Jazz Articles about Charlie Mariano

Stan Kenton: Salute!

by Jack Bowers
February 16, 2023

Stan Kenton, one of the most renowned and influential bandleaders of the twentieth century, died on August 25, 1979. Fortunately—for the sake of history in general and creative music in particular—Kenton's remarkable legacy lives on, and in a perceptive and open-minded world would endure forever. Even to this day, small but devoted groups of enthusiasts share a wish that some previously hidden array of his material might come to light, satisfiying for the moment their craving for more memorable music ...

Stan Kenton and His Orchestra: In a Lighter Vein

by Jack Bowers
December 13, 2020

Stan Kenton was a man of many moods, as was his intrepid and popular orchestra, which endured until his passing in August 1979 and whose renown is kept alive even today by the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra. Kenton dons his carefree hat on In a Lighter Vein, an assortment of straight-ahead themes from the orchestra's jazz library, preserved in five concert performances from 1953-55 beneath the umbrella of NBC radio's All Star Parade of Bands. Original compositions ...

Charlie Mariano: The Great Concert

by John Kelman
February 15, 2010

When expat American woodwind multi-instrumentalist Charlie Mariano passed away in the summer of 2009 at the age of 85, his death--like much of his life--seemed sadly lost in the shuffle in North America. The expat American--who relocated to Europe in the early 1970d-- should have cemented an international reputation with his early alto work with Stan Kenton and pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi; all the more his tenure in German bassist Eberhard Weber's Colours group and Pork Pie, a fusion group with ...

Eberhard Weber: Colours

by John Kelman
January 14, 2010

As the jazz-rock fusion movement gained ground from its early years in the late 1960s through its glory days in the early-to-mid-1970s—blending the more sophisticated harmonies of jazz with rock music's rhythmic power and high volume—all too often it was about muscular chops and complex writing for the sake of it. Little attention was paid to nuance and understatement. While guitarist John McLaughlin's high octane Mahavishnu Orchestra and keyboard player Chick Corea's guitar-centric incarnation of Return to Forever were tearing ...

Charlie Mariano: Silver Blue, The Door Is Open & The Great Concert

by Fred Bouchard
October 3, 2009

Charlie Mariano with Cholet-Kanzig-Papaux Trio Silver Blue Enja2008 Julian F. Thayer / Charlie Mariano / Klaus Suonsaari The Door Is Open KSJazz2008 Charlie Mariano with Philip Catherine & Jasper van't Hof The Great Concert: Stuttgart Enja2009 On what are likely some of Charlie Mariano's final dates ...

Charlie Mariano: Silver Blue

by Nicholas F. Mondello
April 17, 2008

Charlie Mariano Silver Blue Enja Records 2008

There is much that is unique about the alto saxophone sound, the “voice," of Charlie Mariano. The word that perhaps best describes Mariano's sound is intimate. Not intimate in the erotic sense--although the intensely romantic treatment on this album of standards such as “My Funny Valentine," “Theme From Black Orpheus" and “My Foolish Heart" might support that meaning--but intimate in the way the listener experiences ...

Charlie Mariano: Helen 12 Trees

by John Kelman
March 18, 2008

Of labels awaiting first-time release on CD, Germany's MPS is the undisputed holy grail. With plans to release fifteen of its 400+ titles in carefully remastered and beautifully designed mini-LP sleeve packages each year, Promising Music is righting a wrong in the best possible way. Always eclectic, MPS ran the gamut from free jazz to fusion and everything in-between, and Promising Music's first six titles demonstrate the full breadth of this historically significant label.Lacking sufficient international distribution, MPS' ...