Days of August

Bud Powell documentary, photos from JazzCultural and Montclair jazz fest, links

photo from Prospect Park yesterday by pianist Hiroko Sasaki; Hiroko and I were both doing Knockout Pilates in the park under the cheerful guidance of Sarah Deming. (Photo of myself doing Pilates absolutely NOT included in this post)

TT is still merely ticking over in low gear. Next month festivities will resume.

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The Billy Hart quartet with Craig Handy, Ben Street, and myself will play at the Charlie Parker Festival at Tompkins Square Park on Sunday August 30. The free afternoon concert will also feature groups led by Ravi Coltrane, Kassa Overall, and Vanisha Gould.

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Bud Powell finally has a documentary, Bud Lives! A Love Letter to Bud Powell, which was shown in Harlem on August 8th at Maysles Cinema. This was a passion project for filmmaker Haeyong Moon, and the film succeeds very well in her declared intent of straightforward celebration. While Powell’s music is one of the touchstones of bebop, his genius has always seemed just a bit beyond the grasp of the masses. However, Moon’s generous work suggests a more hopeful future where Powell’s extraordinary sounds have greater reach within the larger cultural sphere. A highlight was Moon’s emphasis on drummers, a logical choice as the pianist was so percussive: Roy McCurdy, Art Taylor, and Elvin Jones all play a few delicious licks and talk about Bud Powell.

At the post-screening Q&A, Max Roach’s son Raoul told a story I hadn’t heard before: Max Roach was a pallbearer for Powell’s funeral procession in Harlem, but early on Roach was so overcome by emotion he had to leave his post.

Charlie Parker, dead at 34. Bud Powell, dead at 41.

Scott Douglass Gray reports further on the screening.

After the screening of BUD LIVES: Leslie Haynes-Gilmore (Roy Haynes’s daughter and Marcus Gilmore’s mother), me, Raoul Roach (Max Roach’s son), filmmaker Haeyong Moon, John Powell (Bud Powell’s son, seen on cover of Bud’s THE SCENE CHANGES), John’s grandson Zachary, bassist Kim Clarke

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Thanks to everyone who came out to see the sextet at JazzCultural! The hang was tremendous, and the band also sang birthday greetings to visiting Twin Cities pal Kathryne Cramer and musician Meg Okura.

Kush Abadey took this photo of Ehud Asherie, Spike Wilner and myself at JazzCultural. I sent this image to a mutual friend who wrote back, “I’ve alerted the authorities”

Jacob Garchik and Jonathan Finlayson

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Patrice Rushen delivered a fiery funk set with a band of LA all-stars at the Montclair Jazz Festival on Saturday. Great show! While Rushen is a polished performer and crowd-pleaser, she also takes legitimately burning keyboard solos suitable for, say, music written by Woody Shaw or Joe Henderson. The Montclair festival has evolved into a major celebration of and for the city, and is simply a triumph for the visionaries Melissa Walker and Christian McBride. I barged into the artist tent and took a few photos.

Christian McBride and Reuben Rogers — Reuben was playing with Dianne Reeves

Donald Vega and Carl Allen, who complete the rhythm section for the mighty Christian McBride big band

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Vinnie Sperrazza on Bob Moses and Barry Altschul.

Lee Merger talks to Ashley Kahn about Kahn’s new book on Paul Simon’s Graceland.

Jeremy Denk on Emily Wilson and Beethoven. (wow!)

Steve Futterman on the late René Urtreger.

Nate Chinen reports on Newport.

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A must-see concert for connoisseurs! This Sunday at the Greenwich House Music School, Mari Asakawa plays modernist music from rigorous composers who had — or in the case of living virtuoso trumpeter Steve Lampert, has — a connection to midcentury jazz. Tune up your ears with this one!