Your Northeast Florida destination for Jazz! Home of the Palm Coast Jazz Podcast; along with news, events, photos, video and audio of jazz happenings in Palm Coast and the surrounding cities - from St. Augustine to New Smyrna Beach.
The closing concert for NEFJA's 2012 season did not disappoint! Doug Carn, Calvin Newborn & Michael Carvin came out of the gates charging - supplying an afternoon of soulful summer jazz in what turned out to be an intimate and refreshing performance. Below is a clip of Calvin starting to tear it up during the first number.
right to left - Doug Carn, Calvin Newborn, Michael Carvin
Carn & Carvin played with a fire and empathy immediately calling to mind their days together in the '70s; breathing vigor into standards like I'll Remember April & Body and Soul. Doug's effortless authority over the hammond and equally adept bandleading skills set the standard, while Carvin's ingenuity and backdrop were nothing short of an education.
Calvin Newborn - a late fill-in for Calvin Keys (recovering from heart surgery) also commanded a stage presence worthy of his legacy. Although at times he struggled to keep up with the faster tempos, he was never short on high quality melodic ideas and nuances, flowing to the point where Doug & Michael broke out in uncontrollable smiles and chuckles of glee.
Doug & Michael burst into smiles over Calvin's triumphs!
Set two saw the addition of Ray Callender on trumpet and Doc Handy on
the congas, both playing skillfully and artfully on two Lee Morgan
numbers as well as Pensativa by Clare Fischer. The afternoon was capped
off by a compellling drum solo on a tune Carvin hadn't played before; a solo that had the audience rapt and on the edge of their seats in
delight.
L-R - Doc Handy, Doug Carn, Ray Callender, Calvin Newborn, Michael Carvin
Although church prevented an early arrival to catch it - a special treat was added to the beginning of the show with a performance by Lee & Sally Quick with Jay Messick. Thanks to NEFJA for a stellar season of jazz in NE Florida! - PCJ
Press play on the audio player above to enjoy classic organ jazz by Doug Carn while you read!
Three artists all famous for their association with the 1970's Black Jazz record label - Doug Carn, Michael Carvin & Calvin Keys, will be reuniting for a sizzling summer concert of blissful organ trio jazz, Sunday June 3rdat the Daytona Museum of Arts & Sciences in a concert presented by NEFJA.
A familiar name here in Northeast Florida; the exceptional talents of Doug Carn are known all over the world - not just for playing with artists like Lou Donaldson, Stanley Turrentine, Shirley Horn, Earth, Wind & Fire, Nat Adderley and more recently featured on albums by Cindy Blackman and Wallace Roney; but also for his own releases. Several of these are part of an important jazz movement in the early 70's presented on the Black Jazz record label.
Doug Carn's 1971 release "Infant Eyes" on Black Jazz label.
Not only have these recordings reached cult status among jazz aficionados and collectors alike, but are also acknowledged as an important watershed in jazz music, "combining a looser feel with a political mood that emphasized peace, love and independence...alive—and free of restraint and compromise." (jazzwax.com). The Black Jazz catalog forms a stunning chronicling of the African-American urban experience and outlook of the era. This purity and emotion was in stark contrast to the note-y, noodle-y fusion music then dominating the market.
Doug's 1973 release featuring Jean Carn - "Revelation"
As a surge of appreciation for these albums now dominates the internet on jazz & soul-jazz blogs & forums, and as the Black Jazz catalog has recently been purchased and the label re-booted, Doug Carn has been making appearances all over the world with several of his label mates from back in the day. This is essentially the jazz equivalent of a rock band
like Cream's recent reunion & tour, and not to be missed if you take
your jazz seriously.
L-R: Michael Carvin, Calvin Keys, Doug Carn
Shows have already hit Yoshi's in Oakland and Dizzy's Coca Cola Club in NYC, and upcoming gigs include a weekend at world-renowned Ronnie Scott's club in London with Jean Carn. Floridians will have their chance on Sunday June 3rd 2012 at 2:30 pm to experience these three legends bringing their message of strength and love on into the new millennium and beyond. Get your tickets over at the NEFJA website (phone and mailed check options available). - PCJ
A host of a popular radio show on Miami's WDNA, Sammy is also known for his sense of humor and friendly personality. He kindly took time out of his incredible schedule to send us a list of his top 10 favorite jazz albums, as part of our recent poll among Florida musicians - The Top 50 Jazz Albums of All Time. His list also reveals a man of varied and exquisite taste!
Photo by "Mr. B" - http://mrbsdomain.com
Miles Davis - Four and More (Live At The
Fillmore) "I love this because of Tony Williams. He was 17 years
old and the most creative drummer in history. Tony drove that band into
the future."
Freddy Hubbard - Red Clay
Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles
Cannonball Adderly - Mercy Mercy Mercy
Cal Tjader - Son a Libre "Cal Tjader brought a new style and a
totally fresh new sound to latin jazz."
Clare Fischer - Thesaurus
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartmann
Wes Montgomery - Live at Tzubo's
Mel Torme - Swings At Schubert Alley
Stan Getz - Sweet Rain "This was a magical quartet of gifted
players -- every solo of every musician was great."
photo by Jaime Rivera
Boy, if you wanted to start a well-rounded jazz library from scratch - this might be the perfect place to start! Thanks to Mr. Figueroa for the thrilling list and also the insights.
Check out Sammy Figueroa's website here, where you can listen to and order his latest album "Urban Nature" - which sports this intense, latin jazz line-up: Sammy Figueroa – percussion, Silvano Monasterios – piano, Gabriel Vivas –
bass, John Michalak – saxophones, Alexander Pope Norris – trumpet,
and Nomar Negroni – drums. That's a fever you want to catch! - PCJ
