For this week’s Jazz Stream: July 28th – August 2nd we have seven great jazz concerts you can catch online that we’re excited to share with you. Not all of the performers are necessarily household names. But in the jazz world, these are some of the best. We also have one fast-rising musician and a tribute to a legendary album.
To go to each concert, click on the name and that will take you to either a link for the concert itself or to a website that will lead you there.
Here is Jazz Stream: July 28th – August 2nd:
Cassandra Wilson – Just Jazz Cafe – July 29th – 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT
The Just Jazz Live Concert Series at Mr. Musichead Gallery welcomes two-time Grammy Award winning singer Cassandra Wilson, but you’ll have to be ready for jazz in the morning. The show starts at 11:00 AM on the East Coast and 8:00 AM on the West Coast. Wilson is joining Leroy Downs for music and conversation.
I saw Wilson perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival many years ago and she was stunning. Over the course of her over 20 albums, she has proven herself one of our finest jazz vocalists.
In addition to her solo career, Wilson has recorded with such artists as Angelique Kidjo, Meshell Ndegeocello, Terence Blanchard, Elvis Costello and Wynton Marsalis. With Marsalis she sang on his Pulitzer Prize-winning Blood on the Fields, the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for music.
Joe Farnsworth Quartet – Live at Smalls – July 29th: 7:45 PM EDT/4:45 PM PDT
Drummer Joe Farnsworth, who is a member of Pharoah Sanders’ band, is a drummer who has served as both a leader and a side man. He’s performed with Jon Hendricks, Jon Faddis, George Coleman, Cecil Payne, Annie Ross, McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton, Diana Krall and Benny Green.
He’s also recorded with members of his quartet who are appearing with him at this concert: Wynton Marsalis on trumpet; Mike LeDonne on piano and Peter Washington on bass.
Earlier this year he released a track called The Good Shepherd from what his upcoming album called Time to Swing which is scheduled for release in September. Marsalis and Washington appear on that record.
Tim Seisser Sextet perform Weather Report’s “Heavy Weather” – Jazz Record Art Collective – July 29th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT
In 1977 Weather Report released an album called Heavy Weather. It would go on to win album of the year from the readers of Down Beat Magazine. The members of Weather Report were Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Alex Acuña and Manolo Badrena. The album contained eight tracks and went to number one on the US Billboard Jazz charts.
Bass player Tim Seisser (who wasn’t alive when Heavy Weather was released) will be joined by Corbin Andrick on saxophone; Paul Mutzabaugh on keys; Andrew Lawrence also on keys; Reuben Garza on drums and Jonathon Marks on percussion.
This show is part of Jazz Record Art Collective’s programming of primarily Chicago-based musicians who offer up their own interpretations of jazz and/or jazz-influenced albums. While the performance is going on, they always have an artist who is painting. Arthur Wright is the artist paired with the Tim Seisser Sextet for this performance.
Wayne Shorter Celebration Pt. 3 – SF Jazz – July 31st – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT
In this week’s Fridays at Five concert, SF Jazz continues with the series of performances from 2019 that replaced shows previously scheduled to be performed by Wayne Shorter who was too ill to perform.
This third of what, so far, appears to be a five-part celebration of the legendary saxophonist and composer, finds Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard performing with Shorter’s touring band of pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade.
Upcoming Wayne Shorter celebrations will feature Joshua Redman, Ambrose Akinmusire, Terri Lyne Carrington and Shorter himself.
SF Jazz makes a concert available every Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT. You must sign up for either a one-month membership ($5 for four weeks of performances) or $60 for full one-year subscription. Having seen several of these concerts, they are well-recorded, filmed well and definitely a bargain for any fan of jazz music.
Fred Hersch Trio – Village Vanguard – July 31st – August 1st – 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT ($10)
Fifteen-time Grammy Award nominated jazz pianist Fred Hersch and his trio will perform two live sets from the Village Vanguard in New York City. That he’s never won a Grammy yet is just another reason why major changes are necessary there, but that’s another story in and of itself.
Hersch has recorded over 50 albums as either a soloist and or band leader. I could fill this entire column with quotes about how highly-regarded Hersch is, but I’ll leave it to fellow pianist Jason Moran who said, “Fred at the piano is like LeBron James on the basketball court. He’s perfection.”
Joining him for these two concerts are Drew Gress on bass and Joechen Ruckert on drums.
Tickets for each of these two performances are $10. Reservations must be made in advance in order to assure your ability to watch the performance.
Vijay Iyer, Eric Revis, Kokayi, Vanisha Gould – The Jazz Gallery Online Lockdown Sessions – August 1st – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT
If you’ve read this blog before, you know what a big fan I am of pianist/composer Vijay Iyer. His participation in any conversation and/or performance is going to catch my eye.
New York’s The Jazz Gallery is doing Lockdown Sessions every Saturday. The musicians safely record sets for presentation during the Lockdown Session and the music is followed by a conversation.
Joining Iyer for this Saturday’s event is bassist’s Eric Revis; producer/performer Kokayi and singer Vanish Gould.
To watch any of The Jazz Gallery’s lockdown sessions requires making a reservation at least one hour in advance of the event. Reservations are $20 for non-members and $10 for members. Once you have secure your reservation, they will send you a Zoom link approximately half-an-hour prior to its start.
Julius Rodriguez Trio – Live at Smalls – August 2nd – 7:45 PM EDT/4:45 PM PDT
You may not know Julius Rodriguez, but you will. This amazingly talented young musician was hailed by Giovanni Russonello in the New York Times last fall as, “among the most impressive straight-ahead musicians coming of age in New York right now.”
All of 21 years old, he’s not only fast-rising as a jazz pianist, he’s performed with Wynton Marsalis, Keyon Harrold, Ben Williams, Jazzmeia Horn, A$AP Rocky, Meshell Ndegeocello, Braxton Cook and the late Roy Hargrove.
Joining him for this performance at Smalls in New York are Ben Williams on bass and Brian Richburg Jr. on drums.
His website indicates that he’s hoping to have his first album out in 2020. Let’s hope that’s coming soon.
That’s our Jazz Stream for this week. Leave a comment and let us know of exciting jazz shows you find streaming! Have a great week.