Jazz News: New Ron Miles release! Rene Marie tours the Belafonte catalogue; Lester Holt – the bassist

The legacy of cornetist-educator Ron Miles extends further in May with a new release on Blue Note featuring Miles and longtime collaborators guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Brian Blade. The seven-song concert album of mostly originals was captured in 2011 at Old Main Chapel on the CU-Boulder campus. Blue Note amped up the CD package with remembrances from label president Don Was, pianist Jason Moran, and Ron’s daughter Justice Miles.

The venue is located in the oldest building on the Boulder campus, and I’m expecting a very warm, intimate recording. Downloads will be available on May 10. (SOURCE: Blue Note / Ron Miles – Old Main Chapel)

One of our faves, singer René Marie has produced a show on the music of Harry Belafonté. Denver is not on the list of tour cities… yet. But here’s what she says about the inspiration behind her current tour, “Jump in the Line – A Musical Celebration of Harry Belafonté:”

“Maybe it was the audible, irrepressible joy, the mischief, or the heartfelt delivery in every song he sang… Was it the percussion alone? Or the playful vocabulary of calypso as a whole? Was it simply the FUN in singing along with “Matilda”, “Scratch Me Back” or “Jump In the Line”? I became aware of his dedication to the civil rights movement, he provided a healing for my spirit that I didn’t know I needed.”

Please, somebody book Rene Marie & Experiment in Truth for Denver! (SOURCE: Rene Marie – “Jump in the Line”)

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt has a side gig, as a jazz bassist. The New York Post Page Six website reports Holt is shopping a “tell-all” book about jazz, to be called “The Genius of Joy.” Columnist Oli Coleman speculates most publishers would gush over something like memoirs of the journalist who has seen Afghanistan, Ireland, and the Westminster Dog Show up close. Instead, Holt wants to talk about how black music like gospel, R&B, and jazz creates joy. (SOURCE: NBC news anchor Lester Holt / Jazz)

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