The Summer – Salut Salon

Competitive Foursome

While this is technically chamber music, they do blow some jazz … and anyone who has even a glimmer of musical savvy will appreciate their performance.  The Salut Salon Quartet, from Hamburg Germany, is comprised of Angelika Bachmann (violin), Iris Siegfried (violin), Anne-Monika von Twardowski (piano) and Sonja Lena Schmid (cello). They have been called “the Harlem Globetrotters of string quartets.”  Here, “The Summer” composed by Antonio Vivaldi, becomes the stage for a musical competition with a special sense of humor and musical dexterity!  

Skylark – Dianne Reeves

Dianne Reeves was born into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle was a bassist and her cousin is George Duke.  Although she was born in Detroit, she was raised in Denver … and in 1971, Dianne started singing and playing piano. She signed with Blue Note Records in 1987, staying with the label until 2009 when she moved over to Concord.  Performance here is at the JazzBaltica Jazz Festival in 2004.

Evidence – Joey Alexander

I told you that piano prodigy Joey Alexander would be back.  Here he performs Thelonious Monk’s “Evidence” live at the Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center … from his album ‘Joey.Monk.Live!’.  What Joey may lack in experience at 15, he more than makes up for with instinct.  Got genes?