The ceaselessly innovative and searching composer and Butch Morris died yesterday in New York. He had been under treatment of cancer for several years. Morris was 65. He developed an approach to big band music that he called conduction. It made demands on musicians by insisting on intensive, … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2013
John And Johann
It is not news that J.S. Bach influenced John Lewis. The Modern Jazz Quartet pianist and his wife Mirjana recorded two-keyboard albums of pieces by Bach, and many of Lewis’s compositions for the MJQ contain harmonic and fugal elements that are direct reflections of Bach. The Baroque master … [Read more...]
From The Archive: FÃn-uhs
Josh Rutner wrote to remind me of this Rifftides piece that ran nearly five years ago. When I exhumed it from the archive, I discovered that digital gremlins had stolen the subject's picture and destroyed some of the links. The staff has restored the post, and that's reason enough to remind us all … [Read more...]
Jay Thomas At The Seasons
At The Seasons last night, Jay Thomas arrayed his arsenal of reed and brass instruments across the front of the stage, some on stands, others lying at the ready. As in his new album, The Cats (Pony Boy Records), Thomas, pianist John Hansen, bassist Chuck Kistler and drummer Adam Kessler lived up to … [Read more...]
It’s Django Reinhardt’s Birthday
Born in 1910, the French Gypsy guitarist became the first European jazz celebrity and an influence on musicians around the world. in 1934, with violinist Stéphane Grappelli, he formed the Quintet of the Hot Club of France and during the thirties made celebrated recordings with visiting Americans … [Read more...]
“Jazz From The Archives” Is On Notice
Over the past several years, I have occasionally alerted Rifftides readers to Jazz From the Archives radio programs created and hosted by Bill Kirchner. Exploring the work of important jazz artists, Bill brings to the shows his skills as a writer and producer and his insights as a big-league … [Read more...]
Other Places: Coltrane On “Jazz Profiles”
Readers of jazz web logs know that one of the most consistently informative and satisfying blogs is Steve Cerra’s Jazz Profiles. Steve specializes in pieces about important musicians from all eras and styles. He complements them with sidebar features and bolsters them with inventive videos … [Read more...]
When Harry James Met Nancy Ames
Scouring the web in search of something unrelated, I came across a clip from a 1967 Ed Sullivan show that brought to mind—as if a reminder were needed—Harry James’s stunning musicianship. The trumpeter teamed up with Nancy Ames in a performance of one of Ethel Merman’s signature songs from … [Read more...]
George Gruntz Remembered
The death of George Gruntz last Thursday brought responses from dozens of the musicians who played in his Concert Jazz Band over the past 40 years. The Swiss pianist, composer and arranger hired an international who’s-who of players for his annual tours in Europe, the United States and South … [Read more...]
George Gruntz, 1932-2013
In the wake of the death of Claude Nobs (see yesterday’s post), we learn of the passing of George Gruntz, another major Swiss jazz figure. The family of the 80-year-old pianist and bandleader reports that he died on Thursday in Basel. Felix Gruntz said that his father had suffered a long illness. … [Read more...]
Montreux’s Claude Nobs, RIP
Claude Nobs, who made the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland one of the world’s premier performing arts events, died yesterday in Geneva. He was injured Christmas Eve while skiing in Caux-sur-Montreux near his home. Taken to a hospital, Nobs fell into a coma from which he never awoke. He was … [Read more...]
Viklický And Robinson Meet Again
Here is a listening tip for Rifftides readers in or near New York City. On one of his periodic visits to the United States, the Czech pianist Emil Viklický will have a return engagement this week with the multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson. (In the photo, Robinson is on the right.) They will … [Read more...]
At Last: New Picks
Following a long dry spell, we return with new recommendations of three CDs, a DVD and a book. They cover music for a sci-fi adventure champion, the release of a legendary Gerry Mulligan concert in its entirety, the further adventures of a saxophonist who combines power with economy, a film about … [Read more...]
CD: Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band, Santa Monica 1960 (Fresh Sound) 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 … [Read more...]
CD: JD Allen
JD Allen Trio: The Matador And The Bull (Savant) The tenor saxophonist has changed record labels but not sidemen or his conciseness. While many of his contemporaries’ solos demand endurance by player and listener alike, Allen expresses himself in short bursts of creativity; the longest track … [Read more...]
CD: Scott Robinson
Scott Robinson: Bronze Nemesis (Doc-Tone) Robinson unleashes his imagination and a substantial cross section of his instrumental arsenal to pay homage to the 20th century pulp fiction adventure hero Doc Savage. He uses the colossal contrabass sax to great effect, but his otherworldly theremin … [Read more...]
DVD: Woody Herman
Woody Herman, Blue Flame: Portrait Of A Jazz Legend (Jazzed Media) Producer Graham Carter traces Herman’s career from a vaudeville childhood through leadership of a succession of big bands that made him a formative influence in jazz for more than 50 years. Photographs, film and early television … [Read more...]
Darius On Dave
Since his death on December 5, the tributes to Dave Brubeck keep appearing all over the world in print, on the air and through the internet. His oldest son Darius, who was with his father at the end, sent us a link to the article he wrote at the request of South Africa’s Mail and Guardian … [Read more...]