Rifftides

Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

Archives for 2007

Rifftides In The World

by

Welcome to Rifftides readers in: Sydney, Melbourne and Berkeley Vale, Australia Moscow, Russia Stockholm and Vastra Gotaland, Sweden; Baden-Wurttemberg and Niedernhausen, Hessen, Germany Lisbon, Portugal Vaud, Switzerland Marbella, Spain London, Birmingham and West Ham, Newham, UK Toronto and York … [Read more...]

Sheldon Followup

by

In the Jack Sheldon piece (see the next exhibit), I forgot to mention his work on the most recent Tierney Sutton CD. To read about it, go here. Sheldon brought interesting comments, including one from a man who went to school with him. Click on the "Comments" link at the end of the next piece. … [Read more...]

Jack Sheldon

by

Some time ago, Rifftides reader Steve Sherman wrote, more or less in haiku form: Jack Sheldon, unpretentious, one of the best living singers, trumpet players, always swinging, often touching. Maybe write something. I agree with Mr. Sherman's evaluation of Sheldon. I am happy to write something, but … [Read more...]

Patience, Please

by

Deadlines galore: Lead review for Jazz Times (Ron Carter's next CD). Notes for two CDs, George Mraz's Moravian Gems, and Mad Duran's Simply Mad. I'm reading and evaluating the manuscript of a new book by a major jazz biographer. Nonetheless, I have something in mind to post tomorrow or the next day. … [Read more...]

Erik Lawrence On Rod Levitt

by

The item in the next exhibit was, I thought, the last Rifftides posting about Rod Levitt. Then Erik Lawrence sent the following message and his obituary of Rod, which is too thorough, touching and well written not to pass along to you. Erik refers to his late father, the multifaceted saxophonist, … [Read more...]

Rod Levitt R.I.P.

by

It was a phone call I wished never to receive and knew was inevitable. Rod Levitt's wife Jean called to report that he died peacefully in his sleep the night of May 8. A composer and arranger of inventiveness, warmth and resourcefulness, a trombonist whose kindness and humor radiated in his playing, … [Read more...]

Teachout, Librettist

by

As if our friend and fellow artsjournal.com blogger Terry Teachout weren't polymath enough, he's extending his cultural breadth. On his blog, About Last Night, he announces: I'm writing an opera. What? I'M WRITING AN OPERA. That's what I thought he said. To get the details, go here. … [Read more...]

Picks

by

The Rifftides staff is pleased to announced that (finally) we have posted a new group of Doug's Picks in the right-hand column. A reminder: We now archive the Picks. To see past entries, click on "More Picks" at the end of the current crop. … [Read more...]

CD: Bill Holman

by

The Bill Holman Band, Hommage (Jazzed Media). On the verge of his eightieth birthday, Holman retains the energy, wit, freshness and multi-layered conception that have made him a standard-setting arranger for fifty years. "Hommage á Woody," is a three-part suite that captures aspects of Woody Herman … [Read more...]

CD: Anat Cohen

by

Anat Cohen, Poetica and Noir (Anzica). Two new CDs illuminate several facets of the remarkable Israeli reed artist who has become a star of the New York jazz scene. In Poetica, she plays only clarinet, with a rhythm section on some tracks, a string quartet on others. In Noir, with a medium-sized … [Read more...]

CD: Roland Kirk

by

Roland Kirk with Jack McDuff, Kirk's Work (Prestige). This reissue in the Rudy Van Gelder Remasters series presents Kirk long before he added "Rahsaan" to his name, before he became famous, when he was a tornado roaring out of the Midwest playing three saxophones at once, whistles, flute and siren … [Read more...]

DVD: Chicago Underground Trio

by

Chicago Underground Trio, Chronicle (Delmark). The music is from the trio's Delmark CD of the same name. The latest expression of the avant garde Chicago cornetist and composer Rob Mazurek, it is alternately explosive and reflective and somehow leaves the listener with a sense of calm. The video by … [Read more...]

Book: Miles Davis

by

Richard Cook, It's About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off The Record (Oxford). Yes, another book about Miles Davis. Neither a biography nor a discography, Cook's book has elements of both. The best way to read it is sitting next to your CD player with the fourteen Davis albums Cook analyzes as … [Read more...]

Other Matters: Robert Schumann

by

Confession: Until recently, I could not get with Robert Schumann. I found him dull. The nineteenth century composer and pianist is, by general agreement, in the front rank of German romanticism, so I assumed that the shortcoming was mine. I was right. I wasn't paying attention. What caused me to … [Read more...]

Alvin Batiste, Gone

by

The news of Alvin Batiste's death of an apparent heart attack early Sunday morning came as I was preparing to write a few words about his new CD. A great clarinetist, a masterly transmitter of the jazz tradition, Batiste was scheduled to play Sunday at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival with … [Read more...]

David Friesen’s New Trio

by

The bassist David Friesen, an explorer, does not rule out the customary jazz trio instrumentation of piano, bass and drums; he had a superb trio with pianist Randy Porter and drummer Alan Jones. But for him the traditional configuration does not define the trio concept. Friesen has led trios in … [Read more...]

Hotel Pianist: Soldiering On

by

Hotel Pianist no longer blogs, thanks to having been outed by a numbskull fellow blogger. From time to time, though, she sends e-mail messages. This is the latest one: Musician Jokes I have two musician jokes for you today: 1. I'm often bored enough to drool at the piano. One way I try to counteract … [Read more...]