Anita O’Day was in Chicago born 93 years ago today. From my notes for the 2009 O’Day Jazz Icons DVD, this is a summary of her importance: Anita O'Day was the last of the great female jazz vocalists who emerged in the swing era. She survived Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee and … [Read more...]

It has just been called to my attention that this is the birthday of Art Tatum (1909-1956). Before the day expires, at least in my time zone, here is one of the few instances of Tatum’s being caught on film. The clip is from the 1947 movie The Fabulous Dorseys. It finds the great man in a jam … [Read more...]

Musicians at the Oregon Coast Jazz Party can count on a busy weekend. If this jewel of a little festival had a theme, it would be compatibility. Regardless of whether the musicians she assigns have previously played together, music director Holly Hofmann assembles the players and singers in … [Read more...]

Hammond B3 organist Atsuko Hashimoto bookended the Oregon Coast Jazz Party. The diminutive bundle of energy from Osaka performed on opening night, again on Saturday and in the Sunday morning wrap session. Her set with drummer Jeff Hamilton and guitarist Graham Dechter began with the ballad “All or … [Read more...]

Holly Hofmann directs the Oregon Coast Jazz Party with the organizational skills of a headmistress, the firmness of a Marine Corps drill instructor and the finesse of a world-class flutist. At the 2012 party, she unsheathed her flute twice, sitting in with the Clayton Brothers Quintet and joining in … [Read more...]

Tomorrow morning, I am off to Newport, Oregon to attend the 2012 Oregon Coast Jazz Party. The three-day event used to be called The Newport, Oregon, Jazz Festival, but I'm told that it became necessary to rename it because of concerns that it could be mistaken for another festival. Perhaps you can … [Read more...]

Pianist, composer and member of The Bad Plus, Ethan Iverson is also a prodigious and canny blogger. On his Do The Math blog, he often features extended interviews with prominent musicians. I have never been a fan of transcribed interviews. Too often, they are a boring substitute for writing. Ethan … [Read more...]

Sorry to hear of Eddie Bert’s passing last week. He was a trombonist who loved to play so much that if there were no paying gigs, he would find a band to sit in with. Bert was 90 years old and worked until shortly before he died. He was an asset in combos as well as big bands. His resume included … [Read more...]

No one promised me a rose garden, but that's what I got, and a resident rose expert who manages to keep it glorious well into autumn. I'm a lucky guy. Happy October. … [Read more...]

If you're keeping up with the adventures of the Brubeck Brothers Quartet in Russia, read Chris Brubeck's latest blog post, an account of the BBQ's good will mission to a country town. The band held a concert for the citizenry and, in return, heard some of the locals, including "extremely sturdy … [Read more...]

Everything else in life has not quite come to a standstill while I race the deadline for the Dizzy Gillespie project mentioned in the “Sweet Lorraine” post of September 20. It only seems that way. Researching Gillespie’s “Brother K,” his tribute to Martin Luther King and Robert … [Read more...]

Responding to the Brubeck-Desmond item in the previous exhibit, David Evans writes: Thanks for sharing that! Desmond always kills me. It takes tremendous strength and control to play with such a beautiful sound and such balanced phrasing. It sounds easy, but believe me, it’s not. Classical … [Read more...]

The following item ran on Rifftides more than five years ago, with a link to video that later disappeared from the web. The clip has been restored. In light of recent discussions about the blues theme that frequently appeared when the two men played together, even after the Brubeck Quartet dissolved … [Read more...]

After rounds of research and interviews, I am finally in the writing phase of a Dizzy Gillespie project whose nature I will disclose to you one of these days. For now, suffice it to say that it involves Gillespie club performances most of which have never been released. In the course of listening to … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader Svetlana Ilicheva (pictured) responded from Moscow to yesterday's post with an account of a later Brubeck Brothers Quartet concert during the band's visit to Russia. In addition to what Chris Brubeck wrote about his first concert at the Igor Butman club in Moscow and his panegyric … [Read more...]

Chris Brubeck reports from Moscow about the Brubeck Brothers Quartet’s Russian tour. He last played there a quarter of a century ago as a member of his father Dave’s quartet, when the country was the Soviet Union. Chris writes on his blog that at the BBQ’s first concert of the current trip, … [Read more...]