Three Wishes
While the Baroness was in conversation with Teo Macero he was asked by her what three wishes he would make if given. He told her:
- “Peace of mind.”
- “To change the status of jazz. That is, to get rid of the stigma attached to jazz music. You know. A jazz musician is regarded as some kind of freak! This is something that has bugged me for a long, long time. Like, someone will come up to me and say, “Oh, so you’re a jazz musician?” And when I say< “Yes. A jazz musician and a composer,” they will look at me altogether differently. It would be marvelous if jazz musicians could be given a status equal to that or great figures of contemporary music.”
- “To have no problems with people recording. No problems in the studio.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jimmy Strong was born August 29, 1906 in Chicago, Illinois. As a teenage clarinetist he performed in Lottie Hightower’s Nighthawks. Around 1925, he did a national tour with a traveling revue and stayed in California for a time, freelancing with several groups.
Returning to Chicago he joined Carroll Dickerson’s orchestra, where he worked with Louis Armstrong, appearing on Armstrong’s Hot Fives recordings. In 1928, he also worked briefly with Clifford King. The 1930s saw him playing with Cassino Simpson, Zinky Cohn, and Jimmie Noone, as well as his own bands.
Around 1940 relocating to Jersey City, New Jersey he performed with local bands until his death. Clarinetist and tenor saxophonist Jimmy Strong transitioned in April 1977.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Hal Russell was born Harold Russell Luttenbacher on August 28, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan. Raised in Chicago, Illinois from the eighth grade, he began playing drums at age four, but majored in trumpet at college. He subsequently drummed in several big bands, including those of Woody Herman and Boyd Raeburn.
As with many young players in the mid-1940s, Russell’s life was irreversibly changed by bebop. In the 1950s he worked with Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington. During this period he succumbed to drugs and was a heroin addict for ten years. In 1959, he joined the Joe Daley Trio, whose Newport’ 1963, which was mostly studio material, was reputedly one of the earliest free jazz records.
The early 1970s saw Hal as the regular percussionist for the band at the suburban Chicago Candlelight Dinner Playhouse. He played mostly drums, but occasionally vibes and keyboards. By the end of the decade he formed the NRG Ensemble, which featured saxophonist Mars Williams, multi-instrumentalist Brian Sandstrom, and percussionist Steve Hunt, among others. During this period he started playing tenor and soprano saxophone and trumpet, in addition to drums and vibes.
Issuing his first album in 1981 for the Nessa label, in the late Eighties the group began playing frequently in Europe, and began recording for ECM with The Finnish/Swiss Tour. In addition to the NRG Ensemble, Russell always maintained several bands, the rock-oriented trio NRG 3 and The Flying Luttenbachers.
Tenor and soprano saxophonist, trumpeter, vibraphonist and drummer Hal Russell, shortly after completing the semi-autobiographical album The Hal Russell Story, transitioned from a heart attack on September 5,1992 in La Grange, Illinois.
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DUETS: DIANNE REEVES, CHUCHO VALDÉS, JOE LOVANO
Jazz royalty – times three.
In a rare engagement together and their only joint appearance in NYC, the powerhouse triumvirate of Dianne Reeves, Joe Lovano, and Chucho Valdés joins us for an evening of duets. Don’t miss the preeminent vocalist and NEA Jazz Master, saxophone titan, and leading figure in Afro-Cuban jazz, as they perform in pairings that showcase their artistry in stunning new ways.
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JOSHUA REDMAN GROUP
where are we” Tour | Kaufmann Concert Hall
Joshua Redman, saxophone | Gabrielle Cavassa, vocals | Aaron Parks, piano | Joe Sanders, bass | Brian Blade, drums
Widely revered as the greatest jazz saxophonist of his generation, Joshua Redman returns following his sold-out 2022 92NY concert to open our season with a NYC exclusive.
A release concert for his new album “where are we”, the project marks Redman’s first-ever with a vocalist – the mesmerizing Gabrielle Cavassa. Co-winner of the 2021 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, Cavassa is an enthralling emerging musician whose artistry is as influenced by Amy Winehouse as by Billie Holiday. She joins Redman with the dynamic newly assembled rhythm section of pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Joe Sanders, and original Redman quartet drummer Brian Blade.
Redman calls “where are we” “a meditation on America and the power and importance of place.” The artists take on music from Rodgers & Hart to Springsteen, all interpreted with the improvisational brilliance and melodic invention that is a hallmark of Redman’s artistry – and of this remarkable ensemble.
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