Pittsburgh's Own Regional Notables of Jazz
AFRO-AMERICAN MUSIC INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 36 YEARS
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/building-today-for-tomorrow/x/267428
Pain Relief Beyond Belief
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PITTSBURGH JAZZ
From Blakey to Brown, Como to Costa, Eckstine to Eldridge, Galbraith to Garner, Harris to Hines, Horne to Hyman, Jamal to Jefferson, Kelly to Klook; Mancini to Marmarosa, May to Mitchell, Negri to Nestico, Parlan to Ponder, Reed to Ruther, Strayhorn to Sullivan, Turk to Turrentine, Wade to Williams… the forthcoming publication Treasury of Pittsburgh Jazz Connections by Dr. Nelson Harrison and Dr. Ralph Proctor, Jr. will document the legacy of one of the world’s greatest jazz capitals.
Do you want to know who Dizzy Gillespie idolized? Did you ever wonder who inspired Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey? Who was the pianist that mentored Monk, Bud Powell, Tad Dameron, Elmo Hope, Sarah Vaughan and Mel Torme? Who was Art Tatum’s idol and Nat Cole’s mentor? What musical quartet pioneered the concept adopted later by the Modern Jazz Quartet? Were you ever curious to know who taught saxophone to Stanley Turrentine or who taught piano to Ahmad Jamal? What community music school trained Robert McFerrin, Sr. for his history-making debut with the Metropolitan Opera? What virtually unknown pianist was a significant influence on young John Coltrane, Shirley Scott, McCoy Tyner, Bobby Timmons and Ray Bryant when he moved to Philadelphia from Pittsburgh in the 1940s? Would you be surprised to know that Erroll Garner attended classes at the Julliard School of Music in New York and was at the top of his class in writing and arranging proficiency?
Some answers can be gleaned from the postings on the Pittsburgh Jazz Network.
For almost 100 years the Pittsburgh region has been a metacenter of jazz originality that is second to no other in the history of jazz. One of the best kept secrets in jazz folklore, the Pittsburgh Jazz Legacy has heretofore remained mythical. We have dubbed it “the greatest story never told” since it has not been represented in writing before now in such a way as to be accessible to anyone seeking to know more about it. When it was happening, little did we know how priceless the memories would become when the times were gone.
Today jazz is still king in Pittsburgh, with events, performances and activities happening all the time. The Pittsburgh Jazz Network is dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the places, artists and fans that carry on the legacy of Pittsburgh's jazz heritage.
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Duke Ellington is first African-American and the first musician to solo on U.S. circulating coin
MARY LOU WILLIAMS
INTERVIEW
MANDALABAND-III new album "BC-Ancestors" 2009
The new MANDALABAND album 'BC - Ancestors'
is scheduled for release in October, and will be available from the Mandalaband.co.uk web site.
Original Music, Photoart & Edit by David ROHL, www.Mandalaband.co.uk,
Artwork & Epic Video-mix by Ed Unitsky, www.edunitsky.net
© MANDALABAND 2009
MANDALABAND - THE RESURRECTION
A strange thing has happened.
More than thirty years after Mandalaband I and II were released in the 1970s, two new Mandalaband albums are miraculously about to appear, like a mirage on the eastern desert horizon.
Four of the principal musicians from the original era are still very much a part of the new project - Ashley Mulford (guitars, Mandalaband I & Sad Café); Woolly Wolstenholme (keyboards, Mandalaband II, BJH & Maestoso); Kim Turner (drums/percussion, Mandalaband II & Maestoso); and David Rohl (writer, engineer, producer & keyboards for both albums).
But now the new, third incarnation of Mandalaband has been joined by Troy Donockley (Iona & the Bad Shepherds) on pipes, whistles and guitars; Jose Manuel Medina (Last Knight) on keyboards; Marc Atkinson (Gabriel & Riversea) on vocals; Geoffrey Richardson (Caravan, The Penguin Café Orchestra & the Murray Head band) on violin, viola, flute, clarinet & guitars; Craig Fletcher (BJH) on bass; and Barbara & Briony Macanas on vocals.
So far, two new albums have been recorded, on and off, over a two-year period (staring in February 2007) in a small studio atop a Spanish mountain over-looking the Mediterranean Sea. The first 'BC - Ancestors' is scheduled for release in October 2009 on the Legend label. The second 'AD - Sangreal' will then be released in Summer 2010. There are then plans afoot to put the whole show on the road, playing material from both of the new albums and the previous two albums from the 1970s.
These are unashamedly 'symphonic' rock albums in which the seven band composers have attempted to create majestic themes, with touches of Celtic and ambient atmosphere, intended to reflect the ancient and medieval world subject matter. The orchestrations are complex and full of depth, with few concessions to the standard four-piece rock band formula. The rhythm patterns are richly textured, drawing from Middle Eastern, African and Celtic cultures. But the melodies are simple, melodic and memorable.
We hope you like what you hear.
www.Mandalaband.co.uk
www.myspace.com/mandalaband3
www.edunitsky.net
*****
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