Rifftides

Grover Washington, Jr., was born on this day in 1943 and died on December 17, 1999. He was a tenor and soprano saxophonist who had huge success as a popular artist, in great part because his 1974 album Mister Magic was high on the pop, soul and R&B charts for weeks. He followed with additional best-selling albums and singles. Predictably, his ability as a hit-maker had critics reaching for their sharp knives, but far from being a sellout, Washington was a superbly inventive jazz soloist whose … [Read more...]

The two volumes of Dave Brubeck’s Jazz at the College of the Pacific on the Fantasy label have never received quite the degree of acclaim that met Jazz at Oberlin, recorded earlier in 1953. That’s a puzzle; The C.O.P. albums often equal the brilliance of Oberlin and of the phenomenally successful Jazz Goes to College, the quartet’s first LP for Columbia. Having blazed the trail that opened college campuses to performances by major jazz groups, Brubeck's C.O.P. concert was a triumphal return … [Read more...]

Devra Hall Levy informed friends this morning that her father died last night in his sleep at home in New York, six days following his 83rd birthday. In her message, Ms. Levy wrote from Los Angeles, “He was not feeling well, but had not to my knowledge been diagnosed with any particular illness.” Jim Hall was born in Buffalo, New York, raised in Cleveland and received his formal musical education at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The guitarist performed steadily into his eighties, … [Read more...]

The cover photo of the out-of-print 1981 album to the left appears to show Jack Sheldon playing his trumpet left-handed. Whether someone reversed the picture by mistake or as an ironic turn on the album title is beside the point. It turned out to be prophetic. Left-handed is the only way Sheldon can play now. His ability to do so is a testament to his courage in fighting his way back following a stroke that deprived him of the use of his right arm. He was forced to retool or stop playing. … [Read more...]

In millions of ways, the world tonight is remembering Nelson Mandela. Music is one way. I have found no more powerful expression of what Mandela fought for and against in South Africa all of his life than this performance by Hugh Masakela. It was at a festival on Clapham Common south of London in 1986, four years before Mandela’s 27-year prison sentence ended. Eight years later, Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected black president, changing his nation and in many … [Read more...]

1. Today, a year following Dave Brubeck’s death, a new website celebrates his life and music. 2. We relay an announcement that one of the finest jazz repertory orchestras will broadcast a program of Brubeck compositions. As John Bolger’s Dave Brubeck Jazz.com debuts, the Irish Brubeck maven has unveiled an impressive site. In the “About” section, he outlines his ambitious goal: The primary purpose was to detail the entire catalogue of Dave‘s music, recorded over eight decades, so that … [Read more...]

Chico Hamilton’s drumming with the original Gerry Mulligan Quartet and his own small groups helped introduce many young listeners to jazz in the 1950s. His death last week in New York brought a reaction from Don Conner that may strike a chord with other Rifftides readers. R.I.P.Chico Hamilton! Chico died recently at 92. This was meaningful to me as Chico's group was the first live band I'd ever heard. I was 18 and L.A. was dark and mysterious. I was in the military. Needless to say, my … [Read more...]

It's December and the gentleman to the left is calling your attention to the new Rifftides batch of things that we recommend you hear, watch and read. The CD suggestions include an indispensable collaboration finally being reissued after half a century, a mainstream trio and a decidedly un-mainstream quartet. The DVD catches Thelonious Monk concertizing in Paris. The book is a biography of one of the most public and most elusive of major jazz artists. The notices will appear under Doug's Picks … [Read more...]

In the wake of the British Broadcasting Corporation's recent programs about Bill Evans, Rifftides reader Brenton Plourde notifies us of a new BBC series to be streamed on the internet. Beginning tomorrow, Geoffrey Smith's Jazz on BBC Radio 3 will air a weeklong series about Paul Desmond and his music. The BBC's preview page does not make clear whether the shows will be available to web listeners outside the United Kingdom. For an advance look at the program rundown, go here. … [Read more...]

This is a national holiday in the United States, important ever since the newly arrived Pilgrims and the native Wampanoag gave thanks in 1621. To Americans observing it, the Rifftides staff sends wishes for a happy Thanksgiving. To readers in the US and around the world: thank you for your interest, readership and comments. … [Read more...]

Every November 25th since Rifftides debuted in 2005, we observe Paul Desmond’s birthday. He was born in San Francisco on this date in 1924, which, that year, was Thanksgiving. To the left, we see Desmond six months before he died in May of 1977. He’s watching Jim Hall carve the turkey that Jim’s daughter Devra prepared when she hosted her parents and Paul for a 1976 Thanksgiving dinner at her New York apartment. Longtime recording partners, Desmond and Hall were close friends. One of their rare … [Read more...]

Nearly all Americans who were alive when President Kennedy was murdered remember how and where they got the news. In announcing her revitalized blog, Carol Sloane asked her contacts to recall what they were doing on November 22, 1963. This is what I sent her: My camera crew and I were in the ballroom of the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon, interviewing Denise Tourover, the national head of Hadassah. Mrs. Tourover was from Washington DC. She was a friend of the Kennedys. I had just … [Read more...]

In a pair of duo albums the protean Robinson confines himself to 10 instruments from his arsenal. Alphabetically, they range from alto sax to zither, sonically from the rumbling contrabass saxophone to the altissimo twittering of the sopranino sax. His accompanists are pianists, although in Záhadná Emil Viklický also plays organ and solovox and in Afar Frank Kimbrough doubles on electronic harpsichord, clavioline and two kinds of organ. As for the music, you were expecting maybe the Great … [Read more...]

It dawned on me this evening that the post below was not the first time that Rifftides has addressed the question of Diana Krall's popularity in the context of arguments about the quality of her artistry. An item from three-and-a-half years ago makes some of the same points. More important, it contains a video clip from a Paris concert that is worth seeing and hearing. It also has a quote from and a link to an astute article about Ms. Krall by the late Gene Lees. To find the May, 2010 post, … [Read more...]

Most of the sniping about Diana Krall follows the pattern of fire that successful jazz artists have long drawn when they achieve even moderate success in the commerce of show business. The list of those charged with selling out when they became solvent includes Nat Cole, Dave Brubeck, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Wes Montgomery, Cannonball Adderley and, in his final crossover phase, Miles Davis. In recent years, market demand for jazz has not been high enough to develop many targets for critics who … [Read more...]