Jazz With Marty Friedman

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents Musician's Corner: Gaea Schell Air Date: 8/20/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE Coming up on the Sunday Jazz Brunch we have a special guest, the young artist Gaea Schell, a multi- instrumentalist, composer, and vocalist. Originally from Canada, and now residing in the San Francisco bay area, she decided long ago that piano and flute would be her main instruments, although she had studied saxophone and harp as well.  Of course, if you like to consider voice as an instrument, then perhaps that is really her main thing. The point here is that Ms. Schell is wonderfully talented, and this is amply illustrated by her new CD In Your Own Sweet Way .  We'll hear two tunes from the CD, the title track by Dave Brubeck, as well as one of her originals, Summer Sea . When I first listened to the Brubeck song, I could hear that something was a bit different. I thought maybe it is in an unusual key. But as Ms. Schell explains, it is the t...

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents Tony Bennett, Leny Andrade: Icons of the Americas Air Date: 8/6//2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET The story goes that when Tony Bennett heard Brazilian vocalist Leny Andrade, he called her "The Ella Fitzgerald of Brazil." To be called that by anyone is an honor, but for twenty-time Grammy winner Tony Bennett to say that, well, it really means something. This year we lost both icons in the world of jazz. Her first album, released in 1961, is titled A Sensaçao , the Sensation. And a sensation she was, throughout her sixty plus year career with over thirty albums released. She also has been compared to Sarah Vaughn and Carmen McRae, singers who, along with Ella Fitzgerald, were her idols.  Check out this great story linked from Wikipedia and originally published by the New York Times : Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote of Andrade's performance at Birdland on 27 August 2008, "To describe Ms. Andrade as both the Sarah Vaughan and Ell...

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents New For You Air Date: 7/30/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET There is plenty of really good new material now, and I am screening it all for you. Let me give you an update on some of these fine releases. Benny Benack III Twenty-eight year old Benny Benack has been called "one of the most versatile and virtuosic voices of his generation." When I first heard his new CD Third Time's The Charm , I assumed that he is simply a fine jazz vocalist. Dig a bit further and one finds that he is also a first-class trumpeter.  Describing this release, Mr. Benack explains: "I tried to program it as if I was doing a two set concert.  It has that New York kind of energy, being in the room at midnight at Smalls, or if you went to see me at Dizzy's." The CD features the likes of Peter Bernstein (guitar) and Emmet Cohen (piano). Check out the song Jade during the 9 am hour. Silva and Steini They come from the land of geothermal energy, steaming miner...

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents Guest Column: Photography and Jazz By Mitch Bleier Air Date: 7/23/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET This is the first in a series of guest columns about the intersection of jazz and other arts - in this case photography.  Mitch Bleier is a NYC-based writer and educator turned photographer. He has recently shifted his camera from nature and cityscapes to live music performances. Contact him at mb626rsd@gmail.com or @mitch.bleier on Instagram. I’ve been listening to and enjoying jazz since the early 1970s. I also have been doing photography for an even longer time. In the past few years, I have found a way to merge the two. Photographing live performances has added a new dimension to my engagement with the music. I focus more intently on what is going on on the stage among the players. I try to get some good photos of each player and of various combinations and the whole band. Drummers are especially difficult as they are so often in the back and in the...

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents Musician's Corner: Noah Haidu Plays Standards Air Date: 7/16/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE After pianist Noah Haidu (HIGH-DUE) and his trio, with Buster Williams and Billy Hart, recorded the final two songs on their previous album, bassist Buster Williams said “Those two standards were beautiful, got any more?” With the release of his new CD Standards ,  Mr. Haidu answers in the affirmative. “When Buster, Lewis [Nash] and I played for the first time we played a lot of standards and I could feel that there was something special happening that I wanted to document,” says Haidu. “It felt as though every song had emotional depth, every note we played mattered." What you will hear on Sunday is a story about how a jazz trio works together. I always find it fascinating to get behind the scenes to see how art gets made.   In this case, we have a song, A Beautiful Friendship . Mr. Haidu explains how he tried playing ...

Musician's Corner: Buzz Amato's Muse Café Air Date: 7/9/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE In the olden days, when you sought inspiration, whether it be for music, for poetry, or painting, or any endeavor for that matter, you would seek guidance from the Muses. These were inspirational goddesses from Greek mythology, and there are nine of them. Producer, composer and keyboardist Buzz Amato, who has produced or appeared on upwards of 150 CDs, has released Muse Café, a collection of songs dedicated to the Greek Muses. Our chat covers one of his original songs on the new album, Angel in My Pocket .  Mr. Amato wrote the music, and vocalist Melissa Ellen wrote the lyrics. He provides background on the interesting life experience that sparked her to write those lyrics.    Tune in between 9:30am-10am ET  to hear this edition of Musician's Corner. He also talks about how he wrote the song to suggest positivity and a sense of 'otherworldliness.' There...

Musician's Corner: Antonio Adolfo Celebrates 65 Years of Bossa Nova Air Date: 7/2/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE And it is not just the moment when Bossa Nova took the jazz and popular music worlds by storm in the early 1960s. It is also, in this case, two important composers who flourished during the exciting time when bossa nova was being discovered: Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal.  On his new CD Bossa 65 , Mr. Adolfo gives five songs to each composer. And the songs were not only written by these two, but also by the likes of Ronaldo Boscoli, Vinicius de Moraes, and Chico Buarque, all of whom collaborated with Mr. Lyra and Mr. Menescal in some form or other.  On the next edition of Musician's Corner, we'll chat with Antonio Adolfo about two songs on the new CD.  You'll learn how the ensemble comprises an octet, with the instruments given. On the first track, Coisa Mais Linda (Most Beautiful Thing), we learn that this song is one that Mr. Ad...

Musician's Corner: Eliana Cuevas - I Will Be Free Air Date: 6/18/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE Seré Libre means I Will Be Free, and it is the title of the new CD from Venezuelan/Canadian vocalist and composer Eliana Cuevas. Perusing the CD front and back cover, a number of questions are raised: This is Venezuelan music. How does that differ from the Brazilian music we know and love?   There is a twenty-seven piece orchestra. Is that typical of Venezuelan music? If rhythm is central to music as it is in Brazilian music, then how does that sound with orchestra? The orchestra is all Canadian and the musicians are classically trained. Will we hear a European classical sensibility in the arrangements, the sound, the conducting? These  questions crossed my mind before I even spun the CD.     Tune in between 10am-11am ET  to hear this edition of Musician's Corner. The discussion you'll hear on Musician's Corner will center on Ms. Cueva...

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents Musician's Corner: Daniela Soledade's Pretty World Air Date: 6/11/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE Whenever I listened to the lyrics of Michael Franks' song Down in Brazil, I would think to myself "Is that really what it is like down in Brazil?"   It takes a day to walk a mile Time just stands still An image becomes clear. It's hot, sunny, the streets are bustling - we're near the beach of course.  When the people you meet look at you they smile .  So I was curious and excited to have Brazilian rising star Daniela Soledade join me for the next edition of Musician's Corner, to talk about this song and to listen to her version of it. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Ms. Soledade’s family roots are steeped in bossa nova’s inception. Her grandfather, Paulo Soledade composed popular song with renowned bossa nova founders Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Toquinho, Baden Powell, Fernando ...

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents Musician's Corner: Chris Keefe Plays Chobim Air Date: 6/4/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE There's a spelling error, you say? Something wrong with a composer's name? Nope. It's correct - Chobim . The mythical composer created by pianist Chris Keefe! By now you must have decided what it is, and I had the same reaction. Could it really be what I am thinking, and how must it sound if it is? When I heard the song with this title on his new CD Opening , I listened carefully to see if my suspicions would be confirmed. Tune in during Brazil/World Jazz hour 10am-11am ET on the next edition of the Sunday Jazz Brunch to hear Mr. Keefe describe this song for us. He'll answer your question about the title, and then he'll go further. Yes, there's more. Additional folks influenced this song besides those two. Neil Diamond for example, related to a certain television series. J.S. Bach for another.   Tune in between ...

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents Musician's Corner: Aimée Allen and Love's Crescendo Air Date: 5/28/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE One song. Two arrangements.  On the next Musician's Corner you'll hear a beautiful, meditative song called Love's Crescendo , with melody written by Turkish jazz artist Fahir Atakoğlu, and lyrics written and sung by vocalist Aimée Allen. It is a delicious collaboration.   During this segment, Ms. Allen talks about how Mr. Atakoğlu played the song for her on piano while singing wordless melody. Stunned by its beauty, she agreed to write words that express the profound feeling the melody induces. The subject could only be one thing: love.  Her words are not about romantic love specifically - rather, it is universal love that she wishes to convey to us, the listeners. While the original version of the song appeared on Mr. Atakoğlu's 2020 CD For Love , Ms. Allen liked it enough to include a slightly new arrangem...

The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents Musician's Corner: Joanie Pallatto In The Middle of Life Air Date: 5/21/2023 on 90.5 WICN 8am-12pm ET LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT HERE As vocalist Joanie Pallatto tells us on the next edition of Musician's Corner, the song title In the Middle of Life could also have been "In the midst of life." She does not intend your interpretation to mean something related to "mid-life," as in "mid-life crisis". Although of course, you can be in the middle of life during a mid life crisis! Now that we have gotten that out of the way, I would like to suggest that you tune in this Sunday around 9am to hear Ms. Pallatto tell us about this song.  Tune in Sunday around 9am during the Sunday Jazz Brunch to hear this edition of Musician's Corner with Joanie Pallatto. She'll talk about how she came up with the lyrics, the melody, the intro, the interludes, the song form, and how she provides a 'palate cleanser' for the listen...