This series invites audiences to listen to new jazz albums, while also meeting and hearing from the artists who recorded them. Hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Ken Druker, these informal discussions are held in the Irene Diamond Education Center, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s home, Frederick P. Rose Hall. The programs are videotaped and available later online at Education Events Online.
Jimmy Owens Listening Party with trumpeter Jimmy Owens
Owens discusses and shows behind-the-scenes video from his new CD, The Monk Project
The Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame
Thursday, April 12 at 7:00 PM
Free admission
Jazz at Lincoln Center hosts its eleventh Listening Party of the season with trumpeter and NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens as he discusses and shows behind-the-scenes video from his new CD, The Monk Project (IPO Recordings) with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Ken Druker.
NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens’ debut as a leader on IPO features the legendary trumpeter / flugelhorn leading a stellar septet on a program of his own uniquely original arrangements of Thelonious Monk compositions that are deeply steeped in the feeling of the blues. Owens, who has been heard on countless big band and small group recordings as a virtuoso sideman – including exemplary work on IPO’s One More: Music of Thad Jones, Summary - Music of Thad Jones Vol 2 and With Malice Toward None: The Music Of Tom McIntosh -- has recorded only sporadically as leader, making this date a special one. Longtime colleague, fellow NEA Jazz Master, Kenny Barron, well known for playing Monk’s music with the group Sphere, heads the rhythm section and Robin D. G. Kelley, who wrote the prize-winning biography: Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original contributes learned liner notes, helping to make this a very special tribute to one of America’s greatest composers. Joining Owens in his all star septet is an intergenerational roster of some of the finest, most highly respected players in jazz today. Seated in the all-important piano chair, Owens’ longtime colleague, fellow NEA Jazz Master, Kenny Barron, is supported in the rhythm section by two young veterans, stalwart bassist Kenny Davis and drummer extraordinaire Winard Harper. Filling out the leader’s lyrical trumpet and flugelhorn in the front line are former Wynton Marsalis/Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band alumnus, tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland and the amazing instrumentalist Howard Johnson on tuba and baritone saxophone. Molding these remarkable musicians’ various individual sounds into an orchestral whole, greater than the sum of its component parts, Owens’ arrangement pay homage not just to Monk’s music, but also the large group jazz tradition epitomized by the bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and many others.
3 CohensListening Party with clarinetist Anat Cohen and trumpeter Avishai Cohen
The Cohens discuss the latest CD from their group 3 Cohens, Family
The Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame
Thursday, April 26 at 7:00 PM
Free admission
Jazz at Lincoln Center hosts its twelfth Listening Party of the season with the brother-and-sister team of clarinetist Anat Cohen and trumpeter Avishai Cohen as they discuss the latest CD from their group 3 Cohens, Family (Anzic Records) with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Ken Druker.
Family was recorded in Brooklyn and features the three Israeli horn players/siblings in league with a swinging New York rhythm section: pianist Aaron Goldberg, double-bassist Matt Penman and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. The sextet is joined by iconic vocalist Jon Hendricks. Family presents some top-notch originals, including Avishai's loving title feature for the group's characteristic three-horn interweave and two Charles Mingus-inflected numbers (Yuval's "Blues for Dandi's Orange Bull Chasing an Orange Sack" and Avishai's "With the Soul of the Greatest of Them All"). The disc also includes a winning take on Duke Ellington's "The Mooch," an international retooling of the New Orleans standard "Tiger Rag" and a freshly colored interpretation of "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" born of the group's great love for and experience with the music of Louis Armstrong. The sextet is joined by iconic vocalist Jon Hendricks for the vintage "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "Roll 'em, Pete."