February 1-2 Sale to Benefit Madison Jazz Society School Grants Program

Madison Jazz Society (MJS) will hold a SUPER JAZZ BOOK & MORE SALE  on Friday, February 1 (2:00-6:00 PM) and Saturday, February 2 (10:00 AM-2:00 PM) as a fundraiser for the Society’s School Grants Fund.  The Fund annually awards grants to schools throughout the Greater Madison area and across Wisconsin to enhance their jazz education programs.  Among the $9,000 in grants awarded this past November were ones to support last month’s Madison All-City High School Jazz Festival and next month’s Sun Prairie High School Jazz Festival.  The Fund also supports things like purchase of jazz charts and instruments, clinician fees, artist-in-residence programs, and the like.

This sale will feature more than 500 jazz books that were recently donated to MJS, as well as a variety of CDs and records.  The books are in pristine condition and MJS assures shoppers that they will find something good to add to your library.

The sale will be held at the Drums ‘N Moore store, 6033 Monona Drive, second floor, in Monona.  Look for signs in front of the building that will direct you to the sale.  The building is next to Studio Z hair design.

UW Madison Jazz Orchestra Video

Here’s a video from a recent performance of  My One and Only Love by the UW Madison Jazz Orchestra conducted by Jim Doherty.

 

Vote for MAMA jazz awards

A while back I wrote there were no jazz categories in the MAMAs this year because Tim Whalen was the only entry. Late entries must have been allowed because the MAMA nominees have been named, and now there are two jazz categories: Jazz Album of the Year, and Jazz Song of the year. The nominees are listed below.

Jazz Album of the Year

James Eisele	Coming Into A New Age
Tim Whalen Nonet	Magnus
Harmonious Wail	Resist Temptation

Jazz Song of the Year

Harmonious Wail	I like to Feel My Bones
James Eisele	Take a Chance on Love
Laura Day	Rio De Janeiro Blue

 

In previous years  a third category was Jazz Performer of the Year. At least two categories is better than none.

Among the Instrumentalist nominees I also noticed jazz pianist Dave Stoler, and jazz (and other genres) guitarist Louka Patenaude. The final round of voting lasts until April 28th. To learn more about the voting process see this previous post.

Your weekly jazz: Dave Cooper

You may have noticed that the weekly jazz hasn’t been very weekly lately. There’s a shortage of tunes being sent in for me to stream. If you’d like to have your music featured in this space check out the instructions here.

Dave Cooper’s music has already been featured on Madison Jazz but we seem to have made our way through the pack and are coming around again. Besides, all the music on his CD, “Petite Monde,” is very high quality. This is another original called Giuoco.  

 

Musicians on the CD are:

David Cooper – trumpet
Woody Mankowski – sax
Vincent Fuh/Paul Hastil – piano
Jeff Eckels/ Tim Gilson – bass
Dane Richeson – drums

To read more about it see the previous Dave Cooper Weekly Jazz.

Your weekly jazz: El Clan Destino

Several weeks ago in my review of El Clan Destino’s concert at Capitol Lakes, I mentioned that Nick had given me a copy of their 2004 release, “Ruckus.” I said it then and I’ll say it now, this is a great CD: a variety of interesting songs, superb musicianship, and terrific sound quality. This week Madison Jazz features El Ruckus from that CD.

El Ruckus was written by Frank Martinez, the group’s drummer, and presents the rawer, rhythmic side of El Clan Destino. It was difficult to choose just one song since each is good but presents a different side of the band. There also is From Within, a latin jazz tune by pianist, Michel Camilo; a fresh interpretation of Led Boots from the “Wired” CD by rock guitarist, Jeff Beck; and six originals by Vince Fuh. If you want to hear a sweeter, more melodic side of El Clan Destino check out Undine by Vince Fuh. This song plays in the background of their website and is their most popular song according to Nick.

The CD is available through CD Baby or at B-Side Records (on State Street) and Strictly Discs (on Monroe Street). The musicians as pictured from left to right above (with their old hair styles – Jamie is the latest to trim his locks much shorter):

Vincent Fuh – piano
Nick Moran – electric and string bass
Francisco Martinez – drums and percussion
Jamie Ryan – congas and percussion

Your Weekly Jazz: Tim Whalen Nonet

Since Tim Whalen moved to Ohio, performances by the Tim Whalen Nonet in Madison have become rare events not to be missed. This Saturday at 9:30 the Nonet brings its powerful horn driven harmonies back to the Magnus and you will want to be there. I don’t care what the polls say, the Nonet is the most popular jazz group in  Madison. Nobody brings out a larger, livelier crowd. Get there early to get a good seat!

To get you primed, Madison Jazz is featuring “Old School” from the Magnus CD released last year. This is a live CD recorded over a weekend in December 2006 and one night in November 2007. I was at 2 of the 4 nights of recording and the band was on fire as usual. 

Saturday night the Nonet will be highlighting songs from the Magnus CD. The group got its start by covering Art Blakey and the Messengers tunes but now mix in many originals and other jazz songs. The tunes on the CD traverse a  wide range of jazz styles but seven of the eight have one thing in common; they are original compositions by the leader, Tim Whalen.  You can listen to the songs and read more about the CD at CD Baby.

The soloists on “Old School” are Joel Adams and Al Falaschi. Here’s the full list of musicians:

Tim Whalen – piano/music director
Jon Schipper – trumpet
David Cooper – trumpet
Joel Adams – trombone
Al Falaschi – alto saxophone
Paul Daugherty – tenor saxophone
Anders Svanoe – baritone saxophone
Nick Moran – bass
Jamie Ryan – drums