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Watch out Austin!  Indaba Music‘s very own Mantis Evar will be roaming 6th Street at the 2012 SXSW Music Conference.  Follow him (at your own risk) on Foursquare to see what he is up to!  UPDATE: On Friday, March 16th, … Continue reading →

And,very pretty too!
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Just wanted to let everyone know I will be checking out Indaba Music member Tiffany Randol this coming Friday at The Mercury Lounge in New York City. It’s an early show – Please, come by and bring some friends and we’ll make an event out of it!
Check her out here – http://tiffanyrandol.com/
IAMEVE @ The Mercury Lounge
Friday August 26th
7:30pm – sharp! (yes we will party afterward!)
mercuryloungenyc.com (Houston @ Allen)
Details: It will be a full band show with Alan from Valeze playing guitar, Brett Conti on Bass and David Duclose on the drums.
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!http://bowery.indabamusic.com/media/806839/mantis_willie_gallery.png!
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It started off a nice day with low winds so, I figured I’d grab a few friends and head down to the local airport in attempt to find a Cessena for the day. Here is the plane we scored!

And, here is a shot of the cockpit -

So, I took off to fly the sky -

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Jazz is dying, or so the critics would have you believe…
In a world where the audience for jazz is shrinking, Search and Restore is stepping up to change the future of the music as we know it, and we need your help!  Between 2002 and 2008, the median age of Americans who attended a live jazz performance increased from 29 to 49.  The fact that the media coverage of jazz has been in strictly traditional outlets with heavy references to the past, reinforces the stigma of jazz as an old music.  Coupled with cover charges at high profile clubs of $30 or more, new fans are increasingly less likely to discover and connect with the music.

Our mission: Develop and Unite the New Jazz Community!
The audience may be fading, but the music most definitely is not.   Search and Restore wants to introduce a new generation of fans to the powerful ne

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Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright owner’s exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.

Until we have an offical flagging system in place; Please, use this blog to post a link to any material that you feel may be in violation. And, thanx so much for keeping your ears open!

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I came across this nice lady named Sarah Dunlop on Facebook and she mentioned some dismay that nobody blogs about her. Well, Sarah can no longer say that, as this is now the official Sarah Dunlop Blog. Sarah is from Arnprior Ontario where she attended District High School. Sarah is into music like Timbaland, Tragically Hip, U2 and Alexandra Stewart. I love that Sarah is an animal rights activist. We can’t have too many of those in this world. Sarah loves watching movies and likes to keep her profile private.  She is also very pretty.

I hope this turns your Facebook frown upside down, Sarah! People that you don’t even know are blogging about you, too! This could possibly turn into something very big… Get ready for the press!

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What, exactly, is an Eigenharp? Well, perhaps a more apt question would be: What, exactly, isn’t an Eigenharp? Touted by its creators as, “the most expressive electronic musical instrument ever made,” it has a lot of hype to live up to. At first glance, it looks like one of the instruments played by the aliens in the cantina scene of Star Wars: A New Hope; or maybe, the result of genetic manipulation when Bassoon, Keytar, and TR-808 DNA has been combined. To put it simply, it looks like no other instrument in existence. The largest model, called the Alpha, hosts 120 velocity sensitive, multi directional keys; a built in wind controller; 2 ribbon strips, for added expression; customized, proprietary, software; built in drum keys; and a built in step sequencer.

<img title="Eigenharp Alpha" src="http://indiemusicfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/eigenharp-electronic-inst-001.j

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A new baby is coming in 9 months! Peace Partners is a musical project dedicated to the ideals of world peace and freedom. We are looking to create as many Indaba sessions as possible, in various genres, around these themes.

All Peace Partner songs will be sold over the Internet. Additionally, we hope to produce a CD containing selected Peace Partner songs for distribution through more traditional music outlets.

All proceeds from the CD and online sales will be distributed among foundations and non-profit organizations dedicated to working toward a better world.

Amnesty International Canada francophone has already agreed to partner with us on this project. We hope additional, established organizations will come on-board, as the project progresses.

<img src="http://static.indabamusic.com/shared/post_images/0000/0943/ist2_2900866-rockin-baby-1.jpg

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I don’t post videos everyday but I come across so many I want to share with you all – I should! Still, I will title these blogs Video of the Day. Most of you know I am extremely grateful to have worked with so many incredible musicians and, have gained so much positivity and experience from them that I will forever promote these artists that have contributed to my musical spirit. My hope is that I can turn someone on to a musician they may never have heard before.

This 1965 rendition of Blue Monk written by Thelonious Monk is performed by guitar great Wes Montgomery. This clip features two friends; pianist Martial Solal who I recorded live at the world-famous Village Vanguard and Hard Bop tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin.

Check this out and let me know what you think. Please, leave your comment and let us know what some of your video clips are! Enjoy

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I hope you can all join in on wishing our friend Tassili Bond a very Happy Birthday!

Tassili has been a long time Indaba supporter and collaborator and we would like to take a moment to wish him a beautiful birthday and let him know that we appreciate all his extraordinary input and support.

We are proud to have such passionate members within the community. Happy Birthday brother!

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DL Media reports Jazz legend Freddie Hubbard has passed away in Sherman Oaks Hospital this morning (December 29) in Sherman Oaks California at the age of 70.  The cause of death was from complications of a heart attack he suffered on November 26. 
 
David Weiss, his longtime manager, arranger and producer who also organized and played trumpet in Hubbard’s last band,  The New Jazz Composers Octet, recalls “He played faster, longer, higher and with more energy than any other trumpeter of his era.”
 
The fiery trumpeter, composer and NEA Jazz Master defined the 60s, as no other trumpeter played and impacted the music in so many far-reaching and innovative projects. He played with artists John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Bobby Hutcherson, Oliver Nelson, Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy,  Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner and countless oth

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In a startlingly original recreation of music associated with
jazz legend Miles Davis, co-producers Bob Belden and Louiz Banks have
recast familiar themes from such landmark recordings as Bitches Brew,
In A Silent Way, and Kind of Blue with an East Meets West sensibility
on Miles…From India. An incredibly ambitious project involving two
dozen musicians from two separate continents recording in studios
around the world, Miles…From India is a cross-cultural summit meeting
that puts a provocative pan-global spin on such Miles classics as “All
Blues,” “Spanish Key,” “So What,” “It’s About That Time” and “Jean
Pierre.”

Producer-archivist Belden, renowned for his Grammy
Award-winning reissue work on a series of Miles Davis boxed sets for
Sony/Columbia, explains sitar and tablas, ghatam and khanjira,
mridangam and Carnatic violin ble

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I first met Russell Malone about 10 years ago when I was putting together a Benny Green record titled These Are Soulful Days. This was a trio recording with Benny on the piano, Russell on guitar and Christian McBride on bass. After the recording, I had seen Russell perform live many times and he quickly entered my hot guitarist list. Last night I had the pleasure of catching a Russell Malone set at the Jazz Standard and I was surprised to see a few friends in his band. Jonathan Blake was on drums and Indaba member Tassili Bond played bass. It turned out to be a fun night with good friends and great music. Check out Russell when you get a chance. It will certainly be worth your time. 

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As many of you might already know I have been an electric bass player most of my life. As I have been producing jazz for about the past 10 years I have gained a great interest in the acoustic bass. I have never actually played the acoustic bass and have always seen the upright as a completely different instrument compared to the electric bass – at least, in regards to dexterity and feel.

One day, I was speaking with bassist Ron Carter explaining that I was actually a little afraid of the upright. On the electric I feel confident and look forward to a challenge where I would feel defeated and feared challenge with the acoustic bass. Mr. Carter responded, “Mantis, you just have to get one and practice.” Mr. Carter continued to tell me of this guy named David Gage in NYC that specialized in acoustic bass and mos

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Hello everyone – I started a new group called Listen Up. This is a group where you can talk about the music that you are into now and from your past. What is in your CD player? What is your favorite song? What is your favorite album? What is your new favorite band? Please, be the first to join the group and let us all know the music you are into. I am looking forward to hearing what you like! Click here to join the group http://www.indabamusic.com/groups/55860

Let us know what you think about this song:

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Hello my Indaba friends. I just want to let you know that I have uploaded some new tunes to my profile for you all to hear. I also added a ton of links on my profile so you can check out some of the very talented folks I have had the pleasure to work with over the past many years. Please, check out the links and let me know what you like or, experiences you may have had with some of these songs/musicians.

I will place my predictions for what the Indaba team might like:

Dan – Will probably like the Beastie Boys and ScoHoLoFo
Matt – I think Lou Rawls
David – Anything in the Definitive Series
Chris – JA.DE, St. Germain or, Lemonade (music sample section)
PJ – The Recovery!
Gordo – Erik Truffaz
Jesse – Medeski Martin and Wood
Josh – Supergenerous
Ryan – Chucho Valdes
Streeter – Hop

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I have been a member of The International Association of Jazz Educators for the past decade and I am sorry to announce that after 40 successful years the organization has disbanded.

The mission of the International Association for Jazz Education was to assure the continued worldwide growth and development of Jazz and Jazz Education.

This great organization allowed the Jazz community to gather annually performing for each other at their conference. Thousands upon thousands of jazz musicians and fans were also attracted to IAJE through its Teacher Training Institutes, student scholarship programs such as the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All-Stars and its website and magazine.

I have received a note from IAJE President Chuck Owen stating that IAJE has filed in Kansas bankruptcy court and has already closed its doors

I have had the pleasure to work with jazz le

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Keep an ear out for a record that producer Jerry Roche and I are currently working on. Ex-Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas and his band Gods And Monsters which includes Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) on keys, drummer Billy Ficca (Television), bassist Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers) along with a horn section had played a great set of music at the CMJ Festival and we have captured it! For your ears AND eyes! 

Jerry has decided to release this as a CD/DVD package! The CD includes 14 high-energy tunes that took the audience to their feet! Indaba videographer Chuck Fishbein had collected his crew and filmed the entire event including the private pre-show solo performance and interview at the Indaba loft! The live concert was recorded by Indaba member Liberty Ellman at the Bowe

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Welcome to my studio! This is where I work! 

I started writing this a while back. I am a little late in posting this as I was busy building the studio. Now I will attempt to play catch-up and tell you a little about the space. I will add more current photos as the studio is now completed.

The 7 spaces include a control room, drum room (main space; room A), piano room (room B), bass room (room C), guitar room (room D), vocal booth (room E) and a separate space used as a music library; CD’s, dats, VHS, Hi-8′s, vinyl,  cassettes, mini casstettes, multi track tape.

Some construction photos:

Re

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MY NAME IS ALBERT AYLER

“If people don’t like it now, they will.”

“One of the most starkly beautiful and moving
documentaries ever made about a jazz musician.”  Jazz Times (USA)

MY NAME IS ALBERT AYLER is a documentary about the prophetic free jazz saxophonist Ayler, who today is seen as one of the most important innovators in jazz. Ayler was obsessed with his radical music and by the thought that people one day would understand it, as he said in his own words “If people don’t like it now, they will."  In 1962 he recorded his first album in Sweden. Eight years later he was found dead in New York’s East River, aged 34.
 
The documentary follows

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Jazz legend Joe Zawinul, who soared to fame as one of the creators of jazz fusion and performed and recorded with Miles Davis, has died, a hospital official said. He was 75. Zawinul died early Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Vienna’s Wilhelimina Clinic said, without giving details. Zawinul had been hospitalized since last month. Zawinul, who turned 75 on July 7, won widespread acclaim for his keyboard work on chart-topping Davis albums such as In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, and was a leading force behind the so-called Electric Jazz movement. In 1970, Zawinul founded the band Weather Report and produced a series of albums including Heavy Weather, Black Market and I Sing the Body Electric. After that band’s breakup, he founded the Zawinul Syndicate in 1987. Zawinul is credited with bringing the electric piano and synthesizer into the jazz mainstream. This past spring, he toured Eur

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I had first met producer Jerry Roche back in 1993 when he had delivered a two part Leo Kottke release titled Instrumentals: The Best Of The Chrysalis Years and The Best Of The Capitol Years to my NYC office. Since, Jerry and I have been working closely through the years and have become very good friends. Jerry works at Mosaic /True Blue which have just introduced a new division called Mo

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Killer sax player and Indaba member Greg Osby and I became friends well before I started working with him. The first of his albums that I was involved in was a 2000 release titled Invisible Hand. Since then, we have worked together on many albums and live events. I am more than happy to say that he has strayed from the friend role and became more like a brother to me. Here is Osby performing Help on the Way with Phil Lesh and Friends;

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSyuUq0fgIA&w=425&h=350]

And here he is with the W

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Motion Trio was founded in 1996 with a mission to redefine the accordion and explore soundscapes far beyond what one normally associates with this instrument. Manfred Horak from Jazzeit writes “To achieve similar effects, a group like Pink Floyd required enormous equipment, whereas Motion Trio, only three accordions.” The Pigini Sirius Millenium accordions, considered to be the finest in the world, are used by the musicians to produce an extensive gamut of innovative timbres through the use of a variety of unconventional accordion techniques, all strictly acoustic-created. In their music they draw from a wide range of musical styles including minimal music, jazz, rock, techno and classical music. Motion Trio has worked with many prominent artists, such as Bobby McFerrin, Trilok Gurtu, Joe Zawinul, Tomasz Stanko, Michal Urbaniak, Wojciech Kilar, Krzysztof Penderecki and Sin

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I worked the Medeski Martin and Wood release called Tonic, a live acoustic recording that was recorded at a small club called Tonic here in NYC. This clip is from a later release called The Dropper.
I LOVE THESE GUYS!!!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DdPEU7VL5s&w=425&h=350]

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I had the honor of working with two of Mr. Martino’s Blue Note recordings Think Tank and Live At Yoshis. Pat Martino is honestly one of my greatest inspirations. In this video clip Pat’s trio performs Welcome to a Prayer which was a featured track on Live At Yoshi’s in 2001. This recording was a trio with Pat on guitar, Joey DeFrancesco on organ and Billy Hart on Drums. For this live clip Byron Landham is on the drums.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7nOO6Lifo8&w=425&h=350]

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My musical career has often allowed me to work at length with people from different countries from around the world. At one point in time I had worked extensivly in the Phillipines and was able to learn and live amongst them as average folk. Afterwards my life shifted to Africa as I was working close with the President of Gabon during an election period. I soon had an influx of clients from all over Africa. Back in NYC, mostly through Blue Note Records I was afforded the opportunity to work with major French artists including Jacky Terrasson, Henri Salvador, Martial Solal, Michel Petrucciani, St Germain and Erik Truffaz.

I had introduced St. Germain to the US a few years back. Check out this single titled Sure Thing:

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I have worked with Joe Lovano for so many years I just wanted to show a clip that might give you a very quick look at who I think is one of the greatest musicians of our time. Other greats such as George Garzone, Ralph Lalama and Gunther Schuller all sing praise in this clip.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fcuRK5rQgo&w=425&h=350]

Also, check out this great Indaba Music contest that Joe was nice to help us out with.

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This is a recording compleated several years ago and has become an importaint piece of music in my life.
Don Williamson from All About Jazz say’s Black Dahlia, without a doubt, will be remembered as the most ambitious jazz recording of the year. Rather than a blowing session, influential though blowing sessions may be, Bob Belden’s Black Dahlia is an extended story-telling, romantic and fatalistic suite that was three years in the making. In addition, over sixty musicians wre required to fill the symphony orchestra that accomplishes Belden’s vision.
When Belden’s last grand project, a 1993 interpretation of the opera Turandot, was blocked by Giacomo Puccini’s estate, Belden’s work in writing and recording his own music stalled.

Not that he wasn’t busy. Belden has been scoring films, producing classic reissues (like Herbie Hancock’s Blue Note sessions), directing sessions by

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Just wanted to let everyone know I will be checking out Indaba Music member Tiffany Randol this coming Friday at The Mercury Lounge in New York City. It’s an early show – Please, come by and bring some friends and we’ll make an event out of it!

Check her out here – http://tiffanyrandol.com/

IAMEVE @ The Mercury Lounge
Friday August 26th
7:30pm – sharp! (yes we will party afterward!)
mercuryloungenyc.com (Houston @ Allen)
Details: It will be a full band show with Alan from Valeze playing guitar, Brett Conti on Bass and David Duclose on the drums.

2 Responses to “Hang out this Friday night”

1. Akira Katani a.k.a TokyoSinz says:

   August 22, 2011 at 8:24 pm

   Sucks! I’m gonna miss that one… as I’m booked up Friday… Have a blast!

   Reply
2. Mantis Evar says:

   August 23, 2011 at 10:25 am

   Thanx Akira. Don’t worry – You’ll be there in spirit!

   Reply