DownBeat December 2005 [antikvár]

First Take By Jason Koransky * * " it's tlie arresting, quirky singer ANNIE SELLICK's catchy, smart-as-a-fox alto that steals the show. PAT BERGESON and vibist STEVE SHAPIRO lead their low-key band through Latinized classics and lush, leisurely originals with lucid grace When they back Seitick, they ease into overdrive for her insinuating smears and hints of Diana Krall and savvy Carmen McRae snap." ??? rred Bouchard DownBeat October 2005 Appearing MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28,2005 at the )AZZ STANDARD, 116 East 27th Street, New York City. Reservations: 2t2.576.2232 also available from Sons of Sound BORDERS Bold Statements When lirsl seeing the cover ol" this issue of DownBeat, a lot of you must have said, "What's up with Omette's suit?" Yeah. Ornette Coleman may be donning the mo.st colorful outfit to ever grace the cover of DownBeat. Love it or loathe it, the suit, which he designed (Coleman designs most of his clothes), definitely makes an impression. By wearing all the colors of the rainbow, Coleman would be impossible to miss in a crowd. We don't tell iirtists what to wem-for their cover shoots. Sure, we may give some suggestions, but we don't have a stylist directing the shoot. We want tlie artists to express tliemselves, and Coleman has no problem with this, whether it be through his music, paintings or wiirdrobe, It's this willingness to express himself and make a bold statement in life—to challenge the status quo—that has made Coleman an artist on the vanguard. He's led revolutionary changes in jazz for almost 50 years, and at 75 years old is still a seeking spirit, as shown through his interview with Robin James starting on Page 40. The 70th Annual DownBeat Readers Poll shines the focus on a group of artists who, like Coleman, thrive on making music that pushes boundaries. Herbie Hancock, the newest inductee into the DownBeat Hall of Fame, is an artist who has helped spawn several movements in jazz. He helped release jazz from many of its preconceived rules of engagement as part of Miles Davis' classic 1960s quintet; and he's an innovator in incorporating technology into improvised music. In his story on Page 54, Hancock said that being an artist who miikes bold statements is a choice that he has made and that, "Most people choose not to. or they are not encouraged to look any further." Hancock makes a valid point. Conformity is the norm in today's society: Radio plays a narrow band of programming, we're bombarded by marketing telling us what to eat, what to wear, how to look and how to think. We are not encouraged to be curious, to expand our boundaries. But jazz is music that encourages exploration, a trip into the unknown to discover a new means for expression. Dixunmer of the Year Jack DeJohnette (Page 58) is always looking for new ways to express himself, as he piulicipates in such a vast array of groups these days that it's difficult to keep track of what he's doing. Whether he's in a duo with with kora player Foday Musa Suso. leading one of his two Latin-influenced bands, keeping time in the 25-year-old Keith Janett Standards Trio, producing a solo meditauve album or doing an electric project for his own label, Golden Beams, the drummer is exploring new melodic and rhythmic concepts in the music. Our Trumpeter of the Year, Dave Douglas (Page 56), is similar to DeJohnette in that you never know what project he's going to be leading. Recendy, he composed music to accompany Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle silent films that fea-mres a mix of acoustic and electric instruments, plus a DJ. When Douglas brought the project to the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago in October, his band played live while the audience viewed several Arbuckle films. The result was a fascinating multimedia presentation. Once again, Douglas is pushing the envelope, as are all the winners in the Readers Poll. We have to thank you, the readers of DownBeat, for once again voting in the Poll, and we send our congi^atulations to all of this year's winners. Finally, this issue of DownBeat features our annual Holiday Gift Guide, which starts on Page 71. In addition to offering plenty of ideas for the jiizz lover on your holiday list, the section offers a story on Diana Krall's holiday songs, reviews of new holiday albums and a piece on "nightmare" holiday gig stories from the likes of Phil Woods, Matt Wilson and David Weiss. Happy holidays from all of us at DownBeat. DB