Now that we have added pianist George Colligan’s stimulating Jazztruth to the Rifftides blogroll (the blogroll is ‘way down in the right column), the staff found a way to introduce Colligan’s playing to readers who may not be familiar with his vigor and inventiveness. He and alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw performed a tribute to Wayne Shorter a couple of years ago at the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival. It was a prescient booking by the Tel Avivians—two steadily rising younger artists playing music by … [Read more...]

Tony Bennett/Dave Brubeck,The White House Sessions Live 1962 (Columbia/RPM/Legacy) Riding on the success of hit records, in August of ’62 Brubeck and Bennett had a good night in the shadow of the Washington Monument. They played in the Sylvan Theater for college students who had interned in the nation’s capitol that summer. That morning at the White House, President John F. Kennedy thanked the youngsters. The concert constituted an additional bonus for their work. In the last flowering of an … [Read more...]

Karolina Strassmayer & Drori Mondlak—Klaro, Small Moments (Lilypad) In their third album together, their second as co-leaders, the spaciousness and delicacy of Karolina Strassmayer’s alto saxophone meld with the understated power of her husband Drori Mondlak’s drumming. The results are creative tension and whirling currents of surprise beneath the often-placid surface of music made by the spare combination of saxophone, drums, guitar and bass. Strassmayer is Austrian. Mondlak is an … [Read more...]

The video below is about the horn played by the great Duke Ellington alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges (1906-1970). The voice in the commentary is that of Frank Wess, a major saxophonist of the generation following Hodges who is an active player at the age of 91. Mr. Wess explains that he owns the Vito saxophone, number 5000, and used it when he played lead alto for the Toshiko Akiyoshi orchestra. You needn’t be a saxophonist to appreciate the intricacy and beauty of the instrument. Tomoji … [Read more...]

Rifftides has been more or less dormant the past few days, for good reason. You can't blog and herd whales at the same time. Well, truth be told, we weren't herding, just watching. Several Ramseys and other folks from various parts of the world watched orcas, also known as killer whales, off the coast of British Columbia and Washington State. Choppy waters south of Vancouver had the prow of the boat airborne and returning to the surface in a series of hull-shuddering slaps before the waters … [Read more...]

A few jazz musicians who sang on the side became so popular as vocalists that their instrumental careers all but disappeared. The brilliant and influential pianist Nat Cole (pictured left) is the most prominent example. Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae began their professional lives as pianists. Diana Krall’s (pictured right) success as a singer dominates her career to the point that her ability as a pianist is often overlooked. In the cases of Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Fats Waller, Chet … [Read more...]

The new batch of Rifftides recommendations for listening, viewing and reading will appear immediately below until newer posts send them further down the queue. You will also find them under Doug's Picks in the right column. They cover CDs by two vibraphonists—one of whom has also published his life story—a gifted bassist in an intimate and moving chamber recital, and Lester Young in previously unissued radio broadcasts. The DVD choice is by a singer whose work is timeless. … [Read more...]

Almost two years ago I disclosed with some excitement that videotape existed of portions of a television performance of Focus, the classic collaboration between Stan Getz and the brilliant composer and arranger Eddie Sauter. The Rifftides staff tracked down the clip and posted it. I hope that you got a chance to see it because whoever put the video on YouTube seems to have been in violation. The copyright holder took offense. New Zealand Reader Tom King forwarded this report from his friend John … [Read more...]

. . .this is my dilemma. I’m a guy who makes things up as I go along, so nothing is ever finished; there are so many layers. So when you solo, yeah, you might get into one thing, but then, hey, everything has implications! You can hear the next level. And that’s how I feel about improvising—there’s always another level. No one is original. Everyone is derivative. I’ll know when I find the ultimate sound. … [Read more...]

I wanted to be able to write for the symphony orchestra. I wanted to write for the movies. I wanted to write for television. I wanted to be able to do it with great speed, great accuracy, and that’s what I did. Jazz, to me, has to be loose. You can’t be tight. When you get too tight in jazz, it isn’t making it. Same thing with Duke Ellington. He let his band be relaxed, be loose, take it easy. Nobody gets excited here. You’re late. Okay, so you’re late. Let’s play. … [Read more...]

Response to the recent Rifftides post about courtesy titles in news stories made it clear that readers care about ethical practices affecting the news reports they read, hear and watch. A post from 2006, in the Pleistocene era of this blog, dealt with journalism ethics at large. Here it is again, revised a bit because of changes: For one, FACS (the Foundation for American Communications) no longer exists. For another, the book Journalism Ethics: Why Change? is out of print, available only from … [Read more...]

Yes, yes, I know. Sonny Rollins is 83 today, and Rifftides is joining the celebration late. There is a reason but no excuse. We jump on the birthday bandwagon by bringing you Rollins playing an extended version of a tune his mother remembered from her girlhood in the Virgin Islands. "St. Thomas" has been an essential and beloved part of his repertoire for more than 50 years. The rhythm section Is Kenny Drew, piano; Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, bass; Albert "Tootie" Heath, drums. The video is … [Read more...]

For a couple of hundred years, newspapers used courtesy titles. Many papers that equated Abraham Lincoln with the devil often wrote about “Mr. Lincoln” or “The President,” even as their editorials pilloried him. Up until about the time of Ronald Regan, in news columns and in radio and television newscasts, whoever was president received the respect of title. The operating theory in most of US journalism was that the office warrants respect regardless of the politics and policies of its occupant. … [Read more...]

Gerald Wilson celebrated his 95th birthday yesterday. He looks back on a career studded with achievement as a trumpeter, bandleader, composer and pioneering arranger. Early on in his writing Wilson achieved the unexpected, incorporating daring classical harmonic techniques in his big band arrangements and making them accessible to general audiences. He is the personification of a lifelong learner. Following big successes capped by a sold-out tour with Ella Fitzgerald, Wilson dissolved his … [Read more...]

If you, too, did not make it to Detroit over the weekend for the city’s jazz festival, reading about it may be small consolation. Nonetheless, Mark Stryker’s account in The Detroit Free Press conveys his excitement and covers the highlights as he heard and saw them. Stryker is not a sports reporter, but he named a most valuable player. ■MVP Award: The majestic drummer Billy Hart brought his extraordinary ability to both respond to and spontaneously shape a band’s conception to three … [Read more...]

Rifftides readers have developed the recent Bing And Trane post into a colloquy on Red Garland (pictured). Garland was the pianist on “Love Thy Neighbor,” the Coltrane recording featured in the piece, and in the Miles Davis Quintet of the second half of the 1950s. His 1970s Texas comeback brings considerable attention in comments that follow the Crosby-Coltrane post.   Friday’s Stan Kenton correspondence attracted news that composer Terry Vosbein has prepared an archive of most of NBC … [Read more...]