Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nguyên Lê was born Le Thanh Nguyen on January 14, 1959 in Paris, France of Vietnamese ancestry. He began playing drums at the age of 15, then took up guitar & electric bass. After graduating in Visual Arts he majored in Philosophy, writing a thesis on Exoticism. A self-taught musician, Nguyên started out playing rock, funk, jazz standards, avant-garde jazz, pop, African, Caribbean, and other world music.
Devoting himself to music, in 1983 he created Ultramarine, a multi-ethnic band whose recording DÉ has been considered 1989’s Best World Music album. He went on to record several albums and worked with such musicians as Miroslav Vitous, Trilok Gurtu, J. F. Jenny Clarke, Dewey Redman, Andy Emler, Jon Christensen, Nana Vasconcelos, Glenn Ferris, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor and numerous others.
He has played with the O. N. J., the French National Jazz Orchestra in which he played with Johnny Griffin, Louis Sclavis, Didier Lockwood, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Randy Brecker, Toots Thielemans, Courtney Pine, Steve Lacy, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gil Evans, Quincy Jones, Randy Brecker, Vince Mendoza, Carla Bley, Per Mathisen, Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine, Trilok Gurtu, Paolo Fresu and Dhafer Youssef and numerous others.
He has released albums as a leader and as a sideman. His 1996 album Tales from Viêt-Nam blends jazz and traditional Vietnamese music. In spring 2011 he released Songs of Freedom, an album with cover versions of pop hits from the 1970s.
Guitarist and composer Nguyên Lê continues to perform, record and compose.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jon Larsen was born on January 7, 1959 in Bærum, Norway and when he was in his early teens he learned rock and soul songs on an acoustic steel-string guitar. Through friends, he learned about blues, jazz, flamenco, and classical guitar. After he heard Tears by Django Reinhardt on the radio, he decided that this is how he wanted his guitar to sound. At seventeen he formed a string trio and had his first professional job.
The 1970s Jon worked mainly as a painter until 1980 when he started the Hot Club de Norvege with guitarists Per Frydenlund and bassist Svein Aarbostad. They had a hit record when they performed with pop singer Lillebjørn Nilsen. He has worked with Chet Baker, Philip Catherine, Stéphane Grappelli, Warne Marsh, Biréli Lagrène, Babik Reinhardt and Jimmy Rosenberg. He has produced more than 450 jazz records for the label he founded, Hot Club Records.
He has led a group of musicians who played with Zappa and started the label Zonic Entertainment to record musicians who played with him .including Arthur Barrow, Jimmy Carl Black, Bruce Fowler, Bunk Gardner, Tommy Mars, and Don Preston.
A documentary Symphonic Django was released in 2008 about Larsen and guitar virtuoso Jimmy Rosenberg titled Jon & Jimmy, and appeared in the documentary film Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds In 2012.
Gypsy jazz guitarist, record producer, painter, and amateur scientific researcher Jon Larsen, who founded the group Hot Club de Norvège and received the Buddy Award for his lifelong contribution to jazz, continues to perform, record and produce.
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OSCAR PEÑAS
Catalan- North american guitarist Oscar Peñas uses his unique skills to arrange, produce, and perform innovative compositions crossing jazz and classical genres, using non-traditional instrumentation in either style, outlining his arrangements and unique sound. Peñas was born in Barcelona, living in the states since 2005. His family loved traditional, folk, and flamenco music. His maternal grandfather was a trumpet player who occasionally played with Xavier Cugat’s orchestra in town.
Peñas’ first studies were devoted to classical music; he later developed a fascination with jazz and dedicated his career to the American genre. His decision led to this moment in his musical career, a road that crosses cultures and creative ideas, the primary genre melded by different grooves.
Peñas has expanded his focus to incorporate diverse rhythms and styles, creating extraordinary musical experiences that enrich lives and empower individuals through collaboration, innovation, and a passion for artistic excellence. His intuition and ear drive him to an amalgam of melodies that aim for the unexpected and merge multiple music styles that do not cohere into a single signature style.
As a performer, Peñas has released six albums as bandleader, composer, and performer; four albums in the USA under his own label Musikoz, and two in Barcelona, published by Fresh Sound New Talents. His collaborations with great American Jazz Master include; Grammy winners Esperanza Spalding, Gil Goldstein, Paquito D’Rivera, legendary bassist Ron Carter, Mike Stern, and pedal steel guitar Greg Leisz.
Cover: $38.56~$51.00
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BILL BANFIELD
Jazz guitarist Bill Banfield’s father just turned 100 years old. At a recent celebration, family and friends gathered virtually and in person to celebrate his life and ask his advice. Bill had been learning his father’s lessons for years, but a recent phone conversation led his dad to give him the title for his new Mesa/Bluemoon Recordings album. As Bill tells it, he was speaking with his dad when he suddenly realized that he had something else that he needed to do. His father said, “Bill, I will talk to you, but you must TAKE TIME TO LISTEN.” The words hit Bill like a thunderbolt, as his album was designed as encouragement to concentrate on the stories found deep in his music.
Born and raised in Detroit, Banfield attended the prestigious arts magnet school, Cass Tech. He was mentored by two of the city’s finest jazz guitarists, Kenny Burrell and Earl Klugh. He also learned from the examples of masters George Benson, John Scofield, Emily Remler, Pat Martino, and Jack Wilkins. Banfield calls his approach “solo-voiced guitar,” reflecting his belief that imagination and emotion are essential ingredients in all great music, and that his playing comes directly from his heart. Banfield dedicates Take Time To Listen to Burrell and Klugh “to lift up these jazz guitar icons who greatly inspired and coached me as an early teen as I aspired to be like my heroes.”
Cover: $20.00
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager will be landing in the Big Apple tonight heading to Broadway to help kick off the New Year at Dizzy’s by celebrating with drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts on his 65th birthday. The club sits high above Columbus Circle with a backdrop of Central Park and the Manhattan vistas. It’s a view to remember.
This multi-Grammy winner and Guggenheim fellow leads an all-star band for a high-energy, four-night run, featuring saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, pianist James Francies, James Genus on the double bass, and guitarist Paul Bollenback. Tain’s distinct blend of swing, innovation, and soul, honed through collaborations with legends like Wynton Marsalis and McCoy Tyner, is sure to set the stage afire and raise the roof.
Tickets range from $25.00~$60.00 and some performances Sold Out , so check availability before you go.
Dizzy’s is located at 10 Columbus Circle, New York City, NY 10019. For more information visit https://jazz.org/dizzys.
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