid on clarinet and Alan Bern on accordion that completely took my breath away! In that improvised duet of klezmer-based music I heard a sound that I knew I could translate into an improvised jazz form. It felt so modern and so old at the same time, and for me personally, it struck an ancient nerve as a kind of music that was buried very deeply in my ancestral past.

Over the last couple of years I’ve been exploring more and more of that music, and as I go back further, I’m discovering that I can bring in more contemporary approaches to it. Lately, I’ve been finding that there are ways to treat some of these beautiful old melodies with arrangements inspired by Kenny Wheeler and Maria Schneider, for example.

5. What's one CD or piece of music that's really knocking you out these days, and why?
Here are a few:
1. Kenny Wheeler's album Gnu High. I’ve been listening to this off and on for a couple of years and everything about this record knocks me out. The writing, the harmonic concept, Kenny’s sound, Keith’s sound (!). It’s absolutely spectacular.
2. Maria Schneider’s recording of her composition Hang Gliding is amazing in itself, but also thanks to you, I have now been listening to Norma Winstone’s version of it. I also love Norma, and she is a huge influence. I love her current trio with Glauco Venier and Klaus Gesing and was fortunate to hear them live in Vancouver a few years ago. I love their chamber music approach to jazz. Hang Gliding has a beautiful freedom, energy and sense of flight. It’s a gorgeous piece of work.
3. Mary Lou Williams. I'm listening to Mary Lou because I’m doing a concert of her work at the Barrie Jazz Festival this coming June 11. She was an awesome pianist, and I’m totally blown away by her left hand! Her time is fantastic. I’m currently listening to (and trying to play) Roll ‘Em from Live at the Cookery. It is a tour de force of boogie woogie at its finest. It’s going to do wonders for my playing, I’m sure!

The Fern Lindzon Trio with John Geggie and Nick Fraser play Café Paradiso (199 Bank St.) on Friday, May 6, and Saturday, May 7. The music starts at 8:30 p.m. Friday and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with a $3 fee for diners or $5 for non-diners. Call 613-565-0657 to reserve.

Thanks to Anil Prasad, who let me know that a doodled "self-portrait" by John Coltrane, circa 1955 to 1959, is now on sale.

From Schubertiade Music's online catalog:

Winter 2011 Catalog, Lot 44. Coltrane, John. (1926–1967).
Self-Portrait Drawing.
Original work of art from the saxophonist, band leader, and composer whose brilliant improvisatory skills and experimental spirit made him one of the most influential and highly regarded musicians in the history of jazz. An original pen and ink drawing showing Coltrane in profile playing his saxophone, from which stylized notes of music appear to be emanating on both sides. Above this, Coltrane has also drawn a woman's head, and below, several additional figures including a side-profile figure of a second man and variations of the letter "B B B B" and a stylized "H." Just to the right of the figure with the saxophone, Coltrane has penned what appear to be his stylized initials, J C. Accomplished on a legal folio size sheet of musical letterhead ca. 1955-1959. A large ink smear travels from the upper right corner to middle, light wear to left margin and a few negligible creases, overall very good condition and visually striking. From the original Coltrane family estate sale. $5000.00

I'm not saying that Coltrane's sheet of doodling isn't beautiful, but I'm more impressed by his sheets of sound:

The only complaint I had about the show that Winnipeg pianist Michelle Gregoire gave last year in Ottawa was that it was too short. Last June, her quintet was on the stage and off at the Library and Archives Canada auditorium in under an hour. But a fine 50-odd minutes it was, with Gregoire joined by sxophonist Kirk MacDonald, trumpeter Kevin Turcotte, bassist Jim Vivian and drummer Ted Warren to interpret compositions and arrangements from her 2010 disc, Diversity. 

Good news: The group returns to Ottawa on Friday night, when it will perform in the NAC's Fourth Stage as part of Prairie Scene.

Below, Gregoire discusses some of the factors influencing her art... and her upcoming move further west.

1. You're based (for now) in Winnipeg but you choose to record and perform with musicians based in Toronto. Why?
I picked great players and people who would fit my music well and who had a broad understanding and ability for the type of stuff that I had ready to record. I wanted to reach as high as possible by choosing the best musicians available to me so that I could make the best recording possible. I was inspired by other Winnipeg artists who had done the same thing, having never limited themselves geographically when choosing personnel for their recordings. I could have hired people from all over the place and put them together, but choosing musicians who live in the same centre is most logical. It was easier to prepare the album, go out there to rehearse and play and have access to the same band on a regular basis. Now that the music is well documented, I find I can get more people to play it and play it well and there is a growing pool of players who are committed to the things I'm writing.

2. What appeals to you about presenting your music in a quintet format?
It's a standard format with just enough instruments to play all the ideas and have just the right amount of variety without having the expense of a larger group.

3. With your CDs and with your group, why do you choose to place as much emphasis as you do on original compositions? Who are some of the composers you most look up to, and why?
Well actually, it was always encouraged early on for logistical reasons as well as artistic: licensing and royalties and this type of thing, and also developing your own voice and presenting something new to the pool of music out there -- authenticity and innovation, don't forget innovation. I had the music ready to document and so I felt it needed to be recorded.

In terms of composers who have inspired me, I have always admired the work of local composer Knut Haugsoen who recently passed away. He gave me my first real jazz lessons in Winnipeg -- his compositions are world-class and kept the bar high around here. My university studies led me to all kinds of greats from the great standards and the blues to Monk, Ellington, Shorter, Beethoven, Bach, Brookmeyer and Kenny Wheeler, but I listen to everything imaginable including the work of many of my peers across Canada and music in all genres. I love great writing of any kind and it's hard to narrow it down. These days I think everyone has something worth exploring. In fact the most interesting music to me is anything honest and direct to the source, individual and most importantly, thoughtful and meaningful.

4. What were some of the milestones along the way/realizations you've had during your growth as the composer?
Off the top of my head, my senior composition class at St F X U in 1989 under the tutelage of John Mclean which made me realize that I had a need/gift or something. I loved that whole period. In terms of milestones, perhaps just hearing my music played well and feeling a surge of some kind, like it was worth doing that or writing that. Or when I had some good teachers or peers tell me they get something from my work, makes you think it's worth pursuing that internal passion. I think teachers and mentors have great impact on other artists. They can also be destructive if they don't nurture their students properly.

One of the only reasons I continued to write was because of key positive messages from some of those great teachers and musicians who encouraged me. Somebody is telling you your music matters to them and that's an important message to send (and to receive). I can also handle a great deal of feedback and criticism but I can't say that oppressive negative messages would have had any positive impact on anything great that I may have accomplished, other than helping me develop a thick skin that I really don't need. If we inspire each other, we all grow. If we oppress each other, we all suffer cause inevitably with that attitude you run the risk of silencing or alienating the next Ellington or Maria Schneider or somebody who may in the end inspire you too. I have come across a few odd/negative characters who just don't get that, and I figure their priorities are not the music. That was a big realization, that if we all make music the centre then the music wins, and we all win as musicians.

5. I understand you're moving later this year, leaving Winnipeg. What's prompted the move, and what impact do you think/hope it will have on your life and musical pursuits?
Winnipeg is and always will be my home, I will miss very many fine people and musicians from here and I hope to continue to work with them as often as possible. That said I am looking forward to some new scenery and some fresh air. Every musician needs and deserves a good base and Calgary will provide that. I think it's likely I will keep very busy as do most of the many great musicians already based there.

I am looking forward to exploring a new pool of players and being very close to the Banff Centre. With a strong and healthy base one can do many more things and explore many new things as well. And who wouldn't want to live that close to the mountains? I hear the summers are cool and the air is clean...and that's my kind of weather.

The Michelle Gregoire Quintet plays Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the NAC Fourth Stage. Tickets are $15 ($10 for students) at the NAC Fourth Stage.

Because as of today, Canadian jazz musicians and jazz lovers are officially citizens of Nickelback Nation, I'll present:

The comment box is yours if you have any words of wisdom, encouragement, consolation or solidarity.

As you head out to cast your federal election ballot, what will you be listening to?

Society Red?



Orange Was the Colour of Her Dress?



Blue Skies?



Green Dolphin Street?



One thing's for sure...

I just stumbled across these videos from the recent Second International Children's Jazz Festival "We Play Jazz" in Rostov-on-Don...

Here's a combo playing Nicholas Payton's Zigaboogaloo:



On Twitter, Payton approvingly wrote: "These lil' MFs are gettin' it!!! LOL," and then: "I'm truly flattered by these little kids way over in Russia playing the stank outta my music. God is good!!!"

And here's a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald -- or to Nikki Yanofsky -- from 8-year-old cowgirl vocalist Alexandra Boldareva:



Both of these groups were coached, from what I can tell, by Andrey Machnev of a Children's Jazz School in Rostov-on-Don.

And from the recent children's jazz contest "Rhythm-Express" in Ekaterinburg, here's Mikhail Voeykov, also seen in the above videos, getting his Jaco Pastorius on with Portrait of Tracy:



Yes, these talented young'uns are, in a word, imitating. But isn't that how Eldar got his start?

Streaming (Paris Jazz Underground)
Karl Jannuska

From the Manitoba-raised, McGill University-educated and now Paris-based drummer Karl Jannuska comes a most undrummerly disc. Pleasantly defying the stereotypical notion of what jazz drummers generally do when they lead recording sessions, Streaming keeps the bashing and rhythmic flourishes to an absolute minimum, focusing for the most part on gentle, introspective music -- with words, no less.

It turns out that Jannuska's a wordsmith as well as thoughtful composer, arranger and player. He's composed all of the finely wrought sextet music on Streaming, as well as the lyrics for six of 10 compositions. (His words are often thoughtful and even philosophical -- "Gazing into vast Prairie nothingness/ bearing beauty proof we are truly blessed," begins Nothingness.) The other four tracks feature words by the disc's featured vocalist, Sienna Dahlen, a McGill alumnus like Jannuska. Dahlen's pure, cool voice is essential to Streaming's considerable impact.

Here's a performance of  A Whiter Christmas, featuring the waltzing ballad's composer Jannuska, Dahlen rendering her lyrics, and bassist Chris Jennings and pianist Franck Amsellem, in, I'm guessing, a Parisian club where the crowd really ought to be chatting less:



Chatter notwithstanding, the clip conveys the dreamy, intriguing music that can result with Jannuska and Dahlen are involved.

There's no piano on Streaming, Instead, the disc, which pulls together music from one recording session in France and another in Montreal, features two saxophones, guitar and bass on each track along with Jannuska and Dahlen. A French band (including saxophonists Olivier Jannot and Nicolas Kummert, guitarist Pierre Perchaud and bassist Mathias Allamane) execute the first seven tracks, while the final three find Jannuska and Dahlen reunited with McGill friends (saxophonists Christine Jensen and Joel Miller, guitarist Ken Bibace and bassist Fraser Hollins).

Despite the disparity of the sessions and various players, the disc is very much a unified whole, drawn together not only by Dahlen's voice but also by consistently interesting linear layering and counterpoint. (Dahlen's voice, even while delivering lyrics, definitely has an instrumental quality and she's often shadowed by a horn). More often than not, songs  -- take for example Timbuktu, Nothingness, Sundogs and Silent Jubilee -- are understated, stressing a core of lyricism and prettiness. Offsetting the ballad vibe are the As Far As The Eye Can See, the jaunty march that kicks off the disc, the tumbling groove of Gold Star (whose lyrics seem to take a swipe at being goal- and achievement-oriented, as opposed to just being), and the title track, which became a darker, denser expression during a Montreal performance last year:



Maybe we'll hear an instrumental version of this or other Jannuska compositions this weekend, when...

Karl Jannuska plays Saturday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the NAC's Fourth Stage with a co-operative group that includes saxophonists Kelly Jefferson and Siggi Florason, trumpeter Jim Lewis and John Geggie. Admission is $28 at the NAC box office. 

Lifelines (Gateway Music)
Dahlen Baerentzen Project

Have a listen to the B.C.-raised, McGill-educated and now Toronto-based vocalist Dahlen in somewhat different circumstances:

On Grace, for which she wrote the lyrics, she's accompanied by the tune's composer, Danish pianist Mads Baerentzen, and bassist Morten Rabsbol. Dahlen and Maerentzen co-lead a project called, not so surprisingly, Dahlen Baerentzen Project, and its recent CD, Lifelines, is an impressive and polished demonstration of their considerable artistic strengths.

The music over 11 tracks is sophisticated, pop-inflected contemporary jazz distinguished by Dahlen's persuasive singing, Baerentzen's poised, powerful piano and smartly deployed splashes of colour from keyboards, percussion, guitar, trumpet and even a string trio.

Grace kicks off the disc, energized by Lars Daugaard's drums and enlivened by Jakob Buchanan's trumpet and an ambient, shimmering pad of keyboards that adds some whoosh. Insistent strings initially drive the song Mads'ness, which becomes more dreamy and features some especially eloquent piano from Baerentzen. The contemporary groove's the thing on Transient Nature and a heady, electronica-style cover of Radiohead's Faust Arp. The disc's other cover, Nick Drake's River Man, is spare and moody.

I like the stark, still beauty of Misconception, an airy, reverberant ballad with words and music by Dahlen with pristine chords from Baerentzen and a highly melodic solo by bassist Ramsbol. Dahlen re-confirms her songwriting abilities with the patient, emotional Stray, and indulges in a bit of bilingual singing true to her Canadian roots:



Filled with distinctive, gorgeously recorded performances, Lifelines is an exceptional and alluring example of lucid Nordic cool.

Why wouldn't Ottawa bassist John Geggie tap Toronto saxophonist Kelly Jefferson to play with him this Saturday night at the NAC's Fourth Stage? Jefferson is one of Canada's most in-demand musicians, a sideman of choice for everyone from jazz-fusion groups to straightahead swingers to singers. In the last little while, I've heard Jefferson's sparkling, compelling playing on discs by Chris Tarry, Barry Elmes, Laila Biali, Amanda Tosoff -- and that's not to mention his own 2010 CD Next Exit, which I and Juno nominators thought was one of last year's leading contemporary Canadian jazz CDs.

Before Jefferson tackles five questions, here's a clip demonstrating why he's such a go-to saxophonist:

1) You, like more than a few top-notch Canadian jazz musicians came up in Regina. Why has Regina been such a fertile place for Canada's jazz talent?
There are certainly a lot of musicians from Regina that have gone on to make contributions to the Canadian jazz landscape (and outside Canada as well). Drummers Ted Warren and Jon McCaslin, pianist Tilden Webb, saxophonists Steve Kaldestad and Donny Kennedy, trumpet players Kelly Craig (he plays bass too) and Dave Mossing are all from Regina. I’m sure there are others that I’m forgetting and/or not familiar with. Growing up, there were a lot of great music programs, both in schools and around the community. Like many of the people I mentioned, I was a member of the Regina Lions Band until I graduated from high school. Local musicians (I must make special mention of recently departed Bob Moyer) and educators (like Brenda McAlpine and Brent Ghiglione) also played a part in exposing me to this music, as did my dad, my older brother, and the vinyl collection at the Regina Public Library.

2) The gig Saturday will see you make music with John Geggie, Jim Lewis, Karl Jannuska, and the Icelandic saxophonist Siggi Florason. What music bonds do you have with some of these people? How do you feel about making music for the first time with this formation? Do you have any preconceptions/expectations about where the music might go?
I have the longest association with drummer Karl Jannuska, originally from Brandon, now living in Paris. I first met Karl when we were both at McGill University in Montreal, and we’ve played together in a variety of settings including with pianist Bryn Roberts. I also play on Karl’s first record, Liberating Vines. I’ve worked with Jim Lewis a few times and am a big fan of his playing. I don’t think John Geggie (who assembled the band for this concert) and I have ever played together, except perhaps at the Ottawa Jazz Festival jam session, but that would have been many years ago. I’m not familiar with the Icelandic alto player, Siggi Flosason, and I'm happy that new musical bonds will be created. I feel fortunate to be a part of this special concert, and am excited to see where the music will take us. Everyone is contributing original compositions to the night, which will give the audience some insight into our musical personalities. I wrote two new things specifically for this gig, so I’m looking forward to hearing what my bandmates do with them. The added freedom/challenge of the chordless setting is one that will definitely affect the shape of the music.

3) When you work as a sideman with everyone from Emilie-Claire Barlow



to Chris Tarry



 the context must dictate to some degree how you play. How would you compare how you play then as a sideman to what happens when you're leading your own group? In this regard, how would you compare an ad hoc situation such as Saturday's gig?
I love playing standards as much as I love playing original music. Most situations that I find myself in as a sideman will allow me to play based on what the music requires. I try not to think too much past that. Some bandleaders are very specific with what they want from me musically, while others (Chris Tarry for example) have never said a word. I love the challenge of being able to fit into any situation that arises. If it’s my own group, I put my trust in the other musicians to do the same thing -- play what they feel the music requires. The only time I feel I might need to give direction is if there’s something specific in my compositions that I’m looking for. Saturday’s gig represents a combination of these approaches. But for me, if I think too hard about playing a certain way instead of letting the music happen, it usually doesn’t produce the desired result.

4) Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems from here like you and Mike Murley are on a big proportion of the jazz CDs coming out of Toronto. Why do you think you are as in demand as much as you are as a sideman?
Not sure if I can answer that -- It’s probably because Mike is too busy! The fact is that I feel very privileged to be involved with such a great music community. I find being a sideman to be an incredibly inspiring and educational experience.

5) What's one CD that you're really enjoying these days, and why?
I’ve been loving a lot of great new releases lately (from Donny McCaslin, Dave Binney, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens for example), but I have to mention John Coltrane’s Living Space, recorded in 1965, but not released until 1998. Especially the tune Last Blues. It’s a wonderful example (and a good reminder) that as far-reaching as Coltrane was, the blues was at the heart of everything he ever played.

Kelly Jefferson, Jim Lewis, Siggi Florason, John Geggie and Karl Jannuska play Saturday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the NAC's Fourth Stage. Admission is $28, with tickets available at the NAC box office or through TicketMaster.

The Bad Plus recently performed Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, and The Checkout has it. (Thanks, Josh Jackson.)

Pianist Marc Copland, who made sublime music with John Geggie and John Fraboni in the NAC's Fourth Stage last month, recently gave a solo concert in Rome. From the looks of things, It will be streamed tonight at 5 pm EST here. I'm told that you may have to register with an e-mail address and a password, depending on where you live, to view the stream.

The nominees for the 2011 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards were announced this morning. Congrats to all, and especially to Ottawa photographer David Kawai, whose photo of Tom Harrell from last year's TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival, shown at right, is vying for the best jazz photo award.

The other Canadian nominees are soprano saxophonist Jane Bunnett, Darcy James Argue (in both the arranging and large ensemble categories, because of his Secret Society large ensemble) and Toronto jazz go-to guy Bill King, whose photo of Maceo Parker is in the running with Kawai's pic.

Have a gander at the list below, and see how well it meshes with your tastes. If you want to kick up a fuss about biases or exclusions, please use the comment box below.

2011 Nominees for JJA JAZZ AWARDS

Lifetime Achievement in Jazz
Jimmy Heath
Muhal Richard Abrams
Paul Motian
Phil Woods
Wayne Shorter

Musician of the Year
Esperanza Spalding
Jason Moran
Joe Lovano
Sonny Rollins
Vijay Iyer

Composer of the Year
Henry Threadgill
Jason Moran
John Hollenbeck
Maria Schneider

Up and Coming Artist of the Year
Ambrose Akinmusire
Darius Jones
Gerald Clayton
Jon Irabagon

Recording of the Year
Apex - Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green (Pi Recordings)
The Art of the Improviser - Matthew Shipp (Thirsty Ear)
Bird Songs - Joe Lovano Us Five (Blue Note)
Mirror - Charles Lloyd Quartet (ECM)
Ten - Jason Moran (Blue Note)

Historical Recording, Boxed Set or Single CD Reissue of the Year
Bitches Brew: 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition - Miles Davis (Columbia Legacy)
The Complete Ahmad Jamal Trio Argo Sessions 1952 - 62 - Ahmad Jamal Trio (Mosaic)
The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra - Duke Ellington (Mosaic)
The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air – Henry Threadgill & Air - Mosaic
The Complete Revelation Sessions - John Carter and Bobby Bradford (Mosaic)

Record label of the Year
Blue Note
Clean Feed
ECM
Pi
Sunnyside

Female Singer of the Year
Cassandra Wilson
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Gretchen Parlato
Rebecca Martin
Roberta Gambarini

Male Singer of the Year

Bobby McFerrin
Freddy Cole
Giacomo Gates
Gregory Porter
Kurt Elling

Large Ensemble of the Year
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Mingus Big Band
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

Small Ensemble of the Year
Charles Lloyd Quartet
Henry Threadgill Zooid
Jason Moran and The Bandwagon
Joe Lovano Us Five
Wayne Shorter Quartet

Arranger of the Year
Bill Holman
Carla Bley
Darcy James Argue
David Weiss
Maria Schneider
Vince Mendoza

Trumpeter of the Year
Ambrose Akinmusire
Dave Douglas
Jeremy Pelt
Nicholas Payton
Tom Harrell
Wynton Marsalis

Trombonist of the Year
Conrad Herwig
Roswell Rudd
Steve Davis
Steve Swell
Steve Turre
Wycliffe Gordon

Tenor Saxophonist of the Year
Chris Potter
Joe Lovano
Jon Irabagon
Sonny Rollins
Tony Malaby
Wayne Shorter

Alto Saxophonist of the Year
Lee Konitz
Miguel Zenon
Ornette Coleman
Phil Woods
Rudresh Mahanthappa
Steve Coleman

Baritone Saxophonist
Claire Daly
Gary Smulyan
James Carter
Joe Temperley
Scott Robinson

Soprano Saxophonist of the Year
Dave Liebman
Evan Parker
Jane Bunnett
Jane Ira Bloom
Sam Newsome
Wayne Shorter

Clarinetist of the Year
Anat Cohen
Ben Goldberg
Don Byron
Evan Christopher
James Falzone
Ken Peplowski

Flutist of the Year
Charles Lloyd
Henry Threadgill
Lew Tabackin
Mark Weinstein
Nicole Mitchell

Guitarist of the Year
Bill Frisell
Jim Hall
Marc Ribot
Mary Halvorson
Russell Malone

Pianist of the Year
Fred Hersch
Geri Allen
Jason Moran
Kenny Barron
Matthew Shipp
Vijay Iyer

Bassist of the Year
Charlie Haden
Christian McBride
Dave Holland
Ron Carter
William Parker

Drummer of the Year
Eric Harland
Lewis Nash
Matt Wilson
Nasheet Waits
Paul Motian
Roy Haynes

Percussionist of the Year
Adam Rudolph
Bobby Sanabria
Cyro Baptista
Hamid Drake
Kahil El'Zabar

Organist/Keyboardist of the Year
Craig Taborn
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Gary Versace
Joey DeFrancesco
Larry Goldings

Mallet Instrumentalist of the Year
Gary Burton
Jason Adasiewicz
Joe Locke
Stefon Harris
Steve Nelson

Violinist of the Year
Billy Bang
Christian Howes
Jenny Scheinman
Mark Feldman
Regina Carter

Player of the Year Instruments Rare in Jazz
Bela Fleck, banjo
Fred Lonberg-Holm, cello
Howard Johnson, tuba
Rudi Mahall, bass clarinet
Scott Robinson, specialty brass and reeds
Toots Thielemans, harmonica

2011 Nominees for JJA JAZZ AWARDS: MEDIA

Periodical/Website of the Year
AllAboutJazz.com
DownBeat
JazzTimes
The New York City Jazz Record (formerly AllAboutJazz-New York)
Signal To Noise

Blog of the Year
A Blog Supreme, by Patrick Jarenwattananon
Do The Math, by Ethan Iverson
JazzBeyondJazz, by Howard Mandel
JazzWax, by Marc Myers
Rifftides, by Doug Ramsey

Best Book About Jazz
A Biographical Guide To The Great Jazz And Pop Singers, by Will Friedwald (Pantheon)
African Rhythm: The Autobiography of Randy Weston, composed by Randy Weston/arranged by Willard Jenkins (Duke University Press)
I Walked With Giants: The Autobiography of Jimmy Heath, by Jimmy Heath and Joseph McLaren (Temple University Press)
Saxophone Colossus: A Portrait of Sonny Rollins, photographs by John Abbott, text by Bob Blumenthal (Abrams)
Where the Dark and the Light Folks Meet: Race and the Mythology, Politics, and Business of Jazz, by Randall Sandke -- Rowman & Littlefield Publishing

Best Liner Notes of the Year
Dan Morgenstern - It's About That Time, Hot Club of Detroit (Mack Avenue)
Hank Shteamer – The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordsings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic)
Steven Lasker – The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (Mosaic)

The Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Review and Feature Writing
Ben Ratliff
Larry Blumenfeld
Marc Myers
Nate Chinen

The Willis Conover–Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting
Gary Walker
Jim Wilke
Josh Jackson
Linda Yohn
Phil Schapp

The Lona Foote- Bob Parent Award for Photography
Jimmy Katz
John Abbott
Michael Jackson
Mitchell Seidel

Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism
Amiri Baraka (also writing as Leroi Jones)
Ben Ratliff
Bill Milkowski
Stanley Crouch

Short Form Video of the Year
Henry Threadgill: Playing It Unsafe - Jeremy Robins, producer/director
I Heart Jazz - Alan Mezquida, producer/director
Jazz Robots - Joe Hundertmark, producer/director [Still super-killing, man! - PH]



Sonny Rollins: Getting It Back Together - Bret Primack, producer/director
TK Blue: Latin Bird, by Brian Grady - producer/director

Photo of the Year
Benny Powell by Lena Adasheva
Carla Bley by John Watson
Esperanza Spalding by Andrea Canter
Maceo Parker by Bill King
Sonny Rollins by John Abbott
Tom Harrell by David Kawai

These finalist nominees for the 2011 JJA Jazz Awards for Music and Media will be voted on by professional members of the Jazz Journalists Association to select a winner in each category. Winners will be announced at the JJA Jazz Awards Gala on June 11, 2011 at City Winery, NYC and simultaneously via live streaming video to be viewed online.

James Farm (Nonesuch)
Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman, Eric Harland

Over at James Farm, the harvest's been very, very good.

From the farm's four seasoned labourers -- Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman and Eric Harland -- comes a CD released today that's a superlative blend of jazz's improvisational razzle-dazzle and the hooks and ear candy of non-jazz musics. It affords Redman, Parks, Penman and Harland all the room they need to assert themselves individually, but never loses sight of the larger, collective effort to shape songs that captivate from start to finish. It presents complexities on many fronts -- especially in the elaborately arranged compositions of the disc's first half -- but the disc's direct, emotional appeal to listeners never suffers.

In the best democratic fashion, all of the band's members contribute tunes to the CD -- there are three apiece from Redman, Parks and Penman, and one from Harland. I don't know if all the writing was done with the band in mind, but it does seem that way -- the group has a big, rich sound regardless of who brought in the material, and certain musical features and priorities reoccur, helping to unify the CD, again regardless of who wrote the tune in question As the story goes, the band, convened because saxophonist Redman liked the music that pianist Parks made with bassist Penman and drummer Harland on his CD Invisible Cinema, and naturally, there are some tracks on James Farm that bring to mind the dreamy grooviness of Invisible Cinema, whether they were penned by Parks or not. The material also at times brings to mind the music from Brad Mehldau pop-meets-jazz recordings Largo and Highway Rider. Of course, Redman was a strong voice on that project. But as well, the music on James Farm is discretely dotted with timbral embellishments (Parks overdubs various keyboard textures that add warmth and depth, some instrumental sounds were manipulated during the mixing), and the disc thereby works on another level beyond the jazz convention of linear solos on chord changes.

James Farm is front-loaded with a stretch of its best music. The disc's first two tracks -- Penman's Coax and Redman's Polliwog -- are long and engrossing, packed with things to execute but nonetheless open enough to allow soloists room to take off. Coax has passages of exotic tension and majesty built on Parks' bed of arpeggiated "rhythm piano" that give way to an breathtaking, open-sky piano interlude and then some typically stirring saxophone heroics from Redman, a player of world-class melodic ability and musical reflexes. Polliwog is groovy beyond words, with many of the harmonic moves that I associate with pop-influenced, post-Mehldau jazz, a melody you'll want to sing along with and a beat you'll want to dance to (rhythmic tricks notwithstanding). After outrageous solos by Redman and especially Parks, there's a coda that takes the music into another place, one where Parks' organ pads and Penman's whistling are right at home.    

For pure songfulness, nothing beats Bijou, a country- and gospel-tinged waltz by Parks. It's short, sweet and all-American -- in contrast to the disc's longer, punchier and more exotic tracks such as the songs that preceded it, and Parks' urgent Chronos, which follows it. Like Coax, Chronos allows Parks' affinity for global sonorities to surface. He and Redman swap phrases over a drone/ostinato background that recalls foreign sonorities before Parks uncorks a stirring solo.

Penman's 1981 is at once sprawling but also as accessible as the best pop from three decades ago (Message in a Bottle, maybe?). Harland's I-10 is short but audacious, floating long tones, bowed bass, and intriguing piano over a Harland groove, before -- surprise! -- electronic processing tricks out the drums, saxophone and piano, adding wheeze and distortion and some disorienting sonic shimmer. Unravel, a slow, tart piece by Parks and the similarly slow and moody Star-Crossed by Redman are perhaps the CD's most conventionally jazzy pieces.

After its opening wash of pump organ and bowed bass, Redman's If By Air is fast, grand waltz. Penman's Low Fives is the disc's most deeply felt, resonating ballad and its sad, beautiful conclusion. It features Penman's rich bass before Redman's summons the music around him with his plaintive soprano saxophone.

The conventional wisdom is that jazz's supergroups make music that too often comes second to that their musicians release under their own names. But while Redman, Parks, Penman and Harland have made stellar recordings on their own as leaders, James Farm is as strong or better than what came before from those musicians. It's a step forward not only for them, but for jazz's modern mainstream too.

Bad enough that some jazz festivals program questionable amounts of non-jazz. How about a jazz festival presenting a musician named Ornette -- but she sounds like this?

The Franco-Italian singer/pianist/actress Bettina Kee, aka Ornette, plays the Montreal International Jazz Festival on July 3 and 4.

Stand by next year for the death metal band Mingus and the bluegrass troupe Miles Davis 1960s Quintet, appearing on a jazz festival stage somewhere.

What's not to like about Kenny Werner's music? I've been very keen on the pianist's art since 1982 or so, when I saw him in the film Imagine the Sound, playing with Archie Sheep. Werner's won me over ever since with the warmth of his sound and his unfettered imagination. With Werner, I hear harmonic richness, cascades of melody, musical flow, occasional bits of screwball comedy, and a huge heart.

What's not to admire about Werner the person? In his book, Effortless Mastery, he related with special candour how he overcame personal issues to flourish as a musician. The book is required reading for artists seeking self-improvement. Furthermore, despite a terrible tragedy -- Werner's 16-year-old daughter and only child, Katheryn, died when her car crashed in October 2006 -- the pianist perseveres, and indeed, has fashioned transcendent art in response to his loss.

The most recent examples of Werner's shining music are the discs discussed below.

Balloons (Half Note)
Kenny Werner

Recorded a year ago at the Blue Note in New York, Balloons features Werner leading a powerful quintet that for the most part glows more than it burns, stressing lyricism and tone over torrents of notes and blazing tempos.

Trumpeter Randy Brecker, tenor saxophonist David Sanchez, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez know just how to fit with Werner's esthetic. They affirm simplicity and groundedness that's consistent with Werner's essential material, in addition to contributing the more usual stops-out, virtuosic demonstrations that are part and parcel of contemporary, modern mainstream jazz. For comparison's sake, drummer Sanchez put out a recording last year that featured himself with saxophonist David Sanchez (no relation), and Colley, and that live recording was filled with music that was markedly more dense and driving.

Over four long tracks, Balloons feels like a gradual journey from a spacious, meditative mood to a more vigorous, hard-grooving sensibility.

The opener, Sada, is an immersive experience, resonating with the drones and hypnotic vibe that are consonant with Werner's Eastern spiritual practices. The track features Werner's contemplative piano and an understated, every-note-counts tenor solo from Sanchez that's full of feeling. There's a hint of Dolphin Dance to Werner's single-motif tune Siena, a pretty bossa-style number that affords Brecker some space for the first of several poised solos. The title track, is an epic, 17-minute jazz waltz that's prefaced by Werner's rumination-on-two-chords intro and distinguished by an especially stirring, urgent solo from Brecker. But if the first three tracks were overly simple, the disc's last track, Class Dismissed, is loaded with enough musical material to win over any jazz nerd. It's a resolute swinger fully loaded with rhythmic and harmonic information -- the stuff of several 1960s Wayne Shorter tunes, you might say -- but Brecker and Werner slice through any difficulties with a dazzling, flowing solo and drummer Sanchez is riveting when his turn comes.

Here's a little YouTube clip that features Werner discussing many topics, as well as snippets of his quintet playing. If you want to zoom right to the music, there's a tricked-out, modulating rendition of If I Should Lose You at 00:25, a bit of Balloons at 5:15, Werner's intro to Balloons at 9:25, and some of Class Dismissed at 13:41.



It's heartening to hear Werner at the helm of such centred, buoyant music, following the life-altering circumstances he's moved through in recent years, which were front and centre for the recording that preceded Balloons...

No Beginning No End (Half Note)
Kenny Werner

First, a confession: I've avoided reviewing this disc for the longest time because, in my unenlightened naivete, I worried that listening to No Beginning No End would somehow be heart-wrenching.

Released last summer, Werner's intensely personal disc is nothing less than a father's audible odyssey in response to the loss of his only child, a coming to terms with the most tremendous loss that I can imagine.

No Beginning No End represents Werner the composer more than Werner the pianist, filled as it is an orchestra, choir and string quartet executing compositions inspired by the death of Katheryn Werner.



The music is by turns grand, provocative, harrowing and tender. The disc's first five tracks merge into a large suite for me, with links created by Werner's beautiful and intermittent piano work, Joe Lovano's profound, utterly on-point improvisations and the singing of his wife, Judy Silvano. She's called upon to deliver a sort of New Age sermon consisting of Werner's beliefs about everlasting existence, undying existence, space, time and family. It's a lofty assignment, but Silvano is convincing.

The disc also includes three more pieces created with Katheryn Werner in mind. Visitation: Waves Of Unborn is a sombre, beautiful choral piece meant to convey the sound of music beyond the earthly plane. Cry Out is a piece for string quartet that epitomizes conventional mourning. Lastly, Coda brings the disc to its moment of repose. Werner improvises along with the floating, ringing timbres of vibraphone, marimba and harp, occasionally singing or whistling with his piano notes, and the whole creation sounds like nothing less than lapping waves of serenity.

While a jazz lover may turn more often to the more conventional offerings of Balloons, listeners open to pondering the meaning of life and how we can respond to death, will find tremendous sustenance from the insights of No Beginning No End.

Beyond that, Werner's project lets his daughter know once more how divinely loved she was -- and is.

I missed the Charlie Hunter show last Friday at the Elmdale Tavern... as well as the Oxford Jazz Festival in England last week and Kurt Rosenwinkel's recent shows at Fasching in Stockholm. The Internet, however, did bear witness.

1. Hunter's show in Ottawa on Good Friday was taped.

2. For the next seven days, the BBC has this report on the Oxford Jazz Festival, which begins with a lovely rendition of Maria Schneider's Hanggliding by vocalist Norma Winstone's trio.

3. Three clips of the Rosenwinkel Quartet's in Stockholm are on YouTube, including this one of the guitarist's group, which includes pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner, playing Rosenwinkel's Our Secret World:

which flowed into this waltzing Rosenwinkel tune featuring Parks:

As someone who has Kickstarted a few times, I'm all the new business model that involves music lovers getting behind jazz artists who are fundraising/taking advance orders in support of forthcoming discs. Here are two projects that look pretty promising to me.

First, guitarist Mike Moreno has some compelling music in the can, as he explains below:

Second, drummer Johnathan Blake, seen in this clip:



is sitting on a recording that features Mark Turner, Jaleel Shaw, Kevin Hays, Ben Street plus special guests Tom Harrell, Gregoire Maret, Tim Warfield, and Robert Glasper. As Blake explains here, he's short of funds to push through the next steps in making a disc -- mixing, mastering, jacket design and the rest of it. A $10 donation to Blake's campaign will put you on the list to receive the digital files for his recording.

Finally, I'm glad to see that Albany, N.Y., saxophonist Brian Patnaude's Kickstarter campaign has already reached its goal.