State Champ Radio Jazz
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Robert Glasper had quite the busy October… or should we call it Robtober? From Oct. 4 to Nov. 6, the pianist took over New York’s legendary Blue Note Jazz Club for his fourth annual “Robtoberfest” residency.
Over the course of 26 nights, the Grammy winner performed 52 shows, with special guests including Dave Chappelle, Jill Scott, Andra Day, Lalah Hathaway, Common, Rapsody, Miguel and more. “My approach to Robtober is kind of, like, anything goes,” Glasper says of organizing the residency. “I get to curate my favorite musicians, my favorite artists. Literally, it’s a musical playground, so it’s like all of the thoughts that are in my head, I can actually do those.”
Blue Note’s director of programming Alex Kurland tells Billboard: “This year’s fourth iteration of Robert Glasper’s annual month-long fall residency at Blue Note was another mesmerizing experience. Every night was a feast of unbelievable artistic and culturally iconic moments led by Robert. This residency is more than a series of shows, it’s a playlist of unique happenings and experiences within our intimate jazz club setting with the greatest artists and bands bobbing and weaving in and out of Blue Note, and on and off stage.
“Robert is a legend and embodies what it means to be authentic as an artist and as a person,” he continued. “With this iconic residency, we are literally watching history unfold in real time – led by truly the coolest person alive.”
Glasper’s five-week run of shows also attracted many a famous face to the longstanding Greenwich Village hotspot, from Chris Rock, Lupita Nyong’o and married couple Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost to Questlove, Sway and more.
Below, check out exclusive videos of Glasper performing with Chappelle, Hathaway, Day, Scott and more — plus, see the backstage perspective as A-listers rub elbows before and after the shows. Take a step inside the residency with these clips.
Christian McBride & Inside Straight were the top winners at the inaugural Jazz Music Awards, which were held on Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta. McBride & Inside Straight received two of the eight competitive awards — best mainstream artist and best duo, group or big band. McBride, 50, an eight-time Grammy winner, was on the road in Europe and unable to attend the event.
The show, dubbed Celebrating the Spirit of Jazz, was co-hosted by Dee Dee Bridgewater and actor Delroy Lindo. Terri Lyne Carrington was the show’s musical director and co-executive producer.
A mid-show medley of “songs of social justice” featured Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jazzmeia Horn, and Ledisi. Reeves opened the segment with her 1994 composition, “Endangered Species,” which gained notice at last month’s Primetime Emmy Awards when Sheryl Lee Ralph sang it in her acceptance speech.
Vocalist Somi, one of two winners of the best vocal performance award (due to a tie), performed a Miriam Makeba tribute, “House of the Rising Sun.”
A presentation of a lifetime achievement award to influential jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter included a medley of his songs and Shorter’s heartfelt video message.
The show closed with an affecting performance by Lizz Wright and Tia Fuller of “Georgia on My Mind.”
Carrington’s All-Star Band played throughout the show. The group included pianist Orrin Evans, bassist James Genus, guitarist Mark Whitfield, tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland, alto saxophonist Braxton Cook, trumpeter Milena Casado, keyboardist Ray Angry, drummer Nikki Glaspie, and DJ/percussionist Kassa Overall.
Presenters included Reeves, Horn, Jean and Marcus Baylor of The Baylor Project, Brandee Younger, Ben Tankard, Orrin Evans, Ragan Whiteside, Tia Fuller, and Bob Baldwin.
Many in attendance were sobered by the more than 100 jazz greats listed in the In Memoriam tribute. All died between the latter part of December 2019 and October 2022.
The Jazz Music Awards is a nonprofit division of Jazz 91.9 WCLK at Clark Atlanta University, owner and licensee of WCLK.
The second Annual Jazz Music Awards is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.
Here’s a complete list of nominees in the eight competitive categories:
Best Mainstream ArtistJoey DeFrancesco, More MusicKenny Garrett, Sounds From The AncestorsWINNER: Christian McBride & Inside Straight, Live at the Village VanguardBrandee Younger, Somewhere Different
Best Contemporary ArtistBrian Bromberg, A Little Driving MusicBen Tankard, SHINE!Lindsey Webster, “I Didn’t Mean It”WINNER: Ragan Whiteside, “Off the Cuff”
Best Duo, Group, or Big BandThe Baylor Project, GenerationsJazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force, Dear LoveWINNER: Christian McBride & Inside Straight, Live at the Village VanguardCount Basie Orchestra, Live at Birdland(under the direction of Scotty Barnhart)Kevin Eubanks and Orrin Evans, EEE (Eubanks-Evans-Experience)
Best New Jazz Artist (Contemporary or Mainstream)Simon Moullier, CountdownJulieta Engenio, JumpKazemde George, I InsistWINNER: Samara Joy, Samara Joy
Best Vocal PerformanceThe Baylor Project, GenerationsCO-WINNER: Somi Kakoma, Dreaming ZenzileCO-WINNER: Stacey Kent, Songs From Other PlacesShawnn Monteiro, You Are There
Best Mainstream AlbumThe Baylor Project, GenerationsCO-WINNER: Orrin Evans, The Magic of NowCO-WINNER: Kenny Garrett, Sounds From the AncestorsBrandee Younger, Somewhere Different
Best Contemporary AlbumWINNER: Bob Baldwin, The Stay at Home Series, Volume 1Brian Culbertson, The Trilogy RedSonny Emory, Soul AscensionGabriel Mark Hasselbach, Tongue & Groove
Song of the Year (Fan Vote)WINNER: Norman Brown, “Back at Ya”Brian Culbertson, “Feel the Love”Justin-Lee Schultz, “Gruv Kid”James “PJ” Spraggins, “Up From Here”
Janet Thurlow, the jazz singer and widow of famed trombonist Jimmy Cleveland who performed with Lionel Hampton’s orchestra and helped give Quincy Jones an early career boost, has died. She was 96.
Thurlow died Oct. 4 congestive heart failure at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, California, her family announced.
Thurlow first met Cleveland in 1951 when she joined Hampton’s band and he was playing with the vibes legend. They married two years later and performed together often until his death in 2008 at age 82.
The first of five children, Janet Lorraine Thurlow was born in Seattle on May 21, 1926. She received violin, piano and voice lessons as a youngster and played violin on a radio talent show hosted by Major Edward Bowes.
She began as a song stylist with Robert “Bumps” Blackwell’s Seattle-based band in 1949 before she was recruited by Hampton. She then pushed the bandleader to hire Jones, a trumpeter and friend from Seattle.
In August 1951, Thurlow and Jones were prominently featured as “Two Seattleites” on the bill of a Hampton show at the city’s popular Trianon Ballroom.
She later recorded “I Can’t Believe You’re in Love With Me” with Hampton for the Decca label, making her perhaps the first white singer to front an all-Black big band.
The skilled Cleveland fronted several albums of his own and recorded with the likes of Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Sarah Vaughan, James Brown, Miles Davis, Teddy Edwards and Diana Washington.
He and his wife moved from New York to Lynwood in 1967 when he began playing in the band on The Merv Griffin Show.
Survivors include her sister, Carolyn, nieces Carol and Julie and nephew Martin. A memorial service will be held at noon Saturday at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Gate, California.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
