Denny Zeitlin, Labyrinth (Sunnyside) Four of the 10 solo piano pieces are adventurous departures from previous versions of Zeitlin’s compositions, including his kaleidoscopic treatment of the title tune. His reconstructions of Richard Rodgers’ “People Will Say We’re in Love†and Wayne … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2011
CD: Marsalis And Calderazzo
Branford Marsalis & Joey Calderazzo, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy (Marsalis Music) A dozen years of togetherness in Marsalis’s quartet have bred familiarity that allows the saxophonist and the pianist to flow through one another’s thoughts. In these duets, their interactions and reactions … [Read more...]
CD: Mark Murphy
Mark Murphy, Never Let Me Go (Jazz Paisan) In his early years, Murphy supported himself as an actor and a singer. His singing soon took precedence. His acting never stopped. The roles he inhabits are the songs he sings. His idiosyncrasies parallel those of Olivier, Brando, Guinness and Depp in … [Read more...]
DVD: Fred Anderson
Fred Anderson, 21st Century Chase (Delmark). We gave this DVD glancing reference in noting the avant-garde Chicago tenor saxophonist‘s passing in 2010. It deserves fuller mention. “Chase†refers to the tenor sax tag-team tradition in jazz. Think Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray in outer … [Read more...]
Book: Riccardi On Armstrong
Ricky Riccardi, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years (Pantheon). In the eulogy at Armstrong’s funeral in 1971, Fred Robbins said, “He was truly the only one of his kind, a titanic figure in his and our time, a veritable Picasso. A Stravinsky. A Casals. A Louis … [Read more...]