Jawanza Kobie’s Weekly Wednesday Jazz Playlist March 1, 2023
Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Barron
Kenny Barron a Philadelphia PA native is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. He has been nominated nine times for Grammy Awards and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009. For over 25 years, Barron taught piano and keyboard harmony at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He now teaches at the Juilliard School of Music
The Source is a solo piano CD and newest recording for this Jazz Master. This is an original of his titled ‘What If’
Orlando Julius
Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode, known professionally as Orlando Julius or Orlando Julius Ekemode was a Nigerian saxophonist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter closely associated with afrobeat music. He passed in 2022. Julius began by playing drums or flute with juju and konkoma bands and learned saxophone to play highlife music, eventually playing with musicians Jazz Romero, Rex Williams, and Eddie Okonta. He began experimenting with combining traditional music with horns, guitar, and American genres, a fusion which came to be known as afrobeat. The Heliocentrics are an English, London-based musical collective that combines funk, jazz, psych, and library influences. The group is based around drummer and producer Malcolm Catto, bassist Jake Ferguson, guitarist Adrian Owusu, and multi-instrumentalist Jack Yglesias. Here is their collaboration ‘Jaiyede Afro’
Delia Fisher, Riccardo Bacelar, Gilberto Gil.
Delia Fischer is a singer that has teamed up with pianist/singer Riccardo Bacelar and Gilberto Gil for this track ‘Prece’ Not much bio information found for Delia Fischer. Ricardo Bacelar is a Brazilian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He began his musical career at a young age and was initially influenced by classical, jazz, and Brazilian styles, which significantly contribute to his work today. Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Mette Henriette
Mette Henriette Martedatter Rølvåg is a performing artist, saxophonist and composer from Norway. In 2016 Mette Henriette became the first artist to release a double debut album on the renowned jazz record label ECM Records. The album includes 90 minutes of music which she composed over a period of 10 years for her trio and large ensemble, consisting of jazz, classical and tango musicians. This is her latest ‘Topic’
Rob Mazurek
Rob Mazurek is an American electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist living in Chicago, Illinois. As a composer, Mazurek has written over 300 original compositions over the past 30 years, and has released at least 55 recordings on various labels. He has collaborated with a wide variety of artists, such as Bill Dixon, Pharoah Sanders, Mike Ladd, Roscoe Mitchell, Yusef Lateef, Fred Anderson, Naná Vasconcelos, Mamelo Sound System, Alexandre Kassin, Marcelo Camelo, and others. Additionally, Mazurek works as a visual artist (incorporating sound, painting and video) with numerous international performances, exhibitions and artist residencies. This is one of his recent releases with his Exploding Star Orchestra and the track is ‘ Future Shaman’
Kingo Halla
Kingo Halla is a singer/songwriter from Toronto Canada who sings in facetto voice. Kingo Halla aka Henry Nozuka was born into a musical family of Japanese-American descent, but his alter-ego was born in Toronto, where he grew up writing songs with his brothers and creating artwork on multiple mediums. As a producer and engineer, Nozuka works out of his own Shijō Studios where he pursues his passion for vintage instruments, analog gear, and tape machines. This is his latest release ‘Empty Hands’
Matters Unknown
Matters Unknown is the new project led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Jonny Enser, the long-standing brass player for celebrated Afro-Jazz collective Nubiyan Twist. Over the past ten years the Total Refreshment Centre has played a central part in fostering London’s jazz and dance music scene. This is the latest release ‘Eloquence’ from the group.
I hope you enjoy
JK