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Miguel Zenón: A jazz genius takes on Puerto Rico

Date: 10.09.2009
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Author: Howard Reich


The music of Puerto Rico has played in Miguel Zenón’s imagination since his childhood in San Juan, where he was born.

But it wasn’t until a few years ago that he began to examine his musical heritage in depth, with remarkable results (and we refer not only to the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, or “genius grant,” he was awarded in 2008).
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Submitted by Ben on October 9th, 2009 — 12:00am

Album Review: Miguel Zenón's 'Esta Plena'

Date: 10.04.2009
Publication: About.com
Author: Jacob Teichroew


Miguel Zenón’s Esta Plena is a continuation of the saxophonist’s previous work, complete with exuberant melodies and voluble phrases that float above knotty rhythmic terrain. The core group, featuring pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Henry Cole, is the same heard on Zenón’s last album, Awake, although Esta Plena is fitted around traditional Puerto Rican plena music.
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Submitted by Ben on October 4th, 2009 — 12:00am

Promising Chilean-born singer finds her voice; Claudia Acuña at The Jazz Showcase

Even a decade ago, when the Chilean-born singer Claudia Acuña was launching her recording career, she sounded like nobody else in jazz. The South American sensibility that colored everything she sang, as well as the sometimes smoldering, sometimes imploring quality of her vocals made her an emerging artist of unmistakable promise.

But now, seasoned by uncounted performances around the world and the various hard knocks that inevitably come with a career in music, Acuña has matured into one of the most searing jazz vocalists of the under-40 generation. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on September 26th, 2009 — 12:00am

The NEW BMQ in Boston doesn’t miss a beat

Date: 09.25.2009
Publication: The Boston Globe
Author: Steve Greenlee

 

Though center stage belonged to one of jazz’s most heralded saxophonists, all eyes and ears were on the drummer, Justin Faulkner. After two decades with the band, Jeff “Tain’’ Watts - jazz’s most explosive drummer - left the Branford Marsalis Quartet this year to focus on his own projects. His replacement is Faulkner, an 18-year-old who is just starting his secondary education at the Berklee College of Music.
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Submitted by Ben on September 25th, 2009 — 12:00am

Marsalis Family To Release Live Album For Music Center

Date: 09.25.2009
Publication: Daily News Headlines

 

Combined generations of the Marsalis family will release their Music Redeems (Marsalis Music) on Aug. 24. The CD is a recording of the family’s performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., last year when patriarch Ellis Marsalis received the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Proceeds from the disc’s sales will benefit the Ellis Marsalis Center For Music In New Orleans. Read more »

Submitted by Josh on September 25th, 2009 — 12:00am

Filling zapatos gigantes; Claudia Acuña's En Este Momento

Ad Hoc Tributes to Departed Masters always raise questions of motive. Typically the rearview mirror is not where resourceful jazz artists look for inspiration. However, a quartet of current releases illustrate why and how retrospective projects can successfully navigate inherent pitfalls and attain authenticity. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on September 25th, 2009 — 12:00am

Jazz singer makes varied song set her own; Claudia Acuña at The Jazz Kitchen

All together now: I’d like to teach the world to sing — like Claudia Acuña.

Well, no, not really. Individuality counts for a lot, especially in the wide world of jazz singing. So finding a personal style is almost a duty.

The Chilean-born singer has such a style. It involves a broad reach of repertoire, songs that don’t necessarily emerge from the jazz bag, songs that don’t seem to be pulled from any particular pigeonholes. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on September 24th, 2009 — 12:00am

Claudia Acuña brings serene sounds to Jazz Showcase

In the music business, five years without a new CD is practically an eternity.

But radiant jazz singer Claudia Acuña has come back strong, with a startling release that — typically, for her — cuts against convention.

For starters, she sings almost entirely in Spanish on her superb new recording, “En Este Momento” (Marsalis Music), which translates to “At This Moment.” That’s clearly not a quick-and-easy way to re-establish yourself in the marketplace, concedes Acuña, who opens Thursday night at the Jazz Showcase. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on September 22nd, 2009 — 12:00am

Claudia Acuña Quintet at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, 9/24-27

Born in Santiago and raised in Concepcion, Chile, Acuña began singing Chilean folk/pop, rock, fusion and opera, drawing inspiration from Chilean music pioneers Violeta Parra and Victor Jara. At the age of 15 she discovered her first “outside” musical model: Frank Sinatra. Acuña finally “felt at home” when she heard the voices of Sinatra, Erroll Garner and Sarah Vaughan. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on September 21st, 2009 — 12:00am

Miguel Zenón Esta Plena Quintet @ The Jazz Showcase

Date: 09.14.2009
Publication: All About Jazz
Author: General Release


Saxophonist/Composer Miguel Zenón will be bringing his Esta Plena Quintet to the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, Ill. from October 8th thru 11th, 2009 in celebration of his new Marsalis Music release “Esta Plena.”

“This young musician and composer is at once reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century.”-MacArthur Foundation,2008.
Read more »

Submitted by Ben on September 14th, 2009 — 12:00am