Stingray Djazz

British pianist George Shearing enjoyed an international reputation as an instrumentalist, arranger, and composer. Equally at home on the classical concert stage as in jazz clubs, he was recognized for his inventive, orchestrated jazz. In this live recording from the Munich Philharmonie, Shearing played in a duo format with Canadian double bassist Neil Swainson. The repertoire consisted of a selection of compositions by Shearing himself, among them ‘Lullaby Of Birdland’, which is a standard in jazz repertoire.

Following a highly successful small-group jazz concert at New York Town Hall on May 17, 1947, Armstrong's manager Joe Glaser dissolved the Armstrong big band on August 13, 1947 and established a six-piece small group. This group was called the All Stars, and in 1964 Louis Armstrong recorded his biggest-selling record, Hello, Dolly! He made assorted television appearances, especially in the 1950s and 1960s – the recorded film was a TV Show in Australia when Armstrong was at the peak of his career. Armstrong kept up his busy tour schedule until a few years before his death in 1971. He also toured Africa, Europe, and Asia under sponsorship of the US State Department with great success, earning the nickname ‘Ambassador Satch’.

These portraits of artists, concerts and festivals give a good impression of the jazz world. Both famous and less famous jazz artists will give a new insight in their life. DJAZZ asked them why they wrote that special song, what was the first record they bought and what is his or her most precious musical memory. The festival portraits are beautiful reports filmed at the most special jazz festivals and concerts. They revive the memory of the festival, the music and the experience.

Guitarist, composer and director Marnix Busstra loves crossing borders. He travels the world with his jazz bands, plays guitar and bouzouki, writes jazz and theatre-songs, and co-creates and directs the exuberant theatre shows of his wife, the Dutch diva Karin Bloemen. Busstra is a constant wheel of invention, with technique expanded by his creative urge to find something new, an evolving state that adds immeasurably to his art. The Marnix Busstra Band was founded in 2011 by its namesake. Joined by piano talent Rembrandt Frerichs, the ever creative double bassist Arnold Dooyeweerd and the inspirational force of drummer Pieter Bast, Busstra introduces a unique band that will definitely help broaden the jazz horizon. Marnix’ compositions are the starting point of the band. Musically, this band is a continuation of a development started by the quartet that Marnix co-leads with the renowned vibraphonist, Mike Mainieri. The result can best be described as lyrical, multifaceted jazz that centres around the profound interplay of the four musicians.

The Australian-born singer-songwriter Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, simply known as Sia, is one of the most unique artists in today's popular music scene. However, her path to stardom has been nothing but rocky. Only after numerous musical experimentations, where the singer tried to establish herself in her home country as well as United Kingdom, Sia finally blossomed in United States around the second decade of the 21st century. The very beginnings of her mainstream recognition was captured on 25 March 2009, where the artist performed live at Metro Theatre in Sydney, Australia.

Since 1977, Estival is a summer jazz festival in Switzerland, Lugano. Estival offers a thrilling and particularly surprising line-up that explores the rich world of contemporary music whilst promoting the understanding of different cultures, tolerance, and co-existence. The composer, trumpeter and bugle player Franco Ambrosetti performs with his quintet in his native Lugano as part of the Estival.

Rotterdam’s ‘ BIRD’ is a club, café and restaurant with a live music programme that's deeply rooted in jazz, and also branches out towards soul, funk, hip-hop and electronic music as well. Its name ‘BIRD’ refers to the nickname of the legendary New York jazz saxophonist, bebop co-founder Charlie Parker (1920-1955). BIRD serves Neapolitan pizzas, good wines, no-nonsense beers and an all-round metropolitan rawness. Since 2014, this urban jazz club and DJAZZ.tv have been collaborating for a series of music programmes: ‘BIRD.tv’, allowing you to experience the best BIRD concerts and interviews as from a first row seat! This episode shows you the four-piece jazz/hip hop ensemble BADBADNOTGOOD, whose collaborators include the likes of rapper ‘Tyler, The Creator’, the Haitian-Canadian electronic musician Kaytranada, the vocalist Kali Uchis, and the rapper Ghostface Killah. BADBADNOTGOOD is endlessly inventive: its four members have ultimately crafted their own, lasting mark on hip-hop and electronic beats.

German jazz and cabaret singer Atrin Madani was born in 1998 as the son of Iranian immigrants. In the face of pandemic uncertainty, geopolitical upheaval, and social unrest in his ancestral home country, Madani asked himself: where are we now? His response to this question is as clear and precise as his singing: what we need most right now is honesty, humility, and quality. All of these are abundantly present on the Berlin-based vocalist’s debut album. Inspired by the sound aesthetics of Mel Tormé, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, and Till Brönner, Madani dedicates himself to a handpicked selection of songs that have so far remained largely unsung in jazz. At this festive album release concert at jazz club A-Trane Berlin in March 2023, Madani was accompanied by pianist Christian von der Goltz, guitarist Alexander Rueß, bassist Olaf Casimir, and drummer Sebastian Merk. Part I.

These portraits of artists, concerts and festivals give a good impression of the jazz world. Both famous and less famous jazz artists will give a new insight in their life. DJAZZ asked them why they wrote that special song, what was the first record they bought and what is his or her most precious musical memory. The festival portraits are beautiful reports filmed at the most special jazz festivals and concerts. They revive the memory of the festival, the music and the experience.

The Newport Jazz Festival, first established in the North-American town of Newport, Rhode Island in the summer of 1954, has now grown to become one of the largest multi-day celebrations of jazz worldwide. It has resulted in numerous famous live albums from top-rate jazz stars, and has spawned several worldwide tours, including editions of the Newport Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. In October 1968, two former colleagues met again on stage, this time leading their own bands at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rotterdam: drummer Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver were both co-founders of The Jazz Messengers.

Arguably the greatest lady vocalists of all time are featured in this superb compilation. These historic recordings from the 1950s and 1960s offer a unique overview of different approaches to jazz singing that helped define the genre. Watch Billie Holiday’s performance of “God Bless The Child” closely and learn what made her such an influential jazz and pop singer. Enjoy Anita O’Day’s matchless rhythmic sense in a performance of “Honeysuckle Rose” recorded at the Arenateatern in Stockholm, Sweden on November 1, 1963. Marvel at Nina Simone’s December 1968 performance of “Ain't Got No, I Got Life” from London. Let Sarah Vaughan’s rendition of “Tenderly” sweep you off your feet – ‘Sassy’, or ‘The Divine One’, recorded this romantic evergreen in a television studio in Sweden on July 9, 1958. Last but not least, revel at the ‘First Lady of Song’: Ella Fitzgerald swung “Mack The Knife” in a December 4, 1960 appearance at The Embers in suburban Melbourne, Australia. Get to know the greatest lady vocalists in jazz history with this unique compilation of historic recordings!

The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is a world-renowned concert hall, known for its first-rate acoustics. It has attracted many famous performers over the years and is one of the Netherlands' most treasured musical institutions. On November 2, 1958, American jazz titan Duke Ellington and his Orchestra performed two concerts at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Among the many talents in the Orchestra were trumpeter Clark Terry, trombonist Quentin Jackson, saxophonist Johnny Hodges and violinist Ray Nance.

The 1964 edition of the Antibes Jazz Festival in Juan-les-Pins saw the return of the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. Together with Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Bill Yancey on double bass, and Gus Johnson on drums, the tireless singer performed such classics from the Great American songbook such as 'Them There Eyes', 'The Lady Is a Tramp', 'Summertime', 'I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket', 'St. Louis Blues', and 'Perdido', and a few novelties, such as Steve Allen and Ray Brown's 'Cutie Pants'. It is no surprise this legendary concert from Juan-les-Pins was released on LP!

Innovative contemporary jazz and improvised music, the search for modernity, mind blowing sounds, rock and pop… Indeed PARADOX Tilburg goes beyond jazz, crossing musical boundaries into the unknown soundscapes of electronic music. Indie artists, blues veterans and jazz superstars all pour their hearts and souls at the Paradox. From young, local talents to top national and international artists, PARADOX Tilburg is the most intimate jazz club in the Netherlands, with a devoted audience from all across Europe. In their TV show PARADOX LIVE you get a taste of the greatest concerts and interviews with artists from all around the world. This episode of PARADOX LIVE presents the amazing Dutch jazzband BRUUT led by saxophone player Maarten Hoogenhuis!

These portraits of artists, concerts and festivals give a good impression of the jazz world. Both famous and less famous jazz artists will give a new insight in their life. DJAZZ asked them why they wrote that special song, what was the first record they bought and what is his or her most precious musical memory. The festival portraits are beautiful reports filmed at the most special jazz festivals and concerts. They revive the memory of the festival, the music and the experience.

Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk... these names are synonymous with the great Jazz Age. But how many people know Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, to whom we owe the recorded memory of our Jazz legends? Two German Jews who emigrated from Nazi Germany to New York "discovered" an American art form which at the time received little serious attention from mainstream America: Jazz Music. Without money or connections and speaking little English, the two men began to record practically unknown musicians, following their own taste and judgment. Today this list of artists reads like the Who-is-Who of Jazz. "Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz" tells the story of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff and their record label. It is the story of the rise of Modern Jazz, of a friendship in exile and of uncompromising artistic excellence. Told by the musicians, by friends and associates and by fans of the Blue Note recordings from all walks of life, the film Blue Note recreates an era of American cultural history.

Tzimon Barto, the young American classical pianist and Wolfgang Dauner, the internationally renowned German jazz pianist join their talents to show how multi-dimensional music can be.

The North Sea Jazz Festival is the largest indoor music festival in the world, known globally as the event where the past, present and future of jazz are featured within three days. Next to a firm base of jazz as the festival’s staple music genre, many others, such as blues, soul, funk, or hip hop, pass by. In 1982, legendary swing band leader jazz clarinettist Benny Goodman performed two sets with his septet at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. True to form, with his concert the 'King of Swing' revisited the atmosphere of the swing era – the 1930s – when jazz enjoyed tremendous popularity. Goodman's septet includes Scott Hamilton (tenor saxophone), John Bunch (piano), Phil Flanigan (double bass), Mel Lewis (drums), Warren Vaché (trumpet), and Chris Flory (guitar). Here is the second of two sets recorded at the festival in 1982.

World-class Dutch jazz pianist Peter Beets has shared the stage with jazz greats Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, “Toots” Thielemans, Elvin Jones, George Coleman, Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson, and John Clayton. His mother a music teacher and his father an Oscar Peterson and Art Blakey enthusiast, Beets was surrounded by music from an early age. And though music was in their blood, neither parent associated the word “musician” with a career. In this broadcast, Peter Beets teams up with gipsy jazz heros Stochelo Rosenberg, Martin Limberger and Frans van Geest. The strength and precision of Van Geests' rhythms and tempo, and the ease with which Stochelo's lead guitar soars above them, make this band a cohesive collective - unique in their renditions of standards, Django's classic compositions, and original tunes composed by Stochelo himself.

Vocalist Jazzmeia Horn’s 2019 Malta Jazz Festival appearance was a celebration of jazz’s future, infused with the soul of its past. Featuring Keith Brown (piano), Rashaan Carter (bass), Irwin Hall (flute and saxophone), and Anwar Marshall (drums), the young singer’s performance was a reminder of jazz’s enduring power to speak to the heart. Situated at the Valletta waterfront outside Our Lady of Liesse Church, Horn’s concert was a truly spellbinding experience.

Two top-tier Belgian musicians – guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse – accompany American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker during this 1985 performance at the beautiful Brussels Jazz Club, located on the Grand-Place, the Belgian capital’s central square. The trio plays Charlie Mariano’s “Crystal Bells”, the title track of their acclaimed 1983 album. Other songs played during this legendary concert include “Down” and “How Deep is the Ocean”.

In 2019, the vibrant city of Sofia, Bulgaria, hosted the International A to JazZ Festival. Among the featured acts was the trailblazing jazz trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. This genre-defying artist captivated the audience with his eclectic “stretch music”; an approach that incorporates hip-hop and reaches back through the American canon into African percussion and its rich melodic content. Trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s quintet, which includes drummer Corey Fonville, percussionist Weedie Braimah, pianist Lawrence Fields, and bass guitarist Max Mucha, delivered a performance that defied boundaries and expectations.

This selection of unforgettable performances by some of the most iconic and influential jazz guitarists in history showcases these legends’ unique essence. Revel in Wes Montgomery’s virtuosity as he performs the captivating “Nica's Dream” in Holland in 1965, and delight in the expressive beauty of his rendition of “Here's That Rainy Day”, recorded in London in that same year. Experience the timeless appeal of Joe Pass's “You Stepped Out of a Dream” and “You Turned The Tables on Me”, recorded live in Hanover in 1975. The interplay between Jim Hall and Atilla Zoller borders on the impossible as they perform “Extensions” in Hanover in 1973. Enjoy Jim Hall's lyrical solo performance of “I'm Getting Sentimental Over You” from 1964. Witness Sonny Sharrock’s avant-garde fusion of jazz and rock in an exhilarating performance of “Peanut", recorded live in France in 1970. Sharrock is joined by flutist Herbie Mann in a soulful performance of “Memphis Underground” from 1969. Immerse yourself in the magic of jazz guitar!

Guitarist Mike Stern and violin player Didier Lockwood sharing a stage: that promises a good show! After playing for years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Mike Stern landed a gig with drummer Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis’ comeback band in the 1980s. Didier Lockwood played in jazz fusion band Magma during the 1970s and is known for his use of electric amplification and experimentation. Together they perform a unique duo concert at the beautiful antique theatre in Vienne, France.

Biréli Lagrène is a French jazz guitarist born on September 4, 1966 in a family of gypsy tradition. His brother and his father introduced him from an early age to the repertoire of Django Reinhardt, whose influence is still felt in the style of Lagrène. In this performance, Lagrène pays homage to Django Reinhardt with his son, Babik Reinhardt.

Explore the music of one of the most influential and innovative saxophonists in jazz history: John Coltrane! Immerse yourself in this collection of remarkable performances from the early 1960s that showcase Coltrane's unparalleled artistry and unique sound during a transformative period in the artist’s career. Recorded in various European cities, Coltrane is seen playing the songs “Autumn Leaves”, “Hackensack”, “My Favorite Things”, “I Want To Talk About You”, “Vigil”, and “Naima”. Tune in and experience why the music of John Coltrane has touched the lives of so many!

These portraits of artists, concerts and festivals give a good impression of the jazz world. Both famous and less famous jazz artists will give a new insight in their life. DJAZZ asked them why they wrote that special song, what was the first record they bought and what is his or her most precious musical memory. The festival portraits are beautiful reports filmed at the most special jazz festivals and concerts. They revive the memory of the festival, the music and the experience.

The UK based band Metronomy started out as a bedroom project by Joseph Mount, who during its early stages was the sole contributor to the band's repertoire. After the debut release, Mount started expanding the band's personnel: first by adding two members, and later increasing it by one more. Metronomy's critical acclaim comes from frenetically hybrid indie pop style knitted together with trademark electronic sounds inspired by Mount's favorite acts, namely Autechre and Funkstorung. Here Metronomy performs at Beck's Festival Bar, in Sydney, Australia, on January 15, 2009.

Maria Ana Bobone (Portugal) is one of the best fado singers of her generation. She started singing fado when she was 16. Her debut album is called ‘Alma Nova’ and marked the beginning of her amazing career. For the recordings of her next two albums, ‘Luz Destino’ and ‘Senhora da Lapa’ Maria Ana welcomed instruments that are usually not present in fado music: the harpsichord and saxophone. After that, she continued her career with the release of ‘Nome de Mar’, which received many positive reviews. At the moment, Maria Ana is performing at all Portugal’s major venues, as well as many festivals and concert halls throughout the world, with the aim to present fado music and Portuguese culture to other cultures. Bobone’s latest album, ‘Fado & Piano’, shows her diversity as an artist, composer and arranger. By including the piano she re-innovates the tradition of the early 20th century. This portrait shows Maria Ana’s performances and interviews in which she explains her passion for fado music and culture.

Pierre Courbois has been one of Europe’s leading jazz musicians since the mid-sixties. This concert, recorded at the renowned Amsterdam jazz club Bimhuis, sees the drummer playing with his QWINTETT. On the occasion of his 75th birthday in 2015, Courbois hit the road for the Pierre Courbois 75 Years Anniversary Tour. The PC QWINTETT consists of several highly acclaimed Dutch jazz musicians with whom Courbois has worked before in his long and versatile career. Among them are pianist Nike Langenhuijsen, double bassist Egon Kracht, trumpeter Toon de Gouw, and trombonist Ilja Reijngoud. QWINTETT honours the Charles Mingus tradition of thematic and melodic ensemble jazz - but also with an unmistakable Courbois groove! Courbois, known for his own way of combining compositions with improvisations, melodically melts constructions with uneven breaks.

The MotorMusic Studios in Mechelen, Belgium, attract many great musicians to the city. A wide variety of visiting international jazz musicians share their art of making jazz music with us in the DJAZZ series ‘Belgium Sessions’. In these sessions, some of Europe’s finest musicians perform their own, original music. This episode is all about the Habanera Duo, which sprung from a meeting of minds between flutist Marc Grauwels and accordion player Christophe Delporte, around their shared passion for the Argentine tango and the music of Ástor Piazzolla. After hearing how well their instruments blended, these two musicians founded the Habanera Duo. The duo offers the audience an eclectic repertoire that is simultaneously refined and audacious. Expect a beautiful hodgepodge of classical music and jazz, inspired by composers ranging from Piazzolla to Gioacchino Rossini.

In 2019, the vibrant city of Sofia, Bulgaria, hosted the International A to JazZ Festival. Among the featured acts was the trailblazing jazz trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. This genre-defying artist captivated the audience with his eclectic “stretch music”; an approach that incorporates hip-hop and reaches back through the American canon into African percussion and its rich melodic content. Trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s quintet, which includes drummer Corey Fonville, percussionist Weedie Braimah, pianist Lawrence Fields, and bass guitarist Max Mucha, delivered a performance that defied boundaries and expectations.

With his relaxed and clear voice, Belgian-born vocalist Michel Tasky took his French-Waalse roots to Brazil, where he established himself in the jazz scene. His contemporary style, which blends jazz and French chanson with a whole lot of samba, transports audiences to faraway places.

Brazilian artist Gilberto Gil returns to Jazz à Vienne in France with a new round of singing that is inspired by his latest album ‘Fé na Festa’: a mixture of celebration, tradition and even some rock now and then. Gilberto Gil, worldwide known for as musician and the Brazilian minister of Culture, was one of the pioneers of the cultural movement ‘tropicalismo’. This movement, with a strong character of social protest, combines elements of traditional Brazilian culture with modern art forms. Gilberto Gil's new sound clearly has its roots in Brazilian culture, yet it is always inspired by jazz.