Vocalist Patti Littlefield has been a popular mainstay on the Albuquerque–Santa Fe scene for many years, but she’s been out of sight for several years thanks to a variety of personal circumstances that sapped her energy. On November 2, at the Outpost, newly energized, she’ll be fronting a band of local all-stars for the first time in almost five years, and you will want to hear what she’s been cooking up.
Artrio—one, a new release from saxophonist Alex Murzyn, pianist John Funkhouser, and bassist Terry Burns—resident New Mexicans all—offers a master class in small ensemble jazz and a satisfying reminder of the high quality of the musicians here in New Mexico. They’ll celebrate their work with a CD release party at Q Bar, Friday, October 6. I was honored by their invitation to write the album’s liner notes, which, slightly adapted, also provide this review.
One of the leading jazz artists from Latin America and perhaps best known as a member of the SF Jazz Collective, award-winning Venezuelan composer and pianist Edward Simon makes good use of both his jazz chops and his Latin background on his latest release, Las Femeninas, Songs of Latin American Women, which features jewels from the Latin American songbook—all by female songwriters—in exquisite jazz settings. In addition to those songs, Simon’s Latino Soy suite graces the album with three original compositions. Simon’s trio, with Reuben Rogers on bass and Adam Cruz on drums, will bring that music to the Outpost this week, along with two guest artists, Grammy-nominated Mexican vocalist Magos Herrera and Venezuelan percussionist Luis Quintero.
The NuAeen Ensemble comprises four of the world’s most-renowned performers and composers of Persian classical music, all natives of Iran now living in the United States, including Albuquerque’s Sourena Sefati. On Saturday, June 3, to raise awareness of both the ongoing protests in Iran and Persian music, the ensemble will give Albuquerque a rare opportunity to hear that music in its For Freedom Concert at Keller Hall.
On Saturday morning, March 4, at the Cathedral of St. John, Friends of Cathedral Music, under the artistic direction of Canon Dr. Maxine Thévenot (organist), will present “Encountering the Spirit,” an ambitious program capped by the Albuquerque premiere of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize–winning Voiceless Mass, by composer Raven Chacon, a member of the Diné nation who has deep roots in the metro area.