Recent Links :: 29 June 2015

Louis Armstrong: At The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Ricky Riccardi talks about Louis Armstrong's 1950 recording of "La Vie En Rose." (The song is available on the album, Satchmo Serenades, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Count Basie: At JazzWax, Marc Myers discusses Count Basie's September 18, 1965, appearance on the BBC's "Show of the Week."

Anthony Braxton: At All About Jazz, Francesco Martinelli reviews Anthony Braxton's performance at the 2015 Turin Jazz Festival.

Ornette Coleman: A large number of articles about Ornette Coleman have appeared since the artist's death. The most recent include the following:

• At All About Jazz, Matt Lavelle remembers his interactions with Coleman.
• Blouinartinfo Blogs discusses "the puzzle Ornette Coleman left us."
• Do the Math discusses the connection between Ornette Coleman, who died on June 11, and Gunther Schuller, who died on June 21.
• The Free Jazz Collective provides a list of over 170 versions of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman."
• The Free Jazz Collective reflects on Ornette Coleman's work.
• At Jazz Beyond Jazz, Howard Mandel lists 10 albums that show Ornette Coleman's musical evolution.
• At Rifftides, Doug Ramsey reflects on the "traditionalism" of Ornette Coleman.

John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy: Tim Niland reviews the album, The John Coltrane Quartet Featuring Eric Dolphy — So Many Things: The European Tour 1961, at Music and More. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Miles Davis: The Daily Beast shares a track from the soon-to-be-released Miles Davis album, Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Eric Dolphy: On June 20, his birthday, Eric Dolphy was Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Bud Powell: At The International Review of Music, Devon Wendell reviews the album, Sonny Stitt, BudPowell, J.J. Johnson. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Fats Waller: At About Last Night, Terry Teachout shares a 1943 clip of Fats Waller performing "Ain't Misbehavin'."

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RIP, Eric Dolphy (1928-1964)

Jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy died on June 29, 1964, in Berlin, Germany. He was only 36 years of age and apparently died of a coma brought on by an undiagnosed diabetic condition. He is buried in the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in his home town of Los Angeles, California.

Dolphy — who played alto and baritone saxophone, flute, bass clarinet, and piccolo — partnered with Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and other jazz greats in the 1950s and 1960s and was, as Len Lyons puts it, one of the "crucial transitional figures between modern jazz and" free jazz.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Dolphy's Copenhagen Concert (Prestige), which is available from Amazon.com.

Dolphy plays "Out to Lunch" here:

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RIP, Clifford Brown (1930-1956)

Jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown died on June 26, 1956, while driving from Philadelphia to Chicago. He was buried in the Mt. Zion Cemetery, in Wilmington, Delaware, where he had been born just 25 years earlier.

Brown was an incredibly gifted musician whose career lasted just four years, but in that short space of time, he "played with a full-toned, linear lyricism which proved to be the only vital alternative during the 1950's to Miles Davis's understated melodic style," according to Len Lyons. Sonny Rollins, who worked for seven months with Brown, said simply, "He had it all."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Clifford Brown's The Quintet, Vol. 1 (EmArcy/Mercury), but that album is nearly impossible to find and is only available in vinyl. Jim Determan recommends two alternatives:

• Clifford Brown and Max Roach (EmArcy/Polygram). Purchase at Amazon.com.)
• Study in Brown (PID/Polygram). Purchase at Amazon.com.)

A few weeks before he died, Brown sat in with a local band at a small jazz club in Philadelphia.  Three numbers were taped.  One of them, "A Night in Tunisia," can be heard here:

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Happy Birthday, George Russell

Jazz pianist and composer George Russell was born on June 23, 1923, in Cincinnati, Ohio. As critic Richard S. Ginell notes, Russell's "biggest effect upon jazz was in the quieter role of theorist." 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.

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 "Lydiot" (from the 1961 album Ezz-thetics) here:

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Happy Birthday, Eric Dolphy

Jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy was born on June 20, 1928, in Los Angeles, California. Dolphy — who played alto and baritone saxophone, flute, bass clarinet, and piccolo — partnered with Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and other jazz greats in the 1950s and 1960s.

Dolphy was, as Len Lyons puts it, one of the "crucial transitional figures between modern jazz and" free jazz. Critic Scott Yanow adds that "While most of the other 'free jazz' players sounded very serious in their playing, Dolphy's solos often came across as ecstatic and exuberant."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Dolphy's Copenhagen Concert (Prestige), which is available from Amazon.com.

Dolphy plays "God Bless the Child"here:

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Recent Links :: 18 June 2015

Ornette Coleman: More sites remember the late jazz icon Ornette Coleman. These include:

• Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches
• In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond
• JazzWax
• medici.tv
• No Sound Left Behind — Part One and Part Two
• The Paris Review
• The Wall Street Journal
• Zeal Jazz & Cabaret News & Reviews

John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter: The 19th annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards have been announced. Winners include:

• Best Liner Notes of the Year: John Coltrane, Offering: Live at Temple, U(Resonance)by Ashley Kahn. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Keyboards player of the Year: Chick Corea.
• Historical Record of the Year: Miles Davis, Miles at the Fillmore: Miles Davis Bootleg Series Vol. 3. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Book of the Year: Herbie Hancock: Possibilities by Herbie Hancock, with Lisa Dickey. (Purchase the book from Amazon.com.)
• Midsize Ensemble of the Year: Wayne Shorter Quartet.

Miles Davis: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the town of Alton will unveil a statue of Miles Davis in September.

Bill Evans: According to JazzTimes, the Concord Music Group will reissue The Complete Fantasy Recordings of Bill Evans as a nine-CD box set in July.

Erroll Garner: On June 15, his birthday, Erroll Garner was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Erroll Garner: At The New York Times, Nate Chinen writes about the upcoming reissue of Erroll Garner’s 1955 Concert by the Sea. JazzTimes also notes this release.

Erroll Garner: According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Erroll Garner's professional materials have been donated to the University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Thelonious Monk: At JazzWax, Marc Myers discusses the newly re-released Thelonious Monk box set, The Complete Riverside Recordings. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Sun Ra: Tim Niland reviews the Sun Ra release, Oblique Parallax, at Music and More. (Purchase the MP3 version from Amazon.com.)

Sun Ra: Tim Niland reviews the Sun Ra release, Planets Of Life Or Death: Amiens '73, at Music and More. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

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RIP, Horace Silver (1928-2014)

Horace Silver died of natural causes on June 18, 2014, in New Rochelle, New York.

Len Lyons referred to Silver as one of the "founding fathers of funky hard bop." Jazz critic Chris Kelsey agrees, noting that "it is clear that few jazz musicians have had a greater impact on the contemporary mainstream than Horace Silver."

Silver was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1928 and was influenced by the Cape Verdean folk music of his Portuguese-born father as well as gospel and Latin American music.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Silver's album, Doin' the Thing: At the Village Gate (Blue Note), which can be purchased from Amazon.com.

Silver plays one of his best-known compositions, "Song for My Father," here:

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RIP, Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)

Ella Fitzgerald, arguably the greatest female jazz singer ever, died on June 15, 1966, in Beverly Hills, California. She had been ill for a number of years, due to complications from diabetes and heart surgery. On her last day, she was wheeled into the backyard of her Beverly Hills home, where she sat for about an hour. When she was being brought back in, Fitzgerald looked up with a soft smile and said, "I’m ready to go now." She is buried in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.

Bing Crosby summed up her talents best when he said, "Man, woman, or child, Ella is the greatest." Jazz critic Scott Janow says that Fitzgerald was "blessed with a beautiful voice and a wide range, … could outswing anyone, was a brilliant scat singer, and had near-perfect elocution." Len Lyons speaks of her "full-blown dynamic style," "rhythmic punch," "verve and imagination," and "energy and consistency."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Lyons recommends Ella's album, Mack the Knife (Verve), which is available on vinyl only. Jim Determan, who updated the Lyons book for CDs, recommends as an alternative Mack the Knife — The Complete Ella in Berlin (Verve), noting that "Some additional cuts, mostly standards of Ella's concert repertoire (not all actually from the Berlin concert), round out this set to make it an even better collection than it was." The CD is available from Amazon.com.

Fitzgerald's marvelous scat singing is featured here in her imaginative version of "Blue Skies":

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RIP, Wes Montgomery (1923-1968)

Jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery died of a heart attack on June 15, 1968, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was just 45 years old. He is buried in the New Crown Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Jazz critics Dave Miele and Dan Bielowsky said that Montgomery "was certainly one of the most influential and most musical guitarists to ever pick up the instrument" and that he "took the use of octaves and chord melodies to a greater level than any other guitarist, before or since." Montgomery played with his thumb rather than with a pick, and this gave his playing a uniquely round and soft sound.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the Wes Montgomery album, While We're Young (Milestone). Unfortunately, the album is only available on vinyl.  (Available from Amazon.com.) For CDs, Jim Determan recommends the following:

• Wes Montgomery: Incredible Jazz Guitar (Original Jazz Classics), available from Amazon.com.
• Wes Montgomery: So Much Guitar! (Riverside), available from Amazon.com.

Montgomery plays "Twisted Blues" here with a big band led by Oliver Nelson:

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Happy Birthday, Erroll Garner

Jazz pianist Erroll Garner was born on June 15, 1923, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As critic Scott Yanow notes, Garner was a "brilliant virtuoso who sounded unlike anyone else."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Garner's album, Concert by the Sea, which he calls "the steadiest selling jazz album in history." The album is available on CD from Amazon.com.

Garner plays his best known composition, "Misty," here:

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Recent Links :: 14 June 2015

Ornette Coleman: Several sites pay tribute to the late saxophonist Ornette Coleman, including:

• Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise
• Fresh Air
• Brick Wahl at The International Review of Music
• Devon Wendell at The International Review of Music
• Don Heckman at The International Review of Music
• JazzInk
• JazzTimes
• New Music Box
• The New Yorker
• NPR's A Blog Supreme
• Rifftides
• Slipped Disc
• Steve Wallace

Ornette Coleman: At The Guardian, John Fordham shares the best tracks of Ornette Coleman over six decades.

Ornette Coleman: Locus Solus: The New York School of Poets discusses Ornette Coleman's influence on Amiri Baraka, Frank O’Hara, and other young New York poets..

Ornette Coleman: At The New Yorker, Richard Brody discusses a 1997 interview by philosopher Jacques Derrida with Ornette Coleman.

Ornette Coleman: Slipped Disc links to a 2006 interview with Ornette Coleman.

Chick Corea: On June 12, his birthday, Chick Corea was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Miles Davis: According to Advantage News, the Miles Davis Memorial Project has received a grant to create a music plaza and a sculpture of the musician.

Miles Davis: At Night Lights, David Brent Johnson discusses Miles Davis's career between 1961 and 1963.

Miles Davis: Rolling Stone shares a clip of Miles Davis performing "Stella by Starlight" at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1966. (The song is available on the album, Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Duke Ellington: At Take the "A" Train, Ehsan Khoshbakht discusses Duke Ellington's recording, The Conny Plank Sessions, which will be released in July by Grönland Records, 45 years after the original sessions. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Wayne Shorter: At The International Review of Music, Devon Wendell interviews Wayne Shorter about his upcoming performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

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RIP, Benny Goodman (1909-1986)

Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman died of a heart attack in New York City on June 13, 1986, at the age of 77. He was buried near his country farm home outside Stamford, Connecticut, next to his wife, who had passed away in 1978.

Goodman was known as "the King of Swing" and led one of the most popular musical groups in America. Goodman's bands launched the careers of many major names in jazz, including Chrlie Christian, Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, and Lionel Hampton. During the age of segregation, Goodman also led one of the first well-known racially-integrated jazz groups.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Goodman's Carnegie Hall Concert - 1938 (Columbia), which, according to Lyons, "catches the band at its peak." This concert is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's 'coming out' party to the world of 'respectable' music." The album is available on CD from Amazon.com.

The Benny Goodman Quartet plays "Dinah" here, with wonderful solos by Goodman, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, and pianist Teddy Wilson.

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Recent Links :: 12 June 2015

Ornette Coleman: The great saxophonist and jazz innovator Ornette Coleman passed away on June 11. Among those covering his death are:

• All About Jazz
• Capital Public Radio
• The Daily Beast
• Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches
• Do the Math
• The Free Jazz Collective
• The Guardian
• Jazz Beyond Jazz
• The Jazzcat
• JazzTimes
• JazzWax
• The New York Times
• The Ottawa Citizen
• Perfect Sounds
• Rolling Stone
• Steve Wallace
• uDiscover Music
• The Wall Street Journal
• The Washington Post

Ornette Coleman: The Wall Street Journal shares five clips that show Ornette Coleman's "musical versatility."

Ornette Coleman: New Jazz United shares a clip of Ornette Coleman and Charlie Haden performing "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." (The song is available on the album, Soapsuds Soapsuds, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Ornette Coleman: Open Culture shares a clip of Lou Reed collaborating with Ornette Coleman.

Bud Powell: New Jazz United shares a clip of the Bud Powell Quintet playing "Frantic Fancies (Take 6)." (The song is available on the box set, The Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Sun Ra: New Jazz United shares a clip of Sun Ra and His Arkestra playing "The Sun Man Speaks."

Sonny Rollins: New Jazz United shares a clip of the Sonny Rollins Quartet playing "You Do Something to Me." (The song is available on the album, The Bridge, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

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Happy Birthday, Chick Corea

Jazz keyboardist and composer Chick Corea was born on June 12, 1941, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Critic Scott Yanow calls Corea "one of the most significant jazzmen since the '60s," and Len Lyons says that "No musician has used the fusion concept with more variety, intelligence, and unimpeachable taste ..."

Corea, who has won 18 Grammy Awards, began working with Miles Davis in 1968, including playing piano on the historic Bitches Brew album. In the early 1970s, his band Return to Forever established a jazz fusion style that incorporated Latin elements. He also began a series of collaborations with artists such as Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, and Bela Fleck.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends three albums by Corea:

• Light as a Feather (Polydor). Available from Amazon.com.
• Where Have I Known You Before? (Polydor). Available from Amazon.com.
• My Spanish Heart (Polydor). Available from Amazon.com.

Corea and his band play "Spain" (from Light as a Feather) live at Montreux here:

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RIP, Ornette Coleman (1930 - 2015)

Jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman has passed away at the age of 85 in New York City. Coleman, who was born on March 9, 1930, in Fort Worth, Texas, is best known as one of the great innovators in the "free jazz" movement of the 1960s.

Coleman's music, which was quite controversial, focused on the mood or feeling of the melody and moved away from the chord changes that had dominated jazz in the 1950s and 1960s. As Coleman said, "Let's play the music, not the background."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends two Ornette Coleman albums, both of which are available on CD:

• Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic), available from Amazon.com. Lyons calls this "perhaps the boldest album in the history of jazz" and "certainly ... the first to depend primarily upon collective improvisation."
  
• Ornette Coleman: Free Jazz (Atlantic), available from Amazon.com.
  

Coleman's quartet plays "Lonely Woman," from "The Shape of Jazz to Come," here:

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Recent Links :: 9 June 2015

Louis Armstrong: At The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Ricky Riccardi discusses Terry Teachout's play about Louis Armstrong, "Satchmo at the Waldorf."

Art Ensemble of Chicago: At Rifftides, Doug Ramsey shares a clip of the Art Ensemble of Chicago playing at the 1991 Berlin Jazzfest.

Anthony Braxton: Hrayr Attarian reviews Anthony Braxton's album, Trio And Duet, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Anthony Braxton: On June 4, his birthday, Anthony Braxton was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Anthony Braxton, Max Roach: New Jazz United shares a clip of Anthony Braxton and Max Roach playing "Birth." (The song is available on the album, Birth and Rebirth, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Duke Ellington: Mick Carlon reviews the book, The Cambridge Companion to Duke Ellington, at JazzTimes. (Purchase the book from Amazon.com.)

Billie Holiday: At JazzTimes, Nate Chinen discusses the Billie Holiday centennial.

Jelly Roll Morton: According to JazzTimes, ASCAP will induct Jelly Roll Morton into the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame in June.

Art Tatum: New Jazz United shares a clip of Art Tatum playing "A Foggy Day" with the Buddy de Franco Quartet. (The song is available on the album, Art Tatum — Buddy de Franco Quartet, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

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Happy Birthday, Anthony Braxton

Jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher Anthony Braxton was born on June 4, 1945, in Chicago, Illinois. Critic Chris Kelsey claims that Braxton "might very well be jazz's last bona fide genius" and notes that "His self-invented (yet heavily theoretical) approach to playing and composing jazz seemed to have as much in common with late 20th century classical music as it did jazz."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Braxton's album, The Montreux/Berlin Concerts (Arista), which he calls "the most manageable, dependable vehicle for Braxton's adventurous spirit." This album is available on CD from Amazon.com.

Braxton and his quartet play "You Stepped Out Of a Dream" from a 1975 album, Five Pieces, here:

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Happy Birthday, Oliver Nelson

Jazz saxophonist and arranger Oliver Nelson was born on June 4, 1932, in St. Louis, Missouri. Nelson was, as critic Scott Yanow notes, "a distinctive soloist on alto, tenor, and even soprano [saxophone], but his writing eventually overshadowed his playing skills."

Nelson's best known album, The Blues and the Abstract Truth, according to Len Lyons, "receives nearly the same adulation among musicians as Miles Davis's Kind of Blue to which it is similar in style ..."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Nelson's album, Three Dimensions: The Dedication Series, Vol. 3 (Impulse). This album is not available on CD, and Jim Determan recommends instead two of Nelson albums:

• The Blues and the Abstract Truth (Analogue Products) (Purchase the CD at Amazon.com.)
• Sound Pieces (Impulse) (Purchase the CD at Amazon.com.)

Nelson's Septet plays "Stolen Moments," from the album Blues and the Abstract Truth, here:

Robert
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Recent Links :: 3 June 2015

Louis Armstrong: Untapped Cities discusses the Louis Armstrong Museum's tapes of Louis Armstrong talking about being busted for smoking pot,.

Ornette Coleman: According to Rolling Stone and Capital Public Radio, Ornette Coleman has filed a lawsuit claiming that he did not authorize the release of the 2014 album, New Vocabulary.

Bill Evans: At The Wall Street Journal, author Megan Marshall discusses Bill Evans's recording of "Some Other Time." (The song is available on the album, The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Benny Goodman: On May 30, his birthday, Benny Goodman was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Keith Jarrett: KeithJarrett.org shares several emails about events associated with Keith Jarrett's 70th birthday.

Charlie Parker: At All About Jazz, Victor L. Schermer interviews Daniel Schnyder, the composer of the opera, "Charlie Parker's Yardbird."

Sun Ra: Open Culture shares an audio clip of Sun Ra's 1971 lecture at the University of California at Berkeley on "The Power of Words."

Sonny Rollins: At WNPR, Sonny Rollins discusses his life and his goals.

Sonny Rollins: Phil Freeman discusses the Sonny Rollins album, Our Man in Jazz, at Burning Ambulance. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Art Tatum: New Jazz United shares a clip of Art Tatum and Roy Eldridge playing "Night and Day." (The song is available on the album, Art Tatum-Roy Eldridge Quartet, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

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