The pianist and singer Joyce Collins died recently in Los Angeles following a long illness. She was 79. Highly respected in jazz circles, Collins played with a sensitive touch and subtle use of chords. Her singing was an outgrowth of those values, with attention to interpretation of the meaning of songs and, as Marian McPartland put it, "...deep feeling, a way of lingering over certain phrases,...
A duo piece with myself and Keith Baxter (Fender bass) recorded on a gig with Ela Southgate (vocals) at the Round Georges in November 2009. The quality of the recording is terrible and features accompanying toe-tapping from my right foot, placed rather too close to the mic.
I tend to avoid tribute albums. Barring a handful of gems, among them Louis Armstrong's salutes to Fats Waller and W.C. Handy, most miss the mark because they try too hard to one-up or mimic the subject of their adulation. One of the rare exceptions is Tom Talbert's Bix, Duke, Fats. Recorded in 1956 for Atlantic Records, the album features dynamic arrangements by Talbert for three different studio...
Last night US pianist Kirk Lightsey played with an energy and intensity that belied his years (he's in his Seventies). Kirk delighted the audience with a set that was passionate, joyful and virtuosic. Elements of his playing include they way he balances hard bop soulfulness and with the harmonic complexities of Bill Evans. He has a fiercely strong left hand - jabbing away in a bebop style, playing...
As you may recall from parts 1 and 2, our theme in this series is that by concentrating on the lines played by a good string bassist, you can gain an understanding of the shape and structure of a piece...
L’etoile interviews jewelry designer Martine Lizama Minnetonkascenes looks at the bench of Mr. Jimmy, who always claimed to have inspired “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones Ericaaaaa wonders if she is Uptown or not Uptown Stuff About Mpls does three posts (1, 2, 3) about jazz great Oscar Pettiford
Born: 8 November, 1927, in Kansas City. Died: 29 August, 2009, in Toms River, New Jersey, aged 81.CHRIS Connor was a great jazz singer whose lush, foggy voice and compressed emotional intensity distilled a 1950s jazz reverie of faraway longing in a sad cafe.A singer who used little vibrato and was admired for her inventive rhythmic alterations of ballads, Connor belonged to the cool school of jazz...
Born: 8 November, 1927, in Kansas City. Died: 29 August, 2009, in Toms River, New Jersey, aged 81.CHRIS Connor was a great jazz singer whose lush, foggy voice and compressed emotional intensity distilled a 1950s jazz reverie of faraway longing in a sad cafe.A singer who used little vibrato and was admired for her inventive rhythmic alterations of ballads, Connor belonged to the cool school of jazz...
It's hard to peg Dick Katz. The pianist was on the New York jazz scene starting in the early 1950s. He has played with virtually all of the greats, including Oscar Pettiford, Coleman Hawkins, J.J. Johnson and others. He has recorded on quite a few significant albums, including Benny Carter's masterpiece Further Definitions. He has arranged sessions. He's been an entrepreneur--co-founding Milestone...
The cellist Erik Friedlander possesses a deep, singing tone on his instrument, and when he gives into it completely, he can be a heartbreaker. At the diminutive Brooklyn club Barbs, which he regards as a second home, his sound approaches room-size resonance, with little or no amplification, just about anytime he draws a bow across the strings...
I will never give up my turntable. I'm just back from Greenpoint where the Brooklyn Record Riot was held today: 30,000 LPs from all genres; beer; endless jostling from (mostly) aggressive white males seeking vinyl treasures. It was a total...
Works Inspired by Jazz Legend Oscar Pettiford's Cello Work Will Be Performed by Innovative Cellist's Trio “Effervescent small group jazz, executed with wit and soul.” --The New York Times “A real sonic vibrancy.” --Dusted.com “ Broken Arm Trio...is stunning – both in what it does and how well they do it.” --The Village Voice...
On the drive from his home in Charlottesville, Va., to the Manhattan studios of Piano Jazz, pianist Hod O'Brien was inspired to compose an original tune in honor of the occasion. By the time he'd arrived, he'd worked out a swinging little ditty in his head, so he kicked off this session with a tune he called "Clarion for Marian...
Helen Merrill Emarcy Records (1954) With Clifford Brown and Oscar Pettiford. Produced and Arranged by (21 year-old) Quincy Jones. Merrill’s first and greatest. Don’t Explain / You’d Be Nice To Come Home To / What’s New / Falling In Love With Love Yesterday’s / Born To Be Blue / ‘S Wonderful
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