Masego – 2016 San Jose Summer Jazz Festival Report by: Carol Ealey

When my husband, Michael asked me which artists I wanted to see at the 2016 San Jose Jazz Summer Festival, I had no idea except for Bobby Caldwell and Goapele two of the headline artist, so I searched the line-up to see who I could fit into our busy event schedule.

                                        Masego

The artist that I selected was Masego (real name Micah Davis) after listening to his song “Girls That Dance” on YouTube. As we headed over to the Post Street Stage one of the many stages at the San Jose Jazz Fest you could hear that thump of trap, hip hop and jazz mix of music that made you want to dance. I loved it.

Masego is a 22-year-old multi-instrumentalist – he plays the saxophone, piano, drums guitar, cello and many other instruments and he’s a singer. On stage he showed his talents by playing several instruments much like a one man band and he showed his comedic style as well as an impromptu rap about two cute girls in the audience. Masego has real talent and I love his style of music which he calls TrapHouseJazz. It merges traditional jazz sounds – saxophone, scatting with the thump of trap music and house.

Masego was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to an American mother and Jamaican father. His father is a pastor in the military so they moved around a lot when Masego was little settling in Newport News, Virginia. His mother is also a pastor, specifically the minister of music at their church. Church was a strong presence in Masego’s life, as was playing in the church band; music came naturally to him. As he said in a recent article that he listened to a lot of gospel (Jmoss, William Murphy, Fred Hammond, Kirk Franklin) since that’s all he was allowed to play in the house. But Cab Calloway influenced his style and his love of jazz swing and the dances that go with it. This blend of styles is clearly evident in his music.

Masego has talent and his energetic show at the 2016 SJ Jazz Summer Festival was one of the highlights this year. If you want to hear this new style of Trap House Jazz I would encourage you to check out a sample of his music at www.masegomusic.com. You won’t be disappointed.

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San Jose Summer Jazz Fest 2016 Report: DENISE DONATELLI

Finally at the end of my day; Denise Donatelli. I made my way over to Cafe Stritch and was greeted by an impatient, hungry line of over 70 people clamoring to see this 4 time Grammy nominee vocalist. Hey, with a line like this, how am I going to get into this place? But wait. Mike gave me a Streetwise press pass. With a sticker. I walked right up to the door and flashed the pass.

"OK," she said, "and uhh...oh yeah, you got that sticker."

I went into an empty room with the stage lights set up just right and the band was doing their mic checks. I snapped off a few shots to get my exposures down and after I burned enough frames I notice a cat tuning the piano. I was floored. I've never seen that before. I mean they always tune of for Yuja Wang and Daniel Barinboim but I've never seen a tuner for jazz or pop music. So when he was done I go over and talk this spritely Japanese dude dressed in ninja black.

"So you tune before every gig?"

"Naaa", he says, "I just hang out here cus' I love the jazz. I tune because I really want them to sound good. But a lot of guys don't appreciate it...and some guys; even really good musicians, can't even tell the difference,".

"I know man, it's sick !".

"But I just tune cus' I love it", he said, "and I want to give something back to them. So if they can't enjoy it to hell with them man." We laughed our guts out like long lost brothers.

Then I said, "So you tune ... that means you play."

"Yeah, I play", he said, "but I'm a really bad player."

"We're on the same page", I said, "It takes me two years to learn something that my 16 year old son can learn in two weeks. So if you still want to listen to me, to hell with you!!" Our laughter was broken by a KCSM dj putting in a big plug for the station and introducing, let's say it right here, the amazing Denise Donetelli.

Then Denise comes on stage and immediately has the audience in her back pocket. She's like that smooth cocktail you reward yourself with at the end of a hard day's work. The clarity of voice, the effortless sustains, the inviting warm embrace of this wonderful singer. She uses her insturment to bring new life to standards such as Green Dolphin Street and fresh interpretations of comtemporary tunes like Soul Shadows , No Better, and A Promise. I especially enjoy her rendition of the bossa nova style tune Ange where she combines latin rythms with minor discordant harmonies, not unlike the great jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, all with comfortably pure tonality and an effortlessly clear voice.

According to Wikipedia, Denise Donatelli started as a classical pianist at the age of three and studied for 15 years. For three consecutive years she won first place in competitions held by the National Federation of Music Clubs. After college, she married and had sons. To remain with her family, she did not begin to sing professionally until the boys reached their teenage years.

She has recorded studio spots for episodes of The Simpsons and television promos for Frasier, Card Sharks and Turner Classic Movies as well as national and international commercials for CNN, Hyundai, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and many more.

She has performed with Bill Mays, Roger Kellaway, Tamir Hendelmen, Bob Sheppard, Joe LaBarbara, the Stan Kenton Alumni Band. She tours extensively, performing at jazz festivals; like the San Jose Jazz Festival, jazz clubs, performing art centers, and with university jazz bands where she conducts master clinics.

Her next gig is in La Jolla, CA with Geoffrey Keezer and Friends who she records with. Donatelli has released five albums; three have been nominated for Grammy's. Although this singer's voice is truly a reward in itself, no one will be surprised if Denise Donatelli's next album finally wins the recognition this fine singer deserves.

TWW

Tom Wing Wo

San Jose JazzFest 2016 Report:Legends and Emerging Artists Triumph By Shelah Moody

Closing day of the 27^th Annual San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, Sunday Aug. 14 was a celebration of world music and a joyous weekend for Streetwise Radio.

The streets of downtown San Jose, as well hotels, cafes and restaurants hosted legendary musicians and emerging artists, attracting thousands of fans to the largest city in the Bay Area.

Our first stop on a warm south bay afternoon was the Jade Leaf Lounge, where Cuban pianist Harold Lopez Nussa, joined by Ruy Adrián López-Nussa, (drums/percussion) and Alune Wade (bass/vocals) were creating elegant, tropical soundscapes.

               
                         Harold Lopez Nussa
While children in swim suits danced through the fountains at Cezar Chavez Plaza in the heart of downtown San Jose, 

2015 Grammy nominee--saxophonist Miguel Zenon, and his band --Alex Brown (piano), Hans Glawischnig (bass) and Henry Cole (drums)-- showcased rhythms and melodies inspired by Zenon’s native Puerto Rico. The quartet played original compositions and arrangements from Zenon’s albums, “Esta Plena” and “Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook.”

“It feels great to be here,” said Zenon, who was nominated for a 2015 Grammy in the Best Latin Jazz Album category for “Identities Are Changeable.”

“This is our second time here. The first time was maybe, five years ago. Last time, we played in a theater, so it’s nice to play outside; it’s so pretty here and people are enjoying themselves. “It’s a really nice vibe.”

                    Saxophonist Miguel Zenon
Zenon comes from a fine tradition of Puerto Rican jazz greats including trombonist/composer Juan Tizol, who played with Duke Ellington’s orchestra. Incidentally, as a member of the SFJAZZ Collective, Zenon cop-produced and arranged the album “The Music of Michael Jackson & Original Compositions,” recorded live at SFJAZZ Center in 2015.

                             Rick & Russ Show

The World Famous Rick & Russ Show spun classic R&B on the main stage as Grammy winning vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant, currently one of the hottest performers on the touring circuit, prepared for her set the main stage. Accompanied by pianist Aaron Diehl, bassist Paul Sikivie and drummer Lawrence Leathers, the bespectacled jazz goddess opened with her original ballad, “Fog.”

                         Cecile McLorin Salvant
In February, I watched Salvant accept her Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, “For One to Love” at the Premiere Ceremony at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. Salvant is a pure, articulate singer whose voice can emulate everything from an elegant violin refrain to the sassy wa-wa of a trombone. Salvant delighted the audience with a string of jazz standards and Broadway show tunes including “The Trolly Song,” made popular by Judy Garland, “Wives and Lovers,” by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, “Something’s Coming” by Leonard Bernstein, “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” made popular by Billie Holiday and the whimsical “Sam Jones Blues” by Bessie Smith.

“I was lucky to have been raised in a household where music was a very important part of our upbringing,” said Salvant, in an interview after the show. “We listened to music from all over the world including, but not only jazz. We listened to folk music from South America, from Africa, from Europe and all kinds of American popular music and folk music from Appalachian to funk and R&B to disco and classical music. When I moved to France and met my jazz teacher, I started perusing jazz as an option for a career. I never really thought I would do it professionally.”

Salvant said she has not read her extensive Wikipedia page and said she hates to google herself. The artistically inclined singer wore a colorful patterned Issey Miyake dress that fluttered in the wind and complemented the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest mural on the main stage. Miyake is Salvant’s favorite designer; she loves his vivid colors and his clothes are light weight and are easy to travel with, she said.

“I don’t like to look at myself or watch myself or be in that spirit, because I don’t think it is very enriching as a musician,” said Salvant. “It’s not very enriching to be constantly scrutinizing yourself in that way or looking at what other people think of you. Something people may not know about me is that I really love visual art and I draw a lot. I’m actually preparing a show in New York at a gallery in November. Mostly water colors and ink drawings. It’s really a fun thing to do when I’m on tour. We have a lot of moments where we wait. You know, people come to the shows and they see us perform and they think that’s what it is. But a lot of it is traveling to the performance and waiting for the plane or the train or being in a car for a long time. There are a lot of hours like that where we can’t really work on music. I can read, I guess, but I feel like drawing is a wonderful activity that’s also creative. I started doing it about five years ago and it’s been enriching to me. I’ve done a few of my album covers.”

I asked Salvant how it felt to perform at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest.

“It feels great,” said Salvant. “The audience was warm and wonderful. I’m having a wonderful time, and I’m actually seeing a line form at the CD table.

As Salvant graciously signed CDs for fans, a New Orleans style parade made its way around the main stage, warming up the for the evening’s headliner, Sergio Mendes and Brasil 2016.

        
Shelah Moody, Sergio Mendes and Radio host Safi Wa Narobi of KPFA FM 

The 75-year-old, Grammy-winning Bossa Nova singer/songwriter/composer and his multicultural band performed “A Celebration of 50 Years of Brasil ’66.”

My father was a jazz pianist who was heavily influence by Samba and Bossa Nova. As a child, Mendes’ iconic “Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66” and other albums were constantly played in our home, and songs such as “Fool On the Hill,” “One Note Samba” and “Look of Love” became the soundtrack of my life.

Oakland rapper H20 led the intro to Mendes’ signature tune, “Mas, que Nada,” and oh, how we danced and sang along to the “O, o-o-o-oh ari-ah, rayoh...Obah, obah, obah!” chorus!

                                Greg Bridges of KCSM FM  and Albert “Tootie” Heath
In a late Sunday night set at downtown San Jose’s Café Stritch, radio host Greg Bridges of KCSM FM San Francisco introduced the legendary drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, joined by Richard Sears on piano and Martin Nevin on bass https://youtu.be/M5OFxodGLUQ.

                                   Albert “Tootie” Heath

“This cat has been a big part of my life through listening for many, many years,” said Bridges said of Heath. “I learned rhythm from him and cats like him. So many musicians have learned from him; he is a part of the foundation of this music that we call jazz.”

Hailing from one of the first families of jazz, Heath and his musical siblings—Jimmy Heath (saxophone), and the late Percy Heath (bass) formed the Heath Brothers in Philadelphia, PA in 1975 and produced modern jazz recordings such as “Marchin’ On,” “Brothers and Others” and “In Motion. At 81, the gracious Heath packed Café Stritch, and captivated the audience with his stamina and his polyrhythmic drumming technique.

For info on the 2017 San Jose Jazz Winter Fest, go to sanjosejazz.org.

We Are King

                                       

Musical talent is a gift and not to use it is a crime. Well the trio King have used their talent exceptionally well. This trio consist of Minneapolis twins Paris and Amber Strother and Los Angeles native Anita Bias. They met in Los Angeles and realized they were born to create together. Their unique blend of voices and engaging harmony made for a fantastic trio known as King. Their not only amazing singers, these ladies can write some beautiful songs. Their independent debut project King was written by all three ladies and fully produce by Paris. My favorite songs from “We Are King” album are “Carry On”, “Native Land”, “Oh, Please”, “Hey”, “Mister Chameleon” and “Red Eye”. Their songs make me happy! They reminded me of relaxing on the on a balcony of a cruise ship, sipping on a rum punch watching the sunset over the water. This Jazzy, R&B trio is awesome. Check out songs from King on Streetwise Radio. King will be performing at the San Jose Jazz Winter Festival on March 3, 2016. Don’t miss them.

LM

http://www.weareking.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWSrJojl8Vo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLwdyj63qNs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AelAbrprJeU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9soQw5ofY0&list=RDZ9soQw5ofY0#t=75

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF4fOjIrqaM&list=RDZ9soQw5ofY0&index=5

http://streamdb7web.securenetsystems.net/v5/STREET

http://sanjosejazz.org/artist/king/

Michael e

.As I’m sitting here on this cold breezy 62 degrees “sunny” day in San Jose, CA, I’m  thinking about cooking something very comforting and warm while listening to Michael e. I’m imagining floating downward through the clouds, moving softly down with the warm sun shining and land gently in a field of flowers. The power of his music puts me there instantly! Very relaxing. Michael e is from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK. His music is considered smooth chill jazz and I must say, this Brit is very smooth. Michael e’s music takes the stress and worry from my body. This pianist composes his own music and plays all the parts. He started out in 2006 with his debut album “Beautiful World.” His songs “Ship to America,”  “Rainy Thursday,”  “Beautiful World” and “The Things They Say” are personal favorites. If you enjoy smooth chill jazz, you will love Michael e. Check out his music on Streetwise Radio.
LM
Http://michaelemusic.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af15Q4uODJE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0XKr7KtsG4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4l3RHVcwgc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdUUgfiFcQ
http://artistecard.com/MichaelE

Ron Scott Plays The San Jose Jazz Festival August 7th through 9th

San Jose, California as well as the Bay Area, has a lot of talented musicians and bands that are so underrated. My husband says it’s because San Jose Jazz Festival committee, don’t promote its local talent. For several years my husband and the bands he played with would send in CD’s and get turned down. Yet instead play festivals in other cities like San Francisco, Berkeley and Sacramento and get on the main stage opening for artist or head lining. One artist that is playing the San Jose Jazz Festival has deep roots in San Jose. I’m talking about Ron Scott, he was born in San Jose and raised here in the Sunnyhills section of Milpitas. He is a self-taught jazz keyboardist, songwriter and director. Ron as well as his band, The 650 Connection is a mix of urban, smooth, funky, R&B jazz, with fiery Latin rhythms. Ron Scott and his band The 650 Connection has opened for and played with some vary notable recording artist like Chaka Khan, Raheem Devaughn, The O’Jays , Lenny Williams, Whispers, Regina Belle, The DeBarges, Billy Preston and Rose Royce, El Chicano, Lakeside and Bryon Miller. Ron Scott’s latest album ‘In the Keys of Love’ was released in 2014. This album has several songs that are going on my play list like, “Funkin' for Luv (feat. Rasheed Wedlow)”, “My Sweet Diary (feat. Juan Escovedo & Rasheed Wedlow)”, “Last Night Was Amazing (feat. Frank Threadgill Sr.)”, “n the Keys of Love”, “Afro Cuban Blues (feat. Tony Lindsay, Juan Escovedo, Ric Feliciano & Federico Zuniga)” and “Midnight Strut (feat. Rick Warren, Jivoni Jordan, Lucien La Motte, Larry Refu Sanders & Clay Bandy)”. Ron Scott may not be playing on the main stage, in my opinion he should be. He is playing on the YP Gordon Biersch Stage on August 7, 2015 at 8pm. Go check out Ron Scott, you will be happily amazed at his talent and become a fan. Listen to songs from Ron Scott on Streetwise Radio. You can also listen to Streetwise Radio on Pandora, iTunes, Live365, Athena365 and MyGen365.

LM

http://www.ronscottjazz.com/bio/

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ronscott22?SourceCode=widgetbaby