Music

To wrap up our 40 Years of Jazz celebration, WEMU is inviting area musicians and jazz fans to come in the studio and be a Guest DJ.  Today’s guest was drummer Sean Dobbins.  Sean remembers years ago when his main musical mentor, trumpeter, and teacher Louis Smith told Sean to listen to WEMU to hear more of the music he wanted to play.  WEMU has been a big part of Sean’s life and Sean has been a big player in our sound and programming for years.  

As WEMU continues our yearlong celebration of 40 years of jazz, it is great to invite former staff members to join the party this Friday.  

Today would have been the great pianist Art Tatum's 108th birthday.  WEMU celebrated his birth in 1909 with Dr. Imelda Hunt, author Does A Genius? - A Tribute To Art Tatum.  Dr. Hunt is a new faculty member of the Department of Africology and African Studies at Eastern Michigan University.  She brings a deep understanding of African-Americans in the midwest including her hometown of Toledo, Ohio -  also Art Tatum's hometown.  Dr. Hunt's research revealed Art Tatum's neighborhood, the legendary department stores, dance halls, and nightclubs where he performed and details about his loving and supportive family.   Dr. Hunt also shared how the experience of listening to Art Tatum's brilliant music inspired her to write many poems, two of which she shared in conversation.  Enjoy the genius of Art Tatum and a heartfelt appreciation from Dr. Imelda Hunt.

 Despite a last minute cancellation of some of the final performances, the free 38th Annual Detroit Jazz festival provided a ray of light shining down on the festival goers experiencing new and familar regional and national acts all Labor Day weekend in downtown Detroit.  

On May 5th the Detroit Music Awards honored WEMU for 40 years of jazz broadcasting with a Distinguished Service Award at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit.

On May 5th – Cinco de Mayo – WEMU wraps up the 2017 winter/spring Sesi Motors 5:01 Jazz shows with a real showstopper – the magnificent Latin jazz group, Tumbao Bravo.  While Paul Vornhagen continues to head up Tumbao Bravo on saxophone, flute, piccolo and percussion, he has added new members and new repertoire while retaining tunes of years past and some veteran players.  Joining Paul for “5:01 Jazz” are Olman Piedra – timbales, Brian DiBlassio – keyboards, Gregory (Greco) Freeman – congas and, Joe Fee – bass.  

"Our best musicians in the jazz tradition were radical imaginers," Samora Pinderhughes says. A pianist and composer in his mid-20s, he has asserted his connection to that lineage with The Transformations Suite, an earnest and ambitious new work combining music, words and visuals.

WEMU’s first free Sesi Motors 5:01 Jazz Show for 2017 will be a salute to the legendary trumpet player and widely respected teacher, Louis Smith.  Louis passed away in August, 2016.  He had suffered a stroke, but recovered valiantly and lived for years afterwards with his loving and generous wife, Lulu.  Louis was equally generous and was very wise as a teacher.  Trumpeter Paul Finkbeiner will lead the Louis Smith salute on Friday, January 6th at 5:01PM sharp at Rush Street Nightclub, 314 South Main Street in Ann Arbor.

As I reflected on the past 12 months, I realized that 2016 was a banner year for jazz releases.  It was extremely difficult to narrow my selections of outstanding recordings to just 16.  My criteria for this list is that these were all CDs that moved me emotionally.  They are albums that I would like to keep in my permanent collection. 

Ahead of his new album,  "A World That's Bigger," Washtenaw County songwriter Mike Vial stops by the WEMU studios for exclusive live music performances and conversation.

Couldn't make it to this year's Detroit Jazz Festival? You can catch all the highlights from WEMU hosts and staff from the 2016 Detroit Jazz Festival right here!

Earlier this Month vocalist Roberta Gambarini visited Detroit to be the judge for Detroit Jazz Festival Vocal Competition and appear at The Dirty Dog Jazz Café.  She also visited WEMU to share her Italian and international jazz life story as well as her admiration for jazz masters such as Hank Jones and Jimmy Heath.  She also brought her most recent CD “Connecting Spirits”.

Many factors have shaped jazz in Ann Arbor, but trumpeter and educator Louis Smith has to be at the top of the list for modern jazz and education.  Sean Dobbins, Rick Roe, Justin Walter and Ingrid Racine will testify to his grace, wisdom, strength and total honesty as a teacher.  He encouraged a professional attitude and exponential musical growth from middle school students.  His students could play rings around others years older!

Jazz Appreciation Month is supposed to end in April, but in the Detroit area we extended it by a week so that bassist Marion Hayden could receive her 2016 Jazz Hero Award from the Jazz Journalist’s Association.   

Fact:  Trumpeter Ingrid Racine has released her first CD of original tunes and arrangements as a leader – Concentric Circles.  Opinion:  This is modern jazz of the highest order placing Ingrid Racine in the company of fellow modern trumpet improvisers Eddie Henderson, Ingrid Jensen, Wallace Roney and Sean Jones.  

Fact:  WEMU is proud to present Ingrid and her quartet featuring guitarist Chuck Newsome, bassist Ben Rolston and drummer Rob Avsharian at our next free Sesi Motors 5:01 Jazz Show at Rush Street Nightclub Friday April 1st at 5:01 PM sharp.  

Friday, February 5th 89.1 WEMU is proud to present The Sheila Landis Quartet at The Rush Street Nightclub for our next free Sesi Motors 5:01 Jazz show.  Although it has been  a while since Sheila performed at one of our shows, she has a long and rich history with WEMU.  Sheila discovered her passion for jazz singing in 1973 and has been a stalwart of Detroit jazz since the 1970s.  

True to its spirit of music discovery, NPR Music is kicking off 2016 with an invite to unsigned artists of all genres: Show us why you should perform in NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series. The winner will secure a spot at the iconic performance space and a U.S. tour with NPR Music.

Bands and musicians can submit original video entries to the NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest Jan. 12-Feb. 2, 2016 at npr.org/tinydeskcontest (see rules for entry).

89.1 WEMU and Sesi Motors present the 5:01 First Friday Series dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Jan Winkelman. Join us for a 5:01 celebration of music featuring the Glenn Tucker Trio + 1 at Rush Street in Ann Arbor on January 8th.

The Ypsilanti Song Fest returned with another eclectic line-up of singer/songwriters.  This year's headliner was veteran folk artist Marshall Crenshaw.  

Ahead of his Song Fest set  Bona Sera Cafe, Crenshaw stopped by the WEMU studios for a live interview and performance.

As 2015 develops, so will WEMU’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. We began broadcasting at 10 watts to EMU dormitories in 1965 and are now the award-winning and nationally recognized NPR, news, jazz and blues service you know and depend on.

Riley B. King, the guitarist better known as B.B. King, whose voice brought blues to the mainstream, died Thursday night. He was 89.

 Ann Arbor Summer Festival Executive and Artistic Director Amy Nesbitt joined me Friday for a preview of the 2015 Top Of The Park schedule. The free Top Of The Park offerings and activities have grown remarkably over the years. 

What began as little experiment with one band and free film screenings on top of a parking structure now encompasses a city block with two stages, a full variety of food vendors, family activities, exercise and wellness classes, Michigan craft beer tastings, family favorite films and state-of-the art acrobatic performances.