As the hours left in 2016 dwindle, we briefly acknowledge a few of the hundreds of albums that have accumulated this year at Rifftides world headquarters. Many releases stacked up without reviews. This does not indicate that they are unworthy, only that there are limits to how much music the linear … [Read more...]

Ray Brown (pictured left) wrote “Gravy Waltz,” with a lyric by comedian and talk show host Steve Allen. Allen recorded the piece on piano and got extensive airplay with it in the early 1960s. Jazz listeners, however, tend to think of Oscar Peterson’s version as the definitive recording. … [Read more...]

The NOLA Players, Christmastime in New Orleans (Verve/Aim Higher) A cross-generational and cross-racial gathering of Crescent City jazz veterans generates spirited versions of traditional Christmas music. Some of the players are well known outside of New Orleans; bassist Roland Guerin, … [Read more...]

Chet Baker became famous as a trumpeter, not a composer. Still, when he was with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet he wrote a tune that attracts musicians more than sixty years later. “Freeway” has clever rhythmic aspects and undemanding harmonies, and in the recording Baker played like the wind. His … [Read more...]

During the 2015 Christmas season, Rifftides brought you a program of holiday music by the late pianist Jack Brownlow. We have been asked if we would play it again. Yes, with pleasure. Jack Brownlow (1923-2007), known to his friends as Bruno, was a constant correspondent. Over the years, he stayed … [Read more...]

Quinn Johnson, Trio Con Clave (QuinnJMusic) Admired for his piano and arranging talents in the service of others, recordings under Johnson’s own name have rarely received the critical or popular attention they warranted. The longtime pianist and music director for singer Steve Tyrell, Johnson … [Read more...]

  The weekend is a good time to consider music that the Rifftides staff has ignored, overlooked or allowed to languish among the burgeoning boxes of incoming CDs. Keeping up isn’t hard to do; it’s impossible, but here are three albums rescued from the stacks. All are of recent vintage, … [Read more...]

Outside Rifftides world headquarters, we're having the first snowfall of the season. The prediction is for three inches here tonight and an accumulation of as much as a foot in the nearby ski areas of the Cascade Mountains. The temperature is in the low twenties (Fahrenheit), but neighborhood … [Read more...]

This is the fourth anniversary of Dave Brubeck’s death at age 91. Under the heading, “Always remembered, never forgotten,” John Bolger sent a message that included this photograph of Brubeck as listeners remember him from countless occasions—fully committed. Here he is in 1964 in … [Read more...]

Rifftides activity is about to slow a bit. Rehearsals and performances for the Yakima Jazz Sextet with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra begin this afternoon. If you are in the area, concerts are at 4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. You’ll find more information in this post. " And here." " The sextet … [Read more...]

Charges about biased reporting are as old as journalism itself. President-elect Donald Trump’s accusations against The New York Times—and journalists in general—during and after his campaign would sound familiar to one of his predecessors. Six years into his second term as president, … [Read more...]

There is news from Portland, Oregon, that Jimmy Mak’s jazz club will permanently close at the end of 2016. A leading west coast club for 20 years, Mak’s has been a primary outlet for the talents of musicians in Oregon’s active jazz community and for touring national artists. Owner Jimmy … [Read more...]

Charlie Shoemake sent a reminder that today is the 101st anniversary of the birth of Billy Strayhorn (pictured with Duke Ellington). Strayhorn was a 16-year-old high school student in Pittsburgh when he wrote “Lush Life.” A few years later he brought his songwriting ability to Ellington’s … [Read more...]

I hope that you have as much fun watching and listening to this video as Ray Brown had when it was recorded. Brown is the bassist in" a reunion with his old boss Dizzy Gillespie. He was on the original recording of “Ow!” by Gillespie’s big band in 1947, and James Moody was in the saxophone … [Read more...]