The Rifftides staff was surprised and pleased to find Rifftides praised in Beckey Bright's "Blog Watch" column in today's Wall Street Journal. Ms. Bright also singles out Ethan Iverson's Do The Math and Jeffrey Siegel's Straight No Chaser. Her other topic today is weddings. To read "Blog Watch" and find links to Iverson and Siegel, go here. … [Read more...]

Gap Mangione writes from Rochester, New York, about the deaths of saxophonist Gerry Niewood and guitarist Coleman Mellett in last Thursday's plane crash near Buffalo. The three were to have played a concert that night in Buffalo with Chuck Mangione: We gathered at the hotel Thursday night. Chuck flew in from Florida to conduct and play a concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic. Janet and I drove in so that we could have a Valentine's dinner that night and so that I could play and solo in the … [Read more...]

Three days of music are echoing in my head. My notebook is full. As I drive through the gorgeous Columbia River Gorge on the way back to Rifftides World Headquarters, I'll be thinking about how to boil down hours and hours of listening into a cogent report or two. For now, suffice it to tell you that the Portland Jazz Festival, saved more or less at the last moment from extinction, rallied, is a success and has matured into one of the finest jazz festivals in the world. As I motor along, I may … [Read more...]

(Portland, Oregon) - At the Portland Jazz Festival between concerts and after hours, much of the talk among musicians is about the death of Gerry Niewood. The saxophonist was one of 50 people who died in a plane crash Thursday night near Buffalo, New York. He and guitarist Coleman Mellett were on their way to Buffalo to perform with Chuck Mangione's band. Mellett was also killed in the crash. Niewood was a childhood friend of Mangione. He and the trumpeter played together in youth bands … [Read more...]

Early this morning, I'll be off to Portland, Oregon, one of my favorite former home towns. I lived there for three years long ago when my television news career was getting into gear -- the second-gear phase, I suppose. The occasion is the first weekend of the Portland Jazz Festival, rescued from the budget shortfall that canceled it for a time. For details of the bailout go here. It has nothing to do with the Obama stimulus plan. For the festival lineup, go here. It is a joy to be in … [Read more...]

Dave Frishberg writes with important information on a matter raised in the previous entry. I'm reading the Rifftides discussion about Blossom Dearie and Bill Evans, and who influenced who. I'd like to add my comment: During the late sixties I played a couple weeks solo opposite the Bill Evans Trio at the Village Gate on Bleecker St, and had some conversations with Bill. I asked him how he came upon his piled-fourths voicing of chords, and his immediate answer was that he heard Blossom Dearie … [Read more...]

When Blossom Dearie died at 82 over the weekend, we lost a brilliant musician whose subtle artistry and private nature conspired to limit her popularity. There was nothing about her "teacup voice," as Whitney Balliett described it, or her sophisticated harmonic sense at the piano that could have led to mass adoration. Nonetheless, for decades she was idolized by a substantial base of listeners charmed by her singing and of musicians who admired her integration of vocal performance with … [Read more...]

Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Niels-Henning Ørsted-Pedersen, Martin Drew … [Read more...]

In the act of playing music, it is impossible to separate the process from the product. Or, it was. In an important piece of journalism, Eric Felten turns a floodlight on the technological airbrushing of live performances in an effort to insure perfection. Felten's Wall Street Journal essay emphasizes that two recent massive public events in the United States masked actual performance. One was the Super Bowl, with Jennifer Hudson singing "The Star Spangled Banner." The other was President … [Read more...]

Response to the Rifftides post on hard bop has created a lively discussion. You can read the comments here. In addition to the Savoy CD called Hard Bop that was, more or less, the focus of the piece, the commenters mention or allude to other albums. If you're thinking of expanding the hard bop (if there is such a thing) section of your library, or starting one, here are a few worthy candidates. Other nominations will be accepted in the "Comments" section. The links will take you to Amazon.com … [Read more...]

War worries have you gloomy?  Depressed over the recession? Investments tanking? Coming down with something and can't pay your health insurance premium? Take this advice (click here) from a great philosopher. … [Read more...]

You get that right-tickin' rhythm, man, and it's ON! So easy, when you know how. One never knows, do one? … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader and occasional correspondent Red Colm O'Sullivan writes from Ireland (where else, with a name like that?): And here's another frequently used term that has no meaning whatsoever: "Hard Bop". I have NO IDEA what that MEANS (as opposed to supposed to mean).That brought to mind something I wrote for a 2000 compilation CD on the Savoy label. The two-disc album was called The Birth of Hard Bop. It was made up of music recorded in 1956 by groups under the leadership of Donald Byrd, … [Read more...]

In a posting a few months ago, I outlined the problem that all who write about music must face: keeping up. Nothing has changed, except that more CDs than ever are stacked throughout the office and music room. A colleague says he told a caller demanding to know when his album would be reviewed that his desktop looked like the Manhattan skyline, "and your CD is on the 44th floor." Following are recommendations for three CDs retrieved from the jewel box skyscrapers.  Tamir Hendelman, Playground … [Read more...]

Aaron Irwin Group, Blood and Thunder (Fresh Sound New Talent). In a tray card photograph, we see the 30-year-old alto saxophonist drinking a glass of milk and looking about eighteen. Irwin's compositions and arrangements have a concomitant freshness about them, and resourcefulness. His writing tends to make his quintet sound bigger. There is no piano; Ben Monder's guitar has the chording assignment. Chris Cheek's tenor sax adds a third melody voice. Both solo with economy and plenty of … [Read more...]

Hank Crawford, another of the cadre of Ray Charles saxophonists who went on to their own fame, died on January 29. David "Fathead" Newman and Leroy "Hog" Cooper, Crawford's colleagues in the Charles band, died earlier last month. Crawford's alto, Newman's tenor and Cooper's baritone saxophones were integral to Charles's big band in the 1950s and early '60s.  Crawford's recording and touring bands were among the finest medium-sized groups of the era. Some of his earliest and best work is … [Read more...]