JAZZ CHILL NEWS BITS: CHARLIE HUNTER, LARRY CARLTON, STANLEY JORDAN, MINA AGOSSI, JACK DEJOHNETTE & MORE...

JAZZ CHILL NEWS BITS…Washington, D.C. area upcoming concerts: French-African chanteuse Mina Agossi at La Maison Francaise on March 9. Her latest CD is Well You Needn’t , and on her current tour she is supported by bassist Remi Chaudagne and drummer Ichiro Onoe. Karrin Allyson is at the Kennedy Center’s Terrrace Theatre on March 17 as she showcases selections from her new CD, Footprints. Guitarist Larry Carlton appears at Blue Alley on March 27, and guitarist Gene Bertoncini will be at the Smithsonian Jazz Café in the Natural History Museum on March 3. His new CD is Quiet Now.……….In the twin cities area of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Stanley Jordan is line-up for March 6 and 7 at the Dakota Jazz Club; Chris Botti at the State Theatre on March 11; and Freddy Cole (and his trio) with his tribute to his brother Nat King Cole on March 19 at the Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. His special guests will be Irv Williams on saxophone and Doris Hines, vocal soloist……….A new double CD from Roy Ayers becomes available as 33 tracks, including some of the best of Roy’s work for Polydor in the 70’s come together in Destination Motherland – The Roy Ayers Anthology……….New from the Charlie Hunter Trio is Copperolis on the Radeadope label. Tracks include Cueball Bobbin’, The Pursuit Package, A Street Fight Could and Break Out, with nine songs in total. Rounding out the Charlie Hunter Trio are John Ellis on keyboards and horns and Derrek Phillips on drums……….Jack DeJohnette’s latest CD is Jack DeJohnette featuring Bill Frisell – The Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers.



KIRK WHALUM, JEFF LORBER & GERALD VEASLEY HEADLINE RIVERWALK JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL
The Riverwalk Jazz and Blues Festival is gearing up for April 28 and 29 in Montgomery. Alabama, The festival will feature such well-known jazz musicians as saxophonist Kirk Whalum, keyboard player Jeff Lorber, bass player Gerald Veasley, sax player Quintin Gerard W. and sax player Dee Lucas.

Since being discovered in 1983 by Bob James, Whalum has been a major force in smooth jazz. The sax player, who has seven Grammy nominations, became one of smooth jazz's biggest stars in 1998, when his album For You was on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz charts for more than 65 weeks, including 53 weeks in the top 10. His 2000 album Unconditional again topped the jazz charts, creating the No. 1 jazz hit Now 'Til Forever. More recently he has collaborated with guitarist Norman Brown and trumpet player Rick Braun.

Jeff Lorber released six albums while leading the Jeff Lorber Fusion in the '70s and '80s and received a Best R&B Instrumental Grammy nomination for Pacific Coast Highway. Since going solo, not only has he done well with his own music, but he's produced albums for artists such as Kenny G. and Michael Franks.

Quintin Gerard W. released his album debut, Fnkysax, last year. But the sax player, who studied under noted jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis in New Orleans, has already played with a who's who of jazz musicians, including Whalum, Lorber, Brown, Kenny Garrett, Najee and Dave Koz.

Veasley was a bass player in Joe Zawinul's band for seven years before going solo, leading a renowned "bass bootcamp," and releasing several acclaimed fusion albums, including his most recent, At the Jazz Base.

Lucas released his debut recording Remembrance on Mo Better Recordings in 2005, and is scheduled to release the CD Something to Ride 2 in spring of 2006.