Newspapers everywhere were retrenching even before the world" financial crisis tetered on the edge of recession and finally fell into it. Declining readership and shriveling advertising revenue demanded cost-cutting. To no one's surprise, staff and space" reductions claimed arts coverage early. When … [Read more...]

Herb Geller is eighty years old today. The alto saxophonist was the performing guest of honor tonight in a tribute concert by the NDR (North German Radio) Big Band. From 1965 to 1993, Geller was a star soloist of the NDR, one of the best large jazz aggregations in the world. The concert was in the … [Read more...]

There is little or no mention of it in his obituaries, but Studs Terkel's first book was about jazz. The oral historian, broadcaster and master interviewer died yesterday in Chicago at ninety-six. Terkel won the Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling 1985 book The Good War: An Oral History Of World War … [Read more...]

'Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world. -- William Shakespeare   One need not be a chamber to be haunted;One need not be a house;The brain has corridors surpassingMaterial place.   -- Emily … [Read more...]

Here's a paragraph from the chapter titled "A Common Language" in my book Jazz Matters: Reflections on the Music and Some of its Makers: Like every art form, jazz has a fund of devices unique to it and universally employed by those who play it. Among the resources of the jazz tradition available to … [Read more...]

Not all of the campaigning this month is political. It is not unusual at this time of year to receive from recording musicians suggestions that they be nominated for awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. As part of his quest to win a Grammy nomination, the British film … [Read more...]

The new Picks in the center column concern three pianists, two alto saxophonists, one photographer and a rare Rifftides classical recommendation. … [Read more...]

Before summer escaped completely, I spotted this creature on an arbor vitae, displaying its magnifcence.  … [Read more...]

Although still in his late teens, James was already six-foot-one and weighed 150 pounds. He had a thin waist, no hips, and long skinny legs. To go along with his slinky frame, he had a large, oval-shaped head, a long nose and prominent ears, dark wavy hair, and a pencil-thin moustache. Perhaps his … [Read more...]

This very thin guy with swept back hair...climbed on the stage. He'd sung only eight bars of "Night and Day" when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rising.--on first hearing the unknown young singer Frank Sinatra I was the only member in the band to be silly enough to put some of those … [Read more...]

I wrote that I was looking forward to again hearing Tierney Sutton sing "What'll I Do?" when her next CD comes out. Rifftides reader Ted Lowry, ever alert, points out that I don't have to wait. The song is on her Dancing In The Dark album. I regret the error. Thanks, Ted. … [Read more...]

Peter Levinson, the publicist with a parallel career as a biographer of music and show business figures, died yesterday in a fall in his house in Malibu, California. He was seventy-four. Levinson had been suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, which robbed him of his voice but did not leave him … [Read more...]

Wednesday, October 15: Having seen Ernestine Anderson falter and appear confused in a performance a few years ago, I was concerned about this festival appearance. She was now a couple of weeks short of her eightieth birthday. She had just been through a crisis in which she came close to being … [Read more...]

The Seasons Fall Festival ended on Saturday night -- nine days of concerts interspersed with music education for young people. Visiting world-class artists conducted clinics and workshops for more than 1,200 school children from grade school through college. Subtitled "Side-by-Side," the festival … [Read more...]

Brooke Creswell, conductor of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, sent a link to a piece of video that deals with the basics of harmony. The subject line of his message was, "A Fifth More Perfect Than Single Malt." To see this instructive film, click here. … [Read more...]

Rifftides Washington, DC, correspondent John Birchard journeyed out of the district last weekend to hear pianist Cedar Walton and his trio. Here is John's review. Smack in the middle of the mainstream - that's where you'll find Cedar Walton, still creative at the age of 74. The pianist brought … [Read more...]

In The New York Times, Barry Singer has an update to the story of the remarkable Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, friend and supporter of major musicians including Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. The Baroness is seen here with Monk in a well-known photograph. She died twenty years ago. … [Read more...]

That grim parade that Bill Crow mentioned a couple of postings ago shows no sign of running out of marchers. The latest major jazz artist to go is Dave McKenna. The pianist died this morning at the age of 78. His family posted the announcement on his web site, which includes a good biography. … [Read more...]

William Claxton, the master photographer who died a week ago, was a great raconteur. A sample of that side of his personality is available on the internet. In 1988, Terri Gross interviewed Claxton on her National Public Radio program Fresh Air. He discussed his experiences photographing, among … [Read more...]