Crooks and Liars (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
Title: My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style Artist: Dream Warriors Hip hop jazz and toasting from Toronto. Who knew? I kid, I kid. They’re actually very polite. My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style I love the fusion of jazz and hip hop. Both are dynamic styles, whose artists make up new rules as they go along. Hip hop looked to jazz for funky hooks, break beats and themes to create tonal...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 03/10/2009
Duke Ellington The Great Concerts (London and New York 1963-1964) Musicmasters-Nimbus 2009 Various Artists The Duke of Elegant HighNote 2009 "First of all the kids in the band want you to know they love you madly" are debonair {{Duke Ellington = 6521}}'s playful opening remarks on this live concert set. Those "kids" he refers to are an incredible array of virtuoso sidemen, among...
bebop spoken here (Free subscription) | 20/08/2009
Dave Weisser (tpt/vcl), Paul Gowland, Dr. Steve Sutton (tenors), Laurie Brown (vibes/drums), Barry Ashcroft (pno), Jim Crinson (bs), Solly Bashiri (dms). + Harley Johnson & Chris Finch (pno). Tonight began very low key - no drums, Eric had a last minute emergency and couldn't make it. So it began as a quartet - Dave, Jim, Barry and Laurie. The vibes gave it a Shearing cum MJQ sound with Dave throwing...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 24/07/2009
This excerpt appears in The Boy Who Cried Freebird: Rock and Roll Fables and Sonic Storytelling (Harper Paperbacks, 2008). I tried calling my good pal Harlan the other day. I needed some help with my computer and if anyone knows about computers, it's Harlan. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, my friend was nowhere to be found. Instead, Harlan's voicemail greeting confronted me...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 12/07/2009
All About Jazz is celebrating Paul Gonsalves' birthday today! JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Paul GonsalvesPaul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone (1920 - 1974) Although his reputation is often hung upon the mighty gallery-rousing performance he gave at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival with Duke Ellington... more...
Boxing Blog - TheSweetScience.com (Free subscription) | 01/06/2009
Pro-Am boxing card to rock historic Plymouth “Brawl At The Hall,” June 12 at Memorial Hall PROVIDENCE (June 1, 2009) – Pro boxing returns June 12 to Plymouth as Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES) presents a rare pro-am card, “Brawl At The Hall,” at historic Plymouth Memorial Hall. “Brawl At The Hall” is the second ...
Rifftides (Free subscription) | 28/05/2009
There is little question that the 1940-41 edition of the Duke Ellington orchestra, the so-called Blanton-Webster band, was Ellington's finest. Legions of Ellington lovers have listened to it so often that they can sing along with its arrangements and the...
Blog-O-Jazz (Free subscription) | 22/03/2009
File this under "Things jazz musicians had to do to survive the rock and roll era." Those sleeves!!!!!!!! With Cat Anderson, Mercer Ellington, Cootie Williams - trumpets; Booty Wood, Charles Connors - trombones; Johnny Hodges, Norris Turney - alto sax; Paul Gonsalves, Harold Ashby - tenor sax; Russell Procope - baritone sax(!) [Harry Carney picked a good day to call in sick]; Wild Bill Davis...
Blog-O-Jazz (Free subscription) | 27/05/2008
The Duke Ellington Society has adopted the term "usual suspects" to describe the more common of Ellington songs ("Mood Indigo", "Take the 'A' Train", "Solitude", etc.) used in the various covers and tributes that have taken place over the years. Fortunately, there are those that venture beyond the obvious. Tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton's new release is entitled...
Diner's journal by Frank Bruni (Free subscription) | 11/03/2008
The music at Central Michel Richard in Washington.
Mike's Noise (Free subscription) | 14/02/2008
The spotlight of this post shines on Duke Ellington, as we watch performances of two of Ellington's best-known compositions, "Perdido" and "Caravan," featuring solos by two of my favorite drummers, Sam Woodyard and "Papa" Jo Jones. First, Duke Ellington, Willie...
LP Cover Lover (Free subscription) | 21/11/2007
I love Paul Gonsalves. Maybe first from hearing and reading the liner notes to the incredible “Duke Ellington at Newport 1956″ record when his 27-chorus solo on “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue” turned the staid New England patrons into a frenzied crowd. But then from digging deeper into his smaller group sessions on Impulse (”Tell [...]
Rifftides (Free subscription) | 16/10/2007
Harry Whitaker, Thoughts (Past And Present) [Smalls]. Whitaker has been a working pianist since he...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 12/10/2007
Jon-Erik Kellso is much like Ruby Braff in some ways: playing cornet rather than trumpet, with a very personal sound and an affinity for earlier musical styles like classic jazz and swing. He also recorded as a sideman with Braff and appeared on numerous record dates with traditional, swing or mainstream bands led by Ralph Sutton, Dan Barrett, Bob Wilber, James Dapogny and others...
uTopianTurtleTop (Free subscription) | 29/07/2007
"Lush Life," the Billy Strayhorn song as sung by Johnny Hartman, accompanied by John Coltrane and his quartet -- the most "lush" of versions, except the song plays on the other meaning of "lush," as in, drunk. As in, alcoholic. Strayhorn was in fact an alcoholic. But, listening, I feel the lushness of loneliness. Late night music. * * * * * "Cocktails for Two,"...
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