Friday, June 19, 2009

AccuJazz News: Roll-Out Continues With "Regions: Chicago"







It's been a few weeks since I've treated you all to a new channel post, and the reason for that is not quite clear. Somehow, I managed not to get around to it. For this, I apologize. The two neglected new channels were "Regions: Europe" and "Good Vibes," the former playing all sorts of great jazz from across the pond, and the latter highlighting the many talented jazz musicians who use the vibraphone as their instrument of choice. Check 'em out.

But it's time to stop dwelling on the past: I have important news to impart! Today (yesterday, actually -- more procrastination) marks the launch of the highly anticipated "Regions: Chicago" channel! Now, when I say "highly anticipated," I am mostly referring to myself, but I'm hoping some other people out there share in the excitement.

As you may know, AccuRadio (the company that birthed AccuJazz) is based in Chicago. I am a [very small] part of the Chicago jazz community, and therefore Chicago jazz is a mild obsession. I have been working on building up a collection of current Chicago jazz for over a year now through a few different methods: personal contact with jazz musicians, in person or over the phone/email, building relationships with record labels like Delmark, Ears & Eyes, Origin, Atavistic, Blujazz, Chicago Sessions, and Bigfoot Jazz, and culling some stuff from my own personal collection. The channel currently spins about 1,200 different tracks by musicians as diverse as Louis Armstrong and Roscoe Mitchell.

Chicago has been home to many of jazz's most important movements. In the 1920's, New Orleans expatriates like Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton developed their sound here, and the '60s saw the rise of Chicago's legendary Avant-Garde scene, headed up by Mitchell, Fred Anderson, Joseph Jarman and others. Swing kings Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman were Chi Town natives, as were bebop masters Gene Ammons and Johnny Griffin. Herbie Hancock and Jack DeJohnette even grew up here!

Nowadays, there are hundreds of musicians making high quality music -- it's dizzying trying to think of them all. New York may still be the jazz mecca, but we've got a lot going for us here in the Midwest.

World-famous vocalists Patricia Barber and Kurt Elling still make their homes here, and play at the city's premier jazz room, The Green Mill, quite often. Other Chicagoans who have gained international reputations include reedman Ken Vandermark, flutist Nicole Mitchell, trumpeters Corey Wilkes and Orbert Davis, pianist Ryan Cohan, guitarists Fareed Haque and Bobby Broom, and drummers Hamid Drake and Kahil El'Zabar. The channel doesn't just focus on these folks, though. You'll hear a lot of really, really good music that's been self-released by hard-working cats who haven't gotten much exposure. It's like being in a Chicago jazz club, but you're sitting at a computer! There's no cover charge, and it's BYOB!

Well, that's enough out of me; get listening, and then let me know what you think of the channel, either here, or on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, or the ShoutBox on the AccuJazz homepage.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Now Playing on AccuJazz - 6/17







Wow, it's been a while since I've done one of these "Now Playing" posts. I usually try to get one up as soon as I know an update has gone through, but I somehow managed not to for the last couple of updates. So anyway, we have a lot, and I mean A LOT of new CDs playing on the many channels of AccuJazz for you, and here they all are.

As usual, I've only included new releases. I recently uploaded dozens of trombone-led CDs for the recently-launched Trombone channel, but haven't included them here. Most every CD listed will be heard on both the Main Channel and the New Releases channel, and I've also noted the other channels where you'll hear each item. You'll notice a new feature in this post: instead of actually taking the time to write CD reviews or make regular posts of my favorite new releases, I'll put asterisks (**) around my favorites in the post. Music criticism of the highest order: I don't even need words. This is not to say I don't like the non-asterisked titles; the singled-out ones are just the releases that really hit me hard and have ended up in my car's CD player the most. All of the music is good stuff worth checking out. If it wasn't, would I put it on AccuJazz?

Enjoy! Actually, why don't you open up another window and start the listening to the New Releases channel right now, as a sort of appropriate soundtrack to reading this post?

**Allen Toussaint - The Bright Mississippi**
Piano, Old School, New Orleans, Ellington, Monk

Christian McBride & Inside Straight - Kind of Brown
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream, Bassists

**Wynton Marsalis - He and She**
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream, Trumpet, New Orleans

**Bobby Broom - Plays for Monk**
Guitar, Modern Mainstream, Chicago, Monk

**Steve Lehman Octet - Travail, Transformation and Flow**
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, New York

Gary Burton / Pat Metheny / Steve Swallow / Antonio Sanchez - Quartet Live
Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Live Jazz, Good Vibes

**Josh Berman - Old Idea**
New School, Emerging Voices, Chicago, Avant-Garde, Trumpet

Chick Corea & John McLaughlin - Five Peace Band Live
Piano, Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Live Jazz, Jazz Fusion

**Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings - Renegades**
New School, Cutting Edge, Chicago, Avant-Garde, Women of Jazz

Joe Lovano Us Five - Folk Art
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York

**Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - Infernal Machines**
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, New York, Big Band

**Chicago Yestet - JazzIsPolitics?**
New School, Modern Mainstream, Chicago, Big Band

Freddie Hubbard - Without a Song: Live in Europe 1969
Live Jazz, Trumpet

**Carl Allen and Rodney Whitaker - Work to Do**
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream, Bassists, Drummers, Groove Jazz

Kermit Ruffins - Livin' a Treme Life
Vocal, New Orleans, Trumpet, Groove Jazz

**Geoffrey Keezer - Aurea**
Piano, Latin Jazz, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York

Randy Crawford and Joe Sample - No Regrets
Vocal, Women of Jazz

Chris Botti - In Boston
New School, Modern Mainstream, Live Jazz, Trumpet

Justin Vasquez - Triptych
Saxophone, New School, Cutting Edge, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York,

Eric Person - Rhythm Edge
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Groove Jazz

Diana Krall - Quiet Nights
Vocal, Women of Jazz

**Positive Catastrophe - Garabatos Volume One**
Latin, New School, Cutting Edge, New York, Big Band, Avant-Garde

Weasel Walter & Mary Halvorson - Opulence
Avant-Garde

Aaron Koppell - Falling Together, Falling Apart
Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Chicago, Groove Jazz

**Sam Yahel - Hometown**
Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York,

Crotty Corman and Phipps - Jazz Trio
Straight Ahead, Guitar

Michael Musillami - From Seeds
New School, Cutting Edge, New York, Avant-Garde,

Grant Geissman - Cool Man Cool
Straight Ahead, Guitar, Modern Mainstream, Groove Jazz

Deanna Witkowski - From This Place
Piano, Vocal, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York, Women of Jazz

Tiempo Libre - Bach in Havana
Latin Jazz, New School, Third Stream

Thomas Rotter - Traumzeit
New School, Modern Mainstream, Europe, Bassists

Phillip Johnston - Page of Madness
New York, Avant-Garde

Arve Henriksen - Cartography
New School, Cutting Edge, Europe, Avant-Garde, Trumpet, Third Stream

Mark Alban Lotz - Bite!
New School, Cutting Edge, Europe

Kendra Shank - Mosaic
Vocal, New School, Women of Jazz

Weasel Walter - Firestorm
Avant-Garde

**John Escreet - Consequences**
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, New York, Europe, Avant-Garde

Indigone Trio & Strings - Cycles
Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Third Stream

The Joe Hurt Trio - Live
Piano, Live Jazz, Chicago

Corey Wilkes - Cries From Tha Ghetto
New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Chicago, Avant-Garde, Trumpet

Roch Lockyer - Nondirectional
Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream,

Rhoda Scott - From C to Shining C
Straight Ahead, Organ, Groove Jazz, Women of Jazz

James Danderfer - Accelerated Development
New Sschool, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices

Trudy Pitts - Live at the Great American Music Hall
Live Jazz, Organ, Women of Jazz

Jermaine Landsberger - Gettin' Blazed
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream, Europe, Organ

**Lucky 7s - Pluto Junkyard**
New School, Emerging Voices, Chicago, New Orleans, Avant-Garde

Bill Heid - Asian Persuasion
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream, Organ

Elizabeth! - Hot & Silver
Vocal, New York, Women of Jazz

Joey DeFrancesco - Finger Poppin'
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream, Organ, Groove Jazz

Wil Blades - Sketchy
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Chicago, Organ, Groove Jazz

Jim Rotondi - Blues for Brother Ray
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Trumpet, Organ, Groove Jazz

Yotam Silberstein - Next Page
Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York, Organ

Sam Rivers - Celebration
Avant-Garde

Charnett Moffett - The Art of Improvisation
New School, Bassists

Jared Gold - Solids and Stripes
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Jazz, New York, Organ

D.J. Sweeney - Are You the One?
Vocal, Ellington, Women of Jazz

Ken Fowser and Behn Gillece - Full View
Straight Ahead, Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Vibes

Steve Davis - Outlook
New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Trombone,

Dave Binney and Alan Ferber - In the Paint
Saxophone, New School, Cutting Edge, Modern Mainstream, New York, Avant-Garde

**The Fully Celebrated - Drunk on the Blood of the Holy Ones**
Saxophone, New School, Cutting Edge, Avant-Garde

Zvonimir Tot - Eloquent Silence
Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Chicago, Groove Jazz

Richard Harris - Songs From My Heart
Straight Ahead, Trumpet

Mike Clinco - Neon
Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream

**Glows in the Dark - Music to Listen to Glows in the Dark By**
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, Avant-Garde

Ed Palermo Big Band - Eddy Loves Frank
New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Big Band, Fusion

Andy Milne and Benoit Delbecq - Where is Pannonica?
Piano, New School, Avant-Garde

Led Bib - Sensible Shoes
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, Europe, Avant-Garde

Ron Jackson - FlubbyDubby
Straight Ahead, Guitar, New York, Groove Jazz

Jerry Granelli - Vancouver '08
New School, Cutting Edge, Avant-Garde

Ombak - Framing the Void
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, Trombone

Andrea Fultz - The German Projekt
Vocal, Women of Jazz

Cynthia Scott - Dream for One Bright World
Vocal, Women of Jazz

Kyle Eastwood - Metropolitain
New School, Modern Mainstream, Bassists, Fusion, Groove Jazz

The Vignola Collective - Gypsy Grass
Guitar, Old School, New School, Modern Mainstream, Groove Jazz

Tine Bruhn - Entranced
Vocals, Emerging Voices, New York, Women of Jazz

Sophie Milman - Take Love Easy
Vocal, Women of Jazz

Jorge Sylvester - Following the Line
Saxophone, New School, Live Jazz, New York

Nora McCarthy - Circle Completing
Vocal, New York, Women of Jazz

Benny Powell - Nextep
New School, Modern Mainstream, Trombone

Kenny MacKenzie - There You Are
Straight Ahead, Piano, Modern Mainstream, New York