Archives for March 2012

Following the recent post about plunger mutes, Rifftides reader Deborah Hendrick sent a reqest: Would you give us a history lesson sometime, on the origin of mutes. “Jazz” seems to be played with muted brass more often than not. I’ve always wondered why, and how the practice … [Read more...]

Sonny Igoe, who played drums with a succession of prominent leaders, died this week at the age of 88. In 1939 when Igoe was 16, he won the first Gene Krupa drum competition. After four years in the United States Marine Corps in World War Two, he worked briefly in a band of former Marines, then began … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader Larry Peterson suggested that while two days of March remain, it would be a good idea to revisit an Antonio Carlos Jobim classic. It is, of course, “Águas de Marco.” March is the rainiest time of year in Rio de Janeiro. Jobim fashioned the progress of the music and the … [Read more...]

We still get questions about whether there will be a service in memory of Bob Brookmeyer, who died in December. The answer is yes. This is the updated information from Bob’s friend and colleague Bill Kirchner: Here's a reminder about the memorial for valve trombonist/composer/arranger Bob … [Read more...]

After playing (or struggling with) the trumpet since I was 14, I finally decided to learn how to use a plumber’s friend for something other than its intended purpose. For five dollars, my neighborhood hardware store sold me what I needed. I unscrewed the wooden handle and, voila!—a plunger … [Read more...]

Over the weekend, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra played a concert devoted to music associated with Frank Sinatra. The SRJO is one of the world’s finest big bands dedicated to preserving the spirit and substance of the jazz tradition. Drummer Clarence Acox and saxophonist Michael Brockman … [Read more...]

In response to the previous exhibit, Rifftides reader Svetlana Ilyicheva writes: Spring is in full swing in the suburbs of Moscow too. … [Read more...]

The calendar claims that we are two days into spring. There seems to be some mistake. This is what the dawn disclosed this morning. That gardening shed isn’t going to see much action today. Oh, well. They say it’s spring. This Blossom Dearie album also has other songs about … [Read more...]

This series of brief reviews calls your attention to recordings that captured the Rifftides staff’s interest and may capture yours. Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play: Live At Arthur Zankel Music Center (Blue Forest) As Triple Play, Chris Brubeck, harmonicist Peter Madcat Ruth and guitarist … [Read more...]

Mark Cantor (pictured, right), the preeminent jazz film archivist, has established a web channel of clips. If the first batch is an indication, the collection has the makings of a bonanza for viewers interested in the music and in the convoluted history of jazz in motion pictures and on television. … [Read more...]

Nat Cole was born March 17, 1917. He did not appear to be Irish, but his birthday falls on St. Patrick’s Day. What better excuse to remember a great musician? Cole did not record many Irish songs, but there is one in his 1946 collaboration with Lester Young’s trio. We begin our Nat Cole birthday … [Read more...]

Now and then, the Rifftides staff calls your attention to recordings selected from the stacks of more or less recent arrivals. Comments are brief, in an effort—no doubt doomed—to catch up with worthwhile releases. Dutch Jazz Orchestra, Moon Dreams: Rediscovered Music of Gil … [Read more...]

In a new venture, Washington, DC, Rifftides correspondent John Birchard (so that’s what he looks like) is combining his broadcast experience, devotion to jazz and fascination with the internet. The former Voice Of America newscaster has posted his first installment of a webcast he calls Cyber Jazz … [Read more...]

John Gilmore (1931-1995) was a tenor saxophonist highly regarded by leaders in a wide stylistic range. He worked with Earl Hines, Buster Smith, King Kolax, Miles Davis, B.B. King, and Charles Mingus, among many others. Gilmore was equally comfortable playing mainstream tenor with fellow Chicagoan … [Read more...]

I just discovered that my novel Poodie James is now available from Amazon on the Kindle e-reader for a ridiculously low price. If a reader hadn't asked me about that, I wouldn't have investigated and wouldn't have known. But, then, I'm only the author. Harrrumph. The book, of course, is also … [Read more...]

Wes Montgomery, Echoes of Indiana Avenue (Resonance) It is part of jazz lore; when Cannonball Adderley heard Wes Montgomery in Indianapolis in 1959, he was so impressed that he insisted his label, Riverside, record the guitarist at once. Orrin Keepnews of Riverside took Montgomery and his trio … [Read more...]

Because nature insists on taking its course, there has been much here lately about people who have passed on. Inevitably, there will be more. It is time to affirm life. I encountered video of alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon doing just that last summer as he toured Spain. Because of the surrealistic … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader Ted O'Reilly writes: Wasn't there a Warhol cover for a Johnny Griffin Blue Note? A brief search discloses that, as we might expect of one of Canada's leading jazz broadcasters, Mr. O'Reilly is correct. The album was The Congregation, recorded by the tenor saxophonist … [Read more...]

There are many paintings for which Andy Warhol is far better known than the few album covers he made in his salad days. Nonetheless, those covers—like everything he produced, from images of soup cans to those of Marilyn Monroe—are collectors items going for phenomenal prices. I just saw a … [Read more...]