MOST serious jazz people detest "smooth jazz" -- let's get this out of the way at the beginning. (here's an example.)but recently i sat down to talk to david benoit, the pianist who is one of the key figures in the movement, and quite enjoyed myself. why? because we mostly talked about classical music. and i was surprised to find that this exemplar of the pleasant and tension-free had been moved … [Read more...]
Miles Davis and "Kind of Blue" at 50
MORE proof that my taste hasn't changed much since i was 20 is tomorrow's LAT piece on miles davis's "kind of blue" record, which marks its 50th this august. (miles himself would celebrate his 83rd birthday on may 25 had he not died in 1991. i still remember that dark day and going to dc's cafe lautrec to see a trio knock out some miles classics that eve.)HERE is my piece. i spoke to jazz critic … [Read more...]
Great Makeout Records and Happy Valentine’s Day
Please forgive me a bit of cheesecake, folks, as i celebrate Valentine's Day, a bogus holiday that i learned the hard way (with a college girlfriend i considered too bohemian to care about such a hallmark inspired custom) not to ignore.i guess today i am feeling something to lift the spirits after looking at all that east german cold-war art. so today i'm going to be building a list of great … [Read more...]
CELEBRATING THE HADEN FAMILY + ….. GREAT BREAKUP LPS
I want to talk for a minute about los angeles' Haden family: you could define true musical eclecticism as the ability to dig all the branches on this multigenerational family tree. jazzheads know missouri-reared bassist charlie haden for his ability to match the country twang on ornette coleman's early (and best records) -- charlie grounds free jazz stuff that might otherwise be rootless: some of … [Read more...]
REDISCOVERING ANDREW HILL
The pioneers of my favorite period of jazz -- the '50s and early '60s -- have been dying off at a dispiriting pace lately. A few weeks ago we lost trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, whose "Open Sesame" and work on early Herbie Hancock records i love. The other day i walked into amoeba's jazz room and heard the clerks blasting his classic "Hub Tones." but over the last year or so i've been rediscovering … [Read more...]
JAZZ PHOTOG WILLIAM CLAXTON
well i plan to run a full set of links to my old LATIMES stories somewhere on this blog, but in the meantime i've been going through a serious jazz revival over the holidays, playing a lot of monk and billie holiday and lester young in particular... it's gotten me thinking about one of the truly coolest people i ever had the pleasure of knowing in roughly 20 years writing about artists of all … [Read more...]