Bill Kirchner alerts us to his latest Jazz From the Archives tonight on the radio and the internet. Recently, I taped my next one-hour show for the "Jazz From The Archives" series. Presented by the Institute of Jazz Studies, the series runs every Sunday on WBGO-FM (88.3). For over thirty years, reed player Gerry Niewood (1943-2009) was a mainstay of the NYC music scene. Not only was he a superb improviser (on soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, flute, alto flute), but he was an … [Read more...]
Jack Nimitz: 1930-2009
June 14, 2009 by
Sometimes fate does not distribute her gifts based on merit. Jack Nimitz never achieved the recognition, popularity or record sales of Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams or Serge Chaloff. Nonetheless, he was fully their peer as a baritone saxophonist of the post-bop era. Nimitz died last Wedneday in Los Angeles at the age of 79. From the early 1950s in Washington, DC, with The Orchestra, through the bands of Bob Astor, Johnny Bothwell, Woody Herman and Stan Kenton, Nimitz was a sturdy anchor of reed … [Read more...]
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
Recent Comments
Doug Potter on A Dave Brubeck Memorial Service
I also have the Brubeck-Bennett CD coming from Amazon for my birthday on the 29th of May....thank you guys for finding it WOW.. DP Essex...Danny Barrett on Followup: Bev Getz’s Father
..What wonderful stories I just read about Stan. I know Bev and Nonie, a little..There straight shooters,bright and lovely too..In regard to Don Albert's comment...Red Sullivan on Correspondence: Shearing And You Know Who
The second Shearing/Nancy Wilson album, Hello Young Lovers, also on Capitol, but lesser known, is even superior. Orchestrations - well, arrangements anyway, are Shearing's own...Terence Smith on A Dave Brubeck Memorial Service
Thank you to Doug Ramsey for conveying so well the celebration of Dave Brubeck's life and works, may it continue. Sometimes it seems like...Terence Smith on Correspondence: Shearing And You Know Who
Most Rifftidesers are doubtless aware that George Shearing is the consummate accompanist for singers. The numerous collaborations with Nat Cole ( imagine Nat Cole hiring...