Conversations with musicians are valuable sidebars to performances at the Portland Jazz Festival. They allow audiences to hear artists talk about what they do. At the Art Bar, drummer and radio host Carlton Jackson rounded up four prominent drummers and asked them: "When every element is in … [Read more...]

Patricia Barber Ms. Barber’s fans seem to admire whatever she does. The Thursday night audience at Portland’s Winningstad Theater indulged the pianist and singer’s every eccentricity. They chuckled as she spent the first two or three minutes of her set adjusting or removing her shoes. She … [Read more...]

Full of his customary pzazz behind the drum set and on the microphone, Wilson led two sets last night at Jimmy Mak's, one of the prime small venues at the Portland Jazz Festival. He and his fellow Arts And Crafters hewed more or less to the repertoire of their most recent CD, An Atitude for … [Read more...]

In a Portland Jazz Festival conversation this morning, host Devin Philips asked his fellow saxophonist Kenny Garrett to watch a video of himself and comment on it. The performance was 16 years ago at the Montreux, Switzerland, festival. Pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Nat Reeves and drummer Jeff … [Read more...]

When Scott Hamilton came to prominence in the 1970s he was a jazz wunderkind unlike any other saxophonist of his generation. He was twenty-two years old when he arrived in New York from Providence, Rhode Island in 1976. Most of his saxophone contemporaries wanted to be John Coltrane, blazing trails … [Read more...]

Blogger and trumpeter Bruno Leicht (pictured) posts a video-laden retrospective of the imperishable Sonny Rollins creation "Airegin" in three manifestations involving the composer, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Chet Baker and great rhythm sections. What a tune. Recommended. To see it, go … [Read more...]

In the United States, this is Presidents Day. It falls between the birthdays of two of our greatest leaders, Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22). Many years ago, there was a movement in the Congress to consolidate the two observances into one holiday that would honor … [Read more...]

The Portland Jazz Festival, a ten-day extravaganza that fills the city’s theaters, clubs and restaurants with music, has been underway since last Friday. Tomorrow, the Rifftides staff will wend our way down US 97, turn right on I-84 and head west to Portland through the Columbia River … [Read more...]

At 92, Yusef Lateef continues to earn universal admiration not only for his artistry as a saxophonist, flutist, oboist and composer, but also for the warmth of his personality and eagerness to share his musical knowledge, which is wide and deep. Thanks to Rifftides reader Harris Meyer for alerting … [Read more...]

The John McNeil part of the post immediately below brought to mind an omnibus Rifftides piece from three years ago in which McNeil and his bandstand associates played an important part. The entry had to do with a splendid popular song from the 1940s and its transformation into a jazz vehicle. The … [Read more...]

KUMQUATS In Los Angeles, we had a kumquat tree. Every winter it gave us a crop of the tangy little citrus globules. After we moved north to apple country, I missed the kumquats. One day a couple of summers ago, my wife returned from a shopping expedition with a fledgling kumquat tree in a pot. … [Read more...]

Following a week of uncertainty and speculation, the death of 80-year-old trumpeter Donald Byrd has been confirmed. Haley Funeral Directors in Southfield, Michigan today published an online obituary. The notice said that a private funeral for Byrd will be held this week. Neither the funeral home nor … [Read more...]

Does the gloomy weather have you depressed? Can't face having to shovel another foot of snow? Still paying off your Christmas credit card binge? Here's a perfect remedy: Fats Waller in 1934 with Gene Sedric, tenor saxophone; Herman Autrey, trumpet; Harry Dial, drums; Billy Taylor, Sr., bass. I’ve … [Read more...]

On several blogs and websites, a man name Alex Bugnon, a nephew of trumpeter Donald Byrd, is quoted as saying that Byrd died on Monday in Dover, Delaware, his home in recent years. According to the reports, Bugnon said that other members of Byrd‘s family were keeping the death of the 80-year-old … [Read more...]

Eubie Blake made himself even more famous well into his 90s when he said, “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” He died on February 12, 1983 at the age of 100 years and five days. More famous? Yes, he had been widely known for decades as a … [Read more...]

Robert Farnon By Jeff Sultanof Robert Farnon composed several film scores, of which the best known is the music for Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951). The trombonist, composer and arranger J.J. Johnson told me that a theme from the film, “Lady Barbara” was one of his … [Read more...]

As Jeff Sultanof makes clear in the first segment of his two-part essay for Rifftides, the most accomplished composers and arrangers looked up to Robert Farnon (1917-2005). To the left, we see him between two of his admirers, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Carter. Early in his career, both offered him … [Read more...]

Following up the Butch Morris post two items below, this announcement just arrived: … [Read more...]