Rifftides reader Sam Stephenson writes from North Carolina: I'm excited to hear this new Gil Coggins record. Thank you for the tip. I only wish it could have been released before he passed. In 2002 I interviewed Gil as part of my loft project. He was a veteran of the 6th Ave. loft I'm researching … [Read more...]

Gil Coggins, Better Late Than Never (Smalls). The first phase of pianist Coggins' career tapered off in the mid-1950s after he recorded with Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Jackie McLean. Although his work was distinct from his contemporary John Lewis, he shared with Lewis a spare approach to … [Read more...]

Sunday, we harvested the last of the blackberries, cut back the spent canes from the arches and tied down the canes that will produce next year's crop. That pleasant task out of the way, my Italian friend and I went for a thirty-mile ride through farm and orchard country. The route had early autumn … [Read more...]

Following the August Rifftides piece about Hal McKusick, Marc Myers, aka Mr. JazzWax, sought out McKusick and is running a multi-part interview with the veteran reed man. The 83-year-old McKusick reminisces about a life in music from his debut as a teenager in the big bands to his teaching today. … [Read more...]

I did not attend Sonny Rollins' Carnegie Hall concert last month and had not heard or read much about it until a review by Francis Davis in the current issue of The Village Voice. Davis calls it "this year's be-there-or-be-square event" and gives it a thorough going-over, reporting the good and the … [Read more...]

The Rifftides staff directs your attention to the right-hand column, where you will find a new batch of Doug's Picks. … [Read more...]

Here is a bit of Terry Teachout's review of … [Read more...]

The Seasons Fall Festival wrapped up over the weekend in Yakima, Washington, with concerts that featured two Bill Mays trios. James Moody also starred, performing at eighty-two with the wisdom of age and the energy of a teenager. Friday night, it was Mays, piano; Marvin Stamm, trumpet and … [Read more...]

While a bunch of us were standing around waiting to be seated at a restaurant following Saturday night's concert at The Seasons (see the previous item), the conversation turned to singers. Jo Stafford came in for prominent and enthusiastic mention. The next morning, I was checking out Marc Myers' … [Read more...]

The British Columbia newspaper Peace Arch News has a report about the success of Libros Libertad, the publisher of Poodie James. With five books released so far - and as many on the way by year's end, the imprint is rapidly gaining stature and credibility with its up-market style paperbacks. Poodie … [Read more...]

One of the finest jazz pianists in the world is barely known in the United States. His many CDs are on Japanese, Spanish and Scandinavian labels that sometimes show up in US stores despite their limited distribution in this country. Jan Lundgren visits the US infrequently, usually to record for … [Read more...]

Veteran journalist Ed Stover reviews Poodie James in today's Yakima Herald-Republic. Ramsey's journalistic writing style carries the story along. It's a good story, too, a page-turner that offers up romance, attempted murder, a Snidely Whiplash rascal of a mayor, a Dudley Do-Right police chief, a … [Read more...]

Last evening, fortunate listeners at The Seasons Fall Side-By-Side Music Festival heard the world premiere of a work that has everything it takes to become a staple in the classical piano trio literature. It was composer Daron Hagen's Angel Band Trio #4, played by the Finisterra Trio. Based on … [Read more...]

Pardon my pride, but less than a month after seeing the light of day, Poodie James has gone into a second printing. Thank you. For further information (how to order, for instance), click here. … [Read more...]

Those of you who have become addicted to Carol Sloane's blog, SloaneView, may have been concerned -- as was I -- that she had posted nothing for more than a month. I just spoke with her and learned that she is fine and that her husband is recovering. It was a near thing. Here is one line from … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader Don Emanuel writes from Gillingham, Kent, in England: There is a fascinating six-part thing on YouTube (obviously from a British TV programme) by Dick Hyman on a brief history of jazz piano, which I managed to miss when it was originally broadcast. I missed it, too. As far as I … [Read more...]

The Seasons Performance Hall opens its Fall Festival tonight with Miguel Zenon's quartet. The nine days of music-making include James Moody, Bill Mays and Marvin Stamm with Alisa Horn, Matt Wilson, Martin Wind, Karrin Allyson, David Friesen, the world premiere of a new classical work by Daron Hagen … [Read more...]

Jessica Williams is in love with Glenn Gould and doesn't care who knows it. Here's an excerpt from the latest entry in her blog, The Zone: One night I was on a popular video sharing site (YouTube) and decided to watch and listen to Glenn Gould. I was dumbstruck. His music entered me and stayed … [Read more...]

A man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it. -- Samuel Johnson That's what I'm doing, with reasonable doggedness. I'll be back soon, continuing a survey of recent CDs. … [Read more...]