In Honor of today’s date, 11/11/11, today we are posting
the TOP 11 Blue Note Jazz Club MOMENTS of 2011 thus far. This year has been so full
of special events and surprise artists that it was hard to choose just eleven,
so feel free to share your own in the comment sections below. If you’ve taken
video, pictures, or have something to say, go ahead and post it! Here’s our
list, in chronological order:
1. MS. LAURYN
HILL – January 3 – 5: This was by far the fastest selling show of the year,
which is not surprising considering the rarity of seeing Ms. Hill and the
intimacy of the Blue Note. The show was reviewed
extremely positively, and yes, she did perform “Killing Me Softly.”
2.
ROBERT
GLASPER with LUPE FIASCO, MOS DEF & KANYE WEST -
February 26: The show was billed as the Robert Glasper Experiment put
together by AMI and Jill Newman Productions, and in addition to special guest
Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def was rumored to be in the house. Then, Kanye West walked up
the stairs, and 30 minutes later, all three were on stage freestyling…yes, this
was at the Blue Note! If you haven’t seen this
video, watch it now (courtesy of OkayPlayer/The Revivalist).
3.
CELEBRATION
OF THE LIFE OF JAMES MOODY – March 28:
James Moody wasn’t just an incredible jazz musician – he was one of the
warmest, kindest, most gracious human beings ever to walk through these doors.
He was so generous with his time and treated every person he met with dignity and
respect. He left this world too soon in December of 2010, and on March 28,
Moody’s wife Linda hosted a benefit concert for the Moody Scholarship Fund at the Blue Note
featuring Bill Cosby, Jimmy Heath, Kenny Barron, John Lee, Paquito D’Rivera,
Antonio Hart, Frank Wess, David Sanborn and just about every great musician in
New York City. The tribute was poignant on a musical and emotional level, and
we’ll be having another one next year at the same time with all of the money
going to the Scholarship Fund. Here’s a picture from the evening.
4.
BLUE NOTE
JAZZ BENEFIT FOR JAPAN - April 18
& 19: On March 11, Japan was hit by a tsunami that caused thousands of
deaths and devastating destruction. New York City, along with the rest of the
world, quickly came to Japan’s aid with an outpouring of support. The artistic
community in particular sprang into action, with benefits popping up all over
the city. Japan-born Blue Note talent buyer Seiko Kinoshita, who also worked at
our Blue Notes in Japan, put together The Blue Note Jazz Benefit For Japan at
the Highline Ballroom which received so much support from artists and ticket
buyers that they added a second night. Both evenings featured high-profile acts
like McCoy Tyner, Madeleine Peyroux, Ron Carter and Renee Fleming, with 100% of
the proceeds going to Japan’s Relief & Recovery Fund. Here, hundreds
of prominent musicians wrote to Blue Note Tokyo about their love and
support for Japan during their most trying times.
5.
GEORGE
DUKE, AL JARREAU & ESPERANZA SPALDING – May 14: Longtime collaborators
George Duke and Al Jarreau, the latter appearing at the Blue Note for the first
time, joined forces for a week at the club. On May 14, the band was joined by
recent Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist, bassist Esperanza Spalding. Click
here for the set
list from that evening, and here is a picture of the pair signing autographs
at the gift shop.
6.
INAUGURAL
BLUE NOTE JAZZ FESTIVAL – Month of June: June 2011 marked the first Blue Note Jazz Festival, which
took the jazz world by storm as the city’s largest festival. “In its inaugural year,
the Blue Note Jazz Festival is already a juggernaut,” wrote the Wall St.
Journal, remarking on the 100 performances in 15 different venues all over New
York City. The festival, which featured Brian Wilson, Chaka Khan, Dave Brubeck,
Chris Botti, The Roots and so many more, was promoted in taxi cabs, on banners at the club and all over
the city.
7.
THE ROOTS
with…DAVE CHAPPELLE? – June 22: For
one night only, Jill Newman Productions presented The Roots with Rakim &
Black Thought performing the seminal hip-hop album Paid In Full on its 25th anniversary. Talib Kweli and
Razel were in the audience and jumped on stage, but most surprising of all, legendary
comedian Dave Chappelle showed up and actually talked to the audience from his
seat. He made a few funny comments, but mostly gushed about what it was like to
be a kid and hear Paid In Full for
the first time. But most importantly, The Roots were on the Blue Note stage,
and here’s some proof in video
form.
8.
THE
CRAZIEST NIGHT OF THE BLUE NOTE JAZZ FESTIVAL – June 24: There was one
night that stuck out during the Blue Note Jazz Festival for the sheer volume of
shows and talent presented on stages throughout the city. Dee Dee Bridgewater
plus Chrisette Michele at Town Hall, Maya Azucena at The Highline Ballroom,
Youssou N’Dour at Terminal 5, Milton Nascimento at Rose Hall in Lincoln Center,
Roberta Flack at BB Kings, and Estelle and The Recessionals Jazz Band at the
Blue Note. It took four tweets
just to tell followers who was playing that night!
9.
RAY BROWN
TRIBUTE BAND – August 16 – 21: Ray Brown is considered one of the founding
fathers of the Blue Note, helping to bring some of the biggest artists to play
here like Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie at a time when those artists were
only playing concert halls. Fittingly, the Ray Brown Tribute Band is one of the
hardest swinging bands around, featuring Christian McBride (a protégé of
Brown), Dee Bridgewater, Benny Green and Greg Hutchinson, all of whom performed
with the maestro at various points before his untimely passing in 2002.
Concertgoers gushed that it was one of the best shows they’d ever seen at the
club. Here’s some video
footage of the band and coupled with interviews of the band members talking
about Ray Brown.
10.
PAT
METHENY – October 11 – 16: “This is the first time I’ve played a club in
New York in 30 years,” Pat Metheny told a captive audience at the Blue Note in
October. Joined by bassist Larry Grenadier, Metheny played electric and
acoustic guitar, dabbled for one song on his Pikasso guitar and played his final
tunes of the night with the Orchestrion,
which was among the most impressive and unique musical feats ever to grace (or
fit on) the Blue Note stage. One of the highlights of the week was Pat sitting
by himself on stage, sound-checking his acoustic guitar with the beautiful,
haunting melody of the theme song from the film Cinema Paradiso. Check out a New York Times review of the show here.
11.
CHICK
COREA 70th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION – November 1 – 27: Not even
midway through the run, Chick has already logged over 50 hours on the Blue Note
stage including performances and rehearsals. So
far he has performed with Return To Forever Unplugged, a trio with Brian
Blade and Gary Peacock (pic
here), with the Five Peace Band ft. John McLaughlin and Kenny Garrett
(check www.facebook.com/bluenotenyc
for pictures), and in duos with Bobby McFerrin (rehearsing Beatles tunes
video here). Incredibly, there is so much more to come: Chick and Gary
Burton with the Harlem String Quartet, the For Miles Band featuring Miles Davis
band alumni, The Flamenco Heart band, duos with Marcus Roberts and Herbie
Hancock, and finally the Original Elektric Band. Certainly one of the biggest
and best celebrations ever at the Blue Note.
Have something to say? Share it here, and happy 11/11/11!
