Long-Form Jazz: Out of the Harlem Renaissance
The long-form jazz composition \u2014 spanning the jazz suite and symphonic works - is said to have blossomed during the Harlem Renaissance, as early as James P. Johnson. Duke Ellington grappled with the form for a good part of his career. Composers in the jazz realm often coupled long-form compositions with grand themes in black history. This NPR survey samples five examples of long-form jazz composition, including excerpts from Ellington’s Black Brown and Beige, Oliver Nelson and a haunting piece by Wadada Leo Smith, honoring Rosa Parks.
-Nick Moy
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Wayne Shorter Meets Orpheus
The astute Howard Mandel in his Jazz Beyond Jazz blog wrote a wonderful essay on Wayne Shorter the composer, culminating with his February 1 Carnegie Hall concert with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, a magnificent, adventuresome orchestra that plays without a conductor. Shorter performed four pieces with his quartet and the chamber orchestra. What the article does not mention is that everyone piled into Avatar Studios the next day to record this material as Wayne Shorter’s second album since rejoining Blue Note. His first, Without A Net, was just released several weeks ago.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Terence Blanchard’s upcoming “Opera in the Jazz” Style
New Orleans trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard is joining the ranks of jazz musicians who have branched out to write formal long-form compositions. His first opera, “Champion,” based on the story of boxer Emile Griffith, will premiere with Opera Theatre of St. Louis this June. Find out, in this St. Louis Beacon story by Patricia Rice, what motivated Blanchard to turn to opera and this tragic subject.
-Nick Moy
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Carla Bley: Present at the New Music’s Creation
Carla Bley is an incredibly accomplished composer, pianist, band leader and entrepreneur, who was there at the beginning of the new music with then husband Paul Bley and Ornette Coleman. She was co-founder of the Jazz Composers Orchestra, the Watt label and a string of wonderful ensembles over the years. This Piano Jazz show with partner bassist Steve Swallow was recorded in 1995.
-Michael Cuscuna
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