The Rifftides staff has done exhaustive auditioning, winnowing and selecting from among hundreds of CDs, DVDs and books hoping to be chosen. The result: a new batch of recommendations. They are compact discs by a pianist and a trumpeter who love Mingus, musical portraits of the seven deadly sins, a … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2011
CD: Knuffke & Stacken
Kirk Knuffke & Jess Stacken, Orange Was The Color (Steeplechase). Balancing daring and restraint, Knuffke and Stacken address 11 of Charles Mingus’s compositions. Knuffke sets aside his trumpet in favor of cornet to intertwine, contrast and parallel his lines with Stracken’s piano. He … [Read more...]
CD: Joseph Daley
Joseph Daley Earth Tones Ensemble, The Seven Deadly Sins (Jaro). Inspired by Wade Schulman paintings, Daley wrote orchestral impressions of the sins. To the veteran composer and tubist, earth tones mean low notes. Anchored by tubas, bass saxophone, contrabass sax, contrabass clarinet, contrabass … [Read more...]
CD: Nat Cole
Nat King Cole, The Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall Concert (Hep). Cole’s trio and the Woody Herman Second Herd teamed up for a successful concert tour, with Carnegie Hall a high spot. It was recorded but never before issued. Now, here it is, with Cole’s singing and piano playing at a high … [Read more...]
From The Archives: Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown died on this date in 1956. If he had lived, he would be 80. We will never know what glories he would have added to those he had achieved at the age of 26. Here is what I wrote on the 50th anniversary of his death. Fifty years ago today at The Seattle Times, as I ripped copy … [Read more...]
Weekend Extra: Bill Perkins
Bill Perkins (1924-2003) was the archetype of the creative musician incapable of letting his style freeze in place. To borrow the phrase coined by his initial inspiration Lester Young, Perkins refused to be a “repeater pencil.†He was with Stan Getz, Gene Ammons, Zoot Sims, Richie Kamuca, Al … [Read more...]
The New NEA Jazz Masters
The National Endowment for the Arts today named the 2012 NEA Jazz Masters. As announced in the NEA's news release, the winners are: Jack DeJohnette, Drummer, Keyboardist, Composer (born in Chicago, IL; lives in Willow, NY) Von Freeman, Saxophonist (born in Chicago, IL; lives in … [Read more...]
Bob Flanigan
More than one Rifftides reader has taken me to task for posting nothing about the death of Bob Flanigan, the original lead singer of the vocal-instrumental group The Four Freshmen. Flanigan died on May 15 at his home in Las Vegas. He was 84. As if to validate the group, many of his obituaries … [Read more...]
Other Places: Hot Lips Page & A Real Record Store
HOT LIPS PAGE Speaking of quasi-forgotten trumpeters of the 1930s and ‘40s (see the Benny Carter item in the previous exhibit), in his current post, blogger and frequent Rifftides correspndent Bruno Leicht highlights Hot Lips Page. Here’s some of what he writes about that musician of … [Read more...]
Benny Carter, Trumpeter
Benny Carter (1907-2003) is indelibly identified as a master of the alto saxophone, to the point where many listeners new to his work don’t know that he was also one of the great trumpet soloists of the 1930s. He gave up the horn for several years, concentrating on alto sax, composing and … [Read more...]
Other Matters: Cycling Shots
Don Emanuel, David Evans and other Rifftides readers have encouraged me to continue posting photographs made during bicycle expeditions. Okay. Maybe they are a welcome diversion. I tore myself away for a 15-miler this afternoon and paused at the top of a long, steep hill because my legs told me … [Read more...]
Breathtaking News From The Festival Front
Here are the headline, subhead and lead paragraph of a news release from the Montreal Jazz Festival. I wonder if he jumped in at the last moment to sub for another jazz star who withdrew, Lady Gaga, perhaps. … [Read more...]
Stewart Plays Bryant
Reaction to the death of Ray Bryant keeps coming in. Dubliner Colm (Red) O’Sullivan writes from Rio de Janeiro, where he is immersing himself in Brazilian music. He alerts us to video of a fellow Irishman, guitarist Louis Stewart, playing a Bryant composition. Stewart has been an important player … [Read more...]
The JJA Awards
The staff is back at Rifftides world headquarters after joining other Jazz Journalists Association members for the JJA’s 2011 award event. We assembled on Saturday at Egan’s Ballard Jam House in Seattle to watch the ceremony by satellite feed from New York. It was one of several satellite … [Read more...]
Sing Along With Horace
Woke up this morning (no, that is not going to be the beginning of a blues lyric)… …and made this the background music to preparations for the day. I chose it because I wanted something that had solos I could sing, hum and whistle along with as I fixed breakfast. Every note of Horace … [Read more...]
Viklický & Printup in Olomouc
New video has surfaced from an engagement that trumpeter Marcus Printup played with the Emil Viklický Trio during Printup’s visit to the Czech Republic in 2007. YouTube identifies the first piece as “In Holomoc Town,†but that is likely a misspelling or alternate spelling of “Olomouc,†… [Read more...]
In Breve: Catching Up
Periodically, we post brief alerts to recordings the Rifftides staff finds worthwhile. The mini- or micro-reviews are not intended as deep analysis, but as guideposts. Some of these albums are recent arrivals. We select others, not quite at random, from accumulations in the music room and office, … [Read more...]
Ray Bryant, 1931-2011
Ray Bryant died on Thursday in a New York hospital following a long illness. He was 79. A pillar of modern mainstream piano, Bryant was often categorized as a blues pianist. He was certainly that, a great one, but his stylistic breadth, powerful swing and harmonic flexibility put him in demand not … [Read more...]
Recent Listening: Konitz, Mehldau, Haden, Motian
Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Live at Birdland (ECM). When he’s working with people whose knowledge and ears he trusts, Konitz sometimes simply begins. The first track starts with seven seconds of silence. Then, Konitz, accompanied by Motian’s brushes, embarks on an … [Read more...]