What to look for in the new year

What’s up in 2003 for jazz and world music? Quite a bit, most of it favorable, but with some aspects inevitably reflecting the general sense of uncertainty throughout the music business in the post-Sept. 11 world. Here’s my list of 10 developments to watch in the two genres as 2003 unfolds:

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The continuing saga of female jazz singers. This year, the ball took at least one unexpected bounce in the female jazz vocalist category. Norah Jones, initially surfacing as a nominal jazz singer, largely due to her presence on the jazz-oriented Blue Note label, turned out to be a multimillion-selling pop artist with a distinctly country orientation. Will she return to her jazz roots in 2003? Don’t count on it. The sale of 3 million records makes a persuasive case to keep on keeping on with what she did in “Come Away With Me.”

Among other jazz singers, Diana Krall (who started the recent rush of new arrivals) will finally release a new album. And the same question arises: Will she return to her fundamental jazz roots? In her case, the answer may well be yes. Jane Monheit’s 2003 release, meanwhile, will have to persuade the jazz audience that she can make a recording that swings as convincingly as her live performances. Lizz Wright, meanwhile, a much-touted young artist waiting in the wings, will finally have a CD proving, or disproving, the accuracy of the advance buzz about her singing.

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Doing it themselves. Pop-folk singer Ani DiFranco’s success with her own go-it-alone record company is reverberating in the jazz world with new labels run by saxophonist Branford Marsalis (Marsalis Music) and George Duke (BigPiano Music). The initial releases feature the two principals, and the real test will come when they must find a balance between art and commerce in other performers they sign.

Jazz artists have been issuing their own albums for years, mostly as a matter of necessity. It remains to be seen whether the Marsalis and Duke efforts are evidence of a new trend or simply another approach to boutique recordings.

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In the grooves -- uh, in the bytes, that is. Plenty of new jazz releases will arrive in the first few months of 2003 (later dates are still unannounced), among them CDs from Jason Moran, Dianne Reeves, the Benny Green and Russell Malone duo, the super group Scolohofo (John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland and Al Foster), Manhattan Transfer, Dave Brubeck and Freddy Cole.

In other label developments, 2003 should see some interesting results from the presence of veteran jazz producers Joel Dorn at Hyena Records and Steve Backer at the reconstituted Savoy Records.

Also worth noting, Concord Records celebrates its 30th anniversary with a flow of new releases, including 30 albums mixed and mastered in the new SACD format (which is compatible with current compact disc players).

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Jazz at the Philharmonic. The L.A. Philharmonic’s appointment of singer Reeves as the creative chair for jazz opens up a potentially large window for the music’s exposure. With eight Hollywood Bowl concerts and events at the new Walt Disney Concert Hall to program, Reeves has the opportunity to bring an unprecedented amount of authentic jazz to Southland audiences.

Centennials galore -- with one big one. It’s amazing how many 100th anniversaries of major jazz artists are occurring in 2003. Pioneering violinist Joe Venuti, the great pianist and bandleader Earl “Fatha” Hines, blues great Jimmy Rushing, alto saxophonist Hilton Jefferson, bandleader-pianist Claude Hopkins.

And -- the big one -- trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke, the model for the shooting star, burn-out-early, stereotypical image of the jazzman, but nonetheless one of the music’s primary figures. Expect to see numerous reissue collections.

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Catalina finds a new spot. Jazz fans who have been daunted by the current Cahuenga Boulevard location of Catalina Bar & Grill will be pleased to hear that Catalina Popescu, the club’s founder and guiding light, plans to reopen in a larger, Sunset Boulevard location at a still undetermined date in 2003. Larger in size, with a patio and a nearby parking structure, the new room should make Catalina an even more engaging location to hear world-class jazz artists.

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Year of the Blues. One of the more vital currents flowing into jazz has always been the blues, so the designation of 2003 as the Year of the Blues has significance for jazz as well. The media centerpiece for the celebration is “The Blues,” a series of seven 90-minute films produced by Martin Scorsese and scheduled for the fall on PBS, embracing the history of the blues. But live performances and events, many jazz-related, will take place throughout the year. Best place for info: www.yearoftheblues.org.

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Who’s arriving and who isn’t? There have been continuing cancellations of appearances by world music acts, especially those from the Middle East, since Sept. 11. Will the trend continue in 2003? The answer is obviously directly tied to a potential war in Iraq.

Performances in the next few months that could be affected: KODO (February), the Buena Vista Social Club (April), Youssou N’Dour (May) and Ustad Vilayat Khan (May) at UCLA, Habib Koite and Bamada (January) at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, and the Scots Guards Band (March) at the Cerritos Center.

But the greatest effect may well be upon the summer world music series at the Hollywood Bowl. Stay tuned to the news and in touch with box offices.

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World roots music. Before world music became a genre in itself, listeners looking beyond pop, jazz and classical had to scour the “ethnic music” bins to find sounds from other parts of the globe. Until the Nonesuch Explorer series, that is, which released, from 1967 to 1984, an enormous collection of recordings made in the field in every area of the globe. Nonesuch is now releasing this extremely valuable, compelling collection of music on CDs in issues grouped by global region. The first set of 13, released late in 2002, was devoted to African music. The next set, scheduled for January, will consist of 10 titles from Indonesia and the South Pacific -- each a precious window into another culture.

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A final thought. This column has long campaigned for a national jazz artists support organization -- one that takes into account the need for medical insurance, pension plans, financial advice, and management and promotion support. It hasn’t happened yet. But if it comes together in 2003, that alone will make it a year to remember.