Rifftides

Danny Janklow, Elevation (OutsideIn Music) Having made a splash in Los Angeles, the alto saxophonist Danny Janklow debuts on record as a leader showing confidence and depth of musicianship uncommon for a 25-year-old. Joined by the veteran pianists John Beasley and Eric Reed and a handful of impressive young contemporaries, Janklow’s playing and writing are effective from beginning to nearly the end of his album. Reflecting his native California roots and his education at Philadelphia’s Temple … [Read more...]

The poet Richard Wilbur died over the weekend. He was 96. A former poet laureate of The United States and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, Wilbur was praised and criticized for the consistency of form in his poems, which were beloved and sometimes condemned in the poetry world for being orderly and following classic styles; sonnet, terza rima, couplet, et al, but—to my knowledge—never free verse or blank verse. When I first read it decades ago, this poem became a favorite among Wilbur's … [Read more...]

Of course, you are not superstitious about Friday the 13th; it’s all of those silly other people. Thelonious Monk must not have been worried by it, or he wouldn’t have named a composition after this notoriously risky day. Its performance was one of the highlights of his celebrated recording made at New York’s Town Hall in February of 1959. The other musicians in the ten-piece ensemble were Donald Byrd, trumpet; Eddie Bert, trombone; Robert Northern, French horn; Jay McCallister, tuba; Phil … [Read more...]

Grady Tate died on Sunday at his home in New York City. He was 85. His wife Vivian said that he had dementia. In demand for years as a drummer, he was encouraged by Peggy Lee to begin singing publicly and launched a new career as a vocalist. Tate’s professional debut was with the organist Wild Bill Davis in 1959. In the decades that followed, he worked with major jazz artists including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Oliver Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie, Lena Horne, Wes Montgomery, Stan … [Read more...]

Rifftides readers may recall that three years ago I was asked to spend a few days in Los Angeles interviewing Bill Holman for a documentary about his life and music. The dean of living jazz arrangers is 90 years old, still at the helm of his big band and the idol of arrangers around the world who continue to benefit from his example. The film, produced by his step-daughter Kathryn King—a seasoned information and video pro—is unfinished because its budget is underfunded. Ms. King has … [Read more...]

This is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Thelonious Monk. I've never given it much thought, but if you’re astrologically inclined it makes sense that he was a Libra. From the beginning, some fellow musicians and close listeners recognized Monk’s unique abilities and piquant musicality. Those less receptive, or unwilling to hear out of the mainstream jazz boxes of the late 1930s and early forties, were amused or puzzled by Monk’s way with the piano. It took years for many to embrace the … [Read more...]

The time when most recordings came from a handful of major labels is long past. As I have observed—with only enough exaggeration to make the point—now, every 18-year-old tenor player can be a record company. He or she can take advantage of technology and economies of scale that make it possible to record, package and market an album at a tiny fraction of what it cost in the days when the major labels ruled the record business. One result is that new jazz recordings stream into Rifftides world … [Read more...]

From Hollywood comes an announcement by The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts that on October 15 the Harlem Quartet will perform at the center. The ensemble from upper Manhattan specializes not only in the usual suspects among classical composers for string quartet—Schubert, Grieg, Debussy, Barber, et al—but they also regularly perform pieces by Leonard Bernstein, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chick Corea, Billy Strayhorn and Dizzy Gillespie. The best classical musicians have long had the … [Read more...]

Speaking of that cooperative venture with pianist Bill Mays (weren't we?), on his website Bill posted the answer to a problem that may have stumped some Rifftides readers. Here is his solution: Ah, technology…when Doug Ramsey and I recently made our concert, A Brief History Of Jazz Piano, available as a free “digital download” a few of you folks (including my 100-year-old aunt) were stymied as to how to “do it”. Sorry for any confusion. Here’s how: if you click HERE you’ll be taken to Dropbox. … [Read more...]

It is unlikely that computer virtuosos Ryan and Trenton at Efcom, the Mac Store, used wrenches and screwdrivers to revive the Rifftides headquarters computer. Still, whatever tools and methods they employed, their magic brought the machine back to life much sooner than the estimate of several days. They made it possible for us to blog again. The gratitude of the Rifftides staff could not be adequately  expressed using mere words, so we looked for a way to do it with music. The staff found the … [Read more...]

Increasingly, radio and television newscasts include stories in which anchors interview correspondents in the field. That is part of a pattern: reduced news budgets, smaller staffs and greater dependence on the survivors of newsroom cuts. Anchors, of course, also conduct interviews with newsmakers, hundreds of them a day across the broadcast spectrum. Listeners accustomed to English spoken properly may be nonplussed, even irritated, when interviewees begin their answers with "So——." It happens … [Read more...]

Wynton Kelly Trio, Wes Montgomery, Smokin’ In Seattle (Resonance) The Resonance Records label’s stream of previously unreleased music includes a collaboration of guitarist Wes Montgomery (1925-1968) and pianist Wynton Kelly (1931-1971) that is a major addition to the discographies of both musicians. The recording captures them in the spring of 1966 at The Penthouse, a Seattle jazz club that managed to flourish in an era when the Beatles invasion and the steady inroads of rock and roll were … [Read more...]

  Pete Turner, the photgrapher whose work became cover art for dozens of memorable jazz albums,has died at 83. His pictures, including the one above, often appeared on albums of Creed Taylor’s CTI label in the 1960s and ‘70s. Following the digital revolution, CTI also used them on CD reissues of classic albums. For more about Turner, including photos of some of his other covers, see Nate Chinen’s article on WBGO’s website. While we acknowledge Turner’s artistry, let’s listen to a … [Read more...]

Dick Titterington, The 3 Trumpet Band Live at The 1905 (Heavywood) The 3 Trumpet Band recorded their third album before an audience at The 1905, an upscale pizza emporium on the east side of Portland, Oregon. Some reviewers have called the place the successor to the belated Jimmy Mak’s club. That’s a stretch, but the night Dick Titterington and his sextet recorded this album there, listeners might have been persuaded that it was so. Trumpeters Titterington, Paul Mazzio and Thomas Barber are … [Read more...]

Bob Dietsche, Tatum’s Town (Bobson Press) Most Art Tatum devotees know that Toledo, Ohio, was his hometown. It was where his genius became evident when he was a teenaged Fats Waller disciple. Many Tatum fans may not know that Toledo’s active jazz community in the 1920s and ‘30s included a number of musicians destined to become important jazz artists. Among them were trombonist Jimmy Harrison, guitarist Arv Garrison, Count Basie saxophonist Candy Johnson and, later, younger musicians like … [Read more...]

Victor Gould, Clockwork (Fresh Sound New Talent) A Los Angeles native now in New York, pianist Gould debuts as a leader in an album showcasing him and an impressive collection of established musicians. He apprenticed as a sideman with, among other leader, Vincent Herring, Wallace Roney and Ralph Peterson. As a composer and arranger Gould works in a wide instrumental spectrum. His pieces range from the fleet “Sir Carter” in a trio with E.J. Strickland and bassist Ben Williams, to compositions … [Read more...]

Thanks to Steven Cerra of Jazz Profiles for including, in his recent profile of Stan Getz, notes that I wrote for the box set reissue of Getz’s recordings for the Roost label. As Steve mentions in his introduction, Getz’s elegant work toward the end of his life tends to obscure what he achieved with his Roost sessions in the early 1950s. His recordings with groups featuring guitarist Jimmy Raney and pianist Horace Silver are from an important early period in his success. The collection has a … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader and audio chronicler Mike Harris writes: 37th anniversary of death of pianist Bill Evans. Worth a tip of the cap? Worth more than that. It’s worth reminding us all, if we need reminding, of how much we lost on this day in 1980. Here’s Bill Evans recorded secretly by Mr. Harris at the Village Vanguard in 1967. Eddie Gomez is the bassist. Philly Joe Jones is the drummer. Mike Harris’s surreptitious, long-since-approved, recordings of Bill Evans are contained in an … [Read more...]

Rifftides readers asked if it would ever be available, so Bill Mays and I offer a performance of our History Of Jazz Piano project at no charge. Following a good deal of attention to technical detail and a thorough audio remastering, the concert is a free download on Bill’s website at this internet address (that link will take you there if you click on it). We have performed the History three times in various parts of the world and plan to do further versions of it at festivals. The … [Read more...]

Jason Rigby Detroit-Cleveland Trio, ONE (Fresh Sound New Talent) The simplicity of the Rigby Trio’s cover design matches the uncomplicated instrumentation—saxophone, bass and drums. It is a configuration used to great effect by Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman in classic recordings when they were at the height of their powers. Whether the 42-year-old Rigby has reached that stage in his career remains to be heard, but in this 2016 album he affirms his skill as an improviser on tenor and … [Read more...]

Tim Hagans, NDR Bigband, <em>Faces Under The Influence: A Jazz Tribute to John Cassavetes</em/>, Waiting Moon Records In this work inspired by American independent film pioneer John Cassavetes (1929-1989), Hagans triumphs as composer, trumpet soloist and producer. He bases his tribute in impressions of characters in six Cassavetes films, plus a piece named for the director. Devotees of Cassavetes’ movies will recognize the names of the characters, beginning with “Lelia” from … [Read more...]