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Jazz finds a great deal of its past in the present, but contemporary jazz takes us much further than viewers of Ken Burns famed documentary on the genre would suggest. Jazz is a music that's played by men and women; instrumentalists and singers; leaders and sidemen; soloists, small groups, and big bands. In this session, explore the sounds of a music that has continued to evolve and, in the process, become a global phenomena.


About Your Host
Lara Pellegrinelli received her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Harvard in 2005. Her dissertation, The Song is Who? Locating Singers on the Jazz Scene, is the first ethnography of jazz singing. Having held a visiting position as an assistant professor of music at the University of Richmond from 2005-07, she embarked on an around-the-world voyage with the University of Virginia's Semester at Sea program in the Fall of 2007. Her writing has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The Village Voice, Jazz Times, NewMusicBox, and the National African American Biography. She currently contributes to NPR and WNYC.
Recommended Listening:

Louis Armstrong
"Potato Head Blues" from The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings
Sony
Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings

Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Made in New Orleans: The Hurricane Sessions
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall Jazz Band - The Hurricane Sessions

Benny Goodman
"King Porter Stomp" from Stompin' at the Savoy
Jazz Hour
Benny Goodman - Stompin' at the Savoy

Lionel Hampton
"Rhythm, Rhythm (I Got Rhythm)" from Flyin' Home
Lrc Ltd
Lionel Hampton - Flyin' Home

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
"Live in Swing City"
Sbme Special Mkts.
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis - Live In Swing City- Swingin' With Duke

Charlie Parker
"I Got Rhythm"
Charlie "Bird" Parker - I Got Rhythm

Charlie Parker
Best Complete Live Performances on Savoy
Savoy Jazz


The Heath Brothers
As We Were Saying
Concord Records
Gregory D'Agostino - Babbitt: My Ends Are My Beginnings, Soli e Duettini, Swan Song

Jimmy Heath
Little Man, Big Band
Polygram Records
Jimmy Heath - Little Man Big Band

Wynton Marsalis
Think of One
Wounded Bird Records
Wynton Marsalis - Think of One...

Wynton Marsalis
Trumpet Concertos
Sony
English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard & Wynton Marsalis - Wynton Marsalis: Trumpet Concertos

Wynton Marsalis
Live at the Village Vanguard
Sony
Wynton Marsalis Septet - Live At the Village Vanguard

Cassandra Wilson
Jumpworld
Polygram Records

Cassandra Wilson
Blue Light Til Dawn
Blue Note Records
Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light 'Til Dawn

Cassandra Wilson
New Moon Daughter
Blue Note Records
Cassandra Wilson - New Moon Daughter

Bad Plus
Suspicious Activity?
Sony
The Bad Plus - Suspicious Activity?

Bad Plus
These Are the Vistas
Sony
The Bad Plus - These Are the Vistas

Maria Schneider
"Hang Gliding" from Allegresse
ArtistShare

Maria Schneider
"Evanescence" from Evanescence
Enja

Maria Schneider
"Cerulean Skies" from Sky Blue
ArtistShare
Maria Schneider - Sky Blue

Cecil Taylor
Unit Structures
Blue Note Records
Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures

Cecil Taylor
Willisau Concert
Intakt Records


John Zorn
"A Shot in the Dark" from Naked City
Nonesuch
John Zorn - Naked City

John Zorn
Kristalnacht
Tzadik
Anthony Coleman, Marc Ribot & Mark Feldman - Zorn: Kristallnacht

John Zorn
Voices In The Wilderness
Tzadik
John Zorn - Voices In the Wilderness

David Brubeck
The Real Ambassadors
Sony
Dave Brubeck & Louis Armstrong and His Band - The Real Ambassadors

Max Roach
Freedom Now Suite
Candid Records
Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach - We Insist! - Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite

Lionel Loueke
Karibu
Blue Note Records
Lionel Loueke - Karibu

Further Reading:

Do the Math, the Bad Plus blog and webzine.

Giddins, Gary. Visions of Jazz: The First Century. Oxford University Press, 2000.

Mandel, Howard. Miles, Ornette, Cecil: Jazz Beyond Jazz. Routledge, 2007.

Mandel, Howard. Future Jazz. Oxford University Press, 2000.