Stories » Echoes profiles WXPN's Chuck Van Zyl

Stories for April 21, 2021

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    Shabaka Hutchings is cover feature on DOWNBEAT - May issue
     
    Posted At : April 21, 2021 9:11 AM

    Over the last half decade, Shabaka Hutchings has established himself as a central figure in the London jazz scene, which is enjoying its greatest creative renaissance since the breakthroughs of Joe Harriott and Evan Parker in the 1960s. Hutchings has a restlessly creative and refreshingly open-minded spirit, playing in a variety of groups-most notably, Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming, and Shabaka & the Ancestors-and embracing influences from the sounds of London's diverse club culture, including house, grime, jungle, and dub. "The common theme in my career as a jazz musician has been wondering if what I'm doing is the thing that I should be doing," says Hutchings, who studied classical clarinet at college at London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama. "Me learning about jazz, how to play and interpret, was always a case of just trial and error. I think where I've come to recently is I've stopped trying to think ‘Is what I'm doing valid? or ‘Is what I'm doing part of the jazz tradition?' and just see myself as a musician." Hutchings is featured on the cover of the May issue of Downbeat. SEE COVER IMAGE

  • Whatever Art Of Time Ensemble's 'Ain't Got Long' is, Skope Magazine can't get enough
     
    Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM

    Skope's Sasha Lauryn writes....."A world in which people seek the uncertainties, and possibilities, of art" is the vision of one of the most innovative ensembles to be gracing the popular music landscape right now. With the recent release of their latest album, it's undeniable that Art Of Time Ensemble is bringing that vision to life. Led by the artistic direction and vision of Andrew Burashko together with arrangements by Jonathan Goldsmith who reinterpreted a wide array of songs that qualify as standards. Goldsmith stays faithful to the original melodies and form and then pushes the boundaries as far as possible in every conceivable way. After immersing myself in the deeply sensory sonic landscapes, mesmerizing motifs and hypnotic storytelling that their recent album ‘Ain't Got Long' boasts, I can say with certainty they do just that. The Canada based collective have been breaking archaic genre boundaries since 1998, as their eclectic mix of musicians has attracted captivated crowds on multiple tours. Honestly, I'm just waiting for them to announce their next road trip. This album features the phenomenal pipes of Madeleine Peyroux, Gregory Hoskins, Jessica Mitchell and Sarah Slean. Perhaps it's Andrew's perfect pairings of soundscape with singer or the astounding arrangements of the songs themselves that sets this album apart from anything I've experienced.

    Whatever it is, I can't get enough. READ THE FULL Skope Magazine REVIEW

  • The Catalyst Quartet Uncovers Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and is the 90.1WRTI: Classical Album of the Week
     
    Posted At : April 19, 2021 12:00 AM

    WRTI's SUSAN LEWIS writes......The Catalyst Quartet uncovers music and the stories of the people who wrote it in its new recording series UNCOVERED. The first volume focuses on music by late 19th-century English composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The Catalyst Quartet, founded in 2010 by the Sphinx Organization, aims to "reimagine" the classical music experience. "Sometimes classical music is presented like a museum piece," says violist Paul Laraia. "We want to make sure everything we do has relevance to today," and so the ensemble's programs reach out to a diverse audience, with diverse repertoire. This new project, Uncovered, featuring music of composers who have been overlooked because of race or gender, begins with an album of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a Black English composer born in the late 19th century, the child of an English mother and an African father from Sierra Leone. Ironically, Coleridge-Taylor, who was born in 1875 and died suddenly at the age of 37, was acclaimed during his short lifetime.  Raised in England, he started violin at 5, joined the Royal College of Music at 15, and at 23, had a triumphant premiere of his cantata, Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, set to the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He toured the U.S., where he visited The White House at the invitation of President Teddy Roosevelt. He was so successful, the story goes, that New York musicians in the early 1900s began referring to him as "The Black Mahler;" others are said to have called him "The Black Dvorak."  And while Hiawatha's Wedding Feast remains familiar to many choral ensembles and you may recognize his melodies such as Deep River, much of his over 80 compositions, including operas, ballet music, songs, a symphony, violin concerto and chamber music are unknown today.   Volume 1: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor includes one quartet, and two quintets, one featuring pianist Stewart Goodyear, and one with clarinetist Anthony McGill. LISTEN & WATCH THE 90.1WRTI: Philadelphia INTERVIEW

  • It's 'The Joe Lovano Show' on 'SOMETHING came from Baltimore'
     
    Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM

    'SOMETHING came from Baltimore's' Thom Gouker......Yeah!  This was a big thrill for me.  I was nervous interviewing one of my favorite artists of all time, Joe Lovano, so I decided to ask him 20 goofy questions to see how he handled them.  He easily accepted the challenge and spun junk questions into gold. It's very impressive and that it why I suggest that you check out the Youtube interview, we chatted for 1 1/2 and must of it make it to tape. "Garden of Expression" is the sent album with the trio Lovano/Crispell/Castaldi, the first was the 2018 release "Seeds of Change" Do we have to explain who Joe Lovano is?????  This is copied from Wiki. Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952) is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. He has earned a Grammy Award and several mentions on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls. He is married to jazz singer Judi Silvano with whom he records and performs. Lovano was a longtime member of a trio led by drummer Paul Motian. LISTEN

  • Catalyst Quartet is on a mission with UNCOVERED Vol. 1 / LIMELIGHT Magazine - Recording of the Month
     
    Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM

    LIMELIGHT Magazine's Clive Paget writes......Superlative soloists and compelling chamber music from a quartet on a mission. One of the revolutions set in progress by last year's Black Lives Matter protests has been the refocusing of the classical music industry's attention of composers of colour, many of them historical figures formerly the preserve of the curious collector and rarely programmed live. New York-based Catalyst Quartet was founded in 2010 by the Sphinx Organization, an outstanding Detroit-based social justice organisation dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. The ensemble (Karla Donehew Perez, violin; Abi Fayette, violin; Paul Laraia, viola; and Karlos Rodriguez, cello) build programs and projects accordingly and this excellent release of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is the first in a projected series of "Uncovered" CDs focussing on composers overlooked because of race and/or gender (others releases will include music by Joseph Boulogne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, William Grant Still, Florence B. Price, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and George Walker). CLICK HERE FOR THE LIMELIGHT PAGE

  • In a continuous exploration of harmonic and rhythmic patterns, William Susman releases; Collision Point & A Quiet Madness
     
    Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM

    Spellbinding Music's GUILLAUME writes....Born in Chicago and based in Palo Alto, California, William Susman is an American composer and pianist whose work encompasses orchestral, chamber, vocal and soundtrack music informed by western classical, jazz, African and Latin American traditions as well as contemporary minimalism. Constantly toying with instrumental permutations – from solo performance to his scaled-down big-band formation Octet – the music of William Susman is a continuous exploration of harmonic and rhythmic patterns. Released in October 2019 and January 2021 respectively on his own Belarca label, Collision Point and A Quiet Madness introduce works spanning over 25 years. This is "music for moving pictures" – to paraphrase the title of his documentary soundtrack released in 2009 – an astute and contemporary sonic expression of the "quiet madness" playing out on 24-hour news TV channels or as an infinite scroll on our smartphone screens. READ THE FULL Spellbinding Music REVIEW

  • Mark Helias on pandemic collaborations / Contrabass Conversations
     
    Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM

    Contrabass Conversations writes......Mark Helias is a renowned bassist, composer and producer who has performed throughout the world for more than four decades with some of the most important and innovative musicians in Jazz and Improvised Music including Don Cherry, Edward Blackwell, Anthony Davis, Dewey Redman, Anthony Braxton, Abbey Lincoln, Cecil Taylor, and Uri Caine.  Mark recently released Some Kind of Tomorrow with saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom. We talk about what life has been like during the pandemic, this latest remote album collaboration with Jane and about remote collaboration in general, and many lessons learned from Mark's years working as a jazz bassist.  LISTEN

Top 10 for Apr

  • Vijay Iyer :

    Uneasy

     Uneasy, with Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh, is Vijay Iyer's second trio album on ECM and his seventh appearance as a leader on the label.
  • Sons of Kemet :

    'Hustle' from Black To The Future

     Saxophonist, composer, philosopher and writer Shabaka Hutchings returns with a brand-new album from his Mercury Prize nominated outfit Sons of Kemet.
  • Dustin O'Halloran :

    Silfur

     Dustin O'Halloran's debut Deutsche Grammophon album, Silfur, explores the shifting perspective of music through time and place in new pieces and reimagined earlier works.
  • Eydís Evensen :

    Bylur

     Icelandic pianist and post-classical composer Eydís Evensen has confirmed details of her debut album, BYLUR, which will be released on 23rd April, 2021 by XXIM Records, Sony's new imprint for innovative, post-genre instrumental music.
  • Moby :

    'Porcelain' from Reprise feat. Jim James

     Musical pioneer Moby announces his new album Reprise, out May 28th on Deutsche Grammophon.
  • Jacob Muhlrad :

    Time w/Swedish Radio Choir

     Those who peep through the window of Jacob Mühlrad's studio in Stockholm will see the composer busy behind his computer screen, perhaps blasting some Drake or FKA Twigs as he works on his own music.
  • Anoushka Shankar :

    'Sister Susannah' from Love Letters P.S.

     Seven-time Grammy® Award-nominated sitarist, composer and producer Anoushka Shankar announces a stunning new digital release Love Letters P.
  • Jon Batiste :

    We Are

     WE ARE represents a completely new sonic chapter for Jon Batiste.
  • Clark :

    Playground in a Lake

     On 26 March 2021 the ambitiously multifaceted musician/composer Clark presents his chillingly affecting ninth studio album Playground In A Lake, on which he broadens horizons and tries new things, with profound results.
  • Joey Alexander :

    SALT

     Three-time GRAMMY Award-nominated pianist Joey Alexander follows his major-label debut album, WARNA (Verve Records), with three new singles "SALT" (March 19: LINK), "Under the Sun" (April 23), and "Summer Rising" (May 28) set for global release on Verve.

Echoes profiles WXPN's Chuck Van Zyl

Posted: March 20, 2018 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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We recently explored some of the early 1980s Philadelphia electronic music scene in our interview with The Nightcrawlers, the electronic trio who's 1980 cassette recordings have just been collected on The Biophonic Boombox Recordings. This was music steeped in the sounds of 70s German electronic artists like Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel (now just Ashra). Among the leading acolytes of this sound was Chuck Van Zyl. He is a DJ at WXPN, hosting the old Diaspar show and taking over the reins of Star's End from me in the 80s. He still hosts the show on WXPN to this day. Chuck also produces The Gatherings concert series, which has brought live electronic music to Philadelphia since 1992 including performances by Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Richard Pinhas of Heldon and Cluster. But Chuck wasn't content spinning the discs of his electronic heroes. He started making his own music. He released some of them on cassette, some under his own names, some as Xisle, an ad hoc group that sometimes included members of The Nightcrawlers, and released a CD with his duo, The Ministry of Inside Things. Last year he released an epic double CD live album, with the inauspicious name of Recitals and now he's readying Recitals 2, another set of live performances. Van Zyl is currently getting ready to play E-Day 2018 in Holland opening for Zanov and Ulrich Schnauss. Here's a video of Chuck Van Zyl playing one of the segments of Recitals 2.

SEE THE Echoes PAGE & WATCH VIDEO

Crossover Media Projects with Various

  • Various

    Orff: Carmina Burana Live From the Forbidden City

    Recorded live to the highest industry standards in front of the magnificent scenery of Beijing's Forbidden City, this unique gala concert celebrates the 120th anniversary of Deutsche Grammophon. The concert features conductor Long Yu and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, both freshly signed as exclusive recording artists to Deutsche Grammophon, and performances from Aida Garifullina, Daniil Trifonov, Mari Samuelsen, and more.

  • Various

    A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper

    Impulse! has brought together some of the great progressive jazz musicians of our time to pay tribute to The Beatles'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper will be available on vinyl for Record Store Day on November 23, available on CD, digital, and streaming platforms on November 30, with a wide vinyl release on January 18, 2019.

    A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper includes performances and interpretations by artists such as UK saxophonist and Impulse! recording artist Shabaka Hutchings, Impulse! pianist Sullivan Fortner, Verve recording artist Miles Mosley, Onyx Collective, percussionist Antonio Sanchez, guitarist Mary Halvorson, The JuJu Exchange and more. 

    This stellar lineup represents some of the great progressive jazz artists from around the world: Shabaka from the UK Jazz scene, Miles Mosley and Cameron Graves from LA's West Coast Get Down, Onyx Collective from NYC, Makaya McCraven and the JuJu Exchange from Chicago.  

  • Various

    Beethoven

    Many people picture grim-faced Beethoven, shaking his fist at the heavens and persisting through deafness and illness to compose works of transcendent beauty, but he also stirs emotions that feel both deeply personal and ubiquitous. There are moments of red-cheeked optimism, quiet introspection, playful dances, heroic declarations, a restless search for the sublime. And while Beethoven is perhaps most famous for his sonatas and symphonies, he composed an opera, chamber works, songs, sacred music, incidental music for the stage, even dances. Taken together, these selections paint a rich portrait of Beethoven's humanity, which has attracted artists of the highest caliber such as Leonard Bernstein, Carlos Kleiber, Janine Jansen, and Martha Argerich. Some of these recordings are legendary, but all of them jump out with their undeniable virtuosity and brilliance. This collection may remind you of that iconic portrait of immortal Genius suffering for Art, but it will also reacquaint you with an artist from another time who somehow captured so much of the human experience.

  • Various

    The Royal Wedding - The Official Album

    Decca Records is proud to release The Official Recording of The Royal Wedding, one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year. Having recorded the entire service live at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle today, every piece of music, the readings, blessings and the vows will be available to listen to permanently on all streaming services in just a few hours: a first for a Royal Wedding. The physical album, on CD, will then be released into retail stores around the world from 1st June. 

    The musical highlight of the moving and joyous ceremony was British cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, one of the most exciting musicians of his generation, who was personally asked by the bride and groom to perform at their wedding. The 19-year-old musician took centre stage for the all-important signing of the register. Dressed in a black Paul Smith suit with vibrant pink tie, Sheku played three beautiful pieces: "Sicilienne" by von Paradis, Schubert's "Ave Maria," and "Après Un Rêve" by Fauré. He was accompanied by orchestra*, as the Royal Couple officially became husband and wife. Knowing he was performing not only for the Royal Family, 600 invited guests in the Chapel, and an estimated global audience of up to three billion people, the talented teenager was thrilled to be involved in the occasion:

  • Various

    Hopes and Dreams - The Lullaby Project

    History was written in 2000 BC, and 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of Brahms' Lullaby, so this precious musical tradition has deep cultural and emotional roots. These personal songs bring people together, span generations, and tell stories about where we come from, who we are now, and our hopes for the future. The legacy continues with the release of Hopes and Dreams: The Lullaby Project on Decca Gold (Verve Label Group). The recording is inspired by the Lullaby Project, a program of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute which pairs pregnant women, new mothers, and family members with professional artists to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies, supporting maternal health, aiding child development, and strengthening the bond between parent and child. Hopes and Dreams: The Lullaby Project features fifteen lullabies written by parents from across New York City, as performed by Fiona Apple, the Brentano String Quartet, Lawrence Brownlee, Rosanne Cash, Joyce DiDonato, Janice Freeman (The Voice 2017), Rhiannon Giddens (Nashville), Angélique Kidjo, Patti LuPone, Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Dianne Reeves, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Pretty Yende, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

  • Various

    Jazz Loves Disney 2: A Kind of Magic

    The second installment of the Jazz Loves Disney series, Jazz Loves Disney 2: A Kind of Magic features guest artists including Angélique Kidjo, Laura Mvula, Jamie Cullum, Jacob Collier, George Benson, Madeleine Peyroux and more, taking on beloved melodies from the Disney canon. The album will be released on Verve Records on November 10.  The Jazz Loves Disney series celebrates the nostalgia and universal appeal of the music of Disney films. The rich catalogue of Disney songs that span genres and generations inspired producer Jay Newland and arranger Rob Mounsey to continue the series. 

    7 NEW  106 TOTAL
    SYND:     NPR, CBC
    Direct: SiriusXM
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, Detroit, Denver, Memphis, Orlando, Albuquerque, Wichita, Madison WI, Honolulu, HI(Statewide), Barcelona, Berlin
    INTER: Canada, UK, Spain, Germany, South Africa
    Online: LaughingPlace, Troonradio, Quisqueya, udiscovermusic, The Healthy Mouse, The Daily Shuffle, Dis411, NextBop.com, MOJA, GreenArrow, Jazz Gallery 41, The Jazz groove, Sun Music, Jazz Weekly, Radio Free Amsterdam

    19 Jazzweek ADD's

  • Various

    The Passion of Charlie Parker

    The Passion of Charlie Parker is a new album from producer Larry Klein that tells the story of Charlie Parker using his music as inspiration for new songs that narrate his life. Guest artists include Gregory Porter, Madeleine Peyroux, Kandace Springs, actor Jeffrey Wright, and more. The album will be available on impulse!/ Verve digitally on June 16, with physical release to follow on June 30. Larry Klein says, "With this album I've endeavored to do something new and different in an effort to illustrate who ‘Bird' was as an archetypal character, and to draw attention to the huge impact that his work had on Jazz." Rather than create another tribute of traditional bebop tunes, Klein partnered with lyricist David Baerwald to create a musical play that tells the story of Charlie Parker's life while still playing with the jagged melodic nature of Charlie Parker's compositions.

    7 NEW  123 TOTAL
    SYND:     Jazz After Hours, Jazz Happening Now, Jazz Inspired, Voice of America
    Direct: SiriusXM
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Portland, Miami, Detroit, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Austin, Denver, Albuquerque, Orlando, San Antonio, Sacramento, Louisville, Knoxville, Madison WI, Rochester, Tampa, Honolulu, OR(Statewide), WV(Statewide), VT(Statewide), KS(Statewide), MS(Statewide), HI(Statewide), Toronto, Vancouver
    INTER: Canada, UK
    Online: GreenArrow, Jazz & Blues Report, KUHS/Vaya, Soulandjazz.com, Jazz Weekly, Radio Valencia, Que4 Radio, Freaky Party, theguardian

    45 Jazzweek ADD's