All press News

Publication:                      DCist
Author: Sriram Gopal
Date: June 10, 2011

Jazz on the National Mall, taking place on Sunday, is the DC Jazz Festival’s showcase event. The concert was left out of last year’s program due to budget shortfalls caused by the recent economic downturn, but two years ago the festival held a two-day affair featuring musicians from New Orleans which drew 80,000 people. This year’s show is limited to a single day, but nonetheless features an all-star lineup, including Toby Foyeh & Orchestra Africa, Frédéric Yonnet, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, headliner Eddie Palmieri’s All-Star Salsa Orchestra and rising Latin jazz vocalist Claudia Acuña.

“You get a chance to hang out with artists you admire and respect. I love that part of it,” Acuña said of playing festivals like this. “And there’s always a great energy and everyone’s so sweet.”

Acuña’s career has reached the point where she performs regularly in front of large audiences, such as the one that will likely be hearing her on Sunday. However, she does not alter her approach, whether she is performing on a large outdoor stage or in a small club. Read more »

Publication: JazzTimes
Author: Jeff Tamarkin
Date: June 7, 2011

Sometimes an album’s title tells you everything you need to know. Songs of Mirth and Melancholy is truth in advertising, a concise, pinpoint description of what this recording offers. But the title alone doesn’t go far enough in conveying the level of elegance and intimacy resident within this collaboration between saxophonist Branford Marsalis and the pianist in his regular quartet, Joey Calderazzo. Since his induction into the band in 1998, when he replaced the late Kenny Kirkland, Calderazzo has consistently developed, his acumen as a player and the maturity of his songwriting adding significantly to the quartet’s breadth. Calderazzo has also released several albums as a leader that reaffirm his ingenuity. Read more »

Publication: Pittsburgh Tribune
Date: June 5, 2011
Author: Bob Karlovits

Branford Marsalis is clearly the most engaging member of his musically wealthy family. Whether on his collection of classics “Romances for Saxophone,” as a guest with Sting or on this duet album, “Songs of Mirth and Melancholy,” Marsalis always is finding new truths about his instrument. This disc with pianist Joey Calderazzo is a collection of seven originals from one or the other, one piece by Wayne Shorter and one by Johannes Brahms. The are played in a virtuosic way with respect to the music and to each other. The album has variety that ranges from a uptempo “One Way” by Calderazzo to his classically flavored “Hope” and Marsalis’ “The Bard Lachrymose,” which has the same formal nature. This is one not to pass up. It is available Tuesday.