Down Beat 10/2009

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October 2009
Volume 76, Number 10

Cover
Joshua Redman
Montreal Trifecta
By Ed Enright

Montreal was the first jazz festival Joshua Redman played. In fact, the 1991 edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (FIJM) was one of the pedigreed saxophonist’s very first professional gigs.

“I had just graduated college, and I played here with my father,” remembered Redman, a fairly regular visitor to FIJM who returned this summer to perform a three-part Invitation Series of concerts featuring three different ensembles. “This year is the first time I can remember having been here for more than one night. It’s a class act, and the audiences can be really fantastic here—hip and respectful, but not too cool.”

Redman could hardly find a more receptive environment than Montreal in which to conduct his most recent explorations—the boldest of which is a double trio, as featured on his latest CD, Compass (Nonesuch). He regarded his extended stay here as a luxury, a chance to connect onstage with some of his favorite musicians and best friends, and maybe even catch a concert or two. But Redman also acknowledged the thrill and challenge of performing with a different group of musicians every night.

Features
Montreal Jazz Festival
Bigger! Better! Best, Actually ...
By Michael Bourne (with Joshua Jackson and Michael Jackson)

The 30th anniversary of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (Montreal Jazz Festival) offered quantity and quality aplenty from June 30–July 12. More than 20 free outdoor and ticketed indoor stages around Place des Arts in the heart of Montreal. More than 600 performances by more than 3,000 performers from around the world.

Even a journalistic juggernaut—more than 500 reporters from five continents and broadcasters from Paris, Mexico, California and Newark—could not have attended all of the festival. Present for the duration of the midsummer event, DownBeat appreciated some of the extraordinary pieces of the musical mosaic that is FIJM.

Ed Palermo Big Band
Obsessed With Zappa
By Michael Bourne

Both Ed Palermo and I have almost obsessively loved the music of Frank Zappa. Actually, there’s nothing “almost”about Palermo’s feelings for all that Frank created. He has recorded three albums of big band Zappa: The Ed Palermo Big Band Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa in 1997, Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance in 2006 and the new Eddy Loves Frank. When the albums have come out, he’s come on WBGO with me for a radio interview—although mostly we reminisce about our favorite Zappa songs and stories.

Palermo’s Zappa gigs usually happen at Manhattan’s Iridium only once in a while (like an upcoming performance on Oct. 21). Just as the new album was released this spring (on Cuneiform via palermobigband.com), the show at Iridium reminded me of a Mothers concert. Not in the sound of his band. It’s a swinging New York jazz orchestra with hip sectional interplay and spotlighted solos. More in what I’d call the Zappa consciousness of Palermo’s arrangements.

Palermo does much more musically than Zappa-nomics. He’s been fronting a big band 30 years, and now in the works is an album of his big band tribute to the blues of Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield. He’s worked as an alto saxist or arranger for a who’s who of jazz and pop. He’s teaching nowadays at the Hoff/Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, N.Y.

But none of his other work we ever talk about. All that we ever talk about is why Eddy loves Frank.

Why Jazz Endures
4 Viewpoints On The Art Form's Longevity
By Dan Morgenstern, David Baker, Steven Bernstein and Branford Marsalis

What is it about jazz that endures? That cadenza Pops plays to open “West End Blues” is still breathtaking. Jazz classics always sound fresh. And, especially obvious at the Montreal fest, jazz changes and is redefined yet the fundamental things apply.

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis plays a music that he admits doesn’t sell, but he loves it and it fulfills him. Dr. David Baker is teaching a music that is historic but not antique, passing the music along to each generation. The Institute of Jazz Studies, headed by former DownBeat editor Dan Morgenstern, is not just preserving a music but observing a music that continues to evolve. Trumpeter Steven Bernstein plays tunes from before he was born that sound like tomorrow. Really, the question is: Why is there a magazine devoted to a music that hasn’t been popular for 50 years?

Student Music Guide
Where To Study Jazz 2010
The schools featured in this guide can help you take one of the biggest and most important steps towards becoming a professional musician. The jazz programs range in size and focus; great teachers and schools can be found all across North America and abroad. Remember that while one college may be an ideal fit for one student, another student may thrive in an entirely different environment. Use our comprehensive listings to get a sense of what the schools offer, but ultimately it’s up to you to contact the colleges and universities, visit campuses and get yourself the right kind of information.

We’ve also included several helpful articles where educators and professional musicians offer their input on important subjects like finding the right jazz studies program, practical advice for freshmen, opportunities in engineering and pursuing advanced degrees. Plus, Wynton Marsalis shares valuable insight on better ways to teach jazz in the classroom.

Players
Dado Moroni
Eddie C. Campbell
Dave Frank
Stacy Dillard

Blindfold Test
Saxophonist Ran Blake was tested on the following tracks for the “Blindfold Test”:

• Jeff “Tain” Watts: “Mr. J.J.” from Bar Talk (Sony)
• Donny McCaslin: “Isfahan” from Recommended Tools (Greenleaf Music)
• Billy Hart: “Confirmation” from Quartet (High Note)
• David Sánchez: “Monk’s Mood” from Cultural Survival (Concord)
• Joshua Redman: “Insomnomaniac” from Compass (Nonesuch)
• Ravi Coltrane: “Shine” from Blending Times (Savoy)
• Art Ensemble of Chicago: “Song For Charles” from Non-Cognitive Aspects Of The City: Live At Iridium (Pi)
• Sonny Rollins: “Some Enchanted Evening” from Road Shows, Vol. 1 (Doxy)

Also In This Issue

• Philadelphia Jazz Fair
• Ronnie Scott’s @ 50
• Backstage With Patricia Barber
• Vancouver International Jazz Festival
• North Sea Jazz Festival
• Jazz Festival Ljubljana
• Corey Christiansen Master Class
• Louis Armstrong Transcription
• University of Manitoba’s Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music
• Dozens of CD reviews and much more!