RIP, Don Redman (1900-1964)

Don Redman, the first great arranger in jazz history, died on November 30, 1964, in New York City.  He was 64 years old.

Redman joined joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in 1923, playing clarinet and saxophone, but he soon began writing arrangements and did much to formulate the sound that was to become big band swing.

Redman formed his own band in 1931, which he led until 1940.

The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra plays one of Redman's arrangements, "Rocky Mountain Blues," here:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra's album Developing an American Orchestra 1923-1927 (Smithsonian Collection). Unfortunately, that album is only available in vinyl. Jim Determan, who has updated the Lyons list, recommends as an alternative A Study in Frustration: The Fletcher Henderson Story (Columbia), which is available from Amazon.com.


Robert
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Happy Birthday, Chuck Mangione

American flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione was born on November 29, 1940, in Rochester, New York.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons says that Mangione "has come to represent the fusion of jazz with popular song writing and arranging. … [From] 1970 to 1973 Mangione auspiciously combined his natural melodicism with a talent for creating multistylistic orchestral backgrounds."

Lyons recommends Mangione's album, The Best of Chuck Mangione (Mercury), which is available only in vinyl. As Jim Determan (who updated the Lyons list for CD) points out, only half of the songs on that album have been released on CD. As an alternative, Determan recommends Land of Make Believe (Mercury), which is available from Amazon.com.

Mangione plays "And in the Beginning" — a composition that Lyons said "proved Mangione was a composer to be taken seriously" — here:

Robert
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Recent Links :: 29 November 2014

Anthony Braxton: New Jazz United shares a video of Anthony Braxton's 1970 piece, "To Pianist Cecil Taylor." (The song is available on the album, For Alto, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

John Coltrane: At Blu Notes, Larry Blumenfeld lists his 10 favorite jazz albums of the year. Among them is John Coltrane's Offering: Live at Temple University. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Miles Davis: New Jazz United shares a video of Miles Davis's "Seven Steps to Heaven." (The song is available on the album, Seven Steps to Heaven, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Keith Jarrett: At All About Jazz, John Kelman reviews the album, Hamburg '72, by Keith Jarrett, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

John McLaughlin: At All About Jazz, Ian Patterson reviews the November 2014 concert by John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Sun Ra: New Jazz United shares a video of Sun Ra's version of "My Favorite Things" from 1978. (The song is available on the album, New Steps, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Art Tatum: New Jazz United shares a video of Art Tatum's "The Man I Love." (The song is available on the album, Piano Starts Here, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Cecil Taylor: New Jazz United shares a video of Ceil Taylor's "Just Friends" from 1958. (The song is available on the album, Hard Driving Jazz, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Robert
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