Rahsaan Roland Kirk Live in '63 & '67 (Jazz Icons). One of eight DVDs in the impressive Jazz Icons third release, this finds Kirk touring Europe with his arsenal of horns. It is fascinating to watch him manage tenor sax, manzello, stritch, clarinet, siren and nose whistle. The forthright music … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2009
Book: Willa Cather
Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop (Vintage Classics). Cather is in a class with A.B. Guthrie, Jr. and Bernard DeVoto in her feeling for the expanse and expansiveness of early America. This tale of two French priests carving their church territory out of a resistant New Mexico is an … [Read more...]
The Blue Note 7: And They’re Off
In the second concert of their 50-stop national tour, the Blue Note 7 drew a full house Friday night at The Seasons Performance Hall in Yakima, Washington. From the opener, Horace Silver's "The Outlaw," to the encore, Bud Powell's "Dance of the Infidels," the all-star band dipped into the vast … [Read more...]
Monk At Town Hall–Fifty Years Later
The unforgettable 1959 Thelonious Monk Orchestra concert at Town Hall will have a 50th anniversary recreation next month at the scene of the event in New York City. Preserved on a famous Riverside album and performed by jazz repertory orchestras everywhere, Monk's" compositions in orchestrations by … [Read more...]
Correspondence: Two Young Pianists
Rifftides reader Peter Myers writes:" In your liner notes from the great Christmas present CD I received, The Art and Soul of Houston Person, you mentioned a gifted 19-year-old jazz musician who plays few standards. I wondered if you were talking about Eldar. I was looking forward to seeing him at … [Read more...]
Those Missing Pictures
Because of a digital malfunction the nature of which I am unequipped to explain, some of the pictures in the recent Rifftides archives have disappeared and been replaced by empty boxes. The artsjournal.com technical hierarchy assures me that the gremlins have been found and summarily executed, but … [Read more...]
Our Friend Dizzy
As readers of Rifftides know by now, The Wall Street Journal provides more than financial news and market reports. The newspaper has a Leisure And Arts section with extensive, varied, informed cultural coverage. It includes writing about music by several contributors. I am happy to be one on … [Read more...]
Other Matters: On Man
If you are at all disturbed by what we human beings are doing to one another in Israel, the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Georgia, Russia, Colombia, the Koreas (sorry if I" left out your favorite), spend a few minutes with a man who died 98 years ago. I wish I'd thought of this, … [Read more...]
Blue Note’s Birthday
Today is the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records, and -- what a coincidence -- I have at hand an advance CD by the Blue Note 7. That is the all-star band of Blue Note artists on" the verge of a three months tour to celebrate the longevity of a company that has made a difference in music. The tour … [Read more...]
CD: Dena DeRose
Dena DeRose: Live At Jazz Standard, Volume Two (MaxJazz). Spontaneity and a sense of discovery continue in this second set by DeRose and her trio at the New York club. She, bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson connect with one another and with an enthusiastic audience. The connection comes by … [Read more...]
Other Matters: Togetherness
This spring will see the release on DVD of a documentary film that dramatizes the degree to which we're all in this troubled world together. The film uses music to make that point and the further one that music can help heal our differences. Its producer, Mark Johnson, took video and sound equipment … [Read more...]
A Sudhalter Memorial
A concert in memory of Richard M. Sudhalter, the distinguished jazz musician, historian, biographer, and critic, will be held on Monday, January 12, at St. Peter's Lutheran Church," 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street, New York City, from seven to ten p.m.

Sudhalter died last September. For a … [Read more...]
Service For Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard's family has released information about his funeral service." 1:00 PM, Tuesday, January 6, 2009 -- viewing from 11 AMFaithful Central Bible Church's Tabernacle321 North Eucalyptus AvenueInglewood, CA 90301The trumpeter died December 29. For a Rifftides appreciation of his career, go … [Read more...]
Bill Ramsay, Octogenarian Swinger
Bill Ramsay is a veteran saxophonist widely admired in jazz circles across the US but little known to the public outside the Pacific Northwest. Accomplished on alto and baritone saxes,he co-leads the Ramsay-Kleeb band and is the baritone sparkplug of the Seattle" Repertory Jazz Orchestra. Ramsay … [Read more...]