Recent Links :: 28 February 2015

Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Fats Waller: According to The Jazz Line, the following jazz albums and songs will be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015:

• Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Sonny Rollins's The Bridge. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz." (The song is available on the album, Fats Waller 1942-1943, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

John Coltrane: Open Culture discusses John Coltrane's album, A Love Supreme, which was released 50 years ago, in February 1965. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Herbie Hancock: At Investors.com, Scott S. Smith highlights Herbie Hancock as an innovator.

Clifford Brown, Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Parker: At All About Jazz, Roger Crane provides a list of recordings of jazz musicians performing jazz with string sections. The albums include:

• Clifford Brown: With Strings. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Bill Evans: Bill Evans Trio With Symphony Orchestra. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Wes Montgomery: Fusion! (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Charlie Parker: With Strings. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Robert
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Recent Links :: 23 February 2015

George Benson: At All About Jazz, Patricia Myers reviews the January 21 concert by George Benson and the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra at the Mesa Arts Center.

Anthony Braxton: Grego Applegate Edwards reviews the Anthony Braxton album, Trio and Duet, at Gapplegate Music Review. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

John Coltrane: At NPR's Jazz Night in America, bassist Christian McBride recalls the first time that he heard John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

John Coltrane: All About Jazz reminds us that 2015 is the 50th anniversary of John Coltrane's album, A Love Supreme.

John Coltrane: Billboard reports that director John Scheinfeld — whose credits include The U.S. vs. John Lennon and Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of "Smile" — began pre-production on a film about John Coltrane in November.

Miles Davis: As part of All About Jazz's "One LP" series, Joe Lovano names Miles Davis's 'Round About Midnight. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Herbie Hancock: At All About Jazz, Ken Hohman lists his "top ten jazz songs to listen to while watching basketball." Among them is Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island." (The song is available on the album, Empyrean Isles, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Thelonious Monk: CVNC: An Online Arts Journal in North Carolina reprints jazz musician Elmer Johnson's remarks on the influence of Thelonious Monk from a January 2015 presentation at the North Carolina Museum of History.

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RIP, Thelonious Monk (1917-1982)

Jazz pianist Thelonious Monk died of a stroke on February 17, 1982, in Englewood, New Jersey. He was 64 years old.  Monk is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. In 1993, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2006, he was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation.

Monk was one of the greatest jazz pianists ever, a founder of bebop, and according to some sources, the second most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington. In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends three albums by Monk:

• The Complete Genius (Blue Note), available only on vinyl. (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Brilliance (Milestone), available only on vinyl. (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Pure Monk (Mileston), available only on vinyl. (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  

Jim Determan, who has updated the Lyons list, recommends these alternatives in CD format:

• The Genius of Modern Music, Volume 1 (Blue Note) (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• The Genius of Modern Music, Volume 2 (Blue Note) (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Brilliant Corners (Riverside) (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Five by Five by Monk (Riverside) (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Alone in San Francisco (Original Jazz Classics) (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Thelonious Himself (Riverside) (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  

Monk plays "Round About Midnight" here:

Robert
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Recent Links :: 16 February 2015

Eubie Blake: On his birthday, February 7, Eubie Blake was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Chick Corea: As reported in JazzTimes, the Grammy Awards for jazz were announced on February 8. Winners included Chick Corea for Best Improvised Jazz Solo, "Fingerprints," and Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Trilogy. (The song is available on the album, Trilogy, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Chick Corea: Curt's Jazz Cafe previews the 2015 Grammy nominees for Best Improvised Jazz Solo, including Chick Corea's "Fingerprints." Curt's Jazz Cafe also previews the 2015 Grammy nominees for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, including Chick Corea's Trilogy.

Bill Evans: At JazzWax, Marc Myers shares a 1976 radio interview with Bill Evans.

Duke Ellington: At Air & Space, Richard Jurek writes about Duke Ellington’s 10-minute vocal ode to the first moon landing and provides a video of Ellington's performance.

Bill Evans: Marc Myers shares the first draft of Bill Evans's liner notes for the Miles Davis album, Kind of Blue, at JazzWax.

Erroll Garner, Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Lester Young: Brilliant Corners features clips of "8 Cats Who Make it Look Easy," including Erroll Garner, Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Lester Young.

Billie Holiday: According to All About Jazz, Legacy Recordings will celebrate Billie Holiday's 100th birthday by releasing The Centennial Collection, 20 Essential Lady Day Recordings, on March 31, 2015. JazzTimes shares the track list from the album.

Carmen McRae: At JazzWax, Marc Myers discusses Carmen McRae's 1957 album, Carmen for Cool Ones. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Wayne Shorter: At Nextbop, Sebastien Helary provides a full concert video of Wayne Shorter's performance at the 2014 Stockholm Jazz Festival. (Note that the video expires on February 18, 2015.)

Robert
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RIP, Eubie Blake (1887?-1983)

The American composer, lyricist, and jazz pianist Eubie Blake (1887?-1983) died on February 12, 1983, in Brooklyn, New York. He was 96 years old. (He claimed that he was 100 years old, but the official government documents of his birth record his birth year as 1887.) He was interred in the Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, with a head stone,engraved with the musical notation for his composition "I'm Just Wild About Harry."

Blake was known both as a composer and lyricist for many Broadway shows in the 1920s and, in his later years, as the last living link to ragtime. He and singer Noble Sisser wrote songs for "Shuffle Along," the first all-black musical, in 1921, and his song, "I'm Just Wild About Harry," was used by Harry Truman in his 1948 Presidential campaign.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the 1969 Eubie Blake album, "The 86 Years of Eubie Blake" (Columbia), which led to a revived interest in Blake's music. Unfortunately, that album is only available in vinyl, usually used from Amazon.com.

Blake's Memories of You, available from Amazon.com, may be the best alternative on CD.

Blake plays "Charleston Rag" at the age of 98 here:

Robert
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Recent Links :: 9 February 2015

Louis Armstrong: According to The Guardian, Louis Armstrong’s long-lost appearance on "Desert Island Discs" has been found by the BBC. Ricky Riccardi discusses the list at The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong.

Ornette Coleman: Stefan Wood reviews the Ornette Coleman album, New Vocabulary, at The Free Jazz Collective. (Purchase the album from System Dialing Records.)

John Coltrane: All About Jazz reprints a 1999 Bob Jacobson story about an incident that happened to Benny Golson and John Coltrane when they were teens.

John Coltrane: John Fordham reviews the John Coltrane album, So Many Things: The European Tour 1961, at The Guardian. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Bill Evans: At The Wall Street Journal, Doug Ramsey reflects on the influence of Bill Evans on jazz.

Jon Hendricks, Dave Lambert, Annie Ross: At JazzWax, Marc Myers recounts the time that Annie Ross took a health break from Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross and was temporarily replaced by Yolande Bavan.

Keith Jarrett: At The Daily Beast, Ted Gioia reflects on Keith Jarrett's album, The Köln Concert. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Keith Jarrett: According to All About Jazz, Keith Jarrett will play a concert at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, March 3.

Robert
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Happy Birthday, Eubie Blake

The American composer, lyricist, and jazz pianist Eubie Blake (1887?-1983) was born on February 7, 1887 (or 1883, depending on which source you believe), in Baltimore, Maryland.

Blake was known both as a composer and lyricist for many Broadway shows in the 1920s and, in his later years, as the last living link to ragtime. He and singer Noble Sisser wrote songs for "Shuffle Along," the first all-black musical, in 1921, and his song, "I'm Just Wild About Harry," was used by Harry Truman in his 1948 Presidential campaign.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the 1969 Eubie Blake album, "The 86 Years of Eubie Blake" (Columbia), which led to a revived interest in Blake's music. Unfortunately, that album is only available in vinyl, used from Amazon.com.

Blake's Memories of You, available from Amazon.com may be the best alternative on CD.

Blake plays "I'm Just Wild About Harry" via piano roll here:

Robert
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RIP, Luckey Roberts (1887-1968)

Jazz pianist Charles Luckeyeth "Luckey" Roberts died on February 5, 1968, in New York. He was 80 years old and had been in poor health for a number of years, having suffered two strokes and been injured in an automoibile accident.

Along with James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith, Roberts developed stride piano in the years following World War I. He is reported to have had very large hands, which allowed him to span 14 keys on the piano. He had incredible dexterity as well and his right hand was particularly fluid. He played for the Vanderbilts, Astors, and other wealthy families in New York.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the album, Luckey and the Lion: Harlem Piano (Good Time Jazz S10035). (Buy the CD at Amazon.com.)

Roberts demonstrates his remarkable virtuosity here on "Nothin'":

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Happy Birthday, Joe Sample

American pianist and composer Joe Sample (1939—2014) was born on February 1, 1939 in Houston, Texas.

Sample was one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, which became known as simply the Crusaders in 1971.  He remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the Crusaders' album, Scratch, and says that the Crusaders were "the first group to attempt to synthesize jazz with rhythm-and-blues." The album is available from Amazon.com.

The Crusaders feature Sample on "Sunrise" here:

Robert
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Happy Birthday, James P. Johnson

The great stride pianist James P. Johnson (1894-1956) was born on February 1, 1894, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Johnson, one of the giants of the Harlem Stride piano style and a key figure in the transition from ragtime to jazz, grew up listening to the ragtime music of Scott Joplin and composed a number of hit tunes, including "The Charleston." His style differed from ragtime by featuring a more freely swinging rhythm, a degree of anticipation of the left hand by the right hand, elements of the blues, more complex harmonies, and the beginnings of improvisation.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Johnson's album, "The Original James P. Johnson" (Folkways).  Jim Determan also recommends his "Snowy Morning Blues" (Verve) and "Father of the Stride Piano" (Sony).

• "The Original James P. Johnson" (Folkways).  (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• "Snowy Morning Blues" (Verve).  (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• "Father of the Stride Piano" (Sony).  (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Johnson plays "The Charleston" here:

Robert
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