This is the birthday of John Lewis (1920-2001), the pianist and music director of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Many of his compositions are staples of the jazz repertoire. None is better known than “Django,” named for the Belgian Gypsy guitarist who was the first European musician to become a major … [Read more...]

The Jazz Journalists Association today announced its members’ choices for the 2013 JJA awards. The organization honored saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter with its lifetime achievement award. Trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith was named musician of the year. Centennial: Newly Discovered … [Read more...]

This is International Jazz Day. It was celebrated in a massive concert streamed live from Istanbul. Herbie Hancock gave the keynote speech and hosted the webcast. To watch and listen to it replayed, click here. … [Read more...]

Here it is the night of Duke Ellington’s 114th birthday and Rifftides has left you bereft of a flowery tribute to his genius, immortality, indispensability and __________ (fill in the blank). Instead, let’s see all of that in action in a clip from the 1930 RKO film Check and Double Check. … [Read more...]

This spring, the lilacs seem to have blossomed a bit earlier than usual. They are everywhere in this big valley, in shades from snow white to purple so deep it’s almost black. We have three banks of lilac bushes In our south 40. The one at the bottom end is the biggest and most glorious. Here are … [Read more...]

In notes for the 1998 issue of Kenny Dorham: Blues in Bebop, I wrote: More than a quarter-century after his death, Kenny Dorham is a beacon of encouragement shining across the landscape populated by young jazz musicians. In a generation of imitators, a few perceptive players have discovered … [Read more...]

  When buried in deadlines and unable to create sparkling new material, give ‘em some Charlie Parker, that’s my motto. Here is Parker on September 15, 1944, at the WOR studios in New York City. The leader on the record date was guitarist Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes. The other musicians are … [Read more...]

The Stan Getz video posted here over the weekend drew an array of comments from Rifftides readers. One of them was from his daugher Bev, who took impassioned exception to praise for the late Don Maggin’s Getz biography. In response, I sent Ms. Getz a private message about the last time I spoke … [Read more...]

In the latest of his occasional series on arrangers and composers, Jeff Sultanof looks at the career and contributions of a man whom I once described in a liner essay as a quintuple threat, then wrote, “That was too conservative. At the height of his career, he played alto, tenor, clarinet and … [Read more...]

Please see the previous post for the first installment. BENNY CARTER, PART 2 By Jeff Sultanof In 1999, I went to Los Angeles to celebrate New Year’s Eve with Jerry Graff, my mentor and second father, as well as to visit with Gene Lees and Roger Kellaway. I got a call from Ed Berger to … [Read more...]

There may have been times—no, there were times—when Stan Getz worked overtime to be unpleasant. Zoot Sims had his reasons for describing Getz as "an interesting bunch of guys." It is not likely that Sims had in mind moments like those in this video. Rifftides reader Jeff Chang sent a tip about a … [Read more...]

Some time ago, Steve Cerra (pictured) flattered me with an interview for his Jazz Profiles weblog. When the piece ran in 2011, it triggered a number of comments. Nonetheless, Steve decided to run it again and posted it today in the left column of his blog. To my delight, he created this montage … [Read more...]

Sometimes I get buried in deadline work and through neglect or “a kind of monumental inefficiency” (to borrow a favorite Paul Desmondism), I let a day or two go by without putting something new on Rifftides. Then, it gets to be ‘round midnight and it occurs to me that I have committed what my … [Read more...]

Rifftides readers in the New York metropolitan area, or planning to visit it, may care to make note of an unusual performance coming up this week. Soprano saxophonist Bill Kirchner, pianist Marc Copland and vocalist Carol Fredette will make a rare collaborative appearance on Wednesday evening, April … [Read more...]

This is Herbie Hancock’s 73rd birthday. According to YouTube, the version of his “Canteloupe Island” below has been watched by 6,770,455 viewers. If you’re seeing it for the first time, congratulations. If you’re seeing it for the 6,770,456th time, hearty congratulations. Whoever posted … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader Svetlana Ilyicheva (pictured) now and then sends reports about concerts she attends in Moscow—Russia, not Idaho. Here is her account of a recent performance by visiting American musicians. A few days ago (April 3) I was at the concert given by the Dave Liebman Quartet at the … [Read more...]

"  Steve Coleman, Functional Arrhythmias (Pi) For more than 30 years, Coleman has been a leader in music on the forward edge of jazz. This album synthesizes and focuses concepts that the alto saxophonist and composer developed through the M-Base movement he founded in the 1980s. The … [Read more...]

The next few Rifftides posts will be devoted to reviewing—or at least acknowledging—some of the hundreds of recent album arrivals that have given my mailman an aching back and made an obstacle course of the office and music room. My intention is to choose wisely among a bewildering … [Read more...]

To compensate for lateness in posting a birthday tribute to Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996), the Rifftides staff is pleased to bring you videos of Mulligan from three stages of his career. First, we find him at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 with his quartet; Mulligan, baritone saxophone; Art … [Read more...]