An adjudicator delivered the highest praise possible to the delighted members of Helston School Jazz Orchestra when he told them he would pay to hear them play.
Tootie is on a little NYC club tour at the moment. Tonight and tomorrow he's at Birdland with the Heath Brothers, Monday-Wednesday with me and Ben Street at Smalls, Thursday with Tomas Janzon at Kitano, and Friday at Flushing Town...
Dick Katz, The Line Forms Here (Reservoir). The news of Katz's death at 85 last week sent me to the shelf for this 1996 recording. It covers the range of his talents as pianist, composer and arranger. He plays alone...
Up until 1952, Jimmy Heath's instrument was the alto saxophone. A fast study, Jimmy sounded almost identical to Charlie Parker, earning him the nickname "Little Bird." But the novelty of mimicking Parker soon wore thin, especially as the tenor saxophone emerged in the early 1950s as the more popular reed instrument. So Jimmy made the switch, and in 1953 began recording a series of important...
Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins may have been the penultimate musician (or at least soloist) of the 1950’s, reeling off classic after classic in the latter half of that decade. Rollins is a sub-genre of his own, referencing swing, bop, hard bop and free at different times, but never staying pigeon-holed in one place. Like only a few other greats in the music’s history, he transcends category...
In enlisting my aid to help him make contact with John Warren - which I was able to do - Guy Dechenes introduced me to his blog Bebop Memories . Check it out; it's the business. Fascinating stories of his time in New York en route to London from Montreal. Coltrane blowing mid-afternoon in Birdland, Kenny Dorham selling him a trumpet mouthpiec in Giardinelli's and much much more. I shall be following...
There's a thickness to the sound of this 1956 Kenny Dorham set as reissued by Music Matters on two 45-rpm records--a density that blows from the speakers and settles in the room like smoke. Which is to say the fidelity of the Music Matters product proves itself as strong on live recordings as it has on their Blue Note studio reissues. Here, the club acoustics are palpable, requiring only the cracking...
All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Dorham's birthday today! JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Kenny DorhamOvershadowed for most of his career by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, and Lee Morgan... more Website | Videos | Articles Follow Kenny Dorham...
For a grand slice of Joe's career, check out the Blue Note box set, "The Blue Note Years." It will give you a taste of his sideman experience with the likes of Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Renee Rosnes (one of his protogees), McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Blue Mitchell, Grant Green, Duke Pearson, Bobby Hutcherson, Mel Lewis and Thad Jones, and many others. He's also racked up...
Saxophonist Charles Davis has spent the past few decades making history with such luminaries as {{Billie Holiday = 7680}}, {{Kenny Dorham = 6362}}, {{Abdullah Ibrahim = 7858}}, {{Clifford Jordan = 8208}}, {{Dinah Washington = 11174}} and {{Freddie Hubbard = 7801}}. Although Davis might be best known as one of the baritone players in the {{Sun Ra = 10507}} Arkestra, his many recordings and excellent...
In the mid-1950s Cafe Bohemia was one of the most happening jazz clubs in New York City—a Greenwich Village club that caught the vibe of Manhattan’s thriving art and intellectual scene. On any given night a visitor might hear {{Charles Mingus = 9429}}, {{Art Blakey = 5069}}, or {{Kenny Dorham = 6362}} holding down the stage, with future cult figure {{Herbie Nichols = 9869}} taking...
Title: Parisienne Walkways vs. Blue Bossa Artist: Gary Moore/Phil Lynott vs. Kenny Dorham/Joe Henderson Thin Lizzy - Parisienne Walkways Joe Henderson with Kenny Dorham - Blue Bossa It's Friday, and that means it's time for the new installment of Friday Night Ripoffs(?). Every Friday, two songs, where one of them might very well be a gigantic ripoff of the other. Parisienne Walkways by Gary Moore...
This 10 CD retrospective contains everything Bird recorded on the Verve label, including live tracks with Ella Fitzgerald. With nearly 2 hours of never-before-released music, there are 175 tracks in all, a 24 page booklet with photos and liner notes by Dizzy Gillespie. Personnel includes: Charlie Parker (alto saxophone); Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke, Ben Webster,...
This evening we went to The Europa in East Molesey to see the Urban Gin House Band. The line-up comprised John Shepherd (trumpet, vocal), Mark Aston (tenor sax, trombone), Roger Limb (keyboard), Mike Bennett (bass) and Mike Knipe (drums). Our favourite numbers were: Whispering , composed by the brothers Malvin and John Schonberger, and originally recorded in 1920 by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra;...