All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 01/20/2010
One of the most heralded pianists of her era, JoAnne Brackeen came to New York in 1965 after cutting her chops jamming with the likes of Teddy Edwards , Harold Land , Charles Lloyd and Dexter Gordon during the waning days of the Central Avenue scene in her native California. After a few dues-paying years here, she landed the piano chair with Art Blakey 's Jazz Messengers, touring with the great drummer...
Soul Cocina (Free subscription) | 01/05/2010
The Story Of Jazz by Langston Hughes from 1954 This is a good story about jazz music for young and old folks alike. Narrated by Langston Hughes, this is a great way to get familiar with the foundation. Tune: History of Jazz Side A Tune: History of Jazz Side B Langston Hughes used to perform spoken word with live jazz in the twenties. This art was brought back to life by the beats of the fifties. He...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 09/26/2009
"Junior Mance is something else... So complete is his psychological command over his instrument that very few of his fellows approach him in this area." --DownBeat Magazine worldpianosummit.com proudly presents Junior Mance at 81 in a rare solo concert at Boston's Church of the Covenant, [67 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116] on Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m...
Bemsha Swing (Free subscription) | 08/25/2009
From the mid thirties, with the rise of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, to the death of Coltrane in 1967--a thirty year stretch more or less--is what I could call the golden age of the saxophone. Dominant swing era sax players, aside from Bean and Pres, include Ben Webster, Chu Berry, Johnny Hodges, and Benny Carter. Charlie Parker revolutionizes jazz and the 50s show a plethora of postbop players:...
bebop spoken here (Free subscription) | 07/14/2009
I'm listening to Carmell Jones and Harold Land playing "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'", one of the many Harold Land tracks on Spotify. You don't hear Jone's name mentioned these days (he died in 1996) but he was a fine Clifford Brown inspired trumpet player who deserved to be given a lot more acclaim. Harold Land too - he was a superb tenorman in the hard blowing Hank Mobley, early Trane style. So,...
Metroblogging Los Angeles (Free subscription) | 06/17/2009
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Juneteeth is upon us once again. There are two major events this weekend on opposite sides of LA County. From the east, the 20th Annual Pomona Valley Juneteeth Family Jazz Festival is being held at Ganesha Park in Pomona. Artists Line-up includes Wayne Linsey (Keys), Sekou Bunch and The [...]
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 03/23/2009
All About Jazz is celebrating Dave Pike's birthday today! JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Dave PikeDave Pike was born in Detroit, MI in 1938, he started off as a drummer and later learned marimba and vibraphone. Pike\'s family moved to Los Angeles in 1954, he played backing for artists such as Dexter Gordon, Harold Land, Carl Perkins... more...
Chancelucky (Free subscription) | 02/22/2009
Even though I've been a jazz fan for thirty five years, I'd never listened to Harold Land's album “The Fox” until about five years ago. The date is fifty years old and not exactly obscure, but Land, the leader and tenor player, probably remains the best known soloist on the album and he never came close to being a household name in jazz. In 1959, the year the Fox was recorded in Los Angeles,...
Bemsha Swing (Free subscription) | 02/06/2009
My "Harold Land" pandora station gives me a lot of great tenors like Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, and Stanley Turrentine. I tend to exhaust the possibilities of any one station after a while: the albums repeat and the more mediocre tracks grate on my nerves. I like the supposedly second line players of the Harold Land type. They aren't really second rate, despite not being Coltrane or Rollins....
Free lyrics (Free subscription) | 02/03/2009
Anderson/Squire/Bruford) Harold Land with a wave of his hand said goodbye to all that.
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 12/25/2008
There's a distinguished history of tenor saxophonist and vibes player combos in jazz, including Lucky Thompson/Milt Jackson and Harold Land/Bobby Hutcherson. But those combos featured bands with piano. Tenor Wayne Escoffery and vibist Joe Locke put more emphasis on their teamwork by eliminating the piano in Escoffery's Veneration quartet--quintet on three tracks featuring guest trumpeter Tom Harrell....
Orgy in Rhythm (Free subscription) | 10/03/2008
Harold Land for Mainstream from 1971. Originally posted 2006 at OIR. Harold Land- Tenor Sax N'Dugu- Drums Bill Henderson- Piano & Electric Piano Bobby Hutcherson- Vibes and Marimba Harold Land, Jr.- Piano & Electric Piano Woody Theus- Drums Reggie Johnson- Bass Produced by Bob Shad Inspired by the great Mainstream discography blog created by Cheeba I thought I'd repost this little beauty from...
LP Cover Lover (Free subscription) | 10/01/2008
“You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce!” Contemporary Records. (1956) Great West Coast Jazz featuring Harold Land on tenor saxophone, Jack Sheldon on trumpet, and Carl Perkins on piano. Listen to “Complete” - the opening track, here.
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 07/19/2008
Peter Zak Seed of Sin Steeplechase 2008 Tom Guarna Wingspan Steeplechase 2007 Steeplechase producer Nils Winther has long been a champion of promising artists who deserve to record as leaders but have generally been overlooked. Once signed, many artists have long tenures with the label...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 05/23/2008
A brilliant addition to Blue Note's Connoisseur series, Head On not only resuscitates vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson's fascinating but obscure 1971 album of the same name, it also--with 43 minutes of previously unissued material--reveals another album altogether, made during the second half of the same three-day session, of the same high quality but with a markedly different feel...
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