Sonny Simmons made a number of striking albums in the 60′s. Born in 1933, he was already
a well-travelled Parkerian and a signaled innovator on the West Coast when he first came
to national attention in 1963 with his debut recording The Cry ! (with the Prince Lasha
Quintet, on Contemporary), live appearances in NYC with Sonny Rollins, and sessions with
Eric Dolphy (for whom he wrote the standard, Music Matador) and Coltrane’s rhythm section(Illumination!, on Impulse).

With his alter-ego Michael Marcus, he founded the Cosmosamatics, a group with which he enjoys the greatest of achievements. Hugely popular in  Europe, where they tour frequently, they have recorded seven albums (most notably for Boxholder,  Soul Note and Not Two), building one of the most distinctive sound nowadays.

Besides, he led varied projects of his own, ranging from a classy quintet date for Marge,
Myxolydis, to a mammoth sextet with Anthony Braxton and another group, the Renegade Society, both resurrecting the “ol’ free jazz” feel. Many gems pave his new way : a second solo tapestry (Out Into The Andromeda), a magical evocation of the powers of eastern musical idioms (Tales Of The Ancient East), an up-to- date association with noise wizzard Jeff Shurdut (The Future Is Ancient), and an atmospheric masterpiece full of strings, scorching alto lines and sunsets (The Traveller).  The latter association with Jazzaway records proved very fruitful, since three more records are to  be released in the forthcoming months. – And now Sonny Simmons is back in NYC with his own performing outfit, the ZQ3 Trio !

For the past ten years The Bad Plus Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson and David King have broken down the walls of jazz convention and created an uncompromising body of work. Few jazz groups in recent memory have amassed such acclaim, and few have inspired such controversy. Their belief in the band ethos and their personal brand of avant-garde populism have put them at the forefront of a new instrumental music movement, drawing audiences both traditional and mainstream. While the bulk of their output has been original music, they have deconstructed songs in the pop, rock as well as the country and classical music idioms.

The band just completed a gig at Yoshi’s in Oakland and will be at the Mondavi Center in Davis next. Listen to what they are up to with Alica Clancy.

Kenny Jr. has performed worldwide with a comprehensive variety of musicians, including Stanley Jordan, Out of the Blue (OTB), Stanley Turrentine, Slide Hampton and the Jazz Masters, the Mingus Big Band, Steve Grossman, Yoshiaki Masuo, Sadao Watanabe, Smokey Robinson, Frank Morgan, Daniel Schnyder, and many others.

He was the winner of the 1990 Great American jazz Piano Competition in Jacksonville FL. He has appeared as a leader at many major festivals, including the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Kyoto Jazz Festival, Savannah on Stage Festival, Clearwater Jazz Festival, and the Newark Jazz Festival.

Kenny Drew Jr. has also begun to gain a reputation as a performer of classical music. He has performed both jazz & classical music at the Barossa Music Festival in Australia in 1996 & 1997.
The classical repertoire included Bach concertos and music by African-American composers. These concerts consisted of solo piano recitals and appearances with renowned classical musicians such as violinist Jane Peters and pianist Peter Waters.

Come listen to him chat with Michael Burman on hiis mix of jazz and classical music.

Saturday afternoon I got a chance to see Grace Kelly as a guest of San Jose Jazz Festival Winterfest. I first heard of Grace when she appeared on Marion McPartland’s Piano Jazz show back in April of 2008. Until recently she played up and down the east coast and on cruises but never making out here to the west coast. Just recently she was playing at Yoshi’s and then she turned up at San Jose Jazz’s Winterfest.

First I need to complement the San Jose Jazz Society for putting on a great concert series and picking an very nice venue. I had never been to the theatre on San Pedro Square before. Very nice intimate space upstairs from the restaurants. Good acousitics, a bar at the back and very nice seating arrangement. It reminds me of the old Yoshi’s in Oakland when they were on College Ave.

Grace brought her band with her and picked up a new drummer, Mike Ferber. Her group featured Jason Palmer on trumpet, Peter McCann on guitar, and Evan Gregor on bass. The group was stellar. They rocked out to standards like Caravan, Round Midnight, and Bye bye Blackbird. Her duet with Evan Gregor of Round Midnight was beautiful. Grace did serveral of her own compositions like Philosophical Flying Fish, Eggshells, Autum Song, and Night Time Star. They closed with a very funky version of Summertime. Grace very much respects the tradition of the music and is injecting her own style. The concert was a blast. I would love to see them in a dance club. If you get a chance to catch Grace I recommend it strongly. If you want to listed to her music and see where she is playing check out her web site Grace Kelly Music . Maybe San Jose Jazz can get her back for the Summerfest.

This weekend at the San Jose Jazz Winterfest our hosts, Clifford Brown and Greg Bridges will be the master of ceremonies for two concerts.

On Saturday Greg Bridges will be the master of ceremonies for Grace Kelly. Details for the performance are at:

San Jose Jazz Winterfest 2012

Clifford will be there on Sunday for the Ambrose Akimusire and Gerald Clayton quintet. He will also be there to lead the after concert discussion. Details are at:

San Jose Jazz Winterfest 2012

Come say hi to Greg and Clifford.

Ron

Jamie Davis’ deep, compelling baritone leaves audiences feeling good—really good. Music Critic Andy Gilbert calls Davis “one of the finest male jazz singers on the West Coast…an entertainer of the old school, an eager to please performer who can belt the blues, croon American Songbook ballads with a warm, burnished bass, and deliver Stevie Wonder hits with soulful authority.”

Read the full story and hear his music at:

San Jose Jazz Winterfest: Jamie Davis Quintet

It would be difficult to find two more intriguing young Jazz artists than Ambrose Akinmusire and Gerald Clayton. Put them together—in an artist-driven collaboration—and you’re guaranteed a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Read the rest of the story and hear their music at:

San Jose Jazz Winterfest: Ambrose Akimusire and Gerald Clayton

What are you doing next weekend? You should drop in on the San Jose Jazz Winterfest in downtown San Jose. They have a fantastic line up starring Ambrose Akinmusire and Gerald Clayton, Vocalist Jamie Davis, New York-based saxophone prodigy Grace Kelly, The Blues All Stars with J.C. Smith, Chris Cain & Maxx Cabello Jr., and Rupa and the April Fishes.

Other ticketed events will include a Blues Dance Party featuring Summer Fest favorite Legally Blue and a Salsa Dance Party with the Pacific Mambo Orchestra, both held at the San Pedro Square Market. There’s also a free “Club Crawl” featuring performances by great local Jazz groups at various bars and restaurants along San Pedro Street, which will offer food and drink specials during the festival.

You can find out about the artists, the schedule and buy tickets on their web site at
San Jose Jazz Winterfest 2012

Also check out their weekly jazz events calendar for what is going on in San Jose.

Sonny Simmons has been playing saxaphone since the 60s. Back then he was a leading musician in the free jazz movement. Since then he has reinvented himself as expressed in his current album Last Man Standing. He will be speaking with Greg Bridges about his current project and music.

Find out more about Sonny at his web site

http://www.sonnysimmons.org/index.html

Dr. Pascal Bokar Thiam teaches world music and jazz at University of San Francisco and the French American school by day. He is also a jazz vocalizt, guitarist and composer. Somewhere in between he runs the award winning Savannah Jazz Club in SF and Savannah Jazz records. He will be chatting with Kathleen Lawton about his music and numerous projects.

For a broader account of Pascal’s activities check out this article in the San Jose Mercury News:

http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_19675458