May 2011

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Seven IPS schools facing state takeover due to low test scores

Seven IPS schools are facing six consecutive years of low test scores. A meeting will be held Tuesday night at Broad Ripple High School to address the test scores and what should happen next.

CD/DOWNLOAD/ALBUM: Terakaft and the Desert Blues

Old-school rock rebels and musical elders from the desert. Terakaft brings together the raw sounds of minimal indie guitar rock and the swaying pulse of Saharan journeys. They harness the energy of flirtatious midnight songs and the gravitas of respected advisors calling for peace and unity.

Tuareg guitar warriors, Terakaft keeps alive the musical spirit honed by decades of oppression, rebellion, and exile on Aratan N Azawad (Children of the Azawad, World Village; June 14). Drawing on traditional forms of this Saharan nomadic people, filtered through an utterly fresh take on blues and rock, Terakaft (“Caravan”) moves through Tuareg history and a sea of sand to take the plight of their people to the world, in angular guitar licks and pulsating grooves…

CD/DOWNLOAD/ALBUM: Terry Adams Ushers in New Era of NRBQ with New CD, ‘Keep This Love Goin”

“NRBQ is a living, breathing, ongoing sound,” says Adams as he begins historic band’s next chapter.

NEW YORK, N.Y.&#151Terry Adams, visionary, driving force, and “untamed genius of the keyboards” for the great American band NRBQ since its inception more than 40 years ago, resumes his life’s work with the release of a new studio album, Keep This Love Goin’ by NRBQ, due out July 19, 2011. Recorded with the band he formed in 2007&#151Scott Ligon on guitar and vocals, Pete Donnelly on bass and vocals, and Conrad Choucroun on drums, formerly known as The Terry Adams Rock and Roll Quartet&#151Keep This Love Goin’ features 12 unforgettable songs, from the opener “Boozoo and Leona,” inspired by Adams’ relationship with the great zydeco musician Boozoo Chavis and his wife (Adams produced three albums for and performed with Chavis), to the instrumental closer “Red’s Piano,” a tune written by Piano Red and recorded in one take in that unmistakable NRBQ style. Adams learned the song from Red himself, when the Atlanta legend visited him at his upstate New York home in the 1970s…

CD/DOWNLOAD/ALBUM: Italy’s Finest Jazz Players Unite in Domenico Sanna Trio’s Debut Album

Take three of Italy’s finest jazz players and combine them in the same band. The result? It’s Too Marvelous for Words. Featuring pianist Domenico Sanna, bassist Giorgio Rosciglione, and drummer Marco Valeri, the group has the distinction of being the first jazz band signed to Rome, Italy’s Tosky Records label. Naming themselves the Domenico Sanna Trio, their debut album Too Marvelous for Words provides credibility to the swagger behind the record’s name. The group isn’t boasting, at least not in a way that isn’t deserved; they are really good, much better than most of their competition…

FESTIVAL/CRUISE: Gypsy Jazz in Paradise Added to Crested Butte Music Festival Roster

Jazz has long been part of the 15th annual Crested Butte Music Festival’s lineup, but this year the focus is on a truly unique style of music attributed to legendary French/Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist m: Django Reinhardt. “Gypsy Jazz In Paradise,” presented by the Crested Butte Music Festival and DjangoFest(TM), is slated for the weekend of August 12th through the 14th at the base area of Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Mt. Crested Butte, Colo…

Female Jazz Guitarists

Jazz music has seen some really awe inspiring female jazz guitarists. These women have left an unforgettable impression in the ever evolving world of music.

Sun Ra’s ’70s: From Solo Piano To Disco

Hear the super-wide range of sounds from the Sun Ra Arkestra’s third decade of existence.

Sun Ra’s ’70s: From Solo Piano To Disco

Hear the super-wide range of sounds from the Sun Ra Arkestra’s third decade of existence.

The Traneumentary: Anton Fig

When I first went to see McCoy Tyner at the Blue Note in the summer of 2006, I ran into Paul Schaffer and Anton Fig who were also attending the show. Both Anton and Paul respectfully greeted McCoy backstage and talked with him right before I met and recorded the McCoy “special greeting” Traneumentary episode. [...]

INTERVIEW/PROFILE/TRIBUTE: Dexter Gordon a Major Force of the Emergence of Modern Tenor Sax

Gordon was a major force in the emergence of modern tenor saxophone styles. His main influence was Lester Young, but he also displays an extroverted intensity reminiscent of Herschel Evans and Illinois Jacquet. His rich, vibrant sound, harmonic awareness, behind-the-beat phrasing, and predilection for C humorous quotations combine to create a unique style…