Los Angeles Hosting Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition and All-Star Gala Concert

Happening this weekend, the following appeared in the November-December Jazz & Blues Report.

Vuyolwethu Sotashe at 2014 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival

The Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition will be held November 14-15 in Los Angeles. This year’s Competition features some of the world's most outstanding young jazz vocalists who will sing before a judging panel that includes Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Freddy Cole, Al Jarreau and Luciana Souza. The Jazz Vocals Competition Semifinals will be held on Saturday, November 14 from 12 to 5 p.m. at Schoenberg Hall on the UCLA campus. Each of the eleven semifinalists will perform for 15 minutes, accompanied by pianist Reginald Thomas, bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Carl Allen. Three finalists will be selected for the Finals on Sunday, November 15 at 7 p.m. at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. They will vie for scholarships and prizes totaling more than $100,000 including a $25,000 first place scholarship and a guaranteed recording contract with Concord Music Group.

The 11 semifinalists are: Liam Burrows, Sydney, Australia; Christie Dashiell, Greenville, North Carolina; Jazzmeia Horn, Dallas, Texas; Sirintip Phasuk, Stockholm, Sweden; Walter Ricci, Naples, Italy; Lena Seikaly, Falls Church, Virginia; Vuyolwethu Sotashe, Butterworth, South Africa; Veronica Swift, Charlottesville, Virginia; Katie Thiroux, Los Angeles, California; Danielle Wertz, Falls Church, Virginia; and Lucy Yeghiazaryan of New York, New York and Armenia. This writer has been privileged to have seen several of the semi-finalists perform including Vuyolwethu Sotashe, the winner of the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival's 1st Vocal Competition in 2014.

Christie Dashiell at 2014 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival

Immediately after the Competition Finals, The All-Star Gala Concert on Sunday, November 15 will bring together some of the most renowned artists of our time. Legendary producer, composer, bandleader and humanitarian Quincy Jones, will receive the Institute’s 2015 Herbie Hancock Humanitarian Award. Herbie Hancock, Seth MacFarlane, Andy Garcia, Jeff Goldblum and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will host the event. Artists will include Patti Austin, George Benson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Terri Lyne Carrington, Freddy Cole, Dave Grusin, Jimmy Heath, Paul Jackson, Jr., Al Jarreau, Hubert Laws, Gretchen Parlato, Arturo Sandoval, Wayne Shorter, Luciana Souza, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Ben Williams and others. John Beasley will serve as the evening’s musical director.

The Thelonious Monk Institue International Jazz Competition, is regarded by many as the most prestigious jazz competition. Each year, the Competition features a different instrument, and major scholarships and prizes are awarded to talented young musicians. For 28 years, the competition has launched the careers of a number of major jazz artists including saxophonist Joshua Redman; vocalists Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jane Monheit and Gretchen Parlato; pianist Marcus Roberts; bassist Ben Williams; and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. Cécile McLorin Salvant was the winner the last time the competition focused on vocals and the other two finalists, Charenée Wade and Cyrille Aimée, have also led successful solo careers.

Lena Seikaly at 2014 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival

Proceeds from the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition and All-Star Gala Concert will support the Institute’s public school jazz education programs across the U.S. and around the globe. In recent years, the performances of the semi-fianls have been broadcast over the world-wide web, and one should check the Monk Insitute's website to see if they web-cast this round this year. Tickets for the gala start at $40 and are available at dolbytheatre.com. For more information about the competition and the Monk Institute’s other programs, visit monkinstitute.org.

(In addition to the Monk Institutes press release, this writer also used Nate Chinen's New York Times story for background).

On Facebook, The Monk Institute gave more details about the webcast of the semi-finals. 

"This year's MonkCompetition features Semifinalist vocalists from Australia, Italy, South Africa and Sweden as well as the United States. No matter where you are, you can watch the 2015 Semifinals round at UCLA - with all 11 of our unbelievable competitors - LIVE on monkinstitute.org. Webcast starts at 12:00 Pacific Time on Saturday, November 14. Don't miss it!"

Cyrille Aimée's Captivating Jazz Voice

Watching the recent Thelonious Monk Institute Vocal Competition on a webcast, I was very intrigued by one of the finalists, a lady originally from France by the name of Cyrille Aimée. Shortly thereafter there was a New York Times story about her appearing at the Greenwich Village, NYC club Smalls Jazz Club. The story focused on her duets with pianist Spike Wilner who I believe is responsible for programming music at Smalls. He is the main person behind the club’s label, Smalls Live which has issued a number of live recordings from the club and amongst the latest releases is Cyrille Aimée & Friends Live at Smalls”

Wilner is the producer of this disc which was recorded late September 26 and 30, 20l0, and anchored the band that includes bassist Philip Kuehn, drummer Joseph Saylor, tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, and trumpeter Roy Hargrove. There is a playful informality about the performances that add to its appeal. In the New York Times piece, Ben Ratliff described Ms. Aimée, “She’s alert and thoroughly engaged in the logic of moving harmony when she improvises, one of those singers whom nonsinging musicians call “a musician.”

From the opening notes of September In the Rain, she impresses despite (or perhaps because of) a somewhat limited vocal range (suggestive of Billie Holiday, but no way imitative of Lady Day) with horn like phrasing both in delivering the lyrics and scatting. And the band is terrific with Frahm shining on September, while Hargrove embraces the melodic qualities of Que Reste-t’il, which many of you will know from the English rendition, I Wish You Love. It should be noted that, unlike Roberta Gambarini whose vocals usually display no trace of her native Italian, Aimée’s French accent is evident, but adds delightful flavoring to her voice.

After the initial verse of a brisk Yesterdays, she takes a scat solo followed by Frahm and then Wilner, before she scats fours with drummer Saylor who sounds like he is using brushes. Ellington’s I Was Beginning to See the Light” starts as a duet with bassist Kuehn before Frahm enters on tenor for a solo followed by Kuehn’s solo. When Aimée returns with her vocal codaFrahm softly caresses her vocal. Love For Sale, opens with a drum intro with Kuehn joining in to set a second-line styled groove, followed by a brief call and response by Hargrove and Frahm. AImée enters at home with the lively groove “advertising her love” and her scatting set off by nice cymbal work by Saylor. Hargrove takes a nicely focused and short solo, followed by Frahm who is rocking and wailing. This is the longest track but seems to go so quickly. Other highlights include her rendition of Monk’s I Mean You, and the closing Stand By Me, where it sounds like she is joined by several other voices who are not identified.

Since first downloading this recording (I received the hard copy a few days later, along with several other Smalls Live CDs that I have purchased), I have found myself completely captivated by Cyril Aimée and this recording. There is a wonderful mix of material and a freshness to her treatment of the most familiar numbers. I trust you can sense my enthusiasm this recording, and look forward to the opportunity to see her in person (have to figure how to get to New York perhaps). This is available from the Smalls Live website, www.smallslive.com as either a download or hard copy (which includes the download).