One of the leading jazz performer of jazz scene Christian Scott is going to perform with his band at Nisville 2019, at Friday, August 9th.
Christian Scott, also known as Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah (born March 31, 1983, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a two-time Edison Award winning and Grammy Award nominated trumpeter, composer and producer. He is the nephew of jazz innovator and legendary sax man, Donald Harrison, Jr. His musical tutelage began under the direction of his uncle at the age of thirteen. After graduating from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) in 2001, Christian received a full tuition scholarship to Berklee College of Music where he earned a degree in professional music and film scoring thirty months later.
Since 2002, Christian has released eleven critically acclaimed studio recordings, two live albums and one greatest hits collection. According to NPR, „Christian Scott ushers in new era of jazz“. He has been heralded by JazzTimes Magazine as „Jazz’s young style God.“ Christian is known for developing the harmonic convention known as the “forecasting cell” and for his use of an un-voiced tone in his playing, emphasizing breath over vibration at the mouthpiece. The technique is known as his “whisper technique.”
Christian is the progenitor of “Stretch Music,” a jazz rooted, genre blind musical form that attempts to “stretch” jazz’s rhythmic, melodic and harmonic conventions to encompass as many other musical forms, languages and cultures as possible. Jazz is a progressive musical movement and Christian is at the forefront of its continued viability as an art form. Christian’s 2015 release, Stretch Music, marked the partnership between Christian’s Stretch Music record label and Ropeadope Records. Critics and fans alike have praised the recording. Stretch Music is also the first recording to have an accompanying app, for which Christian won the prestigious JazzFM Innovator of the year Award in 2016. The Stretch Music App is an interactive music player that allows musicians the ability to completely control their practicing, listening and learning experience by customizing the player to fit their specific needs and goals.
In 2017, Christian released three albums, collectively titled The Centennial Trilogy, that debuted at number one on iTunes. The albums’ launch commemorated the 100th anniversary of the first Jazz recordings of 1917. The series is, at its core, a sobering re-evaluation of the social political realities of the world through sound. It speaks to a litany of issues that continue to plague the collective human experience, such as slavery in America via the Prison Industrial Complex, food insecurity, xenophobia, immigration, climate change, sexual orientation and gender inequality, fascism and the return of the demagogue.
The first release in the trilogy, Ruler Rebel, vividly depicts Adjuah’s new vision and sound – revealing Adjuah to the listener in a way never heard before via a completely new production methodology that stretches trap music with West African and New Orleanian Black Indian masking tradition musical styles. Ruler Rebel’s release coincided with the first annual Stretch Music Festival at Harlem Stage in New York. The Stretch Music Festival, created and curated by Christian, explores the boundaries of Stretch, Jazz, Trap, and Alternative Rock with some of music’s most poised and fiery rising stars. The sold-out performances were met with praise from both music critics and fans. The second release, Diaspora, was showcased during Adjuah’s sold-out Carnegie Hall performance in 2017. The third release, Emancipation Procrastination, launched in September 2017 during NPR’s global Jazz Night in America broadcast from New Orleans.
Christian scored his identical twin brother’s and Director’s Guild of America 2015 Student Award recipient, writer-director and Spike Lee protégé, Kiel Adrian Scott’s, recent Student Academy Award nominated film, Samaria. Christian also scored Kiel’s award-winning film, The Roe Effect. He will also score Kiel’s feature length directorial debut, slated for production late 2018.
In addition to scoring documentaries for Hennessy Cognac and others, in 2017, Christian has scored commercials for Tag Heuer watch makers and The Gap clothing company, as well as music for ESPN’s Sports Center. Christian has also recently completed a music project, in which he served as leader, in conjunction with 1800 Tequila and Billboard Magazine called The Refined Player’s Series.
Since 2006, Christian has worked with a number of notable artists, including Prince, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, McCoy Tyner, Marcus Miller, Eddie Palmieri, rappers Mos Def (Yasin Bey), Talib Kweli, and Vic Mensa, as well as heralded poet and musician Saul Williams.
Additionally, through his partnership with Adam’s Instruments, Christian designed a signature line of horns, the Siren Trumpet, Sirenette and Reverse Flugelhorn that are revolutionizing brass instrument design all over the world. Domestic production of Christian’s proprietary reverse flugelhorn will begin in 2018.
Christian is a scion of New Orleans’ first family of art and culture, the Harrisons, and the grandson of legendary Big Chief, Donald Harrison Sr., who lead four nations in the City’s masking tradition. The HBO series, Treme, borrowed the name “Guardians of the Flame” from African-American cultural group Scott began “masking” as a member of with his grandfather in 1989. Christian recently became the Chief of The Brave, in February 2017, one his grandfather’s early banners. In 2018, Tulane University’s acclaimed Amistad Research Center announced its archive of the Donald Harrison, Sr. legacy papers to highlight the Harrison/Scott/Nelson family’s contributions to the arts, activism, and African diaspora cultural expressions. The Harrison family’s story has been documented by Oscar winning director, the late Jonathan Demme, in his post-Hurricane Katrina works.
Christian is dedicated to a number of causes that positively impact communities. He gives his time and talents in service to several organizations which garnered him a place in Ebony Magazine’s 30 Young Leaders Under 30. He has provided his services to Each One, Save One, NO/AIDS Task Force, Girls First, The Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame, Good Work Network and numerous other community service organizations. Holding master classes, creating and participating in discussion panels, and purchasing and giving away instruments, are all part of Christian’s community based work. He has worked with Guardians Institute in New Orleans’ 9th Ward, which is dedicated to reading and fiscal literacy, cultural retention and a firm commitment to the participation of community elders and artists in uplifting and supporting youths in underserved areas of New Orleans. Christian currently sits on the Boards of Guardians Institute and The NOCCA Institute. Since Christian’s emergence on the jazz music scene, he has been a passionate and vocal proponent of human rights and an unflinching critic of injustices throughout the world.
Christian Scott: Performing Songs From The Centennial Trilogy | JAZZ NIGHT IN AMERICA
Open try-out for Nisville Jazz Festival 2019 volunteers
Be part of the biggest volunteer event in Serbia and Balkan region – join us in celebrating the jubilee 10th year of Nišville’s volunteer programme!
Nišville Jazz Festival will continue its tradition of giving young people the opportunity to give their contribution to one of the most significant cultural events in Serbia all the while enjoying themselves and spending their summer in a productive and fun way.
300 youngsters are going to spend 12 days participating in the volunteer’s programme, collecting invaluable experiences, knowledge and making new friends.
Over 3000 young people have took part in Nišville’s volunteers programme from 2010. forth. These people come from over 120 different cities both Serbian and foreign. In 2012. the team has been honored by a token with Constantine The Great’s image for extraordinary voluntary contribution to promotion and development of culture in this area.
Even the performers were charmed by volunteers. Many domestic and foreign names of the Jazz scene have complimented volunteers. A number of media services, also both foreign and domestic, have reported about Nišville’s volunteers. A renowned Serbian musician Miša Blam has deemed the volunteers a trademark for the festival.
Nišville Jazz Volunteers have become a distinctive symbol of activism and solidarity.
We are hereby inviting all interested volunteers from around the world to apply for the volunteership and contribute to the festival and become part of its huge story.
The volunteers are placed into 10 teams:
Audience Host – Welcomes the audience and directs people to their seats. Checks audience tickets and controls the entrance to the festival grounds,
Musicians Host – Works with musicians during their stay in Niš. A musician hosts task is to be there for his/her musicians, provide them with what they might require and escort them to the festival grounds, their accommodation, etc
The Bee and the Ladybug – Looks after guests of the festival, hosts people in the VIP lounge and provides them with assistance if necessary. Also, performs activities related to the realization of protocols during the main and supporting events of the festival, from welcoming guests and handing out gifts to handing out festival awards. The Ladybug and the bee are the trademarks of the volunteers,
Marketing – Performs activities such as advertising the festival, setting up advertisements or preparing gift shop stands and activities related to promotional journeys,
Press – Keeps the press center up and running. Manages the volunteer blog and social media pages,
Technical support – Provides support in setting the stage up and helping performers with their equipment onstage,
Logistics – Provides support in setting up and executing the Festivals extra programme
Catering service – Handles refreshments and food for all the Festivals participants
Workshop – Participates in organizing the workshop programme. Helps with setting up and managing the workshop venue and participants, as well as the educational matine programme,
Security – Helps hired security services in handling security on the Festival venues,
it is possible also to apply as:
Assistant Team Leader – Participates in managing an entrusted team and asissts the team leader in his activities.
All candidates must be at least 15 years of age and read and willing to take on responsibilites during the programme. The volunteership lasts from the 1st of August until the 12th August 2019. Volunteers work in shifts and everything is accustomed to the rules of volunteers management and codex and according to The Volunteer’s Law of The Republic of Serbia.
The call will end on the 10th of July, which is when the application form will close too. All questions and potential problems while applying can be sent via e-mail to this address: volunteers@nisville.com and info@voluntee.rs
INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY BY NIŠVILLE – 10 CONCERTS IN FOUR CITIES!
Nisville traditionally celebrates World Day of Jazz!
This year Nišville Jazz Festival will traditionally celebrate INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY for the eighth time in a row on Tuesday, April 30th in concerts in two countries and four cities! In addition to the program in Serbia, Nisville will also be presented „International Jazz Day“ in Tirana, the capital of Albania.
Concerts will be held in the following cities: Dimitrovgrad, Bujanovac, Tirana and Nis. Nišville will present bands from Nis jazz, blues and world music scene in all cities, and local musicians will join them in order to make the official program spontaneously into a jam session, which traditionally represents a special pleasure for the audience, but also for musicians at the stage.
On this occasion, the jazz jazz band Jazzotheria will be hosted in Tirana, at the Rogner Hotel, in the Dom of Culture in Dimitrovgrad, a blues rock band Kolege will perform, while the Irish Clovers will play the music world in Bujanovac. All programs start at 19:30.
On Tuesday, April 30, from 13: 00h, Matine’s concert will be held in front of Nišville Jazz Museum (Hamam) in the Jazz museum stage, where the following bands will perform: Nisville Youth Arkestra, South Rail Messengers and Sirius A Dis Arkestra.
The full-time program in Niš will be held on this occasion at the Feedback club, starting at 21h. The producers of the program will be Nis’s jazz fusion composition Stoned Heads, and will feature well-known duo DJ Master Flow from Novi Sad and DJ Loptica from Nis. Traditionally, a jam session is also planned, featuring many niche renowned musicians of jazz, blues, soul, funk and related music directions.
On this occasion, we invite musicians of all generations to join the celebration of the World Day of Jazz, to take their instruments and to be part of a team that, through its spontaneous „jambling“, brings unrepeatable and valuable experiences to both musicians and the audience
For all programs on the occasion of international jazz day, the entrance is free!
The last day of April was proclaimed by UNESCO at the initiative of Herbie Henkok for the International Jazz Day. It has been celebrated since 2012, with the explanation that over the past 100 years and more, jazz has become a voice of freedom and tolerance in many countries of the world.
Kenny Werner, Dave Liebman, Peter Erskin and Johannes Weidenmuller – together in Nis
World premiere of „Kenny Quartet“ in Nisville
The super jazz group, in the real sense of the word, is led by Kenny Werner, who is also the saxophonist Dave Liebman and drummer Peter Erskine, as well as one of the most sought after double bassist in the US – German Johannes Weidenmuller – will have one of the first joint concerts in Nisville, on the final night of the festival, on Sunday, August 11th.
Kenny Werner has been a world-class pianist and composer for over forty years. His prolific output of compositions, recordings and publications continue to impact audiences around the world. In 1996 he wrote his landmark book, Effortless Mastery, Liberating The Master Musician Within. Werner has since created videos, lectured world-wide and authored many articles on how musicians, artists or even business people can allow their “master creator” within to lift their performance to it’s highest level, showing us how to be spontaneous, fearless, joyful and disciplined in our work and in our life.
Kenny was awarded the 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship Award for his seminal work, No Beginning No End. No Beginning No End is a musical journey exploring tragedy and loss, death and transition, and the path from one lifetime to the next. Utilizing over 70 musicians, Kenny’s third album for Half Note Records is an expansive composition featuring Joe Lovano, Judy Silvano, Wind Ensemble, Choir and String Quartet.
Born in Brooklyn, NY on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Kenny began playing and performing at a young age, first recording on television at the age of 11. Although he studied classical piano as a child, he enjoyed playing anything he heard on the radio. In high school and his first years of college he attended the Manhattan School of Music as a classical piano major.
His natural instinct for improvisation led Kenny to the Berklee School of Music in 1970. There he sought tutelage of the renowned piano teacher Madame Chaloff. A Her gracious wisdom and inspiration became a driving force in Kenny’s conception: A music conscious of its spiritual intent and essence.
From Boston, Kenny traveled to Brazil with the saxophonist Victor Assis Brasil. There he met Victor’s twin brother, Brazilian pianist Joao Assis Brasil. He studied with Joao, who provided another piece of the puzzle for Kenny’s conception that would lead to Effortless Mastery, his landmark opus on how to allow the master musician from within to manifest. The book, is now available as an ebook on kindle and in Ibooks.
NEA JAZZ MASTER, saxophonist David Liebman was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 4, 1946. After contracting polio as a small child, he began classical piano lessons at the age of nine and clarinet/saxophone by twelve. His interest in jazz was sparked by seeing John Coltrane perform live in New York City clubs such as Birdland, Village Vanguard and the Half Note. Throughout high school and college, Liebman pursued his jazz interest by studying with saxophone guru Joe Allard (other Allard alumni are Eddie Daniels, Mike Brecker, Steve Grossman, Harry Carney) as well as jazz musicians Lennie Tristano and Charles Lloyd. Upon graduation from New York University (with a degree in American History), he began to seriously devote himself to the full time pursuit of being a jazz artist.
In the early 1970s, Liebman took the leading organizational role as Founder and President of Free Life Communication, a cooperative of several dozen young musicians. Free Life became an integral part of the fertile New York “loft” jazz scene in this period and was funded by the New York State Council of the Arts with a residence in the Space for Innovative Development that also housed several other famous performing groups, most notably the Alwin Nicolais Ballet Company, which lead to collaborative projects during this period.
After one year spent with Ten Wheel Drive, one of the early jazz fusion groups and performing with his first mentor, drummer Pete LaRoca, Lieb secured the coveted saxophone/flute position in the group of John Coltrane’s ex-drummer, Elvin Jones. Within two years, Liebman reached the zenith of his apprenticeship period when the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis hired him. These years from 1970 thru 1974 were filled with tours, recordings and the incredible experience gained by being on the band stand with two masters of jazz. At the same time, Liebman began exploring his own music-first in the Open Sky Trio with Bob Moses and then with pianist Richie Beirach in the group Lookout Farm. This group recorded for the German based ECM label as well as A&M Records and touring the U.S., Canada, India, Japan and Europe, winning Group Deserving of Wider Recognition in the Downbeat Critics Poll (1976).
In 1977, Liebman did a world tour with pianist Chick Corea followed by the formation of the David Liebman Quintet with John Scofield as featured sideman. After several world tours and recordings by the quintet over three years, he reunited with Richard Beirach in both the duo format and Quest in 1981. Beginning with bassist George Mraz and drummer Al Foster, the group solidified with the addition of bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart. Through 1991 the group recorded seven CDs, toured extensively and did many workshops with students worldwide, garnering high critical praise worldwide. (The group has reunited for special tours and recordings since 2005.)
From 1991 through 2012, the Dave Liebman Group featuring guitarist Vic Juris toured and recorded nearly twenty CDs representing a very eclectic direction that ranged from jazz standards to Puccini arias, adaptations from the John Coltrane and Miles Davis repertoires, as well as original compositions in styles ranging from world music to fusion and free jazz, always maintaining a repertoire that balanced the past, present and future.
Over the past decades, Lieb has often been featured with top European musicians such as Joachim Kuhn, Daniel Humair, Paolo Fresu, Jon Christensen, Bobo Stenson, Michel Portal, Wolfgang Reisinger and Jean-Paul Celea among others. His reputation in Europe has led to big band and radio orchestra performances with the WDR in Koln, Germany; NDR in Hamburg, HR Big Band in Frankfurt, the Metropole Orchestra, Netherlands. Also as a result of Liebman’s eclecticism he has also been featured with progressive classical groups like Klangforum in Vienna, Avanti from Helsinki, Finland and most notably with theEnsemble Intercontemporain from Paris….eventful because it was the first time a jazz improviser was invited to play with the prestigious group founded by Pierre Boulez. On all occasions the music was specially commissioned to feature Lieb’s unique soprano saxophone style.
David has been featured on over five hundred recordings, of which he has been the leader or co-leader on nearly two hundred with several hundred original compositions written and recorded. His artistic output has ranged from straight ahead classic jazz to chamber music; from fusion to avant garde and world music. Other ongoing performing/recording combinations include the group Different But the Samefeaturing saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, drummer Jim Black and bassist Tony Marino; the “We3” trio with bassist/composer extraordinaire Steve Swallow and long time Lieb associate Adam Nussbaum on drums; duo work with both pianists Phil Markowitz and Marc Copland.
His newest group Expansions formed in 2013 features musicians from the new generation of jazz players living in New York; Bobby Avey on piano, Matt Vashlishan on reeds, Alex Ritz on drums along with the perennial Tony Marino on bass. The music of this group reflects current trends and styles being played by the new crop of jazz players.
Lieb’s published materials include a wide variety of books considered classics in the field as well as instructional DVDs and chamber music (Aebersold Publications, Caris Music and Advance Music): Self Portrait of A Jazz Artist, A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony And Melody, Developing A Personal Saxophone Sound, several of which have been translated into multiple languages. Liebman’s biography is titled What It Is-The Life Of A Jazz Artist in conversation with author extraordinaire Lewis Porter (Scarecrow Press).
His teaching activities at universities and in clinic settings have taken him literally around the world as a result of his varied musical directions and expertise on several instruments, along with an ability to articulate the intricacies of the jazz language, aesthetic and technique. Over the years, he has regularly received grantees to study with him funded by the NEA (U.S.), the Canadian Arts Council, as well as arts councils of numerous European countries. In 1989 he founded the International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ), an organization dedicated to networking educators and students from international jazz schools through periodic meetings, exchange programs and newsletters. Liebman presently serves as the Artistic Director of the IASJ and a teacher at the Manhattan School of Music, NYC; Guest Lecturer at the Global Jazz Institute at the Berklee School in Boston. He has consistently placed among the top three finalists of the Downbeat Critics Poll since 1973 in the Soprano Saxophone category, gaining the top place several times in polls conducted by the magazines Jazz Ed and Jazz Times. Lieb is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the Sibelius Academy (Helsinki, Finland); the Order of Arts and Letters (France); and the NEA Jazz Master award which is the highest accolade granted by the U.S. government in the jazz field (2011).
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on 700 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992).
Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson Big Bands, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Brecker Brothers, The Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny and Gary Burton, John Scofield, et al, and has appeared as a soloist with the London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Frankfurt Radio, Scottish Chamber, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Royal Opera House, BBC Symphony, Oslo and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. Peter premièred the double percussion concerto Fractured Lines, composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage, at the BBC Proms with Andrew Davis conducting, and has collaborated frequently with Sir Simon Rattle. He also premiered the Turnage opera “Anna Nicole” at the Royal Opera House in London. Turnage has composed a solo concerto for Peter titled “Erskine,” which received its world premiere in Bonn, Germany in 2013, with a US premiere at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic. Peter has been voted ’Best Jazz Drummer of the Year’ ten times by the readers of Modern Drummer magazine and was elected into the magazine’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
Peter graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and studied at Indiana University under George Gaber. In 1972 Peter commenced his pro career playing with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Four years later, he joined Maynard Ferguson before working with Jaco Pastorius in Weather Report and moving to Los Angeles. Peter recorded five albums with the band. He won his first Grammy Award with their album ’8.30’. During this time in LA, he also worked with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Farrell and George Cables. Peter then moved to New York City where he worked for five years with such musicians as Michael Brecker, Mike Mainieri, Eddie Gomez and Eliane Elias in Steps Ahead, John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Marc Johnson in the legendary group Bass Desires, the John Abercrombie Trio plus Bob Mintzer’s Big Band.
Peter’s lived in LA since 1987 but has been travelling around the world all of that time, working with such artists as Diana Krall, Joni Mitchell, Vince Mendoza, Steely Dan, plus European musicians Jan Garbarek, Kenny Wheeler, Palle Danielsson, John Taylor, Kate Bush, Nguyen Lê, Rita Marcotulli, the Norrbotten Big Band in Sweden plus Sadao Watanabe in Japan. He won his second Grammy Award as the drummer of the WDR big band in Köln along with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Vince Mendoza and others for the “Some Skunk Funk” album. Meanwhile, Peter keeps busy in on the road and in LA with such artists as Seth MacFarlane, Patrick Williams, plus John Beasley, Bob Sheppard and Benjamin Shepherd (all 3 musicians members of his Dr. Um Band), as well as playing in the studios. Films where Peter’s drumming can be heard include “Memoirs of a Geisha,” all three of the Austin Powers movies, “The Secret Life of Pets,” plus the title music of the Steven Spielberg/John Williams collaboration, “The Adventures of Tintin.” He also played the jazz drumming cues on the Academy Award-winning soundtrack for “La La Land,” and can be heard playing on the scores for “Sing,” “Logan” and “House of Cards.”
Peter produces jazz recordings for his record label, Fuzzy Music, with 4 Grammy nominations to its credit. Peter is also an active author with several books to his credit; titles include “No Beethoven (Autobiography & Chronicle of Weather Report),” “Time Awareness for All Musicians,” “Essential Drum Fills,” and his latest book (co-authored with Dave Black for Alfred Publishing), “The Drummers’ Lifeline.” He is also authoring a series of iOS Play-Along apps suitable for all instruments.
Peter is Professor of Practice and Director of Drumset Studies at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California. Peter plays Tama Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks, Remo Drum Heads, Meinl Percussion, and
“One of the most interesting and explosive bass players to come along in a long time” reads a quote from a review in the French newspaper Le Monde, referring to bassist Johannes Weidenmueller.
Bassist Johannes Weidenmueller has been a first call performer with a long list of jazz greats since settling in New York City 20 years ago He has been a member of the Hank Jones trio, Ray Barretto’s New World Spirit, the Carl Allen-Vincent Herring quintet, the John Abercrombie quartet, the Joe Lovano trio and the Kenny Werner trio. Other associations include Brad Mehldau, George Benson, John Scofield, Dewey Redman, Randy Brecker, Kenny Wheeler, Toots Thielemans, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Gary Bartz, Jonny Coles, Clifford Jordan, Joe Chambers, and many others.
His warm full sound, his mastery of time and his flexibility and openness have made him one of most sought after bassist in a wide variety of musical settings. He has collaborated with the National Orchestra of Spain, the Balthasar Neumann Orchestra and choir, flamenco musician Chano Dominguez, the Indian music ensemble of Gaurav Madzumdar, tabla virtouso Ty Burhoe, New Orleans keyboard legend Dr.John, and singer Madeleine Peyroux.
Born in Heidelberg, Germany Johannes was introduced to music early on. He started playing cello at the age of 6 and kept a busy performance schedule throughout his high school years, participating in many local and regional chamber music and orchestral events. After switching to the double bass at age 16, he went on to study jazz bass at the Conservatory in Cologne and soon after made the move to study at the prestigious Jazz and Contemporary Music program of the New School University in New York. Here he was able to study with jazz greats such as Ron Carter, Dave Holland and Buster Williams. In 1991 he joined the trio of legendary pianist Hank Jones and performed with him throughout North America. Playing with Hank Jones paved the way to becoming a full time professional bass player and countless performances with many other jazz greats have since followed.
While being busy performing over 200 concerts a year around the world, Johannes is also a committed educator. He has been on the faculty of the New School’s jazz and contemporary music program since 1997 where he teaches bass and ensemble and ear-training. He also is in demand as a clinician, teaching workshops and clinics at the Banff Center for the Arts, NYU, New England Conservatory, U of Green Bay, the Amsterdam Conservatory, U of West Virginia, U of N.C Chapel Hill and many others. In addition he is also the author of two bestselling books on metric modulation published by Mel Bay .
He has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the young European jazz artist of the year award in 1993 and 1996, the Hennessey jazz prize 1996, grants from Arts international and the New School faculty development grant.
Autumn Leaves – Kenny Werner
Dave Liebman whips it out – amazing soprano saxophone solo
„Seun Kuti & Egypt 80“ will perform on Nisville Jazz Festival on Saturday, August 10th!
Magic of Afrobeat music in Nisville!
The struggle is real. As real as it ever was. From Lagos to London, Ouagadougou to New York, life in the sprawl is tough, and getting tougher. But pay attention: feel the rumbles. The pot is beginning to boil. What is needed, and needed fast, is authentic leaders, says Seun Kuti – who should know. The youngest son of the Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti is as incensed by injustice and inspired by greatness as his father ever was. Now, with his mighty new album Last Revolutionary, the Lagos-based scion honours the revolutionaries who’ve gone before and rallies the torchbearers to come.
And when they arrive, these nu-skool visionaries with change in their sights and the people, woke, at their side, it will be to a blaze of musical fire. To message-driven anthems that tell of real values and real news, horn-blasted songs that shine an unflinching black light on corrupt politicians, grasping corporations and hypocrisy backstage and everywhere; to extended tracks that make you dance, and think, and hope. Life doesn’t have to be this way, says Kuti, his alto-sax hanging around his neck, the letters ‘A.F.R.O B.E.A.T’ tattooed on his knuckles, the words ‘Fela Lives’ emblazoned across his back.
There are other paths, other options. Listen, and you will see.
Last Revolutionary is the fourth studio recording by Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, the extraordinary dance orchestra created by Fela Kuti as a conduit for the common people, renamed (from Africa 70) to reflect black African origins in ancient pharaonic civilisation and inherited by the 14-year-old Seun in 1997, the year that Fela passed away. The younger Kuti has been building to this, his most passionate, accomplished and honest album yet. In the three years since releasing the acclaimed A Long Way To The Beginning – which, like Last Revolutionary, was co-produced by the Grammy-winning jazz pianist Robert Glasper – Seun has grown as an artist, an activist and a man.
“Last Revolutionary is a true reflection of my political and social beliefs,” says the singer, bandleader and musician, 34, who is joined on selected tracks by a starry array of guests: the iconic, Hall-of-Fame-dwelling guitarist Carlos Santana. Vocalist Nai Palm of future-soul quartet Hiatus Kaiyote. Conscious rapper and creative activist Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def. The aforementioned Glasper, whose keyboard wizardry takes things stratospheric.
“More than ever I am convinced of the mission and purpose of our music,” continues Kuti, newly signed to the progressive UK-based label, Strut. “Here I’m giving honour to my parents and to every revolutionary who has made a difference, many of them from before I was born.”
He is a father now. He’s older. He knows who he is, what he has to do: “I’ve come down off the fence. Artists are encouraged to be diplomatic, to create a persona that’s wise and stupid at the same time. Being true to yourself isn’t easy; you go through a lot.” He pauses, shrugs. “But now the artist and the man are the same.”
An intensive spate of touring has reinvigorated an act whose every show includes one or more Fela originals, as adrenalised as they ever were. Long-players whose funky horns, kicking beats, stirring chants and call-and-response hooks are lent contemporary resonance by new sonic influences and the charismatic presence of Seun. The boy who first appeared onstage with his father aged eight (at the Harlem Apollo) has this year wowed festivals including Glastonbury and Roskilde and venues such as Brighton’s Dome, sending critics into raptures.
‘As with contemporary jazz, Seun Kuti makes his take on Afrobeat applicable to hip hop by tearing down all restrictions,’ swooned The Quietus. Longtime Afrobeat addict Brian Eno – who co-produced Seun’s 2010 breakthrough album From Africa With Fury: Rise – summed them up when he previously declared that Kuti and his band were “making some of the wildest, livest music on the planet.”
The ideas for Last Revolutionary were born as Kuti and Egypt 80 travelled the world. But the writing happened at home in Lagos.
“I wrote this album from a place of calm and love,” says Kuti. “I was thinking, ‘What if Africa had a philosopher king who was also a musician, who loved Alkebulan” – the ancient Kemetic name for the Motherland – “with all his heart? What sort of album would he make? What would he tell his people today?’”
Too many African rulers do not have the country’s best interests at heart, he continues. Too many people in Africa and the West have sunk or are sinking into complacency: “Last Revolutionary is an album for anybody who believes in change and understands the duty we have to rise up and come together. The system says we’re different. But the struggle makes us one.”
It’s a class thing, this struggle: “The elites always try to divide the working class and the poor people of the world. It’s the same kind of oppression and economic destabilization that is felt by the worker in Flint, Michigan, that is felt by the workers in Lagos, Johannesburg, everywhere.”
Here, then, are tracks designed to spark conversation, realign priorities. Take the elegant ‘African Dream’, a song that in mood and rhythm insists that commercial success counts for little. Pay no heed to examples set by “accepted” African-American celebrities, says Kuti with characteristic boldness; marvel instead at the philosophies of such great thinkers as the late Pan-Africanist Doctor Amos Wilson. Take the message as one might a gift: “The message,” Kuti sings, “is free.”
While you’re at it, forget fake news. ‘Black Times’, with its rousing male and female harmonies, furious guitar riffs and Kuti’s soaring tenor sax, gives us truth. Lyrics such as “Understand your history/rise to be free” are akin to investigative reportage, shining a forensics-style black light on that which is otherwise hidden. It’s a track further intensified by the axe-work of Carlos Santana: “Santana had quoted my lyrics in his biography and written that he admired my progressive, hard-hitting stance as an African artist,” says Kuti. “So we invited him on board.”
‘Black Man Light Up’ is a horn-heavy track calling out duplicity and defending the right to smoke the good weed; the politically charged ‘Gimme My Vote Back (C.P.C.D)’ – which is short for Corporate Public Control Department – is a roiling protest anthem directed at Muhammadu Bahari’s Nigerian government and indeed, at deceitful politicians the world over.
Co-written with veteran Egypt 80 saxophonist Abedimeji ‘Showboy’ Fagbemi, the frenetic, finger-pointing ‘Kuku Kill Me’ borrows its title from a Nigerian saying (“When someone is always on your case, you’re like ‘Save yourself the stress and kuku kill me now’”) while ‘Theory of Goat and Yam’ ridicules a homily invented by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who justified corruption by likening politicians to goats tempted by yams: “When by taking money meant for a hospital, or to build roads, they are actually costing human lives.”
‘The Last Revolutionary’ – which features Yasiin Bey and Nai Palm – is a paean to authentic leaders past, present and future. It is the first song that Kuti wrote for Last Revolutionary, and a track that captures the album’s mindset: “Too many Africans have lost sight of Africanism and are bowing to western values. They are being praised for abandoning law degrees to become fashion designers or party planners, or are leaving to work in the West. There are more Nigerian doctors in the state of New York than there are in the whole of Nigeria,” says Kuti. “The brain drain is another attack on our people.”
Entice people home. Bring them together. Tell them about freedom: “About how we see ourselves and the roles we have to play.”
Tell them, too, about homegrown heroes: Kwame Nkrumah, liberation fighter, pan-Africanist and the first president of Ghana. Thomas Sankara, revolutionary, pan-Africanist and President of Burkina Faso. Patrice Lumumba, Congolese independence leader and the Congo’s first democratically-elected leader. Abder Nasser of Egypt, the first modern African president to resist Arabic imperialism (“It is important to realise how much Arabic imperialism affects Africa; Western imperialism is the scapegoat but all imperialism is united at the top”).
Séckou Touré, the former president of Guinea, a symbol of African independence and defiance. Kwame Ture, the Trinidadian-American Civil Rights leader and pan-Africanist also known as Stokely Carmichael. Marcus Garvey, Jamaican-born proponent of Black Nationalism and founder of the Black Star Line, a passenger line that promoted the return of the African diaspora to the Motherland. Shaka Zulu, the famed philosopher king of the Zulu Kingdom. Fela Kuti, activist, pan-Africanist and Afrobeat icon. Isaac Boro, Nigerian nationalist and civil war great. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Fela’s brother, Seun’s uncle, a Nigerian medical doctor, freedom fighter and human rights activist.
“I say the names of these men who died for us without any promise of resurrection,” says Seun Kuti. “Maybe it will cause a young man or woman to wonder who they are. Maybe they will pick up their phone and Google them, then set out on a journey whose destination is unknown.”
For as Last Revolutionary’s irrepressibly catchy track Struggle Sounds and first single makes clear, there’s revolutionary potential inside us all, whoever we are.
No materialist thinking/I don’t see my blessings in man-made things/just the true essence of a human being/that’s the struggle way.
“This is my ultimate message.” Kuti squares his shoulders. “We are all capable of change, us iron people, us workers. Struggle Sounds is the sound of the people, and a weapon of the future. The big picture needs more colour.”
Seun Kuti Meets Carlos Santana
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – Full Performance (Live on KEXP)
Legendary drummer and percussionist from the US, Jamal Thomas, will perform on the following Nišville Jazz Festival on the 10th of August with his collective.
During his multi-decade career, the talented drummer, producer and composer of some of the most recognizable world Funk & R’n’B collectives has once again got the attention of the public some ten years ago when he started his singing career. When he was asked why he decided to start singing, he said that he wanted to enrich our planet with his songs and music dedicated to love.
Jamal Thomas was born and raised in Georgia, and already from a young age his talent for music was recognized, accordingly, he learned to play drums and sing early in his childhood.
During his high school years he played the drums in school orchestra. After he left education at 18 years old he formed his first band, “The Planets”, a funk collective with 11 members. Soon after, his career changing meet-up with R’n’B singer Joe Simmons happened, with whom he would go on a large number of tours and record many singles.
His brilliant performance led to his stardom, and he would soon become a highly sought after drummer, and because of that he would work for Capricorn Records in Macon, Georgia, as a musician for a long time, where Otis Redding and The Allman Brothers recorded their first hit songs.
Second big successful connection of Jamal Thomas would be with SOS band in USA, Sandrine in Belgium, and from 2011. onwards he would again start touring the world, this time with Maceo Parkers band.
Jamal Thomas band is a European funk group in a combination with R’n’B experience of this renowned American drummer. The band specializes in playing a sensational mix of old school funk, and an exciting variant of new school, pure energy which will shake you to the core.
International jazz festival „Nišville 2019.” will be held from the 2nd to the 11th of August of 2019, with the main festival program spanning four days: 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th of August of 2019. within the Fortress of Niš. Until friday, 8thof March,tickets will be sold at a promotional price of2000 rsd! Starting Saturday, 9th of March 2019. ticket price for all four nights of the main festival program will be 2500 rsd.
Tickets at this promotional price will make a great gift for all women on International Womens’ Day. Say thanks to all the brave, hardworking and wonderful women in your life with this unforgettable experience of 25 concerts on our main festival stages.
Tickets can be acquired on all Ticket Vision outlets in Serbia and abroad, as well as via online store at: www.tickets.rs
The next edition of Nišville will be its 25thanniversary under the branding of This year, the Nišville Jazz Festival, besides a plentiful musical programme, Nišville festival will offer to its visitors a wonderful theatrical programme as a part of its next Nišville Jazz Theatre Festival, as well as a plethora of short films and movies with a musical theme as a part of Nišville Movie Summit 2019.
In its main festival programme from 8th to the 11th of August, some of the main eventers will be Maceo Parker – cult funk and soul-jazz sax player, Malina Moye – left handed American guitar player and singer alongside many others. More on performers can be found on our website www.nisville.com
Left handed guitar hero Malina Moye is going to perform at Nisville 2019 at Friday, August 9th
Flipping a Fender Stratocaster upside-down, acclaimed singer/songwriter/lefty guitarist Malina Moye fills a void in the entertainment industry. Lauded as a musical pioneer and one of the world’s top guitarists by Guitar World Magazine, Moye has carved out her own lane in today’s music scene as one of the few artists in history able to straddle both Rock and Soul genres, and has become one of the world’s premier guitarists of this generation. Her brand of music, fashion and philanthropy has made Malina one of the most visible artists in the world.
With the Rock visionary’s latest release Bad As I Wanna Be, which reached number 1 for 2 weeks on Billboard Blues Chart, Moye encompasses a gumbo of Funk, Rock and Soul. The well-crafted songs display memorable melodies and astute songwriting. Critically acclaimed and a commercial success worldwide,receiving accolades from Billboard, People Magazine, Guitar World Magazine, and many more. Parade Magazine states that, “Moye has proven herself once again as an über-talented, electric guitar power house, and NPR’s The Current states that Malina is reinventing the Minneapolis sound.
Moye has “the talent, the look, the energy, the whole package,” declares Huffington post. Seventeen Magazine states, “On stage, Malina delivers an intoxicating fusion of funk, Rock, and Soul.” Her sophomore record Rock & Roll Baby was released in late 2014 and set social media on fire with the funk-rock anthem Kyotic, which debuted at the top of the Billboard Twitter 140 chart at number 5. In 2016, Malina’s hit single Are You The One landed at no. 32 on the Billboard National R&B Airplay chart and was the second most added song in the country thanks to Sirius XM radio. Guitar World Magazine touts Rock & Roll Baby as “insanely good” with “a seductive passion and feel that Malina brings in her guitar playing.” The Examiner states, “Moye is one of 10 national U.S. independent artists to see,” and Billboard Magazine calls her K-yotic collaboration with Bootsy Collins “explosive.”
Malina Moye ‘Rock & Roll Baby’
In 2011, Moye’s critically acclaimed LP Diamonds & Guitars reached number 35 on Amazon.com and iTunes respectively, showcasing an eclectic pallet of music while preserving its mainstream appeal. The album spawned two Billboard-charting songs Girlfriend (no. 48) which also appeared in an episode of MTV “The Hills” and Alone, which landed on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at no. 93 and stayed on the chart for over six weeks. Alone then remained in the top 10 for over 15 weeks on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart. In 2012, Malina was the first female guitarist to join the Experience Hendrix Tour and appeared in the documentary “Stratmaster: The Greatest Guitar Story Ever Told.” Abroad and stateside, Moye’s Diamond & Guitars tour served her as an opening act with Robin Thicke and legendary rock group Journey.
Malina Moye ‘Bad As I Wanna Be’
Moye’s musical narrative boasts an impressive and unique resume that includes making history as the first African-American woman to play the National Anthem on guitar at a professional sporting event, all the way to performing at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame tribute concert for music pioneer Chuck Berry. And recently, Malina honored the Queen of England by playing “God Save the Queen” at the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the Queen’s sixty-year jubilee.
Malina Moye – K-yotic ft. Bootsy Collins
Malina’s fashion sense, stage presence and unorthodox style of guitar voicing has garnered praises from legends to newcomers alike. As an influential artist, Moye continues to redefine music and mainstream pop culture through women empowerment campaigns such as Fender’s “Girl Rock Nation,” Victoria Secret’s “Love Rocks” and Steve Madden’s “Music.” With accolades from publications such as Billboard, Guitar World, and Vogue and having graced the stages on some of music’s biggest stages—SXSW, Bospop, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Malina Moye brings a unique brand, charisma, and emotion to music unlike any artist in the world today. Malina makes her big screen acting debut in the much buzzed about film The Samuel Project to be release in theaters and on Netflix Worldwide in 2018.
Malina’s humanitarian efforts include serving as cofounder of DriveHope.org a non profit organization that’s dedicated to helping individuals elevate themselves and their communities. #FindTheGr8nU
Malina Moye embraces her unique brand, bringing charisma, fire, and emotion to music unlike any artist in the world today. As a savvy businesswoman, she has taken her childhood dream and turned it into a budding empire.
Legendary saxophone player is on his way to Serbia!
Legendary American Funk and soul-jazz saxophone player (specializing in alto, tenor and baritone saxophone) Maceo Parker will perform with his collective on the premier night of Nišville Jazz Festival 2019, which will begin on the Thursday evening of the 8th of August. Most widely known for being a part of the brass lineup of the James Brown (the Godfather of Soul) orchestra – he is also considered to be the main member of the collective – in the recent decades, Maceo Parker has, rightfully so, joined in the plethora of the greatest of Soul artists of all time, working together with names such as Prince, Ray Charles, Keith Richards, and bands: “Parliament Funkadelic” and “ Red Hot Chili Peppers”…
Maceo Parker, who just recently turned 76(14th of February), was born in Kingstown, North Carolina. His mother sang in a church choir, his father played the piano and drums, and his older brother, Melvin, was a talented drummer. Sam James Brown cited in his autobiography that he only wanted Melvin for his band, but after a bit of negotiations he accepted a “tied transaction” to enlist Melvin’s younger brother, 19 year old Maceo as well! Six years later, the Parker brothers would go on to form Maceo & All the King’s Men band alongside a couple of other players who left Brown’s band. This new band would perform for the next couple of years, and in 1973. Maceo would again perform alongside Brown. In 1975. Maceo will again leave Brown with a couple of other players (including Fred Wesley), and go on to join the legendary funk-soul band “Parliament Funkadelic” of George Clinton. Parker would then, for the third time, return to play alongside James Brown from 1984. to 1988, and during the nineties he would have a highly successful solo career. His very first album from that period, „Roots Revisited“, would be at the height of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts for 10 whole weeks. And so, even in its infancy, his band earned the title „greatest little funk band in the world“ or „million-dollar support band“. His first live album would also achieve great success, „Life on Planet Groove“ from 1992. godine, a first time collaboration with Candy Dulfer, a sax player from the Netherlands, for Maceo. The very next year Maceo would be featured on an album by the De La Soul band, and by the end of the nineties he started playing and performing alongside Prince and his band “New Power Generation”. Alongside Prince he would also perform in a series of 21 concerts in 2007. in the London O2 arena, and 5 years later a series (also consisting of 21 concerts) of concerts would follow in the LA Forum. On the list of famous artist he performed with are also Ray Charles, Keith Richards, bands, Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band… Parker’s album „Rootsa & Grooves“ with German WDR big bendom – a commemoration album for the late and great Ray Charles claimed the „Jammie“ award as the best Jazz album of 2009, and three years later he would record the album „Soul Classics“ with the same band.
In July of 2012. Maceo Parker received the prestigious lifetime award „Victoires Du Jazz“. In the recent years he has been performing with a consistent tempo – and so he performs in more than 290 concerts each year!
International Nišville jazz festival 2019 will host the largest yet number of prestigious guests from all over the world in 2019. – CEO’s of other international jazz festivals, jazz impressionists, promoters and journalists who will witness this years best from Serbian jazz and fusion scene, the best of Serbian bands and orchestras which will perform this year from the 8th to the 11th of August as a part of the sideshow of this years Nišville jazz festival under the name of “Serbian Showcase”.
All interested bands need to send, along with their application, at least three recorded songs which will be reviewed by a professional committee, which will then choose 15 groups which will have a chance to win a performance at a world renowned festival with their 25 minute performance in the hall of Officers Club in Niš. Nišville will cover the transport, accommodation costs as well as their paychecks during the upcoming festival, as well as their continued full performance on one of the sideshows stages. Send your applications toshowcase@nisville.com up until 15th of March 2019.
CEO of Nišville visiting the Art Council of Showcase in China
Showcase has become one of the most prominent shows throughout the world, and Nišville has become a welcomed guest festival on them, and one of the most sought after destinations for bands. CEO of Nišville, mr. Ivan Blagojević will participate in the preparations of the Chinese city Chengdu’s “16+1” Music Showcase, which will have a 15 day finale in 4 different Chinese cities in October of 2019. Near the end of last year, he participated along with other 40 CEO’s of world jazz festivals in the international Showcase in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (Israel), and in April he will be an honored guest of Jazz & Blues Showcase in New Orleans (USA), as well as on the largest European Jazz Showcase in Bremen (Germany). The best bands from this Showcases will perform on Nišville 2019.
Nišville jazz festival had its first Showcase show last year, and the Niš local group “Jayus Jazz” was invited to perform on two prestigious festivals. Near the end of April they will perform on Kaunas Jazz festival in Lithuania, and at the beginning of August they will perform on Bansko jazz festival in Bulgaria. This jazz fusion collective will also be the opening band for this years Nišville jazz festival on the Main stage, the central stage of the festival.
