Detroit Free Press (Free subscription) | 08/27/2008
Originally published August 26, 2000 NEW YORK -- On the Upper West Side of Manhattan, just beyond the shadow of Juilliard, the bejeweled conservatory of classical music, sits the Lincoln Square Community Center. A gritty gathering place cut from cold concrete, it is the current home to the longest running master class in jazz.
Rifftides (Free subscription) | 08/27/2008
Michael Weiss, Soul Journey (Sintra). Michael Weiss has been a pianist to follow since his impressive 1986 debut recording, Presenting Michael Weiss. As his career rolled out in work with Art Farmer, Johnny Griffin, Lou Donaldson, Tom Harrell and other...
Detroit Free Press (Free subscription) | 08/27/2008
Originally published August 26, 2000 NEW YORK -- On the Upper West Side of Manhattan, just beyond the shadow of Juilliard, the bejeweled conservatory of classical music, sits the Lincoln Square Community Center. A gritty gathering place cut from cold concrete, it is the current home to the longest running master class in jazz.
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 08/04/2008
Richard Twardzik, the rather haunted-looking pianist who was a mainstay of the Boston jazz scene in the early 1950s, recorded only once as a leader before dying at the age of 24 during a European tour with Chet Baker. His quirky, fluid style, influenced by Bud Powell and Art Tatum and sprinkled w...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 07/25/2008
"This music says so much, particularly in revealing the warmth these musicians feel for each other, their interest in experimentation, and their love of their craft. In their choice of fine songs, performed in new and different settings, they invite you to become involved. Listen, and you will understand and appreciate the shade of difference here." - Marian McPartland, liner notes...
Rifftides (Free subscription) | 07/22/2008
Warne Marsh & Kenny Drew In Copenhagen (Storyville). Recorded in 1980, Marsh--a tenor sax master of subtlety and liquid imagination--plays in a quartet with Drew, one of the brightest graduates of Bud Powell's college of bebop piano knowledge. Marsh has a...
Seattle Times (Free subscription) | 06/27/2008
The Vancouver International Jazz Festival, which started last weekend and winds up Tuesday, is so diverse and multilayered, six people could...
MisterBryans' (Free subscription) | 06/24/2008
From a review of the Brazilian singer Rosa Passos by Gary Giddins, in the New Yorker Bossa nova grew out of long-standing samba traditions, but its emergence is usually traced to a 1958 album, “Canção do Amor Demais,” by the...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 06/21/2008
In the 1970s, Red Garland told me about the pianists who influenced him when he was learning. He mentioned Nat Cole, James P. Johnson, Luckey Roberts, Teddy Wilson and Bud Powell. Then he said, Tatum, of course was the master. He was Mr. Piano. The first time I heard a Tatum record--I think it was "Tiger Rag"--I thought it was at least three pianists...
Rifftides (Free subscription) | 06/20/2008
In the 1970s, Red Garland told me about the pianists who influenced him when he was learning. He mentioned Nat Cole, James P. Johnson, Luckey Roberts, Teddy Wilson and Bud Powell. Then he said, Tatum, of course was the master....
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 06/14/2008
Bill Cosby had to opt for comedy over being jazz drummer, but loves role at Playboy jazz fest (NEW YORK) Bill Cosby quips that he gave up his dreams of becoming a professional jazz drummer and turned to comedy after seeing how easily the pioneer bebop drummer Max Roach handled rhythmically complex tunes that he struggled to get through...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 06/07/2008
Mosaic Records will release a three-CD Select set of mid-1970s RCA Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin big-band recordings later this year. I can say with confidence that Peter Pullman's long-awaited Bud Powell biography has taken a big step towards finally achieving publication--more details soon, hopefully...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 05/25/2008
Sumi Tonooka is a pianist from Philadelphia with some impressive credentials: she can recall playing with Philly Joe Jones and has counted upon the services of the redoubtable bassist Rufus Reid on each of her records. More important, she plays with a mature and entirely personal style that makes her a contender for the ranks of today's jazz piano elite...
Rifftides (Free subscription) | 05/23/2008
Tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin recently entered his eighty-first year, still living and playing at full--or nearly full--speed. Martin Gayford today observed Griffin's longevity and vigor in a piece in the British newspaper the Telegraph. Here's an excerpt: He was...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 05/12/2008
The jazz corner of the world Recently, I overheard the sounds of the singing quartet, Manhattan Transfer, coming from the stereo in my son's room. The group had added lyrics to Joe Zawinul's extraordinary instrumental "Birdland," conjuring some warm memories of the jazz club that had once been called "The Jazz Corner of the World...
