Jazz Series in the News

By Mary T. Nguyen in the Columbia Tribune
November 29, 2007

All the world’s a stage - or at least all the world will seem to be represented - when international jazz star Anat Cohen steps onto The Blue Note’s stage Sunday night as part of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. Born in Tel Aviv, Cohen was raised listening to traditional Arabic and Israeli music, but after studying music - specifically jazz and the Afro-Cuban musical tradition - she realized the music she was raised on was inspired beyond the isolation of her homeland.

By Laura Grossman in Vox Magazine
November 15, 2007

Bill Charlap will once again let his fingers dance across the black and white keys in Columbia. His music brings a fresh take to old standards, and his personal spin on classic jazz songs sets the mood in any listening room.
Charlap, along with Sean Smith and Kenny Washington, will kick off the five-show jazz series at Murry’s as part of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series.
Charlap, who says he has been interested in jazz since he was a child, grew up in a musical family — his father was a Broadway composer and songwriter, and his mother was a singer. This helped to develop his strong love of music. His break into the jazz world came when he joined Gerry Mulligan’s quintet in his early 20s.

By Mary T. Nguyen in the Columbia Tribune
November 8, 2007

When a band loses its original members but continues to play, is it still the same band? And should it replace those members with equally skilled musicians, what then? Is it still the same band if it just goes by the same name?

The jazz quartet The Yellowjackets doesn’t seem to be bogged down by these quasi-metaphysical questions. Instead of relying on physical qualifiers, the band, which has been around for three decades, relies instead on its consistent sound and spirit to identify itself.

By Kara Krisanic in Mymissourian 
Friday, 02 November 2007

The Yellowjackets - Thursday, November 8 @ The Blue Note

The Yellowjackets – one of the world’s foremost purveyors of “electric/cross-over jazz,” which celebrated its 25th Anniversary last year – are set to make their first-ever Columbia appearance when they perform at The Blue Note Thursday, November 8.

The powerhouse quartet stands as the next in the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series’ five “Jazz in the District” concerts. The Yellowjackets remain as fresh-sounding today as they did more then a quarter-century ago. They continue to push the boundaries of jazz with a deceptively intense, distinctive sound whose music incorporates elements of bebop, funk, R&B and rock

By Kristin Torres, Reporter.
Published by The Maneater - October 16, 2007.

It seems like a quiet, unassuming Sunday night in downtown Columbia. But for an audience of about 275 people, there’s something happening in the Kimball Ballroom on the Stephens College campus.

Within the white walls of the refurbished ballroom, the audience settles in and braces for the live music of Omar Sosa Afreecanos Quartet, just one of the many concerts put on by the ‘We Always Swing’ Jazz Series. It’s minutes before the performance, and already the wine is flowing and spirits are high. Although not all in attendance are familiar with the act, there’s a sense that tonight will be a good night for jazz.

Take David Skeen.

“I don’t know too much about tonight’s band, but I trust the series,” says Skeen, who attended the concert. “They always bring in good company.”

He is not alone in his optimism. Attendee Linda Bakely says she doesn’t come to concerts often, but she says she wants a taste of the music and to experience the Jazz Series first-hand.

By Nicolás A. Jiménez in Adelante
September 22, 2007

Cuban-born pianist Omar Sosa will bring his deeply spiritual Afro-Cuban sound to Columbia on Oct. 14 as part of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series.
Sosa’s music is a dynamic mix of traditional Cuban and African sounds with influences from Latin jazz and various other cultures

By Mary T. Nguyen in the Columbia Tribune
September 20, 2007

You might think the nickname “Fathead” has to do with David Newman’s ability to play saxophone. Maybe, you might say to yourself, it’s because of the way his head gets really fat when his cheeks fill out when he blows into his saxophone. But then you’d be thinking of Louis Armstrong.

No, Newman got his name from a high school music teacher; not for his ability to play, but rather his inability to read music.

“He said to me, ‘You fathead. You’re supposed to read the music, not memorize it,’ ” Newman said

May 2, 2007 in the Columbia Tribune

Partners in Education welcomed seven new partners to the program this year.

Partners in Education brings schools, businesses and the community together to share resources, strengthen school programs and enhance economic growth.

The much-anticipated and long-awaited Soulful Serendipity, a live CD featuring the late pianist James Williams and saxophonist Bobby Watson in concert. The performance and recording, captured June 14, 2003, in Columbia, Mo., as a "House Concert" marks the ONLY time the two "middle generation" jazz greats performed solely as a duo in their respective illustrious careers that dates to their days with Art Blakey as Jazz Messengers.

By MARY T. NGUYEN of the Tribune's staff
Published Thursday, February 22, 2007

Fred Hersch is more than just a piano player and certainly more than a musician just because he plays piano. In addition to hitting the keys, he writes the notes as a composer and passes down his knowledge as a teacher in the jazz tradition.

"That's one of the best things about what I do," said Hersch, 51. "Every week is different; everything has a different profile."

Hersch is certainly known for his emotive and rhythmic piano style in the jazz world, but he grew up improvising on classical pieces, experimented with other instruments including the violin and listened to Motown and pop rock in his teens.

He even dabbled with a little electronic synthesizer in the mid-'80s, riding on the New Wave craze. But nothing stuck to him like his love for piano.

"I love the fact that it can be orchestral," he said. "Its ability to play counterpoint - it can have so many moving voices going on. It's also a drum set. The piano is still very interesting to me. It demands a lot, but it's worth it."

His piano playing has garnered him international fame and allows him to play concerts across the globe and take retreats where he can hide away and focus on composing.

James Williams & Bobby Watson | Self Published (2006)

By Francis Lo Kee

It would be enough just to comment on the wonderful music on this CD, recorded in the unique and encouraging setting of a June 2003 "house concert," yet it also must be noted that this is probably one of the last recordings of the great pianist James Williams, who passed away in July 2004 at the age of 52.

The feelings throughout the record are warm, respectful (audience to musicians, musicians to each other), humorous, poignant; you can feel a connection between the players and the listeners. Presenting this duo in a private Missouri home allowed Williams and Bobby Watson (alto sax) to play at their most creative, unencumbered by the negative vibrations that can sometimes emerge in a club setting.

The Jazz Series' Paquito D'Rivera residency was featured Friday, December 8, 2006, on KBIA radio. The story features interviews with players & fans.

To listen, click here.

"We Always Swing Jazz Series" honored to bring two jazz masters to Columbia.

By ANNA VITALE of the Columbia Missourian

It's the "little jazz series that could," as dubbed by Jon Poses, executive director of the "We Always Swing Jazz Series." And it will have achieved a real coup when Paquito D'Rivera, a 2005 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, comes to Columbia on Thursday to lead a workshop and perform at the Missouri Theatre.

As a jazz master, the Havana-born clarinetist, saxophonist and recipient of both American and Latin Grammy awards has toured the country for the "NEA Jazz Masters on Tour" since mid-2005. The tour, which provides performance and educational opportunities for jazz musicians and audiences across the country, chose sites rich in jazz appreciation to act as hosts of the jazz masters in all 50 states.

By MARY T. NGUYEN of the Tribune’s staff
Published Friday, November 24, 2006

Listen to Paquito D'Rivera with your eyes closed, and you can envision deep shades of blue intermingled with strokes and flashes of bright oranges, flamingo pinks and solar yellows.

The Cuban saxophonist and clarinetist plays classical and jazz pieces with a spirit that transcends national borders - so much so that it has granted the 58-year-old musician the opportunity to play with such heavyweights as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Yo-Yo Ma.

Jazz in Schools introduces grade-schoolers to the musical genre

November 14, 2006

By ANNA VITALE
Link to Columbia Missourian's Site

Field Elementary Schoo's gymnasium and about 280 students were a venue and an audience the MU jazz combo Friends O'Clyde hadn’t experienced before. A five-piece combo and live, improvisational music were new for much of the young audience, too.

The school assembly at Field on Monday afternoon marked the kickoff of the "We Always Swing" Jazz Series' Jazz in Schools program. The program, brainchild of Greg Aker and Jon Poses of the jazz series, will include three more events at Field this school year.

"The real goal of this program is to expose young students to jazz: the great American art form," Aker said.

Cuban musician to give performance and clinic highlighting "undefined" but critically acclaimed style of jazz fusion.

By Molly Fergus
Published in Adelante, November 8, 2006

Musical instruments are like women, Cuban jazz artist Paquito D'Rivera says: "They are all different, but all of them have their own attractive thing."

That's D'Rivera's answer when asked whether he prefers the saxophone or the clarinet, both of which he learned to play at age 5. That all-embracing attitude may be a hint of what concert-goers can expect when the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet takes the Missouri Theatre stage Nov. 30 for the annual Carlos Perez-Mesa Memorial Concert.

Wrong uses of the word "zydeco" 1. "How does that thin jacket keep you so warm? It must be made of that zydeco the astronauts use in space."

2. "Dude, did you check out the latest episode of ‘Zydeco’ on the Sci-Fi Channel last night?"

3. "I was feeling kind of depressed, so the doctor put me on zydeco."

Only a Philistine would not recognize zydeco as a musical genre from central and southwestern Lousiana with influences ranging from Cajun music, to ragtime and blues.

Duh.

By Christian Holley, Staff Writer.  in theManeater 
Posted October 03, 2006.

In front of a packed Stotler Auditorium in Memorial Union, the sound of greatness was heard. The first of many to come, Monday night was the first recital for the 2006-07 Jazz 1 ensemble’s concert season.

Directed by Doug Leibinger, the director of jazz performance studies, the ensemble is the most elite and competitive jazz ensemble on campus.

Monday night’s performance consisted of moderate ‘50s swing music, featuring transcriptions of several prominent past and contemporary composers, as well as some of Leibinger’s original arrangements.

"We Always Swing”" Jazz Series swings in and out of
classroom setting to introduce music to new audiences.

America began as a land of convergent cultures — without a sense of self, without its own soul. And for a long time in history, America was a land of not only oppression, but also repression, with practices such as slavery and movements including Prohibition.

But toward the end of the 1800s, the pulse of the country began to change, to quicken, as slaves were freed and citizens embraced a livelier sense of independence. And as the country evolved, so did its culture, birthing art forms such as jazz that reflected what would become the foundations of modern America.

by Karen Pojmann
Columbia Business Times
August 12, 2006

You don't have to wait for the Oct. 5 pub crawl to get your fix of the "We Always Swing"? Jazz Series. Though the fund-raising Annual Downtown Columbia "Jazz, Wine and Beer"? Pub Crawl marks the official start of the project's 12th season, organizers have partnered with The Blue Note for a preseason event on Sept. 13, when young St. Louis singer Erin Bode performs.

Her show and a show by pianist Robert Glasper help meet one of the goals executive director Jon Poses identifies for the series.

The community-based "We Always Swing" Jazz Series celebrates its 12th season this year with performances by such notables as Cuban native Paquito D'Rivera and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, and an 80th birthday tribute in memory of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Each year, the series presents 10 to 12 concerts at the Blue Note and Murry's Restaurant. The series also hosts the "Jazz, Wine and Beer" Pub Crawl, which traverses 18 venues downtown. This year, the crawl is Oct. 5.

Pat Metheny, René Marie and others ready to knock ‘We Always Swing’ Jazz Series out of the park.

By Seth Ashley
Columbia Tribune
Sunday, August 28, 2005

It’s difficult to pinpoint the moment when Jon Poses got his start as a producer of live jazz concerts.

by Maria Howell
Vox Magazine
March 17, 2005

Wynton Marsalis blows Columbia away

Conveying the complexities of American society through the simplicity of three trumpet keys is how Wynton Marsalis continues to transcend the boundaries of jazz. After more than 20 years and 44 CDs, this master of the horn will perform in Columbia for the second time.

Marsalis will be playing the trumpet with his standard quartet, which includes a piano, bass and drums. Although he typically performs American jazz, his music is influenced by classical, swing, soul and blues. “His music is what we call straight up the middle,” says Jon Poses, executive director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. “It is very accessible on one hand and very challenging on the other hand.”