Blue Note Jazz Fest (NYC) Comes Around Again
After an extraordinarily successful first year, the Blue Note Jazz Festival will return from June 10 – 30, 2012 with over fifty shows throughout New York City. Many outstanding TKA Artists to perform!
The 2012 Festival will feature TKA artists including The Soul Rebels, Bela Fleck & Marcus Roberts Trio, Stanley Clarke & George Duke, Roy Haynes, Jack Dejohnette and James Carter.
Béla Fleck & Marcus Roberts Trio (June 10 at Blue Note)
Béla Fleck and Marcus Roberts – two forward-thinking and unique musicians, both top improvisers on their instruments – will join forces for a special concert to kick off the 2012 Blue Note Jazz Festival. The unique mix of banjo and piano creates a new way forward in jazz, deeply rooted in the art form, while pulling from each man's extensive background and musical journey to create a sound that is exuberant, fresh, soaring, and bold. After a one-off concert at the Savannah Music Festival that Afropop Worldwide called "staggering, awe-inspiring," Fleck and Roberts continue their collaboration, bringing it to the Blue Note stage for the first time. Rounding out the group will be Roberts's trio members, bassist Rodney Jordan and drummer Jason Marsalis. More Info & Tickets
Jack Dejohnette with Savion Glover (June 15 at Blue Note)
Tonight, Jack Dejohnette shares the stage with Savion Glover. DeJohnette, a drummer whom The New York Times called “one of the most important musicians in the last 40 years of jazz.” The Grammy-winning drummer has collaborated with most major figures in jazz history, including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Keith Jarrett, Chet Baker, George Benson, Ron Carter, Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Joe Henderson, and Freddie Hubbard. In January 2012, the National Endowment for the Arts named him a Jazz Master for his extraordinary contributions to the jazz art form and for his service as a mentor to a new generation of aspiring jazz musicians. More Info & Tickets
Roy Haynes with Savion Glover (June 16 at Blue Note)
On June 16th, Roy Haynes shares the stage with Savion Glover. The pulse of legendary jazz, Haynes has influenced and innovated for over 50 years, shaping some of the greatest recordings in jazz while altering the very fabric and direction of jazz improvisation with his joyous drumming. Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny – the list of his notable collaborators goes on and on, as does Haynes’s unflagging energy and marvelous invention. Among his latest projects are his Fountain of Youth band and his 2011 release Roy-alty. More Info & Tickets
Julian Lage - Solo Guitar (June 17 at Blue Note)
Hailed by All About Jazz as “a giant in the making,” guitar virtuoso Julian Lage earned a 2009 Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for his debut album Sounding Point (2009 . His latest album Gladwell (2011) represents another stage in that evolution, building on his proven strengths and solidifying a unique identity for Lage’s working band, while continuing to open new doors and exploring new horizons. More Info & Tickets
The Soul Rebels (June 22 at Brooklyn Bowl)
The band has gone from a local New Orleans favorite to collaborations with Metallica, Green Day, George Clinton, Galactic, Juvenile, Slick Rick, Trombone Shorty, Irma Thomas, Roy Hargrove, and many others. The Soul Rebels have built it’s career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and percussion in a funky party-like atmosphere. Soul Rebels have performed on the Discovery Channel, TBS, NPR, ESPN, BBC Two and on many major national and international stages. The band routinely plays over 250 shows a year. More Info & Tickets
James Carter (June 25 at Blue Note)
An artist long intrigued by contrasts and hybrids, Carter resists comfortable categorization. Born (1969) and raised in Detroit, Carter grew up surrounded by music, soaking up everything from funk and fusion to rock, soul, and various strains of acoustic jazz. It was the late trumpeter Lester Bowie who first brought Carter to New York, inviting him to perform with his New York Organ Combo. The Bowie connection led to Carter’s debut recording, 1993’s JC on the Set, a quartet tour de force that announced the arrival of a superlative new talent equally expressive on alto, tenor, and baritone sax (though he’s added several other horns over the years, most importantly soprano sax). More Info & Tickets
Stanley Clarke & George Duke (June 26 at B.B. King’s Blues Club)
Bassist Stanley Clarke teamed up with keyboardist George Duke in 1981 to form the Clarke/Duke Project, scoring a Top 20 pop hit with the single “Sweet Baby.” Over the course of their funk-filled and genre-smashing collaborations, including three albums, the two have created performances full of fun, energy, and exceptional musicianship, with a big bottom and keyboard flights of fancy. More of the same fantastic musical roller-coaster ride is on the way in the 2012 Blue Note Jazz Festival with the new Clarke/Duke 4 “Bring It” Tour. It’s been six years since Clarke and Duke toured together, and both are excited to hit the road together again. “I’m looking forward to these performances, because the most fun I have touring is with George. We have a good time together,” remarked Clarke. Duke concurred: “Touring with Stanley is always a good thing, because he’s a nut. He’s the younger brother I never had.” Don’t miss these two musical legends performing the unique blend of jazz fusion they helped pioneer almost 40 years ago. More Info & Tickets
