Jazz

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Dogmental (GM label), the new CD by the Andy Biskin Quintet.

Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. Called one of the greatest improvisers in the history of jazz, Jarrett was famous for his wildly passionate solo recitals. In 1996, Jarrett came down with a mysterious illness—- an interstitial bacterial parasite-- that caused him to stop performing for about two and a half years. Jarrett has started performing and recording again, but he still keeps a low public profile, so his condition will not worsen again. His newest CD, Whisper Not (Universal Classics), will be released next month.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews “Thelonious Monk: The Complete Prestige Recordings” (Prestige)

Jazz saxophonist James Carter. He has just released two new CDs— “Chasin’ the Gypsy” and “Layin’ in the Cut” (Atlantic Records). The 31-year-old New York based musician was discovered at the age of 17 by Wynton Marsalis. He’s played with Marsalis, the late Lester Bowie and Kathleen Battle. He has been praised by jazz musicians and critics alike; Richard Harrington of the Washington Post once wrote, “To hear saxophonist James Carter is to be blown away.”

We’ll speak to Kathryn King about her mother, jazz singer Jeri Southern. King co-produced a new re-issue of her Southern’s work from the fifties (The Very Thought of You: Jeri Southern/The Decca Years, 1951-57/GRP Records). Miles Davis once said she was his favorite singer. She’s been described as “smoky-voiced.” Southern died in 1991 at the age of 64. King has worked in the record industry for 25 years as a corporate executive and independent producer.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews “Malinke” (Omnitone) the new recording by Marty Ehrlich.

Screenwriter/actress Polly Draper and jazz pianist Michael Wolff have co-produced “The Tic Code.” The new film is about a mother and her son, a musical prodigy with Tourette’s syndrome. The syndrome is a nervous disorder that produces uncontrollable facial tics and jerky muscular spasms, as well as causing strange noises to be emitted from those who have the disorder. Polly Draper wrote the film based on the life of her husband, Michael Wolff.

Biographer Howard Pollack is the author of “Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man” (University of Illinois Press). This year marks the 100th anniversary of Copland’s birth. Though Copland was Jewish, gay, and raised in Brooklyn, his work came to personify the American West, with such well known compositions as “Billy the Kid” and “Rodeo.” Copland also wrote “Appalachian Spring,” and “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Copland also wrote the film scores for “The Red Pony,” and “The Heiress.” Pollack is professor of music history and literature at the University of Houston.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews “The Complete Blue Note Horace Parlan Sessions” (Mosaic).

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the reissue “Louis Armstrong: Satch Plays Fats” (Columbia/Legacy).

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews “Mood Indigo” (Milestone) the new CD by singer Jimmy Scott.

Also star Vernel Bagneris who also wrote, directed and starred in the hit show, “One mo’ Time’ and the sequel “Further Mo.’

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews “Hollywood Swing & Jazz: Hot Numbers from Classic MGM, Warner Bros., and R.K.O. Films” (a Rhino box).

Ex-co-leader of the septet Squirrel Nut Zippers, Tom Maxwell. His new recording as a solo artist is “Samsara” (Samsara Ltd.) On the album he continues the work he started with the Zippers, harkening the sound of hot jazz, but also blues and gospel, Country and Western, and even Chinese opera.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews “Dusk” (Palmetto) the new CD by pianist Andrew Hill.

Conductor Maurice Peress. He specializes in reconstructing historic American concerts. He’s worked with Ellington and Bernstein, and is the author of the forthcoming book, “Living With American Music: Dvorak to Duke Ellington.”

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews “Sonny Rollins: The Freelance Years: The Complete Riverside & Contemporary Recordings” (Riverside)

Contributing editor for Vanity Fair David Margolick. In his new book “Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Café Society, and an Early Cry for Civil Rights” (Running Press), Margolick traces the history and impact of the song “Strange Fruit,” a ballad about lynchings which became Billie Holiday’s signature song. It was written by a Jewish school teacher who was inspired to write the song after seeing a newspaper photograph of a lynching.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews “Too Much Coffee Man” (Blue Note) by singer-songwriter Bob Dorough.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Monk's Dream (Verve records), the new record from soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and trombonist Roswell Rudd.