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ZZ Quartet
ZZ Quartet: Beyond the Lines
by Glenn Astarita
Three Europeans and celebrated American drummer Adam Nussbaum stir up some chutzpah via the guitar-accordion based format. In recent times the accordion's role in jazz-centric vernaculars has been expanding. And while this quartet doesn't invent a newfound genre, its spunky and articulate disposition, containing all original compositions engender a sophisticated outlook. With alternating tempos and several speedy unison choruses by guitarist Ratko Zjaca and accordionist Simone Zanchini, the band veers into changeable dimensions, largely executed within a sprightly modus operandi ...
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by Dan Bilawsky
Croatian guitarist Ratko Zjaca and Italian accordionist Simone Zanchini hit artistic pay dirt when they teamed up for The Way We Talk (In + Out Records, 2010). They joined forces with Macedonian bassist Martin Gjakonovski and American drummer Adam Nussbaum for that album, creating a cross-cultural blend of music that speaks to specific musical idiosyncracies and universal truths in sound. Now, a few years after that initial encounter-on-record, this outfit returns with a follow-up that's just as pleasing and unique ...
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by Dan McClenaghan
The group is called the ZZ Quartet, and no, it is not an expansion of the famed blues rock trio from Texas, ZZ Top. Beyond the Lines is the brainchild of the leaders--the Zs of the ZZ Quartet--accordion master Simone Zanchini and guitarist Ratko Zjaca. And their music isn't rock, though elements of the genre surface, in Zjaca's oft-imes snappy guitar licks, or when Zanchini addresses the ah-look-at-all-the-lonely-people" bit of the Beatles' melody on the tranquil River Spirit."Anytime ...
read moreBackgrounder: Brazilian Jazz Quartet
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Who were the musicians in the Brazilian Jazz Quartet? According to Wikipedia, the group featured José Ferreira Godinho Filho Casé" on alto saxophone, Moacyr Peixoto on piano, Luiz Chaves Oliveira da Paz Luiz Chaves" on bass and Rubens Alberto Barsotti Rubinho" on drums. The reason I pose the question is the remarkable similarity in tone between saxophonist Casé" and Art Pepper (and at times, Lee Konitz). So much so that only a careful ear can tell them apart. Pepper, of ...
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Modern Jazz Quartet: Nearly Forgotten
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Time has a way of sweeping some jazz stars away while leaving others top of mind. One supergroup that seems to be disappearing from the public consciousness is the Modern Jazz Quartet. In the 1950s, when a more classically influenced style known as chamber jazz became popular at the start of the LP era, the MJQ began to attract attention. The group's esteem and status only grew in the late 1950s and early 1960s as their gentle, erudite music attracted ...
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Medeljazz Quartet Featuring Laurent Medelgi At Rockwood Music Hall Stage 1 On March 30
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Laurent Medelgi
Midnight Show Get Tickets Rockwood Music Hall 196 Allen St New York, NY 10002 Guitarist and composer Laurent Medelgi returns to New York to premiere music from his latest release Versature. In creating post bop modern jazz sounds conveyed by his compositions, Medelgi has assembled a team of some of the best and most current players in the Big Apple including: Lex Torken: piano Marcos Valera: bass Colin Stranahan: drums “Beautiful album!”—Robert L. Smith, Oscar ...
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Simona Smirnova Jazz Quartet: Bird Language At The Red Room - Nov. 12th - 7pm This Friday!
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Scott Thompson Public Relations
"Bird Language is a mesmerizing and genre-bending show where Baltic folklore, jazz and pop styles are blended into one intriguing performance. Presented with a unique theatrical flavor, Simona's original compositions bring Lithuanian ethnic zither (kanklės) to jazz; and fascinate the audience with breathtaking vocals, mimicked bird sounds, ethereal sound of zither and virtuosic jazz improvisations by her bandmates; Caili O’Doherty on piano, Maxime Cholley on drums and Maksim Perepelica on upright bass. The show will also feature a local New ...
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Brazilian Jazz Quartet: Pepper Pot
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Last week, I was listening to early Brazilian bossa nova albums from the late 1950s when I came across an obscure one from 1958. The album was by a Rio group known as the Brazilian Jazz Quartet. Recorded in 1958 for Columbia, Coffee and Jazz featured alto saxophonist José Ferreira Godinho Filho (better known as Casé), pianist Moacyr Peixoto, bassist Luiz Alves and drummer Rubens Alberto. What sets this album apart is that Casé sounds an awful lot like Art ...
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Mark Guiliana Follows Up The Successful Launch Of His Label - Beat Music Productions - With The Debut Release From The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet - Family First
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Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
Featuring Mark Guiliana (drums, compositions), Shai Maestro (piano), Jason Rigby (saxophone) & Chris Morrissey (bass) Available on June 4, 2015, available for pre-order on iTunes on May 8, 2015 (mastered for iTunes) NYC CD Release Celebration for Family First @ Rockwood Music Hall - Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet - The Rockwood Takeover" One Night - Three Stages! Thursday, June 4, Stage 3 (8 PM), Stage 2 (10 PM) & Stage 1 (Midnight) Featuring Mark Guiliana, Shai Maestro, Chris Morrissey & ...
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World Jazz Quartet Veronneau Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of 'Jazz Samba'
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Chris M. Slawecki
50 years ago bossa nova" was a term barely known beyond Brazil, until in 1963 Jazz Samba, the milestone recording by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, took the world by storm. In popularizing the seductive, syncopated bossa" rhythm, it became the only jazz album in history to reach #1 on the Billboard pop chart in March 1963. It ranks as one of the biggest selling jazz albums of all time and brought Brazilian composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim to ...
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The All-Star Jazz Quartet To Appear At Chris' Jazz Cafe'
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Bruce Klauber
Pianist Andy Kahn, drummer Bruce Klauber, bassist Bruce Kaminsky and saxophonist Asher Stein comprise The All-Star Jazz Quartet," a hard-swinging group of veterans—save newcomer Stein—who will be appearing at Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia on Thursday, December 13th. Shows begin at 7 p.m. and tickets are $10, $5 for students. Chris' is located at 1421 Sansom Street. For further information, call 215-568-3131 or visit chrisjazzcafe.com. Kahn, Klauber and Kaminsky have been playing jazz professionally—just about everywhere and with just about ...
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Jazz Quartet Gives Pianist A Chance To Shine
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Ted Ricci
Some jazz artists spend much of their careers without hitting it big, only to finally emerge into the spotlight and enjoy the recognition they deserved all along. Duke Ellington was a brilliant bandleader and composer, but it was arranger Billy Strayhorn who wrote Chelsea Bridge," Lush Life" and Take the 'A' Train." And guitarist Pat Metheny might not have arrived at such a successful fusion of jazz and rock without pianist and collaborator Lyle Mays. Until recently, Laurence Hobgood has ...
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Lance Houston Jazz Quartet Performing at Boston's Seaport Hotel on Tuesday, January 3
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MassJazz: Jazz in Massachusetts