Len Dobbin, a man of many parts in Montreal, died last night. Among his other roles, over the years Mr. Dobbin was a broadcaster, reviewer, photographer and producer intimately involved in the Canadian jazz scene. For details, go here. Len was a frequent and knowledgeable correspondent to Rifftides. … [Read more...]

(This item originally appeared in Rifftides on July 19, 2005) A Little "Rifftide" Geneology Annie Kuebler, the Mary Lou Williams archivist at the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies, gives us further insights into "Rifftide." That is the 1945 Coleman Hawkins recording that inspired the name of this … [Read more...]

To my knowledge, there is no video of Coleman Hawkins or Mary Lou Williams playing "Rifftide" or "Oh, Lady Be Good" and certainly not "Hackensack," Thelonious Monk's appropriation or adaptation of the line. So, we'll have to settle for Stan Getz and John Coltrane accompanied by Oscar Peterson, Paul … [Read more...]

For some time--years--I have been bothered by the further deterioration of a craft that too often has not achieved the status of serious criticism. I write, sad to say, of jazz reviewing, in which assignments all too often go to the lowest bidder, or to no bidder. These days, they go less frequently … [Read more...]

Asked to define jazz, Louis Armstrong replied, "If you have to ask what it is, you'll never know." That's one answer. Here's another, provided by Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Hank Jones, Rufus Reid and Mickey Roker at Gillespie's 70th birthday concert on October, 21, 1987. The composition is … [Read more...]

(An annual Rifftides reminder) Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.--Benjamin Franklin America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed … [Read more...]

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Sheila Jordan has a farmhouse retreat in Upstate New York where the 80-year-old singer goes to develop new music. In The New York Times this week, Lisa A. Phillips wrote a charming story about Jordan and her country life. Here is a sample: "When I come up here," she said, "I feel totally undressed … [Read more...]

If all of July is like this, I'll be a happy cyclist. My Italian friend Vigorelli Bianchi and I did 22 morning miles. The air and light had a crystalline quality more usual In October than summer. The cherry crop looks splendid, loading the trees so heavily that in places the branches bowed low … [Read more...]

Please go to the center column and scroll down to Doug's Picks. There, you will find recommendations for two tenor saxophonists, a pianist who sings (or a singer who plays the piano), a pianist and a poet. Yes, a poet. … [Read more...]

Ted O'Reilly writes from Toronto about the item in the following exhibit: Nice stuff with the DBQ. I agree with your comments about the sound quality especially. It was in the days of Professionals when that was recorded: both musicians (who knew how to play together) and technicians. "Balance … [Read more...]

YouTube has posted a few excerpts from programs the Dave Brubeck Quartet did for BBC television in 1964. The musical and the black and white video quality are superb. In the first one, I am struck by Brubeck's delicacy at the keyboard and by the fullness of Paul Desmond's alto saxophone sound. The … [Read more...]

Up to my ears in curricular and non-curricular matters since my return from New York, I may or may not get around to writing more about last week's Jazz Journalists Association awards afternoon. In the meantime, Arnold Jay Smith posted a lively summary on Ted Gioia's jazz.com blog. In his lead … [Read more...]

Each man reads his own meaning into New York. --Meyer Berger One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years. --Thomas Wolfe I miss New York. I still love how people talk to you on the street - just assault you and tell you what they think of your … [Read more...]