DAVID SANBORN PICTURES

MCCOY TYNER @ JAZZ IMPROV LIVE, 2007

New Half Note/McCoy Tyner Music artist McCoy Tyner will be performing at the Jazz Improv Live! 2007 Convention tomorrow night at the New Yorker Hotel in NYC in a rare U.S. appearance with Stanley Clarke and Jack DeJohnette. To get tickets, you can purchase through the Blue Note website by going to the following link:

Click Here to Buy Tickets for Jazz Improv Convention Live! 2007 through the Blue Note website

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH DAVID SANBORN

He'll be at the Blue Note through Sunday!

SAX-CRIME VICTIM...NY POST REPORTS

WAITER'S CREDIT 'SCAM' VS. STAR

By JAMIE SCHRAM, SAMUEL GOLDSMITH and DAN MANGAN

BRASS-KICKING: Nick & Toni's server Darin Blackburn is accused of ripping off Grammy-winner David Sanborn (above).

September 28, 2007 -- A waiter at an Upper West Side restaurant is singing the blues after being busted for scamming famed saxophonist David Sanborn out of $15,000 in bogus credit-card charges, The Post has learned.

Darin Blackburn was nabbed Tuesday morning by cops as he was loading a U-Haul for a move out of town, authorities said. He is being held in lieu of $5,000 bail on charges of grand larceny and possession of stolen property.

Blackburn, 38, was fired earlier this month by Nick & Toni's Cafe on West 67th Street after management discovered his scheme, authorities said. The waiter allegedly pocketed cash from other customers, whose tabs he then charged to Sanborn's American Express card, which is on file there.

Sanborn, 62, is a Grammy Award-winner considered by some to be the most influential saxophonist on pop and R&B records in recent decades. His prolific career includes performing with Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones, Paul Simon and David Bowie, whose 1975 hit "Young Americans" features a signature Sanborn solo.

Sanborn lives nearby and is a regular at Nick & Toni's. From Jan. 1 to Sept. 14, $23,256.20 was placed on Sanborn's AmEx account at the restaurant, according to authorities. Sanborn eventually learned he was being charged well beyond his actual bills, and contacted Nick & Toni's manager, William Baraket.

Both men agreed Sanborn was responsible for just $7,768.86 of the charges.

When Baraket confronted Blackburn, the waiter broke down, confessed and promised to repay the money, authorities said.

Sanborn's manager, Patrick Rains, yesterday said the sax player had no comment.

An employee at Nick & Toni's said Sanborn is "still a regular customer. and there's no hard feelings. Everything was resolved between Mr. Sanborn and his credit-card company."

Scofield Wrap-Up

It has been said that if blues is the more emotional, visceral genre, then jazz is the more methodical, intellectual style of music. But Scofield proved that statement to be blatantly false on Tuesday night. His facial expressions during his solos alone were worth the price of admission. Everyone in the room (if not in the entire West Village) knew that he was truly feeling what he was playing. After the show, Scofield imparted some valuable advice about what it takes to reach his level of musical virtuosity. “Practice and listen,” Scofield told the Spectator didactically. “Good things take time.”

- SIMEON COHEN; CU Columbia Spectator, NY - Oct. 19, 2007

John Scofield has something in common with his 1982-1985 boss -- trumpet icon Miles Davis. The powerhouse guitarist, composer and arranger knows how to find a concept, flesh it out, and land a top-drawer band to perform it.... "Heck of a Job" (the title refers to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and President Bush's affirmation of then-FEMA chief Michael Brown) boasted a New Orleans funk beat. Punched horns enlivened the theme and interjected during Scofield's solo. He fattened his sound with a wah-wah effect at points, and played choice ideas. Grenadier soloed impressively with rich notes, and Stewart went from tom-tom whaps to sock cymbal sizzles. At the close, the piece slowed dramatically, and Scofield played emotive, crying notes surrounded by horns.

- ZAN STEWART; Star Ledger, NJ - Oct. 17, 2007

SCOFIELD @ THE BLUE NOTE, 2004

ENTER TO WIN: 2 Free Tickets to The World Famous Count Basie Orchestra

THE COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA will be performing from November 6-11 at the Blue Note. The contest will end on November 2. To win 2 free tickets to see the Count Basie Orchestra directed by Bill Hughes, follow the directions below. We will email you back if you are a winner:

TO ENTER:

1. Email your name and phone number to contests@bluenote.net
2. In the Subject Line, please title your email "BN BLOG CONTEST - COUNT BASIE"
3. Indicate which day and set you would like tickets for (any day except Friday & Saturday, 8pm or 10:30pm)

THE MANY FACES OF JOHN SCOFIELD

From October 16 - 21, John Scofield will be at the Blue Note with his trio and the ScoHorns, playing their only East Coast date in support of their new record, This Meets That on Emarcy. Every time Sco comes to the Blue Note, he has a new project with him. In addition to this week at the Blue Note, Scofield will do a master class on Saturday, November 3rd from 2-4pm. Check out some of these videos of Scofield from over the years and let us know what you think!


Scofield and Jaco Pastorius playing "The Chicken"


Scofield talks! Wow!


Scofield and Lovano...awesome!

Blue Note Interview Series: DIZZY GILLESPIE ALUMNI ALL-STARS interviewed by Ira Gitler P. 2

BLUE NOTE INTERVIEW SERIES:

Below is Part 2 of the first installment of the Blue Note Interview Series. Famous Jazz Critic Ira Gitler interviews the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars at the Blue Note earlier in the summer. The band will be performing at the Blue Note from November 20-26, save for a day off on November 24. From left to right, Antonio Hart, Claudio Roditi, James Moody, Ira Gitler, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton.

ROSA PASSOS TICKET GIVEAWAY Nov. 2-4

ROSA PASSOS will be performing for three nights only at the Blue Note. The contest will end October 30. To win tickets to see Rosa Passos in her Blue Note debut, follow the directions below. We will email you back if you are a winner:

TO ENTER:

1. Email your name and phone number to contests@bluenote.net
2. In the Subject Line, please title your email "BN BLOG CONTEST - ROSA PASSOS"
3. Indicate which day and set you would like tickets for (8pm or 10:30pm)

JANE MONHEIT'S SET LIST FOR OPENING NIGHT...

Jane Monheit was in top form during last night's opening set. Her set list was as follows:

1. So Many Stars
2. All Or Nothing
3. Só Tinha de Ser Com Você
4. Devil & The Deep
5. Overjoyed
6. By Myself
7. Instrumental Duet
8. I Won't Dance
9. Rio De Maio
10. More Than You Know
11. Waters of March
12. Time For Love
13. Please Be Kind

ROSA PASSOS COMING TO THE BLUE NOTE! November 2-4

Check out this beautiful video of Rosa Passos performing with Ivete Sangalo. Check back for updates on Rosa - the Blue Note Blog will be giving away a few pairs of tickets soon!

Congrats to the 2008 NEA Jazz Masters!

The Blue Note congratulates the NEA Jazz Master Award recipients of 2008!

New York, NY -- National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia announced the recipients of the 2008 NEA Jazz Masters Award. The award is the nation's highest honor in this distinctly American art form. The recipients will receive a $25,000 fellowship, will appear in an award ceremony and concert on January 12, 2008, and have the opportunity to participate in other NEA-sponsored promotional and performance activities. This year's announcement is tinged with sadness with the death of renowned pianist and composer Andrew Hill who was notified of his receipt of the award shortly before his death. His wife, Joanne Robinson Hill, acknowledged the honor on his behalf.

In addition to Andrew Hill, this year's recipients are; Candido Camero (rhythm instrumentalist), Quincy Jones (bandleader), Tom McIntosh (composer-arranger), and Joe Wilder (solo instrumentalist/trumpet). This year's recipient of the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Master Award for Jazz Advocacy is Gunther Schuller.

Blue Note Interview Series: DIZZY GILLESPIE ALUMNI ALL-STARS interviewed by Ira Gitler P. 1

BLUE NOTE INTERVIEW SERIES:

Famous Jazz Critic Ira Gitler interviews the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars at the Blue Note earlier in the summer. The band will be performing at the Blue Note from November 20-26, save for a day off on November 24. From left to right, Antonio Hart, Claudio Roditi, James Moody, Ira Gitler, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton.

Dee Dee Bridgewater Pictures

Dee Dee Bridgewater's Red Earth project has her in touch with her roots - and as you can see by the pictures, her passion is for this music is infectious!

DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER - A MALIAN JOURNEY comes to the Blue Note this week Oct. 2-7

Dee Dee Bridgewater is back at the Blue Note, but this time, she won't be singing jazz. This week, she'll perform the music from her new CD, titled "Red Earth: A Malian Journey." Check out this video clip from France where she performed selections from her Malian project in June...