Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ze Luis was born José Luis Segneri Oliveira was born December 17, 1957 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and as a child lived next to Antonio Carlos Jobim in the historic Ipanema neighborhood. Early on Oliveira began playing flute and he graduated from Pro-Art Conservatoire in flute and traditional harmony in 1975. Two years later he continued his studies in Performance Arts at Villa-Lobos Institute and soon after studied with renowned Brazilian saxophonist and clarinet player Paulo Moura.

The mid-70s saw him becoming heavily influenced by the album Native Dancer, a collaboration between Wayne Shorter and Milton Nascimento. He was also drawn to the music of Ian Anderson, leader and flutist of the British band Jethro Tull.

Zé’s first professional engagement began with Brazilian vocalists Ney Matogrosso and Luiz Melodia. Oliveira met pianist Tomás Improta while working with Brazilian actress and singer Zezé Motta, who at that time was working with emerging Caetano Veloso and recorded on his album and eventually joined Veloso’s newly formed band.

During this time Oliveira worked extensively with Gilberto Gil, The Wailers, Chico & Caetano on Globo TV and played with Chico Buarque, Rita Lee, Milton Nascimento, João Bosco, Elza Soares, and Mercedes Sosa.

He moved to New York City in 1990 and began studying with saxophonists Joe Lovano and Ted Nash at New York University. In 2004, Oliveira received his Masters in Composition and Arranging from the Juilliard School. His career includes multiple Grammy Award nominations.

Throughout the 1990s, Oliveira continued to record and perform with hundreds of artists from different genres, composed and performed for choreographer and dancer Patricia Hoffbauer and became a part of the New York Samba Band with Duduka da Fonseca, Romero Lubambo, Cyro Baptista and Nilson Matta.

Saxophonist and flutist Zé Luis Oliveira is the current producer of Just Play, a traveling improvisational music series and global storytelling project.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

More Posts: ,,,,,,

JANE MONHEIT

The Merriest Holiday Show

One of jazz’s most beloved voices, Jane Monheit returns with a warm and enchanting holiday project designed to stir feelings of nostalgia, family, and home. The Merriest is a personal collection hand-picked by Jane herself, expressing her love for the season in a way that feels like a gift from her to listeners. With lush orchestrations, intimate vocals, and timeless songs, Jane invites everyone to celebrate the merriest season of all.

A self-described Christmas fanatic, Jane has released two highly acclaimed seasonal albums: The Season (2005) and The Merriest (2022). Each December, she tours to widespread acclaim, bringing her bright, swinging holiday show to audiences across the country. With fresh arrangements of classic favorites and joyful performances, Jane’s holiday shows have become a cherished tradition, delighting fans of all ages and cementing her status as one of jazz?s most enchanting vocalists.

Lineup: Max Haymer ~ piano, Neal Miner ~ bass, Rick Montalbano ~ drums

Cover: Sold Out

More Posts: ,,,,,,,

JOHN PIZZARELLI

World-renowned guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli has dedicated many of his albums to the great songwriters and performers who have helped to establish the Great American Songbook and the pop music canon: Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Richard Rodgers, and Duke Ellington, to name a few. With his new album, Pizzarelli and his remarkable new trio cast a wider net to explore other sources for the most immortal songs of the past century: the Broadway stage and the silver screen.

Cover: $48.05

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,

GABRIELLE CAVASSA

Gabrielle Cavassa is an American vocalist-composer of Italian descent who is garnering attention for her distinctive voice and intimate expression. She was crowned a winner of the International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition in 2021 after the independent release of her critically acclaimed debut album. Gabrielle is featured on celebrated saxophonist Joshua Redman’s inaugural album with Blue Note Records, Where Are We.

Cover: $41.30

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,

EITHER/ORCHESTRA

In the decades since the Either/Orchestra debuted on December 17, 1985 at the Cambridge MA Public Library, the group has made over 1000 performances in 38 of the United States and 12 foreign countries, as well as releasing a dozen albums and being nominated for a Grammy, winning five Boston Music awards and numerous Downbeat Critics Poll placements, among many other honors. From prestigious festivals like Glastonbury Pop and Chicago Jazz to tiny clubs, schools and churches in out of the way places, the group has been “dependably marvelous,” according to the Village Voice.

No obstacles deterred leader Russ Gershon and his intrepid musical explorers from visiting new musical worlds – until the Covid pandemic. The band’s most recent performance was in December of 2019 at Tufts U., with one of their distinguished Ethiopian collaborators, vocalist Teshome Mitiku. But now, they’re coming back!

To celebrate the exact 40th anniversary of their first show, the Either/Orchestra returns to the stage not a mile from where they started. The E/O began playing the Regattabar when the club was band new in the ’90’s. There is no better and more appropriate venue for them to inaugurate their fifth decade.

The E/O will be making selections from their vast catalog of originals and original arrangements of classic and obscure jazz, as well as dipping into their unparalleled repertoire of Ethiopian music in honor of their upcoming release, éthiopiques 32: Nalbandian the Ethiopian.

Their second release on the legendary éthiopiques series features music by Nerses Nalbandian, a teenage refugee of the Armenian genocide who rose to become music director of Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie’s National Theater in Addis Ababa. Nalbandian’s interest in American music helped set the stage for the birth of the modern Ethiopian pop music which has bewitched music aficionados the world over the past couple of decades. His music has seldom been played since the totalitarian revolution which deposed Haile Selassie in 1974, and the E/O was asked by the Nalbandian family and éthiopiques producer Frances Falceto to reconstruct and play it at the National Theater of Ethiopia. The album is a record of that labor of love.

E/O personnel:

Tom Halter | trumpet
Dan Rosenthal | trumpet
Joel Yennior | trombone
Sam Spear | alto sax
Russ Gershon | tenor sax
Charlie Kohlhase | baritone sax
Alexei Tsiganov | piano
Rick McLaughlin | bass
Brooke Sofferman | drums
Vicente Lebron | congas

Cover: Sold Out

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

« Older Posts       Newer Posts »
© Notorious Jazz 2026