A collection of newsworthy jazz-related headlines.

“This Week in Jazz” brings you a collection of jazz-related headlines, focusing on news, video, and articles in the new generation of jazz / hip-hop / soul. See below for the headlines you don’t want to miss this week.

PODCAST: REMEMBERING ROY HARGROVE, WHO BROUGHT JAZZ HISTORY INTO TOMORROW

(New York Times: Popcast)

“The trumpeter Roy Hargrove died last week at 49. He was a highly regarded performer who managed to be perceived simultaneously as one of the musicians most responsible for keeping jazz history alive and relevant, and also one of the artists most comfortable putting jazz in dialogue with contemporary music.

He released moving versions of old standards, composed his own affecting additions to the contemporary-jazz songbook, and led fusion projects with R&B musicians and Afro-Cuban luminaries.

Outside of jazz, he was one of the animating forces on a trio of albums released in 2000 — D’Angelo’s “Voodoo,” Erykah Badu’s “Mama’s Gun” and Common’s “Like Water for Chocolate” — that were high water marks for the Soulquarian movement of earthy, historically minded hip-hop and soul.”

Listen to the podcast here.

REVIEW: ‘MINGUS: JAZZ IN DETROIT’ CATCHES A GIANT AT A MOMENT FULL OF POSSIBILITY

(NPR Music)

“Detroit. Feb. 13, 1973. A Tuesday night.

The Charles Mingus Quintet opened a six-night stand at the Strata Concert Gallery, a former photography studio at 46 Selden St., on a gritty street in the shadow of then-abandoned Orchestra Hall. The venue — an offshoot of the musician-run Strata Corporation — attracted aficionados and musicians. WDET-FM, the public radio station affiliated with nearby Wayne State University, broadcast the music live.

The Strata Concert Gallery, which showcased a jaw-dropping roster of acts, from Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi sextet to Ornette Coleman, was the epicenter of the scene for Detroit’s most progressive musicians and audience. Mingus had not appeared in the city since September 1969, when the volatile bassist, composer and bandleader substituted for an indisposed Thelonious Monk at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge. Mingus’ last club engagement in Detroit before that was in 1960. No wonder folks had been buzzing for weeks in anticipation.”

 

Read the full review here.

PLAYLIST: KANE BROWN CONFRONTS GUN VIOLENCE, AND 12 MORE NEW SONGS

(New York Times)

Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new songs and videos — and anything else that strikes them as intriguing.

In Common, ‘ACE’

“In Common” is the just-released debut album from a quintet featuring five standout young musicians on New York’s jazz scene: the tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, the guitarist Matthew Stevens, the vibraphonist Joel Ross, the bassist Harish Raghavan and the drummer Marcus Gilmore. All have fearsome chops, and the rapport between them here is gummy and warm. At times that serenity becomes self-defeating; some tracks will make you wonder if the recording studio’s water supply wasn’t dosed with CBD. But on “ACE,” the steady, cyclical harmonies deliver just the right level of understated grace. Stevens and Ross strike asymmetrical chords on every offbeat, setting Smith up for a coolly drifting solo.

Hello Yello, ‘Feel That Again’

A brief slice of lo-fi neo-soul from an Oakland band, “Feel That Again” explores how elusive a moment of bliss can be. Over a lumpy drumbeat and blurry guitar chords, the song recalls the instant when, “She says she can’t stay/But she hesitates, then turns my way,” and quickly crescendos into the chorus: “I want to feel that again!” In just two minutes, the song itself is over.

 

Listen to the rest of the playlist here.

NEWS: THE THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ IS NOW THE HERBIE HANCOCK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ

(NPR)

“For more than 30 years, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz has been a nonprofit working at the intersection of music education, jazz appreciation and public policy. Beginning in the new year, it will continue those efforts under a new name: the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz.

The change was announced by the organization’s Board of Trustees. A press statement noted that the decision had been unanimous, and was made “following a request by representatives of the Monk Estate regarding the continued use of Thelonious Monk’s name.”

Hancock, 78, has served as the organization’s board chairman for the last 15 years. A pianist, composer-bandleader and 14-time Grammy winner, he recused himself from voting on the matter.

‘Having the Institute named in my honor is tremendously humbling and represents a profound moment for my family and me,’ Hancock says in a statement. ‘I’m looking forward to continuing in my role as Institute Chairman and carrying on and expanding the organization’s important worldwide jazz education and humanitarian initiatives.’”

Read more at NPR.

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