RIP, Lionel Hampton (1908-2002)

Jazz vibraphonist and band leader Lionel Hampton died from congestive heart failure on August 31, 2002, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.  He is interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

Hampton was one of the first jazz vibraphonists and worked with a number of jazz greats, including Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Charlie Parker, and Quincy Jones.  He was a Kennedy Center honoree in 1992.

A good example of Hampton's playing is this 1957 performance of "Flying Home":

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends The Complete Lionel Hampton, 1937-1941 (RCA AXM6-5536, 6 LPs). Unfortunately, the album is only available in vinyl. Jim Determan, who has updated Lyons's list of albums for CD, recommends instead the following titles.  About these, Determan notes, "These three volumes contain much of material from the all star sessions that made up the LP boxed set. The first volume is Hampton's pick of his favorites from these sessions."

• Lionel Hampton: Vol. 1 Hot Mallets! The All-Star Groups (Buy at Amazon.com)
• Lionel Hampton: Vol. 2 The Jumpin' Jive: The All-Star Groups: 1937-1939 (Buy at Amazon.com)
• Lionel Hampton: Vol. 3 Tempo and Swing: The All-Star Groups: 1939-1940 (Buy at Amazon.com)

Robert

Happy Birthday, Charlie Parker

August 29 is the birthday of Charlie Parker (1920-1955), arguably the most influential jazz musician of all time. As Len Lyons puts it, "If you have never heard Charlie Parker, the experience could permanently change the way you think about music." Parker led the development of bebop, which differed from the straightforward, dance-able tunes of the swing era, replacing these with rapid tempos, fragmented asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that did more than just keep time.

Parker's Septet plays "Ornithology" here in 1946:

In his 101 Best Jazz Albums, Lyons recommends two of Parker's albums:

• The Very Best of Bird (Warner Brothers 2WB 3198, 2 LPs)
  
• Bird/The Savoy Recordings (Master Takes) (Savoy SJL 2201, 2 LPs)
  

Unfortunately, both are available only on vinyl. Instead, Jim Determan (who has updated the Lyons list for CD) recommends the following:

• The Legendary Dial Masters, Vols. 1 and 2 (Jazz Classics) (Purchase the CD at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Best of The Complete Savoy & Dial Studio Recordings (Purchase the CD at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (Purchase the CD at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• The Complete Savoy & Dial Studio Recordings 1944-1948 (Purchase the CD at Barnes & Noble.)
  

About the latter three, Determan says, "Three reissues let you choose the depth to which you want to delve into this material. These recordings are the basis of bop, so I would recommend the 3 CD Complete Master Takes set, which covers most of what was on the two double albums [Len Lyons] recommended. If you’re not sure and want to try out just a cross-section, then pick up the first disk. If you already know you are a serious fan, then you may be inclined to go for the Complete Recordings."

Robert

Recent Links :: August 28

• Louis Armstrong: Ricky Riccardi provides cuts to listen to in conjunction with chapter 5 of his book, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years, at his blog, The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong. (Purchase the book, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years, at Barnes & Noble.)
• Count Basie: Jazz Times announces that Concord Records will re-issue the album Frank Sinatra & Count Basie: The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings. (Pre-order the CD, Frank Sinatra & Count Basie: The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings, at Barnes & Noble.)
• Ornette Coleman: C. Michael Bailey reviews the 1961 Ornette Coleman album This is Our Music at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, This is Our Music, at Barnes & Noble.)
• Miles Davis: According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the owners of Miles Davis's trademarks have sued the operators of Miles' Cafe in New York City for infringement.
• Miles Davis: dancohen has shared an animated sheet music version of Miles Davis's famous "So What" on YouTube.
• Nicole Henry: Nicole Henry, whom we featured a couple of weeks ago in a post about "5 Female Vocalists Who Deserve to Be Better Known," is highlighted in a piece at All About Jazz. (Pre-oredr Nicole Henry's new CD, Embraceable, at Barnes & Noble.)
• Earl Hines: Maria Popova has posted a video of Earl Hines explaining various piano techniques at Brain Pickings.
• Bud Powell: Tim Niland reviews the Bud Powell album, Jazz Giant, at Music and More. (Purchase the CD, Jazz Giant, at Barnes & Noble.)
• Lester Young: The music of Lester Young is featured on Riverwalk Jazz.

Robert

Happy Birthday, Lester Young

August 27 is the birthday of jazz saxophonist Lester Young (1909-1959). Young was one of the most important tenor sax players in the history of jazz, and Len Lyons ranks him as "the most innovative instrumentalist in jazz between Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker."

Typical of his playing is his two-chorus solo on "Oh, Lady, Be Good" with Jones-Smith Incorporated:



In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends The Lester Young Story, Vol. 1 (Columbia JG 33502, 2 LPs). Unfortunately, this album is only available on vinyl. A good alternative on CD is the British import, The Lester Young Story, which is re-issued on the Proper label and contains four CDs. (Purchase the CD, The Lester Young Story, at Barnes & Noble.)

Robert

Happy Birthday, Wayne Shorter

August 25 is the birthday of jazz saxophonist and composer, Wayne Shorter (1933- ). Shorter is regarded by many as the greatest living composer in jazz and has won 9 Grammy Awards. He worked with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the late 1950s, Miles Davis's second quintet in the 1960s, and Weather Report in the 1970s.

He plays "Children of the Night" with Blakey's Jazz Messengers here:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the following recordings that include Shorter:

• Miles Davis: Miles Smiles (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
• Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
• V.S.O.P.: The Quintet (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
• Weather Report: 8:30 (Buy at Barnes & Noble)

Robert

Recent Links :: August 22

• Louis Armstrong: John Fordham has a very positive review of Louis Armstrong's Ambassador of Jazz box set in the Guardian. (Purchase the CD, Ambassador of Jazz Box, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Louis Armstrong: Ricky Riccardi shares some audio cuts to accompany chapter 4 of his book, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years at his blog, The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong. (Purchase the book, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Count Basie: Monk Rowe has an excellent piece on Joe Williams, who sang with the Count Basie Orchestra, at Jazz Backstory.
  
• John Coltrane: Nate Chinen discusses John Coltrane's Village Vanguard recordings, Live at the Village Vanguard and The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings, at JazzTimes. (Purchase the CD, Live at the Village Vanguard, at Barnes & Noble. Purchase the CD, The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bill Evans: In his blog, This Quiet Fire, Mike Conklin writes about Bill Evans's preference for playing solo.
  
• Herbie Hancock: According to All About Jazz, Herbie Hancock will embark on his first solo tour this fall.
  

Robert

Happy Birthday, Count Basie

August 21 is the birthday of jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer, William "Count" Basie (1904-1984), who popularized the Kansas City style of "head arrangements," unwritten arrangements for big band that featured one soloist playing at a time.

Here is a good example of a Basie "head arrangment," the band playing one of its theme songs, "One O'Clock Jump":

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends two recordings of Count Basie:

• The Best of Count Basie (MCA MCA2-4050, 2 LPs)
• 16 Men Swinging (Verve V-2-2517, 2 LPs)

Unfortunately, these are only available in vinyl. Jim Determan, who has updated Lyons's list of albums for CD, recommends instead the following titles:

• Count Basie: The Complete Decca Recordings (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Count Basie: April in Paris (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Count Basie: Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  

Robert

CoreJazz Tech: 8tracks.com

Time magazine just released its top 50 Websites of 2011, and one of the sites listed is 8tracks.com, a music sharing site of interest to jazz fans. 8tracks allows a user to create a mix or playlist of eight or more cuts and share that mix online. The benefit of this approach over something like Pandora is that the playlists have more of a "real person" feel to them.

Other benefits include the following:

• You can tag your mixes and follow those tags to find music that you like. There is, for example, a tag for "jazz", and by my estimate, there are over 6,000 mixes tagged with "jazz." For example, there's a mix entitled "Jazz for getting ready", which features "Willow Weep for Me" (Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson), "Lover Come Back to Me" (Cassandra Wilson), and some other wonderful numbers.
  
• You can find mixes with specific tags ("piano jazz") or specific artists ("Art Tatum") and mixes created by your Facebook friends.
  
• You can also follow other 8tracks members who share your tastes.
  
• 8tracks also lists other mixes that are similar to the one that you are listening to.
  
• You can embed mixes on another site, as I have done below.
  

One final benefit. It's all legal. The folks at 8tracks pay the necessary licensing fees to the music companies.

I have only come across a couple of downsides so far. First, your computer has to support Flash. Second, you are limited to the number of cuts that you can skip in a given mix. So if that mix with Art Tatum at the end starts off with Justin Bieber, well, you'll just have to be patient.

Otherwise, 8tracks.com is a nice little Internet service. I highly recommend it.

Robert

Kind of Blue

On August 17, 1959, Kind of Blue, arguably the greatest jazz album of all time, was released. The sessions featured a Miles Davis sextet that consisted of pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers, and saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley.

The album was based on George Russell's modal approach to jazz, which used scales instead of chords as the basis for improvisations. The album was also recorded without rehearsal, and the musicians had little preparation. When they arrived for taping, Davis gave the band members only brief instructions and sketches of the scales and melody lines on which they were to improvise.

The results were nothing short of amazing. As Davis noted in an interview, "No chords ... gives you a lot more freedom and space to hear things. When you go this way, you can go on forever. You don't have to worry about changes and you can do more with the [melody] line. It becomes a challenge to see how melodically innovative you can be."

Here is the opening cut from the album, "So What."

(Purchase the CD, Kind of Blue, at Barnes & Noble.)

Recent Links :: August 17

• Bix Beiderbecke: LandmarkHunter.com features the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial in Davenport, Iowa.
  
• Charlie Christian: Michael Leonard discusses Charlie Christian, "The First Guitar Hero," at Gibson Lifestyle.
  
• John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins: Tim Niland reviews Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins and Duke Ellington and John Coltrane at Music and More. (Purchase the CD, Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins and Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bill Evans: The Keep Swinging blog reviews the Bill Evans album, The Sesjun Radio Shows. (Purchase the CD, The Sesjun Radio Shows, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson: John Bergstrom has a nice piece on the album, Ella and Oscar, at PopMatters. (Purchase the CD, Ella and Oscar, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Freddie Hubbard: Jeff Krow reviews Freddie Hubbard's album, Hub Cap, at Audiophile Audition. (Purchase the CD, Hub Cap, at Barnes & Noble: SACD or CD.)
  
• Freddie Hubbard: Larry Taylor reviews the new Freddie Hubbard album, Pinnacle: Live and Unreleased from Keystone Korner, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Pinnacle: Live and Unreleased from Keystone Korner, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Airto Moreira: All About Jazz announces the reissue of Airto's album, Fingers. (Purchase the CD, Fingers, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Joe Pass: Vivoscene discusses the Joe Pass album, For Django. (Purchase the CD, For Django, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Sonny Rollins: Greg Simmons reviews the Sonny Rollins 1957 album, Newk's Time, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Newk's Time, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Sarah Vaughan: JazzWax has a rich discussion of the Roulette years of singer Sarah Vaughan.
  

Robert

5 Female Vocalists Who Deserve to Be Better Known

I recently stumbled upon a great list of lesser-known female jazz vocalists on Amazon.com, compiled by Gary L. Connely. Gary lists 40 albums featuring singers who are not exactly household names, even though they have plenty of talent.

After listening to several of these vocalists on You Tube, iTunes, and other spots, I can assure you that they are well worth your consideration. Here are five that I found to be particularly good.

Jeri Brown is a Canadian-born singer with a very wide (four-octave) vocal range and expressive interpretations of lyrics. She has an intimate, sensual sound and is also a tremendous scat singer.

• Unfolding the Peacocks includes her beautiful scat interplay with the flute on "The Peacocks." (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• A Timeless Place is a quieter, more introspective album in which she sings nine compositions of Jimmy Rowles, who accompanies her on the piano. The title cut is particularly haunting. (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Nicole Henry was born in Philadelphia and toured the U.S. as a background vocalist with RCA band, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise. She discovered jazz while singing in Miami Beach and received a good bit of recognition for her first album, The Nearness of You. She has a soulful, passionate sound that borders on R&B.

• The Nearness of You, Henry's first album, is in many ways her best. There are a number of standards here — "Summertime," "Old Black Magic," "Over the Rainbow" — and Henry spices up each one just enough. (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• The Very Thought of You is her latest album. A nice mix of standards — "Almost Like Being in Love" — and original songs that feature her swinging, sultry voice. (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Carmen Lundy is a refined singer who also composes, paints, and acts. Her singing is refined and open to influences from R&B and pop. Her voice is especially attractive when she hits the low notes.

• Self Portrait features six of Lundy's own compositions and shows off her ability to improvise while paying close attention to the mood of the song. (Buy at Amazon.com.)
  
• Jazz and the New Songbook: Live at the Madrid is a sensuous and seductive album that features 18 of her original compositions. (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Robin McKelle grew up in Rochester, New York, and took third place in the 2004 Thelonious Monk Vocal Jazz Competition. Her rich alto voice can range from sophisticated and mellow to bold and brassy.

• Introducing Robin McKelle is mostly 1940s big band jazz with lots of brass and lots of swing, but McKelle does throw in a salsa rendition of "Bei Mir Bis Du Schon" that is unforgettable. (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Mess Around is entirely different from the previously mentioned album, with a lot more R&B and an unbelievable version of the Bee Gees' "Lonely Nights." (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Jaimee Paul is a Nashville-based singer with a sensual, "smoky" alto voice who is capable of unbelievable runs. Her bittersweet, intimate sound provides a fresh take on several familiar pieces.

• At Last is her major label debut, and her lush voice is a real joy to listen to. Her take on some major standards — "Cry Me a River," "Fever," and "Stormy Weather" — is nothing short of impressive. (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Melancholy Baby features tributes to Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Nina Simone, among others, all sung in Paul's beautiful, powerhouse style. (Buy at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Robert

Happy Birthday, Bill Evans

August 16 is the birthday of pianist Bill Evans (1929-1980), arguably the most influential jazz pianist of the last 60 years. Evans had an impressionistic sound and an introverted style that allowed him to expand the traditional jazz repertoire and introduce a more European, classical style of playing. A wonderful biography of Evans is Peter Pettinger's Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings. (Available from Barnes & Noble)

Evans plays "Waltz for Debby" at:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends two albums by Evans, The Village Vanguard Sessions and Intuition. Both are available from Barnes & Noble: the remastered The Coplete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 and Intuition.


Robert

Happy Birthday, Oscar Peterson

August 15 is the birthday of pianist Oscar Peterson (1925-2007). Peterson was born in Montreal and won seven Grammy Awards over his career. He is one of the few pianists whose technique approaches that of the great Art Tatum, who was a major influence on Peterson.

Peterson plays "Hymn to Freedom":

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the album, In Concert (Verve - England 2683 063, 2 LPs). Unfortunately, that album is available only in vinyl and not in CD or MP3 format. Jim Determan, who updated the Lyons list for DC, offers no alternatives, and Lyons himself warns that "Good Peterson albums are abundant, but great ones are rare." Nevertheless, Lyons does speak highly of the solo album 'My Favorite Instrument,' which is available from Barnes & Noble, both new and used.


Robert

Recent Links :: August 14

• Dave Brubeck: Brandon Belanger talks about the Brubeck album, Time Out, on his blog, Now on the Internet. (Purchase the CD, Time Out, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Orentte Coleman: C. Michael Bailey reviews Ornette Coleman's album, Change Of The Century, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Change Of The Century, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Modern Jazz Quartet: Eugene Holley, Jr., has a lengthy, comprehensive review of the Modern Jazz Quartet album, The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings 1956-64, at All About Jazz.
  
• Sonny Rollins: Tim Niland reviews the Sonny Rollins double album, On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You at Music and More. (Purchase the CD, On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Sonny Rollins: Greg Simmons also reviews the Sonny Rollins double album, On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You at All About Jazz.
  
• Weather Report: John Fordham reviews the Weather Report album, Live in Offenbach, in The Guardian. (Purchase the CD, Live in Offenbach, at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Robert

Recent Links :: August 10

• Louis Armstrong: SRI Records presents some rare photos of Louis Armstrong and the Dukes of Dixieland from the 1960s.
  
• Louis Armstrong: John Kehe writes about Ricky Riccardi's book, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years, and its attempt to restore an appreciation of Armstrong's later years in the Alaska Dispatch.
  
• Count Basie: Jazz Backstory has part 2 of its feature on Count Basie, told by some of his sidemen.
  
• George Benson: Jazz Times announces that George Benson will release a new album, Guitar Man, in October.
  
• John Coltrane: Off the Tracks talks about John Coltrane's album, A Love Supreme, as part of its "Vinyl Countdown" series. (Purchase the CD, A Love Supreme, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Duke Ellington: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit features a clip of Duke Ellington at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956, from the Ken Burns "Jazz" documentary.
  
• Bill Evans: Mike Conklin continues his detailed, measure by measure analysis of Bill Evans's tune "Alice in Wonderland" — from the album, Sunday at the Village Vanguard — at This Quiet Fire. (Purchase the CD, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Freddie Hubbard: Dan Bilawsky reviews the new Freddie Hubbard album, Pinnacle: Live and Unreleased from Keystone Korner, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Pinnacle: Live and Unreleased from Keystone Korner, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker: Tim Niland reviews the 1950 Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie album, Bird & Diz at Music and More. (Purchase the CD, Bird & Diz, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Sun Ra: Jazz Times announces the September release of a new album, Sun Ra—The Eternal Myth Revealed Vol. 1: 1914-1959.
  
• Sonny Rollins: Phil Freeman reviews the Sonny Rollins double album, On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You at Burning Ambulance. (Purchase the CD, On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bessie Smith: Mike Conklin discusses the blues great Bessie Smith at his blog, From Basin St. to Birdland.
  

Robert

RIP, Cannonball Adderley (1928-1975)

Alto saxophonist Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley died of a stroke on August 8, 1975, in Gary, Indiana. He was just 46 years old. He was buried in the Southside Cemetery, in Tallahassee, Florida.

A good example of Adderley's hard bop style is "Hi-Fly," which features his warm tone and Parker-like fluidity.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Cannonball Adderley's album Coast to Coast. Unfortunately, the album is only available in vinyl. Jim Determan, who has updated Lyons's list of albums for CD, recommends instead the following titles:

• Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Cannonball Adderley Sextet in New York (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  

Robert

Recent Links :: August 7

• Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans: BlogCritics reviews two albums just released as part of the Concord Music Group's Original Jazz Classics Remasters series: Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans, Know What I Mean?, and the Bill Evans Trio, Explorations. (Purchase the CD, Know What I Mean?, at Barnes & Noble. Purchase the CD, Explorations, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Mose Allison: A letter to the Washington Post, argues that Mose Allison is worthy of a Kennedy Center honor.
  
• Louis Armstrong: Gibson.com has a piece entitled, "Louis Armstrong’s Uneasy Upbringing in the Big Easy."
  
• Ornette Coleman: BlogCritics reviews the album, Something Else!!!! The Music of Ornette Coleman, which has been reissued by Concord Music Group. (Purchase the CD, Something Else!!!! The Music of Ornette Coleman, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Chick Corea: BlogCritics reviews the album, The Definitive Chick Corea on Stretch and Concord. (Purchase the CD, The Definitive Chick Corea on Stretch and Concord, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus: Jazz on the Tube has a wonderful 30-minute video from Eric Dolphy's last concert with Charles Mingus on April 13, 1964, in Stockholm, Sweden.
  
• Bill Evans: Mike Conklin continues his in-depth discussion of Bill Evans's influence on jazz by referring to Andy Leverne's explanation of Evans's "left-hand rootless voicings" at This Quiet Fire.
  
• Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday: The Toronto Sun lists 10 great songs about places, and Billie Holiday's "Autumn in New York" is # 1. "I Love Paris," by Ella Fitzgerald, is # 5.
  
• Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass: BlogCritics reviews the Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass album, Easy Living, which has been reissued by Concord Music Group. (Purchase the CD, Easy Living, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Thelonious Monk: BlogCritics reviews the Thelonious Monk album, Thelonious Alone in San Francisco, which has been reissued by Concord Music Group. (Purchase the CD, Thelonious Alone in San Francisco, at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Robert

Happy Birthday, "Luckey" Roberts

August 7 is the birthday of pianist Charles Luckeyeth "Luckey" Roberts (1887-1968). Along with James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith, he developed stride piano in the years following World War I.

Roberts is reported to have had very large hands, which allowed him to span 14 keys on the piano, and his right hand was particularly fluid. He played for the Vanderbilts, Astors, and other wealthy families in New York.

Roberts plays his "Railroad Blues" here:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the album, Luckey and the Lion: Harlem Piano (Good Time Jazz S10035), which features "Luckey" Roberts and Willie "The Lion" Smith. (Buy the CD at Barnes & Noble.)

Robert

Recent Links :: August 5

• Mose Allison: John Fordham reviews Mose Allison's concert at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London at The Guardian. Jack Massarik reviews the concert in the London Evening Standard.
  
• Louis Armstrong: August 4 was Louis Armstrong's birthday, and Riverwalk Jazz devoted a program to the "founding father of jazz."
  
• Louis Armstrong: In honor of Louis Armstrong's birthday, the Huffington Post listed its favorite live performances, complete with videos.
  
• Louis Armstrong: Shadow and Act notes Louis Armstrong's birthday and discusses the status of two biopics of the great trumpeter.
  
• Bix Beiderbecke: Marc Myers has an excellent piece on Bix Beiderbecke on the anniversary of his death (August 6, 1931) at Jazz Wax.
  
• Bix Beiderbecke: Corey Kilgannon writes about the room in which Bix died in the New York Times's City Room blog.
  
• Dave Brubeck: The Projo Arts Blog announces that the 90-year-old Dave Brubeck will perform at the Newport Jazz Festival.
  
• Ornette Coleman: C. Michael Bailey reviews Ornette Coleman's seminal album, The Shape Of Jazz To Come at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, The Shape Of Jazz To Come, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Chick Corea: AARP has an interview with Chick Corea, who is kicking off a 70-city world tour.
  
• Bill Evans: Mike Conklin transcribes the first 16 measures of the Bill Evans tune, "Alice in Wonderland" (from the album, Sunday at the Village Vanguard) and provides an audio of Evans playing it at This Quiet Fire. He then analyzes the first four bars here and here. (Purchase the CD, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bill Evans: David Bowling reviews the 2011 album, The Definitive Bill Evans On Riverside And Fantasy at Seattle Pi. (Purchase the CD, The Definitive Bill Evans On Riverside And Fantasy, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Herbie Hancock: The Hot House blog has Herbie Hancock's TED presentation.
  
• Herbie Hancock: Eve Jackson interviews Herbie Hancock at her France 24 blog.
  
• Airto Moreira: August 5 was Airto Moreira's birthday, and he was honored as the jazz musician of the day at All About Jazz.
  
• Sun Ra: Daniel Baker has a nice, long article about Sun Ra and his Arkestra at The Quietus.
  
• Sonny Rollins: Fred Kaplan reviews the Sonny Rollins 1957 album, Newk's Time, at Stereophile. (Purchase the CD, Newk's Time, at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Robert

Happy Birthday, Airto Moreira

Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira turns 70 today. Moreira and his wife, singer Flora Purim, moved to the United States in 1967 and began playing with a number of jazz musicians, including Joe Zawinul and Miles Davis. Moreira participated in several of Davis's jazz fusion projects, including the highly influential album Bitches Brew. Moreira and other musicians who had played with Miles — Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, and Miroslav Vitous — then formed Weather Report, and Moreira played percussion on their first album, Weather Report. Moreira then left Weather Report to join Chick Corea's new band Return to Forever, where he played drums on the group's first two albums, Return to Forever and Light as a Feather.

Moreira and Purim also recorded 500 Miles High/At Montreux, a marvelous live album that Len Lyons included in his list of the 101 best jazz albums. As Lyons notes, the album features their "raw, spontaneous, and loose style."


A nice example of Moreira's work is "Samba de Flora":

Albums mentioned above:

• Miles Davis. Bitches Brew (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Weather Report. Weather Report (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Chick Corea and Return to Forever. Return to Forever (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Chick Corea and Return to Forever. Light as a Feather (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. 500 Miles High/At Montreux (Buy at Amazon.com)
  

Robert

Happy Birthday, Louis Armstrong

August 4 is the birthday of jazz trumpeter and singer, Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), one of the greatest influences in the history of jazz. Armstrong shifted the focus of jazz from the collective music of the traditional New Orleans ensemble to a music that valued solo performance and virtuosity.
A good example of Armstrong's improvisational genius is "Weather Bird," in which he and pianist Earl Hines turn a traditional ragtime piece into a brilliant interchange of call and response and broken rhythms. (Compare the Armstrong-Hines version ...

... with the earlier, more controlled version by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends two records of Louis Armstrong:

• Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines: The Genius of Louis Armstrong, Vol. 1 1923-1933 (Columbia CG 30416, 2 LPs)
  
• Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines: Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, 1928 (Smithsonian Collection R-002, 2 LPs)
  

Unfortunately, these are only available in vinyl. Jim Determan, who has updated Lyons's list of albums for CD, recommends instead the following Columbia titles:

• Louis Armstrong: The Complete Hot Fives and Hot Sevens (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Louis Armstrong: Hot Fives and Sevens (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Louis Armstrong: The Big Band Recordings 1930-1932 (Buy at Amazon.com)
  
• Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives, Volume I (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives & Hot Sevens, Volume II (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives & Hot Sevens, Volume III (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines: Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, Volume IV (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Louis Armstrong: Louis in New York, Volume V (Buy at Amazon.com)
  
• Louis Armstrong: St. Louis Blues, Volume VI (Buy at Amazon.com)
  
• Louis Armstrong: You're Drivin' Me Crazy, Volume VII (Buy at Amazon.com)
  
• Louis Armstrong: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1923-1934 (Buy at Amazon.com)
  

Robert

Recent Links :: August 3

• Louis Armstrong: myNewOrleans.com discusses Louis Armstrong and lists four places to hear jazz in New Orleans.
  
• John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins: Impulse has just re-issued Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins and Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, and J.D. Swerzenski has a short review in the San Antonio Current. (Purchase the CD, Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins and Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Miles Davis: St. Louis Jazz Notes discusses Miles Davis's so-called "lost quintet" and provides a free copy of two recordings by this group.
  
• Miles Davis: Elements of Jazz explains the Miles Davis Fan Project, which will create an album of Davis's music based on fan choices.
  
• Duke Ellington: Dr. Funkenstein announces the new Duke Ellington double CD from Hep Records, Duke Ellington at the Crystal Gardens, on the organissimo jazz forum. (Purchase the CD, Duke Ellington at the Crystal Gardens, at Hep Records.)
  
• Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass: Michael Doherty's Music Log Blog reviews the 1986 album by Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass, Easy Living, which has just been re-issued. (Purchase the CD, Easy Living, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Freddie Hubbard: Andrew J. Sammut reviews the new Freddie Hubbard album, Pinnacle: Live and Unreleased from Keystone Korner, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Pinnacle: Live and Unreleased from Keystone Korner, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Keith Jarrett: Andy Gill reviews that Jarrett/DeJohnette/Peacock concert at London's Royal Festival Hall in The Independent.
  
• Charles Mingus: The Inconstant Sol blog announces its support for a documentary film project by Charles Mingus's grandson and asks Mingus fans to join in their support.
  
• Charles Mingus: Aynekat discusses bassist and composer Charles Mingus and shares a copy of "Triumph of the Underdog," a 1998 documentary about the great man, at her blog.
  
• Modern Jazz Quartet: Scott Yanow reviews the Modern Jazz Quartet's 1966 album, Blues at Carnegie Hall, at minalegendomusica. (Purchase the CD, Blues at Carnegie Hall, at Amazon.com.)
  
• Modern Jazz Quartet: John Kelman reviews the Modern Jazz Quartet album, The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings 1956-64 at All About Jazz.
  

Robert