jazz live
The holiday season is in full swing and the end of another year is rapidly approaching, there are a few holiday oriented jazz shows to mention.

On Saturday, Dec. 19, vocalist Chris Humphrey and his Big Band will offer a fundraising performance for the York County Community Action Food Bank at the St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Kennebunk, Maine. The concert starts at 7 p.m. and will feature some of the area’s finest jazz musicians performing holiday big band classics. The show is free, but donations to the Food Bank will be accepted at the door.

Humphrey will also perform the following evening as part of the Sunday Jazz series at The Press Room in Portsmouth from 6 to 9 p.m. Joining him will be Ryan Parker and The Press Room Trio, saxophonist David Wells and trumpeter Trent Austin.

On Sunday, Dec. 27, bassist Tim Webb leads a group that includes saxophonist Matt Langley and drummer Peter Moutis, among others, at The Press Room for an evening of jazz on the adventurous side. For this writer, it’s always a pleasure to hear Moutis perform in the area, which happens all too rarely.

jazz books make great gifts
Several new jazz related books hit the market this year, and books are always a welcome gift idea for the holidays. “Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong” by Terry Teachout, a thoughtful and in-depth portrait of the trumpet genius and vocal great.

Teachout had greater access to archival documents on Armstrong than previous authors, and the result is a well written, revealing and balanced look at the man behind the musical persona. There is an emphasis on Armstrong’s family life, as well as his thoughts on a variety of subjects, such as marijuana use and, more notably, the racism that was so prevalent throughout his life and career. In my opinion, this is one of the best books to date on this genius of American music.

Another new biography is “Monk: the Life and Times of an American Original” by Robin D. G. Kelley. It’s a well written and exhaustively researched portrait of pianist and composer Thelonious Monk that also balances Monk’s music career with his family and life experiences.

Yet another compelling biography is “W.C. Handy” by David Robertson, a remarkable account of the life and times of a man often referred to as the Father of the Blues. Like Teachout and Kelley, Robertson offers a fine balance between Handy’s career and personal life, including his life-long commitment to the Republican Party. It’s an excellent and long overdue documentation of an extraordinary American artist.

From the historical perspective comes “Ellington Uptown: Ellington, James P. Johnson and the Birth of Concert Jazz” by John Howland. The book chronicles the struggles and triumphs Ellington and Johnson experienced while bringing jazz from the nightclubs to the concert halls in New York, giving the music a more sophisticated image and broadening its audience. Howland’s research brings this era to life with rich detail and offers an intimate view of Ellington’s career that has been overlooked in past books.

“Jazz” is an extensive historical overview of the history of the music from authors Gary Giddins and Scott Deveaux. The authors’ love of the music shines through in lively writing that isn’t bogged down with academic facts and figures. For anyone who is new to jazz and is looking for an authoritative source on the music and the musicians, this is the book for you.

Amiri Baraka has long been a proponent of African-American art forms. After 30 years of focusing on poetry and creative writing, Barak returns to his roots with “Digging: the Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music,” a collection of essays on the state of jazz in America today. Baraka’s writings on music are deeply thoughtful and reflective as he covers topics ranging from Coltrane to the blues to the commercialization of jazz today, all told in Baraka’s unique and highly personal style.

Lastly, Steve Knopper offers a searing indictment of the foibles of the music industry in “Appetite for Self-Destruction.” The book examines the crisis brought on by various leaders in the recording industry who became too complacent with the compact disc format, were not ready for the explosion of online music sharing and seem to have remained in denial ever since. This is a superb look at an issue plaguing the national music scene today.

jazz video
For video fans, the fourth set of Jazz Icon DVDs was released in late October. The set includes individual DVDs of Jimmy Smith, Errol Garner, Art Farmer, Anita O’Day, Art Blakey, Coleman Hawkins and Woody Herman, plus a disc of bonus clips.

Overall, I don’t think this chapter lives up to the quality found in the previous three sets of releases. In particular, the Hawkins and O’Day sets are somewhat disappointing. But there are some gems. Garner is captured in performances with his long-time trio, and you get a sense of what an extraordinary pianist he was. The Herman set captures one of his finest bands in a stellar 1964 performance that prominently features Exeter native Phil Wilson on trombone, the great Sal Nistico on tenor sax and Bill Chase on lead trumpet. Manchester native Danny Nolan can also be found playing in the trumpet section.