Streetwise Radio One on One with David Sanchez

 

 

Grammy-Winning Saxophonist Leads 2021-2022 SFJAZZ Season

By Shelah Moody

Photo Courtesy of SFJAZZ

On Oct. 28, the SFJAZZ Collective performed original compositions highlighting social justice, addressing political upheaval sparked by the police murders of George Floyd and Breona Taylor in 2020 and the right-wing-inspired raid on the United States Capitol complex in Washington, DC in 2021.

Acclaimed San Francisco musician Martin Luther McCoy opened the performance, singing lead vocals on James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Negro National Anthem. (One person in the small, fully vaccinated audience at Miner Auditorium stood up during the song, which many in the “woke” community believe should replace the “Star-Spangled Banner” as America’s national anthem).

The Collective segued into introspective and vibrant pieces composed by members: “8’46: A Tribute to George Floyd” (Edward Simon, piano), “Joya” and “The Sower,” (Matt Brewer, bass), “Can You See/Mutuality” (Chris Potter, saxophone), “All There Inside,” (Gretchen Parlato, vocals), “Unity,” (Warren Wolf, vibraphone) and a cover of Marvin Gaye’s anti-war anthem, “What’s going On,” masterfully arranged by Trinidadian trumpet player Etienne Charles.

Grammy-winning saxophonist David Sanchez, a longtime member of SFJAZZ Collective, delivered his vibrant instrumental, “Ay Bendito, “ on tenor.

Prior to his performance with SFJAZZ, I met with Sanchez via Zoom to speak with him about the non-profit art organization’s 2021-2022 season, the state of live music in the age of COVID-19, and his global influences.

Although he was born and raised in Puerto Rico and heavily influenced by Afro-Latino roots music, percussion, in particular, Sanchez would hardly categorize himself as a Latin jazz artist. Listening to his stellar, 2019 album, “Carib,” you are transported to several countries within the African and Latin Diaspora.

“The music that I write and how I play is just a recollection of different experiences throughout my life,” said Sanchez. “Obviously, it’s going to bring in my experiences growing up in Puerto Rico, especially the roots influences. I spent 16 years in New York, 13 in Atlanta. I’ve been traveling the world constantly since I was 19.”

Sanchez, who has collaborated with music icons and influencers such as Dizzy Gillespie and Branford Marsalis, said he feels blessed to be reunited with the SFJAZZ Collective.

“The fact that we have the opportunity to come together and make music is amazing,” said Sanchez. “Finally, after this crazy pandemic, which is unreal, we are coming together after almost two years. I now see things a bit differently, I’m so appreciative of the opportunity that we have of coming together this year. Not only because we are coming together after a long time of layoffs; of not playing, but also because of our theme. This year, because of the circumstances and the adversities that most of us have faced, we decided to dedicate it to our experiences during this challenging time and to social justice. The pandemic really exposed a lot of situations that were right in our faces that were covered or consciously ignored because we were busy or moving around.”

To watch Streetwise Radio’s full interview with David Sanchez, go to:

https://youtu.be/rUmVFRiCgcI.

Also, hear the music of David Sanchez here on Streetwise Radio.

From OPC to SFJAZZ: Rhiannon Giving Brings Soulful Folk Music to the Bay Area

                                       
By Shelah Moody
Rhiannon Giddens’ upcoming SFJAZZ performance at the Herbst Theatre on Oct. 28 sold out fast, but you can still catch Grammy winning folk artist Rhiannon Giddens on tour this summer and fall.  Giddens’ high profile dates include appearances at the renowned Newport Jazz Festival (Rhode Island) and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in Canada. (http://rhiannongiddens.com/#shows).
Prior to the announcement of Giddens’  2016 Grammy nominations for best Folk Album and Best American Roots Performance (“Factory Girl,” Nonesuch Records), the visionary singer, composer violinist and banjoist  made a rare appearance at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music on November 19, 2016.
Giddens conducted a vocal workshop at OPC during the afternoon performed with two acclaimed young American roots artists in their own right, banjoist Hubby Jenkins and tap dancer Robyn Watson in the evening.
 In her OPC vocal workshop, Giddens had the chance to interact up close and in person with members of the Bay Area diverse community, including youth, musicians, students, poets and visual artists.
“Another man done gone/Gone from the county farm/I didn’t know his name/ I don’t know where he’s gone/He had a long chain on/He killed another man/I’m going to walk your load down by the waterfall…”

                                        
                  Rhiannon Giddens led a vocal workshop at Oakland Public Conservatory of Music.

Such is the story of a man who has escaped from prison, slavery or some unbearable situation circumstance.  Giddens drew her students into the heart of the folk and blues ballad, using only her foot as accompaniment, guiding us through the song verse by verse. Giddens was quick to emphasize the joy of making music and incorporating it into daily life. Giddens found that people are often afraid to sing in public and in groups because of lack of formal training.
“We’ve gotten so divorced from that, people think, well, I can’t sing, because I’m not going to be on stage,” said Giddens, a native of Greensboro North Carolina who currently lives in Ireland with he husband and two children.
“Well, you can sing. Everybody can sing. We used to sing all the time. It’s what keeps you going. I went to the Oberlin Conservatory and I studied opera, I studied it for years and I got all in it. I loved Verdi, loved Puccini. I still love that music, and I’ve been able to take that training and use it in every aspect of what I do.”
In 2011, Giddens received a Grammy award for Best Traditional Folk Album, Performing a cappella, Giddens said, also puts you in touch with your own voice. “Genuine Negro Jig.”
“Something that you don’t hear anymore is the idea of not having a microphone,” said Giddens. “You see the youth today, and the microphone’s got to be right here (close to the mouth). “I had to learn how to use a mic, and it was torturous. The thing about learning how to sing without a microphone is that you have to learn how to breathe. I had to re-learn how to breathe. We all breathe with (the shoulders) and we become tense in that area. To breathe like an opera singer, you have to breathe from (the diaphragm). “

                                              
                                                                      Hubby Jenkins

Then, Giddens urged her students to sit up straight, relax their shoulders, and take a deep belly breath before singing. Ahhh!
After a pre-Thanksgiving community feast of chicken coconut stew, homemade cornbread, black-eyed peas and rice, yams, collard greens with caramelized ginger and sweet tea from Mamacita’s kitchen in the OPC building, the Oakland audience was treated to one of the finest acoustic performances  this writer has ever seen.  Giddens, Jenkins and Watson explored the black roots of American music from square dance to the blues idiom through banjo, fiddle, voice and dance.
For more information on OPC’s up close and personal workshops and performances, go to: https://www.opcmusic.org.

Trumpet Star Joins the SFJAZZ Collective
Group will perform new arrangements of music by Michael Jackson
Sean Jones joins the SFJAZZ Collective, replacing long-time member and trumpeter Avishai Cohen, as the group prepares for its 2015 Fall Tour which will feature new arrangements of the music of Michael Jackson and new original compositions.

For the remarkable composer, trumpeter, and educator Sean Jones, the pursuit of jazz is a most serious endeavor. Deeply influenced by his immersion in Gospel music in the church as a youth, Sean had an epiphany at the age of 19 while he was a student at Youngstown State University. The awakening was his first hearing of the magnificent John Coltrane’s masterpiece A Love Supreme. After receiving his Master’s Degree from Rutgers University, Sean performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for six years, participating in two recordings. During that time, Sean started touring and performing regularly with his own ensembles and began his longtime relationship with Mack Avenue Records, for whom he has just released his seventh recording.

SFJAZZ Collective will perform new arrangements of Michael Jackson music and original compositions at the SFJAZZ Center from October 22-25 and will be recording that material for a future release.
"...I know in the end, my body of work is going to show a progression of who Sean Jones is in its most honest form. What I’m hearing, what I believe and what I have to say." — Sean Jones

The Music of Michael Jackson & Original Compositions SFJAZZ Collective THU-SUN, OCT 22-25 Miguel Zenón alto sax · David Sánchez tenor sax Sean Jones trumpet · Robin Eubanks trombone Warren Wolf vibraphone · Edward Simon piano Matt Penman bass · Obed Calvaire drums SFJAZZ’s resident all-star ensemble presents new arrangements of music by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and new compositions by the band. Much like the approach took with Stevie Wonder’s material a few years ago, the Collective brings the same probing intelligence, incisive lyricism, harmonic insight and rhythmic energy to well-crafted pop tunes as to material conceived for jazz settings. Buy Tickets

SFJAZZ’s resident all-star ensemble presents new arrangements of music by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and new compositions by the band. Much like the approach took with Stevie Wonder’s material a few years ago, the Collective brings the same probing intelligence, incisive lyricism, harmonic insight and rhythmic energy to well-crafted pop tunes as to material conceived for jazz settings.