DownBeat Magazine # April 2012 Volume 79, Number 4

Cover

Robert Glasper’s Big Experiment
By Shaun Brady
In Robert Glasper’s view, jazz could learn a thing or two from hip-hop. Not just musically—though the pianist has increasingly worked to meld the two genres over the course of his career—but also in its attitude. “I feel like jazz needs a big-ass slap,” he says. “Slapping hurts, but at some point it’ll wake you up.” Expect Glasper’s boundary-crossing CD Black Radio (Blue Note), the first full album by his Experiment band, to sound the alarm.

Features

Wes Montgomery
Back Home on Indiana Avenue
By Aaron Cohen
A new album of previously unreleased tapes sheds light on the early work of the iconic jazz guitarist.

Wadada Leo Smith
Looking for the Diamond Fields
By Michael Jackson
Despite orchestrating a panoply of music, Smith steadily remains the unblinking eye of the cyclone.

Orbert Davis
Orbert Inc.
By Ed Enright
How a top-tier trumpeter makes artistry and advocacy his business.

Musicians’ Gear Guide
Great Finds From The NAMM Show 2012
Players

Daniel Rosenthal
Rez Abbasi
Fabian Almazan
New West Guitar Group

Blindfold Test

Pianist David Hazeltine was tested on the following tracks for the “Blindfold Test” :

• Robert Glasper : “Think Of One” from Double Booked (Blue Note)
• Geoff Keezer : “Araña Amarilla” from Aurea (Artist Share)
• Tony Williams Trio : “Farewell To Dogma” from Young At Heart (Columbia)
• Martial Solal : “Here’s That Rainy Day” from Longitude (CamJazz)
• Edward Simon Trio : “Poesia” from Poesia (CamJazz)
• David Kikoski : “Chance” from Mostly Standards (Criss Cross Jazz)
• Barry Harris Trio : “Oblivion” from The Last Time I Saw Paris (Venus)

Also In This Issue

Conversation with Christian McBride ; New York Winter Jazz Fest Caught ; Jazz Cruise Caught ; Chucho Valdés Caught ; Etta James Remembered ; European Scene ; Nine Winds Records ; Soul Rebels ; Brass School : Wynton Marsalis Transcription, Wayne Wallace Master Class, Kirk Garrison Pro Session ; Harvard University Jazz Band Celebrates Blue Note ; plus Dozens of CD Reviews, Product Reviews and Much More !