BOB HURWITZ LEADS SEMINAR ON ARTS AND COMMERCE AT NEW SCHOOL JAZZ

New School Jazz welcomes back Bob Hurwitz, president of Nonesuch Records, as discussion leader and programmer of the Art and Commerce series, which was inaugurated in fall 2006. It continues this spring with Next Steps: Navigating the Worlds of Art and Commerce.

Drawing on the expertise and experience of Hurwitz’s guests, the seminars explore one central theme: can musicians and others interested in the creative life exist independently of the commercial forces of modern culture? Students and guests discuss the power and reach of modern media companies, the benefits and limitations of new technologies in the arts, and the lives of artists and musicians whose careers have challenged the status quo.

The spring series began with an overview by Bob Hurwitz and was continued with guest Pat Metheny, who discussed his career and views on the music business. Metheny also gave students advice on preparing for and sustaining successful lives as musicians. Upcoming guests include Randall Kline, president, San Francisco Jazz Festival, speaking onArts Presenters and the “Stages” of the Industry, March 1; Bruce Lundvall, president, Blue Note Records, speaking on The Future of the Jazz Record Business,March 8; Ben Ratliff, chief New York Times jazz critic, speaking on Perspectives on the New York Jazz and Contemporary Music Scene, March 15; and Andy Allen, president, ADA(Alternative Distribution Alliance), speaking on The Alternative and Independent Record Labels: Perspectives from Leaders in Alternative Media, March 29.

This series of talks is envisioned for those interested in careers as musicians, as well as those who have a desire to work in the business of art—whether at record companies, symphony orchestras, not-for-profits, clubs, or concert halls or in the many other related fields that support the arts in America. All New School students are invited to attend. The seminar meets in the Jazz Performance Space, 55 West 13th Street, 5th floor, 4:40–6:00 p.m. on Thursdays. For more information email Bethany Ryker, rykerb@newschool.edu

NEW SCHOOL JAZZ FACULTY MEMBER PRODUCES SCULPTURED SOUNDS FESTIVAL

On February 4, renowned bassist and faculty member Reggie Workman launched the Sculptured Sounds Music Festival. The festival showcases the many sides of futuristic music and concepts from Reggie Workman’s creative vision. Performances continue on Sundays, February 18, and 25. Workman has assembled an eclectic line-up of artists, some in unique configurations that he crafted solely for the festival. Included in the festival’s roster of internationally acclaimed artists are many New School Jazz musicians, including faculty members Gerry Hemingway on drums, Billy Harper on saxophone, Richard Harper on voice/conducting, Jimmy Owens on trumpet, and Charles Tolliver on trumpet/conducting. Alumni include Claudia Atkinson (’05) on voice, Andy Bemkey (’96) on piano, Danielle Elliott (’06) on voice, Yayoi Ikawa (’04) on piano, and Stafford Hunter (’94) on trombone. Students include Ryan Blum-Krystal on voice, Eustacia Foster on voice, and Lenart Krecic on saxophone.

Alongside two performances each evening, the festival showcases multidisciplinary demonstrations/lectures, visual art by musicians, and listening stations in various areas around St. Peter’s Church. The festival celebrates the life of Jimmy Vass (1937-2006) who devoted his life to the growth of aspiring musicians. All events take place at St. Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at East 54th Street. For more information visit www.sculpturedsounds.com.

NEW SCHOOL JAZZ AMONG THE BEST IN JAZZTIMES 2006 ROUNDUP

Alumni and faculty of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music were prominently featured in the February issue of JazzTimes its 2006 Year-End Round-Up, with many placing in the top four in several of the Readers Poll categories. The top four winners in each category are determined by reader’s write-ins.

Alumni and faculty achievements include:

• Marcus Strickland (‘01) won “Best New Artist” and placed third in “Best New Release” for his work with Roy Haynes and the Foundation of Youth Band on the CD Whereas.
• Gregoiré Maret (‘98) won “Best Contemporary/Electric Group” for his work with the Pat Metheny Group.
• Brad Mehldau (‘93) placed third for “Best Acoustic Group” and second for “Best Piano.”
• Marcus Baylor (‘99) placed third for “Best Contemporary/Electric Group“ for his work with Yellowjackets;
• Larry Goldings (‘90) placed third for “Best Organ.”
• Jazz faculty Jane Ira Bloom and Andy McKee came in fourth for “Best Soprano Saxophone” and “Best Big Band” respectively.

Artists affiliated with the jazz school also made a showing with Regina Carter, board of governors, winning in the “Best Violin” category; Roy Hargrove, former student, placing second in “Best Trumpet”; Chris Potter, former student, placing fourth in “Best Tenor Saxophone”; and Ingrid Jensen, former faculty, placing third in “Best Big Band” for her work with the Maria Schneider Orchestra.

The top 50 CDs of 2006 were compiled from the lists of JazzTimes critics, and New School Jazz once again was represented:

In the # 2 ranking, Charles Tolliver (faculty) with Andrew Hill, Time Lines (Blue Note);  #5 Steve Cardenas (faculty) with the Paul Motian Band, Garden of Eden (ECM); #8 Larry Goldings (alumni) with Trio Beyond, Saudades (ECM); #11 Brad Mehldau (alumni), House on Hill (Nonesuch); #24 Abdou Mboup (faculty) with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Brotherman in the Fatherland (Hyena); #29 Chris Potter (former student), Underground (Universal France/ Sunnyside); #36 Roy Hargrove (former student), Nothing Serious (Verve); #39 George Garzone (faculty) with the Joe Lovano Ensemble, Streams of Expression (Blue Note); #41 Brad Mehldau (alumni), Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau (Nonesuch); #43 Marcus Baylor (alumni) with the Yellowjackets, Twenty-Five (Heads Up); #45 Joe Chambers (faculty) with Bob Belden, Three Days of Rain (Sunnyside); #47 Joe Chambers (faculty) with Ben Riley’s Monk Legacy Septet, Memories of T (Concord); and #49 Peter Bernstein (alumni) with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jungle Soul (Palmetto).

REGINA CARTER NAMED MacARTHUR FELLOW FOR 2006

New School Jazz Board Member Regina Carter, a master of improvisational jazz violin was one of 25 new fellows named by the MacArthur Foundation for 2006. Carter will receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years.

MacArthur Fellowships come without stipulations or reporting requirements, allowing fellows to accelerate their current activities or take their work in new directions.  The unusual level of independence afforded to fellows underscores the spirit of freedom intrinsic to creative endeavors. Fellowships are awarded to women and men of all ages and at all career stages; the extraordinary creativity of MacArthur Fellows knows neither boundaries nor the constraints of age, place, and endeavor.

Regina Carter's work draws on a wide range of musical influences including Motown, Afro-Cuban, swing, bebop, folk, and world music, through which she has crafted a signature voice and style. Her performances highlight the often overlooked potential of the jazz violin for its lyric, melodic, and percussive features. Carter's solo recordings include Regina Carter (1995), Something for Grace (1997), Rhythms of the Heart (1999), Paganini: After a Dream (2002), and Ill Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey (2006). Carter has performed at venues throughout the United States and Europe, including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Italy. She has been a board member of the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music since 2003.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. Through the support it provides, the foundation fosters the development of

knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, helps strengthen  institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media. For more information or to sign up for MacArthur's e-newsletter, visit www.macfound.org.

NEW SCHOOL JAZZ PRESENTS JOHN ELLIS: OCTOBER 26

Celebrating 20 years at the forefront of jazz education, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music continues its special anniversary season of the popular Jazz Presents series, showcasing some of the school’s most prestigious alumni. The third in the series is the John Ellis Quintet on Thursday, October 26, 8:00 p.m., at the Jazz Performance Space, 55 West 13th Street, 5th floor. General admission is $10 and free for seniors, students, and all members of the New School community.

After several years in guitarist Charlie Hunter’s band, John Ellis (New School Jazz Alumnus ’99) has branched out on his own with a stellar quintet. At The New School, Ellis met guitarist Mike Moreno ’01 and pianist Aaron Goldberg, and they’ve had a lasting connection. This group’s adventurous vocabulary is displayed on Ellis’ recent CD, By a Thread (HyenaRecords), as Ellis’ compositions retain their New Orleans roots while delving into blues, gospel, jazz, and electronics. With New School Jazz faculty member bassist Doug Weiss and long-time Hunter collaborator drummer Derrick Philips providing the quintet’s rhythmic anchor, this promises to be an exciting performance.

JAZZ PRESENTS SERIES: ALUMNI FROM THE FIRST 20 YEARS

Celebrating 20 years at the forefront of jazz education, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music is presenting a special anniversary season of its popular Jazz Presents series, showcasing some of the school’s most prestigious alumni. First in the series is the Virginia Mayhew Septet on Thursday, October 12, 8:00 p.m., at the Jazz Performance Space, 55 West 13th Street, 5th floor. General admission is  $10; and free for seniors, students, and all members of the New School community.

Since arriving at New School Jazz in 1987 as a Zoot Sims Memorial Scholar, Virginia Mayhew ’89 has established herself as one of New York City’s leading saxophonists and composers. She performs and records extensively, serves as musical director of the Duke Ellington Legacy and performs with Brazilian great Claudio Roditi. Looking to compose for a group with many distinct voices, she created the Virginia Mayhew Septet in 2005 as a new outlet for her exciting originals and creative arrangements of standards. For tonight’s concert, Mayhew has assembled some of today's finest instrumentalists, including Lisa Parrott, baritone and alto saxophone; Kenny Rampton, trumpet and flugelhorn; Noah Bless, trombone; Kenny Wessel, guitar; Harvie S, bass; and Victor "Yahya" Jones, drums. Next up in the series will be the John Ellis Quintet on Thursday, October 26, at 8:00 p.m.

New School Jazz faculty member Jane Ira Bloom, an accomplished saxophonist and composer, has been selected for the 2007 Mary Lou Women in Jazz Award given by the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

As the recipient of the award for her lifetime of service to jazz, Bloom will be publicly recognized at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater on Friday, May 11, 2007, as part of the 12th Annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival. Jane Ira Bloom is recognized as a pioneer in the use of live electronics and movement in jazz. Her continuing commitment to "pushing the envelope" in her music has led to collaborations with such outstanding jazz and world music artists as Kenny Wheeler, Charlie Haden, Rufus Reid, Min Xiao-Fen, Bob Brookmeyer, Jay Clayton, Fred Hersch, and Mark Dresser. As a bandleader, Bloom has recorded more then 12 albums. A strong visual thinker and a cinematic stylist, Bloom's affinity for other art forms such as painting, film, theater, and dance has both enriched her music and expanded her creative projects across the arts.

The Kennedy Center established the award in 1996 in honor of Mary Lou Williams for her work as “a pianist, composer, arranger, teacher, mentor, and humanitarian, who left her mark on nearly every aspect of jazz, defying gender, race, and category with her wide-ranging gifts.” Prior recipients of the award include Cobi Narita, Shirley Scott, Marian McPartland and Toshiko Akiyoshi.

For more information about Jane Ira Bloom, see www.janeirabloom.com. For more information about the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, click here.

Guitarist Peter Bernstein has released a DVD of live performances from the New York City club Smoke. Live from Smoke captures Bernstein in action with his long-standing trio, Peter Bernsteinwhich features alumnus Larry Goldings on organ and Bill Stewart on drums. A review of the DVD by AllAboutJazz NY touts the trio as having “fashioned a sound that's a heady evolution of the kind of soulful jazz for which the late Jimmy Smith was renowned, albeit with a stronger modernistic bent and progressive sense of swing..."

Peter Bernstein entered the inaugural class of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in 1986 and graduated in 1990. In his career he’s performed and recorded with such jazz luminaries as Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Cobb, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Nicholas Payton, and Diana Krall.

In addition to his busy performance schedule, Bernstein teaches at New School Jazz and The Juilliard School, and gives master classes and workshops across the world. The Peter Bernstein Trio will perform a series of four nights, Dec. 8–11 at the Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street.

For more information about Peter Bernstein’s DVD,
please visit www.melbayrecords.com/DVDconcert/bernstein-p.asp