Episode 23: A Preview to Peterborough ’s International Jazz Day weekend, 2018

New York comes to Peterborough April 29, when Brandi Disterheft (originally from Vancouver) and her quartet perform for International Jazz Day.  This week’s Discovering Jazz program features her plus the three accomplished New York musicians she is bringing with her.

You’ll hear pianist Alex Minasian, in this track accompanying Mark Murphy. Drummer Carmen Intorre does a spectacular job keeping guitarist Pat Martino in the groove as he performs Seven Come Eleven. Saxophonist Vincent Herring, who has played with the likes of Art Blakey, Cedar Walton, Jack Dejohnette, Freddie Hubbard, Carla Bley, Dizzie Gillespie, and Phil Woods here duets with trumpeter Nat Adderley. Then there is Brandi Disterheft herself—a bassist Oscar Peterson compared to Ray Brown and critics have cited her Charles Mingus influence.   And she’s quite the songwriter and singer.  And I’m  told puts on a great show. I play a total of four tracks from two of her albums.

Also on this program I go back in time celebrating  musicians who played at the three previous International Jazz Day celebrations in Peterborough. I also do a call out to Herbie Hancock,  playing one of his best known compositions. Hancock,  in his role of Unesco’s Goodwill ambassador, suggested the idea of an international jazz day “to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all four corners of the globe”.  (that’s hard to do on a globe…..where are the corners?) Since many local jazz musicians will also be involved playing in various restaurants the evening before, I found a track by an L.A. group called Auracle, which features the amazing electric keyboard of now Peterborough resident, Biff Hannon.