Recent Links :: 31 July 2012

• Charlie Christian: On July 29, his birthday, Charlie Christian was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.
• John Coltrane: NPR Music has a piece on efforts to preserve John Coltrane's home in Dix Hills, 40 miles east of New York City.
• John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver: According to JazzTimes, Blue Note/EMI has released six classic jazz albums in high definition, master-quality audio on HDtracks. These include John Coltrane’s Blue Train, Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch, Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage, Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil, and Horace Silver’s Song for My Father.
• Miles Davis: Miles Davis Online links to a 1955 article Miles Davis by Nat Hentoff in Downbeat.
• Bill Evans: Among the top 50 jazz albums for the week of 30 July 2012 was Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate by the Bill Evans Trio. (Purchase the CD, Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate, at Amazon.com.)
• Charles Mingus: Nat Hentoff writes about Charles Mingus in The Wall Street Journal.

Robert
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RIP, Bud Powell (1924-1966)

Jazz pianist Bud Powell died on July 31, 1966, in New York City of tuberculosis, malnutrition, and alcoholism. He was just 41 years old.

Powell was one of the great bebop musicians and is often known as "the Charlie Parker of the piano." The great jazz pianist Bill Evans said of Powell, "If I had to choose one single musician for his artistic integrity, for the incomparable originality of his creation and the grandeur of his work, it would be Bud Powell. He was in a class by himself."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 1, which is available on CD from Barnes & Noble.

The Bud Powell Trio plays "There Will Never Be Another You" here:

Robert
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Happy Birthday, Charlie Christian

Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian was born on July 29, 1916, in Bonham, Texas.

Christian was a key figure in the history of the electric guitar, and his technique helped establish the guitar as a legitimate solo instrument. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra from August 1939 to June 1941 and was a major influence in the development of bebop and cool jazz. As Jazz critic Scott Yanow put it, "It can be said without exaggeration that virtually every jazz guitarist that emerged during 1940-65 sounded like a relative of Charlie Christian."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Christian's album, Solo Flight (Columbia CG 30779), but this has not been issued on CD or MP3. Instead, Jim Determan recommends the three alternatives listed below. As he notes, the box set "is the definitive reissue [but for] those wanting a single Charlie Christian CD, the first Columbia single CD makes a good choice." The third CD, according to Determan, "has good sextet material, but Christian's role is less prominent."

• Charlie Christian: Genius of the Electric Guitar, Box Set (Sony) (Available at Amazon.com.)
• Charlie Christian: Genius of the Electric Guitar (Columbia/Sony) (Available at Amazon.com.)
• Charlie Christian: The Benny Goodman Sextet Featuring Charlie Christian (Columbia/Sony) (Available at Amazon.com.)

Christian plays "Airmail Special" with the Benny Goodman Sextet here:

Robert
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Happy Birthday, Don Redman

Don Redman, the first great arranger in jazz history, was born on July 29, 1900, in Piedmont, West Virginia.

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.

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.

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

Robert
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RIP, George Russell (1923-2009)

Jazz pianist and composer George Russell died from complications from Alzheimer's disease in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 27, 2009. He was 86 years old.

Russell was a MacArthur Foundation Award winner, a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, and a Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Emeritus at the New England Conservatory, where he taught for 35 years. Russell is best known as a jazz theorist, and his musical ideas, published in his book The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, led to the modal music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Hankus Netsky, Chair of the New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation Department, said that "In George's mind, the Lydian Chromatic Concept was not so much a theoretical system as it was an approach to life. ‘It comes from Pythagoras,’ he liked to say. ‘It's a reflection of nature.’ It wasn't in any way a ‘jazz’ thing, but a way to appreciate the laws of tension and release, a way of understanding Bach, Ravel, and Stravinsky - and seeing Coltrane, Monk, and Miles Davis as musicians who were part of the same continuum."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Russell's album, Outer Thoughts (Milestone), which he calls "a uniformly excellent performance." The album is not available on CD, but Jim Determan recommends the following alternatives:

• George Russell: Ezz-thetics (Riverside). Available from Amazon.com.
• George Russell: The Outer View (Riverside). Available from Amazon.com.
• George Russell: The Stratus Seekers (Riverside). Available from Amazon.com.

The George Russell Sextet plays "Round Midnight" (from the 1961 album Ezz-thetics) here:

Robert
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Recent Links :: 25 July 2012

• Cannonball Adderley, Wes Montgomery: Marc Myers discusses the 1960 album, Cannonball Adderley and the Poll-Winners, which included Wes Montgomery on guitar, at JazzWax. (Purchase Cannonball Adderley and the Poll-Winners from Amazon.com.)
• Louis Armstrong: Ricky Riccardi discusses "Alligator Crawl," recorded in May 1927 by Louis Armstrong and the Hot Seven at The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong. ("Alligator Crawl" is on the CD, Hot Fives & Sevens, available from Amazon.com.)
• Louis Armstrong: Jeff Tamarkin reviews the Louis Armstrong recording, Satchmo at the National Press Club: Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours, at JazzTimes. (Purchase the CD, Satchmo at the National Press Club: Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours, from Amazon.com.)
• Bill Evans: Among the top 50 jazz albums for the week of 23 July 2012 was Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate by the Bill Evans Trio. (Purchase the CD, Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate, at Amazon.com.)
• Billie Holiday: NPR discusses the final resting place of Billie Holiday.

Robert
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Happy Birthday, Annie Ross

Jazz singer Annie Ross was born on July 25, 1930, in London, England. Jazz critic John Bush referred to her as a "canary female" with "dexterous vocals."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross album, The Best of Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross (Columbia C-32911 or JCS-8198). Unfortunately, the album is only available in vinyl. Jim Determan, who has updated Lyons's list of albums for CD, recommends instead the following title:

• Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross: Everybody's Boppin' (Columbia Jazz Masterpieces) (Buy at Barnes & Noble)

Ross is best known for her song, "Twisted":

Robert
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Recent Links :: 18 July 2012

• Mose Allison: According to JazzTimes, the National Endowment for the Arts announced the four newest NEA Jazz Masters, including Mose Allison, Lou Donaldson, Lorraine Gordon and Eddie Palmieri.
• Miles Davis: According to JazzTimes, the Miles Davis forever stamp was officially dedicated at the Hollywood Bowl’s Museum Terrace in Los Angeles.
• Miles Davis: According to Miles Davis Online, July 16 commemorates the day in 1991 when the French government made Miles Davis a Knight of the Legion of Honor.
• Miles Davis: Several Downbeat blindfold tests with Miles Davis are shared at forghieri.net: 1955; 1958; 1964; and < ahref="http://www.forghieri.net/jazz/blind/Davis_4.html">1968.
• Bill Evans: Among the top 50 jazz albums for the week of 16 July 2012 was Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate by the Bill Evans Trio. (Purchase the CD, Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate, at Amazon.com.)
• Thelonious Monk: A 1966 Downbeat blindfold test with Thelonious Monk is reprinted at forghieri.net.
• Sonny Rollins: JazzTimes shares Sonny Rollins's list of ten "must-hear" tenor cuts, including "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane and "The Man I Love" by Coleman Hawkins.

Robert
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RIP, Billie Holiday (1915-1949)

Jazz singer Billie Holiday died from pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959, in New York City.  Her funeral mass was held at Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, and she was buried in Saint Raymonds Cemetery in the Bronx.

According to critic John Bush, Holiday was the "first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues, [and she] changed the art of American pop vocals forever." Len Lyons said that Holiday "could transform the most banal pop ballad into a painfully intense, subtle work of art." In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Lyons recommends the album, The Billie Holiday Story, Vol. 2 (Columbia). Unfortunately, this album is not available in CD or MP3 format.

Instead, Jim Determan recommends several alternatives, including the 10-CD set and the 2-CD set listed below:

• Billie Holiday: Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia, 1933-1944 (Sony, 10 CDs)
• Billie Holiday: Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday (Sony, 2 CDs)

Holiday sings "The Man I Love" here:

Robert
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RIP, John Coltrane (1926-1967)

Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane died from liver cancer on July 17, 1967, in Huntington, New York. He was just 40 years old. His funeral was held at St. Peters Lutheran Church in New York City, and he was buried at Pinelawn Cemetery in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Len Lyons says that Coltrane "challenged himself artistically to a greater extent than any saxophonist in jazz's history," and critic William Ruhlmann calls him "among the most important, and most controversial, figures in jazz." Coltrane played bebop and hard bop early in his career, then helped pioneer modal jazz and later free jazz.

Coltrane plays "Giant Steps" (with animated sheet music) here, a good example of what critic Ira Gitler referred to as the "sheets of sound" that Coltrane produced.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends four albums by Coltrane, all of which are available in CD:

• Giant Steps (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
• My Favorite Things (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
• Live at the Village Vanguard (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
• A Love Supreme (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)

Robert
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Recent Links :: 15 July 2012

• Cannonball Adderley, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk: According to JazzTimes, Concord Music Group will release five new titles in August in its Very Best Of jazz series, highlighting the work of Cannonball Adderley, Dave Brubeck, the Bill Evans Trio, Vince Guaraldi, and Thelonious Monk,.
• Louis Armstrong: Ricky Riccardi celebrates the fifth anniversary of his excellent blog at The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong.
• John Coltrane: John Coltrane explains some of his influences in a 1960 Downbeat piece.
• Bill Evans: Marc Myers talks with jazz pianist Bill Charlap about Bill Evans at JazzWax.
• Coleman Hawkins: Will Friedwald's piece on Coleman Hawkins and the rise of the jazz saxophone is available at The Wall Street Journal.

• Keith Jarrett: John Fordham reviews the Keith Jarrett album, Sleeper: Tokyo, April 16, 1979, at The Guardian. (Purchase the CD, Sleeper: Tokyo, April 16, 1979, at Amazon.com.)
• Charles Mingus: The 6-CD set, Charles Mingus: Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65, will be made available in September 2012 by Mosaic Records, according to All About Jazz.
• Fats Waller: Jazz Lives discusses the 1941 Fats Waller recording, "You'd Better Lock Your Door."

Robert
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Recent Links :: 10 July 2012

• Louis Armstrong: On July 6, the anniversary of Louis Armstrong's death, Ricky Riccardi shared a 1971 news clip about Armstrong's death and a short special about his death, hosted by Billy Taylor, at The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong.
• Louis Armstrong: Jazz Lives discusses the 1933 Louis Armstrong recording, "Honey, Do!"
• Miles Davis: According to Miles Davis Online, Antoine Fuqua is still going to direct the Miles Davis movie.
• Miles Davis: Miles Davis Online interviews caricaturist Russ Cook and discusses his caricature of Davis.

• Miles Davis: Marc Myers discusses whether Miles Davis really composed the jazz standard "Solar" at JazzWax. ("Solar" is available on the Miles Davis CD, Walkin, which can be purchased at Amazon.com.)
• Miles Davis: Miles Davis Online provides a weekly round-up of news about Miles Davis.
• Cecil Taylor: John Fordham reviews the Cecil Taylor album, Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!, at The Guardian. (Purchase the CD, Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!, at Amazon.com.)
• Joe Zawinul: On July 7, his birthday, Joe Zawinul was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All about Jazz.

Robert
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RIP, Jelly Roll Morton (1885-1941)

Jelly Roll Morton, the first major arranger of jazz, died of heart failure and asthma on July 10, 1941, in Los Angeles, California. He is buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Morton claimed that he invented jazz, and while that claim is a stretch, he was certainly an important transitional figure between the stiff approach of ragtime and the flexibility and freedom of jazz. Critic Scott Janow points out that "Morton's accomplishments as an early innovator are so vast that he did not really need to stretch the truth."

Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers play "Blackbottom Stomp" here:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends two albums by Jelly Roll Morton: Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers, 1926-1927, Volume 3 (RCA France 731 059); and Jelly Roll Morton, 1923-1924 (Milestone M-47018, 2 LPs). These are available in vinyl only. There is a CD version of the latter album, but it omits the cuts from side 4 of the vinyl LP.

Jim Determan, who has updated Lyons's list of albums for CD, recommends instead the following titles:

• Jelly Roll Morton: The Jelly Roll Morton Centennial (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
• Jelly Roll Morton: 1926-1930 (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
• Jelly Roll Morton: Birth of the Hot (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
• Jelly Roll Morton: Rare Recordings of Piano Solos, 1923-1926 (Purchase at Amazon.com.)

Robert

Happy Birthday, Joe Zawinul

Jazz keyboardist and composer Joe Zawinul was born on July 7, 1932, in Vienna, Austria. As critic Richard S. Ginell notes, Zawinul's "curiosity and openness to all kinds of sounds made him one of the driving forces behind the electronic jazz-rock revolution of the late '60s and '70s — and later, he would be almost alone in exploring fusions between jazz-rock and ethnic music from all over the globe."

Zawinul first played with Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis before co-founding the groups Weather Report and the world fusion group Zawinul Syndicate. He was also a pioneer in the use of the electric piano and synthesizers in jazz and was named "Best Electric Keyboardist" 28 times by the readers of Down Beat magazine.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the Weather Report album, 8:30 (Columbia), which is available from Amazon.com.

Weather Report plays "In a Silent Way," one of the more lyrical pieces from the 8:30 album, here:

Robert
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RIP, Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)

The great jazz trumpeter and singer, Louis Armstrong, died in his sleep of a heart attack on July 6, 1971, in Queens, New York. He was 69 years old.

Armstrong's funeral attracted 25,000 individuals, including honorary pallbearers Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Pearl Bailey, Count Basie, Harry James, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan, Earl Wilson, Alan King, Johnny Carson, and David Frost. Armstrong is buried in the Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, New York.

As critic William Ruhlman has said, "Louis Armstrong was the first important soloist to emerge in jazz, and he became the most influential musician in the music's history." 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.

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 :: 3 July 2012

• George Benson: John Fordham reviews a concert by George Benson and Christian Scott in London at The Guardian.
• George Benson: At NPR's A Blog Supreme, Gary G. Vercelli shares a clip of George Benson playing the John Coltrane tune, "Naima," on his album, Guitar Man. (Purchase the CD, Guitar Man, at Amazon.com.)
• John Coltrane: Yalik's Modern Art in High Point (NC) is having an exhibition entitled "John Coltrane vs the Jazz Critics 1961-1966" from August 24 through September 16, according to their Website.
• Bill Evans: The Bill Evans Trio album, Bill Evans Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate, was #7 on the July 2, 2012, jazz chart at JazzWeek. (Purchase the CD, Bill Evans Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate, at Amazon.com.)
• Sonny Rollins: Open Culture shares a 1977 television commercial featuring Sonny Rollins.
• Wayne Shorter: Jim Harrington reviews a Montreal concert by the Wayne Shorter Quartet at JazzTimes.

Robert
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