Terence Blanchard, Magnetic (Blue Note) Even in tracks orchestrated with layers of electronic mysteries, a fine sense of chance-taking permeates Blanchard’s return to the Blue Note label. “Don’t Run,” the piece with the least contrivance, is to a considerable degree the album’s most … [Read more...]

Imagine the president of the United States regularly presenting jazz in the East Room of the White House; that is the level of recognition Václav Klaus gave the music. President of the Czech Republic from 2003 to March of this year, Klaus succeeded the Republic’s first president, Václav Havel. … [Read more...]

The story goes that a friend who hadn't seen the great tenor saxophonist Al Cohn in a long time encountered him on the street in New York and said, "Hey, Al, where are you living these days?" "Oh," Al said, "I'm living in the past.” Looking over a string of recent posts, it is clear that … [Read more...]

“Groovin’ High”: James Moody, alto saxophone; Al Haig, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums. That is from a PBS Sound Stage program, Dizzy Gillespie’s Bebop Reunion 1975. Gillespie sat out one of his most famous compositions, but there is plenty of him in the complete show, … [Read more...]

You might assume that “June is Busting Out All Over,” an exuberant Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune from Carousel, is unsuitable as a jazz vehicle. Two Bennies, Goodman and Carter, might argue—if they were around to argue—that there are no bad songs, only bad interpretations. Benny … [Read more...]

Educator and jazz researcher Thomas Cunniffe has posted analysis and additional information about Paul Desmond's solo on "The Way You Look Tonight" from the Dave Brubeck Quartet's Jazz At Oberlin. It was after correspondence with Tom that I began looking into the disparity between the solo on the … [Read more...]

The death this week in New York of Jean Bach at 94 spurred memories of her role in the jazz community going back to the early 1940s. Ms. Bach was not a musician but an advocate whose enthusiasm for and understanding of the art endeared her to several generations of musicians. Her knowledge of the … [Read more...]

Paul Desmond died at the age of 52 on this date in 1977. It was Memorial Day. It had been his custom to join Dave Brubeck and his family to observe the holiday at their Connecticut home, which Paul had christened The Wilton Hilton. This time, his lung cancer made him too weak to consider the trip. … [Read more...]

This time, sadly, it's true; Mulgrew Miller succumbed early this morning to the effects of the stroke he suffered last Friday. Nate Chinen's obituary in today's New York Times offers an appreciation of the pianist and a summary of his career. Miller's solo performance of Duke Ellington's "I Got … [Read more...]

June 1 will be the first of two Charlie Haden Days at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival in Northern California, honoring the bassist’s nearly three quarters of a century as a professional musician. His career began when he was two years old. He will be 76 in August. Among those performing in tribute: … [Read more...]

Rifftides reader Don Frese writes: I am now the proud owner of 9 of the 11 recordings of “Yesterdays,” the Bill Holman arrangement, by Stan Kenton featuring Bill Perkins (1924-2003) on tenor saxophone (I am missing one that was issued on a Penn State Jazz Club LP, and a recent Wolfgang's … [Read more...]

Thanks to Rifftides reader John Bolger for his timely alert to a rare opportunity to see a film tied to an important recording by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in the band’s third year. Timely? Yes, because the Brubeck memorial service in New York was so recent and because the Memorial Day weekend is … [Read more...]

After he left his native New Orleans as a teenager, the great clarinetist and, later, soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet for decades toured widely in the United States and Europe. He was respected for his originality and powerful playing, but he tired of struggling to make a consistent living in the … [Read more...]

The East Room audience included Mrs. Ronald Reagan, Vice President and Mrs. George Bush and a cross section of Reagan administration dignitaries when Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes played at the White House in 1982. … [Read more...]

By special arrangement with the publisher, Rifftides readers may acquire autographed copies of Doug's novel Poodie James at a reduced price. To see a description of the book, read an excerpt and learn how to order, click on Purchase Doug's Books on the blue border above. The special price will be in … [Read more...]

Last night on the PBS News Hour, Robert McNeil and Jim Lehrer remembered their marathon live reporting of the Watergate hearings that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. The hearings opened on May 17, 1973. In a special segment on the News Hour, McNeil and Lehrer recalled how their work … [Read more...]

Trumpeter Marvin Stamm and pianist Mike Holober just ended a duo concert at the library in Nyack, a Hudson River village north of New York City. The music was streamed live on the internet and is ready for viewing on the Nyack Library’s website. I snagged this screenshot as Holober and Stamm were … [Read more...]

  At the very moment that last evening’s memorial service for Dave Brubeck got underway, the rumble of thunder penetrated the massive Gothic walls of New York City’s Cathedral of St. John The Divine. A murmur ran through the throng filling the 120-year-old church. With dignity and a … [Read more...]