David Berger, leader of the Sultans of Swing, is an esteemed arranger who might be called a Duke Ellington specialist except that he is expert in all areas of big band jazz. He created The Harlem Nutcracker, incorporating new arrangements of Tchaikovsky pieces that Ellington and Billy Strayhorn … [Read more...]
Archives for December 22, 2006
Correspondence: Nica And Monk
Rifftides reader Jim Sofra writes: Excellent topic, enjoyed it immensely! We were recently listening to 'Nicas Dream' and Monk and the stories started coming out about how Nica was devoted to the musicians in her life. Heres a pic of her with Theolonius Monk, one of my favorite pix of him as well. … [Read more...]