Pianist-composer Yoko Miwa. (Courtesy Chris Lee)
Friday, April 30, is International Jazz Day and musicians around the world are celebrating their genre in an ambitious virtual festival, including Boston pianist Yoko Miwa. She recorded her trio s new album, “Songs of Joy,” during the pandemic and it s been topping the jazz radio charts since its release. It illustrates how being locked down for months changed the way Miwa filled her record with fresh, personally meaningful material.
Like countless musicians, Miwa was crushed when the pandemic erased her slate of concerts at venues, including Lincoln Center and her regular weekend gigs at two local restaurants the now-shuttered Les Zygomates in Boston and the Mad Monkfish in Cambridge. But the acclaimed jazz pianist decided she had to continue performing live for audiences on Fridays and Saturdays, even if it was only on Facebook.
New Music Monday for March 15, 2021
When pianists
Chris White and Lara Driscoll perform as the Firm Roots Duo, they draw on profound lines of communication. They’ve developed that bond as spouses and as independent artists with voices of their own. Based in the Chicago area, White and Driscoll met as students at the University of Illinois. They’ve since set aside space in their respective careers to hone and formalize a concept now documented on “Firm Roots,” their duo debut. They interpret canonical jazz works by Horace Silver, Ann Ronell, Cedar Walton and more, drawing on the influences of piano legends on the order of Hank Jones, Art Tatum and Phineas Newborn.
Matthew Alec & The Soul Electric –
Cleveland Time (Cleveland Time): “Cleveland Time marks the first album release from the group that features Matthew Alec (tenor saxophone and EWI), Brian Woods (piano, keyboards, organs, plus vocals on “Give What You Take” and “Baby You Got Me”), Steven Forest Sanders (guitar, plus vocals on “Enigma Man”), Jared Lees (bass), Jeremiah Hawkins (percussion, plus drums on “Baby You Got Me”), and Leon Henault (drums). The album also features special guests Tom ‘Bones’ Malone (trombone and horn section on “Cleveland Time”), MINUS THE ALIEN (vocals on “Cleveland Time”), and Tim Coyne (trumpet on “Blues For McCoy” and “Enigma Man”)…. “This album has a little bit of everything in it which is exactly what I set out to do,” says saxophonist Matthew Alec. “I wanted a few tunes that were short with strong hooks that would capture people’s attention, I wanted to feature our two vocalists on a tune of their own,
Music fans and musicians have been going stir-crazy for a year. I last went to a concert March 6, 2020. And so last week’s announcement by the state that Phase Three, Step Two guidelines seemed to allow for live music performance at indoor venues, at half-capacity, and limited to 500 people or fewer, was greeted with jubilation.
There are some live music shows this weekend, including in Quincy where Pete’s Grille hosts FM Station on Friday night and Joe Fitz and the Dented Cans on Saturday.
“I’m so psyched to play again,” said Quincy’s Joe Fitzgerald, the singer/songwriter who fronts the Saturday night blues-rock band. “I think a lot of people didn’t realize how much they’d miss live music. I have a definite microphone addiction; my wife says if someone buries a microphone in an Iowa cornfield, I’ll go there, dig it up, and start singing.”
Dig the next broadcast of All This Jazz, airing Saturday the 27th on Public Radio 89.5 KWGS HD-1.from 9pm till midnight! We ll present a wide-ranging selection of modern jazz, both recent and classic, both newly released and historically treasured. And in the 3rd and thematic hour of the program, running from 11pm to 12am, our theme will be
Black Radio Hits.for Black History Month. Thus we ll hear jazz takes on the chart-busting music of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, and so on. And elsewhere in our show, we’ll feature tunes by Jack Wilson, Curtis Fuller, Frances Wayne, Jackie McLean, Yoko Miwa, and more. Join us! Or, if you prefer, listen to the rebroadcast of All This Jazz on Sunday night, the 28th, from 7pm till 10pm on Jazz 89.5 KWGS HD-2…! Thanks.