Trumpeter, baritone horn player, vocalist, broadcaster and blogger Steve Provizer turns his attention this afternoon" to Burt Bacharach on the songwriter’s 90th birthday. Provizer’s DuPlex program will present performances of Bachrach tunes by Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Rahsaan … [Read more...]

Todd Strait, There’ll Be Some Changes Made (Todd Strait) Drummer Todd Strait has spent significant stretches of his career in New York and Portland and freelanced with a cross-section of world-class musicians. Having toured extensively, Strait is back in his Kansas City home territory. His … [Read more...]

Listen to Thomas Waller: Whatever’s bothering you, don’t let it. Hope you're having a happy Sunday. … [Read more...]

Following our April 24 remembrance of Duke Ellington’s 70thbirthday party at the White House, be aware that Jim Wilke has prepared a special Ellington broadcast on his Jazz Northwest. Here is part of the Jazz Northwest alert and instructions for listening: These unique performances combine … [Read more...]

This is the birthday of two men who had significant effects on jazz and popular music. Bing Crosby was born on May 3, 1903 in Spokane, Washington, John Lewis seventeen years later in LaGrange, Illinois shortly before his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he grew up. Crosby became the … [Read more...]

...because of a family celebration, there will be no Monday Recommendation this week. Please accept this springtime view facing south down the Rifftides World Headquarters side street. We're in bloom around here. (That's Ahtanum Ridge in the background.)   … [Read more...]

  New Orleans is mourning the death on Friday of Charles Neville, saxophonist and ever-smiling presence in the Neville Brothers band from 1977 to 2015. Charles was a focal point with his brothers Cyril, Art and Aaron in the family band that became one of the city’s most successful and … [Read more...]

In the aftermath of Bob Dorough’s death on Monday, increased attention is going to his extensive body of songs. Among Dorough’s greatest admirers is the Swedish trumpet player and singer MÃ¥rten Lundgren. With bassist and vocalist Helle Marstrand, pianist Sven-Erik Lundequist and drummer Espen … [Read more...]

Forty-nine years ago this evening at the White House in Washington, DC, the president of the United States hosted a party honoring Duke Ellington on his 70th birthday and presenting him with the Presidential Medal Of Freedom. The United States Information Agency produced a short film about the … [Read more...]

Word has arrived that Bob Dorough died today at his home in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania. He was 94. Dorough’s greatest fame in popular culture stemmed from his central role in the enormously successful television series Schoolhouse Rock. The program informed and entertained children, and many … [Read more...]

CATCHING UP When albums come out of the mailbox in batches of five, six, eight a day—or more—it is possible to overlook, set aside or misplace some that are worthy of mention. Here are recommendations of a few that have languished on the shelf, some briefly, others for a while. Joe Lovano … [Read more...]

Until the past couple of days, spring around here was a date on the calendar and a rumor." But now there are tulips in front of the house. And magnolia blossoms 15 feet from the kitchen window. Next on the list was azaleas, but during my cycling expedition, there was not an azalea to be found. … [Read more...]

Danny GreenTrio Plus Strings, One Day It Will (OA2) Pianist Green’s earlier album" Altered Narratives put strings with his trio on three tracks. The melding with a string quartet worked nicely. One Day It Will carries the idea to album length, with excellent arrangements by Green and smooth … [Read more...]

Leave it to readers to keep the Rifftides staff up to date. Otherwise, it might have skipped my attention that this is Denny Zeitlin’s 80th birthday. As you will momentarily see and hear, Zeitlin has retained the vigor and style that have helped keep him one of the most consistently interesting … [Read more...]

There is only one reason to bring you Manny Albam’s “Poor Dr. Millmoss”—it is a delight. It’s from the first of two Jazz Greats Of Our Time sessions that the prolific composer and arranger (pictured) recorded in the 1950s—one with star east coast musicians, the other with some of the … [Read more...]