I’m very excited to offer a sneak preview of my shot of Tre Williams (front man vocalist with The Revelations) gracing the cover of Echoes Magazine, the UK’s Essential Black Music Monthly – along with a few other shots from the shoot. I know it may sound cliché, but I told Tre “that’s the cover” as soon as I got this shot, right on the spot . . . for me it has just that right little mix of vulnerability, determination and introspection that every soul singer should have.
This was one of the “not to miss” shows of the year, and the lineup says it all: Azar Lawrence, Nicholas Payton, Benito Gonzalez, Essiet Okon Essiet and Jeff “Tain” Watts. This group had so much firepower the hard drives nearly ran out of space trying to capture it all! All I can say is, keep an eye out for “The Seeker – Live at Jazz Standard.” (Also, I love photographing saxophone players blowing into those big ol’ condenser mics – such a classic image/vibe).
The Key Motion Quintet show at Jazz Standard on 12/8/11 was probably the closest I’ve been to feeling like I’m at The Fillmore in the 70s (which is a great feeling!). With Dave Douglas and Donny McCaslin up front, blowing freely and funkily, Adam Benjamin shuttling things to other worlds, Tim Lefebvre’s crunchy pulsations and Mark Guiliana’s human drum machine (in a good way) efforts – this was one of the solidly interesting gigs in mind and spirit I’ve been to in a while. Stage lighting was aptly dark and moody, so the shots are moody and gritty too.
The Ascension show at Jazz Standard on Nov 16, 2011 was such a rare occasion on many levels. A lot of times, these tribute concepts are tired, and uninspired; the “bigger” the album, the bigger the bust; the more “names” the less chemistry . . . right off the bat, the Ascension show announced itself as the real deal. It’s impossible to do a note-for-note recreation of such an album, so the musicians (Joe Lovano, Vincent Herring, Sabir Mateen, Donny McCaslin, Jeremy Pelt, Josh Roseman, James Weidman, Ben Allison, Matt Wilson & Billy Drummond) just let the spirit fill them up and they let it on out! As I was sitting next to the stage snapping away behind Billy Drummond, I could feel the vibrations enveloping me and lifting me up. Oh, and thanks to Milan Simich for putting the band/concept together!
The bulk of my photos from this year’s FONT (Festival of New Trumpet Music) at Jazz Standard can be found on Dave Douglas’s website (see link below):
http://www.greenleafmusic.com/photo-gallery-celebrating-kenny-wheeler-at-jazz-standard
Here are a few more non-Wheeler shots from the incredible weekend w/John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble and Kenny Wheeler’s Quintet (w/Jon Irabagon, Craig Taborn, Dave Holland and Rudy Royston).
The great vocalist (producer, songwriter, actress, author, etc.) Nona Hendryx was the very special guest of drummer Terri Lyne Carrington’s “Mosaic Project” last month – along with a well-stocked band w/Tineke Postma, Tia Fuller, Ingrid Jensen, Helen Sung, Tamir Shmerling and Nir Felder. It was great to hear Nona do her thing in our intimate room – and she let it all out! Seems like “Strange Fruit” is becoming as ubiquitous as “My Funny Valentine” these days, but Nona really lent the necessary gravitas to the situation in her striking rendition.
It’s been a long time since there’s been a young male jazz vocalist (or female, for that matter!) that I’ve been interested in hearing – José James is one of those. Although he mixes in a little more hip-hop “flavor” than I’d like (seems there’s no getting away from that these days), the texture of his vocals, in the general zone of Ernie Andrews, Gil Scott-Heron and Andy Bey, would make almost anything palpable. It’s just amazing what a rarity it is to hear a good sound coming out of someone’s vocal boxes these days, so I’m thankful for Mr. James – hope there are more to follow . . .
