Pianist Bill Mays and the Oregon Festival of American Music Orchestra will perform George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue tonight. Mays tells Rifftides it will be the full-blown composition that debuted in 1924 with Gershwin as soloist, not the shortened version frequently performed by symphony orchestras. For details, click here. If you happen not to be in Eugene, Oregon, you can hear it live in a web-streaming broadcast on KLCC-FM, Eugene's public radio station, at 8:00 pm PDT, 11 pm EDT. Click … [Read more...]
George Russell, 1923-2009
July 29, 2009 by
George Russell died Monday night. Here are some of the facts of his life, outlined by the Associated Press. BOSTON (AP) -- Jazz composer George Russell, a MacArthur fellow whose theories influenced the modal music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, has died. His publicist says Russell, who taught at the New England Conservatory, died Monday in Boston at age 86 of complications from Alzheimer's. Russell was born in Cincinnati in 1923 and attended Wilberforce University. He played drums in Benny … [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.
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mel on Sam Most, Johnny Smith…Gone
I recommend this video documentary - Sam Most - Jazz Flutist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVDrQk7tERM RIP Sam Most RIP Johnny SmithBrew on A Desmond Oberlin Masterpiece, Complete
By the way: I now can proudly tell you all that the original 10" release & the later 12" LP are both in my possession. The...dick vartanian on Happy Fatha’s Day
It would be ridiculous to say I can't play like that - I can't even think like that. Superb !!Malcolm Norman on A Desmond Oberlin Masterpiece, Complete
I'll now reply to myself with a reprimand for having been so capitvated by the thought of an extra minute's Desmond Oberlin solo that my...Malcolm Norman on A Desmond Oberlin Masterpiece, Complete
The ultimate frustration is that I, outside the U.S. (i.e. Germany), cannot access the video even when using a proxy giving me a U.K. IP-number!...