Shiraz Socialist (Free subscription) | 01/16/2010
One of my heroes, the great drummer Sid Catlett was born 100 years ago. He’s not that widely remembered these days, but some of us think he was far and away the best drummer of the swing era and - had he lived – would have had no difficulty adapting his skills to suit the requirements of the [...]
Jazz Lives (Free subscription) | 12/29/2009
I hope that your 2009 has been a spectacularly good year and that you are sorry to see it come to an end. But even if you are more than ready for 2010 to come and sweep the detritus of 2009 away for good, there’s no better way to make the occasion fesrive than with some [...]
KK & R Music Blog (Free subscription) | 12/24/2009
Billie Holiday remains (four decades after her death) the most famous of all jazz singers. "Lady Day" (as she was named by Lester Young) had a small voice and did not scat but her innovative behind-the-beat phrasing made her quite influential. The emotional intensity that she put into the words she sang (particularly in later years) was very memorable and sometimes almost scary; she often...
Isomatic UK Weblog (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
This evening we paid another visit to Brian White's Magna jazz band 's new venue, The Manor in Old Malden. We intended to spend money on dinner there but there was no food that evening. We brought in a Chinese takeaway from just over the road and requested cutlery from the pub. The unusual line-up comprised Goff Dubber (clarinet, soprano sax, tenor sax, vocals), Chez Chesterman (cornet, vocals), John...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 12/05/2009
The big band era is known for producing a number of enormously successful ensembles whose leaders were household names: {{Louis Armstrong = 3483}}, {{Duke Ellington = 6521}}, {{Count Basie = 3676}}, {{Jimmie Lunceford = 8905}}, {{Fletcher Henderson = 7571}}, then on through {{Glenn Miller = 9402}}, {{Benny Goodman = 7112}}, the brothers {{Jimmy Dorsey = 6365}} and {{Tommy Dorsey = 6369}}, {{Charlie...
Locust St. (Free subscription) | 12/02/2009
New People, 1924Eddie Hunter and Alex Rogers with Luckey Roberts, I'm Done.Clarence M. Jones, Hula Lou.Jimmy Blythe, Chicago Stomp.Old Southern Jug Band, Hatchet-Head Blues.The Mound City Blue Blowers, Red Hot!Blossom Seeley with the Georgians, Lazy.Viola McCoy with Fletcher Henderson's Jazz Five, I Ain't Gonna Marry, Ain't Gonna Settle Down.Rosa Henderson & the Choo Choo Jazzers, Hard Hearted
SqueezeMyLemon (Free subscription) | 11/19/2009
Ma Rainey singing "Booze And Blues" Ma Rainey singing "See See Rider Blues" in 1925. Ma Rainey Mp3s @Amazon.com Notes from YouTube; Recorded: New York , October 15 1924 'Ma' Rainey And Her Georgia Band Ma Rainey (vcl), Howard Scott (cn), Charlie Green (tb), Don Redman (c), Fletcher Henderson (p), Kaiser Marshall (d) Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey, better known as Ma Rainey...
Phawker (Free subscription) | 10/31/2009
SUN RA ARKESTRA under the direction of Marshall Allen Halloween! Saturday, October 31, 8pm International House Philadelphia, 3701 Chestnut Street $20 General Admission Join us for this special and spectacular Halloween performance of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Founded in 1958 under the leadership of Sun Ra, the Arkestra pioneered a unique brand of afro-futurism, forging intersecting musical pathways that...
The Irish Times (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
This year’s Guinness Jazz Festival brought an exciting mix of styles to Cork and showed a musical event can be esoteric and accessible at the same time, writesKEVIN STEVENS
Locust St. (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
The Imperial Roman Jazz, 1923King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, Chimes Blues.King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, Snake Rag.Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Joys.Jelly Roll Morton, Wolverine Blues.Clarence Williams' Blue Five, Kansas City Man Blues.Mamie Smith and the Harlem Trio, Lady Luck Blues.James P. Johnson, Scouting Around.Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, The Dicty Blues.Bessie Smith, Jail House
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 09/19/2009
Harlem jazz landmark The Uptown Lounge at Minton's Playhouse invites dancers and music lovers alike to join us on Friday nights for Swing Night. Starting at 9:00 p.m. every Friday, Mike Davis' Harlem-Heritage Big Band, now celebrating 17 years of performances, will bring beloved classics by luminaries including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Fletcher Henderson...
Rifftides (Free subscription) | 08/27/2009
Lester Young was born 100 years ago today and died in his 49th year In March, 1959. Billie Holiday called him the president of the tenor saxophonists. His nickname became Prez, and he called nearly everyone else Prez. There is...
Shiraz Socialist (Free subscription) | 08/21/2009
RIP: Lawrence Lucie , 18 Dec 1907 - 14 Aug 2009 It’s surely the end of an era: guitarist Lawrence Lucie, the last musician to have recorded with Jelly Roll Morton, has died, aged 101. Lucie, as an exponent of the of self-effacing art of rhythm guitar, was never a big name. But he played with the greatest: Louis [...]
The Allmusic Blog (Free subscription) | 08/19/2009
German soprano Hildegard Behrens, renowned for her work in several Wagner and Strauss operas, has died in Tokyo at the age of 72. [News.Yahoo.com] After four years of digital remastering at Abbey Road Studios, the Beatles’ entire catalog will be reissued on September 9th, the same day that “The Beatles: Rock Band” hits stores. A pair [...]
New York Times (Free subscription) | 08/18/2009
Mr. Lucie was a master of the underrated art of keeping the beat, and over the years he kept it for some of the biggest names in jazz.
Videos