Concerned about the advance of the coronoavirus in many parts of the world, pianist Fred Hersch has announced his approach to providing, if not relief from the threat, a way to get it off your mind for a while. Below is the message from Hersch's web page. We realize that his message consumes more … [Read more...]

Curious about the unannounced and unpromoted reissue of a Brent Jensen album eighteen years after its debut, I asked Origin Records chief John Bishop in Seattle about its reappearance. The CD is Jensen's The Sound Of A Dry Martini: Remembering Paul Desmond, first issued in 2002. " Mr. Bishop … [Read more...]

James Moody told me that his Georgia-born grandmother said one morning while looking through the newspaper, "Folks is dyin' what ain't never died befo'." The trend continues, as It always has and, if human suscsceptibility is a guide, always will. " Recently, the parade of departures resumed when … [Read more...]

Jim Wilke continues his long-running Jazz Northwest broadcasts this weekend with a group headed by Marc Seales, one of the region's firmly established veteran pianists. In the announcement below, Jim tells you how to find the program: KNKX and Dimitriou's Jazz Alley are teaming up to present, … [Read more...]

Rebecca Kilgore, unfailingly musical in any setting, sings with contrasting accompaniments in a pair of recent releases. In one, concentrating on songs with winter themes, she is accompanied by a distinguished European quartet. A second album finds her alone with the harmonically resourceful and … [Read more...]

Rebecca Kilgore, unfailingly musical in any setting, sings with contrasting accompaniments in a pair of recent releases. In one, concentrating on songs with winter themes, she is accompanied by a distinguished European quartet. A second album finds her alone with the harmonically resourceful and … [Read more...]

The Complete Woody Herman Decca, Mars and MGM Sessions (1943-1954) (Mosaic) Woody Herman and his band were most closely associated with the Columbia and Capitol labels, but in the 1940s and '50s the clarinetist, saxophonist and influential leader also recorded for the companies you see named in … [Read more...]

An Italian of Slovenian ancestry who grew up in Trieste, pianist Roberto Magris frequently tours in Europe with colleagues from a variety of European nations. He also works in in the United States, where he operates the record label called JMood. Here, we see and hear Magris a few weeks ago in the … [Read more...]

Los Angeles singer Lyn Stanley frequently appears in L.A. with a big band of Swing Era veterans. However, in the recording we are sampling today, her accompanists are six of Southern California's busiest veteran " players of modern jazz. Called for this album, the Jazz Mavericks, they are guitarist … [Read more...]

The last thing any of us at Rifftides wants is for our endeavor to become an obituary service. Life goes on, however, as does its opposite. So we continue to note the passing of musicians who have enriched listeners around the world. Recently, we lost American saxophonist, bandleader and composer … [Read more...]

Yelena Eckemoff, Nocturnal Animals (L&H Productions) Russian-born pianist and composer Eckemoff, long a New York resident, collaborates with a superb rhythm section of Scandinavian musicians. They are inspired by creatures that populate the world's forests of the night. " Eckemoff's animals … [Read more...]

Dear Readers,   The past four days at Rifftides world headquarters have been a blogger's nightmare, but thanks to the brilliance of Apple's superb technical staff and the aid of computer maven Geoff Blechschmidt, it appears that we have defeated the gremlins and the attack is over. We … [Read more...]

Here's an item purloined (with his permission) from bassist Bill Crow's column "The Band Room" in Allegro, the publication of New York Local 802 of the American Federation Of Musicians. Zoot Sims was one of the many tenor saxophonists who took Lester Young's style as a starting point for their … [Read more...]

Franco Ambrosetti Quintet, Long Waves (Unit) The Swiss trumpeter and flugelhornist assembles a group of contemporaries to play his compositions and a couple of cherished standard songs. Ambrosetti's fluid improvisations, sometimes with a Miles Davis bent, are consistently impressive. So, too, is … [Read more...]

It is sad to report that the great trumpeter Jack Sheldon has died at the age of 88. Sheldon sang with spirit, style, phrasing and good humor that paralleled his trumpet playing. This video is from his 1984 appearance at Lulu White's Mahogany Hall in the New Orleans French Quarter. The other members … [Read more...]

Recent Listening In Brief Spinning Song: Duck Baker Plays The Music Of Herbie Nichols We continue to consider relatively recent recordings that deserve greater recognition. In the New York jazz scene of the 1950s and early sixties, the breadth and depth of his talent won enormous respect … [Read more...]

Recent Listening In Brief Extracurricular obligations have made Rifftides posts few and far between. Thanks for bearing with us. We will get back to a regular schedule with brief reviews of recently released music. On a visit to Vancouver, British Columbia, pianist Bill Mays collaborated … [Read more...]