Today is the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records, and -- what a coincidence -- I have at hand an advance CD by the Blue Note 7. That is the all-star band of Blue Note artists on" the verge of a three months tour to celebrate the longevity of a company that has made a difference in music. The tour … [Read more...]

Dena DeRose: Live At Jazz Standard, Volume Two (MaxJazz). Spontaneity and a sense of discovery continue in this second set by DeRose and her trio at the New York club. She, bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson connect with one another and with an enthusiastic audience. The connection comes by … [Read more...]

A concert in memory of Richard M. Sudhalter, the distinguished jazz musician, historian, biographer, and critic, will be held on Monday, January 12, at St. Peter's Lutheran Church," 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street, New York City, from seven to ten p.m.

Sudhalter died last September. For a … [Read more...]

This spring will see the release on DVD of a documentary film that dramatizes the degree to which we're all in this troubled world together. The film uses music to make that point and the further one that music can help heal our differences. Its producer, Mark Johnson, took video and sound equipment … [Read more...]

Freddie Hubbard's family has released information about his funeral service." 1:00 PM, Tuesday, January 6, 2009 -- viewing from 11 AMFaithful Central Bible Church's Tabernacle321 North Eucalyptus AvenueInglewood, CA 90301The trumpeter died December 29. For a Rifftides appreciation of his career, go … [Read more...]

Bill Ramsay is a veteran saxophonist widely admired in jazz circles across the US but little known to the public outside the Pacific Northwest. Accomplished on alto and baritone saxes,he co-leads the Ramsay-Kleeb band and is the baritone sparkplug of the Seattle" Repertory Jazz Orchestra. Ramsay … [Read more...]

The release of a new CD, The Film Music Of Ralph Rainger, is the occasion for my piece in today's Wall Street Journal. Coupled with an article about the contemporary motion picture composer A.B. Rahman, it is headlined," Another Who Has Been Unjustly Forgotten and begins:"  For years, Jack Benny … [Read more...]

Rainger was a very good pianist. In 1933, Paramount featured him playing his music in a" promotional short subject that included cameo appearances by Bing Crosby and Maurice Chevalier. It ends with superimposed shots of Rainger improvising separate parts simultaneously on three pianos. Sound … [Read more...]

For a comprehensive Freddie Hubbard obituary, see Peter Keepnews's article in this morning's New York Times. … [Read more...]

Freddie Hubbard died this morning in the Sherman Oaks district of Los Angeles. He was hospitalized there since he had a heart attack on November 26. Hubbard was 70." From the trumpeter's first recording with the Montgomery Brothers in 1958, it" was evident that reports coming out of Indianapolis … [Read more...]

My PC-to-iMac conversion project is coming along nicely. I should have the new computer figured out any year now. It will be nice if that year turns out to be 2009."  … [Read more...]

User, n. The word computer professionals use when they mean "idiot." ~Dave Barry"  But they are useless. They can only give you answers. ~Pablo Picasso"  Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all. ~John F. Kennedy … [Read more...]

With so little video of Lester Young, every foot of him performing on film is precious. Loren Schoenberg calls attention to a performance by Young that showed up recently on You Tube. Whoever submitted the clip from a kinescope of Art Ford's Jazz Party television program provided no information … [Read more...]

Whatever your language, the Rifftides staff wishes you a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season, a rewarding 2009 and good listening." "  "  … [Read more...]

While probing the mysteries of the Macintosh universe and meeting with frustrations, roadblocks and delights (man, this thing is FAST), I have continued to listen. Here are impressions of two of the CDs that have kept me company during my slam-bang self-tutorial and late-night iMac school."  Carla … [Read more...]

Christmas week is underway, time to listen to the only vocal performance Bill Evans is know to have recorded. I wish I had thought of posting the audio clip, but full credit goes to Jan Stevens of The Bill Evans Web Pages. Rifftides reader Russ Neff called it to our attention. Click on this link. … [Read more...]

All I can tell you about this is that the violinists are Katica Illenyi and Csaba Illenyi.The Hungarian Wikipedia entry did not help me learn more. I only wish that Jimmy Giuffre had heard this version of his best-known composition and arrangement."  " "  "  "  "  "  " "  Thanks to Bobby Shew for … [Read more...]

Posting will resume after I have spent a little time getting to know my new iMac. After beginning on a KayPro 2 and spending more than twenty years with PCs, I have switched to Macintosh. So far, it is exhilarating, but there is a lot to learn. I feel like the audience in the commercial that … [Read more...]

On Tuesday, Dave Brubeck was inducted into the California Hall of Fame along with eleven" others including actors Jane Fonda and Jack Nicholson, fitness maven Jack LaLanne, musician and producer Quincy Jones, chef Alice Waters and -- posthumously -- Theodore Geiss (Dr. Seuss), scientist Linus … [Read more...]