Archives for February 2013

Eubie Blake made himself even more famous well into his 90s when he said, “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” He died on February 12, 1983 at the age of 100 years and five days. More famous? Yes, he had been widely known for decades as a … [Read more...]

Robert Farnon By Jeff Sultanof Robert Farnon composed several film scores, of which the best known is the music for Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951). The trombonist, composer and arranger J.J. Johnson told me that a theme from the film, “Lady Barbara” was one of his … [Read more...]

As Jeff Sultanof makes clear in the first segment of his two-part essay for Rifftides, the most accomplished composers and arrangers looked up to Robert Farnon (1917-2005). To the left, we see him between two of his admirers, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Carter. Early in his career, both offered him … [Read more...]

Following up the Butch Morris post two items below, this announcement just arrived: … [Read more...]

Thanks to Michael Cuscuna and his colleagues at Mosaic Records for a reminder in their Daily Gazette of an interview with the forthright Miles Davis. Nat Hentoff spoke with the 29-year-old Davis for a 1955 Down Beat article. Full of opinions, the trumpeter took on conventional wisdom about a number … [Read more...]