Archives for 2009

(Portland, Oregon) - At the Portland Jazz Festival between concerts and after hours, much of the talk among musicians is about the death of Gerry Niewood. The saxophonist was one of 50 people who died in a plane crash Thursday night near Buffalo, New York. He and guitarist Coleman Mellett were on … [Read more...]

Early this morning, I'll be off to Portland, Oregon, one of my favorite former home towns. I" lived there for three years long ago when my television news career was getting into gear -- the second-gear phase, I suppose. The occasion is the first weekend of the Portland Jazz Festival, rescued from … [Read more...]

Dave Frishberg writes with important information on a matter raised in the previous entry." I'm reading the Rifftides discussion about Blossom Dearie and Bill Evans, and who influenced who. I'd like to add my comment: During the late sixties I played a couple weeks solo opposite the Bill Evans Trio … [Read more...]

When Blossom Dearie died at 82 over the weekend, we lost a brilliant musician whose subtle artistry and private nature conspired to limit her popularity. There was nothing about her "teacup voice," as Whitney Balliett described it, or her sophisticated harmonic sense at the piano that could have led … [Read more...]

Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Niels-Henning Ørsted-Pedersen, Martin Drew … [Read more...]

In the act of playing music, it is impossible to separate the process from the product. Or, it was. In an important piece of journalism, Eric Felten turns a floodlight on the technological airbrushing of live performances in an effort to insure perfection. Felten's" Wall Street Journal essay … [Read more...]

Response to the Rifftides post on hard bop has created a lively discussion. You can read the comments here. In addition to the Savoy CD called Hard Bop that was, more or less, the focus of the piece, the commenters mention or allude to other albums. If you're thinking of expanding the hard bop (if … [Read more...]

War worries have you gloomy? " Depressed over the recession? Investments tanking? Coming down with something and can't pay your health insurance premium?" Take this advice (click here) from a great philosopher. … [Read more...]

You get that right-tickin' rhythm, man, and it's ON! So easy, when you know how. One never knows, do one? … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader and occasional correspondent Red Colm O'Sullivan writes from Ireland (where else, with a name like that?):" And here's another frequently used term that has no meaning whatsoever: "Hard Bop". I have NO IDEA what that MEANS (as opposed to supposed to mean).That brought to mind … [Read more...]

In a posting a few months ago, I outlined the problem that all who write about music must face: keeping up. Nothing has changed, except that more CDs than ever are stacked throughout the office and music room. A colleague says he told a caller demanding to know when his album would be reviewed that … [Read more...]

Aaron Irwin Group, Blood and Thunder (Fresh Sound New Talent). In a tray card photograph, we see the 30-year-old alto saxophonist drinking a glass of milk and looking" about eighteen. Irwin's compositions and arrangements have a concomitant freshness about them, and resourcefulness. His writing … [Read more...]

Hank Crawford, another of the cadre of Ray Charles saxophonists who went on to their own fame, died on January 29. David "Fathead" Newman and Leroy "Hog" Cooper, Crawford's colleagues in the Charles band, died earlier last month. Crawford's alto, Newman's tenor and Cooper's baritone saxophones were … [Read more...]

CD: Tom Harrell, Prana Dance (High Note)"  The economy, lyricism and ingenuity in Tom Harrell's writing and his trumpet and flugelhorn playing make him one of the most admired musicians in jazz. Not only his contemporaries, but also musicians of younger and older generations are in awe of Harrell's … [Read more...]

As New Orleans makes its slow way back from the devastation of hurricane Katrina and the fumbling federal and state crisis response, there are rays of hope on the cultural front. The jazz journalist Larry Blumenfeld, who has become a semi-permanent New Orleans resident, writes about it in The Wall … [Read more...]

Dave Frishberg lives very much in the present but makes no bones about his fascination with the past. After all, his last CD was titled Retromania. So it's no wonder that the producers of a new piece of musical theater sought out Frishberg to write the words and music. Anyone familiar with "I'm … [Read more...]

Not long after I posted the item above, Mr. Frishberg sent this:" The show is running smoothly, and the audience seems to love it. It's a small space, 99 seats, no proscenium, so it's like 3/4 in-the-round. Actors play practically in the laps of the audience. There are six musical events in … [Read more...]

The current offering on Steve Cerra's Jazz Profiles web log is part one of an extensive" examination of the career and music of alto saxophonist Bud Shank. It incorporates most of the contents of the booklet I wrote for the Mosaic Records boxed set The Pacific Jazz Bud Shank Studio Sessions … [Read more...]

Benny Golson celebrates his 80th birthday today. At the same time, he releases a new CD with a band in the mold of the Jazztet that he and Art Farmer led beginning in 1960. The Jazztet's success put Golson's composing and arranging abilities into the consciousness of listeners who may have been … [Read more...]