Because it has been too long since you’ve heard him, and because these two videos are—by all accounts—the only ones in existence that show him playing. His rhythm section at the Golden Circle in Stockholm in 1963 was Goran Lindberg, piano; Goran Peterson, bass; and Leif Wennerstron, drums. … [Read more...]
Joe Morello, 1928-2011
Joe Morello, the drummer best known for his long tenure with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, died this morning at his home in New Jersey. Morello joined Brubeck in 1956, remained with the group until it disbanded in 1967 and later played with it in reunions. He joined Brubeck after three years in Marian … [Read more...]
Recent Listening: Ernie Krivda
Ernie Krivda, Live At The Dirty Dog (CIMPoL). " Except for three years in New York in the 1970s and occasional tours out of town, Krivda has remained in Cleveland during his five decades as a hard-driving soloist, bandleader, composer, arranger and educator. If he had stayed in New York, he might be … [Read more...]
Other Places: Hentoff On Ellington
In The Wall Street Journal, Nat Hentoff reminisces about his relationship with Duke Ellington. The occasion is the release of a massive Mosaic CD box set of early Ellington recordings remastered by Steven Lasker. The column is packed with anecdotes, including this one from the early 1940s, when … [Read more...]
Rib Music
Recorded music has never been as omnipresent as it is in 2011. If, heaven forbid, there should be a supermarket, gas station, dentist’s office or public street not blessed with speakers providing perpetual Muzak, that’s why Jobs made iPods. As technology moves from CDs to digital downloads … [Read more...]
CD: Tamir Hendelman
Tamir Hendelman, Destinations (Resonance). The pianist’s second album as a leader is a gem. With drummer Lewis Nash and the Italian-born bassist Marco Panascia, he fashions exquisite versions of a dozen pieces. He is exhilarating in his lightning exploration of Makoto Ozone’s “BQE,†tender … [Read more...]
A New Look
Don’t go away. You’ve come to the right place. This is Rifftides, but with a new design. The publishing platform called WordPress is a significant advance over the old Moveable Type platform. Artsjournal.com founder and editor Doug McLennan has been beta testing WordPress on his own blog. Now … [Read more...]
CD: Jeremy Pelt
Jeremy Pelt, The Talented Mr. Pelt (High Note). There is more here than meets the ear accustomed to quintets that knock off Blue Note bands of the 1960s. From his record debut in 2002—and notably since he established this group in 2007—the trumpeter has manifested originality as soloist … [Read more...]
CD: Rick Trolsen
Neslort, Mystical Scam (Lort/Threadhead). Most reviews and articles about the leader of Neslort (spell it backward) begin, “Eccentric New Orleans trombonist Rick Trolsen…†The reasons for that are apparent in this CD. Equally evident is Trolsen’s and the sextet’s musicianship, which merges … [Read more...]
DVD: Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton, Artistry in Rhythm (Jazzed Media). This is the story of Kenton’s development of a big band unlike any of its contemporaries. Photographs, film, video tape, audio recordings and interviews trace the band from its early days through its many incarnations—Artistry in Rhythm, … [Read more...]
New Recommendations
Under Doug's Picks in the right column you will find recommendations of a DVD about a trailblazing band leader, CDs by a trumpeter and a pianist leading the way in their generation of young jazz artists, and the autobiography of a leading light in an older generation. … [Read more...]
Book: Jimmy Heath
Jimmy Heath and Joseph McLaren, I Walked With Giants (Temple). Younger brother of bassist Percy, older brother of drummer Albert (Tootie), saxophonist, composer and arranger Jimmy Heath tells his life story with forthrightness, humor and no trace of self-delusion. A brilliant youngster who succumbed … [Read more...]
Frishberg, Wellstood And Sullivan, Restored
The Rifftides staff discovered, by chance, that an essential element in a two-and-a-half-year-old entry about Dick Wellstood and two other pianists had suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous YouTube fortune. The video of Wellstood playing was removed by whoever posted it. We managed to find an … [Read more...]
Webb City
I'm still tucking in the frayed ends of daily life after extended duty in the trenches of extracurricular writing. Soon, there will be a new batch of Doug's Picks as the blogging routine returns to normal, whatever that is. I am told that the first rule of survival in the weblog game is to keep … [Read more...]
Ron Hudson, Photographer
The fine jazz photographer Ron Hudson died at his Seattle home on Tuesday. He was 71. For more than 30 years, Hudson captured memorable images of Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Woody Herman, Milt Jackson, Bud Shank and dozens more of the leading musicians of his time. He worked exclusively in black … [Read more...]
Other Places: Arturo O’Farrill’s Cuban Odyssey
Many listeners know that Arturo O'Farrill is a talented New York pianist who leads Jazz at Lincoln Center's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. He has been a considerable force in Latin music in the US for three decades. Fewer may be aware that he is the son of Chico O'Farrill, a Cuban of Irish origin who … [Read more...]
Closeted With The MJQ
Blogging is going on the back burner—or maybe a side burner—for a few days while I wrap up an assignment. I am writing the essay and program notes for a seven-CD Mosaic box of the Modern Jazz Quartet's Atlantic studio recordings from 1956 to 1964. It involves a lot of listening, a lot of … [Read more...]
SRJO Broadcast Today
I should have alerted you earlier to another web concert by the excellent Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. It will be broadcast beginning at 1 pm (PST) today. Here are the details in an announcement from the SRJO. Tune in to hear highlights of the SRJO's "Jazz Goes To the Movies" (recorded in … [Read more...]
Other Matters: Bill Monroe’s Legacy
Bill Monroe died yesterday at the age of 90. You may remember him as the moderator of NBC's Meet The Press. He was noted for the toughness and fairness of his questioning in the years when that Sunday morning program influenced millions of Americans' thinking about government and politics. I … [Read more...]
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