San Diego Reader

Lori Bell: Flute

Genre: Covers | Standards, Jazz

Sound description: Thelonious Monk meets melodious flute.

RIYL: Charlie Parker, the Gershwins

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Related Links

• Lori Bell website

• Jam Session: "And the Global Music Award Winner Is...Lori Bell" · Dec. 23, 2011

Synoposis

Influences: Djavan, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, George and Ira Gershwin

Background:

Jazz flutist and composer Lori Bell records as a solo artist, as well as recording and performing with the Lori Bell Trio. An unusually versatile musician, Bell can navigate the intricate harmonies of bebop, explore the sensual rhythms of Brazilian music or flirt with the edges of the "extended-techniques" of more modern jazz. In addition she is well versed in classical music, having played eight classical recitals in the last year. " I love playing classical music, because it keeps my on my toes, and gives me inspiration for improvising," she says.

A touchstone in the San Diego jazz community for many years, she initially made her local presence known in the 1980s with her contribution to the Peter Sprague/Dance of the Universe record The Space Between Two Thoughts.

Her first national exposure came on a Dave Mackay release Love Will Win (Discovery Records) with Mackay on piano and Andy Simpkins on bass, which earned a four and a half star (out of five) rating from the iconic LA Times jazz critic Leonard Feather, and made the Grammy list for Best New Artist.

Her self-titled 2002 full-length on Beezwax Records features veteran LA pianist Dave Mackay, Kevin Hennessy on bass, Ron Satterfield on guitar/keyboards, and Duncan Moore on drums. It featured four or her original tunes, and was arranged by Bell as well.

In 2008, Bell signed a multi-album deal with Resonance Records. Her subsequent full-length The Music of Djavan, paying tribute to the Brazillian songwriter, was nominated for Best Jazz Album at the 2009 San Diego Music Awards.

Bell has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Best Contemporary Jazz Album, Best New Artist, Best Instrumental Composition, Best Instrumental Arrangement, and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. In 2011, she received an Award Of Excellence from the GMA, (Global Music Awards).

"I found out about it, (the award), from the faculty at SDSU, who encouraged me to apply, then from I got a letter from GMA saying I won! I've been getting phone calls ever since," says Bell.

The award is for composing and arranging, and Bell used her 2002 release on Beezwax Records, Lori Bell for the application, because "it featured four original tunes, and I did all of the arranging."

Bell is a Professor of Flute at SDSU, teaching classical foundation and jazz improvisation. In late 2011, Bell announced her plan to release her first classical music CD, featuring an all 20th Century program of composers Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Paul Hindemith, arranged in duet with longtime musical associate Diane Snodgrass.

She received a 2011 Award Of Excellence from the GMA (Global Music Awards).

Discography