From his American Indian grandfather, tenor saxophonist Jim Pepper (pictured) learned “Witchi-Tai-To,” a peyote healing chant of the Native American Church. It became a part of the repertoires of several bands including Oregon, the group that brought" guitarist Ralph Towner to wide attention in … [Read more...]

The many obituaries of Chess Records co-founder Phil Chess correctly note his importance in the record company that that brought attention to blues artists who went on to became famous. Chess died yesterday at 95. The Chicago company owned by Chess and his brother Leonard had on its roster Muddy … [Read more...]

Andrew Cyrille & Bill McHenry, Proximity (Sunnyside) Cyrille, a dancer on drums, teams with the intrepid tenor saxophonist McHenry in a succession of duets. Their close listening to one another results in empathy that sustains remarkable quietness, considering that one of the partners is a … [Read more...]

  Nick Sanders and Logan Strosahl, now and then put up a video on their YouTube channel. Their recent album is the new Rifftides Monday Recommendation (see the previous post). Here is a standard song not included on that CD. Mr. Strosahl makes the introduction—and a pitch. … [Read more...]

On Brilliant Corners trumpeter, active blogger and close listener Steve Provizer not only names ballads that he believes don't get enough attention, he also presents them in performance. The extent to which some of his song choices are generally ignored may be in the ear of the behearer—as Dewey … [Read more...]

Izabella Effenberg, Cuèntame (Unit Records) This is the debut album of the Polish vibraphonist and composer Izabella Effenberg, who lives in Germany. The CD brings together an imposing septet of European musicians in a chamber music approach that coalesces elements of jazz, modern classical … [Read more...]

“How can you stand that music all day?” my wife asked the clerk at our favorite seafood market. “Oh,” the clark said, “You don”t like The Beach Boys? That’s not the point, is it? Whether the music is by The Beach Boys, Bill Evans, Bach (unlikely), Bartók (more unlikely) or The … [Read more...]

In 1980 when Benny Goodman appeared at the Aurex Jazz Festival in Tokyo, he called on Eddie Duran" to solo on Duke Ellington’s “Prelude to a Kiss.” The video allows us an opportunity—far too rare—to see and hear the elegance of a guitarist whose vast experience includes playing with … [Read more...]

Around midweek, I accepted a last-minute freelance offer that was too good to refuse. It had an impossibly short deadline, which I am likely to meet. The assignment involved a lot of listening, research, note-taking, phone calls, more listening and more research. It is why Rifftides has been more or … [Read more...]

This is how co-host Renee Montagne of National Public Radio’s Morning Edition opened one of the program’s hours this morning. We’re kind of blue. Miles Davis died 25 years ago today. It came as a shock to realize how quickly that sizeable amount of time has passed; and a comfort to know that … [Read more...]

To comment on a post, open it, then scroll down until you see Leave A Reply. Enter your comment in the box and click on Post Comment. We welcome your comments and observations To communicate with Rifftides about something other than a post, put your cursor on ABOUT in the box above the name … [Read more...]

There are so many options that it is difficult to know what to bring you today to observe the great saxophonist John Coltrane’s (1926-1967) 90th birthday. Among Coltrane’s hundreds of recordings and videos, no doubt everyone who listens to him has at least one favorite. The Rifftides staff has … [Read more...]

In the early 70s when I was anchoring at Channel 11 in New York, I took a film crew (remember film?) to Lincoln Center to do a feature about the Giants Of Jazz, the group with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Stitt, Kai Winding, Al McKibbon and Art Blakey. Let’s set the scene with a piece … [Read more...]