In A Mellow Tone
Wednesday November 1st, 2023 with Heavy Ben & Natalie McGrath
Día de los Muertos: Mexian jazz and Funding Drive
November 1 marks Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico and Latin America
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead
Día de los Muertos is not Mexican Halloween
https://theconversation.com/day-of-the-dead-is-taking-on-halloween-traditions-but-the-sacred-holiday-is-far-more-than-a-mexican-halloween-212686
Pictured: "Calavera of Artists and Artisans" by Jose Guadalupe Posada
Download the PDF of the 1944 exhibition "Printmaker To The Mexican People" (Art Institute of Chicago)
https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/8526/the-art-of-jose-guadalupe-posada-lent-by-the-department-of-fine-arts-of-mexico
(to embiggen the show icon, right-click and choose "Open image in new tab")
| An aspect of this show on Day of the Dead is to celebrate musicians who died in 2023, beginning with pianist Ahmad Jamal who passed in April at the age of 92. |
| Poinciana Ahmad Jamal & Yusef Lateef - Ahmad Jamal Featuring Yusef Lateef/ Live At The Olympia June 27.2012 - Jazz Village - 2014 (rec. 2012) |
| Marseille Ahmad Jamal feat. Abd Al Malik - Marseille - Jazz Village - 2017 |
| Drummer Tino Contreras (1924-2021) was born in Chihuahua, Mexico. Contreras formed his own band as a teenager in the 1940s, hosted a radio program, and played in nightclubs. He moved to Mexico City, played in numerous orchestras such as Juan Garvia Esquivel, and had an important role in cinematography, both as a drummer and as a composer of musical backgrounds for films of the Golden Age of national cinema. After staying in the Dominican Republic, Contreras picked up Merengue music, fused that with Mexican sounds and introduced what would later be Tropical Jazz or Latin Jazz. |
| Orfeo En Los Tambores Tino Contreras Y Su Jazz Latino - Orfeo En Los Tambores / El Jazz Mexicano De Tino Contreras - Disques Typic Editions J. Garzon / Jazzman - 1962 / 2011 |
| Marcha De Los Dioses Tino Contreras Y Su Jazz Latino - Tino Contreras Y Su Jazz Latino / Fetén (Rare Jazz Recordings From Spain 1961 - 1974) - Berta / Vampi Soul - 1965 / 2012 |
| Jazz En El Cairo Tino Contreras - Jazz / El Jazz Mexicano De Tino Contreras - Musart / Jazzman - 1963 / 2011 |
| Orbita Tino Contreras Y Su Grupo - Quinto Sol - Musica Infinita / El Jazz Mexicano De Tino Contreras - Centro De La Cultura Pre-Americana, A.C. / Jazzman - 1978 / 2011 |
| En El Viejo Estambul Tino Contreras - Jazz Ballet / El Jazz Mexicano De Tino Contreras - Musart / Jazzman - 1963 / 2011 |
| Composer and pianist Carla Bley passed in October, aged 87. |
| Lawns Carla Bley - Sextet - ECM Records - 1987 |
| Why Carla Bley, Paul Haines - Escalator Over The Hill - JCAO - 1971 |
| Jorge Reyes (1952-2009) was born in Michoacán, Mexico. Reyes incorporated elements of his native Mexican culture into his music that was jazz influenced but perhaps more in the ambient electronic and 4th world vein. His music was used frequently in Mexican radio and television programs. Reyes performed many concerts at famous Mexican archeological sites such as Mayan and Aztec temples. His annual Día de los Muertos concerts at UNAM (National School of Music in MC) were popular events. |
| Sazilakab Jorge Reyes - Ek-Tunkul - Kollectiv Records - 1983 |
| Adios Mi Acompañamiento (Goodbye My Accompaniment) Jorge Reyes - Comala - Producciones Exilio - 1986 |
| El Vuelo De Los Niños Pajaro (The Flight of the Bird Children) Jorge Reyes - Niérika - Producciones Exilio - 1989 |
| Peyote-Venado-Maíz: La Boca De Los Muertos (The Mouth of the Dead) Jorge Reyes - El Costumbre - Extreme - 1993 |
| Saxophonist Wayne Shorter died at March at the age of 89. |
| Memory of Enchantment Wayne Shorter & Herbie Hancock - 1+1 - Verve - 1997 |
| Speak No Evil Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil - Blue Note - 1966 |
| Juan Garcia Esquivel (1918-2002) was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Esquivel was a band leader, pianist, and composer for television and films and widely regarded as "the father of space-age lounge music". |
| Latin-esque Juan Garcia Esquivel - Latin-Esque / Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music - RCA Victor / Bar/None Records - 1962 / 1994 |
| Solamente Una Vez (You Belong To My Heart) Juan Garcia Esquivel - Latin-Esque / Music From A Sparkling Planet - RCA Victor - Bar/None Records - 1962 / 1995 |
| Todavia Esquivel Y Su Orchestra (Juan Garcia Esquivel & His Orchestra) - 1968 Esquivel!! / Cabaret Mañana - RCA Victor - 1968 / 1995 |
| Anna (El Negro Zumbon) Esquivel And His Orchestra - Infinity In Sound Volume 2 - RCA Victor - 1961 |
| Music Makers Esquivel And His Orchestra - Infinity In Sound - RCA Victor - 1960 |
| Héctor Infanzón is a pianist borin in Mexico City in 1959. |
| Nos la Debíamos Héctor Infanzón (Hector Infanzon) Trio - Citadino - 2007 |
| Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto passed away in June, aged 83. |
| The Girl From Ipanema Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto feat. Astrud Gilberto - Getz / Gilberto - Verve - 1964 |
| Once I Loved Astrud Gilberto - The Astrud Gilberto Album - Verve - 1965 |
| Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto feat. Astrud Gilberto - Getz / Gilberto - Verve - 1964 |
| Drummer Antonio Sanchez was born in Mexico City in 1971. |
| Nine Lives Antonio Sanchez - Bad Hombre - C.A.M. Jazz - 2017 |
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Good evening and welcome to our live show on Día de los Muertos!
9:10 PM, November 1st, 2023