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Rifftides

Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

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

Archives for December 2007

A Prize For Roger Kellaway

December 28, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

The French Jazz Academy has awarded pianist Roger Kellaway its Le Prix Du Jazz Classique for his 2007 CD Heroes.The album is by Kellaway's trio with guitarist Bruce Forman and bassist Dan Lutz. Nat Cole had such a drummerless trio and inspired Art Tatum to use the same instrumentation. Oscar Peterson, who adored Cole and Tatum, had a similar group from 1950 to 1958, with Ray Brown on bass, and guitarist Irving Ashby followed by Barney Kessel and then Herb Ellis. Although he is one of the great … [Read more...]

An Oscar Peterson Story

December 28, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

The Canadian broadcaster Len Dobbin sent this Oscar Peterson anecdote to the Jazz West Coast listserve: Oscar, after having visited friends outside of London, was waiting for a train back. The train station platform was on the foggy side when he spotted a man who looked familiar. He approached him and asked would he be Charles Laughton. Laughton replied he was and Oscar told him how much he enjoyed his work. Laughton then asked Oscar his name and what he did and when Oscar said he was a pianist, … [Read more...]

Stan Getz On The Web

December 28, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

A new web site, The Sound, is devoted to Stan Getz and his music. The site is in its early stages but already has much of interest, including three pages of photos, ten videos and several full-length audio performances by Getz. The brief biography needs work. In the mold of the 21st Century show biz puffery that has crept into jazz PR, it has little biographical information and reads more like a tribute or a news release than a serious account of the artist's life. The real bio, a good one, is … [Read more...]

Other Places And Jelly Roll

December 26, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

I am adding to Other Places a link to Night Lights, a fine web log by David Brent Johnson of WFIU at Indiana University. The current offering at JazzWax is a moving account of Jelly Roll Morton's last recording session and his shameful, racist, mistreatment by ASCAP. I don't know if film of Moton performing exists. But if you'd like an explanation and demonstration of Morton's piano style, you can't do better than this visit with Dick Hyman. … [Read more...]

On Oscar Peterson

December 25, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

For those interested in knowing more about Oscar Peterson, the British journalist Steve Voce, in the British newspaper The Independent, provides a 2700 word obituary-as -essay. Among his anecdotes is one that illustrates the regard in which Peterson was held by other pianists. It also captures Duke Ellington's generosity and wryness. Peterson idolized Ellington, who was twenty-six years older. Following Oscar Peterson on stage at a concert in 1967, Duke Ellington remarked: "When I was a small … [Read more...]

Oscar Peterson RIP

December 24, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

The sad news from Canada on this Christmas Eve is that Oscar Peterson died yesterday at home in Toronto. He was 82. One of the great piano figures of his time, Peterson was an inspiration to virtually every jazz pianist who followed him, his influence equaled only by his slightly younger contemporary Bill Evans. Oscar Peterson The Canadian national newspaper The Globe And Mail quotes Peterson's friend Tracy Biddle on his importance as a symbol to Canadians. "He broke out of Canada. He's one of … [Read more...]

Kate McGarry

December 23, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Kate McGarry, The Target (Palmetto). McGarry's singing evaded me. I don't mean that I didn't get it. I mean that I had never heard it. Then, during a recent engagement at Jazz Alley in Seattle, Luciana Souza mentioned that the guitarist appearing with her, Keith Ganz, was married to "the wonderful singer Kate McGarry." I took that as a recommendation.Back at Rifftides world headquarters, I listened to The Target. I'm glad I did. McGarry incorporates intriguing approaches to vocal color, timbre … [Read more...]

Don Redman And The Czech Boppers

December 23, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Don Redman was an important big band arranger and leader in the 1920s, '30s and '40s. He was not a bebop musician, but Redman may well have provided a catalyst for the creation of modern jazz in Eastern Europe following World War Two. With the help of pianist Emil Viklický and the venerable Czech jazz expert Dr. Lubomír Doruzka in Prague, I have been researching the emergence of bebop in Czechoslovakia. I have much to discover and verify, but it is clear that music pioneered by Charlie Parker … [Read more...]

Lawrence Lucie At 100

December 19, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Following a succession of deaths in the top ranks of jazz, it is a pleasure to tell you about an elderly musician who is getting attention because he is alive.The veteran rhythm guitarist and teacher Lawrence Lucie has passed the century mark. Here is an excerpt from today's New York Times story about Lucie. On the eve of his 100th birthday on Monday night, Mr. Lucie, sitting in a wheelchair, could not go 20 seconds without receiving an embrace, a pat on the back or a handshake from one of the … [Read more...]

Joel Dorn

December 19, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

As nearly everyone in the jazz community knows by now, Joel Dorn died of a heart attack on Monday at the age of 65. Joel's work as a producer covered a broad swath of popular music, but many of us admired him for the integrity of his efforts with jazz artists when he was a key figure at Atlantic Records and in his ventures as an independent producer. Among the musicians who respected him for his knowledge, taste, guidance and quiet, wacky humor were Roland Kirk, Charles Mingus, Fathead Newman … [Read more...]

Frank Morgan, 1933-2007

December 15, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Frank Morgan, an alto saxophonist who lost and then found himself, died yesterday in Minneapolis, his hometown. He was a few days short of his seventy-fourth birthday. In his last two decades he was productive and relatively contented, rid of his bedeviling habits and living with family members who cared about him. Here is some of what I wrote about Morgan for one of his last CDs. At eighteen, fully immersed in the L.A. jazz scene, he recorded with Wardell Gray and in his early twenties made … [Read more...]

Recent Listening, Continued

December 14, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Tom Harrell, Dado Moroni, Humanity (Abeat). In six duets, the incomparable American trumpeter and the veteran Italian pianist achieve the most elusive of artistic goals, beauty through simplicity. Moroni's title tune is good company for five classic standards. I'm glad that this is a CD, not a vinyl record, or I would surely wear it out listening repeatedly to Harrell's solo on "Darn That Dream." The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet, Music from Guys and Dolls (Arbors). Not that he's ever gone out of … [Read more...]

Other Places: Dan Morgenstern

December 14, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Marc Myers' current venture on his blog JazzWax is a conversation with the respected writer Dan Morgenstern, who says: You have to be very careful not to let the bonds between you and musicians cloud what you're saying. If you're a writer, your responsibility always is to the reader or listener. If you shortchange your audience, you'll lose your credibility. I tried to avoid such conflicts by simply not writing about bad performances unless I had to. At that point, I'd always frame my remarks by … [Read more...]

Other Places: Jazz.com

December 14, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Jazz historian Ted Gioia has launched an ambitious new web site. It is called Jazz.com. It encompasses a blog, a forum and an interview section. Its Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians feature has enormous potential for listeners, musicians and researchers, indeed for the entire jazz community. In its initial appearance, the Encyclopedia is missing a number of notable musicians, but it solicits readers to suggest improvements. As it expands and undergoes refinements, it could become invaluable. … [Read more...]

Compatible Quotes

December 14, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Truth is rarely pure, and never simple. -- Oscar Wilde Simple isn't easy. -- Red Mitchell … [Read more...]

Correspondence: Sheldon, Tjader And Others

December 12, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Rifftides reader Duncan Reid responds to our recent suggestion that trumpeter Jack Sheldon gets less recognition than his talents warrant. A thought on Jack Sheldon's lack of recognition. Like Cal Tjader, Vince Guaraldi, Shorty Rogers, Jim Hall, Conte Candoli, Paul Horn, Jimmy Giuffre and many others, he is white and based on the West Coast. Many critics, mostly on the East Coast and in Europe, have felt and still feel that white musicians do not play authentic jazz. The late French critic … [Read more...]

Compatible Quotes

December 11, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

I don't mind being the butt of a joke, if it's a funny joke. --Kenny G I hear that Kenny G is going make a jazz album. It will be called 'Round Noon. --Brad Terry … [Read more...]

Recent Listening

December 10, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Marcus Printup, Emil Viklický Trio, Jazz na Hradĕ (Jazz at Prague Castle) (Multisonic). Trumpeter Printup spent a substantial part of the year touring Europe with pianist Viklický's impressive group. They reached a peak of intensity in this concert introduced by Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Printup, Viklický, the astonishing bassist František Uhlíř and drummer Laco Tropp shine in extended performances of four Viklický compositions plus "Dolphin Dance" and "Body and Soul." Jon Hamar, Hereafter … [Read more...]

Correspondence: Easier Access To Evans

December 10, 2007 by Doug Ramsey

Rifftides reader Ken Deifik writes: Thanks for pointing out the Bill Evans Newsletter availability. It's not easy to download the entire set of 26 PDFs, so I've uploaded an archive of them to this web site. They will be available for only a few days. It's a large archive, over 300 Megs, so dialup users might want to consider just reading the PDFs online. Thanks to Mr. Deifik for his helpfulness. … [Read more...]

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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
JerryJazzMusician
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
Jazz Profiles: Steve Cerra
Notes On Jazz: Ralph Miriello
Bob Porter: Jazz Etc.
be.jazz
Marc Myers: Jazz Wax
Night Lights
Jason Crane:The Jazz Session
JazzCorner
I Witness
ArtistShare
Jazzportraits
John Robert Brown
Night After Night
Do The Math/The Bad Plus
Prague Jazz
Russian Jazz
Jazz Quotes
Jazz History Online
Lubricity

Personal Jazz Sites
Chris Albertson: Stomp Off
Armin Buettner: Crownpropeller’s Blog
Cyber Jazz Today, John Birchard
Dick Carr’s Big Bands, Ballads & Blues
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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