Ron Carter Quintet live in Salzburg 2009

Ron Carter – b
Stephen Scott – p
Guilherme Monteiro – g
Payton Crossley - dr
Rolando Morales Martos - perc

recorded live at Salzburger Jazzherbst 2009, July 22, 2009

Medley:
- 595 (Ron Carter)
- Mr. Bow Tie (Ron Carter)
- Seven Steps To Heaven (Victor Feldman/ Miles Davis)

The Blind Boys of Alabama live at Jazzherbst Salzburg 2009

1. Down By The Riverside (trade.)
2. God Said It (McFadden/ Whitehead)
3. People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield)
4. Spirit In The Sky (Norman Greenbaum)
5. Down In The Hole (Tom Waits)
6. Uncloudy Day (trad.)
7. There Will Be A Light (Ben Harper)

recorded live at Salzburger Jazzherbst, October 30, 2009

WDR Big Band featuring Cecile Verny: "Celebrating Billie Holiday"live at Jazzfestival Viersen 2009

Michael Abene - Conductor, Arrangements
Cecile Verny - Vocals
Heiner Wiberny, Matthias Erlewein, Olivier Peters, Paul Heller, Jens Neufang - Reeds
John Marshall, Wim Both, Andy Haderer, Rob Bruynen, Klaus Osterloh - Trumpets
Ludwig Nuss, Uli Plettendorff, Bernt Laukamp, Mattis Cederberg - Trombones
Paul Shigihara - Guitar; Frank Chastenier - Piano, Rhodes
John Goldsby - Bass; Hans Dekker - Drums

1. Lover Man
2. Them There Eyes
3. You Don´t Know What Love Is
4. What a Little Moonlight Can Do
5. You´ve Changed
6. Please Don´t Talk About Me
7. Fine And Mellow
8. I Cried For You

recorded live at Festhalle Viersen, September 18, 2009

Dominic Miller Project live at Jazz Baltica 2005

Dominic Miller - Guitar
Trilok Gurtu - Drums, Percussion
Mike Lindup - Piano, Voice
Nicolas Fiszman - Bass, Guitar
Till Brönner - Trumpet (Guest on 10)

recorded live at Große Konzertscheune, Salzau, July 3, 2005

1. Do You Want Me?
2. Baden
3. Eclipse
4. Rush Hour
5. Always
6. Air On A G-String
7. La Belle Sans Regrets
8. Ten Years
9. The Winner Takes It All
10. La Boca
11. Truco

This Buenos Aires-born guitarist, foremost known as a guitarist for Sting, needs no introduction. He is well known as a very virtuosic sideman and session musician, but meanwhile, Dominic Miller recorded several solo albums, one of them called "Third World". Some of the tunes of this record he played on this very special gig at Jazz Baltica featuring percussion master Trilok Gurtu, Belgian bass player Nicolas Fiszman and British pianist Mike Lindup. Maybe some purists won´t call it Jazz, but it´s really great music anyway.

Michel Portal & Yaron Herman live at WDR Jazz Cologne 2009

Michel Portal – clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano sax
Yaron Herman – piano

recorded live at WDR Funkhaus Köln, Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, October 31, 2009

1. The Monk
2. Max – mon amour
3. Impro Rhythmique
4. Crescent
5. Track 5

Michel Portal, the grand seigneur of French Jazz meets the young lion Yaron Herman in this mostly improvised set at WDR jazz.cologne.

Steffen Schorn & WDR Big Band live at WDR Jazz Cologne 2009

Steffen Schorn - Conductor, Arrangements
Heiner Wiberny, Karolina Strassmayer, Olivier Peters, Paul Heller, Jens Neufang - Reeds
John Marshall, Wim Both, Andy Haderer, Rob Bruynen, Klaus Osterloh - Trumpets
Ludwig Nuss, Uli Plettendorff, Bernt Laukamp, Mattis Cederberg - Trombones
Paul Shigihara - Guitar; Frank Chastenier - Piano
John Goldsby - Bass; Hans Dekker - Drums
Special Guests: Lars Andreas Haug, Tuba; Bodek Janke, Percussion

1. Celso (Hermeto Pascoal)
2. One Year Later (Steffen Schorn)
3. Wo kommt denn des her? (Steffen Schorn)
4. The Opener (Steffen Schorn)

recorded live at WDR Funkhaus Köln, Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, October 31, 2009

Composer, Conductor and Professor of Jazz Saxophone Steffen Schorn received the WDR Jazz Award 2009 for composition.
This is the highest honor awarded for improvised music in Germany. The concert with the WDR Big Band arranged and conducted by Steffen Schorn took place October 30 in Cologne.
Together with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band (hr-Big Band) he recorded "Tudo E Som - All is sound - The Music of Hermeto Pascoal" released this year

Claudius Valk Trio live at WDR Jazz Cologne 2009

Claudius Valk – sx, bcl

Dieter Manderscheid – b
Roland Höppner - dr

recorded live at Stadtgarten Köln, October 29, 2009

1. Shapes for Ornette
2. One for Bill
3. Last Song for EJ

German saxophonist Claudius Valk about his Valktrio: "Valktrio is the band that has accompanied me the longest of all others.
After an intense examination period of 'harmonically' characterised music ( especially in the work with Tim Sund and Jürgen Friedrich) I knowingly wanted to achieve a counter balance, completely without piano. Naturally here the focus lies far more on the rhythmic aspect of the music. In addition the 'missing' piano creates free space in the band's sound which opens up the opportunity for me to act melodically more spontaneous and harmonically freer. Besides that the challenge stimulated me to develop a sound with the smaller trio which, in an evening's concert, wouldn't let the harmony instruments be missed."

Duos live at WDR Jazz Cologne 2009

Tom van der Geld - vibraphone, marimba
Pascal Schumacher - vibraphone, marimba

recorded live at WDR Funkhaus Köln, Kleiner Sendesaal, October 31, 2009

1. The Glamour Side of the Truth (Schumacher)
2. Jonquell (van der Geld)
3. Vocé e Eu (Carlos Lyra)

The American vibraphonist Tom van der Geld was born in Boston, and has been living permanently in Europe since 1974. He has performed at nearly all of the significant European Jazz Festivals including Montreux, Weltmusiktage Donaueschingen, Baden-Baden New Jazz Meeting, Willisau Festival, Jazz Festival Berlin and the Leverkusener Jazz Festival.
Vibraphone player Pascal Schumacher, born in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and currently living and working in Luxembourg and Brussels, is a confirmed representative of the new generation of jazz musicians and helds master’s degrees in musicology of the University "Marc Bloch" of Strasbourg (F) and in jazz music at the Koninklijk Conservatorium of The Hague (NL).

Pablo Held - piano
Martin Reiter - piano, electric piano

recorded live at WDR Funkhaus Köln, Kleiner Sendesaal, October 30, 2009

4. Tryg (Reiter)
5. Auma (Reiter)
6. Chez es Sarsa (Martin Reiter)
7. Flowting (Martin Reiter)
8. If ever I would leave you (Frederick Loewe)
9. In A Silent Way (Joe Zawinul)

Martin Reiter was born in Vienna in 1978. He spent his childhood in Upper Austria where he grew up with piano and saxophone lessons as the son of enthusiastic amateur musicians.
In 1996, Reiter began studying jazz piano at what is now the Anton Bruckner University in Linz. A year later he switched to the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna where, in the course of an arrangers workshop, he met Mathias Rüegg from the Vienna Art Orchestra who recognized Reiter’s qualities as a pianist and arranger. In his career Martin Reiter has won numerous awards, e.g. in 2002 he was First place winner, Austrian Young Lions competition, and received the Hans Koller Award, category New York Scholarship and in 2008 the Hans Koller Award CD of the year.

Young German Jazz live at WDR Jazz Cologne 2009

Niels Klein & Stéphane Guillaume Sextet

Niels Klein – tenor sax, bass clarinet
Stéphane Guillaume – soprano sax, flute
Claus Stötter – trumpet
Frédéric Favarel – guitar
Robert Landfermann – bass
Jonas Burgwinkel – drums

recorded live at Stadtgarten Köln, October 31, 2009

1. Three Circles (Niels Klein)
2. Crossing Tativille (Stephane Guillaume)
3. Progression (Niels Klein)
4. Last Plan On A Smile (Stephane Guillaume)
5. ?

Niels Klein, born 1978 in Hamburg, Germany, begins saxophone playing at the age of 13, first public appearences at the of 15. 1996 1st price winner in the competition „Jugend Jazzt Niedersachsen“. since 1998 studies in saxophone and composition at the Hochschule für Musik, Köln, winner of the „Jazzpodium Niedersachsen 2000“ Price. At WDR jazz.cologne 2009 he met French sax fellow Stephane Guillaume.

Robert Landfermann solo

Robert Landfermann – bass

6. Ich habe nie gelernt zu frieren

recorded live at WDR Funkhaus Köln, Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, October 31, 2009

Robert Landfermann was born 1982 in Oberwinter near Bonn. At the age of 7 he began playing classical guitar moved to e-bass and finally to the doublebass. Soon he made various musical experiences. From 2002 till 2009 he studied Jazz-doublebass in Cologne with Dieter Manderscheid and got lessons on various masterclasses with Mark Dresser, Mike Richmond, Martin Wind, John Hollenbeck, Peter Herbolzheimer, Hiram Bullock, Phil Woods a.o.
Robert Landfermann received the "WDR-Jazzpreis 2009" for best Soloist.

Jonas Burgwinkel & Omar Klein Duo

Jonas Burgwinkel – drums
Omar Klein - piano

7. 5/8 Mantra (Klein)

recorded live at WDR Funkhaus Köln, Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, October 31, 2009

Jonas started playing drums at the age of nine taking private lessons. In 1999 he entered the Conservatory of Maastricht as a young student while still attending highschool. That same year he won several Jazz competitions and was a guest of the Bundes Jazz Orchestra where he took lessons with John Riley. In 2003-2004 he enrolled at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has being taught by Ralph Peterson and Jamey Haddad.
In 2009 he won the "BEST SOLOIST AWARD" on the "European Jazz Competition" at the "North Sea Jazzfestival" in Rotterdam and the reknown "WDR-Jazzpreis 2009" in Germany. He is furthermore a vital part and very sought after player on the scene.

Landfermann/ Burgwinkel/ Klein/ Held

Niels Klein – tenor sax
Pablo Held - piano
Robert Landfermann – bass
Jonas Burgwinkel – drums

8. Music

recorded live at WDR Funkhaus Köln, Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, October 31, 2009

Pablo Held Trio live at North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam 2009

Photo © by Konstantin Kern

Pablo Held - Piano

Robert Landfermann - Bass
Jonas Burgwinkel - Drums


Recorded live at North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam, July 11, 2009

Tracks:
Phasen/Nearness/Music/Melody/Two Questions One Answer (Pablo Held)

ALL ABOUT JAZZ REVIEW by Dan McClenaghan about Pablo Held´s latest CD "Forest of Oblivion"(released on Pirouet): "In every review of Pablo Held's debut, Forest of Oblivion, the pianist's age will be discussed. Don't blame the writers. Held, hailing from Germany, was born in 1986. His age, at the time the CD was recorded, was 21. It's a remarkably tender age for having crafted an original musical statement; it's even more remarkable for its high quality.
On this piano trio outing, the sound is thoughtful and introspective, to go with well-placed percussive forays and injections of energetic momentum; and if he must be put in a school—as in the exuberantly percussive Bud Powell school; the quirky Thelonious Monk bebop school; the intelligent and gorgeously harmonic and inventively melodic Bill Evans school—Held could be compared most closely to one of jazz's modern giants, Brad Mehldau."
In July 2009 the PABLO HELD TRIO played in the Finals of the EBU-Jazz Competition at the NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2009. The trio's drummer Jonas Burgwinkel won the BEST SOLOIST AWARD at this occasion.

Miguel Zenón Esta Plena Quintet live at WDR Jazz Cologne 2009

Miguel Zenón – as, perc,
Luis Perdomo – p
Hans Glawischnig – b
Henry Cole – dr
Tito Matos – perc

recorded live at Stadtgarten Köln, October 31, 2009

1. Villa Coope
2. Qué Será De Puerto Rico?
3. Progreso
4. Despedida

I already introduced Miguel Zenon and his really great CD "Esta Plena" to you, the readers of this blog earlier. This here is a fiery concert recorded live in Cologne/ Germany this year. Enjoy!

Bill Frisell “858 QUARTET” live at WDR Jazz Cologne 2009

Photo © by Michael Wilson

Bill Frisell – guitar
Hank Roberts – cello
Ron Miles – trumpet
Eyvind Kang – viola

recorded live at WDR Funkhaus Köln, Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, October 29, 2009

1. Medley:
- Baba Drame (Boubacar Traore)
- Monroe (Bill Frisell)
- Probability Cloud (Bill Frisell)
- Rag (Bill Frisell)
2. Skippy (Monk)
3. Beautiful Dreamer (Stephen Foster)
4. Bennys Bugle (Charlie Christian)

The "858 Quartet" recorded the album "Richter 858" as a tribute to German artist Gerhard Richter. For this concert violinist Jenny Scheinman was replaced by Ron Miles.

Wolfgang Haffner Acoustic Shapes live at 40th Jazzweek Burghausen 2009

Hubert Nuss, piano

Christian Diener, bass
Wolfgang Haffner, drums

recorded live at Wackerhalle, Burghausen, Germany, March 20, 2009

1. Silent Way
2. Faithless
3. Shapes
4. Star (for Joe Zawinul)
5. Some Other Time
6. Nightsong
7. 24 Hours (for Esbjörn)
8. Somewhere Else

Well known through his work with such international stars as Chaka Khan, Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, Lalo Schifrin, Bill Evans, Mike Stern, the Brecker Brothers, and Chuck Loeb’s fusion band “Metro”, Wolfgang Haffner has become one of the few German musicians who has succeeded in making the breakthrough onto the international scene. With his ACT CD Shapes in May 2006, Haffner reached another milestone in his own creative career. Critics praised the album as “addictive”, “ingenious and sophisticated”, and ”a meld of catchy melodies, clever electronics, classic rock, new jazz, and a cool, hip sound aesthetics”. An intoxicatingly exciting tour followed in which, among others, the NDR (North-German Radio) Big Band, and the Jazz Baltica Ensemble were integrated into the musical scheme (see also the posts here on this blog one year ago…).
Nils Landgren was involved in Shapes as trombonist and co-producer, and so it only made sense that Haffner go back to this project, since it was supposed to be a tour for and with Landgren. At any rate, he went back to the roots: “Originally I wrote Shapes for piano trio, but the time called for electronics. Now I want to go back to my original starting point.” So Shapes is transposed into Acoustic Shapes, which, by the way, is much more than a simple reduction.

Booker T. live at Jazzfest Berlin 2009

Photo Credit: Gary Copeland

Booker T. · Hammond B3, vocals
Troy Gonyea · guitar
Marc Ford · guitar
Jeremy Curtis · bass
Darian Gray · drums

recorded live at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Main Stage, November 8, 2009

1. Pound It Out
2. She Breaks
3. Warped Sister
4. Green Onions
5. Born Under a Bad Sign
6. Potato Hole
7. Soul Limbo
8. Hip Hug-Her
9. Hang `Em High
10. Time Is Tight
11. Keep On Walking In a Free World

Hammond B3 alchemist Booker T Jones is one America's most prolific, distinguished and instantly recognizable musical forces. Born in Memphis, Tennessee on November 12 1944, Jones' interest in music manifested itself early, and as a child he both sang gospel in church and received classical training on the piano. A fascination with the Hammond B3 grew to the point where he funded his own organ lessons with newspaper route money and by his teens, Jones found himself at Stax Records backing fabled stars like Rufus and Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and Eddie Floyd both in the studio and on the road.
His new release Potato Hole demonstrates that not only is Jones' talent and power undiminished, it also reveals how much there is to his music that we've never heard before. Jones has a remarkable knack for telling a story with his melodies, compositions so thoughtfully constructed that one can almost visualize narrative events. Whether laying down a meditative ramble or hard-charging rocker, Jones' sense of artistic liberation and depth of involvement on every track here is breath taking.
“The Hammond B3 and me have this thing goin' on. It's always there inside me. I've heard whole pieces in my head that I'll never even remember – and now I'm finally getting them out.”he explained. “It gives me a freedom that I didn't have . . . I sort of had it with the MG's in the 60s, but even then it was more murky. This is lot more clear. I don't know how to put it, except it's like I can see again.”

John Scofield Piety Street Band live at Jazzfest Berlin 2009

John Scofield · guitar

Jon Cleary · vocals, Hammond B3
George Porter, Jr. · bass
Terence Higgins · drums

recorded live at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Main Stage, November 8, 2009

1. Introduction by Ulf Drechsel (German)
2. That's Enough
3. Motherless Child
4. Untitled (II-V Jam)
5. Something's Got A Hold On Me
6. Walk With Me
7. Let The Good Times Roll
8. The Angel of Death (H.Williams)
9. It´s a Big Army
10. I Don´t Need No Doctor

Not just a modern jazz guitar hero, John Scofield is a guru of the groove. Boasting one of the most distinctive sounds in jazz, he’s also hailed for bringing fresh concepts to every new project over a 30+ year career. Delving back into Crescent City beats, Scofield is touring with his latest group, The Piety Street Band with whom he recorded his latest CD Piety Street, a very bluesy new album with an old-time gospel repertoire that satisfied Scofield's quest for material that would allow a blues project to go beyond the standard 12 bar blues. With Scofield the band includes solid blues musicians Jon Cleary on piano, organ and vocals, George Porter Jr. (of the Meters) on bass and Terence Higgins (of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band) on drums – all legends in their domains.