James Morrison and Emma Pask celebrate 20 years of making Jazz Music

Their friendship has outlasted many marriages, so it's understandable that jazz artists James Morrison and Emma Pask have taken to the road to celebrate their 20-year alliance.

The jazz trumpet star and the singer love to retell the story of how Morrison plucked a 17-year-old Pask from her school band at Kirrawee High in Sydney's south to perform on stage with him afterwards.

"I thought he was staring because my shirt was untucked – I was always getting in trouble for that," says Pask, now 37. Instead, the jazz veteran had been blown away by Pask's voice and that night was the start of a partnership that has taken the pair all over the world to perform to packed venues.

Says Pask: "When I want to annoy him I say he's a father figure, but really he's more like a big brother – a musical and life mentor. He's guided me through some ups and downs and we know each other inside out."

Their current tour, which has already taken them to Brisbane and Melbourne, combines their talents with a full big band and swing classics from Gershwin, Miller, Sinatra and Ellington.

Morrison is relishing the experience. "As far as jazz goes, this is as big as it gets," he says. "I don't know an artist who doesn't get a smile on their face when a big band fires up behind them."

He says he and Pask, who he says is like his "little sister",  can't wait to play the Sydney show. "It's home for both of us. It's going to be a good time."

James Morrison and his Big Band Tour is at Sydney Town Hall, Saturday 20 September 7.30pm

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/james-morrison-and-emma-pask-celebrate-20-years-of-making-jazz-music-20140821-106k7a.html#ixzz3BTt4O1fe

Enjoy dinner, jazz music at Castle in the Clouds

Every Thursday evening during summer, you can enjoy dinner and jazz music at the Castle in the Clouds.

The evening events are by reservation only and held from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

It is offered on the terrace at the Carriage House.

Tickets for the music are required in advance of the event, and are $10 per person.

To make reservations for any of these events, call 603-476-5414.

They recommend calling at least one week in advance as they can book very quickly and are filled through mid-August, but have availability from Thursday on.

Learn more about the event, including the musicians to be featured on the program calendar at http://www.castleintheclouds.org/program-calendar/.

Located off Route 171 at 455 Old Mountain Road, the property was once Tom and Olive Plant's mountaintop estate.

Lucknow as they called it, was built in 1913-1914. It was open to the public in 1959.

Designed by the architectural firm of J. Williams Beal & Sons of Boston, the house not only exhibits skilled hand craftsmanship in every aspect of its interior and exterior, but also features a number of technological innovations of the early 20th century.

Plant made his fortune in the shoe manufacturing industry, retiring as a millionaire at age 51.

Newly married in 1913, Plant focused on his New Hampshire country estate. In addition to buying the property known as Ossipee Mountain Park, Plant accumulated land from the Ossipee Mountains all the way to Lake Winnipesaukee, eventually owning 6,300 acres.

After a series of failed investments, Plant attempted, from the mid-1920s through the era of the Great Depression, to sell the mountaintop estate.

However, no buyer was found.

The Plants continued to live at Lucknow until Tom Plant's death in 1941, at which time the property was sold.

Plant's desire to maintain the integrity of his mountaintop estate property and the stewardship of the families who owned the property since his time have ensured that Lucknow survived in close to its original state and that its magnificent natural setting can be enjoyed by all today.

Jazz Music Listings for August 8 to August 14

Fabian Almazan Trio (Tuesday through Aug. 17) 

A serious-minded pianist originally from Cuba, Fabian Almazan has been establishing himself as one of the important younger voices in the polyglot stir of modern jazz. He’ll draw from his confident new album, “Rhizome,” starting out with a trio featuring the bassist Thomas Morgan and the drummer Henry Cole. (After Thursday, he’ll add a string quartet). At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, 212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com; $25 and $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum.

Brooklyn Jazz Underground Festival (Tuesday and Thursday) 

The Brooklyn Jazz Underground, a coalition of artists with a borough and an aesthetic in common, presents its eighth annual showcase, with a night apiece in two clubs. On Tuesday at Smalls in Greenwich Village, a parade of roughly hourlong sets will begin at 7:30 p.m. with the David Smith Quintet, followed by the Anne Mette Iversen Quartet, the Adam Kolker Quartet, the David Cook Quintet and Owen Howard’s Drum Lore. On Thursday at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, the Tammy Scheffer Sextet performs at 7 p.m., and the Rob Garcia 4 takes over at 8:15 p.m. Closing out the festivities, at 9:30 p.m., is the in-house Brooklyn Jazz Underground Ensemble, previewing music from its album “7x7.” Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Smalls Jazz Club, 183 West 10th Street, West Village, smallsjazzclub.com; $20. Thursday at 7 p.m., ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place, Park Slope, Brooklyn, shapeshifterlab.com; $15.

Regina Carter Quartet (Thursday through Aug. 17) 

On her spirited new album, “Southern Comfort,” Ms. Carter, the acclaimed jazz violinist, takes a close look at American roots music, with a clear emphasis on the African-American experience. She draws from the album in this engagement, featuring a spry backing band with Marvin Sewell on guitar, Will Holshouser on accordion, Chris Lightcap on bass and Alvester Garnett, her husband, on drums. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 p.m. set on Aug. 16, Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, 212-576-2232, jazzstandard.net; $25 and $30.

Celebrating 60 Years of ‘Sarah Vaughan With Clifford Brown’ (Tuesday and Wednesday) 

The cumbersome title of this anniversary tribute doesn’t offset its potential, mainly because the album in question starring one of jazz’s greatest-ever singers and one of its greatest-ever trumpeters, both in peak form still retains all of its power. Sean Jones and Keyon Harrold stand in for Brown on trumpet, and Kennedy and Joanna Teters do the same for Vaughan on vocals; the rhythm section consists of Raymond Angry on piano, Chris Smith on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, 212-258-9595, jalc.org; $35 cover, with a $10 minimum; $20 for students at select sets. )

Nels Cline at the Stone (through Sunday) 

Nels Cline might be best known in some corners of the world as the lead guitarist of Wilco, but at the Stone, where he is in residence this week, that’s a mere footnote to his career. Among the highlights of his closing stretch this weekend are a series of acoustic guitar duets with Elliott Sharp (Friday at 10 p.m.); Reunited, with the accordionist Andrea Parkins and the drummer Tom Rainey (Saturday at 8 p.m.); and Old Themes with New Schemes, another guitar duo, with Mary Halvorson (Sunday at 10 p.m.). At Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, 212-473-0043, thestonenyc.com; $15 per set, $10 for students.

Cosmic Lieder Duo/Farmers By Nature (Saturday) 

The estimable avant-garde label Aum Fidelity presents a double album-release show, featuring artists at the heart of its current roster. First up, at 7:30 p.m., is the Cosmic Lieder Duo, composed of the alto saxophonist Darius Jones and the pianist Matthew Shipp, improvisers of penetrating insight; their new album is “The Darkseid Recital.” Then at 8:45 p.m., drawing from “Love and Ghosts,” is Farmers by Nature, a texture-alert collective featuring the drummer Gerald Cleaver, the bassist William Parker and the pianist Craig Taborn; doors open at 7 p.m. ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place, Park Slope, Brooklyn, shapeshifterlab.com; $15.

Kris Davis Trio Plays Standards (Saturday) 

The name of the booking is instructive, because Kris Davis — a pianist of fearless instinct and deep insight — has not made a public habit of dipping into the standard songbook. Her partners, well suited to the mission at hand, are the bassist Michael Formanek and the drummer Billy Drummond. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village, 212-989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; $10 cover, with a $10 minimum.

Django Reinhardt NY Festival (Friday through Sunday) 

This celebration of Gypsy swing is celebrating its 15th anniversary, with the usual profusion of fleet-fingered European guitarists — Samson Schmitt, DouDou Cuillerier and Olli Soikkelii — alongside festival stalwarts like the accordionist Ludovic Beier. Among the special guests this weekend are the singer Jane Monheit (Friday), the harpist Edmar Castañeda (Saturday) and the trombonist Chris Washburne (Sunday). At 8:30 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, 212-581-3080, birdlandjazz.com; $45 cover, with a $10 minimum.

Orrin Evans Quintet (Friday and Saturday) 

The pianist Orrin Evans, a one-man post-bop wrecking crew, has a strong new album, “Liberation Blues,” made with a band much like this one. He draws from its varied repertory with the trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, the tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen, the bassist Luques Curtis and the drummer Clarence Penn. At 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m., Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at 106th Street, 212-864-6662, smokejazz.com; $38 cover, with a $10 minimum for the 10:30 p.m. set.

Wycliffe Gordon Quintet (Friday and Saturday) 

A charismatic trombonist specializing in gutbucket swing, Wycliffe Gordon leads a band with Adrian Cunningham on saxophone and clarinet, Chris Pattishall on piano, Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Alvin Atkinson Jr. on drums. At 8 and 10 p.m., Jazz at Kitano, 66 Park Avenue, at 38th Street, 212-885-7119, kitano.com; $30 cover, with a $15 minimum.

Sherman Irby Quintet: The Music of Art Blakey (Friday through Sunday) 

The alto saxophonist Sherman Irby, a prominent member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, specializes in a soulful but searching brand of hard bop. That among other things makes him a good fit for this tribute to Art Blakey, also featuring the trombonist Vincent Gardner, the pianist Eric Reed, the bassist Gerald Cannon and the drummer Willie Jones III. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, 212-258-9595, jalc.org; $35 to $45 cover, with a $10 minimum; $25 for students at select sets.

Earl Klugh (Tuesday through Aug. 17) 

An acoustic guitarist with impeccable touch, Mr. Klugh draws partly from “HandPicked,” which earned him a nomination for best pop instrumental album at this year’s Grammy Awards. At 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village, 212-475-8592, bluenote.net; $35 cover at tables, $20 at the bar, with a $5 minimum.

Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns Tour (Thursday) 

Mr. Koz, the alto saxophonist, entrepreneur and smiling ambassador of smooth jazz, is still riding the momentum of “Summer Horns,” which earned a Grammy nomination and has spent more than a year on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. He has been on tour with the album’s saxophone front line — Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright and Richard Elliot, all established solo artists — and will bring the whole contingent to the Smooth Cruise, a two-hour dinner jaunt around the southern tip of Manhattan. Departs at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m., Hudson River Park Pier 40, Houston and West Streets, West Village, 866-468-7619, smoothjazznewyork.com; $65, $90 with buffet; the early show is sold out.

Briggan Krauss Quartet (Friday) 

The alto saxophonist Briggan Krauss, possibly best known for his combustible presence in Sex Mob, leads two four-piece bands here, each a reflection of his personality. The Need, playing at 7 p.m., is a plugged-in outfit with Mr. Krauss doubling on electric guitar, with effects; also in the lineup are the guitarist Brandon Seabrook, the bassist J. Granelli and the drummer Jim Black. As for the Briggan Krauss Jazz Quartet, which follows at 8:15 p.m., its declarative name shouldn’t be confused for an easygoing approach. It will feature Mr. Black, along with Jacob Sacks on piano and John Hébert on bass. ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place, Park Slope, Brooklyn, shapeshifterlab.com; $10.

Harold Mabern Trio (through Sunday) 

The pianist Harold Mabern, an endlessly soulful hard-bopper originally from Memphis, has a fine new live album — “Right on Time,” on the Smoke Sessions label — that gives some indication of the ground he’ll cover during this run. As on the album, he’ll be working with his regular rhythm team of John Webber on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums, and probably playing standards along with some familiar but surprising fare (like “Making Our Dreams Come True,” the theme song from “Laverne & Shirley”). At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, 212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com; $25 and $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum.

Nellie McKay (Friday and Saturday) 

Ms. McKay, the winningly diabolical jazz singer, cabaret conceptualist and wiseacre-provocateur, presents her new show, “A Girl Named Bill: The Life and Times of Billy Tipton” — inspired by the transgender bandleader and pianist, who has also inspired books, plays and at least one opera. Her backing band features Cary Park on guitar, Alexi David on bass and Kenneth Salters on drums. At 8 p.m. 54 Below, 254 West 54th Street, Manhattan, 646-476-3551, 54below.com; $50 to $85 cover in advance, $5 extra at the door, with a $25 minimum.

Pat Metheny Unity Group and Bruce Hornsby (Friday) 

The Pat Metheny Unity Group, which has been on the road for much of this year, represents a culmination of recent efforts by its namesake guitarist: quicksilver acoustic post-bop along with the sweep of his orchestrion, with a generous helping of poplike emotional clarity. This concert, part of a “Campfire Tour,” sets up the ensemble on a double bill with Mr. Hornsby, the singer-songwriter and pianist, with the promise of some collaborative energies. At 8 p.m., New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark, 888-466-5722, njpac.org; $39 to $99.

Camila Meza and Fabian Almazan (Friday) 

A bright young singer and guitarist with an ear for music of both folkloric and pop intention, Ms. Meza has connected with a strong peer group since moving to New York from her native Santiago, Chile, in 2009. Among her frequent partners is Mr. Almazan, an ambitious Cuban pianist and composer, who joins her in duologue here. At 9 and 11 p.m., the Jazz Gallery, 1160 Broadway, fifth floor, at West 27th Street, 646-494-3625, jazzgallery.org; $22, $10 for members.

Mingus Big Band (through Monday) 

A 2011 Grammy winner for “Live at Jazz Standard,” this repertory band has held a Monday-night residency here for years. It also plays this weekend, filling in for a last-minute cancellation — and building as always on the rugged sophistication of Charles Mingus’s music, which still has the capacity to sound radical. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, 212-576-2232, jazzstandard.net; $25 and $30.

Jane Monheit’s Jazz Party (Sunday) 

Ms. Monheit is a jazz singer who has always fit the profile of an ingénue, though she has developed shades of complexity in her interactions with the standard repertory. She continues her Sunday night series at Birdland, during which she’s developing new material with her trusted band, including the pianist Michael Kanan, the bassist Neal Miner and her husband, the drummer Rick Montalbano. At 6 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, 212-581-3080, birdlandjazz.com; $30 cover, with a $10 minimum.

Arturo Sandoval (through Sunday) 

Mr. Sandoval is a Cuban trumpeter best known for stratospheric bravado: He is capable of subtlety, but not predisposed toward it. His most recent album, “Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You),” reaffirms his allegiance to Dizzy Gillespie, the bebop patriarch who took him on as a protégé. At 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village, 212-475-8592, bluenote.net; $45 cover at tables, $30 at the bar, with a $5 minimum.
Swallow-Talmor-Nussbaum (Wednesday) 

“Singular Curves” is the altogether charming new release by this collective post-bop trio, made up of the bassist Steve Swallow, the saxophonist Ohad Talmor and the drummer Adam Nussbaum. The album’s air of firmly self-assured chamber interplay gives some idea of what should unfold here. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, 212-576-2232, jazzstandard.net; $20.
Greg Ward Quartet (Thursday) 

 A versatile young saxophonist with a full plate of sideman activity, Greg Ward fills his work with nods to electronic music, postrock and other modern enticements. His quartet includes the guitarist Dave Miller, the bassist Zack Lober and the drummer Kenneth Salters. At 8:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village, 212-989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; $10 cover, with a $10 minimum.