CONGRATULATIONS to JWMA
Clients for their 2019 Grammy Wins! |
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Steve Gadd Band Best Contemporary Instrumental Album |
John Daversa Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
John Daversa Best
Improvised Jazz Solo
Don't Fence Me In - John Daversa
John Daversa Best Arrangement,
Instrumental of A Cappella
Stars and Stripes Forever
Arranger
John Daversa |
LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE JWMA
ROSTER
DAVE WECKL TOM KENNEDY
PROJECT
Legendary drummer and longtime JWMA client Dave
Weckl has formed a new band with his longtime
collaborator, bassist Tom Kennedy.
Touring in support of Kennedy's yet-to-be named CD
(early 2020 release), the band will also feature
verteran sax player Bob Franceschini (Victor Wooten/Mike
Stern) and keyboardist Stu Mindeman (Kurt Elling/Solo).
For more than 40 years, Dave Weckl has developed and
maintained a reputation among fans, peers, and the
international music community, as one of the great
living drummers. His contributions to iconic music,
music education, and the gear that drummers use, are
many. Modern Drummer magazine
has inducted Weckl into their Hall of Fame (2000) and
named him "one of the 25 best drummers of all time."
Weckl is best known for his work with Chick Corea,
Mike Stern, The Brecker Brothers, Michel Camilo, Lee
Ritenour, Oz Noy, and his many solo projects.
Tom Kennedy is an accomplished touring
and studio musician who ranks as one of the top acoustic
and electric bass players in the world. His credits
include performances and recordings with both mainstream
legends and leading contemporary players.
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CHRIS MINH DOKY New Nordic Jazz
Chris Minh
Doky heads New Nordic Jazz as they explore the enigma of
Nordic storytelling through the sounds of acoustic jazz.
Together with Nordic jazz stars Jonas Johansen on drums
and Peter Rosendal on piano, Chris Minh Doky’s
world-acclaimed unique style of bass playing is the
voice you’ll hear as the tales unfold in lush melodies
and solos.
Chris Minh Doky's rare ability to
perform with ample portions of creativity and
dynamism--either as a solo artist or
sideman--consistently place him in the top-5 lists of
reader polls around the world. Carrying on the Danish
tradition of spotlighting the bass as the lead
instrument, his distinctive styling of each note
reflects his roots in American East Coast grooves
seasoned with the lyrical traditions of Scandinavia.
He earned the respect of the American jazz elite as
member of Michael Brecker Quartet, David Sanborn, Mike
Stern Band, Michele Camilo Trio, Ryuichi Sakamoto and
many more. As a result, he is today the internationally
most widely acclaimed jazz musician of his native
Denmark. As a leader and recording artist, Chris Minh
Doky has multiple gold and platinum awards, Grammy®
nominations - and has been knighted by HM Queen
Margrethe II for his contributions to the arts. In the
world beyond jazz, Chris Minh Doky is also receiving
wide acclaim, most recently in collaboration with famed
choreographer Twyla Tharp in her hit production of Come
Fly Away where Chris Minh Doky leads and conducts his
orchestra for the Royal Danish Ballet.
He continues
the Danish bass heritage founded by Niels Henning Ørsted
Pedersen while exploring new musical paths to new
levels. Whether caressing the strings in a seductive
lull or taking his instrument to the edge, Chris Minh
Doky is the bottom line.
DownBeat magazine: " ...
there is a softness and crisp clarity that is very
different from the sound others derive from the acoustic
instrument."
The New York Times: "...a
commanding presence…"
READ MORE...
GEORGE BROOKS
ASPADA Music is power - power to inspire - power to
transform. George Brooks – saxophone, Kai Eckhardt –
bass, Osam Ezzeldin – keyboards, Selvaganesh Vinayakram
- percussion
Drawing on the musical traditions of
their homelands in Asia, Africa, Europe and America,
four world renowned musicians weave a global tapestry
for the new millennium.
Saxophonist and composer
George Brooks is acclaimed for successfully bridging the
worlds of jazz and Indian classical music.
He founded
the seminal Indian fusion groups Summit with Zakir
Hussain, Bombay Jazz with Ronu Majumdar and Larry
Coryell, the Raga Bop Trio with Steve Smith and Prasanna
and Elements with Gwyneth Wentink and Kala Ramnath.
Brooks has collaborated extensively with American
composer Terry Riley and has performed and recorded with
genre defining artists Etta James, Anthony Braxton, Jaki
Byard, Talvin Singh, poet Michael McClure, and Ray
Manzarek (of the Doors). He has performed throughout the
US, Canada, Europe, Asia and the UK and was a featured
soloist on John McLaughlin’s Grammy nominated “Floating
Point” CD
Brooks studied with Count Basie
saxophonist, Frank Foster and at the New England
Conservatory of Music with George Russell, Joe Allard
and Jaki Byard. He traveled to India for a year of study
with classical Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath. In 1996
he recorded “Lasting Impression” and “Night Spinner,”
for Zakir Hussain’s Moment Records. The success of these
CDs led to performances and recordings with India’s
leading artists; Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sultan Khan, VM
Bhatt, U Srinivas, Vikku Vinayakram, Trilok Gurtu,
Shujaat Khan, Shankar Mahadevan and many others.
Brooks is a recipient of the American Composer’s
Forum “Global Harmony" Prize and has received grants and
commissions from SFMOMA, New Music USA, USArtists
International, MetLife Creative Connections and San
Francisco Friends of Chamber Music. His compositions
have appeared in films by Merchant/Ivory and have been
performed by Yo Yo Ma and members of the Liverpool
Philharmonic. His solo harp composition ‘The Alchemy of
Happiness” premiered at the 2012 Gaudeamus Muziekweek.
READ MORE...
Steve Smith's Groove Blue Organ Trio
We owe the existence
of this modern Organ-Trio to a chance encounter in
Indonesia's capital Jakarta in March, 2011. Drummer
Steve Smith and guitarist Vinny Valentino decided to
go for a nightcap after playing the Java Jazz
Festival with their band Vital Information.
As they approached the lounge bar, they heard the
sound of a wild swinging electric organ. Wondering
“who the hell was swinging that hard on the B3,”
they walked in and saw Tony Monaco, an unsung-hero
of the instrument. Few people knew Monaco at that
time, though he had been promoted by organ legend
Jimmy Smith and had spent two years touring with
jazz guitarist Pat Martino. Smith and Valentino made
their way through the crowd and asked if they could
join in. They proceeded to spend the rest of the
night jamming together, later joined by festival
greats George Benson and Roy Hargrove.
Five
months later, fate once again intervened. Smith and
Valentino had been booked for Drum Fantasy Camp, an
annual drum camp which was being held in Cleveland
Ohio. Tony Monaco lived close by in Columbus, a
modest 230 km drive away. A spontaneous phone call
resulted in a car journey and the three of them
playing in Monaco’s home studio.
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Elements
Elements combines the unique talents of
three extraordinary musicians, American saxophonist and
composer, George Brooks; North Indian
violinist and vocalist, Kala Ramnath; and Dutch harp
virtuoso, Gwyneth Wentink.
Their dynamic and
adventurous music bridges cultures and genres, drawing
inspiration from a wide spectrum of rich musical
heritages. Innovative compositions inspired by Indian
ragas, western minimal music and contemporary
improvisation unify the aesthetics of Europe, India and
the Americas to form an engaging and distinctive global
chamber music.
Since the release of their
eponymous first CD, Elements has performed in
Netherlands, Dubai, Chicago, Los Angeles and San
Francisco and at the Sri Moonshine Music Series curated
by composer, Terry Riley in Camptonville, California.
They are celebrating the release of their second
CD “Elements - The Alchemy” on the Earth Brother Music
label.
Kala Ramnath, born and
raised in the southern Indian city of Chennai,
represents the seventh generation of her family to play
violin. While Chennai is the heart of the Carnatic
classical world, Ramnath was drawn to the North Indian
Hindustani tradition, spending more than a decade
studying intensively with revered Mewati vocalist Pandit
Jasraj.
Her extraordinary technique and lush,
singing tone have attracted fans from across the music
world. American classical violinist Hilary Hahn
commissioned Ramnath to contribute a piece to the Grammy
Award-winning 2013 album “In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn
Encores.” As a classical soloist she has performed at
Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, Theatre d’ Ville
and most major concert halls. She has collaborated with
the London Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, Aarhus Jazz
Orchestra, Randers Chamber Orchestra, Alonzo King
“Lines” Ballet, Zakir Hussain, Giovanni Hidalgo, Edgar
Meyer, and banjo star Bela Fleck, as well as film
composers James Newton Howard and George Acogny.
In 2017 Ramnath received the Sangeet Natak Academy
Award, the highest honor a musician can attain in India.
To quote composer Terry Riley, Kala Ramnath “ is like an
angel in human form. Just to watch her play is an
extraordinary thing…she’s one of the greatest musicians
on the planet”.
READ MORE...