First thing: Have you noticed that half of the answers to questions and half of reports (statistic not scientifically confirmed) on radio and television news and interview programs begin with, “So…” News Anchor: For the latest on White House reaction to those discouraging … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader Svletlana Ilicheva writes from Moscow about a concert earlier this week at the Tzaritzino National Park. Called “Classics And Jazz,” the program included four prominent American saxophonists of the same generation who have banded together as the Axis Saxophone Quartet. Ms. … [Read more...]

In a meeting of east and west, April’s Ballard Jazz Festival in Seattle brought together New York pianist Orrin Evans with Human Spirit. Led by trumpeter Thomas Marriott, alto saxophonist Mark Taylor and drummer Matt Jorgensen, the Seattle quintet is attracting international attention, in part … [Read more...]

In 1921, 16-year-old trumpet student Elden E. Benge of Winterset, Iowa, wrote a letter to Herbert L. Clarke (pictured, right), asking advice. Clarke (1867-1945) was the most celebrated cornet soloist of his day, a veteran of John Phillip Sousa’s band and leader of his own concert bands. His … [Read more...]

Wondering how trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is doing in the wake of the (justified) fuss over his 2010 album When The Heart Emerges Glistening, I did a bit of web surfing and discovered that he’s doing fine. Among the evidence was video of an intergenerational concert led by the 77-year-old French … [Read more...]

Bobby Shew played a one-nighter Saturday evening in his brief tour of the Pacific Northwest. The gig at Tula’s in Seattle launched in slight confusion over the introduction the rhythm section played to the first tune, Victor Young’s “Beautiful Love.” It did not match what Shew had in mind. … [Read more...]

Seattle and I have got to stop meeting like this. I’m heading back across the Cascades for trumpeter Bobby Shew’s appearance tonight at Tula’s. Coincidentally, a message arrived yesterday evening from Mr. Shew. It was succinct: “Check it out,” followed by a link to this blistering 1981 … [Read more...]

The latest post in Steve Cerra’s Jazz Profiles concerns first-rate musicians who are well known only where they live. Sometimes, Steve points out, that is because they don’t get a break. Sometimes, it is because they want to stay put. “Every town has one,” he writes. “Whether it’s … [Read more...]

One night in the early 1970s when the Half Note of blessed memory was still in downtown Manhattan and had yet to develop midtown pretensions, Roy Haynes was playing drums with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. Dave Frishberg was the pianist. I think the bassist was Victor Sproles. In the closing tune of a late … [Read more...]

Before Chick Webb died in 1939 at the age of 30, he established himself as a model for jazz drumming and his band as a gold standard of swing that humbled even Count Basie and Benny Goodman. In addition, Webb discovered Ella Fitzgerald. He became her mentor, guardian and protector as she developed … [Read more...]

Whether the mercantile strictures of 21st century television will ever again permit cultural programming of substance on the commercial networks is anybody’s guess. The field has largely been left to public television, which has met the challenge with various degrees of responsibility and … [Read more...]

Last night the Emil Viklický Trio appeared at the small Seattle club Lucid, following up the film screening described in yesterday’s post. Lucid has the intimacy, camaraderie and absence of a cover charge reminiscent of jazz clubs in the 1950s and ‘60s. One significant difference from those … [Read more...]

The central characters in the new Czech film Rhythm On My Heels are young jazz musicians and their friends. They are ensnared in a plot by the communist party’s intelligence wing to concoct a case branding them anti-communist activitsts. This powerful film is directed by Andrea Sedláčková and … [Read more...]

Every May 30 of the nearly seven-year history of this web log I have posted an observance of the passing of Paul Desmond. As the staff and I were puzzling over a new approach on this 35th anniversary of his death, Rifftides reader Svetlana Ilicheva wrote from Moscow with her translation of part of a … [Read more...]

If you're ready for four-piano fun, see the reply to the last comment in this Rifftides post. … [Read more...]

The photograph is of CDs that have accumulated on my office floor because shelf space is a distant memory. The little yellow things are an effort to create a sense of order, tagging sections of boxes by arrival date. It doesn’t work very well. With notable exceptions for which I am grateful, the … [Read more...]

It’s been too long around here since we’ve heard and seen Peggy Lee. Here she is with her husband Dave Barbour and his quartet in a 1950 Soundie. Soundies used to run on machines called Panorams, coin-operated juke boxes in bars, restaurants, factory break rooms, even some corner service … [Read more...]

Two stalwart jazz broadcasters sent previews of their next appearances. This week on Jazz Northwest, Jim Wilke previews new releases by several Northwest resident jazz artists including Scott Cossu, Pearl Django,and Kareem Kandi as well as sampling some of the musicians featured at next … [Read more...]