(An annual Rifftides reminder) Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.--Benjamin Franklin America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.--Abraham Lincoln … [Read more...]
Sheila Jordan’s Getaway Place
July 4, 2009 by
Sheila Jordan has a farmhouse retreat in Upstate New York where the 80-year-old singer goes to develop new music. In The New York Times this week, Lisa A. Phillips wrote a charming story about Jordan and her country life. Here is a sample: "When I come up here," she said, "I feel totally undressed musically. I feel I can try out any kind of idea I have." On her five and a quarter acres of land atop Canady Hill, her only close neighbors have been the cows the farmer next door once kept. "I called … [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
Bill Crow on Weekend Listening And Viewing Tip: Stamm And Holober Live
Thanks for the link, Doug. I had to miss the concert because I had a gig in Staten Island that evening. I've played...Dr. MIke Baughan on Other Matters: Watergate
Time for some Watergate Blues? www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAHjqQcBmtA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh3bgPJ4dBs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbb7mX67YBwDoug 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...