QUIANA PARLER & THE LAVON STEVENS TRIO

As lead vocalist, lyricist, and composer for internationally and critically acclaimed two-time Grammy Award-winning roots music group, Ranky Tanky, Quiana Parler spent weeks at #1 on several Billboard Jazz charts. Quiana has spent over 20 years as the most sought-after vocalist in the Lowcountry. Known locally for years prior, she rose to national prominence after her success on the 2003 season of American Idol. Quiana has worked and collaborated with diverse artists and producers such as Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Bobby McFerrin, Miranda Lambert, David Foster, Walter Afanasieff and many more.

Her performances have been featured on national broadcasts like The View, NBC’s TODAY, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, The Tyra Banks Show, and Saturday Night Live, as well as the Academy of Country Music Awards and the American Music Awards. Lavon Stevens has traveled and performed all over the country including Aspen, Colorado, Atlanta, Georgia and Orlando, Florida. The resort vacation destination of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina has been his home since 1981. He is one of the premier entertainers on Hilton Head Island. He is producing a variety of shows and recording projects including other R&B, Jazz and Gospel artists.

Cover: $10.00 ~ $15.00

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AUDREY SHAKIR QUARTET

Audrey Shakir was born into a musical family in Cleveland, Ohio – her mother was a great pianist, organist and vocal coach, and her father, whose idol was Billy Eckstine, loved to sing. She began her professional career as a pianist in a group that played the tunes of Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and others. Eventually, Audrey started leaning towards Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, all the while adding singing to her playing talents, with the vocal influences of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams and Jon Hendricks.

After moving to New York, she was introduced to Barry Harris, which led to numerous gigs with him. While playing the New York scene, she became a regular performer at The Village Gate and had numerous dates at Town Hall, the Apollo Theater and Tavern on the Green among many others.

She has toured with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, including sold-out performances in New York at the Rose Theatre in Jazz At Lincoln Center, and played to sold-out audiences at the Center’s famed sister nightspot, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.

Audrey Shakir is a world-class vocalist, affectionately known as “Atlanta’s First Lady of Jazz”. She has performed with many noted jazz artists over the years in numerous clubs and concert halls throughout the United States and internationally during her successful professional career. An accomplished pianist in her own right, she has sung with small groups and with large orchestras in intimate and grand settings.

Most recently, she had a tremendously successful tour of Big Band Holidays, featuring Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, including four sold-out shows in New York at the Rose Theatre in Jazz At Lincoln Center, and followed that date up with two evenings of sold-out shows at New York’s famed jazz nitespot, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.

She has entertained at several Jazz Festivals, notably Atlanta and Savannah, and has headlined at clubs and private events in New York and throughout the southeast.  Audrey’s CD, If You Could See Me Now, from Hot Shoe Records, has met with great critical acclaim, and she’s heading into the studio soon to record her next CD for Hot Shoe entitled Come Swing With Me, a celebration of the great vocalists of the Big Band Era.

Her Trio: Eric Jones ~ Piano | Marc Chesanow ~ Double Bass | Robert Britton Saunders ~ Drums

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ANAT COHEN & MARCELLO GONÇALVES

The perennial winner of “Clarinetist of the Year” titles from DownBeat, JazzTimes, and the Jazz Journalists Association, Fresh Air’s Terry Gross credits Cohen with “bringing the clarinet to the world” and The New York Times hails her a “Master.”

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Requisites

Peer Pressure ~ Brian Lynch Sextet | By Eddie Carter

This morning’s discussion is about a flugelhorn (track: B2) and trumpet (tracks: A1 to A3, B1, B3) player named Brian Lynch, who I first heard on Chippin’ In by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. Peer Pressure (Criss Cross Jazz 1029) by The Brian Lynch Sextet is Lynch’s debut, and he was born in Urbana, Illinois. He grew up in Milwaukee and got a degree from the Wisconsin School of Music. Brian’s played with quite a few jazz greats and currently is a faculty member of New York University, the North Netherlands Conservatory, and the University of Miami. The other members of the ensemble are Jim Snidero (tracks: A1, A3, B2, B3) on alto sax, Ralph Moore (A1, A3, B1, B2) on tenor sax, Kirk Lightsey on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. My copy is the 1987 Netherlands Stereo release.

Side One starts with the trio’s carefree introduction to Thomasville by Tommy Turrentine. The horns take over to deliver the melody in unison. Jim is up first with a delightfully cheerful solo; then Brian takes a comfortable stroll. Ralph takes care of business next, and Victor concludes with an exchange with each horn ahead of the reprise and ending. Benny Golson’s Park Avenue Petite is a quartet highlight that opens with Lightsey’s introduction, segueing into Lynch’s elegantly touching theme and opening statement. Lightsey follows with a sensuously tender interpretation before Lynch infuses the finale with sentimental warmth, leading to a gentle, nostalgic ending.

The title tune, Peer Pressure by Brian Lynch, takes off at a fast clip from the sextet’s brisk introduction and theme. Brian opens with a lively statement, and then Jim takes a high-spirited romp. Ralph swings with authority next. Kirk follows with an excellent reading and shares the finale with Victor, preceding the ending theme and exit. The Outlaw by Horace Silver begins Side Two with the ensemble easing back the throttle in their introduction and melody. Lynch gets busy on the opening statement. Moore adds a bit of joy in the second interpretation, and Lightsey has a few things to say preceding the theme’s return.

Brian Lynch’s Change of Plan shows off the leader’s softer side and features him on flugelhorn for the sextet’s pretty melody. Brian opens with an eminently disciplined solo. Jim and Ralph share the next statement; then Jay gives a beautiful reading. Kirk has the last word with a tasteful comment into the reprise and soft conclusion. Lynch’s ‘Nother Never closes the album at a breakneck pace from the start of the ensemble’s melody. Snidero tears into the opening solo vigorously; then Lynch moves like a whirlwind in the following statement. Lightsey takes an exhilarating turn next, and Lewis engages in a rapid exchange with the front line before the close.

Gerry Teekens produced Peer Pressure, and Rudy Van Gelder was behind the dials of this digital recording. The sound quality is excellent, with a stunning soundstage throughout the highs, midrange and bass that isn’t thin or harsh. Brian Lynch recorded twenty-one albums as a leader and collaborated with Eddie Palmieri on eleven others. If you’re seeking an album with excellent musicians and enjoyable tunes, I invite you to audition Peer Pressure by The Brian Lynch Sextet on your next record shopping trip. It’s quickly become a favorite of mine and will feel right at home in your library with each listen!

~ Chippin’ In (Timeless SJP 340) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Brian Lynch – Source: Album liner notes by Mike Hennessey, Wikipedia.org © 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Jan Gunnar Hoff was born in Bodø, Norway on October 22, 1958. A graduate of the Teachers’ College in his hometown and Bergen, Norway, he pursued further education in the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium under Terje Bjørklund for three years starting in 1986. He trained in composition at Norges Musikkhøgskole in 2001.

He had his jazz debut with his own trio on Ad Lib Jazzklubb in 1976. Hoff’s background includes classical piano, progressive rock, pop and jazz. Over the course of his career Hoff has released 21 recordings as solo artist and co-leader, fifty-seven as a sideman, and has composed 250 works for different settings.

He has received several awards for his music including a US Grammy nomination for the album Quiet Winter Night. Hoff’s quartet album Fly North with Marilyn Mazur, Anders Jormin and Arve Henriksen was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy, Spellemannpris 2014. He received the highest distinction in Norwegian Jazz, the Buddy-award and became a Steinway Artist.

He is a professor at the University of Tromsø and the University of Agder. He co-founded The Groove Valley JazzCamp in Beiarn, Norway and was artistic director for TGV Jazz camp from 2005 to 2009. Hoff also initiated Bodø Jazz Open which was launched in 2011, where he was artistic leader and festival head until 2020.

Pianist, composer, arranger and professor Jan Hoff,  who has worked with Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Alex Acuña, Karin Krog, Maria João, Marilyn Mazur, Gary Novak and Arild Andersen among numerous others.

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