9/9/14: http://stormlarge.com/  Until last night, I had never heard Storm Large in a live performance.

I recorded some solos on her new CD and heard her voice in the headphones while I was tracking (gave me chills up my neck), but the live show is something else entirely.

What a magnificent voice, wonderful technique and limitless chops. Everything is perfectly in tune, every phrase is gracefully connected and supported out to the last little curly tendril of extremity and possibility. There’s delicate subtlety, there’s ferocity. Just when you think she has reached the end of her air, she goes for another measure, or four more, or eight. When you think she has reached the peak, she finds another one, stronger, and then another, and maybe one more for good measure–and still she sounds like there’s something in reserve. And in that same breath, she can take that crushing, seismic fortissimo down to a microscopic whisper–impossibly, seamlessly, beautifully. Tremendous strength, control and skill in the service of a beautiful musical idea and the illusion that there’s nothing to it. 

And, her band is fantastic, solid, tasty, gutsy, crafty, grooving powerfully, ready to turn on a stylistic dime and cheerfully hauling the extra strings and winds, or your local symphony orchestra, along for the ride.

Buy her CD, and if she comes to town, catch the show (Don’t bring the kids).

 

9/1/14: The excellent Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra is working on our second CD, featuring the music of Horace Silver. Here’s a nice campaign video by our trumpeter Charlie Porter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cijo/joyful-noise-the-music-of-horace-silver-recording

11/2/12: I’ve added a few new items under Great Performance Clips. Matt T. sent a nice Dexter Gordon clip to share, and I added some Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. I’m thinking about how I want to organize these clips. Alphabetical by artist seems logical, but I started grouping them by similarities or eras, and that’s how I would browse them…so it remains a bit of a hodge podge for now,  Also, the November Public Performances page has been updated and corrected–Sundays with Johnny Martin Quartet will be monthly instead of weekly.

Coming up Saturday Sept. 29, 8:00 pm–The Two Tenors feat. Lee Wuthenow, Dave Frishberg, Tom Wakeling, Charlie Doggett, David Evans. Ivories, 1435 NW Flanders, Portland, OR ** Call (503) 241-6514 for reservations.

9/5/12: Somebody else liked the Detroit fest: http://blogs.metrotimes.com/index.php/2012/09/some-thoughts-on-the-detroit-jazz-festival/

9/4/12: We loved Detroit, and they liked us back a little, too: “Best Debut: The nine-piece Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra from Portland, Ore., deserves wider circulation for the bassist’s imaginative arrangements, especially his take on material by his former employer, pianist Bill Evans.” http://www.freep.com/article/20120904/ENT04/309040022/Star-filled-lineup-delivers-at-Detroit-Jazz-Festival

9/3/12: Just back from the Detroit Jazz Festival. It was a great lineup, beautiful setting, great vibe, warm hospitality and expertly run! http://www.detroitjazzfest.com/

9/3/12: I’ve started using WordPress primarily to make it easier for people to  access my Public Performances page. There is much more content on my Facebook Music Page if you are interested. Thanks for stopping by.