Author Archives: Mel Minter

Patti Does Carmen

Patti Littlefield

Vocalist Patti Littlefield has crisscrossed the country following her muse—touring in theatrical productions, performing as a singer/songwriter in San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square, working in a puppet theater in Chicago, singing with Luther Vandross in LA, hanging with Joni Mitchell, and making demos in New York City for legendary songwriter Doc Pomus. Fate deposited her in Albuquerque, where she has made a name for herself as a vocalist comfortable in an array of genres, from blues to new music. This coming Tuesday at Kosmos, as part of the New Mexico Jazz Workshop’s Jazz Stories 3.0 series, she’ll be paying homage to Carmen McRae, a vocalist close to her heart, with help from Sid Fendley (piano) and Rob “Milo” Jaramillo (bass). Rumor has it that a well-loved reed man by the name of Arlen Asher could also make an appearance.

Patti and I recently had a chat about her connection to McRae, and the upcoming concert.

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Literary Beginnings for Ben Goldberg and Ryan Keberle

  • Dean Young, Nels Cline, Ben Goldberg, Ron Miles
  • Ryan Keberle

Clarinetist Ben Goldberg and trombonist Ryan Keberle have launched their latest projects from the impressive pads of poets Dean Young and Langston Hughes, respectively. Goldberg’s Good Day for Cloud Fishing is as quirky as Young’s disarming poetry, and the poet gets to comment on the music. Hughes’ wish for America finds a receptive ear in Keberle, whose The Hope I Hold offers a musical vehicle for the poetry.

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Sound Poet Janet Feder Comes to Corrales and Santa Fe (updated)

Janet Feder

Update: Guitarist/songwriter/composer/vocalist Janet Feder was scheduled to perform at Live at Thrive in Corrales on August 4, but pesky circumstances beyond everyone’s control prevented that from happening. This weekend, she is making good on her pledge to return and will be appearing both at Live at Thrive in Corrales and at Littleglobe in Santa Fe. Check the updated concert information at the end of this post for details. The Corrales concert is a benefit for Littleglobe 501(C)(3) in Santa Fe. Littleglobe is committed to interdisciplinary, collaborative art projects that foster life-affirming connections across the boundaries that divide us.

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A Jazz Smorgasbord: New Releases from Trovesi and Coscia, Séguin, and McDermott

  • Gianni Coscia and Gianluigi Trovesi. Photo © by Roberto Cifarelli.
  • Jacques Kuba Séguin
  • Tom McDermott. Photo by Jan Luley.

Jazz comes in many flavors and nationalities, as these three new releases perfectly demonstrate. On La Misteriosa musica della Regina Loana, the duo of Italians Gianluigi Trovesi and Gianni Coscia pay homage to author Umberto Eco with a delightful out-of-the-box offering. Canadian Jacques Kuba Séguin serves up sophisticated compositions with his sextet on Migrations. Tom McDermott, an adopted son of New Orleans, shares his love of Scott Joplin on his mostly solo and, as usual, idiosyncratic release Tom McDermott Meets Scott Joplin.

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Trentacosta and Lawrence Team Up on a New Old-School Release: ‘Desert Bop’

Clockwise from top left: Doug Lawrence, Dan Trudell, John Webber, John Trentacosta

Desert Bop offers yet more evidence that the Santa Fe–Albuquerque corridor houses some of the finest musicians anywhere. Drummer John Trentacosta (Santa Fe), whose roots go back to New York City, and saxophonist Doug Lawrence (Albuquerque), longtime lead tenor in the Count Basie Orchestra, serve up some tasty bop in classic style on this new release. (See below for details on the CD release party.)

Lagniappe: Lawrence will also be appearing on July 11 at the Outpost with his new organ quartet as the opening act of the 2019 New Mexico Jazz Festival. He’ll have the inimitable Dan Trudell on organ, John Webber on guitar, and Yuriana Sobrino Garcia on drums. Go here for more info.

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