Gary Giddins, Weather Bird: Jazz At The Dawn Of Its Second Century (Oxford). I take my time getting through Giddins's big compilations of his columns, reviews and essays. This one was beside my bed for a couple of years. I savored it a piece at a time, enjoying insights like this about Erroll … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2008
The Bruno Letters, Part 2
From time to time I'll be posting parts of letters I wrote to Jack Brownlow over a period of twenty-five years or so. To my surprise, after his death a collection of them showed up among his effects. I had forgotten much of what I wrote him in our correspondence. This excerpt from New Orleans was on … [Read more...]
Comment Procedure
There is a temporary change in the method of posting comments to Rifftides. Until further notice, please send your comments in the form of e-mail to the contact address in the right hand column. For months the Rifftides comments function has been invaded by spammers. Some days we have been assaulted … [Read more...]
Weekend Extra: When Cosby Sat In With Stitt
Both Bill Kirchner and Ty Newcomb forwarded this link to a segment from the Dick Cavett show in 1973. Bill Cosby tells Cavett and Jack Benny about his brief career as a drummer. Go here. … [Read more...]
Weekend Extra: Jazz Before Lincoln Center
Decades before there was Lincoln Center, much less Jazz At Lincoln Center, the midtown Manhattan area encompassing Lincoln Square and San Juan Hill was a jazz incubator. New York Times reporter John Strausbaugh's video report on that piece of cultural history includes cameos by JALC curator Phil … [Read more...]
Compatible Quotes
I object to background music no matter how good it is. Composers want people to listen to their music, they don't want them doing something else while their music is on. I'd like to get the guy who sold all those big businessmen the idea of putting music in the elevators, for he was really clever. … [Read more...]
Lambert, Evans and Bird
Mr. Jazz Wax has a two-part conversation with Hal McKusick about Charlie Parker's 1953 recording with Dave Lambert's vocal group and a chamber ensemble put together by Gil Evans. McKusick played clarinet. The project turned out to be a bit of a mess but, as McKusick explains, not because of … [Read more...]