New Music Monday: Annie Booth Trio; John Beasley & The Frankfurt Radio Big Band; Diego Figueiredo

New Music Monday will debut music from the Annie Booth Trio, John Beasley & the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, and Diego Figueiredo. Tune in to Lunchtime! with Arturo Gómez on Monday, August 26 at noon.

Annie Booth Trio: “Here, There and Everywhere”
One of the Front Range’s brightest stars, Annie Booth has accomplished so much in a short time. Ever since being one of KUVO Jazz’s “Thirty Under Thirty” choices in 2015, she has gone on to great success leading her trio, her sextet, and big band that played live on KUVO Jazz’s Masterpiece Studio when she debuted her stunning “Flowers of Evil” album. Annie is widely recognized for her compositional skills leading to be commissioned to write for the Reno Jazz Festival, Stratus Chamber Orchestra, the University of Idaho, and the University of Denver. Booth is an esteemed educator currently in the Jazz and Commercial Music Program at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music. Annie is a newlywed and recently became a mom.

For her most recent album, Annie is accompanied by Patrick McDevitt on bass and Alejandro on the drums. All three have been playing together since their high school days which results in their flawless playing. As the title suggests, the dozen songs on the recording are all by the Beatles, except for one arrangement by McDevitt, all tunes are Annie Booth arrangements. The session was recorded live with an audience at Denver’s Mighty Fine Productions, a mighty fine album indeed!

John Beasley & the Frankfurt Radio Big Band: “Returning to Forever”

Born into a musical family, his grandfather and father were both highly touted musicians and educators in Shreveport Louisianna, and eastern Texas, it was only natural that John would continue his family’s legacy. Beginning his professional career while still in his twenties, he became the pianist and keyboardist for Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. In the 1970s Beasley moved to Los Angeles where he quickly became an in-demand studio musician before deciding to begin his career as a band leader in the early 1990s, he has since become a multi-Grammy® award winner.

As a fan of Thelonious Monk, in 2017 John decided to organize his MONK’estra tribute that so far has recorded three albums earning him 6 Grammy® nominations winning one. After that he became a much sought-after composer and conductor in Europe which led him to his latest offering, his first with the Frankfurt Radio Band, this album is a tribute to Chick Corea’s Return to Forever band. The seven songs are all from the Return to Forever playlist with renewed arrangements for the big band by John Beasley who is thankful to Chick for creating a legacy that is forever!

Diego Figueiredo: “I Love Samba”
Since leaving Brazil he has taken the world by storm with his virtuosity, playing solo or with a group, Diego Figueiredo is one amazing guitarist! He has played in more than sixty countries around the world. He is the winner of several important competitions like the Montreux Jazz Competition, VISA Prize, and others. Diego Figueiredo was born in Franca, Brazil, in 1980, and at the age of four, he used to strike poses carrying his small guitar. At six, he got a mandolin, which was kept in a very special place in his house. Diego played many instruments before choosing the electric guitar when he was twelve, playing in theaters and local pubs, revealing the great art of improvising and harmonizing. At 15, he conquered theaters and nightclubs in many different Brazilian states, playing solo or with renowned musicians. Besides being a guitar player, Diego is a producer, arranger, orchestrator, and multi-instrumentalist.

His new release has him teamed up with fellow Brazilians Nilson Matta on bass, and Duduka da Fonseca on drums plus from Israel, Itai Kriss on flute. Adding to his brilliant talents, Diego decided to write all thirteen of his new album’s songs, sambas with a New York attitude!

Now in its 21st year of debuting the latest arrivals to the KUVO Jazz library, many of them are played ahead of their official release date. In addition to the music comments, I’ll provide a few tidbits about the artist, if it’s a new or an up-and-coming artist. It all begins at Noon every Monday.

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