The following article appeared in the Fall, 2008, issue of the British magazine, Jazz Review. By Doug Ramsey Lester Young drew on Louis Armstrong, Frank Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke and his own genius to create one of the most personal styles in music. In the 1930s he provided an evolutionary step … [Read more...]

Everything is fine with the horn..play it everyday...recording a new CD, and it records sensationally, with Johnny Vana. Did a concert tonight in Palm Desert with Med Flory and Don Shelton..and we sounded just like 3 brothers. Am booked at Sweet and Hot Festival with my tribute to Lester Young in … [Read more...]

For a project connected with his Jazz At The Philharmonic operation, the impresario Norman Granz filmed Lester Young with trombonist Bill Harris, Pianist Hank Jones, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Buddy Rich. Although they bypass the melody, the piece is "Pennies From Heaven." For decades, there has … [Read more...]

Thirty-two years ago today, Paul Desmond bid his girlfriend goodbye as she set off for London, urging her to have a good holiday. That was on Friday. He would be fine, he told her; he had friends coming the next day. But his only companion that weekend was the lung cancer that had ravaged him during … [Read more...]

Bill Mays and Red Mitchell constituted one of the great piano-bass duos of the 1980s. Musicians and dedicated listeners still talk about their gigs at Bradley's in New York's Greenwich Village. Their album Two of a Mind has been out of print for years, although it shows up from time to time on web … [Read more...]

Red played the most gorgeous melodic solos of anybody on any instrument. I think maybe he and Lester Young were in the same league. The fact that it was coming out of a string bass was mind-boggling. -- Jim Hall Simple isn't easy. -- Red Mitchell … [Read more...]

There is little question that the 1940-41 edition of the Duke Ellington orchestra, the so-called Blanton-Webster band, was Ellington's finest. Legions of Ellington lovers have listened to it so often that they can sing along with its arrangements and the solos by Webster, Ray Nance, Johnny Hodges, … [Read more...]

Blogging must sometimes take a back seat to gainful employment. I'm roundin' third and headin' home* in one deadline project, an essay and play-by-play account of the music for the Anita O'Day entry in the next Jazz Icons series**. It has been an adventure in research into the two European concerts … [Read more...]

Sometime in the final decade of the last century (man, that's beginning to sound like a long time ago) I was on assignment in Portland, Oregon, and dropped into the restaurant of the elegant Heathman Hotel to hear pianist Dave Frishberg and singer Rebecca Kilgore. A cornetist was sitting in with … [Read more...]

The Rifftides staff proudly presents the latest assortment of Doug's Picks -- three big bands, a rare Lennie Breau video and the only holdover, a book about Breau to complement the DVD. Please direct your attention to the exhibit in the middle of your screen. … [Read more...]

A few days short of a year ago, I told you about four 19-year-old musicians worth keeping an ear on. Three of them were the Uptown Trio, who appeared in concert supporting the gifted alto saxophonist Logan Strosahl. I wrote: Anyone keeping a future file would do well to add those names. If these … [Read more...]

From a news release just received: May 21, 2009 Washington, DC - The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) today announced the recipients of the 2010 NEA Jazz Masters Award - the nation's highest honor in this distinctly American music The eight recipients will each receive a $25,000 grant award and … [Read more...]

We are the masters at the moment, and not only at the moment, but for a very long time to come. -- George Bernard Shaw No art is less spontaneous than mine.
What I do is the result of reflection
and the study of the great masters. -- Edgar Degas
 … [Read more...]

A couple of years ago - maybe it was three - I linked Rifftides readers to a video so clever that it's worth bringing to you again. Now that the staff has mastered the art of embedding, this time you see it right here on our screen; no linking required. When it finishes, you will see links to other … [Read more...]