JAZZIZ MagazineCover Story, Winter 2011Out of New Orleans The remarkable rise of Trombone ShortyBy Larry Blumenfeld Click on Winter Issue to PreviewHurricane Irene bore down on New York City in late August. The forecasts sounded dire. An email from a Long Island music club called Stephen Talkhouse announced that a scheduled performance by Trombone Shorty and his … [Read more...] about my long story on trombone shorty
paul motian, 1931-2011
Aside from his prowess as a drummer, his restless need to invent on the bandstand and his compassionate embrace of musical partners young and old, famous and not, Paul Motian, who died very early this morning at 80, was a real person. The kind you need to meet and sit with a while to understand. And then you get up and leave, feeling better and wiser in ways you can't yet … [Read more...] about paul motian, 1931-2011
irene, irony & katrina
Just a bit of reflection on hurtling balls of precipitation and anniversaries. A email on Thursday from Long Island's Stephen Talkhouse informed me that, with Irene (then still a bona fide hurricane) on its way, last weekend's shows by Trombone Shorty and his Orleans Avenue band would be cancelled. "Having lived through Katrina," the promoter explained, "they have opted to head … [Read more...] about irene, irony & katrina
sonny skies
A quarterly magazine takes some time till publication. So here's my piece in the Winter issue of JAZZIZ, inspired by Sonny Rollins and, sort of, by my brother Leslie. Blu NotesWinter 2010Sonny Skiesby Larry Blumenfeld Pull quote: "It was a metaphysical experience, not a musical experience. You had to be there." It was the best thing I'd ever done for my older brother Leslie -- … [Read more...] about sonny skies
sonny side of the street
So I'm finally stepping up as a sibling, doing something deep and grand: Flying my older brother Leslie, who happens to play tenor saxophone, to New York so that he can sit tomorrow night in the seventh row of the Beacon Theater, at the feet of Sonny Rollins. The occasion? Leslie's 50th and Sonny' 80th birthdays. No saxophonist should walk through life without at least once … [Read more...] about sonny side of the street