Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (November 2013): Ron Carter

Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (November 2013): Ron Carter

Ron Carter is among the most original, prolific, and influential bassists in jazz. With more than 2,000 albums to his credit, he has recorded with many of music's greats: Tommy Flanagan, Gil Evans, Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, the Kronos Quartet, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, and Bobby Timmons. In the early 1960s he performed throughout the United States in concert halls and nightclubs with Jaki Byard and Eric Dolphy. He later toured Europe with Cannonball Adderley. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the classic and acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet. He was named Outstanding Bassist of the Decade by the Detroit News, Jazz Bassist of the Year by Downbeat magazine, and Most Valuable Player by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

In 1993 Ron Carter earned a Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Group, the Miles Davis Tribute Band and another Grammy in 1998 for Call 'Sheet Blues', an instrumental composition from the film 'Round Midnight. In addition to scoring and arranging music for many films, including some projects for Public Broadcasting System, Carter has composed music for A Gathering of Old Men, starring Lou Gosset Jr., The Passion of Beatrice directed by Bertrand Tavernier, and Blind Faith starring Courtney B. Vance. Carter shares his expertise in the series of books he authored, among which are Building Jazz Bass Lines and The Music of Ron Carter; the latter contains 130 of his published and recorded compositions.

Carter earned a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School in Rochester and a master's degree in double bass from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He has also received two honorary doctorates, from the New England Conservatory of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, and was the 2002 recipient of the prestigious Hutchinson Award from the Eastman School at the University of Rochester. Most recently he was honored by the French Minister of Culture with France's premier cultural award--the medallion and title of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, given to those who have distinguished themselves in the domain of artistic or literary creation and for their contribution to the spread of arts and letters in France and the world.

Carter has lectured, conducted, and performed at clinics and master classes, instructing jazz ensembles and teaching the business of music at numerous universities. He was Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Studies while it was located in Boston and, after 18 years on the faculty of the Music Department of The City College of New York, he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus although, as a performer, he remains as active as ever.

The Fact About Music Preferences

The Fact About Music Preferences

People defend their music preferences like it was a conscious decision or a mystical or divine revelation, like God came down from the heavens and told them "this is the music you should listen to".

The fact is that studies show most people developed their music taste in their teen years as a way of being accepted in a social group. If you were lucky, you selected a group with a good music taste, if not; you probably spend your whole life wrongly believing you were listening to music masterpieces when in fact you were not. But if you were even luckier, you took music courses as a child or teenager and therefore made a conscious and educated decision, because music education made it clear to you that in order to be considered good certain music elements (harmonies, melodies, rhythm, tone) must be present and well developed in a music piece.

Yes, there is bad and good music. And some music styles are by its nature better than others. Good music taste, like any other decision in life, is mostly a matter of education; your personal preferences are irrelevant unless they are based in an educated decision. Good is good and bad is bad no matter if you like it or not. If you want to know the difference, educate yourself.

Music education for most people means that their ears will automatically reject music with lack of harmonies, simplistic and repetitive melodies and rhythm, and overuse of artificial/computer generated sounds, all things that science is discovering are not good for the mind; and something the musically educated mind always knew.

Music is food for the brain, but not all music have the same nutrition value. Music with rich harmonies, well developed melodic themes, rhythmic variations, and natural tones create neural connections in the brain that helps people in math and language development among other things. No good is done by telling people that all music have the same quality so it doesn't matter what kind of music they listen to. The goal must be to educate them, especially our youth, in order for them to choose wisely and receive the benefits of listening to good music.

Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (October 2013): McCoy Tyner

Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (October 2013): McCoy Tyner

Tyner's blues-based piano style, replete with sophisticated chords and an explosively percussive left hand has transcended conventional styles to become one of the most identifiable sounds in improvised music. His harmonic contributions and dramatic rhythmic devices form the vocabulary of a majority of jazz pianists.

Born in 1938 in Philadelphia, he became a part of the fertile jazz and R&B scene of the early '50s. His parents imbued him with a love for music from an early age. His mother encouraged him to explore his musical interests through formal training.

At 17 he began a career-changing relationship with Miles Davis' sideman saxophonist John Coltrane. Tyner joined Coltrane for the classic album My Favorite Things (1960), and remained at the core of what became one of the most seminal groups in jazz history, The John Coltrane Quartet. The band, which also included drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison, had an extraordinary chemistry, fostered in part by Tyner's almost familial relationship with Coltrane.

From 1960 through 1965, Tyner's name was propelled to international renown, as he developed a new vocabulary that transcended the piano styles of the time, providing a unique harmonic underpinning and rhythmic charge essential to the group's sound. He performed on Coltrane's classic recordings such as Live at the Village Vanguard, Impressions and Coltrane's signature suite, A Love Supreme.

In 1965, after over five years with Coltrane's quartet, Tyner left the group to explore his destiny as a composer and bandleader. Among his major projects is a 1967 album entitled The Real McCoy, on which he was joined by saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Ron Carter and fellow Coltrane alumnus Elvin Jones. His 1972 Grammy-award nomination album Sahara, broke new ground by the sounds and rhythms of Africa. Since 1980, he has also arranged his lavishly textured harmonies for a big band that performs and records when possible. In the late 1980s, he mainly focused on his piano trio featuring Avery Sharpe on bass and Aarron Scott on drums. Today, this trio is still in great demand. He returned to Impulse in 1995, with a superb album featuring Michael Brecker. In 1996 he recorded a special album with the music of Burt Bacharach. In 1998 he changed labels again and recorded an interesting latin album and an album featuring Stanley Clarke for TelArc.

In the summer of 2005, Tyner joined forces with the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York and became the first client of Blue Note Management. That summer, Tyner began work on some unique projects, including performances with tap-dancer Savion Glover and the development of the Impulse! Septet, featuring his trio with some of today's top hornmen.

Tyner's partnership with the Blue Note has led to the formation of his own record label, aptly titled McCoy Tyner Music. The label is a subsidiary of the Blue Note's In-House record label, Half Note Records. The label launched on September 11, 2007, upon the release of Tyner's latest CD, "Quartet" featuring Joe Lovano, Christian McBride, and Jeff "Tain" Watts. Recorded live on New Year's Eve 2006, the album features a working band at its finest with some of today's "legends in training." Additionally, the record shows that Tyner, who now carries the torch as the only surviving member of the John Coltrane Quartet, is still at the top of his game as a composer, performer, and bandleader.

In review of Tyner's latest album "Quartet," Thomas Conrad of JazzTimes wrote "'Quartet' succeeds not only because everyone plays so well, but also because they play so well together. The pairing of Tyner and Lovano is synergistic. The McBride/Watts rhythm section, for intelligent propulsion, is state-of-the-art. 'Quartet' succeeds once more because of its excellent sonic quality. It was recorded by engineer Phil Edwards at Yoshi's in Oakland, Calif., over New Year's Eve weekend 2006. Almost always, even the best-sounding jazz albums require you to make a choice. You can have the visceral in-the-moment reality of a live recording, or the full bandwidth resolution of a studio session. This one has both."

McCoy Tyner's second release for the McCoy Tyner Music label is scheduled for a summer 2008 release. The recording features the stellar rhythm section of Tyner, Ron Carter, and Jack DeJohnette with four modern guitarists (and one banjo) of our time: Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, John Scofield, Derek Trucks, and Bela Fleck. The package will be a CD/DVD featuring state-of-the-art technology that allows the viewer to manually choose which musician(s) they would like to view in the studio at any time during each track. In 2009, Tyner will release his third recording for McCoy Tyner Music, a solo piano performance recorded live in San Francisco during the summer of 2007.

Tyner has always expanded his vision of the musical landscape and incorporated new elements, whether from distant continents or diverse musical influences. More recently he has arranged for big bands, employed string arrangements, and even reinterpreted popular music. Today, Tyner has released nearly 80 albums under his name, earned four Grammys and was awarded Jazz Master from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2002. He continues to leave his mark on generations of improvisers, and yet remains a disarmingly modest and spiritually directed man.

Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (September 2013) Pat Metheny

Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (September 2013) Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny was born in Kansas City on August 12, 1954 into a musical family. Starting on trumpet at the age of 8, Metheny switched to guitar at age 12. By the age of 15, he was working regularly with the best jazz musicians in Kansas City, receiving valuable on-the-bandstand experience at an unusually young age. Metheny first burst onto the international jazz scene in 1974. Over the course of his three-year stint with vibraphone great Gary Burton, the young Missouri native already displayed his soon-to-become trademarked playing style, which blended the loose and flexible articulation customarily reserved for horn players with an advanced rhythmic and harmonic sensibility - a way of playing and improvising that was modern in conception but grounded deeply in the jazz tradition of melody, swing, and the blues. With the release of his first album, Bright Size Life (1975), he reinvented the traditional "jazz guitar" sound for a new generation of players. Throughout his career, Pat Metheny has continued to re-define the genre by utilizing new technology and constantly working to evolve the improvisational and sonic potential of his instrument.

Metheny's versatility is almost nearly without peer on any instrument. Over the years, he has performed with artists as diverse as Steve Reich to Ornette Coleman to Herbie Hancock to Jim Hall to Milton Nascimento to David Bowie. He has been part of a writing team with keyboardist Lyle Mays for more than twenty years - an association that has been compared to the Lennon/McCartney and Ellington/Strayhorn partnerships by critics and listeners alike. Metheny's body of work includes compositions for solo guitar, small ensembles, electric and acoustic instruments, large orchestras, and ballet pieces, with settings ranging from modern jazz to rock to classical.

As well as being an accomplished musician, Metheny has also participated in the academic arena as a music educator. At 18, he was the youngest teacher ever at the University of Miami. At 19, he became the youngest teacher ever at the Berklee College of Music, where he also received an honorary doctorate more than twenty years later (1996). He has also taught music workshops all over the world, from the Dutch Royal Conservatory to the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz to clinics in Asia and South America. He has also been a true musical pioneer in the realm of electronic music, and was one of the very first jazz musicians to treat the synthesizer as a serious musical instrument. Years before the invention of MIDI technology, Metheny was using the Synclavier as a composing tool. He also been instrumental in the development of several new kinds of guitars such as the soprano acoustic guitar, the 42-string Pikasso guitar, Ibanez's PM-100 jazz guitar, and a variety of other custom instruments. He took the whole instrument development process into a different level with his mechanical, solenoid driven Orchestrion.

It is one thing to attain popularity as a musician, but it is another to receive the kind of acclaim Metheny has garnered from critics and peers. Over the years, Metheny has won countless polls as "Best Jazz Guitarist" and awards, including three gold records for (Still Life) Talking, Letter from Home, and Secret Story. He has also won 20 Grammy Awards in 12 different categories including Best Rock Instrumental, Best Contemporary Jazz Recording, Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, Best Instrumental Composition. The Pat Metheny Group won an unprecedented seven consecutive Grammies for seven consecutive albums. Metheny has spent most of his life on tour, averaging between 120-240 shows a year since 1974. At the time of this writing, he continues to be one of the brightest stars of the jazz community, dedicating time to both his own projects and those of emerging artists and established veterans alike, helping them to reach their audience as well as realizing their own artistic visions.

AWARDS

35 Grammy award nominations

Winner of 20 Grammy awards, including an unprecedented 7 in a row for 7 consecutive recordings.

3 Gold Records (Secret Story, Still Live Talking, Letter From Home)

38 recordings totaling about 20 million records sold worldwide

Nominated in 12 different Grammy Award categories, winning in 10 of them. No one else has won in 10 different categories.

Best Contemporary Jazz Album

Best Pop Instrumental Performance

Best Jazz Instrumental Solo Performance

Best Jazz Instrumental Performance by Individual or Group

Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Best Instrumental Composition

Best Jazz Fusion Performance

Best Jazz Performance

Best New Age Performance

Best Arrangement on an Instrumental

Best Country Instrumental Performance

2013

JazzTimes Readers Poll: #1 Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

JazzTimes Readers Poll: #1 Contemporary/Electric Group - Pat Metheny Unity Band – Pat Metheny

JazzTimes Readers Poll: #2 Best New Release of 2012: Pat Metheny Unity Band – Pat Metheny

2012

Downbeat Readers Poll: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Grammy Award : Best New Age Album - What's It All About – Pat Metheny

2011

Downbeat Readers Poll: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

2010

Downbeat 75th Readers Poll Award: : Best Jazz Album - Orchestrion – Pat Metheny

Downbeat 75th Readers Poll Award: Guitarist of the Year – Pat Metheny

2009

Downbeat 74th Readers Poll Award: Best Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Trio

Downbeat 74th Readers Poll Award: Guitarist of the Year – Pat Metheny

Guitar Player Magazine: 2009 Reader's Poll - Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Acoustic Guitar Magazine: Best Acoustic Guitarist-Readers Poll – Pat Metheny

2008

All About Jazz: 10 Best of 2008 (new releases) TOKYO DAY TRIP – Pat Metheny Trio

All About Jazz: 10 Best of 2008 (reissues) QUESTION & ANSWER – Pat Metheny w/Dave Holland & Roy Haynes

NPR Music: Best CDs of 2008 - DAY TRIP – Pat Metheny Trio

Grammy Award Nomination: Best Jazz Instrumental Album - DAY TRIP – Pat Metheny Trio

Grammy Award Nomination: Best Jazz Instrumental Solo - SON OF THIRTEEN (from Day Trip) – Pat Metheny

Grammy Award Nomination: Best Country Instrumental Performance - IS THIS AMERICA (KATRINA 2005) From Charlie Haden's Ramblin Boy recording – Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Jerry Douglas, Bruce Hornsby

DownBeat 73rd Annual Readers Poll Award: Guitarist of the year – Pat Metheny

DownBeat 73rd Annual Readers Poll Award: Jazz Group of the Year – Pat Metheny Trio

Downbeat: DownBeat Critics Poll Award for Guitarist of the Year – Pat Metheny

2007

Downbeat: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Downbeat: Jazz Album of The Year- Metheny/Mehldau – Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau

Grammy Award: Pilgrimage – Michael Brecker (Pat Metheny Co-Producer)

itunes: Best of 2006-Jazz – Metheny Mehldau

JazzTimes Magazine: Best Contemporary/Electric Group – Pat Metheny Group

JazzTimes Magazine: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazz Journalists Association: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

2006

Popmatters.com: Top 10 Recordings of 2006- Metheny Mehldau – Pat Metheny

Grammy Award: Best Contemporary Jazz Recording-The Way Up – Pat Metheny Group

Pat Metheny : Jazziz Critics Choice Award 2005 – Pat Metheny Group

JazzTimes Magazine Reader's Poll 2005: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazztimes Magazine-Reader's Poll 2005: Best Comtemporary /Electric Group – Pat Metheny Group

2005

All About Jazz: Top 10 Recordings of 2005-THE WAY UP – Pat Metheny Group

All About Jazz: Top 5 Reissued Recordings of 2005-SONG X 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION – Pat Metheny & Ornette Coleman

Echos NPR Radio Listener's Poll: Top 5 Records of 2005-The Way Up – Pat Metheny Group

2004

Grammy Award: Best New Age Album-One Quiet Night – Pat Metheny

Boston Music Awards: Jazz Act Of The Year – Pat Metheny Group

JazzTimes Readers Poll '04: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

JazzTimes Readers Poll '03: Best Contemporary Electric Group – Pat Metheny Group

2003

Grammy Award: Best Contemporary Jazz Album -Speaking Of Now – Pat Metheny Group

Grammy Nomination: Best Pop Instrumental Performance-"As It Is" – Pat Metheny Group

Grammy Nomination: Best Jazz Instrumental Solo Performance-"Proof" – Pat Metheny

2002

Downbeat Readers Poll: Best Electric Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

Edison Award (Netherlands): SPEAKING OF NOW - Best Instrumental Jazz Recording (international) – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Best National Jazz Act – Pat Metheny

2001

Adlib Magazine (Japan): : Best Video 2001-Imaginary Day Live – Pat Metheny Group

Swing Journal (Japan): Best Jazz Video-Imaginary Day Live – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Best National Jazz Act – Pat Metheny

JazzTimes Magazine: JazzTimes Reader's Poll - Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

2000

Grammy Award: Best Jazz Instrumental Solo-"(Go) Get It" – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Magazine Reader's Poll: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Magazine Reader's Poll: Top 10 Jazz Recordings of 2000-Trio LIVE – Pat Metheny

BET/Billboard Jazz Awards: Best Soundtrack Album composed and performed by – Pat Metheny

JazzTimes Magazine: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

1999

Grammy Award : Best Jazz Instrumental Performance by Individual or Group- – Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland

Down Beat Reader's Poll: Best Electric Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

Bell Atlantic Jazz Awards: Radio Jazz Artist Of the Year – Pat Metheny

1998

Grammy Award : Best Contemporary Jazz Performance - Imaginary Day – Pat Metheny Group

Grammy Award : Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "The Roots of Coincidence" – Pat Metheny Group

Jazziz: Best Electric Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Down Beat Readers Poll: Jazz Musician of the Year – Pat Metheny

Down Beat Readers Poll: #1 Electric Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

1997

Grammy Award : Best Jazz Instrumental Performance-Beyond The Missouri Sky (short stories) – Pat Metheny & Charlie Haden

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Jazz Musician – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Electric Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Jazz Fusion Group – Pat Metheny Group

1996

Fort Lauderdale Film Festival: Best Filmscore-for Gentle Into The Night a/k/a Passagio Per Il Paradiso – Pat Metheny

Boston Music Awards Nomination: Best Act of the Decade – Pat Metheny Group

Jazz Central Station Global Poll: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazz Times Magazine: Best Contemporary Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

The Orville H. Gibson Award: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

1995

Grammy Award : Best Contemporary Jazz Performance - We Live Here – Pat Metheny Group

Adlib Magazine (Japan): Best Video 1995 - We Live Here -Live In Japan – Pat Metheny Group

Adlib Magazine (Japan): Best Album 1995 Grand Prix Award - We Live Here – Pat Metheny Group

1994

Grammy Nomination: Best Instrumental Composition- "Half Life of Absolution" The Road To You – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Electric Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Musician – Pat Metheny

Boston Music Awards: Outstanding Jazz Album - The Road To You – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Outstanding Jazz Act – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Inducted into the BMA Hall of Fame – Pat Metheny

Adlib Magazine: Best Fusion Album - The Road To You – Pat Metheny Group

Adlib Magazine (Japan): Best Video - More Travels – Pat Metheny Group

1993

Grammy Award : Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Instrumental - The Road To You – Pat Metheny Group

Grammy Nomination: Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Instrumental for "Road To You" – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Best Jazz Album - Secret Story – Pat Metheny

Boston Music Awards: Best Jazz Act – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Electric Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Top 3 Best Albums of All Time - Secret Story – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Album Concept - Secret Story – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Album by a Solo Artist - Secret Story – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Musician of the Year – Pat Metheny

Adlib Magazine (Japan): Best Fusion Album - Secret Story – Pat Metheny

1992

Grammy Award : Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Instrumental - Secret Story – Pat Metheny

Grammy Award : Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Intrumental for – Pat Metheny

Jazz Times Readers Poll: Best Guitar Synthesizer Player – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Electric Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Boston Music Awards: Best Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

1991

Downbeat Readers Poll: Best Electric Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazz Times Readers Poll: Best Guitar Synthesizer Player – Pat Metheny

The Orville H. Gibson Award: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

1990

Grammy Award : Best Instrumental Composition - Change of Heart – Pat Metheny

Grammy Nomination: Best Instrumental Composition - "Change of Heart" – Pat Metheny

Keyboard Readers Poll: Alternate Controllers Award – Pat Metheny

Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll: Guitarist of the Year – Pat Metheny

Top Ten Records of 1990/Boston Globe: Question and Answer – Pat Metheny

Swing Journal Magazine Readers Poll: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Swing Journal Magazine Readers Poll: Best Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

Jazz Times Readers Poll: Best Guitar Synthesizer – Pat Metheny

Jazz Times Readers Poll: Best Contemporary Jazz Artist – Pat Metheny

Jazz Times Readers Poll: Best Contemporary Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Outstanding Jazz Album - Letter From Home – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Outstanding Jazz Act – Pat Metheny Group

1989

Grammy Award : Best Jazz Fusion Performance - Letter From Home – Pat Metheny

Grammy Nomination: Best Instrumental Composition - "Letter From Home" – Pat Metheny

R&R Magazine: #1 Jazz Album of the Year NAC and Jazz Format - Letter From Home – Pat Metheny Group

Gavin Report: #1 Jazz Album of the Year NAC and Jazz Format - Letter From Home – Pat Metheny Group

Keyboard Readers Poll: Alternate Controllers Award – Pat Metheny

Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll: Guitarist of the Year – Pat Metheny

Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll: Jazz Album of the Year - Letter From Home – Pat Metheny Group

Cash Box: Top Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Cash Box: Top Electric Jazz Act – Pat Metheny Group

1988

Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Cash Box Jazz Awards: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Cash Box Jazz Awards: Top Electric Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

1987

Grammy Award : Best Jazz Fusion Performance-Vocal or Instrumental - Still Life (Talking – Pat Metheny Group

Grammy Nomination: Best Instrumental Composition - Minuano (six-eight) – Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays

Boston Globe Readers Poll: Best Jazz Musician – Pat Metheny

Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll: Best Electric Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Boston Music Awards: Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Boston Music Awards: Best Jazz Act (Major Label) – Pat Metheny Group

Rolling Stone: Top 100 Pop Albums - Still Life (Talking) – Pat Metheny Group

USA Today: Top 10 Best Jazz Albums - Still Life (Talking) – Pat Metheny Group

R&R Magazine: #1 Top Jazz Album - Still Life (Talking) – Pat Metheny Group

Hi Fi Magazine Readers Poll (Germany): Best Jazz Fusion Album - Still Life (Talking) – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Best Jazz Album (Major Label) - Still Life (Talking) – Pat Metheny Group

1986

Cash Box Magazine: Best Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

International Musician & Recording World: Music Award Poll Best Jazz Group or Artist – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Outstanding Jazz Fusion Group – Pat Metheny Group

Boston Music Awards: Outstanding Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Guitar Player Magazine: Gallery of Greats Best Jazz Guitarist 1982-1986 – Pat Metheny

Guitar Player Magazine: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Downbeat Magazine: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Jazz Musician – Pat Metheny

Boston Music Awards: Outstanding Jazz Album - Song X – Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman

Jazziz Readers Poll: Best Group Album - Song X – Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman

New York Times (John Pareles): Top Album - Song X – Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman

USA Today: Top Jazz Album - Song X – Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman

Cash Box Magazine: Best Jazz Collaboration Album - Song X – Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman

Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll: Best Jazz Album - Song X – Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman

Downbeat International Critics Poll: Record of the Year - Song X – Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman

1985

Guitar Player Magazine Readers" Poll: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Cash Box Magazine: Top Jazz Album - First Circle – Pat Metheny Group

Cash Box Magazine: Best Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

International Musician & Recording World: Music Award Poll Best Jazz Group or Artist – Pat Metheny Group

1984

Grammy Award : Best Jazz Fusion Recording Vocal or Instrumental-First Circle – Pat Metheny Group

International Musician & Recording World: Best Jazz Group or Artist Music Award Poll Winners – Pat Metheny Group

Guitar Player Magazine Readers Poll: Best Jazz - Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Academie Du Jazz (France): Best Contemporary Jazz Recording of the Year - Rejoicing – Pat Metheny/Charlie Haden/Billy Higgins

NACA Award: Campus Attraction of the Year (Jazz) – Pat Metheny Group

1983

Grammy Award : Best Jazz Performance - Travels – Pat Metheny Group

Swing Journal (Japan): Best Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Performance Magazine: Best Instrumentalist of the Year – Pat Metheny

NACA Award: College Campus Jazz Entertainer of the Year – Pat Metheny

Downbeat Magazine Readers" Poll: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Guitar Player Magazine: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

Cash Box: Best Jazz Group – Pat Metheny Group

1982

Grammy Award : Best Jazz Performance - Offramp – Pat Metheny Group

Grammy Award Nomination: Best Instrumental Composition - Are You Going With Me – Pat Metheny

Grammy Award Nomination: Best Arrangement on an Instrumental - "Are You Going With Me" – Pat Metheny

Performance Magazine Readers Poll: Best Jazz Act of the Year – Pat Metheny Group

Playboy Readers Poll: Best Jazz Album - Offramp – Pat Metheny Group

Rolling Stone Readers Poll: Best Jazz Performer of the Year – Pat Metheny

Guitar Player Magazine: Best Jazz Guitarist – Pat Metheny

1981

Grammy Award Nomination: Best Jazz Performance - As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls – Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays

Grammy Award Nomination: Best Instrumental Composition-title track-" As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls" – Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays

Performance Magazine: Top 40 Grossing Touring Acts in North America – Pat Metheny Group

Playboy Readers Poll: Best Jazz Album - As Falls Wichita – So Falls Wichita Falls

1980

Grammy Award Nomination: Best Jazz Performance-Vocal or Instrumental - American Garage – Pat Metheny Group

Musician Magazine: Jazz Artist Who Made the Greatest Impact on the "70s – Pat Metheny

Musician Magazine Readers Poll: Guitarist Making the Most Impact on the "80s – Pat Metheny

New York Jazz Awards: Best Album of the Year - 80/81 – Pat Metheny Group

Cash Box: Top Groups of the Year - American Garage – Pat Metheny Group

German Record Critics Award: Jazz Record of the Year - 80/81 – Pat Metheny Group

1979

Downbeat Critics Poll: Artist Deserving Wider Recognition – Pat Metheny

Record World Magazine: Jazz Album of the Year - New Chautauqua – Pat Metheny

New York Jazz Awards: Best Album of the Year - American Garage – Pat Metheny Group

New York Jazz Awards: Best Jazz Guitarist of the Year – Pat Metheny

Jazz pianist Ayako Shirasaki released her new trio CD “Some Other Time” on August 28, 2013

Jazz pianist Ayako Shirasaki, www.ayakoshirasaki.com, residing in Brooklyn, NY, USA released her new trio CD “Some Other Time” on August 28, 2013 on Jan Matthies Records (JMR 201301).

On "Some Other Time" Ayako combines the hard swinging bebop language of Bud Powell with the sophisticated harmonic elegance of Bill Evans, but with a brilliant creativity all her own and one guiding theme: melody!

These are songs without words:

1. Sunrise (Ayako Shirasaki)

2. 3 Steps Forward (Ayako Shirasaki)

3. Yosaku-与作 (Kiminori Nanasawa)

4. Some Other Time (Leonard Bernstein)

5. Oleo (Sonny Rollins)

6. April in Paris (Vernon Duke)

7. My Man’s Gone (George Gershwin)

8. Long Ago and Far Away (Jerome Kern)

9. Sophisticated Lady (Duke Ellington) – piano solo

10. Antagata Dokosa – あんたがたどこさ (Japanese Traditional)

11. Peace of Mind (Ayako Shirasaki)

12. Hope (Lars Jansson)

Ayako is joined by Noriko Ueda on bass. Noriko, also living in NY, is the winner of the third annual BMI Foundation/Charlie Parker Jazz composition Prize. She played with for example: Frank Wess, Grady Tate, Kenny Barron...

On drums: Quincy Davis. Davis has toured with notable leaders including Benny Green, Cyrus Chestnut...

Recorded on May 10 2013 at Systems Two, New York, USA

After her CD release tour in Japan this July you can see Ayako performing live this fall again in Japan and Switzerland:

October 5 - "Some Other Time'" in Seijo Hall - trio concert in Japan

November 19-24 - Lucerne Festival (Switzerland)

A European Tour for May 2014 is currently being scheduled.

"Some Other Time" is available at amazon, itunes, cdbaby etc. but not to be found on streaming services.

Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (July 2013): Buika

Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (July 2013): Buika

http://www.conchabuikamusic.com/

María Concepción Balboa Buika (Concha Buika) goes by the stage name, ‘Buika’. She is a singer born on May 11th, 1972 in Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the Balearic Islands in Spain. She is the daughter of African parents, and currently lives in Miami Florida, USA.

Buika is a creative survivor, a poet, composer, music producer and considers the role of “Mother” her paramount priority. She credits nature and her life’s experiences for her most profound lessons.

It has been said that; “Buika combines all the styles along with her emotionally charged lyrics and such broken sensuality in her voice, make her an unparallel artist.” Buika has no limitations when interpreting the different genres embodied in her discography, a fact reflected in the variety of her collaborations with musicians and singers whether in Spanish, Catalan, English, French or Portuguese. Her deep conviction is evident in her work with artists such as; Anoushka Shankar, Chick Korea, Niño Josele, Maritza, Bebo y Chucho Valdes, Luz Casal, Ivan “Melon” Lewis, Jose Luis Perales, Seal, Armando Manzanero, Nelly Furtado, Javier Limon…

Buika has collaborated on the sound tracts of several films. Her last experience and also the most remarkable was in 2011, when Director Pedro Almodovar included two ‘Buika’ songs in his movie; “La piel que habito” ( The skin I Live in ). Buika, along with her songs; “Por el amor de amar” (For love’s sake ) and “Se me hizo facil” ( I found it easy ), made their first appearance on the big screen.

Having performed in over 22 countries, language has never been an obstacle. Her audience spans the world and they adore her unique qualities. In 2010, Buika performed 95 concerts and the outpouring of appreciation in places like France, Turkey, Argentina and Mexico among others, stands out.

In 2001, Buika began in the music industry with her first album “Mestizuo” ( 2001 Producciones Blau S.L.), a presentation in the form of piano and vocals. Later, this was followed by; • “Buika” (2005, DRO ) and the trilogy produced by music producer Javier Limon, • “Mi niña Lola” (My baby girl Lola – 2006, DRO ), • “Niña de Fuego” ( Girl of Fire – 2008, Warner ) • “El ultimo Trago” ( The last drink – 2009, Warner ), • An anthology album CD which included her most pivotal songs as well as, some unreleased songs.

Buika’s albums have received the following awards; • Disco de Oro – certified Gold for the album “Mi niña Lola”, presented by Joaquin Sabina. • Best Spanish Song Album: “Mi niña Lola” (Premios de la Musica, 2007). • Best Producer: “Mi niña Lola”, Javier Limon (Premios de la Musica, 2007). • Germany Visual Critics Award 2007: “Mi niña Lola” • Latin Grammy 2008: Best Album and Best Production: “Niña de Fuego” (2008, Warner/Casa Limon) • Disco de Oro – certified gold for “El Ultimo Trago” ( Colombia, 2010 ). • Latin Grammy 2010: Best Traditional Tropical Album for “El ultimo Trago”.

In 2010, an article by Alice Winkler of NPR listed Buika among the best 50 vocalists. The article defined her as; “The voice of freedom”.

The arrival of Buika’s ninth album in 2013 is taking her to a new stage of her career. An era defined by her different creative processes which include; her second book of poems, “To those who loved hardcore women and left them” and producing her first movie based on a tale from her book, “From solitude to hell”.

Trying to speculate where Buika’s professional career will lead is a mystery because, when it comes to Buika; there is no script. She is a continuous flow, without interruptions. Her new music will taste like the old in their musical notes, their timing, streaming. Clearly, Buika is here to stay.

Jazz and Bossa Artist of the Month (June 2013): Keith Jarrett

Pianist, composer, and bandleader Keith Jarrett is one of the most prolific, innovative, and iconoclastic musicians to emerge from the late 20th century. As a pianist (though that is by no means the only instrument he plays) he literally changed the conversation in jazz by introducing an entirely new aesthetic regarding solo improvisation in concert. Though capable of playing in a wide variety of styles, Jarrett is deeply grounded in the jazz tradition. He has recorded nearly 80 albums as a leader in jazz and classical music. And he has won the Down Beat Critics Poll as a pianist numerous times -- including consecutively between 2001 and 2008.

Jarrett was born May 8, 1945 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At the age of three he began playing piano. He undertook the study of classical music at age eight, and at 15 he studied formal composition before moving to Boston to study briefly at the Berklee College of Music. Still in his teens, Jarrett intended to further his academic work in Paris before deciding to move to New York in 1964 and become a jazz musician.

He entered the city's vibrant scene by sitting in with veteran and aspiring players at clubs -- including the Village Vanguard. His first touring gig was with Art Blakey's New Jazz Messengers, where he remained until 1966. The lone recording with that band -- which also featured trumpeter Chuck Mangione -- was Buttercorn Lady, recorded live at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. Jarrett joined Charles Lloyd's famed quartet in 1966. That band, which reflected the variety of changes taking place in jazz and popular music in general, achieved global success as both a recording and touring entity.

He left the group in 1968 and issued his first solo recording, Restoration Ruin, on the Vortex label. He played everything on the album including soprano saxophone, harmonica, drums, and guitar in addition to piano; he even sang. The album is mainly considered a curiosity in his catalog because it wasn't a jazz album, but a folk-rock recording. Regardless of how Jarrett regards it today, it stands as a brave undertaking from a young musician and paints an interesting view of his early thoughts in lieu of what he would accomplish later. Appearing the same year, he recorded Life Between the Exit Signs for Atlantic, where he led a trio whose rhythm section consisted of bassist Charlie Haden and Paul Motian. This group -- later a quartet with the addition of saxophonist Dewey Redman -- would record together for 11 years and attain the status of jazz legend for their dynamic, groundbreaking interplay and improvisation.

Jarrett played organ and electric piano with Miles Davis between 1970 and 1971, which resulted in Live at the Fillmore and Live/Evil. His work with Davis would also surface on the trumpeter's 1974 album, Get Up with It, and was beautifully documented on the box set Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Session 1970, which was issued in 2005. Jarrett also appeared on other artists' albums during the period, including Airto's Free, psychedelic pop duo Barbara & Ernie's Prelude To..., and soul singer Donal Leace's self-titled offering from 1972. Jarrett and Gary Burton issued their self-titled recording on Atlantic in 1971, the same year his trio released The Mourning of a Star.

The pianist briefly signed to Columbia, releasing one enduring album for the label, Expectations, in 1972 -- an album that featured his trio, guitarist Sam Brown, and Airto. The year also proved fruitful for two other reasons. The first was Facing You, Jarrett's first solo piano recording for Manfred Eicher's young ECM label, an association that would become symbiotic by the end of the decade. As previously mentioned, Redman joined Jarrett's group in late 1971, and the first offering by the larger band was Birth, issued by Atlantic in 1972. The band also recorded for Impulse! during this time, issuing the highly regarded Fort Yawuh (1973), Treasure Island (1974), Death and the Flower and Backhand (1975), Mysteries (1976), ByaBlue (1977), and Bop-Be (1978). El Juicio (The Judgement) also appeared on Atlantic in 1975.

Jarrett's horizons were broadening considerably in the early '70s, and his association with ECM was deepening. While 1972 saw the release of Ruta and Daitya, a duet album with Jack DeJohnette, 1973 offered evidence of what would become iconic in the decades to come: the improvised Solo Concerts: Bremen & Lausanne. In 1975, Jarrett's double live solo piano album The Köln Concert was released; its warmth, accessibility, and immense and enduring popularity have made it the best-selling solo piano recording in jazz history. His other solo piano works for ECM include Staircase, the ten-album Sun Bear Concerts, Moth and the Flame, Concerts, Paris Concert, Dark Intervals, Vienna Concert, La Scala, Carnegie Hall Concert, and Rio.

Jarrett began recording with a European group in the '70s, the second of his three groups that would become legendary. His European quartet included saxophonist Jan Garbarek, bassist Palle Danielsson, and drummer Jon Christensen; their debut, Belonging, appeared in 1974. Simultaneously, Jarrett remained busy with his American quartet and with recording experimentation. In the Light, which was released in 1974, was a double album that showcased his interest in composing modern classical music. His compositions were wide-ranging; among them were a string quartet, a brass quintet, and "Crystal Moment (Piece for Four Celli and Two Trombones)." He also recorded a pair of albums co-led with Garbarek, Luminescence (1975), where the pair were aided by an orchestral string section, and the popular Arbour Zena, which included Haden on bass as well as chamber strings. In 1976, the provocative Hymns/Spheres, a double album of improvisations played on an enormous 18th century organ in the Benedictine Abbey Ottobeuren, appeared on ECM.

The pianist's European quartet issued My Song in 1978, an album that brought more conservative jazz fans back to Jarrett's table, especially as it was surrounded by the releases of Bop-Be and The Survivor's Suite, the first of two releases by his American quartet to appear on ECM. That band's final album together, the live double album Eyes of the Heart, was released in 1979.

Jarrett kicked off the '80s with Celestial Hawk: For Orchestra, Percussion and Piano, recorded at Carnegie Hall. This work wed his instinctual improvisational discipline on the piano to his formal compositional abilities in both vanguard classical music and jazz. That year, his European quartet also released the live Nude Ants -- recorded at the Village Vanguard -- and Sacred Hymns, a solo piano album of compositions by metaphysical philosopher/musician Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff.

In 1983, Jarrett began working in a trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. It was the beginning of an association that has lasted three decades thus far. Their initial session produced three albums: Standards, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, and Changes (the last a set of free improvisations). Throughout the decade they alternated between recording standards and freely improvised sets, among them 1986's Standards Live and 1989's Changeless.

Jarrett also cut two deeply personal albums in the '80s. In 1986, Spirits, a double album, featured him playing piano, flute, recorder, soprano saxophone, guitar, and percussion. Another double, Book of Ways from 1987, was completely performed on the clavichord.

In 1988, Jarrett began recording canonical classical music. His first release was Bach's Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch I, followed by his Goldberg Variations the following year. But he hadn't abandoned jazz. Jarrett closed the decade with records by his European quartet in Personal Mountains, and by his American trio with Changeless, in 1989.

While his first album of the '90s was the solo Paris Concert, the trio was also busy touring. They stopped briefly to record Bye Bye Blackbird in 1991 as a memorial to Miles Davis. That said, Jarrett spent most of the decade's first half recording classical music. These albums included collections of Handel and Bach sonatas -- both with Michala Petri playing recorder: his award-winning Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 in 1992, Bach's French Suites in 1993, and the composer's 3 Sonaten für Viola da Gamba und Cembalo with violist Kim Kashkashian in 1994. He also recorded W.A. Mozart Piano Concertos K. 467, 488, 595 Masonic Funeral Music K. 477 & Symphony in G Minor K. 550 with conductor Dennis Russell Davies and the Stuttgart Symphony, which remained unreleased until 2004.

At the Deer Head Inn with Peacock and DeJohnette also appeared in 1994. A six-CD box set entitled Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings, was released in 1995, documenting a three-night stand by the trio in June of 1994.

While on tour with the trio in Europe during 1996, Jarrett became ill with what was diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome. He battled the disease -- caused by an infection from parasitic bacteria -- for three years. While he recovered, ECM issued the 1995 solo concert La Scala in 1997, as well the trio document Tokyo '96 in 1998. During his illness in 1997, Jarrett gathered his strength and recorded the intimate Melody at Night, With You, in his home studio. It is a solo piano offering of short, straightforward interpretations of standards, ballads, folk songs, and a lone original; it is the most intimate recording in his oeuvre, and unlike anything else in his catalog. The album was released in 1999, the year he had recovered enough to begin touring again with his trio. Jarrett's first release of the 21st century, in fact, was Whisper Not, a collection of standards recorded on that tour.

Over the next four years, the trio toured and recorded shows. ECM issued several albums from them, including standards recordings such as Up for It and The Out of Towners, as well as Inside Out and Always Let Me Go -- the latter two shows consist of freely improvised music. In 2007, My Foolish Heart: Live at Montreux appeared, commemorating the trio's 25th anniversary. The stellar solo piano effort The Carnegie Hall Concert, wherein the pianist created new rules for himself as a live improviser, also appeared that year. In 2008, The Cure was released. It was a prime live standards gig by the trio from 1990 that had been sitting in the vault.

In 2009, the Paris/London solo concerts appeared, followed in 2010 by a duet recording between the pianist and Haden entitled Jasmine. In 2011, the aforementioned Rio was released shortly after the concert took place -- an anomaly in Jarrett's career. In 2012, ECM once more dug into its vaults and released Sleeper: Tokyo, April 16th, 1979, a previously unissued date by Jarrett's European quartet. His trio recorded at the Luzern Concert Hall in July of 2009; the concert was released as Somewhere in May of 2013.