A Rifftides archive browser who identifies himself only as Hank wrote to take me to task: I feel certain you are friends with Miller Williams. My main comment is that if you are going to publish online his poetry, it seems you would want to get it right. There are numerous errors in the … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2011
How To Subscribe
Lately, readers have asked how to sign up for Rifftides RSS feeds and be notified of new posts and comments. On the right side of the blue bar at the top of the screen, you will see a pair of symbols like this. Click on the one next to "Posts" or the one next to "Comments," or both, and then click … [Read more...]
A Clifford Jordan Revival
Rifftides reader Debra Kinzler’s notice that a quartet of Clifford Jordan's admirers will revive his Glass Bead Games prompts me to post a slightly revised version of a 2007 piece about a landmark recording that became unavailable for too long. Ms. Kinzler informs us that tenor saxophonist Seamus … [Read more...]
Compatible Quotes: Jazz Kids In New Orleans
New Orleans is the only place I know of where you ask a little kid what he wants to be and instead of saying "I want to be a policeman," or "I want to be a fireman," he says, I want to be a musician."—Alan Jaffe I was just like the rest of the kids, wanted to now all about that new music … [Read more...]
Blogroll
All About Jazz JerryJazzMusician Carol Sloane: SloaneView Jazz Beyond Jazz: Howard Mandel The Gig: Nate Chinen Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong Don Heckman: The International Review Of Music Ted Panken: Today is The Question George Colligan: jazztruth Brilliant Corners Jazz Music Blog: … [Read more...]
Weekend Extra: Sancton On Stage
Five years ago, I wrote about Tom Sancton’s book Song For My Fathers being assigned reading for Tulane University’s incoming students. That venerable school chose it to give the freshmen a shared intellectual experience that would stimulate discussion. Not incidentally, it would also acquaint … [Read more...]
Recent Listening: James Farm, Allen, Anschell, Et Al
This is the latest of our periodic efforts to keep up with recorded music. Some of these CDs are recent. Some have been languishing in the holding pen for months. Some are timeless standard repertoire items that the Rifftides staff believes everyone should know about. The album titles in blue … [Read more...]
Other Matters: Language
Has anyone else noticed that radio and TV weather people report or predict "warm temperatures" or "cold temperatures." Temperatures are not warm or cold. Air is warm or cold. Temperatures are high or low, or somewhere in between. Please, weather people. And another thing, as Andy Rooney would … [Read more...]
Geller Plays Strayhorn
At 82, Herb Geller is still living in Germany, still touring in Europe, with occasional—too rare—visits to his US homeland. Here he is last February in Aberdeen, Scotland, at a club called the Blue Lamp. His rhythm section is pianist Paul Kirby, bassist Martin Zenker and drummer Rick … [Read more...]
Rifftidesers Helping Rifftidesers
Several days ago in the course of conducting a web search, Vicki Overfelt came across a 2008 Rifftides mini-review of a Rosa Passos album, Romance. She used the comment function to ask if anyone could help her find the object of her search. She wanted the words to “Desilusión,†a song Passos … [Read more...]
Tristano And The Robots
The animated digital robot spoofs springing up on the internet include several aimed at the jazz-insider culture, in particular at the hipper-than-thou talk exchanged among students of the art who may be ever so slightly over-educated and just too cool—but not too cool for words. There are … [Read more...]