Rene's Apple (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
Gorgeous Ellington/Strayhorn ballad-"Isfahan"- must've been brand new at this point (1965), because there's Duke holding the music for the amazing Johnny Hodges on alto sax! This was recorded on one of Ellington's best late in the game albums- The Far East Suite. H/t-About Last Night.
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 10/09/2009
For some, the saxophone is the sound of jazz. The unique fusion of brass and woodwind that is the sax found an electrifying vibrato in the hands of jazzmen that truly changed the world. The pale "pure" tone of the instrument, as first used in classical compositions, vanished in a musical blast of slurs ( {{Coleman Hawkins = 7500}} and {{Johnny Hodges = 7665}}, occasional exciting "false-fingering"...
Jazz & Blues Music Reviews (Free subscription) | 10/04/2009
Saxophonist Sharel Cassity began to play jazz as a teenager growing up in Iowa City, before moving to New York to further her education and take a shot at the big time. She sounds remarkably composed on her first recording recording for the new label JLC, playing up-tempo post bop with a quicksilver flair and ballads with a gentle and confident poise. On this album she plays alto and soprano saxophones...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 10/03/2009
Duke Ellington The Great Concerts (London and New York 1963-1964) Musicmasters-Nimbus 2009 Various Artists The Duke of Elegant HighNote 2009 "First of all the kids in the band want you to know they love you madly" are debonair {{Duke Ellington = 6521}}'s playful opening remarks on this live concert set. Those "kids" he refers to are an incredible array of virtuoso sidemen, among...
Rifftides (Free subscription) | 10/03/2009
From the Wikipedia entry about the saxophonist known as Kenny G: In 1997, Kenny G earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing the longest note ever recorded on a saxophone. Kenny G held an E-flat...
bebop spoken here (Free subscription) | 09/12/2009
Enrico Tomasso, Ben Cummings (tpt/vcl), Keith Nichols (tmb/pno/vcl), Mark Foulkes (alt/clt), David Hornblower (alt/bar/sop/clt), Johnny Boston (ten/clt), Jeff Barnhart (pno/vcl), Martin Wheatley (bjo/gtr), Jerome ? (bs), Richard Pite (dms). An hour and a half later I'm beginning to get my breath back - talk about exhilaration! Keith Nichol's Blue Devils gave a very well attended Saville Exchange audience...
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Hi bass was Jerome Davies, Saxes Mark Crooks and David Horniblow
Bemsha Swing (Free subscription) | 09/02/2009
(104) Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster Mulligan liked to do these "meets" albums. He did an excellent one with another Ellington sideman, Johnny Hodges, and with Monk--among others. Mel Lewis plays drums. The combination of two distinctive sounds is what makes this album great. Mulligan's joyful, bouncy, and exuberant lilt, played with that baritone fullness, and Webster's whispery wistful...
bebop spoken here (Free subscription) | 08/29/2009
Strolling down Northumberland street in Newcastle I was delighted to hear some small band swing filling the air - Radio 2 should have been recording it! I don't know the 4 guys but they could play and it was very enjoyable. If any of you read this tell me about yourselves. I must also commend them on their business acumen - set up next to a cash machine. No excuse folks! Further down the street some...
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:...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 08/18/2009
John Kocur's first album as a bandleader is an enjoyable and varied recording, showcasing not only the alto saxophonist's own emerging talent but also those of band mates Amy Bormet on piano, Oliver Albertini on bass and C.V. Dashiell III on drums. Washington D.C.-based Kocur produced the album as well as composing all of the tunes. The compositions are mainly straight-ahead and clearly influenced...
Shirts on Sale (Free subscription) | 08/14/2009
I can see it now, in bright neon in front of the hottest new club, Fuzzy Feelin's...the leader of the most animalistic house band in the wor l d, Song Fox! Among other tunes, the crowd fa v es include "Don't Sleep in the Subway" (orig. Johnny Hodges), "The Grass is Greener" (orig. Bennink/Parker), Fat's Waller's "Your Feets Too Big", and tonight's special p erformance...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 07/25/2009
All About Jazz is celebrating Johnny Hodges' birthday today! JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Johnny HodgesJohnny Hodges - alto saxophone, (1907-1970) "Never the world\'s most highly animated showman or greatest stage personality, but a tone so beautiful it sometimes brought tears to the eyes, this was Johnny Hodges. Because of this great loss... more...
Jazz & Blues Music Reviews (Free subscription) | 07/08/2009
Soulful and melodic tenor saxophonist Houston Person has had a lengthy career in the basics of classic jazz: blues, ballads and bop. This three disc set tracks the highlights (and some new recordings) from his tenure for High Note Records, with whom he has recorded with for the past fifteen years. Many different sidemen appear on the material including Bill Charlap, Ron Carter, Russell Malone, Grady...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 06/28/2009
The nearly ubiquitous Miles Davis notwithstanding, which jazz musician from the St. Louis area has been heard by the most people throughout the world? It's probably impossible to measure something like that with any degree of exactitude, but one certainly can make an informed guess.Any short list wo...
SpiderMonkey Stories (Free subscription) | 06/18/2009
I was asked for a list of my five favorite big band recordings, for a downbeat feature Frank Hadley is writing. Even though I know there was a bit of blog-world discussion about this a few months ago (as usual Darcy James Argue was on the case with the roundup), it still ended up being [...]
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