CD Review: Jason Moran’s All Rise

“Who’s that walkin’ ’round here?” remarks Fats Waller. “Sounds like baby patter…baby elephant patter, that’s what I call it.” Taken from the opening measures of “Your Feet’s Too Big,” I, like many, I’m sure, assumed that this was another colorful entry in the Fats Waller songbook. In reality, the song …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Pianist Robert Glasper

Breakthrough success can often be a tough act to follow. But with a little help from some notable friends, Robert Glasper Experiment is set to up the ante with the follow-up to his successful GRAMMY-winning album Black Radio. Flaunting a diverse array of featured guests including Common,Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Brandy, Jill Scott, Dwele, Marsha Ambrosius, Anthony Hamilton,Faith …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Bassist / Vocalist Nik West

“Holy Funkadelic, I felt this girl’s energy the first time I was in her presence, I knew there was something special about her and that hair” –Steven Tyler “Great stage presence”-Prince With credits that include work for artists such as, Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame, Prince, John Mayer, and most …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Singer Avery*Sunshine

Have you been to the church of Avery*Sunshine? With her thunderous, gospel-bred pipes and heart-to-heart content, the singer-songwriter can’t help spilling the truth in her music. She knows the best route sometimes is the direct one. No detours. So listeners won’t have to “get on her level.” She’s already on …

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Somi: I Represent New African Jazz

The daughter of African immigrants, jazz artist Somi is captivating audiences with her New African sound. A recipient of the TEDGlobal Scholarship, she began playing cello at a young age and allowed that instrument to shape her vocal skills. The soon to be legendary songstress Somi is releasing a brand …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Musican Casey Benjamin

Casey Benjamin is a Grammy Award winning multi-instrumentalist. He is prolific as both a sideman and bandleader. In addition, he has recently worked with artists such as Kris Bowers, Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge, Lupe Fiasco, Mark Adams, Melvin Gibbs, and Stefon Harris.

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Music Composer Val Jeanty

Haitian electronic music composer/percussionist/turntablist, Val Jeanty aka Val-Inc evokes the musical esoteric realms of the creative subconscious and self defined as “Afro-Electronica®”. She incorporates her African Haitian Musical traditions into the present and beyond, combining acoustics with electronics and the archaic with the post-modern. She works with a diverse array …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Exit 0 Jazz Festival Producer Micheal Kline

Michael Kline Artists is an international management and booking agency representing musicians at the very height of their artistry, and artists who aspire to reach those heights. We provide personalized, individual attention to both the musicians we represent, and the presenters we service by focusing our attention on artists whom …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Bassist Ben Williams

Grammy Award-winning Jazz bassist Ben Williams is a forward-thinking musician who crosses easily between straight-ahead, funk, and gospel-influenced jazz. A native of Washington, D.C., Williams graduated from the Duke Ellington School of Music before studying with renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker while earning a B.A. in jazz studies at Michigan State …

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Gizmo: My Music Is An Honest Expression of My Life

Bass players have historically worn many hats. To be able to stop on a dime, keep it all together, and let it groove, is no easy undertaking.  Anyone who has ever listened to Motown understands this whether they know it or not. James Jamerson’s driving bass lines provided the solid …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Saxophonist J.D. Allen

Hailed by the New York Times as “a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style,” JD Allen is a bright rising light on today’s international jazz scene. His unique and compelling voice on the instrument – the result of a patient and painstaking confrontation with the fundamentals of …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Bassist Christian McBride

Bassist extraodinaire, composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator, Christian McBride, has been one of the most important and most omnipresent figures in the jazz world for 20 years. Sometimes hard to believe considering this man is not yet 40. Beginning in 1989, this Philadelphia-born bassist moved to New York City …

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