Acclaimed jazz musicians Justo Almario and Tamir Hendelman talked to Larry about the uniting influence of jazz and their upcoming appearance at the Playboy Jazz Festival’s free community concert at the Beverly Hills Civic Center on May 1st. Cuban-born Almario incorporates a musical melting pot of styles into his distinctive saxophone playing and has performed with such marquee acts as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Linda Ronstadt and Charles Mingus. Tamir Hendelman started at the piano at the tender age of 6 in Israel and had moved to the US and won Yamaha’s National Keyboard competition by age 14. His fluid piano playing can be heard accompanying Barbara Streisand and Natalie Cole as well as with his own trio. Almario’s Afro-Cuban ensemble will share the stage with Hendelman’s trio at 3pm on Sunday in a preview of the upcoming 33rd Playboy Jazz Festival in June. What role does jazz play in modern music? Is jazz America’s finest musical export?
Guests:
Justo Almario, master saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, and arranger; his style is a fusion of Jazz, South American, and other world rhythms; Mr. Almario’s sounds have been heard in Grammy Award winning works such as Linda Ronstadt’s “Frenesi,” Placido Domingo’s “A Mi Alma Latina,” Luis Miguel’s “Romance,” Andrae Crouch’s “Mercy,” and Isreal Lopez Cachao’s “Master Sessions” & “Ahora Si,” as well as the Oscar winning soundtracks from Happy Feet, Sideways and the recently released 3D animated film Rio
Tamir Hendelman, Award-winning jazz pianist who has performed with the Jeff Hamilton Trio, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Harry Allen, Teddy Edwards, Warren Vache, Houston Person, Jeff Clayton, Nick Brignola, Phil Upchurch, Rickey Woodard, John Clayton and Barbara Morrison; he also leads his own trio and his debut CD "Playground" features him in this trio setting