(aus dem Jazzinstitut Darmstadt)
24 February - 16 March 2022 | Ausgabe 05/2022 (English)

We read the morning paper for you!

Dear jazz friends,

The Jazzinstitut's JazzNews keeps you up-to-date with news of the jazz world, which we collect, summarize, and issue via e-mail about once a week. This service can also be accessed on our website (www.jazzinstitut.de), where it is updated on a daily basis.

If you need bibliographies of the musicians named in our JazzNews, please click on our website’s Jazz Index page. This is a bibliographical reference to jazz-related books, magazines, journals and other sources that you can access without charge. If you don't find the name(s) you’re looking for, feel free to e-mail us! We will send you Jazz Index digests of articles about musicians as they make the news.

Now, have fun reading about the jazz week that was!

... brief news ... 

Stefan Strittmacher reports about the club Bird's Eye in Basel, Switzerland, which parts company with its president and artistic director after discussions about the club's Covid policy (Basler Zeitung). --- Marc Myers talks to Danish producer Nils Winther about his musical background, about hearing Bud Powell at Copenhagen's Montmartre jazz club in 1962, about starting to record on tape in the late 1960s and founding SteepleChase Records in 1972 on a suggestion by saxophonist Jackie McLean, about guitarist Doug Raney, as well as about some of the albums he made over the years and some of the dreams that did not come true (JazzWax).

Daniel Bradley reports about guitarist Wes Montgomery's continuing influence among musicians in Indianapolis (WRTV Indianapolis). --- Karina Kovac talks to drummer Matt Wilson about the falling sales numbers for CDs, about his approach to teaching, about the importance to respect and learn from older artists, about his instrument that "represents our culture as a melting pot", as well as about the impact the pandemic might have on up-and-coming musicians (Long Island Herald).

Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington outlines the necessity and the goals of Berklee's Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, asking what jazz would sound like "if there was a gender balance among the creators of the music" and presenting her Next Jazz Legacy program that tries to address and change the existing narrative (Billboard). Whitney Miller talks to educator Lexi Hamner, one of the recipients of a Next Jazz Legacy grant (WCPO). --- Dianna Khoo talks to Malaysian singer Janet Lee about her road to jazz, about lessons she learned during the pandemic, about "The Malaysian Real Book" she is involved with, as well as about advice she would give to young musicians (Options The Edge).

Andrew Daly talks to drummer Tomas Fujiwara about how first a record cover photo, then the record itself of Max Roach fascinated him as a kid, about some projects he was involved in, about his band Triple Double Sextet, about his approach to songwriting, about the difference in instrumental setup between live and studio gigs, as well as about future projects (Sonic Perspectives). --- In a weekly radio series from 1 March through 5 April 2022, Franziska Buhre and Julia Neupert remember the contributions of five women behind the scene who were influential for jazz in Germany, namely producer Vera Brandes of Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert fame, photographer Susanne Schapowalow, promoter Helma Schleif, concert agent Gabriele Kleinschmidt, and sound engineer Christa Gugeler (SWR).

In an op-ed piece, John McWhorter questions the current Grammy categories and argues that nominating pianist and bandleader Jon Batiste and violinist Curtis Stewart for an award in classical music is wrong for several reasons, bringing up the example of Duke Ellington having been called the "first Black classical composer", and ultimately arguing that Batiste and Stewart should be awarded for what they do, and not for some kind of genre-inclusiveness (New York Times). --- Paul Hodgins talks to trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis about how music can help during times of crisis, about his own approach of using both traditional and more funky elements in his music, as well as about encouraging his younger colleagues to engage with their peers in order to open their ears for jazz but also trying to open his own ears to music currently on the Billboard Top 20 (Voice of OC).

Kadish Morris talks to singer Cécile McLorin Salvant about what it meant to receive a grant from the McArthur Foundation, about previous albums and her most recent recording, "Ghost Song", about the support of her parents for her career, as well as about the influence of her French vocal teacher on her musical development (The Guardian). John Murph talks to Cécile McLorin Salvant as well, focusing on the creative decision and process of singing in a new sonic environment, about her choice of instruments on her new album, about the influence of authors like Proust, Brontë, and Dumas, as well as about the impact of receiving the prestigious (and well-endowed) MacArthur Genius Fellowship and a Doris Duke Grant (Grammy).

John Fenton talks to several musicians and jazz promoters in Ukraine to learn about their and their families' fate during the current war, learning first-hand of the situation in Kyiv or their experiences while fleeing from the Ukrainian capital (JJA News). --- Nate Chinen talks to Ukrainian harpist Alina Bzhezhinska (who lives in London) about family and friends back home in Ukraine, about being grateful to the Polish people for supporting Ukrainians after the Russian invasion, as well as about her instrument, influences like Dorothy Ashby, and her latest album, "Reflections" (WBGO).

Peter Ade celebrates German jazz promoter Werner Büche on the occasion of his 90th birthday (Weiler Zeitung). --- Meghna Majumdar reports about the current jazz scene in India (The Hindu). --- Sam Kemp remembers Alice Coltrane's album "Journey in Satchidananda" as "the most revolutionary jazz record of the 1970s" (Far Out Magazine).  --- German vibraphonist, composer and theorist Christopher Dell will receive this year's Hesse Jazz Award (Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst). --- Andrew Gilbert talks to pianist Susan Muscarella and drummer Gerald Cleaver about a new concert series by the 25-year-old California Jazz Conservancy (Berkeleyside). --- Ulrich Habersetzer celebrates Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek on the occasion of his 75th birthday (BR Klassik). --- Isabella Ratto looks at the city of Boston's jazz history as well as its present jazz scene (The Huntington News). --- Kristian Teetz attends a concert celebrating the 75th birthday of German singer Uschi Brüning (RND). --- Paul Brody watches the 1977 film "Passing Through" by independent filmmaker Larry Clark with music composed by pianist Horace Tapscott (The New Yorker). --- Guitarist George Benson talks about his long career and the future of jazz (The Herald).

Obituaries

We learned of the passing of Swedish pianist Nils Lindberg at age 88 (JazzWax, SVT Nyheter), journalist Rosetta Hines-Loving at age 82 (Detroit News), singer Ernie Andrews at age 92 (Los Angeles Times, WBGO, JazzWax), trumpeter Thomas Singer at age 69 (WDWS), singer Yvonne Washington at age 72 (Houston Chronicle), Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa-Lima at age 77 (Washington Post, JazzWax), German guitarist and trumpeter Jörg Teichert and drummer Christian Huber, both at age 41 (Die Rheinpfalz, Heidelberg 24), drummer John Kessell (KCII Radio), trombonist Larry Crawford at age 85 (Waterloo Record), cornetist Ron Miles at age 58 (New York Times, The Denver Post, NPR, Soprano Sax Talk), trombonist Conrad Janis at age 94 (New York Daily News), jazz educator John Murphy at age 60 (Denton Record-Chronicle), as well as Turkish trumpeter Maffy Falay at age 92 (Bianet).

From the World of Jazz Research

Jazzstudie 2022
The Jazzinstitut is a partner of the newest Jazzstudie 2022 undertaken by Deutsche Jazzunion.  The study will map general changes in the socio-economic situation of the German jazz scene since the highly acclaimed Jazzstudie 2016 and examine aspects of the professional practice in Germany. It will also focus on the effects of the corona pandemic on the artistic and economic situation and on the personal well-being of the artists, as well as on diversity and participation within the German jazz scene. The online questionnaire is open since 10 March and directed at professional jazz musicians and educators working mostly in Germany. More: https://www.jazzstudie.de/

Last Week at the Jazzinstitut

Sun Ra Archive
Sandhi Smalls Santini reports about the late Hartmut Geerken's immense Sun Ra Archive which he donated to the Jazzinstitut Darmstadt last year, only half a year before he passed away (Routes Magazine).

Duo:Log
In January, Darmstadt-based graphic artist Nicole Schneider took her iPad to the Jazzinstitut's concert stage to create her art in dialogue with guitarist Ronnie Graupe. The event in itself can still be viewed online (Jazzinstitut). Now, that concert evolved into an art installation at the Jazzinstitut's gallery which opened last Friday and remains open until June. The exhibition gives an introduction to both Schneider's and Graupe's reaction to each other and re-groups some of the graphic and musical results in a 20-minute video projected over two walls in our upstairs gallery. To attend, please make an appointment as there is only limited space available for visitors.

"Play Yourself, Man! Die Geschichte des Jazz in Deutschland"
"Black and Blue. Louis Armstrong, sein Leben und seine Musik"

Last week Wolfram Knauer read from his book on the history of jazz in Germany at Hansa48 in Kiel and at the historic hall of the Lübeck City Library. He was accompanied by trioPLUS with Peter Ortmann (p), Florian Gallow (b) and Oliver Sonntag (d). Next Sunday (March 20, 2022, 6:00 p.m.) he will read at Ideenraum of the Würzburg City Library; guitarist Joe Krieg will add his own musical touches. (MainJazz). Next Wednesday, Knauer will be a guest on Markus Fleischer's radio show "Hör halt hin!" to talk about his latest Louis Armstrong biography (Wednesday, March 23, 2022, 9:00 p.m., Radio Rheinwelle); the following Friday he will talk with guitarist Fleischer, trumpeter Marko Mebus, sousaphone player Matthew Bookert and drummer Maximilian Hering about their contemporary approach to Armstrong's music in the context of a concert at the M8 in Mainz (Geh halt hin!, Friday, March 25, 2022, 7:30 p.m., Haus der Jugend).

Wolfram Knauer war letzte Woche mit Lesungen aus seinem Buch zur Jazzgeschichte Deutschlands zu Gast im Hansa48 in Kiel und im historischen Saal der Stadtbibliothek Lübeck. Begleitet wurde er vom trioPLUS mit Peter Ortmann (p), Florian Gallow (b) und Oliver Sonntag (d). Am kommenden Sonntag (20. März 2022, 18:00 Uhr) liest er im im Ideenraum der Stadtbibliothek Würzburg; dabei setzt der Gitarrist Joe Krieg eigene musikalische Akzente. (MainJazz). Am kommenden Mittwoch ist Knauer zu Gast bei Markus Fleischers Radiosendung "Hör halt hin!" , um über seine jüngste Louis Armstrong-Biographie zu sprechen (Mittwoch, 23. März 2022, 21:00 Uhr, Radio Rheinwelle); am Freitag darauf unterhält er sich mit Fleischer, Marko Mebus, Matthew Bookert und Maximilian Hering über ihre Annäherung an Armstrongs Musik im Rahmen eines Konzerts im Mainzer M8 (Geh halt hin!, Freitag, 25. März 2022, 19:30 Uhr, Haus der Jugend).

Current opening hours of the Jazzinstitut
The Jazzinstitut is open to the public by appointment. Research slots will be given out with exact time slots for one visitor at a time. We ask our visitors to be either fully vaccinated,  recovered or officially tested (3G regulation). At the same time we continue our offer for research help by phone, e-mail or video-call. If you would like to schedule a video call, please send an e-mail to make an appointment and give us an idea what you want to talk about. We will then reply with a link for a Webex video session for your meeting.

Unsubscribe   |   Manage your subscription   |   View online
facebook  youtube  soundcloud  instagram  vimeo 
Jazzinstitut Darmstadt
Bessunger Strasse 88d | 64285 Darmstadt | Germany
The Jazzinstitut is an institution of the City of Sciences Darmstadt | Das Jazzinstitut ist eine Einrichtung der Wissenschaftsstadt Darmstadt