Veronica Swift… as a Lark Ascending
by Raul da Gama
The metaphor, a lark ascending, is not as far from the truth about the prodigiously gifted vocalist Veronica Swift. After all, young as she may be, she has already ascended to the rarefied realm of artists blessed with artistic abilities of the first order. In fact, in the words of Horace, the Latin lyric poet and one of the most quoted authors of antiquity, she belongs to the rarest of rare artistic tribes, as she fits his prescient description of Veronica, the artist. "Poeta nascitur non fit" (A poet is born not made), says Horace. Of course, in classical thinking, the lyricism or creativity of a “poet” or a brilliant writer, musician or dramatist, was also a qualifying synonym for a highly creative alchemist or a mathematician.
Indeed, even before Veronica recorded a single song, she came with preeminent dynastic qualifications. She is – to those who are unaware of the fact – the daughter of one of the legendary jazz pianists, Hod O’Brien, who ran the St. James Infirmary jazz club in New York City in 1974-75. Hod, who once distinguished himself filling Randy Weston’s piano chair, also played in groups led by Oscar Pettiford and Elvin Jones before playing in the St James Infirmary house band with drummer Beaver Harris and bassist Cameron Brown, and later with Roswell Rudd, Sheila Jordan and Charlie Rouse.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/ae126bccff.html#page/7.
Oscar Hernández - Flag-Bearer of Salsa Dura
Raul da Gama
Over the years, Oscar Hernández has been the flag bearer, not simply of the music of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra (SHO), but of the very sound of El Barrio. And yet again, not simply the sound of El Barrio, but being in the vanguard of bringing back the uplifting passion and excitement of Salsa Dura. We are talking about a musical collision of Afro-Cuban musical elements with jazz. “This is music,” Oscar says, “with the elegant, vivid rumble that originated in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s, characterized by its energetic rhythms, complex arrangements, and emphasis on brass instruments and other instruments over the lead vocals. For those who don’t know, salsa dura means ‘hard salsa’.”
Oscar has been a musical evangelist, spreading the good news, great vibes, and the sprightly elegance of his brand of compelling music in a unique manner. Oscar’s leaping, rhythmical pianism has always been characterized not only by lyrical melodies, formed by a jigsaw of themes and harmonies, but by music propelled into parabolic curves and towering arcs. The elaborate geometry of Oscar’s music is also full of zesty and often impetuous rhythms that seem to capture night skies reflecting evenings redolent of glittering marquees of shimmering lights. What serves him best of all is his full-bodied tone which, together with a delicate pianism, locks in the music’s poignancy.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/ae126bccff.html#page/8.
Bill Charlap: Intuitive Improviser
by Ken Dryden
Bill Charlap has built a thriving career as a pianist, bandleader, and jazz educator as Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University. The son of Broadway composer Moose Charlap and vocalist Sandy Stewart, Bill was immersed in music early, so much so that he can’t remember a time when he didn’t play piano. By the age of three, he would climb the piano to imitate what his father played and the records he listened to, jazz, classical, and Broadway tunes, all by ear. “I could already play at a high level by the time I started studying formally at the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts,” he says. Fellow students included his friends, alto saxophonist Jon Gordon and bassist Sean Smith. Bill studied classical piano with jazz/classical pianist/composer Jack Reilly and Eleanor Hancock, a concert pianist.
Dick Hyman was his distant cousin on his father’s side, and Bill got to know him early on as his interest in jazz grew, when his mother sent him to meet Dick. Bill explains, “I can't say enough about Dick Hyman. He's the dean of jazz pianists. He’s the only pianist that I know of who Art Tatum singled out as somebody to keep an eye on when Dick was a young guy. There's nobody who was more generous with me. In terms of the quality and quantity of influence, nobody in my life was more influential on my relationship to the piano.” Bill also credits pianist Bill Mays as an important mentor.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/ae126bccff.html#page/10.
REVIEW: CREATIVITY OF IQUA COLSON
By Ronald E. Scott
It was a pleasure to see vocalist, lyricist, and composer Iqua Colson gracing the stage of the storied music venue Symphony Space located on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
It seems jazz musicians of the avant-garde usually perform on the Lower East Side but ironically, this was a special occasion -- the 59th anniversary of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
The three-day celebration featured some of the genre's outstanding artists, including Iqua Colson—String Musings. The all-star ensemble featured the inventive pianist, composer Adegoke Steve Colson, violinist Marlene Rice (soul, jazz improvisation with Aretha Franklin, Joe, Beyoncé, Greg Osby, and Steven Coleman), guitarist Brandon Ross (Henry Threadgill, Wadada Leo Smith, Cassandra Wilson), and NEAJazz Master bassist Reggie Workman with all music compositions by Iqua Colson.
Iqua was an intriguing light of insightful swing. She is a vocal warrior, a singer whose lyrics engulfed the audience with tunes reflecting the intense uncertainty of this American society. As one of her song’s lyrics noted, “thoughts and prayers don’t change the game.”
Iqua is a storyteller, sharing the discourse of American happenings, politics, and inequality. She uses her musical platform as a means to explore truth with creative accompanists.
After the bridge, Iqua took a seat from singing allowing her band creative improv time. Adegoke, the pianist, led the charge, with a swinging tempo from hard bop to outright revolutionary improvisation, you know, music that ignites but leaves the audience wondering whether to jump up or just acknowledge the truth that was the musical power of Iqua and her musings.
The band was an intuitive locomotive in the moment of now, enthralling like a roller coaster with Reggie’s melodic lyricism weaving through Iqua’s vocals and guitar measures.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/ae126bccff.html#page/39.
André 3000 Explores New Frontiers with Flute-Led Meditations in Red Hot's TRAИƧA Project
by Laila Simone Gardner
André 3000’s “Something Is Happening And I May Not Fully Understand But I’m Happy To Stand For The Understanding” is as bold and sprawling as its title suggests. Trading rap verses for otherworldly flute-led soundscapes, André continues his journey as a boundary-pushing artist uninterested in convention. The result: a track that feels more like a meditative experience than a song, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in its abstract beauty.
The composition lulls you into a deep introspective state through its ambient synths, laying the backdrop for André’s free-flowing flute melodies. Reminiscent of Yusef Lateef and Rahsaan Roland Kirk – two jazz greats who pioneered pushing the flute outside its traditional boundaries – the composition’s improvisational qualities embody the very spirit of jazz and create a sound landscape that refuses to adhere to predictable patterns. Through the flute, André invites us to witness his stream of consciousness in musical form, each note a spontaneous thought or emotion.
André’s recent releases make this flute-centric track unsurprising, but what’s most notable is his new presence as a vocalist. Known for his sharp lyricism, André’s voice emerges in a divergent form: an ethereal, gibberish-like language that blurs the lines between human and extraterrestrial. The vocals present themselves as a fitting reflection of the song’s title – “I May Not Fully Understand” – and asks the listener to find meaning not in clarity, but in emotion and tone.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/ae126bccff.html#page/39.
Kaisa Mäensivu: Mixing Nordic Melancholy with New York Spirit
by Matty Bannond
There’s nowhere like New York City — but Hämeenlinna is perhaps less like the Big Apple than any other place on the planet. Its town center, where squat buildings crouch against a leafy landscape, was once referred to as “Finland’s largest lit cemetery”. Somehow, double bassist Kaisa Mäensivu’s compositions mix together inspiration from her funereal Nordic birthplace and her frenetic adopted home in the U.S. “Living in New York has brought an upbeat, high-energy part to my music,” she says. “But there’s also a more melancholic part that’s darker and edgier. That’s the Nordic thing.”
Kaisa’s first contact with jazz came from her mother, who played piano at home and owned a selection of the music’s eminent recordings. At first, Kaisa learned classical piano. She switched to double bass as a teenager and wanted to focus on jazz — but the local school didn’t offer lessons outside the classical tradition. So when time for college arrived, Kaisa relocated to Helsinki to expand her melodic, harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary. And she had her heart set on a stint in New York, too.
“It’s the capital city for jazz internationally,” she says. “I don’t know how I knew that then, but somehow it was pulling me to go there. Then I got the chance to do an exchange program in Manhattan that was supposed to be just one year. I started to play gigs and my network was growing, so I felt like I needed to stay and see where it could go.”
In 2016, Kaisa decided to move to NYC and pursue an M.A. at the Manhattan School of Music. Alongside her studies, she took regular tuition from iconic bassist Ron Carter. She was also leading her ensemble, Kaisa’s Machine. it features a fluctuating cast of contributors who perform the bassist’s compositions.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/ae126bccff.html#page/28.
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