Every traveling jazz soloist knows that playing with pickup sidemen, or sidewomen, is a game of chance. There is a chance that there will be a disaster, a chance that the temporary colleagues will be adequate, and a long outside chance that something special will happen. Thursday night at The … [Read more...]

Concert videos from out of the past continue to materialize on the internet. Recent emanations include several pieces from a 1964 appearance in Belgium by the classic Dave Brubeck Quartet. The excellent picture and sound quality and the absence of applause suggest that the performances were in a … [Read more...]

Joya Sherrill, the singer who died in late June at the age of 85, joined Duke Ellington and his Orchestra in 1942 following her high school graduation. One of her features through the mid-forties was the Billy Strayhorn-Rex Stewart collaboration "Kissing Bug." The song received a good deal of radio … [Read more...]

Jazz developed in the United States, but it has long been an international music and many of its most prominent players are from other countries. The Dane Svend Asmussen is coming in for even more attention than usual lately. Attention is far from new in the career of the remarkable violinist, but … [Read more...]

Regarding the "Where We Are" item below, Rifftides reader Cyril Moshkow writes Looks like the info is not exactly complete, as many people read through RSS aggregation (which does not include logging in.) For instance, I am reading Rifftides in Moscow, Russia, but almost never directly -- it is … [Read more...]

Rifftides readers are all over the world, more concentrated in some countries than others. We don't hear much from Cuba or Outer Mongolia, for instance. Here is a list of nations where readers have logged on to Rifftides in the past week. Australia Brazil Canada China Czech … [Read more...]

Here's a story from the BBC: (July 1) Queen unveils statue of Canadian jazz great Peterson The Queen has unveiled a life-size bronze statue of Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson during the latest stage of her visit to the country.She was joined by the musician's family for the ceremony at the … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader John Fielding writes from Australia: I am currently reading and enjoying your book about Paul Desmond. I am a lifelong DB and PD follower after seeing them play in Brisbane, Australia, in 1960. Congratulations on a great contribution to jazz history and the stories and colors of … [Read more...]

Jason Moran, Ten (Blue Note) It is possible that Jason Moran is the messianic paragon that the tide of jump-on-the-Bandwagon critical enthusiasm proclaims him. I am willing to cede that judgment to the leavening passage of time. It is no abandonment of restraint, however, to agree that Moran is an … [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 … [Read more...]

… [Read more...]

In New Orleans, street musicians in the French Quarter are a tourist attraction. According to city law, they are also a nuisance. The contradiction has roots in jazz history and city tradition. It puts police and the administration of the new mayor, Mitch Landrieu, between residents of the Quarter … [Read more...]

Vincent Herring & Earth Jazz, Morning Star (Challenge). The rhythm section known as Earth Jazz is electrified, funkified and synthesized. Collaborating with them, Herring looks back to the heyday of '60s and '70s soul, with stylistic references to Herbie Hancock, early Weather Report and tinges of … [Read more...]

In its entirety, this is an item from "The Reliable Source" blog in The Washington Post this week: Medvedev goes for the record: Jazz and rock music, that is While Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was in Washington with President Obama on official business, his staff went on a more personal quest: … [Read more...]

Geri Allen & Timeline, Live (Motéma). Allen's considerable strengths are on display in the pianist's recording with her trio and a percussive guest. She integrates dancer Maurice Chestnut's steely tapping with the time-keeping and soloing of her gifted young sidemen, drummer Kassa Overall and … [Read more...]

The man who may well be the world's oldest performing jazz musician is approaching his 99th birthday. Befitting a man nearly the age of the music itself, he's from New Orleans. Lionel Ferbos was born July 17, 1911. He played trumpet in the 1920s with bands led by Walter "Fats" Pichon and Sidney … [Read more...]

Benny Powell, the veteran trombonist, died last Saturday in New York. Born in New Orleans, Powell was treasured by his colleagues as a superb musician and teacher and as a gentleman who observed old-South standards of courtesy and consideration. Among the bands that Powell graced were those of Count … [Read more...]

As always, the Rifftides staff is trying to keep up with new releases. It can't be done; the inflow never ceases and listening time is at a premium, but in the next few days we'll alert you to a few. Linda Ciofalo, Dancing With Johnny (Lucky Jazz Music). The dancing partner of the title is Johnny … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader Dave Bernard sent this inquiry: What did muenster-dummel mean on the Norgran record jackets? For those born after the LP era, the terms may draw a blank. Norgran was one of two labels founded by Norman Granz (1918-2001), who created Jazz At The Philharmonic in the 1940s. His other … [Read more...]