Here’s a nice review by Vic Schermer on the AllAboutJazz web site.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=38747
New CD, Piano Jazz, and at Smalls March 8th
I’m very excited to tell you about my new CD which will be released on March 1st. It’s been five years since the last release. In that time I’ve been arranging for strings and winds, and building a new trio concept with Billy and Johannes. I hope you will check out the video about the music and enjoy the fruits of this labor of love.
Please check out the press kit video to hear music, and get behind-the-scenes insights and footage. If you like the music and want to support us, please share it with your friends in cyber-space or on earth. (See the links below to share this post on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. You can also “like” my Facebook page to receive updates on what’s going on, as well as links to free audio and video content. (Just click the link in the sidebar to the right of this page.)
The CD will be available at all retail outlets: CDBaby itunes Digstation as well as at local stores through NorthCountry Distribution (not to mention Amazon of course.)
A few other events to watch for:
– We’ll be posting a humourous “music video” of “Idy’s Dance”, produced by myself and Billy Mintz. I don’t know if this is the first instrumental “real jazz” video, but it might be.
– I’ll be appearing on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz some time this week, depending on your local station’s shedule. The show was hosted by the phenomenal pianist, Jon Weber. This marks my third time appearance on this venerated National Public Radio show. Check the NPR/Piano Jazz web site to find out when it airs in your area (or listen to it online):
– On March 8th my trio featuring Cameron Brown and Billy Mintz will be appearing at Smalls. Even if you’re not in New York, you can watch it live on the smalls’ website starting at 9:30pm until midnight.
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Thanks for your support!
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Sides, Colors
On Sides, Colors, Roberta’s intriguing arrangements enhance the piano trio with strings, reeds, brass, percussion and organ. As Piket says, “I wanted to maintain the intimacy of the trio. At the same time I love the colors and textures that the other instruments add.”
While Sides, Colors is not just another piano trio album, it is the trio of Roberta, bassist Johannes Weidenmueller and drummer Billy Mintz that is at the core of the CD. Even in the context of the larger ensembles, their intuitive, conversational interplay is a joy to hear. The trio is the foundation for the sonic landscape that is Sides, Colors.
As pianist Mike Garson points out in his liner notes, Sides, Colors “…maintains the essence of the great jazz trios in history, while expanding the format to greater heights and carving much new territory. This is the true spirit of jazz and how the music is supposed to continually unfold”.
Link to hear my Piano Jazz appearance this week online
Here’s a link to my third appearance on NPR’s Piano Jazz which is being broadcast this week. The show was guest-hosted by the phenomenal pianist Jon Weber. It was fun playing duets with him too!
Jazz Wars: Part I
The Jazz Wars Part 1: This came into my Facebook feed from a very successful straight-ahead musician for whom I have a lot of respect.
What do you get when you play free jazz backwards? Free jazz.
I just heard the term JNI for the first time. It stands for Jazz Nerds International. Apparently it refers to musicians who play jazz that does not “swing” in the traditional sense.
People, are we really still having this argument about what is genre is valid and what genre is not? There’s great free jazz, good free jazz and mediocre free jazz. There’s great mainstream jazz, good mainstream jazz and mediocre mainstream jazz.
No matter what the genre, most music is mediocre; some of it is good; and a microscopic proportion is great.
To be continued.
What’s wrong with playing standards?
If a critic or listener doesn’t like my treatment of a particular standard, that in itself is not a problem for me. Maybe it’s too inside for his/her tastes, maybe it too outside for someone else’s taste. What disturbs me is the preconception that if the material is based on a standard, then by definition it cannot be used in a way that is creative or worthwhile musically.
It’s equally absurd to argue that, because the material is drawn from a particular time and place, that the art created from that material is limited to the aesthetic of that time and place.
The idea that the raw material one uses to create art automatically creates bad art is as absurd as the idea that one’s choice of raw material automatically creates good art.
If you don’t like the music, that’s fine. But don’t blame melodies that people still listen to after 60, 70, 80 or more years.
All of the above was all on my mind even before I played at University of the Streets the other night with Hilliard Greene’s In and Out Ensemble, a trio which that night included Gerald Cleaver on drums. Hill’s concept of the trio is to play standards in a way in which there are no preconceptions, no rules. We have two more dates this month (with Newman Taylor Baker on drums), and if anyone really believes that standards are too stilted or limiting an archtype, I strongly encourage you to come hear this trio.
Recording Piano Jazz for NPR This Week
This week I’ll be in the studio recording my third Piano Jazz show for NPR. While I would have loved to play with Marian McPartland again, I’m looking forward to playing and talking with guest host, the virtuosic pianist Jon Weber. I’m also a little scared. This guy has monstrous chops! He also has amazing ears, as evidenced by the transcription of a free piece Marian played as a “portrait” of me in our previous show together. Check it out here.
One of the tunes I’ve been working on for the solo segment is Marian’s In the Days of Our Love. This is such a gorgeous tune. I am surprised it’s not more frequently played. I wanted to play it at the Dizzy’s Club/Jazz at Lincoln Center Generations in Jazz show I participated in back in early October, but the wonderful singer/pianist Carol Welsman had already called it. She did a great job so it was probably for the best.
I’m not sure when this episode of Piano Jazz it’ll air, but I’ll keep you posted, assuming I like my playing!
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coming soon
One of my big goals for November was to create a seven-minute video to serve as an EPK for my upcoming CD release. I’m very pleased to report that I accomplished this goal. The video provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Sides, Colors, and a sneak peak at some of the music.
I’ll be posting it soon.
YouTube – Nebraska Mondays: Roberta Piket and Billy Mintz at Luna’s Cafe
Blogging the West Coast Tour
I’m looking forward to playing with the Trio in Los Angeles, South Pasadena, Santa Barbara, Mission Viejo, San Francisco, Sacramento and Medford Oregon. I’ll be blogging the tour and posting some pictures of the music and, of course, the food.
For details visit the web site gigs page.