Recent Links :: 30 December 2013

Louis Armstrong: Ricky Riccardi shares his 15 favorite blog entries from 2013 at The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong.

Bill Evans: At Rifftides, Doug Ramsey shares a video of Bill Evans rehearsing for a 1966 Danish television broadcast.

Coleman Hawkins: At Rifftides, Doug Ramsey shares a video of Coleman Hawkins in Holland in 1935.

Charles Mingus: Open Culture shares Charles Mingus's egg recipe, which includes "enough alcohol to put down an elephant."

Charlie Parker: Doug Ramsey shares a video of Charlie Parker and his quintet playing "White Christmas" at Rifftides.

Wayne Shorter: R. J. DeLuke's interview with Wayne Shorter is at All About Jazz.

Wayne Shorter: At NPR Music, Francis Davis discusses Wayne Shorter in light of his album, Without a Net, which won Best Album winner in the recent NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Robert
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RIP, Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952)

Bandleader Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952) died on December 29, 1952, in New York City. He was 55 years old. Henderson had suffered a stroke in 1950, which resulted in partial paralysis and ended his ability to perform as a pianist. He was buried in the family plot in Cuthbert, Georgia.

Henderson's orchestra was the first of the influential big bands and established the foundations for swing music. Louis Armstrong, the first great jazz soloist, and Coleman Hawkins, its first great saxophonist, were both members of Henderson's orchestra. in fact, when Henderson brought Armstrong from Chicago to New York in October 1924, he was responsible for moving the geographical focus of jazz in the United States.

The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra plays "My Pretty Girl" here:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the 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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RIP, Freddie Hubbard (1938-2008)

Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (1938-2008) died on December 29, 2008, in Sherman Oaks, California, following complications from a heart attack. He was 70 years old.

Hubbard was widely regarded as the most gifted jazz trumpeter of the post-bebop 1960s and 1970s. He first attracted attention in the 1960s for his work as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and for his work on albums with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and others. Although he was not an avant-gardist, he participated in three of the seminal recordings of the 1960s jazz avant-garde: Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz" (1960); Eric Dolphy's "Out to Lunch" (1964); and John Coltrane's "Ascension" (1965).

n his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the album Breaking Point (Blue note).  The CD is available from Amazon.com.

Hubbard also joined Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams on another album recommended by Lyons, V.S.O.P.: The Quintet (Columbia), which is also available from Amazon.com. Lyons called that album "a magical reunion of the most important young players to emerge in the mid-1960's."

Hubbard plays "Little Sunflower" here:

Robert
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