Archives for November 2007

Apropos of nothing, I love this picture of Jelly Roll Morton, evidently lecturing the members of his Red Hot Peppers. This was 1926 or '27 in Chicago. Behind Morton from left to right are Omer Simeon, clarinet; Andrew Hilaire, drums; John Lindsay, bass; Johnny St. Cyr, banjo; Kid Ory, trombone; and George Mitchell, trumpet. To hear them play "Grandpa's Spells", click here. … [Read more...]

The world lost Cecil Payne today. He didn't quite make it to his eighty-fifth birthday. Born on December 14, 1922, Payne was thought by many of his peers to be the greatest baritone saxophonist of the first bop generation. He anchored Dizzy Gillespie's seminal big band from 1946 to 1949 and went on to play with dozens of leaders including James Moody, Duke Jordan, Kenny Dorham, Randy Weston, John Coltrane, Woody Herman, Tadd Dameron, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie and Lionel Hampton. Cecil … [Read more...]

Rifftides Reader Chuck Mitchell, a veteran of print journalism and television production, writes concerning Dizzy's Bebop Reunion. As it happens, I was a 24 year-old associate producer on Soundstage in 1976 when this program was shot at Chicago Public Television, having been hired away from my Down Beat job by the series creator, Ken Ehrlich, who went on to greater fame as the producer of the yearly Grammy broadcasts and other shows. Ken had decamped to Hollywood from Chicago after booking this … [Read more...]

Had he lived, Paul Desmond would have been eighty-three years old today. Jim Hall said it best, "He would have been a great old man." Here's a good way to remember Desmond--having fun with Dave Brubeck, Gene Wright and Joe Morello in 1976, fourteen months before his death. At CKUT-FM in Montreal, the veteran broadcaster Len Dobbin played Desmond's music today on his Dobbin's Den. It was part of the station's celebration of its twentieth anniversary. The program is archived. You can listen to it … [Read more...]

It turns out that the exhilirating version of "Groovin' High" that was the subject of yesterday's post was only a sample. It came from an hour television program that, if you have enough bandwidth, you may watch in its entirety. Rifftides reader Richard Carlson again does the setup: Now that I've recovered a bit from yesterday's feast, maybe I can supply some details about the clip---and, I'm assured, more to come from that show. It's an early Soundstage production, the PBS series that features … [Read more...]

The Rifftides staff thanks reader Richard Carlson for alerting us to a piece of video from a 1976 television program. It gives us James Moody, Ray Brown, Al Haig and Kenny Clarke playing Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin' High." This is a rare opportunity to see Haig, one of the most influential bebop pianists. We glimpse Gillespie at the beginning of the clip, but he disappears behind Brown and doesn't play a note. Brown's ebullience may have been set off by what Dizzy said to him as he passed by. … [Read more...]

This is an important American national holiday. To those in or from the United States, the Rifftides staff sends wishes for a happy Thanksgiving. To readers around the world: we appreciate your interest, attendance and comments. Wherever you are, we hope that you have much for which to be thankful. … [Read more...]

Having read many articles and liner notes you have written as well as Take Five, your marvelous book on the life of Paul Desmond, I had no doubt that I would enjoy your first novel, Poodie James. This was confirmed to me the day that Bill and Judy Mays, Matt Wilson, Martin Wind, Alisa Horn, and I attended your book signing in Yakima, where you read excerpts from the book. All of us bought copies of Poodie James that afternoon. But though I knew I would enjoy the book, I was unprepared for the … [Read more...]

Rifftides Washington DC correspondent John Birchard writes: Thanks for the heads-up on the program about Willis. I'll make sure to listen to it. I also alerted several of my VOA colleagues as to its existence. And thanks, too, for your continued attention to the systematic dismantling of VOA's English programming on radio. Every voice helps. Management has announced the closure of the big Delano, California, transmitting facility... and in March, one of our biggest, the short-wave site at … [Read more...]

In an era when the leadership of the United States all but ignores culture as a diplomatic tool and downgrades the Voice Of America, an hour with Willis Conover has a sharp poignancy. Conover, the VOA's great jazz broadcaster for more than four decades, is the subject of a program airing tonight (November 17) at 11:05 EST on WFIU, 103.7 FM, in Bloomington, Indiana and tomorrow night at 10:00 EST on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio. More important to Rifftides readers around the world, the … [Read more...]

Sometimes comments come along considerably after the appearance of the item that inspires them. Rifftides reader Ian Russell sent a note concerning this January 28, 2006 piece about Jackie Cain. I had a 12" LP of Jackie and Roy performing with Charlie Ventura & his big band. What a treasure ! I listened to it many times over the years, and then somehow lost it. What I would give to have it back. One of the numbers was "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles." I've yet to hear anyone even come close to that … [Read more...]

The late pianist Jack Brownlow will be honored today on the radio. Bruno died on October 27 at the age of 84. Jim Wilke will devote his Jazz Northwest program on KPLU-FM to Bruno and his music. That's at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 4:00 Eastern. To listen live in the Seattle-Tacoma area go to 88.5 FM. To hear the program on the internet click here. … [Read more...]

Seattle, Washington, November 10 Preoccupied with death and its aftermath for two weeks, I decided to seek out life, so I went to Serafina. Serafina is not a girl friend. It's a restaurant. Arriving at 7:15, I asked the hostess for a table for one. Her eyes sparkled with amusement, but she refrained from saying, "In your dreams." "Maybe by 9:30," she said, "but if you'd like to wait for something to open up at the bar, you can eat there. Full menu." It was like being back in New York, even unto … [Read more...]

Nearly every waking hour is consumed by the task at hand--the settlement of a friend's estate--but I manage to grab a few minutes here and there in an attempt not to fall too far behind events and ideas. In August, I wrote at some length about Maria Schneider's CD Sky Blue. Today, I caught up with Francis Davis's October 30 commentary in The Village Voice about Schneider's relative importance as a composer. It is a thoughtful piece full of insights that, it seems to me, put her in proper … [Read more...]

At Seattle's Jazz Alley, Luciana Souza began and ended her long single set with the Brazilian music that is her birthright and her glory. She also sang several pop-cum-bossa nova songs from her album The New Bossa Nova, but it was the old bossa nova that lifted her performance and lit up the audience. She opened with João Gilberto's "Adeus América," rubbing softly on the head of a tambourine as she sang, Keith Ganz strumming quiet harmonies on his green guitar. Souza described the nature of the … [Read more...]

Noticing that I am on temporary or intermittent leave, Rifftides Washington, DC correspondent John Birchard leaps into the breach with a review. JOHN PATITUCCI By John Birchard Like Jimmy Blanton, Scott LaFaro died 'way too young. But, in their brief times on earth, both men had an immediate and profound effect on the way jazz is played on the bass. It's hard to overestimate their influence on succeeding generations. One of the worthy successors to Blanton and LaFaro played the K.C. Jazz Club at … [Read more...]

Today's Seattle Times has a substantial obituary of Jack Brownlow. It begins: Jack Brownlow learned to play the piano by ear at age 12. By his late teens, he was an accomplished professional. Although he never sought a national stage, he made a stir here as a musician's musician, a quiet pianist known best for his harmonic sophistication and his encyclopedic knowledge of songs. When he first heard Mr. Brownlow play, Paul Desmond, the alto saxophonist and lead soloist in the Dave Brubeck Quartet, … [Read more...]