The WIMA Has Closed Down

UPDATE: The WIMA is back online

The Werner Icking Music Archive, the oldest site where it was possible to download free sheet music has closed down. This is very bad news for culture. The site had thousands of scores, including many rarities, made by many of volunteers and music lovers all over the world, not to mention the growing number of contemporary composers who decided to put on WIMA for free their works. Unlike IMSLP.org where it is possible to download PDFs made of scans from old sheet music, at times difficult to read, scores on WIMA were well done, because made with modern music notation software, it had actually been founded as a showcase for scores made with MusicTex, but soon it started to accept scores made with other programs such as Finale, Sibelius, or others. Along with the PDF with the music, many times it was possible to download the source file, so that it could be modified (having capabilities and the program that created it obviously), for instance, on a score for violin and piano, the violin part could be transposed by a tone in order to be played with B flat instruments such as the clarinet.
The site was hosted by The Department of Computer Science of the University of Aarhus, in Denmark that decided to cut it because the scores downloaded daily by the thousands caused a very high load on University's servers.
The WIMA was founded by Werner Icking, who passed away in 2001; the current mantainer is Christian Mondrup who is checking some possible options to reopen the site. I really hope he can succeed. the WIMA was a very important piece for all musicians on the net.

Bergamo Jazz Fest 2010

Bergamo is a nice Italian town with one of Milan's airports, mainly used by Low Cost airlines. In march it hosts an interesting jazz festival:

March 19th, 2010
Teatro Donizetti – h 21.00
Richard Galliano - John Surman Duo (progetto originale)
Ahmad Jamal

March 20th, 2010
Teatro Donizetti – h 21.00
Moscow Art Trio
Enrico Rava New Quintet featuring Gianluca Petrella

March 21st, 2010
Teatro Donizetti – h 21.00
Omar Sosa Afreecanos Quintet
SFJC - San Francisco Jazz Collective
Avishai Cohen, Miguel Zenon, Mark Turner, Robin Eubanks, Stefon Harris Ed Simon, Matt Penman, Eric Harland

For further info check here

Best Jazz CDs of 2009

So this is my list with the best jazz CDs of 2009. As usual this is just an indication to show the tendencies of contemporary jazz rather than a chart with absolute values. I would like to underline that indo-american pianist Vijay Iyer made another masterpiece after las year's Tragicomic. Ben Allison, Joshua Redman and Bad Plus are among my favorite musicians; I relly enjoyed Enrico Rava's record with Stefano Bollani, Paul Motian, Lerry Grenadier and Mark Turner

1. Vijay Iyer Trio - Historicity (ACT)



2. Ben Allison - Think Free (Palmetto)



3. Miguel Zenon - Esta Plena (Marsalis Music)



4. Joe Lovano Us Five - Folk Art (Blue Note)



5. The Bad Plus - For All I Care (Heads Up)



6. Enrico Rava - New York Days (ECM)



7. Ran Blake - Driftwoods (Tompkins Square)



8. Gretchen Parlato - In a Dream (ObliqSound)



9. Allen Toussaint - Bright Mississippi (Nonesuch)



10. Joshua Redman - Compass (Nunesuch)

Jazz Podcast N. 46

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PLAYLIST

1. ACURI - Pros Velhos Amigos (Infancia)
http://grupoacuri.com.br/
http://www.myspace.com/acuri
Available on iTunes:

2. MERYL ROMER - I've Waited Long Enough (So Sure)
http://merylromer.com/
http://www.myspace.com/merylromer
Available on iTunes:
Available on CDBaby

3. EDDIE DANIELS - Falling In Love With Love (Live At The Iridium)
http://eddiedanielsclarinet.com/
http://www.myspace.com/eddiedaniels
Available on iTunes:

4. LISA MOORE - Piano Etude N. 4 (Seven: Music By Don Byron)
http://www.lisamoore.org/
http://www.myspace.com/lisamoorepianomusic
Available on iTunes:

5. SOTH & CARUSO - Bolivia (Songs from the Kingdom of Jazz)
http://sothandcaruso.com
http://www.myspace.com/sothcaruso
Available on iTunes:
Available on CDBaby

All songs played with permission by Artist, Producer, Agent or Label.


FREE TRACK OFFERED BY IODA PROMONET:

Lisa Moore
"Piano Etude No. 4" (mp3)
from "Seven: Music by Don Byron"
(Cantaloupe Music)

More On This Album

Martinique Jazz Festival 2009

From 25 november to 6 december 2009.

This is a very interesting festival in a wonderful place. Martinique is Caribbean Island which is an oversea region of France.

Martinique Jazz Festival performances will be held primarily at L`Atrium, in the
capital city, Fort-de-France, with additional concerts and events held in the
towns of Sainte Anne, Sainte Marie, Lamentin, Riviere Salee, Sainte Luce and the
La Pagerie Museum in Trois-Ilets, childhood home of Empress Josephine.

Artists performing in this year's edition:

Jacques Coursil
Malia
Jacky Terrasson Trio
Jacques Schwarz-Bart
Yasek Manzano
César Swing
Kenny Barron Trio
Elizabeth Kontomanou
Lionel Louéke
Andy Narell et Relator (University of Calypso)…

Further information on Jazz Festival:
http://www.cmac.asso.fr/

Further information on Martinique
http://www.martinique.org/

Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington

Monk's music, with its weird harmonies was considered difficult, a niche genre. For this reason the Riverside, for the first record by the great pianist for this label, decided to make a compilation of Duke Ellington's songs, the ideas was to make hime meet the public with very popular pieces.

Music of genius Duke Ellington filtered through the music of genius Thelonious Monk: the final result is absolutely great. All songs are interpreted in a very original way and made theirs by Monk, with the help of Kennyy Clarke on drums and Oscar Pettiford on bass.

listen on iTunes


SONGS

1. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
2. Sophisticated Lady
3. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
4. Black And Tan Fantasy
5. Mood Indigo
6. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
7. Solitude
8. Caravan

Year: 1955
Label: Riverside

Musicians:
Thelonious Monk: Piano
Kenny Clarke: drums
Oscar Pettiford: basso

Free sheet music: John Philip Sousa - The Washington Post

This was the first score I created for the Mutopia Project, a piano version of The Washington Post march by John Philip Sousa. I must tell you I love marching band music because I play alto saxophone in my hometown's municipal Marching/Concert Band.

John Philip Sousa - The Washington Post - Upload a Document to Scribd

Reference original version: D. Davis & Co. Sydney, 1890




Creative Commons License.

Listen: to this music

computer generated audio file

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