Dom Minasi's Guitar Hang
Hello everyone. Welcome to my blog for January 2023. Let me introduce you to Osvaldo Brizuela OBI), Ken Hatfield, Tiago Lago, and Ron Johnson
Osvaldo Brizuela a.k.a O-Brii-, o composer, guitarist, writer, teacher, producer, sound and visual artist from Cordoba-Argentina
He's the founder
of Video fest -International Audiovisuals Encounter-
alongside with artists Ciro Barco and Cecilia Rosso. He created and directed audiovisual proposals as Dream
Jazz -art sound + visuals premiered in the First Córdoba Jazz
Festival 2009 and the Opening of the CBA. Jazz Festival 2012. Falla
de origen / Failure of Origin, participating in the International
Biennial of Composition and Music the Education-National University of
Cba-AR-2010.
Artist and
producer in Real Time Project -improvised visual
and sounds art sessions- project shared with Federico Gaumet; No Tune Up -detuned
music; Toys -music with toys and unconventional sound
sources and instruments; O-Bri Noise Songs -art
sound + visuals, 2010; O-Bri + GTR -real-time guitar
compositions and art sound with Federico Gaumet. Composer and
director of audiovisual story El Niño Cíclope, presented at
the Sala Mayor of the Cordoba's Royal Theatre in October 2011.
Composer and interpreter in O-Bri + Sky Judas since 1996, releasing two independent CDs Otra Kuma 1997 and Piel 2004 and the Dvd Still seeing in 2008. He was the director, composer, sound artist, and vocalist of the audiovisual proposal Té con Orangutanes / Tea with Orangutans recording a CD , Monkey beats and a Dvd, The trip of the electronic monkeys.
Since 2012 he has had a duo with the prestigious guitarist from Buenos Aires, Juampy Juárez; editing Espacios and acting in Cba. Jazz Festival 2013 at the Teatro del Libertador San Martín and the International Jazz Festival in Santiago del Estero 2014.
Since 2013 presented 11 intentos de vestir al silencio / 11 attempts to dress silence, works for guitar, material recorded on a DVD with visual artist Maru Aparicio.
In May 2013 he published
his book Ahídaluz, with the artist Federico Gaumet premiered
in the III International Festival Poetry Cba. 2014. In 2013,
along with Horacio Alara produced and hosted an artists talk
show from Córdoba MÓVIL núcleo de arte in audio streaming
mode. Currently it has recorded a new solo album AIRESUENAENPIEL (songs)
recorded with 20 local artists.
He has
composed the original music of The Inferno from
the Divine Comedy, 1997, a theatrical play directed by Chete
Cavagliatto; Eclipse, a short film under the
direction of Martin Subirá- with guitarist and composer Dario Iscaro, film presented
at the International Film Festival Mar del Plata, awarded with a
silver medal at the International Film Festival UNICA -Germany. In
2014 he composed the soundtrack for Los pecados de Shakespeare /Sins
of Shakespeare theatre play directed by Cheté Cavagliatto.
As an experimental visual
and sound artist, he presented his work Pi-31416-o-bri (2008),
a sound and visual intervention that aims to recreate the intrauterine
landscape, through sound actions in real time on prerecorded and image support.
As a visual artist and since 2006 makes video art for his own music projects
and for/with other artists: Darius Iscaro's group Antihéroe; Héctor
Tortosa's Obra Mandio and Un regalo
de Tupá. He participated as a video artist in the exhibition EsperArte,
coordinated by Isabel Caparros in Madrid-Spain.
He was
Argentina's curator for the Dvd Project, an international video art
project organized by Stichting Idee-fixe (Holland) to present pop
and experimental video art, creating a democratic and accessible platform for
new young artists.
He
participated in the IV International Festival of Poetry: Word in the
World-project coordinated by Big Bang. In 2014 he
participated in the III International Poetry Festival of Córdoba.
Recognized in late 2012
with the Prensarte JB Award, for his independent trajectory of
research / experimentation in artistic languages.
He
teaches guitar in Fundación
La Colmena-escuela de músicos- since 1990. Since May 2009 he is professor of Experimental TEC-Creative-Workshop with Federico Gaumet, workshop at the Royal Theatre, depending on the Ministry of Culture
of the Province of Córdoba and CIPCO Research Center for Cognitive Psychotherapy.
In 2022, O-Bri released a series of singles as a singer-songwriter and guitarist with a new album, "Mientras la lluvia" along with great musicians.
He composed the music for the film "Sobre las nubes" directed by María Aparicio, a film that won an award for best feature film at the Valdivia Film Festival (Chile) and also best feature film at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival (Argentina).
To learn more about O-bri, visit his website:https://linktr.ee/obri
DM: How long are you playing?
O-Bri: I've been playing guitar for 45 years.
DM: Why Jazz?
O-Bri: Jazz is freedom; it is the courage to face the limits; jazz is the name of what cannot be classified
DM: Who are your influences
O-Bri: Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Tuck Andress, Bill Evans, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Juampy Juárez, and John Scofield, among others
DM: How do you feel about using electronics (FXs) in jazz?
O-Bri: all the resources can be necessary and valuable when looking for a sound to tell the world what makes music; the FXs, are part of the search to find our voice or voices
DM: Where do you think jazz is headed?
O-Bri: I believe that great musicians like Coltrane, Miles, and Pat Metheny, among many other greats, refreshed jazz by taking elements from other music and cultures; I think that trend keeps jazz alive and fresh and will keep going forward.
Ken Hatfield
Described as “a veritable Picasso of the jazz guitar world” (20th Century Guitar), and “one of the most skilled, creative, and original guitarist/composers currently recording” (Acoustic Guitar), nylon-string guitarist Ken Hatfield is known for his formidable fingerstyle technique and original compositional voice that draws on influences as diverse as jazz, blues, classical, Brazilian, and Appalachian music. His important contributions as a composer have earned him wide recognition, including the prestigious ASCAP Foundation Jazz Vanguard Award for “innovative and distinctive music that is charting new directions in jazz” (2006).
Hatfield’s eleven CDs as a leader demonstrate his tremendous gifts as both composer and performer and attest to his consistently high level of artistry. His forthcoming release with Eric Hoffman, Stirrings Still (2023), is an intimate set of duets for voice and guitar. His 2013 sextet release For Langston, a jazz song cycle in which he set to music poems by Langston Hughes, was described by Marc Myers as “an uplifting, spiritual jazz tribute that treats its subject seriously but with joyous lyricism. . . . Easily one of the finest tribute albums so far this year” (JazzWax.com). 2006’s String Theory, which highlights Hatfield’s technical virtuosity and versatility as he performs a group of original works composed for classical guitar, dobro, and mandolin, was lauded by Andy Ellis in Guitar Player for its “fresh guitar sounds and novel concepts” and “brainy, dynamic, and relentlessly melodic” playing. His 2003 trio release The Surrealist Table was described by Ron Forbes-Roberts in Acoustic Guitar as “. . . an empathetic session brimming with beautifully realized musical ideas and stellar playing” and was chosen by Bill Milkowski in JAZZIZ as one of the top 20 acoustic guitar albums to have. And Hatfield’s 2002 ensemble recording Phoenix Rising was “Recommended for those with an affinity for the subtle and sublime” by Jim Ferguson in JazzTimes.
Arthur Circle Music has published six books of Hatfield’s compositions. His latest is 2016’s 12 Preludes for Solo Guitar (w/companion CD) about which Raul da Gama wrote, “Hatfield’s fresh voice and genuine musicality warrant the placement of these 12 Preludes in the vast classical prelude discography’s top tier” (worldmusicreport.com). In 2017 Mel Bay included two of Ken’s solo guitar compositions in Contemporary Guitar Composers of the Americas, and in 2005 they published his comprehensive instructional book Jazz and the Classical Guitar: Theory and Application, designed to demonstrate Ken’s unique approach to playing jazz on a classical guitar. His compositions and writings have also appeared in numerous jazz and guitar publications, including DownBeat, Acoustic Guitar, Just Jazz Guitar, Fingerstyle Guitar, and others.
In addition to composing jazz works for his own ensembles, he has written chamber pieces that range from solo classical guitar to string quartet and mixed ensembles of various sizes; choral works and ballet scores, including commissioned works for Judith Jamison, The Washington Ballet Company, and the Maurice Béjart Ballet Company; and scores for television and film, including Eugene Richards’ award-winning documentary but, the day came.
Ken has performed as a solo artist and with his ensembles in a variety of venues ranging from prestigious international festivals to intimate jazz clubs, including the JVC Jazz Festival, the North Wales International Jazz Guitar Festival, the Classic American Guitar Show, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Harrison Opera House, the Smithsonian Jazz Café, the Knitting Factory, and 55Bar. He has performed and/or recorded with artists and ensembles as diverse as The New York Pops, Charlie Byrd, Jack McDuff, Chico Hamilton, Jimmy McGriff, Melissa Manchester, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Stephanie Mills, Linda Hopkins, Billy Daniels, Pat Benatar, Maurice Hines, Charles Aznavour, Bob Cranshaw, Grady Tate, Harold Mabern, Brian Torff, Marcus Miller, Kenny Kirkland, Dom Salvador, João Donato, Claudio Roditi, Lew Tabackin, Kenny Werner, Ben E. King, Eddie Kendricks, Marlena Shaw, Vivian Reed, Z.Z. Hill, and Toni Braxton.
Hatfield began studying the guitar with John Griggs in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, before attending the Berklee College of Music, where he joined the faculty at the age of 19. He studied counterpoint and composition with Paul Caputo in New York City, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York.
To learn more about Ken, visit his website: www.kenhatfield.com
DM: How Long Are You Playing?
KH: Such a simple question … but my answer is not so simple. I’ve been playing for as long as I can remember. At four, I began requesting a guitar from my parents. At eight, I finally got one. By thirteen, I was getting serious enough that all I wanted to do was play the guitar. By fourteen, I was working professionally. So about as close to accurate as I can get is over fifty years.
DM: Why Jazz?
KH: Well, blues … especially country blues … was the first music I heard on my dad’s radio. That was what attracted me to music in the first place.
There was a lot of live work for musicians where I grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. Between the Navy bars around Little Creek Naval Base in Norfolk and the tourist joints in Virginia Beach and Williamsburg, I worked six to seven nights a week, and for several years I did two gigs a night … while I was in high school.
When I started going to hear live concerts, I quickly realized that the performers did not play the same solos live that I had learned from their records. So, I started mimicking that “improvisational approach” on my many gigs. Well, that drove some of my fellow musicians crazy, especially the singers. When I tried to explain that I was only doing what Junior Walker and Hendrix, and Clapton did when I heard them live, the cats I was working with said: “you must be one of those jazz musicians.” In all honesty, I only had a vague notion of jazz music at that time in my life. So, naturally, I began investigating what jazz music is.
The South at that time was still largely segregated. But when some nurses that frequented an after-hours club I played five nights a week heard me teaching the band Wes’s “Bumpin’ On Sunset,” they suggested I let them take me to a club in Portsmouth called Fagans to hear Joe Jones. Joe was a local jazz legend that played piano and the Hammond B-3. He had worked with Dizzy and Nancy Wilson—he even played on some of James Brown’s first recordings. Hearing Joe live was an eye and ear-opening experience. Despite the problems an underage white kid could encounter going to clubs in the black part of town during all the Jim Crow BS of that era, I gradually began going to Joe’s gigs and eventually got the courage to sit in with him. At the same time, I began taking lessons from a man named John Griggs. John had worked as a big band guitarist and had studied classical guitar with Sophocles Pappas in DC. Along with Charlie Byrd and Bill Harris (who also studied with Pappas), they kind of pioneered jazz on the classical guitar. John also broadened my musical horizons considerably (turning me on to Django and Johnny Smith, as well as Segovia). I began doing gigs with many of the horn players from the Navy School of Music, who also mentored me, specifically hipping me to many of the jazz legends that shaped the music.
When I reached out to a cat that played bass and guitar in Joe Jones’s band named Esdras Lubin for guidance about how to approach jazz music, he gave me a bunch of records to listen to. Among them were two that really spoke to me: Wes Montgomery’s “Smokin’ at the Half Note” and Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage.” I also had a few friends from school who listened to jazz, and they turned me on to a lot of stuff. Not all of what my schoolmates listened to spoke to me, but one cat did … Charlie Parker. Only years later did I realize it was Bird’s affinity for the blues and how that was fundamental to his whole approach that I understand why his music touched me so deeply.
So, for me, jazz seemed to reach out
and call me by name … in other words, jazz chose me as much as I chose jazz. Heeding
that call, I began to immerse myself in what, at first, was music I found difficult
to digest. But that method of persisting and working to comprehend art that was
demanding became my modus operandi for how to live a life that lets you
continue to grow and learn new things … things that expand your conception of
what is possible. And now, decades later, that all seems as if it were
inevitable. It also seems to me to be what jazz has always been about.
DM:Who are your influences?
KH: As a guitarist, my two main influences are Wes Montgomery and Ralph Towner. But so many musicians I have had the privilege to work with have also influenced how I play. Cats like Bob Cranshaw, Grady Tate, Harold Mabern, and Dom Salvador shaped my conception of what it means to play music with … not at … the cats that grace the bandstand with you.
Then there are the composers whose scores I analyzed, using what I discovered to inform what I learned from gigs, in a process that added new dimensions to my compositions. Literally, everyone from Bach to Brahms, from Duke to Monk, from Villa-Lobos to Piazzolla, from Gershwin to Jobim, from Jim Hall and Barney Kessel and Wes to Hendrix—all have informed how I conceive and develop what I believe are the most important aspects of any great music … namely one’s ideas!
DM: How do you feel about using electronics (FXs) in jazz?
KH: While in recent years I’ve focused mostly on playing and composing jazz for the classical guitar, it (like all guitars that want to be audible as solo voices in a jazz context) requires amplification. So, in reality, once you plug in, you are using devices (a pick-up and an amp) that alter the pure acoustic nature of your instrument. Consequently, it seems to me that we are really talking about degrees of use … regarding effects.
Therefore, I am cool with the use of effects in a jazz context. They are just another set of tools.
To quote Coltrane, when a critic asked him about a critique of Wayne Shorter that compared Trane and Wayne by calling Shorter “an egg-scrambler,” Trane replied: “yeah, but it’s how he scrambles them eggs.”
Too much of a good thing ain’t good. But the artist should make that determination, not the critic.
In the later stages of his glorious career, Duke often complained that despite their conception of their role, critics should have no say in his choice of projects. They should confine themselves to judging whether his aim was true … did he hit or miss the mark he aimed for? They should not pontificate about his choice of targets … or speculate about the worthiness of the choice of projects he pursued.
DM: Where do you think jazz is headed?
KH: I don’t really know. I’m a bit too focused on my journey to ponder where others are headed.
I suspect it will have to expand what jazz is and the ranks of those creating it. I just hope that in doing so, it manages to retain its foundational heart and soul.
Is jazz an American art form that came into being as an expression of the African American experience … replete with all its glorious and triumphal manifestations to contrast with the dreadful aspects of where it came from and how it was born? Will it continue to hold a mirror up to the larger culture and a world that embraced its magnificence even while it tolerated the horrors surrounding its origins? Or is it just a commodity that can be acquired by those with the means to purchase any other commodity?
Forgive me, but in other words, will it still be rooted in the blues? My former employer, Jack McDuff, once said, "Jazz ain’t nothing but the blues with a college education.”
I just pray the education part doesn’t eliminate the blues part. Education may keep jazz on life support as a replacement for all the gigs that the digital paradigm shift helped kill. But life support ain’t the same thing as flourishing.
I hope jazz flourishes in America and the world. But I have my doubts. Because as jazz is treated and marketed as more of a niche music and a taste one must acquire, as it becomes more removed from its origins as dance music and as the shift of consumers to accessing music via things like streaming (where after a recent rate increase, musicians get 0.0026% of a penny per stream, while everything else in life costs more), it undermines our ability to make a living. Jazz may not be a viable life choice for future content creators. That will reduce it to a hobby for dilettantes with dwindling numbers that both create and listen to it.
AI cannot create. Jazz requires living, breathing human beings to create and consume it. This music takes a lifetime to master and a commitment to one’s own evolution to stay relevant. For humans to dedicate a life to creating jazz, they must be able to support themselves with jazz and related activities. In my opinion, the impracticality or unavailability of that is the biggest threat to the jazz of the future and the future of jazz…
I have no idea how much longer musicians will tolerate the inequities of the past quarter century. But as long as they tolerate it, the exploitation will continue. And as long as that continues, the future of all music … especially jazz … will be imperiled.
I
Ron Jackson
Seven
String Jazz Guitarist, composer, and arranger, Ron Jack-
son has performed,
recorded, and taught music in over 30 countries. Jackson is likely the only African American
seven-string jazz guitarist alive. His goal is to bring awareness to the
instrument through education, music, and events.
As a musician, Jackson has
mastered the six, seven, and twelve-string guitars and plays other fretted string
instruments like the ukulele, banjo, and electric bass.
He
has studied under the tutelage of Pat Martino, Barry Harris, Melvin
Sparks, Mike Stern, and
the seven-string master, the late Bucky Pizzarelli.
He has been featured as a leader
in jazz festivals worldwide, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Edinburgh
Jazz Festival, and Winter JazzFest.
As an educator, Jackson
provides education and awareness of the seven-string guitar - via individualized
instruction and free/low-cost educational resources comprising workshops and
live-streamed micro-lessons across his social media channels. He also teaches
six-string guitar classes to elementary students in
NYC Public Schools, who
would not otherwise have access to jazz.
As a recording artist,
Jackson has had a successful
recording career,
releasing eight albums. Beginning
with the chart-topping
"Guitar Thing" (1991) and
“Flubby Dubby” (2008),
which was recorded live with
his Hammond Organ trio.
His most recent release,
the Jazz-Week Top 100
album, "Standards and Other
Songs" (2019) was his
first as a leader on seven-string, incorporating
traditional standards and
jazz
rei-magining of radio-friendly pop songs, like Drake’s “Passionfruit.
These days you can find Ron performing for audiences with his band, teaching virtually and in-person, and hosting his popular weekly Instagram show Sunday Evening Jazz. In 2022 Ron was awarded the South Arts Jazz-road grant to support his “Whatever’s Open” Tour in March-April 2022. This coincided with his Top 10 Jazz week album release, "Standards and My Songs.”
To learn more about Ron, visit his website:
https://ronjacksonmusic.com/
RJ Since I was 11 years. I guess 47 years.
DM: Why Jazz?
RJ" I was always drawn to jazz music as a kid. I saw Pat Metheny and Miles Davis in high school and I was blown away!
DM: Who are your influences?
George Benson,
Pat Metheny, Jimmy Page, and Jimi
Hendrix.
DM: How do you feel about using electronics (FXs) in jazz?
RJ: Although I rarely play with effects, I respect guitarists who use them. You really need to learn how to use effects!
DM: Where do you think jazz is headed?
RJ: I have no idea where jazz is headed, but I'm glad it's here to stay!
TiagoLageira
Tiago's music is undeniably influenced by a vibrant mix of cultural heritages, from Fado and traditional Brazilian rhythms, due to his birthplace in Portugal, to the sound of legendary jazz pioneers, in which he immersed himself after moving to Amsterdam.
Once in Amsterdam, a young Tiago found himself without anything to do. That is when he received a gift that would change his future- a guitar. A couple of hours later, his fingers were bleeding from the random noises he played. One year later, he started to receive guitar lessons at a local music school, which encouraged him to dive gradually into the local jazz scene. Within a few months, he was already performing at the BIMhuis with the Young Talents Jazz Band.
After graduating from the conservatory and being inspired by John Coltrane, Pat Martino, George Benson, João Bosco, Elis Regina, and Pedro Jóia, Tiago tested himself by participating in some of the biggest music competitions in Europe today. He performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival, was one of the finalists at the Bucharest International Jazz Competition 2020 and he won the UK Jazz Guitar Competition in 2020, among others.
Furthermore, using his Portuguese roots and playing his trusted Godin, Tiago brought a modern version of Fado to the Dutch TV competition “We Want More”, which he ended up winning as part of the duo FADO Pelos 2. This resulted in national fame in both The Netherlands and Portugal, where he played live on TV with the renowned Fado singer Mariza.
His current projects include FADO,pelos2, CoolHaven Quintet, Trio Dos Anciões and the Amsterdam Big Band. Besides that, he also leads his own Tiago Lageira TRIO, with which he released his debut album “Maré Nocturna” featuring the giants Kiko Freitas on drums and Matheus Nicolaiewsky on bass.
You can learn more about Tiago by visiting his website.
DM: How Long Are You Playing?
TL: I’ve been playing guitar for 14 years but I actually got started on trombone before that back in Portugal. When my family moved to Amsterdam I was 15 and couldn’t afford my own trombone but I lucked out on a cheap guitar a year later and I’ve never looked back since then.
DM: Why Jazz?
TL: I grew up listening to much Brazilian music, which is very popular in Portugal. Through learning that music, especially Bossa Nova, I found a bunch of jazz musicians playing on those records, like Ron Carter and Stan Getz. I just kept digging for more and more of that type of playing, and the more I found, the more there was to discover.
Who are your influences?
TL: Any artist who manages to create their own distinct voice inspires me greatly, but biggest influences have to be musicians which have “the blues” into their playings, like Peter Bernstein, George Benson, Leo Amuedo, Grant Green, Jaco Abel, Lionel Loueke and Jesse van Ruller. Besides guitar players, I also love Charlie Parker, Elis Regina, Bill Stewart, McCoy Tyner, João Bosco, Philly Joe Jones, and many others…
DM: How do you feel about using electronics (FXs) in jazz?
TL: Electronics is a great way to mold your voice on the instrument and fine-tune it. It can also give more options for giving color during a tune. The most important thing, in the end, will always be the sound and story that you want to tell; as long as it’s in service of that, then it should work to your advantage!
DM: Where do you think jazz is headed?
TL: The strength of Jazz is the fantastic quality of musicianship from the people that play it. Wherever stories are to be told, Jazz will be there!
I want to thank all the participants for helping me keep jazz alive!
Dom Minasi
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