Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond in duo were one of the great treats of the seventies even as Desmond contended with the lung cancer that was soon to end his life. Someone caught one of their reunions on tape--a short blues performance culminating in the "Audrey" or "Balcony Rock" melody that they favored for more than a quarter of a century. This is another example of why Desmond said that Brubeck was his ideal accompanist. … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2007
Newport
If you are planning on attending the Newport Jazz Festival, keep in mind that it is no longer held over the Fourth of July weekend but in the second weekend in August. For a rundown on this year's event, go here. For a three-CD compilation scanning the festival's fifty-one-year history, try this boxed set. You'll find a wide range of performances from Louis Armstrong's "Tin Roof Blues" to John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things." Among the treasures are the famous Duke Ellington "Dimineundo in Blue" … [Read more...]
The Old CD Catchup Game
Over the next few postings, the Rifftides staff will attempt the impossible--to catch up with recordings. The best I can do is single out a few and offer observations in hopes that they will provide Rifftiders guideposts as they decide which CDs in the endless stream are worth their time and money. The observations will be brief. This time, three saxophonists: Michael Brecker, Pilgrimage (Heads Up). With his disease in what turned out to be temporary remission, six months before he died Brecker … [Read more...]
Art Farmer!
Generally, I'm against exclamation points. The one in the headline is a justified exception. If you miss Art Farmer as much as I do, follow this link. The YouTube information line tells you that the rhythm section is Ray Brown, Jacky Terrason and Alvin Queen. It doesn't tell you that the tune is Charlie Parker's "Moose the Mooche," that Art, late in his life, was playing with enormous beauty and power, or that Ray Brown was the boss of the bass. If the shape-shifting video bothers you, close … [Read more...]
Weekend Extra: Anat Cohen On The Radio
Anat Cohen has not quite taken New York by storm. In this culture, only rock stars or politicians who campaign like rock stars do that. But Cohen has established herself in the jazz capital of the world as one of the bright new reed artists. The story of her becoming a jazz musician in Tel Aviv, her musical brothers, and substantial samples of her music occupied a sizeable chunk of National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday. To hear Liane Hansen's feature on Anat Cohen, go here. … [Read more...]
Other Matters: Onward And Upward With TV News
I value the decades I spent in television news. Helping people to understand the events and issues of the day was important work that brought satisfaction and, at its best, promoted the democratic ideal of an informed citizenry. Now from the Society of Professional Journalists come two items about the state of broadcast journalism that are enough to embarrass me on behalf of the profession, or craft, and make my teeth hurt. I hope these travesties move news consumers in Tyler, Texas, and … [Read more...]
Other Matters: Summer
I used an hour and a half of the fifteen-and-a-half hours of daylight on this first day of summer for a morning ride on the Bianchi.The bike took me (with a little help) up a series of hills, past the golf courses and expensive housing developments that are pushing farms farther out from town and up the western slopes of the valley. Never fear, however; there are plenty of orchards left. If what I saw this morning is an indication, the world can expect an abundance of Washington applesnext fall, … [Read more...]
Tristano At The Half Note
A recent reimmersion in things Tristano led to the mini-review of the Warne Marsh book in the latest batch of Doug's Picks (right-hand column). It included several viewings of a video of Lennie Tristano's quintet at the Half Note in 1964. The picture quality may have been fine originally, but it appears to have been through several generations of dubs. No matter; the sound is reasonably good. Through the murk you get a tour of the beloved Half Note in the days when folks dressed to go out in the … [Read more...]
New Picks
Please visit Doug's Picks in the right-hand column for recommendations of two CDs, two DVDs and a book. Thanks for your patience; these have been a long time coming. … [Read more...]
CD: Bill Charlap
Bill Charlap Trio, Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note). Pianist Charlap, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, the most publicized mainstream jazz trio of the decade, live up to their billing. Managing smoothness without sacrificing depth and daring, Charlap illuminates the Birth Of The Cool classics "Rocker" and "Godchild" and blazes through "My Shining Hour." He caresses "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "All Across the City" in versions as remarkable for their slowness as … [Read more...]
CD: Darrell Grant
Darrell Grant, Truth And Reconciliation (Origin). With bassist John Pattitucci and drummer Brian Blade giving him solid underpinning throughout, pianist Grant includes four guest soloists in this two-CD profession of his humanist philosophy. He brings in the recorded voices of Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt and Nelson Mandela. He sings his "When I See the Water" in an agreeable pop-gospel style and narrates another original, "The Geography of Hope." … [Read more...]
DVD: Kristin Korb
Kristin Korb, Live in Vienna (Quantum Leap). Jay Leonhart wrote a song called "It's Impossible to Sing and Play the Bass." Kristin Korb didn't get the message. This video disc recorded at Vienna's Porgy and Bess presents Korb in a trio with club regulars pianist Fritz Pauer and drummer John Hollenbeck. The promotional blurb evoking Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald places a heavy load on her, but Korb justifies the hyperbole with musicianship and leadership. Her … [Read more...]
DVD: Bud Powell And Others
Bud Powell, Dollar Brand, Don Cherry & Others, Jazz In Denmark (Marshmallow). The centerpiece of this limited edition import is Stopforbud, a film about Powell made in 1962 by a pair of young Danes. Powell's piano is heard throughout, although we only briefly see him playing. With a New Wave sensibility, the camera follows Powell as he wanders through a park, the streets of Copenhagen, a museum and a trash dump. Dexter Gordon narrates. The music is previously unreleased trio performances by … [Read more...]
Book: An Unsung Cat
Safford Chamberlain, An Unsung Cat: The Life and Music of Warne Marsh (Scarecrow). Researching aspects of the Lennie Tristano school recently, I unshelved Chamberlain's biography of Marsh for the first time in years. I was impressed all over again by Chamberlain's research, the quality of his writing and his balanced treatment of an uncompromising and compelling tenor saxophonist who could be as difficult as he was brilliant. Coincidentally, a video of Marsh performing "It's You Or No One" with … [Read more...]
Weekend Extra: Scott Hamilton And Wayne Shorter
Alerting the Rifftides staff to this combination, Bill Kirchner wrote, "Yes, you read that right." There may have been less likely tenor saxophone encounters, but I doubt if they were captured on camera. The third tenor player--the one we see but don't hear--is Lew Tabackin. The house of the good old blues in F has many mansions. Here's proof. YouTube doesn't disclose the year, but from the youthful appearance of the principals, I'd guess this was a good two decades ago. … [Read more...]
Compatible Quotes
Most customers, by the time the musicians reach the second set, are to some extent inebriated. They don't care what you play anyway.--Charles Mingus The boppers flat their fifths. We consume ours.--Eddie Condon I'm all in favor of getting grants for musicians. Or any other good brand of Scotch.--Pepper Adams … [Read more...]
Carol Sloane
As you may have surmised from the paucity of substantial postings the past few days, I am still working my way through an accumulation of professional obligations, some connected with music, some not. Nonetheless, I try to give you items that I hope will keep you coming back to Rifftides. So, here is a link to a rarity--video of the sublime singer Carol Sloane. It was made in New Orleans in 1979. Sloane was in town with her friend Jimmy Rowles, who was the pianist in Ella Fitzgerald's trio. … [Read more...]
A Reviewer Is Born
On his blog Pop Musicology, Michael J. West discloses that he has joined the ranks of reviewers for Jazz Times. He was recommended by Nat Hentoff, a fine way to be launched. In the Other Places department, I am adding a link to Pop Musicology. The subtitle of Mr. West's blog is: Popular music treated seriously. Damnedest thing, ain't it? It is. … [Read more...]
Correspondence: Crow On Mulligan And Rome
I asked bassist Bill Crow what he remembered about the Gerry Mulligan Sextet concert that is the subject of the next exhibit, posted yesterday. Here is his response: I was delighted to see and hear the sextet again. That was such a good band. I had forgotten about the large orchestra behind us. I think it was a concert, but it could also have been a TV show. We went over on the Andrea Doria (the year before it sank) to Naples, then played Rome, Milan, Bologna, and Genoa, and then a small … [Read more...]