All About Jazz: New York

Hugh Laurie & The Copper Bottom Band: New York, NY, September 10, 2012

By MIKE PERCIACCANTE 30-Sep-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

Hugh Laurie & The Copper Bottom Band
The Grand Ballroom At Manhattan Center
New York, New York
September 10, 2012

There was a palpable feeling of excited anticipation in the air as the audience filed into New York City's Manhattan Center--Hugh Laurie, known to many as the irrepressible Dr. Gregory House from the hit television series House, was about to perform songs from his debut CD, Let Them Talk (Warner Brothers, 2011). The anticipation, as ...

Trio Da Paz at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

By NICK CATALANO 09-Sep-12 , NEW YORK BEAT

Very often writers ignore popular jazz artists and groups on the theory that they have sufficient exposure and don't need further praise. As a result, some of the subtler, finer points of the aesthetics go unnoticed. In addition, popularity and high success can be a curse, bestowing certain problems lesser performers don't have.

In recent months, Trio Da Paz, performing the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, has had an unprecedented run of sold out performances at Dizzy's. The group has ...

Andy Milne & Dapp Theory: New York, NY, August 26, 2012

By ERNEST BARTELDES 08-Sep-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

Andy Milne & Dapp Theory
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival
Tompkins Square Park
New York, NY
August 26, 2012

Perfect weather and mild temperatures were the setting for an afternoon of jazz music at New York's Tompkins Square Park on occasion of the 20th edition of the Charlie Park Jazz Festival. Pianist Andy Milne's contemporary jazz project Dapp Theory was part of the lineup for the day, a quintet rounded out by reed player Aaron ...

North Fork Rock and Folk Festival: Cutchogue, New York, August 19, 2012

By MIKE PERCIACCANTE 02-Sep-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

The Dirt Farmer Band / Miles To Dayton / The Second Hands
North Fork Rock and Folk Festival
Peconic Bay Winery
Cutchogue, NY
August 19, 2012

In 2010 and 2011, The North Shore Rock and Folk Festival took place over a single weekend (Saturday and Sunday) in July. For the 2012 edition, promoter Yvonne Lieblein and winery management decided to change course...slightly. According to former Southold, New York Town Supervisor and Master of Ceremonies Josh ...

The Doobie Brothers and Chicago: Wantagh, NY, August 18, 2012

By MIKE PERCIACCANTE 01-Sep-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

The Doobie Brothers and Chicago
Nikon At Jones Beach Theater
Wantagh, NY
August 18, 2012

On what will most probably be remembered as one of the best weather days to grace Long Island during the summer of 2012, classic rock legends The Doobie Brothers and Chicago shared the stage at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre. The performance had been billed as an evening featuring the music that spanned the careers of both bands, and the ...

Mike LeDonne: Where There’s Smoke

By BOB KENSELAAR 27-Aug-12 , INTERVIEWS

Mike LeDonne has more than made his mark in jazz over the years, on both piano and organ. One of the New York jazz scene's premier instrumentalists, he's long been a favorite of fellow musicians. “He is incredible," said the late Oscar Peterson, who once described how he would rush to hear LeDonne play every night on a jazz-cruise gig that featured both musicians on the bill. First known mainly for his piano work, LeDonne has increased his profile as ...

O.A.R.: Wantagh, New York, August 9, 2012

By MIKE PERCIACCANTE 25-Aug-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

O.A.R.
Nikon At Jones Beach Theater
Wantagh, NY
August 9, 2012 Rockville, MD's O.A.R. (an abbreviation for the band's full name, Of A Revolution) took the stage at Long Island's Nikon at Jones Beach Theater to the opening notes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' “Can't Stop." Before the first verse of the Chili Peppers' song had finished, O.A.R.'s frontman Marc Roberge, along with guitarist Richard On, drummer Chris Culos, bassist Benj Gershman and Jerry DePizzo on ...

Richard Sussman Quintet: Nyack, NY, July 22, 2012

By DAVID A. ORTHMANN 21-Aug-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

Richard Sussman Quintet
Nyack Jazz Week at the Turning Point Cafe
Nyack, NY
July 22, 2012 Unlike the performance of certain forms of popular music, in which musicians dutifully strive to reproduce perfect versions of tracks from a record, a jazz CD release party proceeds from entirely different expectations. Befitting the music's emphasis on improvisation and the element of surprise, a live set of previously recorded compositions serves as a jumping off point for differences born in ...

Vision Festival, NYC, Days 6-7: June 16-17, 2012

By JOHN SHARPE 14-Aug-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

Days 1-2 | Days 3-5 | Days 6-7
17th Annual Vision Festival
Roulette
Brooklyn, NY
June 16-17, 2012
Chapter Index

June 16: Steve Swell Quintet / Trio 3 / Jason Kao Hwang Burning Bridge
June 17: Ingrid Laubrock's Anti-House / Burnt Sugar Holy Ghost & Fire / Rob Brown/Daniel Levin / Kidd Jordan Quintet
Festival Wrap Up

June 16: Steve Swell Quintet / Trio 3 ...

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Stephanie Nakasian: The Renaissance Woman of Jazz

By NICK CATALANO 11-Aug-12 , NEW YORK BEAT

For decades, Stephanie Nakasian has been swinging through an immensely challenging jazz repertoire with astonishing aplomb. Her audacious ventures into vocal territory that others have carefully avoided have resulted in recordings and performances of unrivaled excellence. From pioneering vocal efforts with singer Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross to the rigorous charts of The Danish Radio Big Band and the improvisational intricacies of saxophonists Phil Woods and Scott Hamilton, Nakasian has constantly associated herself with jazz subtleties in uncharted territory.

As ...

Vans Warped Tour: Uniondale, NY, July 21, 2012

By MIKE PERCIACCANTE 11-Aug-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

Vans Warped Tour
Nassau Coliseum Parking Lot
Uniondale, NY
July 21, 2012

The Warped Tour has a very interesting dynamic. The festival (which began back in the mid-'90s) features new bands on their way up the charts, gaining buzz among both fans and industry. The festival also tends to catch bands on their way down. These performers still have a core fan base but, alas, their stars do not burn as brightly as they once did. Additionally, ...

Conrad Herwig: New York City, NY, July 25, 2012

By EMILIE PONS 10-Aug-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

Conrad Herwig Quintet
The Blue Note
New York, NY
July 25, 2012 During the last week of July, 2012, at New York City's Blue Note club, trombonist Conrad Herwig performed with his quintet, also featuring trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber, pianist Bill O'Connell, bassist Ruben Rodriguez, drummer Robby Ameen and conguero/percussionist Richie Flores. Herwig paid tribute to the sophisticated tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, who passed in 2001. Henderson was one of Herwig's heroes, mentors and ...

Bebel Gilberto: New York City, NY, July 21, 2012

By ERNEST BARTELDES 01-Aug-12 , LIVE REVIEWS

Bebel Gilberto
Brazil Summerfest at Central Park Summerstage
July 21, 2012
New York, NY As part of the 2012 edition of Brazil Summerfest, a New York city-wide event of contemporary Brazilian music, singer Bebel Gilberto took to the stage at Rumsey Playfield for the second time in her career, following a very eclectic performance by singer Criolo, making his US debut.

Backed by a solid quintet formed mostly by musicians from Forro in The Dark, Gilberto kicked ...

Michael Carvin: The Making of a Master

By BOB KENSELAAR 30-Jul-12 , INTERVIEWS

With a career that spans half a century, master drummer Michael Carvin has plenty to look back on, although he's mostly a forward-looking man. To say he's been prolific puts it mildly. By his own count, he's made some 250 recordings and toured the world five times. He has worked with such major jazz luminaries as Jackie McLean, Dizzy Gillespie, Pharaoh Sanders, and Freddie Hubbard, among many others, in addition to fronting his own bands and recording ten albums as ...