Tanglewood Jazz
I'm excited to have been asked to perform an LH Trio set on Sep. 4 in Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood; the trio will be the 'warmup' act for the headliner that evening, the inestimable Kurt Elling. So of course after a pleasant intermission we'll return to the stage and join the inspiring KE and the magnificent guitarist John Mclean for the 2nd half of the show. The trio will comprise Ulysses Owens on drums and Harish Raghavan on bass, our regular trio these days in the KEQ. We'll be playing a few things familiar, a few new. And yes, the oft-requested "Sanctuary" will be on the docket. So any of you who can make it--it'll be great to see you there!
2010-08-02
P+T comments (2010-09-05): Video of LH in performance at Tanglewood, Saturday, Sept. 4, as well as a short interview in which he talks about the place and the venue. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTCNCCPNJlc
P+T comments (2010-08-12): Part 2 (09:31) begins with winning the 2003 Deems Taylor award for his outstanding article, "The Art of the Piano Trio." At 03:44, he talks about Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, and he begins previewing the show at 05:50. He says "The audience at Tanglewood is going to have a blast!" Watch: http://bit.ly/9MUyLp
P+T comments (2010-08-12): There is an excellent two-part video interview with LH on the Tanglewood channel on YouTube. Part 1 (09:51) describes how he met Kurt, and how he thinks of himself as a player first, but also as a composer and arranger. At 07:30, he talks about When the Heart Dances, his amazing duet album with Charlie Haden. Watch: http://bit.ly/be8ipZ
Other blogs:
-Another GRAMMY Nomination!
-VERY SPECIAL SHOW SEPT. 7
-Hey, how ya doin'?
About Laurence:
-Another GRAMMY Nomination!
-VERY SPECIAL SHOW SEPT. 7
-Hey, how ya doin'?
About Laurence:
Best known for his collaboration with vocalist Kurt Elling, pianist Laurence Hobgood has enjoyed a multi-faceted and dynamic career. Musical Director for Elling since 1995, he played on, arranged, and co-produced all of Elling’s cds (6 for Blue Note and 2 now for Concord), each Grammy-nominated. He also received his own Grammy nomination in 2001 for his arranging on “Flirting With Twilight”, Elling’s fifth Blue Note release. Hobgood was awarded three consecutive fellowships (’90, ‘91’ and ’92) to perform in the Aspen Music Festival. The Chicago Tribune honored him as a 1995 Chicagoan Of The Year in the Arts. In 2003 he received a Deems Taylor award, given by ASCAP for the year’s outstanding music journalism, for his article “The Art Of The Trio”, published by JazzTimes magazine. He has performed both with Elling and with his own trio at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Birdland, Chicago’s Symphony Center, Ravinia, as well as most of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals, including Montreaux, North Sea, Monterey, Spoleto USA, Newport, Umbria, Montreal, JVC Festivals in Paris and Japan and many others. He has played and/or recorded with Jon Hendricks, Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, Stefon Harris, Peter Erskine, Marc Johnson, Joe Lovano, Benny Maupin, Paul Wertico, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Ernie Watts, Clark Terry, Bobby Watson, Mark Murphy, Clark Terry, Bob Mintzer, Von Freeman, Paul McCandless, Buddy Guy, Gary Burton and Eddie Daniels, to name a few. His new CD, "When The Heart Dances", a duet recording with iconic bassist Charlie Haden, will see its U.S. release in late summer 2009. It's already been released in the U.K. and has received a slew of 4-star reviews, most notably from the Independent and the Guardian. And Elling's new Concord offering, "Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman", to be released June 23rd (2009) in the U.S., features Hobgood's string quartet arrangements in a dynamic live performance from Lincoln Center. A long time Chicago native, Hobgood has lived in New York since 2006.. . . full bio . . .