Tag Archives: mel minter

René Marie: Sweetened by Risk (Reprise)

Note: This is a reposting of a piece I did when René Marie last passed through here in March 2014. She was touring in support of her latest album, I Wanna Be Evil, an homage to Eartha Kitt, which was later nominated for a GRAMMY. I don’t remember who won in the category, but they must have been damn good to beat out I Wanna Be Evil. I interviewed her for the article, and it was one of the most satisfying chats I have ever had with an artist. She was open, honest, and unguarded, and she spoke with great warmth and
humor. It was more like a conversation with an old friend whom I had not seen in years than it was an interview with someone I had never met. Those of you who have seen her before likely already have your tickets in hand. For those of you who have never seen her, I strongly recommend you get tickets before they sell out. I can all but guarantee that you will leave the concert a somewhat better and much happier person than when you entered. (I’ve updated the concert information at the end of the post.)

Photo by JaniceYim.

Photo by Janice Yim.

I saw and heard René Marie for the first time at the Outpost last spring. Going in, I knew only that she was a jazz singer with two first names and an imaginative haircut. That night, I learned that onstage, she opens herself to the music, lights, and audience the way a morning glory opens itself to the sun—brilliantly exposed and vulnerable.

But in command, too—with a lovely instrument, an actress’s ability to assume character, a strong backbone, and a very clear idea of what she wants to do with a song.

This Thursday, vocalist, playwright, teacher, and activist Marie brings her group—with Kevin Bales (piano), Elias Bailey (bass), and Quentin Baxter (drums)—back to the Outpost, riding the wave generated by her latest album, I Wanna Be Evil (Motéma). It’s a delicious tribute to the late Eartha Kitt, featuring a number of songs associated with the strong-willed singer, actress, and dancer, as well as star turns from Charles Etienne on trumpet, the gloriously audacious Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, and Adrian Cunningham on flute, clarinet, and sax. The two ladies have a lot of characteristics in common—suavity, sensuality, grit, honesty, and straight talking—and it’s unlikely anyone else on this planet could honor Kitt as effectively as Marie does. Continue reading →

NM Jazz Fest Honors John Trentacosta

John Trentacosta. Photo by Paul Slaughter.

John Trentacosta. Photo by Paul Slaughter.

Several High-Profile Friends Join the Drummer in Concert This Week

Since moving from New York City to Santa Fe back in 1992, John Trentacosta has made it his business to invigorate the jazz community in northern New Mexico, and he plays numerous roles to accomplish that: drummer, band leader, producer, educator, and radio DJ. This
Thursday at the Outpost, the New Mexico Jazz Festival honors his contributions by presenting him in concert. He’ll be joined by several friends who are gathering from across the country and within New Mexico to celebrate Trentacosta’s commitment and to play with one of the
swingingest drummers on the scene. They include vocalist Giacomo Gates, flutist Ali Ryerson, trumpeter Michael Morreale, reedman Arlen Asher, pianist Bob Fox, and bassist Earl Sauls.

“It’s a tradition of the festival to honor some major figure in the New Mexico jazz scene,” says festival codirector Tom Guralnick. As bandleader of Straight Up—“one of the standout groups in New Mexico jazz,” says Guralnick—as producer of several series over the years in a variety of venues, from Bumble Bee’s Baja Grill to the Museum Café, as a key figure in the formation of the Santa Fe Music Collective, Trentacosta has had a major impact. Continue reading →

Vinicius Cantuária Celebrates Jobim and Opens the NM Jazz Fest

digipak 4pVinicius Cantuária, Vinicius canta Antonio Carlos Jobim (Sunnyside Records)
A Review

The New Mexico Jazz Festival gets up and
running this week with a “new trend”—or as it is more familiarly known, bossa nova—in the person of guitarist, composer, percussionist, and vocalist Vinicius Cantuária. Cantuária, who moved from his native Brazil to New York City in the ’90s, made a name for himself in the neo–Brazilian music world and in NYC’s Downtown scene, itself noted for new trends. On this recording, Cantuária hews close to the classic style, with subtle jazz shadings, and makes Jobim the star of the show. Continue reading →

Juneteenth Concert Spotlights Albuquerque’s African-American Talent

Building Community and Preserving History, One Celebration at a Time

Cathryn McGill
Chloe Nixon
Gabrielle Jackson

The African-American community in Albuquerque traces its history back to the founding of the villa in 1706, and people of African or mixed African descent have been present in New Mexico at least as far back as the Spanish explorations of the early 1500s, if not well before. The African roots are deep, and the African-American community in Albuquerque today brims with musical talent.

For vocalist/songwriter/producer Cathryn McGill, Juneteenth, the oldest celebration in the
United States commemorating the end of slavery, presents an excellent opportunity to focus the city’s attention on the contributions of African-Americans to the musical heritage of both the country and the state. As curator of the New Mexico Jazz Workshop’s Juneteenth Freedom Concert: Whole Lot of Rhythm Goin’ Down, A Musical History from Justice to Jazz and Freedom to Funk, she’s conceived an evening that will bring the African-American musical community
together, entertain the community at large, and remind us all of our shared history. Continue reading →

The Inclusive Composer/Arranger

jpegJohn Hollenbeck, Songs We Like a Lot
(Sunnyside Records)
A Review

Percussionist/composer/arranger John
Hollenbeck has a well-earned reputation as a musician who embraces many traditions,
mixing genres the way a chef mixes disparate ingredients. You can taste traces of the
individual ingredients in the final dish, but the overall result has a character all its own.

With Songs We Like a Lot (Sunnyside Records; available June 23), Hollenbeck applies himself to an equally disparate selection of tunes, from pop to ecclesiastical to techno, and texts, from Rumi to Kenneth Patchen. He cooks up
sumptuous arrangements and compositions that are stunningly performed by the Frankfurt
Radio Bigband, along with vocalists Theo Bleckmann and Kate McGarry and keyboardists Uri Caine and Gary Versace. Continue reading →