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Today is another addition in our series, Jazz On Screen!, where we highlight the best jazz soundtracks in film. Follow along weekly from now until Oscars night!
This week’s entry: “West Side Story”. With a score composed by Leonard Bernstein, the 2021 adaptation is up for Best Picture, among other categories, at this year’s Oscars. It’s no secret that Bernstein’s music was influenced by jazz, with him calling the genre “the ultimate common denominator of the American music style”. Some of Bernstein’s lesser-known symphonic works, spiritual music, operas and even his movie score from On The Waterfront come together in a dazzling album by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra called “Bernstein Reimagined”. Find the album on our website at mcgjazz.org.
Here's my tribute to Duke Ellington's classic "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" from The Wall Street Journal. Check out the hyperlinked video clips.
Happy birthday today to Ira Gershwin, prince of American lyricists. Here's my appreciation from today's Wall Street Journal:
Check out the linked videos: Ella (twice), Sinatra, Warsaw Opera, etc.
This week on the MCG Jazz Spotlight Show we pay tribute to Jazz Master Slide Hampton. Host Marty Ashby is joined by Slide’s fellow trombonists and friends to tell stories, play music, and remember the life of this legend and innovator.
The MCG Jazz Spotlight show airs on Friday and Sunday at 6:00pm and Saturday at 1:00pm on The Pittsburgh Jazz Channel & WZUM.
With Jeff Bush, Etta Cox & Al Dowe Band, Nelson E. Harrison, Ken Kimery, Smithsonian Jazz, Jay Ashby
My latest Wall Street Journal article celebrates Mahalia Jackson and Ethel Waters, surpassing singers of American song--whether gospel, jazz, blues, or Broadway. Check out the hyperlinks to 8 compelling video clips.
New music from MCG Jazz!
With Anton DeFade , Raymond A. DeFade , Eric DeFade , Jared Sims , Smithsonian Jazz , We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told , Deanna Witkowski , Marty Ashby , Gloria Reuben
The legendary David Baker, intrinsically tied to the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, is spotlighted on the award-winning podcast Melanated Moments In Classical Music. This week's episode is titled Creating Classical Conversations in Jazz.
International opera soprano, Ms. Angela Brown, and music sociologist, Joshua Allen, survey Baker's multifaceted life. An iconic composer, educator, performer, and native of Indianapolis, Baker is revered globally for his unique ability to traverse the worlds of jazz and classical music deftly and equally. His works Calypso, A Good Assassination Should be Quiet, and Bolling Suite for cello and jazz piano are featured to demonstrate his signature style that continues to be held as a model for classical and jazz composers. The discussion includes his longtime association with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
Check it out:
For the safety of our guests, staff and the traveling musicians, we have decided to postpone this year's performances by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. This was a mutual decision between MOAS and the taking into account the current rise in infections in Florida and the recently revised Covid protocols announced by the Smithsonian Institution, and while we are all disappointed that we cannot hold our annual September concerts, both the museum and the SJMO remain committed to returning to perform in Daytona Beach once it is practical to do so.
Ken Kimery, Executive Producer of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra in Washington D.C., joins the program alongside Marty Ashby for this weekend's MCG Jazz Spotlight Show. Tune into 101.1 FM () to hear Ken’s selections including Al Jarreau, Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Keith Jarrett, Duke Ellington and even some Weather Report. Jazz is everywhere in Pittsburgh!
Guess who's back for their 10th show! We are honored to have the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra back in Daytona Beach for their 10th concert performance. Stay tuned for more details!
My new Wall Street Journal article on James P. Johnson's 1921 masterpiece "Carolina Shout," which Duke Ellington and Fats Waller learned the hard way--by slowing the player-piano roll way down. Please note the last 2 sentences.
MINOR DISTANCE, MAJOR TALENT! | In January, we put out a call to our fellow musicians to submit videos of themselves playing along to a video recorded by our rhythm section. Master Sgt. Luke Brandon created the arrangement and dubbed it “Minor Distance,” a nod to the circumstances in which we’ve found ourselves during this unique and challenging time in our history. A small handful of the numerous videos we received were merged with ours and we’d like to share the finished product!
While you enjoy Minor Distance, we hope you will also remember those military members who continue to go the major distance, both actually and figuratively, in their efforts to safeguard this amazing nation and the freedoms we hold so dear. The fight against the coronavirus has been faced with no small measure of strength, fortitude, and resilience by those who wear the uniform. Rest assured that, in exactly the same way they stand up to any other challenge, the U.S. Air Force and the entire U.S. military have continued to stand strong and do their parts to bring aid and healing around the globe.
We invite you to share this fun project, tag your friends, and to continue posting recordings of yourself playing along on your own page. Don’t forget to tag us! We’d love to see your interpretation!
National Association for Music Education Jazz Education Network Smithsonian Jazz Smithsonian
Musicians:
Patrick Westin, alto sax - Öbrebro, Sweden
Jonny Faull, alto sax - London, United Kingdom
Sarah Hughes, soprano sax - Pasadena, Maryland
Adam Loudin, trumpet - Buckhannon, West Virginia
Leo Maxey, trumpet - Baltimore, Maryland
Brandon Martell, vocals - St Petersburg, Florida
Cristian Perez, guitar - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sam Barbaro, trombone - Reston, Virginia
Airmen of Note
Technical Sgt. Christopher Ziemba - piano
Technical Sgt. Benjamin Thomas - bass
Master Sgt. David McDonald - drums
CREDITS
Colonel Don Schofield - Executive Producer
Master Sgt. David McDonald - Producer
Chief Master Sgt. Dennis Hoffmann - Videographer
Technical Sgt. Tim Hilgert - Editor
Technical Sgt. Jim Woolf - Audio Engineer