SAN DIEGO, CALIF., To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Blue Note legacy, an all-star band featuring some of the finest jazz musicians today will travel the world throughout 2009 with one of their first stops at Anthology in San Diego.
They will perform two shows of the best of Blue Note – “What was, is and will be” – on Tuesday,
January 27, 2009 at 7:30 and 9:30 pm. A new CD is to be released in conjunction with the commencement of the tour in January 2009.
ALL-STAR SEPTET FEATURES MUSICAL DIRECTOR BILL CHARLAP WITH NICHOLAS PAYTON, RAVI COLTRANE, STEVE WILSON, PETER BERNSTEIN, PETER WASHINGTON AND LEWIS NASH
Blue Note’s catalog of music features an impressive array of legendary performances and a core list of “must-have” releases that indelibly marked the history of jazz.
Charlap says, “The music that Blue Note recorded is so vast and historically important that there was no way we could be comprehensive in covering the contributions of so many major musicians. We chose to record compositions that would honor the label and its key players, whittling it down to eight of our favorites from Blue Note’s wide-ranging and extensive catalog.” Charlap hails the wisdom of Blue Note founder Alfred Lion, who launched the label in 1939, for “creating a forum for composers to write music. He trusted them to go ahead and do what they do best.”
“The Blue Note 7 is a true collaboration, an all-star band comprised of the next generation of major players, all leaders in their own right,” says Bruce Lundvall, President of Blue Note Records, who is also celebrating 25 years since he relaunched the label in 1984 after a hiatus. “They are also the A-list of accomplished arrangers and composers, steeped in the Blue Note tradition, re-imagining this time-honored repertoire in a fresh way.”
Charlap notes that each tune on Mosaic is arranged by a band member with the exception of two tracks arranged by pianist Renee Rosnes: McCoy Tyner’s “Search for Peace” and Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance.” Other tracks include Cedar Walton’s “Mosaic,” written for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and arranged by Nash; Joe Henderson’s “Inner Urge,” arranged by Payton; Bobby Hutcherson’s “Little B’s Poem” and Thelonious Monk’s “Criss Cross,” both arranged by Wilson; Duke Pearson’s “Idle Moments,” written for guitarist Grant Green and arranged by Bernstein; and Horace Silver’s “The Outlaw,” arranged by Charlap.
Charlap points out that song choice was determined by the band’s desire to cover diverse tunes with different moods and arranging approaches. “Although each player is a leader in his own right, it’s the chemistry between these musicians that makes the band. We’re relatively young guys who have a lot of experience collectively, and we’ve had the opportunity to perform with many of the major Blue Note artists.”
Charlap salutes the work of Melnick and Jack Randall, a booking agent at Ted Kurland Associates, for coming up with the concept. He says, “This is an unusual example of an intelligent promotional idea with a very artistic result.” Melnick credits Randall for giving the project its jump-start. “Jack approached me and together we made our list of possible players,” he says. “Then we went to Blue Note, and everyone there loved the idea.” As for promoters who have booked the show, he says, “They’re happy with presenting the Blue Note songbook with all new arrangements performed by a great band that understands and respects jazz history. This will be a true celebration of Blue Note.”
More arrangements of songs from the Blue Note library will be created for The Blue Note 7 tour, which begins on January 7 in Yakima, Washington, and continues with concerts at universities and concert halls in 50 cities across North America.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE BLUE NOTE RECORDS 70TH ARTIST BIOS: http://www.tedkurland.com/pbuild/artist.cfm?code=B70
To listen to the new CD Mosaic: http://www.bluenote.com/ArtistDiscography.aspx?ArtistId=924224
Show details:
The Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary Tour will perform two shows on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 / $28 for main floor seating with GA and VIP mezzanine seating available. Tickets are available at the Anthology Box Office, by calling 619.595.0300 and at www.AnthologySD.com.
Anthology is located at 1337 India Street (between A and Ash Streets) in downtown San Diego.
ABOUT ANTHOLOGY
Anthology is San Diego’s internationally acclaimed, award-winning music venue and fine dining restaurant. Anthology provides an intimate, up-close-and-personal live-music experience unlike any other venue in the world.
Located in the vibrant neighborhood of Little Italy in downtown San Diego, Anthology comes to life in the spirit of a 1940s supper club—with a decidedly swank and modern spin—to deliver a harmonious gathering of food, music and world-class ambience. On the stage, Anthology plays host to local, regional and international recording artists in jazz, rock, blues, Latin, singer-songwriter and world music in a performing space that boasts a state-of-the-art sound system and incomparable acoustics.
Anthology’s New American cuisine is inspired by consulting chef and award-winning culinary superstar Bradley Ogden. In just over a year, Anthology has garnered such acclaim as “Best New Jazz Club” by CityBeat, “Best Restaurant Design” by Riviera Magazine and “Best Live Music Venue” by CitySearch.
For a complete listing of upcoming events, with more details about and tickets and artists, and to find more information about private party events, visit www.AnthologySD.com.
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SAN DIEGO, CALIF., Dec. 12 – Fiction Family, a collaboration between Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins, will share their indie rock and acoustic sound with listeners during an intimate, one-of-a-kind live music experience at Anthology on Fri., Feb. 6.
This shift in tone is perfectly natural for Di Meola. “Although the tango developed in Argentina, it was born in the region of Italy where my parents are from, Napoli,” he explains. “This music connects to my roots. As long as I’m playing music, it will be part of my repertoire.” No wonder, then, that World Sinfonia’s music sounds so effortless: it’s in his blood. 
SAN DIEGO, CALIF., December 13 – Anthology presents Tony® & Grammy® Winner DUNCAN SHEIK in concert Feb 18 with special guest LAUREN PRITCHARD of the original Spring Awakening cast.
John Mayall is, at 75 years of age, tireless. With 56 albums to his credit (not including compilations), he says he will record number 57 soon and, following that, take his new band on the road. He’s been called the British godfather of the blues, but I rather fancy Mayall as the blues’ first true rock star. In the day he wore his blond hair long, sported lots of turquoise jewelry, and bought a lavish house in the midst of the fabled rock community that had settled in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon. When a devilish brush fire burned through the neighborhood in 1979, Mayall’s life went up in smoke. He lost everything, right down to his artwork, his photographs, and his studio tapes.
“Fountains of Wayne seems like a weird choice for an all-acoustic set at Anthology. The band’s songwriters, Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger, are best known for writing irresistible, catchy power pop with jokey, name-checking lyrics like “It’s Thursday night, she should be out on the scene/ But she’s sitting at home watching The King of Queens.” This is not the kind of earnest, confessional songwriting that we associate with acoustic concerts.”
It isn’t jazz dance; it’s jazz plus dance… in a great jazz venue. So I’d call that pretty jazzy, all around.
