Over the next 8 days, I will see 9 music performers. I am very excited. Tonight, I am seeing the Ronnie Laws Quartet at Yoshi’s San Francisco in celebration of his new release, Voices in the Water. Below is a complete list of concerts:

02/20 Performance and Lecture: Jazz in the Gallery @ MoAD (Museum of African Diaspora) with Drummer Jaz Sawyer and his group, 3RIO – Join Jaz Sawyer in tracing the musical influence of the international port of New Orleans, the melting pot for creative music innovation and cultural exchange that is the wellspring of the American art form, jazz. Explore the African American experience of cultural resilience through dance, singing and drumming traditions that fused elements from various cultures with gospel, blues and the Latin tinge.

02/21 Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quartet at Yoshi’s Oakland – CD Release Celebration for To Hear From There

02/22 Vocalist Gregory Porter @ Yoshi’s Oakland – Celebrating Grammy Nomination for his new album Water

02/23 Vocalist Paula West @ The Rrazz Room in the Hotel Nikko San Francisco – The last few weeks of her phenomenal 8 week engagement at The Rrazz Room. This will be my second time seeing her during this engagement. If you have not seen her yet, what are you waiting for?

02/23 Joe Warner Trio @ Kaleidoscope SF – From Joe: “I lead the session at Kaleidoscope every 2nd and 4th Wednesdays. I have a great group put together for this Wednesday featuring Lorca Hart on drums and Zach Ostroff on bass. Kaleidoscope is a cool arts venue in the Mission District and needs your support to stay alive. Come buy a couple drinks, listen to the music, and sit in on the second set. No cover!” Check them out!!!

02/24 Vocalist Rhonda Benin @ Freight and Salvage in Berkeley – In celebration of Black History Month (and her own birthday!) song stylist Rhonda Benin presents “Love Letters Make Me Misty Blue,” bringing to our stage music of the great unsung soul divas of the 1960s, like Martha Reeves, Ketty Lester, Gladys Knight, and Betty Everett.

02/25 Violinist Regina Carter with Oakland East Bay Symphony – Internationally renowned jazz violinist Regina Carter is soloist for a new violin concerto written for her by composer and jazz pianist Billy Childs. Carter, known for her passionate playing, brings audiences to their feet, whether on tour in Europe or in her hometown of Detroit, where this work received its world premiere in January. San Francisco Performances is proud to be a co-commissioner and to partner with the Oakland East Bay Symphony to bring this Concerto to our audiences.

02/26 Junius Courtney Big Band with Denise Perrier@ Freight and Salvage in Berkeley – With a brand new CD to release—Us—and a big dance floor to fill, there’s plenty to celebrate, and the Junius Courtney Big Band wants you in the house for a Saturday night party!

02/26 Terrence Brewer Trio @ 57th Street Art Gallery in Oakland – Terrence Brewer Trio concert celebrating Black History month with a concert at one of Oakland’s most amazing fine art/music galleries!

INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED VIOLINIST REGINA CARTER RELEASING REVERSE THREAD, A CELEBRATION OF AFRICAN FOLK MUSIC

EI Entertainment to Release REVERSE THREAD on May 18th

When preeminent violinist Regina Carter made the decision to record an album primarily of African folk tunes, she created a great challenge for herself: how do you take beautiful traditional music and infuse it with a contemporary feel while remaining true to its past – and then, not compromise its beauty? Her newest release, Reverse Thread, due out on E1 Entertainment on May 18th brilliantly responds to the challenge.

To achieve the uplifting and stirring result, Regina added an accordion and kora-the West African harp traditionally played by village storytellers-to her longstanding rhythm section. Kora virtuoso Yacouba Sissoko was brought on board to help recreate the spirit of passing stories from generation to generation. The result-unlike anything previously heard-is a haunting and beautiful compliment to Regina’s sumptuously seductive violin.

Without the support of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation, which “awards unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals,” Reverse Thread might never have been realized. As a MacArthur Fellow – a recipient of what is commonly known as the “genius grant” – Carter was armed with the funds and the freedom to follow her muse.

Regina turned to the World Music Institute in New York City, in which she found a diverse and inspirational resource for material, including ethnographic field recordings.

Regina looked not just to the music, but also the accompanying sounds and nuances of everyday life from anthropological and sociological perspectives which informed the spirit of the new arrangements.

“There is an immense amount of amazing music coming from all around the world, much of which is barely accessible,” emphasized Regina. “Reverse Thread gave me the opportunity to explore and celebrate a tiny portion of music that moved me.”

Both “Hiwumbe Awumba” and “Mwana Talitambula” are based on field recordings from the Ugandan Jews, a community in eastern Uganda who although are not genetically or historically Jewish, practice the Jewish religion. Setting the inspirational tone for the album, the first track “Hiwumbe Awumba” originates from a field recording of a group singing, “God creates and then He destroys.” Although the title is dark, the uplifting quality and spirit of the voice on the recording inspired Regina, and the final arrangement is a paean to the resiliency of the human spirit.

Using the field recording of a woman singing “Mwana Talitambula” as a departure point,

Regina’s bass player Chris Lightcap split the melody between the violin and bass with a hypnotically emotive result.

Reverse Thread also embraces music of the African Diaspora. As but one example, “Un Aguinaldo” skillfully layers the rhythmic aspects of African music with harmonies originating in India and Puerto Rico.

Through her albums, incessant touring and various guest appearances and collaborations, Regina has developed into a distinctly diverse musical personality. She has repeatedly toured throughout the world, was the first jazz artist and African American to play Niccolo Paganini’s famed Guarneri “Cannon” violin, has been featured with several symphony orchestras and performed with artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Billy Joel, Kenny Barron and Mary J. Blige.

With Reverse Thread, Regina takes a giant step forward by making a meaningful musical contribution on her own terms.

REVERSE THREAD:
Regina Carter / Violin
Yacouba Sissoko / Kora
Adam Rogers / Guitar
Will Holshouser & Gary Versace / Accordion
Chris Lightcap & Mamadou Ba / Bass
Alvester Garnett / Drums & percussion

www.reginacarter.com

For more information, to receive a copy of Reverse Thread or to set up an interview with Regina Carter, please contact:

Pamela Lipshitz | Lip Service Media | pam@lipservicemedia.com | 917-859-6852

A Tribute to Shirley Horn: “The Music Never Ends”

On December 11, 2004, some of today’s brightest jazz talents come out to pay homage to Grammy winner and Washington, D.C. native Shirley Horn whose trademark velvet vocals and smooth piano stylings have been enchanting international audiences for more than 40 years. For one performance only, vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Sheila Jordan, Kevin Mahogany, and Lizz Wright, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, pianist Kenny Barron, vibist Stefon Harris, the Clayton Brothers Quintet, violinist Regina Carter, and other musical guests join this legendary queen of jazz piano and song to celebrate her amazing career.

Photo by Larry Busacca

Make your own candy heart!! Thanks Gwen!!

New vocalist Lizz Wright has tour dates listed now on her Verve site. She will be playing the House of Blues in Chicago with Al Green on April 13 and the Cerritos Center in Cerritos, California on April 14. She is definitely a must see. You can hear a couple of her sample tracks on her Simblist Group webpage.

Jazz singer/pianist Shirley Horn is touring and will be coming to Yoshi’s June from 5- 8. She also has a new album coming out later this year. Stay tuned!!

Vocalist Carla Cook has an updated website with new information and tour dates.

Legendary singer Roberta Flack, who turns 64 tomorrow, is working on a new album. More details as they become available.

Check out soul music ambassabor David Nathan’s recent exclusive interview with Dionne Warwick and her website, www.dionnewarwick.com.

Vocalist René Marie has a new Maxjazz release “Live At Jazz Standard” coming out on April 22.

Vibraphonist Stefon Harris has a new Blue Note release “The Grand Unification Theory” coming out this week.

Vocalist Dianne Reeves is wrapping up work on her upcoming Blue Note release “A Little Moonlight” which is scheduled to be released on August 5. It will includes 11 tunes that range from standards like “Skylark,” “Darn that Dream” and “You Go to My Head” to more modern songs like Stevie Wonder’s “Make Sure You’re Sure.”

Legendary saxaphonist Wayne Shorter has a new Verve release “Alegria” coming out on March 25.

Verve Records will release “Paganini: After a Dream“, a landmark album from the acclaimed violinist Regina Carter on April 22. This album was insprired from a December 2001 concert in Genoa, Italy on the 200 year old Guarneri violin belonging to classical violinist Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840). Regina is the first jazz musician and African-American to lay hands on this classic instrument. She said in a recent San Francisco concert that she played the violin with a room full of armed guards.

Hey!! Singer Lalah Hathaway has a website!! Hopefully, we will hear some new music from her soon.