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Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

You are here: Home / 2007 / Archives for November 2007

Archives for November 2007

Jelly, Jelly

November 28, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Cecil Payne

November 27, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Correspondence: About The Bebop Reunion

November 26, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Paul Desmond, 1924-1977

November 25, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Bebop Reunion Expanded

November 24, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Bebop Reunion

November 23, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Thanksgiving 2007

November 22, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Correspondence: Poodie James

November 20, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Correspondence: The Conover Program

November 18, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Willis Conover On The Radio

November 17, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Correspondence: Jackie And Roy, 1948

November 12, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Bruno On The Radio

November 11, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Respite

November 10, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Interim: Davis on Schneider

November 9, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Luciana Souza Trio, Jazz Alley, 10/30/07

November 5, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Patitucci in DC

November 3, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Bruno’s Obituary

November 1, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

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...]

Doug Ramsey

Doug is a recipient of the lifetime achievement award of the Jazz Journalists Association. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he settled following a career in print and broadcast journalism in cities including New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, Cleveland and Washington, DC. His writing about jazz has paralleled his life in journalism... [Read More]

Rifftides

A winner of the Blog Of The Year award of the international Jazz Journalists Association. Rifftides is founded on Doug's conviction that musicians and listeners who embrace and understand jazz have interests that run deep, wide and beyond jazz. Music is its principal concern, but the blog reaches past... Read More...

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Doug’s Books

Doug's most recent book is a novel, Poodie James. Previously, he published Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond. He is also the author of Jazz Matters: Reflections on the Music and Some of its Makers. He contributed to The Oxford Companion To Jazz and co-edited Journalism Ethics: Why Change? He is at work on another novel in which, as in Poodie James, music is incidental.

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Doug’s Picks

We’re Back: Pianist Denny Zeitlin’s New Trio Album for Sunnyside

As Rifftides readers have undoubtedly noticed, it has been a long time since we posted. We are creating a new post in hopes  that it will open the way to resumption of frequent reports as part of the artsjournal.com mission to keep you up to date on jazz and other matters. Pianist Denny Zeitlin’s stunning new trio album […]

Recent Listening: The New David Friesen Trio CD

David Friesen Circle 3 Trio: Interaction (Origin) Among the dozens of recent releases that deserve serious attention, a few will get it. Among those those receiving it here is bassist David Friesen’s new album.  From the Portland, Oregon, sinecure in which he thrives when he’s not touring the world, bassist Friesen has been performing at […]

Monday Recommendation: Dominic Miller

Dominic Miller Absinthe (ECM) Guitarist and composer Miller delivers power and subtlety in equal measure. Abetted by producer Manfred Eicher’s canny guidance and ECM’s flawless sound and studio presence, Miller draws on inspiration from painters of France’s impressionist period. His liner essay emphasizes the importance to his musical conception of works by Cezanne, Renoir, Lautrec, […]

Recent Listening: Dave Young And Friends

Dave Young, Lotus Blossom (Modica Music) Young, the bassist praised by Oscar Peterson for his “harmonic simpatico and unerring sense of time” when he was a member of Peterson’s trio, leads seven gifted fellow Canadians. His beautifully recorded bass is the underpinning of a relaxed session in which his swing is a force even during […]

Recent Listening: Jazz Is Of The World

Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano, Jan Lundgren, Mare Nostrum III (ACT) This third outing by Mare Nostrum continues the international trio’s close collaboration in a series of albums that has enjoyed considerable success. With three exceptions, the compositions in this installment are by the members of Mare Nostrum. It opens with one the French accordionist Galliano […]

Monday Recommendation: Thelonious Monk’s Works In Full

Kimbrough, Robinson, Reid, Drummond: Monk’s Dreams(Sunnyside) The subtitle of this invaluable 6-CD set is The Complete Compositions Of Thelonious Sphere Monk. By complete, Sunnyside means that the box contains six CDs with 70 tunes that Monk wrote beginning in the early years when his music was generally assumed to be an eccentric offshoot of bebop, […]

More Doug's Picks

Blogroll

All About Jazz
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Carol Sloane: SloaneView
Jazz Beyond Jazz: Howard Mandel
The Gig: Nate Chinen
Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong
Don Heckman: The International Review Of Music
Ted Panken: Today is The Question
George Colligan: jazztruth
Brilliant Corners
Jazz Music Blog: Tom Reney
Brubeck Institute
Darcy James Argue
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Bob Porter: Jazz Etc.
be.jazz
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I Witness
ArtistShare
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Night After Night
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Russian Jazz
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Jazz History Online
Lubricity

Personal Jazz Sites
Chris Albertson: Stomp Off
Armin Buettner: Crownpropeller’s Blog
Cyber Jazz Today, John Birchard
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Donald Clarke’s Music Box
Noal Cohen’s Jazz History
Bill Crow
Easy Does It: Fernando Ortiz de Urbana
Bill Evans Web Pages
Dave Frishberg
Ronan Guilfoyle: Mostly Music
Bill Kirchner
Mike Longo
Jan Lundgren (Friends of)
Willard Jenkins/The Independent Ear
Ken Joslin: Jazz Paintings
Bruno Leicht
Earl MacDonald
Books and CDs: Bill Reed
Marvin Stamm

Tarik Townsend: It’s A Raggy Waltz
Steve Wallace: Jazz, Baseball, Life and Other Ephemera
Jim Wilke’s Jazz Northwest
Jessica Williams

Other Culture Blogs
Terry Teachout
DevraDoWrite
Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise
On An Overgrown Path

Journalism
PressThink: Jay Rosen
Second Draft, Tim Porter
Poynter Online

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