Frances Lynne, Remember (SSJ). Often discussed but seldom heard, Ms. Lynne is a charming singer. She worked with Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond and Norman Bates in 1948. Recalling their time with her at the Geary Cellar and the Band Box, all of them told me that they were moved by her clarity, phrasing, … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2007
Query: Ellington’s voicing
Rifftides reader Peter Luce has a question: I'm wondering if someone in Rifftides' knowledgeable readership can help clarify some conflicting information I've read about Ellington's used of trumpet, trombone and clarinet in the original recording of "Mood Indigo." John Edward Hasse, in The Life and … [Read more...]
CD Catchup, Part 3: Graham Collier
Graham Collier, Hoarded Dreams (Cuneiform). Here we have further, but not recent , adventures of the pioneering British composer, arranger and leader. Hoarded Dreams is a seven-part suite commissioned by the Bracknell Jazz Festival in 1983. Following its one performance by a band of European stars … [Read more...]
Compatible Independence Day Quotes
(An annual Rifftides reminder) Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.--Benjamin Franklin America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed … [Read more...]
CD Catchup, Part 2: André Previn
André Previn, Alone (Emarcy). When in the mid-1960s Previn committed himself to classical conducting, composing and performing, he did not leave jazz behind. Technique, taste and touch intact, he plays thirteen pieces using his range of dynamics, rhythmic subtlety, harmonic sensibility and capacity … [Read more...]