Johnny Dankworth, who has died aged 82, was one of the few British musicians who not only were world-class but were recognised as such, taking to the stage on clarinet or sax with the proverbial Who's Who of jazz, from Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock to Gerry Mulligan, Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald.
John Hallam (clt/ten/bar), Jeremy McMurray (pno), Andy Champion (bs), Roly Veitch (gtr), John Hirst (dms). When I was young(er) if someone had asked me to choose my dream concert line-up I may well have came up with; Artie Shaw's Gramercy 5, the Stan Getz Quartet/Quintet, the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and possibly a Benny Goodman small group. Nobody ever did ask me and, although they are now all dead,...
This month’s concert promises a treat for fans of melodic, straight-ahead swinging mainstream jazz. Lancastrian reedman John Hallam spent twenty-one years playing traditional jazz with Sheila Collier’s Smoky City Jazzband before turning professional in 1989 so that he could play a wider range of the music he loves. While still an outstanding performer in a traditional setting, John is equally...
In April 1969, RN celebrated the 70th birthday of Duke Ellington and awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House Len Garment, accomplished jazz musician and RN’s White House Counsel, writes in this weekend’s New York Times: IN April 1969, three months after his inauguration, President Richard Nixon hosted a party at the White [...]
In the mid-50s, in high school, I listened a lot to Gerry Mulligan and played the banjo. Today I listen a lot to Gerry Mulligan and play the banjo, learning a new style, clawhammer. I was interested in music before I was interested in writing. And now I'm doing music after I call myself "retired" from writing. Home town frenzy is fun to watch. Caught the end of USF upsetting Gonzaga, ending...
The charismatic prince of cool jazz developed an elegant and intertwining sound after being forced to perform without a piano When Bruce Weber released Let's Get Lost in 1988, his documentary on the trumpeter Chet Baker, it joined the likes of Bertrand Tavernier's Round Midnight and Clint Eastwood's Bird in a group of late-1980s films that showed prominent jazz artists on the skids. A huge improvement...
American photographer whose informal shots defined the youthful glamour of the 1950s and 1960s With his artfully informal shots of Audrey Hepburn and Chet Baker, the American photographer Bob Willoughby, who has died of cancer aged 82, defined the youthful glamour of the 1950s. Hired by studios and record companies to make actors and musicians look good, Willoughby went beyond his brief to deliver...
Rifftides reader Ty Newcomb sent a link to video of the Dutch singer Fay Claassen doing Gerry Mulligan's "Line for Lyons." After enjoying it, I noticed that YouTube has another version of the piece by The Dave Brubeck Quintet. What...
"Open Country" is one of Bob Brookmeyer's notable compositions from the 1950s. Here, he plays it with Gerry Mulligan in Mulligan's quartet. Wyatt "Bull" Ruther is the bassist, Gus Johnson the drummer...
Okay, this is yet another self-indulgent childhood story, but I hope you'll stick with me even though I've told a version of it before. Trust me -- there's a couple of audio kickers at the end that will make it worth your while. So, as I've mentioned on a previous occasion or two, I was one of the gazillion kids back in the mid-Sixties who took a gawk at The Beatles on TV and thought, hey, that looks...
Excellent! It looks like ABC Radio – like BBC 6 – is carrying some of Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour shows from XM. On December 24 and 25 they’ll be playing his special Christmas show. Check out this playlist: ‘Swinging For Christmas (Boppin’ For Santa)’ – Tom Archia (1948) ‘Christmas Is A-Coming (Chicken Crowns At Midnight)’ – [...]...
Chet Baker - Legendary Sessions (Phantom ) Cootie Williams - Things Ain't What They Used To Be (Jukebox Lil ) Dave Quarte Brubeck - Great Concerts Amsterdam Copenhagen (Phantom ) David Parsons - Jyoti (Indie Europe/Zoom ) Django Reinhardt - Manoir De Ses Reves (Le Chant Du Monde ) Django Reinhardt - Djangologie 1 (EMI France ) Duke Ellington - Ellington,Duke Vol. 1-Brunswick Sessions (Jazz Information...
Lee Konitz and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet Kontz Meets Mulligan >>>> Download Kontz Meets Mulligan <<<< artist: Lee Konitz and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet album: Kontz Meets Mulligan Tracklist: 1 Too Marvellous for Words mp3 2 Lover Man mp3 3 Ill Remember April mp3 4 These Foolish Things mp3 5 All the Thing You are mp3 6 Bernies Tune mp3 7 Almost Like Being in Love mp3 8 Sextet mp3 9 Broadway mp3 10...