HERBIE HANCOCK, DON BYRON, ESPERANZA SPAULDING, WILBUR HARDEN AND JOHN COLTRANE

Don Byron is joined by former Metheny vocalist, Mark Ledford on Ornette Coleman's "Check Up" (11:41). Herbie Hancock plays "Watermelon Man" his original classic Blue Note version, hard bop, spare, funky, tight, and focused (12:21). Wilbur Harden and John Coltrane, on his second tour of duty with Miles Davis, whose group was on the verge of recording Kind of Blue (12:41). Esperanza Spaulding, Grammy Award winning for best new artist, "You Know You Know" (12:56) today on HARD CHOICES 11am to 1pm -Shawn K

Raise a Glass to Save Music at Our Schools

Anat Fort Interview on HARD CHOICES 2/19/11. 11am

ANAT FORT IS IN THE STUDIO... Born in Israel, she studied classical piano, listened to 80's pop, sounds of the Middle East, all contributing to her stylistic signature.

She has played with Paul Motian, Ed Schuller and Perry Robinson with whom she recorded her second CD. This collaboration prompted ECM Records to produce the recording without their having initially been in the studio; a rare occurrence. A Long Story came out in 2007 to critical acclaim.

Listen to my 30 minute interview...


The success of her first ECM CD resulted in a long-awaited project, the first recording of the Anat Fort Trio: And If. This recording came out in 2010 and like its predecessors, features all Anat's original compositions. And If was selected by Slate Magazine as one of the Ten Best Jazz CD's of 2010, an honor she shares with one of her most influential jazz heroes, the legendary Keith Jarrett. The trio is currently touring in support of this new recording.
OUTREACH Jazz Conversation: Anat Fort with Tom D’Antoni12:00 PM | LOCATION: The Art Bar
ROGUE ALES PRESENTSAnat Fort7:30 PM | LOCATION: Winningstad Theatre


photos by Shawn Kirkeby

A BLOWIN' SESSION is one of the greatest hard bop jam sessions ever recorded... BECOME A MEMBER... today.

A Blowin' Session is one of the greatest hard bop jam sessions ever recorded; it is filled with infectious passion and camaraderie. It's also the only time tenor saxophonists Johnny Griffin and John Coltrane would play together on record. Initially Coltrane wasn't scheduled to be on this date, but Griffin saw him on his way to Rudy Van Gelder's studio and asked him to join the remaining musicians, third tenor Hank Mobley, trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey. These musicians were all associates within the same East Coast hard bop scene of the time; they came from the Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis' quintet, and many had played with Dizzy Gillespie's big band. Showcased on this April 8, 1957, session are two standards, "The Way You Look Tonight" and "All the Things You Are," along with two original Griffin compositions, "Ball Bearing" and "Smoke Stack." (An added bonus on the 1999 Rudy Van Gelder remastered edition is an alternate take of "Smoke Stack.") Of special note is "The Way You Look Tonight," featuring the three tenors trading off with complexity and speed that is still astonishing, especially in the case of Griffin (dubbed the world's fastest saxophonist) and Coltrane's ability to navigate complex chord changes over a fast tempo.

- AL CAMPBELL

HC FEBRUARY 5, 2011

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