Two splendid recordings, one from bass clarinetist Todd Marcus’s nonet and the other from cornetist Kirk Knuffke’s new trio, each bring to life the expressive intelligence of both the leaders and their colleagues.
Three Times Three, and Three
Author Archives: Mel Minter
Steven Bernstein Explores the Eccentricities of the Late Pianist Henry Butler
Bernstein’s back, and he’s taken the lid completely off the pot with Manifesto of Henryisms, the third of four installments in his Community Music project, available on Bandcamp. Dixieland, funk, R&B, contemporary jazz—they’re all here, and they all share a native ground: New Orleans.
Out of Africa and Beyond
Senegalese bassist/vocalist/composer Alune Wade erases genre boundaries on his new release, Sultan.
Raquel Z Rivera, Fidel González, and Arnaldo Acosta Coax Rain with Song
With New Mexico’s abundance of sun, heat, and wind, and its scarcity of water, agriculture here challenges even the most experienced farmers. They need all the help they can get. With her single “Tlalok San Ysidro” (available here), songwriter Raquel Z Rivera (vocals) offers a musical incantation for rain, with help from Fidel González (stringed concha, percussion, and vocals) and Arnaldo Acosta (percussion). This weekend, the song will be sung at the annual San Ysidro Day celebration, which blesses the acequias and invokes the help of San Ysidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, and his wife, Maria de la Cabeza, and the saint’s Mexica/Aztec counterpart, Tlalok, the spiritual energy that brings rain, and his wife, Chalchiuhtlicue.
Engine Performing in Albuquerque, Going Quieto, and Releasing ‘Fuego’ (updated 6/4 with new video links)
As Gil Scott Heron told us, the revolution will not be televised, but if the Franco-Argentinian trio Engine has its way, it will be danced. This coming Thursday, May 5, and Saturday, May 7, the trio—Alejandro Tomás Rodriguez (vocals, acoustic guitar), Robin Gentien (vocals, electric guitar, percussion), and Pierre Lauth-Karson (vocals, harmonica, keyboard, percussion)—will make their final U.S. performances at Fusion’s 708 performance space and Tumbleroot Brewery, respectively, before heading to Paris. There, they will kick off the summer season with a CD release concert for their forthcoming album, Fuego, which they will release under the band’s new name, Quieto.