£3.50 £3.50 U.K. ARCH 2011 DOWNBEAT.COM M D O W N B E AT BRAD MEHLDAU // TERENCE BLANCHARD // BOB BELDEN // JAZZ CAMP GUIDE MARCH 2011 MARCH 2011 VOLUMe 78 – NuMBER 3 President Kevin Maher Publisher Frank Alkyer Editor Ed Enright Associate Editor Aaron Cohen Art Director Ara Tirado Production Associate Andy Williams Bookkeeper Margaret Stevens Circulation Manager Kelly Grosser Circulation Assistant Alyssa Beach ADVERTISING SALES Record Companies & Schools Jennifer Ruban-Gentile 630-941-2030 [email protected] Musical Instruments & East Coast Schools Ritche Deraney 201-445-6260 [email protected] Classified Advertising Sales Sue Mahal 630-941-2030 [email protected] OFFICES 102 N. 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Box 11688, St. Paul, MN 55111–0688. CABLE ADDRESS: DownBeat (on sale February 15, 2011) Magazine Publishers Association. Á 4 DOWNBEAT MARCH 2011 MARCH 2011 ON THE COVER 24 Brad Mehldau Idiom Weaver BY TED PANKEN 32 With the exception of Wynton Marsalis, it’s difficult to think of a musician possessing greater bona fides in the classical and jazz arenas. From his earliest albums, pianist Mehldau established his ability to weave the harmonic language and feeling of Brahms and Mahler into the improvisational warp and woof—swinging or rubato—of his trio and solo performances. Terence Blanchard MARK SHELDON Cover photography by Mark Sheldon Features 32 Terence Blanchard No Boundaries BY DAVE HELLAND 36 Bob Belden 59 Microscopic Septet 64 Helio Alves 67 Walter Smith III 75 Buddy Guy Spanish Key BY JOHN EPHLAND Departments 44 Charles Mingus Changed Man? 8 First Take 20 Players 104 Transcription BY MIKE HENNESSEY // MAY 13, 1971 Kenny Werner 10 Chords & Rondi Charleston 106 Toolshed 48 Indie Life Discords David S. Ware 110 Jazz On Campus Andy Farber 13 The Beat 114 Blindfold Test 77 Summertime Swingin’ 53 Reviews Roberta Gambarini 16 Vinyl Freak DownBeat’s International 102 Master Class Jazz Camp Guide 18 Caught Billy Martin 6 DOWNBEAT MARCH 2011 First Take | BY FRANK ALKYER Billy Taylor, Elegant Advocate r. Billy Taylor’s passing on Dec. 28 at age 89 leaves huge shoes to fill in the battle to spread the word about great art, like jazz. D Never before had an indi- vidual so quietly and calmly done so much to take jazz to the mass- es—even when not playing a note. That’s not to say Dr. Taylor wasn’t a great musician. As a pianist and composer, he displayed artistry, taste and class. Remember, he got his start playing for Ben Webster on 52nd Street and became the house pianist for Birdland playing behind the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. But history will show that his contributions as a jazz ambassador will well overshadow his contribu- tions as a jazz musician. All of us Billy Taylor with his DownBeat ILLEN M Lifetime Achievement Award C who work in—or simply enjoy— at Jazzmobile’s 20th anniver- M sary celebration in 1984. jazz owe him a debt of gratitude for BRIAN his dedication to the cause. For starters, there’s Jazzmobile, the not-for-profit organization Dr. Taylor founded in the 1960s to take jazz performances on a mobile stage into New York neighborhoods that might otherwise never see live music. The organization is still going strong and deserves our attention and sup- port with its mission to “present, preserve, promote and propagate Jazz, America’s classical music.” Then, there’s Billy Taylor, the broadcaster, who began programming jazz shows for radio in New York and created award-winning shows for National Public Radio. He became the arts correspondent for television’s “CBS Sunday Morning” in the 1980s and for the next two decades profiled more than 250 jazz musicians in what he considered to be one of his great- est contributions to this music. And finally, there’s Dr. Taylor the jazz advocate and lobbyist. Because of his eloquence and his passion to have the music recognized as a cul- tural touchstone, Dr. Taylor served on many boards, such as the National Council of the Arts, and even took on a few powerful politicians. Dr. Taylor was an outspoken proponent for not just jazz, but all of the arts. My first encounter with him was also my first year at DownBeat in 1990. At that time, Sen. Jesse Helms was attempting to disband the National Endowment for the Arts over grants for art that the ultra-conservative sena- tor from North Carolina considered to be blasphemous or obscene. Dr. Taylor was, well, angry and wanted to get the word out to stop Helms in his tracks. He called the office, and we talked for a few min- utes. For the next 20 minutes, he spoke factually, forcefully and beautiful- ly. I copied down his words, and printed them just as they came out of his mouth: “Sen. Helms has chosen to focus on 20 grants—that’s 20 grants out of 80,000—in his efforts to cast doubt on everything the Endowment has accomplished. The Endowment is fighting for its life, unnecessarily. It has a tremendous record and has served the country well on one of the smallest budgets in the Federal government. In the jazz world, I can attest that first- hand that for every dollar the government gives, at least five more are gen- erated.” He ended with a call to action for arts lovers to take five minutes and contact their legislators. His words helped save the NEA, but shockingly such battles continue. Billy Taylor was an elegant fighter. In his memory, we all need to put on those velvet gloves and soldier on. That would be the most fitting of tributes to jazz’s greatest advocate. DB 8 DOWNBEAT MARCH 2011 Chords & Discords Bright Female Future but I certainly would share any of your features The Sidewomen of Soul feature (January) was a with him either. Why limit your already limited marvelous read. I recently had the opportunity audience? Maybe DownBeat has passed to see Tia Fuller and her group perform live me by. I will certainly re-evaluate when my at a holiday series for the monthly Richmond, current subscription comes up for renewal. Va., Jazz Society Guest Educators series. TODD BOLTON Her performance captured the essence of the SMITHSBURG, MD. bebop tradition while calling upon images of the avant-garde and the blues and gospel traditions I read that Kevin McIntosh takes issue with some of soul. In particular, her female bandmates— of the language used in an interview of Paul pianist Shamie Royston and long time bassist Motian by Ken Micallef. In particular, McIntosh Mimi Jones—showcased why they are all artists is upset at the use of the f-word, and the s- and deserving higher recognition. If their creativ- b.s.-words in the interview. After reading his ity and poise is an example of what the future letter, I went back and reread the interview, and beholds for the ladies of jazz (or just jazz in I did notice that those words in a few variations general), then the future will be excitingly bright! were indeed used. However, the words were DARRL DAVENPORT part of a direct quote from Motian, and were not RICHMOND, VA.