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Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show


Welcome to Straight No Chaser, the Award-winning Podcast hosted by Jeffrey Siegel

May 16, 2013

The Lost Jazz Shrines series is dedicated to bringing legendary NYC jazz clubs back into the consciousness of the world with a thorough remembrance and celebration. In celebration of the resonant history of Birdland, BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center will host two exceptional evenings that examine the musical and stylistic legacy of Charlie Parker through artists’ completely different lenses and cultural perspectives.

Artistic Director Willard Jenkins will host these final two events, on May 17th and 31st on the campus of the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Friday May 17th will feature a free screening of the film Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker at 7PM, followed by a concert entitled "Charlie Parker: Timeless Innovation" at 8:30. Rudresh Mahanthappa will present recontextualizations of Charlie Parker’s work as well as new material based on extractions of Bird’s vocabulary as both composer and improviser. He will be joined on the bandstand by Matt Mitchell – Piano; François Moutin - Acoustic Bass; and Rudy Royston – Drums.

On May 31st, the musical program "The Cartographies of Flight" is provided by the Marty Ehrlich Ensemble. His all-star group includes James Zollar – trumpet; Marc Ribot – guitar; Michael Formanek – bass; and Nasheet Waits – drums. Joining the band on stage will be two poets and readers, Erica Hunt and Charles Bernstein. A panel discussion, “The Impact of Charlie Parker” with TK Blue and Marty Ehrlich, moderated by Willard Jenkins will precede the show.

It was a pleasure to reconnect with Jenkins, an independent arts consultant & producer, and writer under his Open Sky banner.   He is one of a handful of people in the jazz community who effortlessly move from writer, producer, editor, educator, broadcaster and unabashed fan, all with the highest of standards. We talked about the Lost Jazz Shrines series, and the Bird presentations in particular. Click here to listen to Podcast 348, which is composed of our conversation and musical selections, including

Charlie Parker – “Au Privave” from The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve. Here is the Bird you know and love – stretching out on a classic be-bop composition from 1951.

Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - “Cubano Be, Cubano Bop” from Bird n’ Diz at Carnegie Hall. Here is a memorable slice of the Latin-tinged jazz Parker (and especially Gillespie)  embraced as they re-wrote the book on playing in the 1940’s.

Rudresh Mahanthappa – “Are There Clouds in India?” from Gamak. One of the highlights of the late 2012 CD releases was this quartet session from the always inventive Mahanthappa. He is joined by bassist François Moutin; percussionist Dan Weiss; and guitarist David Fiuczynski.

Marty Ehrlich's Rites Quartet – “ My Song” from Frog Leg Logic. Ehrlich, who divides his time teaching at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA and writing and performing, has now released two CDs of music inspired by the late Julius Hemphill (1938-1995). The unusual configuration of this quartet – Ehrlich on sax and flute, James Zollar on trumpet, Hank Roberts on cello and Michael Sarin on drums  - is the same that Hemphill used on his highly influential release Dogon A.D. from 1972.

 Marc Carey – “Music is the Magic” from For the Love of Abbey.  Here’s a preview of a hot release coming soon from pianist Carey. Jenkins wrote the liner notes for this, Marc’s first solo CD, which you will be hearing plenty of in the coming months.

Call (212) 220 - 1460 or visit Ticketing Services (12PM - 6PM, Tue. - Sat.). Order single tickets online at www.tribecapac.org. BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center is located on the campus of the Borough of Manhattan Community College. A valid photo ID is required when attending an event. Performers Subject to change.