Jazz Notes: Goings on in the jazz world

, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Today is Dec. 25.

Multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Edward "Kid" Ory was born this date in 1886 in La Place, La. In 1919, in California, he recorded the first-ever titles by an all-black jazz band. The record, called "Ory's Creole Trombone," was made for the Sunshine label. Kid Ory's most famous recordings came as a member of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven bands in Chicago during the 1920s. He died in Hawaii in 1973.

Singer, bandleader and all-around entertainer Cab Calloway, the man who made "Minnie the Moocher" famous, was born this day in 1907 in Rochester, N.Y. The Hi-De-Ho man died in November 1984 several months after suffering a stroke.

Oscar Moore, the guitarist in Nat King Cole's hit-making trio in the 1940s, was born this day in Austin, Texas, in 1912. He died in 1981.

Swing bass player Eddie Safranski was born this day in 1918 in Pittsburgh. His jazz associations were with Miff Mole, Stan Kenton, Charlie Barnet and Benny Goodman.

Percussionist Don Alias, a longtime collaborator with saxophonist David Sanborn, was born this day in 1939. He works frequently these days with trumpeter Chuck Mangione.

This was the day in 1954 when singer Joe Williams joined the Count Basie Orchestra in Chicago. His role as the band's regular singer brought the Basie band a new level of popularity.

On this day in 1971, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond performed at New York's Town Hall with the Modern Jazz Quartet. It was the only time Desmond ever performed with the M-J-Q.

A look back at the year in jazz( part one of two)

The world of jazz in 2002 was one of advancements, losses and puzzles.

The finest trend was the stronger impact that Latin music, in many forms, is making in jazz beyond the past's mere stylistic toehold. Even the Smithsonian Institution took notice of the continuing blossoming of jazz en clave.

While Latin rhythms can be traced back to W.C. Handy's composition "St. Louis Blues" and were known to influence the early 20th century New Orleans music of Jelly Roll Morton, they are flourishing today in many jazz bands and contexts. Washington, D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution opened a traveling multimedia exhibition, "Latin Jazz: La Combinacion Perfecta," which opened in the nation's capital in October and will tour 10 American cities by 2006.

There also were less encouraging developments. Top-flight artists, from Wynton Marsalis to James Carter and Cyrus Chestnut, found themselves without label deals -- major or minor -- as several of the majors dropped their jazz divisions altogether or shifted their focus to the more lucrative world of reissuing historical material. One such label, Columbia/Legacy, produced some stunning reissues but also took honors as producing the most puzzling reissue -- "The Herbie Hancock Box." The music is wonderful, but it took more than five minutes to open the attractive and futuristic but space-wasting acrylic cube housing it.

There was a lot going on in the jazz world of note in 2002.

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE: Trumpeter Roy Hargrove unveiled a new funk-based unit, RH Factor, while saxophonist Joshua Redman teamed with keyboardist Sam Yahel and drummer Brian Blade on a new groove-oriented project that evolved into Redman's new Elastic Band. Guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Al Foster formed a new collaborative, ScoLoHoFo, to stretch their own sometimes daring sounds.

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE: The International Association for Jazz Education held its 29th annual conference in Long Beach, Calif., last January. This "world's largest jazz gathering" of upwards of 7,000 educators, musicians, industry executives, exhibitors, media and jazz enthusiasts also was the setting for presentation of Jazz Masters Awards (worth $20,000 each) to tenor saxophonist Frank Foster, bassist Percy Heath and pianist McCoy Tyner from the National Endowment for the Arts.

MONK COMPETITION: Tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake won this year's Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, held in February in Washington. Blake, 31, a Vancouver, British Columbia, native and longtime New York player, won $20,000. John Ellis, who now works in guitarist Charlie Hunter's band, was second. Saxophonist Marcus Strickland, who has been working with drummer Roy Haynes, finished in third.

TWO STEPS BACK: New York's Carnegie Hall Jazz Band made its final appearance at that august performance space last spring. While it has made subsequent appearances at jazz festivals elsewhere under the direction of trumpeter Jon Faddis, a major resource was diminished. Not to mention the loss of a significant commission source for jazz composers and arrangers. It also left the Jazz at Lincoln Center, which has its own jazz orchestra and a separate Afro-Latin jazz orchestra, as the only institutional game in town.

ESSENTIALLY ELLINGTON: Seattle's Roosevelt High School took top honors May 11 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's 7th annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival. Garfield High School in Seattle finished second among the 15 invited bands.

JAZZPAR 2002: Enrico Rava received this year's JazzPar award in Copenhagen, Denmark. The 62-year-old trumpeter has had the highest international profile of any Italian jazz artist since emerging on the international jazz scene in the late 1960s.

CRITICS AND READERS AGREED: Bassist Dave Holland was the first four-category winner in Downbeat magazine's 50th annual critics poll and subsequent reader's poll. He took jazz artist, jazz album, acoustic group and acoustic bass honors. Late pianist John Lewis, longtime musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet, was elected to the critics poll's hall of fame.

Top category honors went to Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone, Jim Hall on guitar, Roy Haynes on drums, Keith Jarrett on piano, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Kurt Elling for top male vocals and Cassandra Wilson for top female vocals.

DISAPPOINTING TYME: For factional and other reasons still unclear, the Tyner Tyme held in Philadelphia last August to honor native son McCoy Tyner was described after the fact as an event of "disappointment, even deception" and "doomed to farce."

JAZZ ON HOLD: New York's new mayor, Michael Bloomberg, decided to treat telephone callers to City Hall to selections from "Live in Swing City, Swingin' with Duke," a work by Wynton Marsalis recorded by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, while they wait "on hold." It replaced celebrity voices making public service announcements about New York. Lincoln Center OK'd use of the recording.

Here are one writer's choices for the top jazz recordings and reissues of 2002.

The 10 best new jazz releases:

1 -- Wayne Shorter Quartet, "Footprints Live! (Verve)

2 -- Bobby Previte and Bump, "Just Add Water" (Palmetto)

3 -- Renee Rosnes, "Life on Earth" (Blue Note)

4 -- Claudia Acuna, "Rhythm of Life" (Verve)

5 -- Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, Roy Hargrove, "Directions in Music -- Live at Massey Hall" (Verve)

6 -- Mulgrew Miller and Wingspan, "The Sequel" (MaxJazz)

7 -- Christos Rafalides, "Manhattan Vibes" (Khaeon)

8 -- Sam Yahel, Joshua Redman, Brian Blade, "YaYa3" {Loma)

9 -- Dave Liebman, Don Braden, Dan Moretti, "Latin Genesis" (Whaling City)

10 -- Michel Camilo, "Triangulo" (Telarc)