Archives for March 25, 2009

Other Places: Speaking Of Bill Kirchner

March 25, 2009 by Doug Ramsey

Marc Myers, the proprietor of the blog called JazzWax, audited one of the polymath Mr. Kirchner's classes at the New School and filed a report that begins: Bill's two-hour class took his 40 students through Miles Davis' bio and recordings, complete with 13 prime audio examples. The sound system in the New School's fifth floor "performance space" is sensational. Each digital recording was vivid and exciting and rich with warm sonic detail. In between tracks, Bill filled in the blanks with … [Read more...]

Compatible Quotes: Miles Davis

March 25, 2009 by Doug Ramsey

I would go to the library and borrow scores by all those great composers, like Stravinsky, Alban Berg, Prokofiev. I wanted to see what was going on in all of music. Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery, and I just couldn't believe someone could be that close to freedom and not take advantage of it. It was because of Bill [Evans]'s influence, I think, that I always had classical music on around the house. It was so soothing to think and work by. I mean people would come by and expect to … [Read more...]

Monday Recommendation: A Captivating Book Of Photos

Jean-Pierre Leloir, Jazz Images (Elemental) Jean-Pierre Leloir, who died in 2010, left a remarkable legacy of photographs from his work in the years when France was a destination for, and in a few cases home to, many of the world’s principal jazz musicians. The technical perfection of Leloir’s photographs was matched by his ability to […]

Recommendation: Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975

Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975:The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4 (Columbia/Legacy) Miles Davis’s importance and recognition grew dramatically in the decades covered by the recordings on these four volumes. When he played in an all-star group at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, the trumpeter was barely known to the general public. By the end of the […]

Monday Recommendation: Mat Walerian

Mat Walerian, Matthew Shipp, Hamid Drake, Jungle: Live At Okuden (ESP-Disk) His adventurism ranges far and he occasionally makes harsh sounds, but Polish reed artist Mat Walerian ultimately projects a calming effect not often found in avant garde music. The album is from the concert that produced a previous Walerian album with American pianist Matthew […]

Monday Recommendation: Broadbent And Mancio

Georgia Mancio, Alan Broadbent, Songbook (Roomspin Records) Pianist and composer Alan Broadbent has found his lyricist. Further good news: in their Songbook, Georgia Mancio sings her words to Broadbent’s songs with taste, feeling and faultless intonation. Their collaboration began after the Anglo-Italian singer wrote a lyric to “The Long Goodbye,” a Broadbent composition for Charlie […]

Monday Recommendation: Fay Claassen

Fay Claassen, Luck Child (Challenge) With exceptions, the Dutch singer departs from her incomparable interpretations of standard songs to explore contemporary pieces. They include the title tune written by guitarist Leni Stern, originally an instrumental called “Sandbox.” Sentimental and lyrical, it is dedicated to Claasen’s daughter. Claasen gives “One Trick Pony” a lilt in a […]

Monday Recommendation: Charlie Haden Speaks

Woodard and Haden: Conversations With Charlie Haden (Silman-James) Interviews transcribed from tape recordings and transformed into print are often boring substitutes for writing. With judicious editing, however, the technique can be illuminating. Journalist Josef Woodard’s many chats with bassist Charlie Haden (1937-2014) provide valuable insights into what fueled Haden’s musical tastes and goals and the […]

More Doug's Picks