Articles by Bob Jacobson

Golson and Trane Dissed in Philly (circa 1944)

by Bob Jacobson
January 30, 2015

This article was originally published at All About Jazz in 1999. John Coltrane and Benny Golson stand among the major figures of jazz in the second half of the twentieth century, Coltrane primarily as a player and Golson primarily as a composer. But in 1944 Philadelphia they were teenagers just getting their feet wet, learning tunes and jamming in the Golson living room (at this time Coltrane played alto in the style of Johnny Hodges). Benny was 15, ...

Someone To Watch Over Me: The Life and Music of Ben Webster

by Bob Jacobson
November 21, 2007

Someone To Watch Over Me: The Life and Music of Ben Webster Frank Buchmann-Moller Hardcover; 400 pages ISBN: 0472114700 University Of Michigan Press 2007

Unless you already know a tremendous amount about saxophonist Ben Webster, you'll learn so much from Frank Buchmann-Moller's new biography. Unless I'm mistaken, you'll soon want to hear more of the unique Webster sound.

Danish jazz archivist Buchmann-Moller presents an extremely comprehensive ...

Jazz for Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Bob Jacobson
November 4, 2006

Jazz for Dummies Dirk Sutro Paperback; 384 pages ISBN: 0-471-76844-8 Wiley 2006

First, please understand that Jazz for Dummies mostly isn't. Sure, Dirk Sutro's approach is partially for total newcomers, but he also provides advice for aspiring musicians and even jazz fanatics in search of new information.

Jazz is not an easy thing to explain, yet Sutro does a good job defining improvisation, individual voices, swing, ...

Letters From New Orleans

by Bob Jacobson
June 26, 2006

Letters From New Orleans Rob Walker Paperback; 226 pages ISBN: 1-891053-01-9 Garrett County Press 2005

Former Texan and Greenwich Villager Rob Walker and his girlfriend, E., relocated to New Orleans in January, 2000. The former journalist and editor immediately began relating his experiences and impressions via e-mail, first to friends, then to anyone who expressed interest. Here are twenty-one letters, ending with the couple's August, 2003 departure, plus some post-Katrina ...

Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band

by Bob Jacobson
May 4, 2006

Imagine a pianist playing concerts with Benny Goodman and Cecil Taylor in successive years (1977-78). That pianist was Mary Lou Williams. In a career which spanned over fifty years Mary was always on the cutting edge. She was born Mary Scruggs in 1910 Atlanta. Her mother was a single parent who worked as a domestic and played spirituals and ragtime on piano and organ. At age three Mary shocked her by reaching up from her mother's lap to ...

The Dutch Jazz Orchestra: Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams

by Bob Jacobson
February 25, 2006

Thankfully, Mary Lou Williams' music has been getting “rediscovered" quite a bit over the past few years through reinvestigation of her sacred works, as well as her own solo and small group performances, plus interpretation/tributes by small groups led by Dave Douglas, John Hicks and Geri Allen. Now the Dutch Jazz Orchestra has given us Williams' big band arrangements of her own compositions covering the vast span from 1936-78 on this release, subtitled “The Lady Who Swings the Band."

Particularly ...

The Devil's Horn: The Story of the Saxophone

by Bob Jacobson
February 11, 2006

Michael Segell The Devil's Horn: The Story of the Saxophone, From Noisy Novelty to King of Cool Farrar, Straus and Giroux 336 pages ISBN: 0374159386 2005

I recently saw Steven Spielberg's new movie, Munich. When the Israeli hero moves to Brooklyn, the sound of a saxophone inevitably appears, signaling The City and Sex. Saxophone's evocative nature is just one of its myriad aspects pursued by Michael Segell, in this case ...

All That the Dog Ever Wanted

by Bob Jacobson
December 23, 2005

Amy Neftzger All That the Dog Ever Wanted Fields of Gold Publishing ISBN: 0974629618 2005 32 pages

In this children's picture book, Django the golden retriever tries to emulate his master, Cole, an aspiring jazz musician. Cole, who we never actually see, has just received a guitar and a drum set as presents. You can imagine what ensues.

Simply illustrated, with little touches of humor (e.g. a “Fetch" ...

Generations, Live at the Kennedy Center Jazz Club

by Bob Jacobson
November 10, 2005

Generations: Steve Wilson, Billy Childs, Ray Drummond and Ben Riley Kennedy Center Jazz Club Washington, DC October 22, 2005Those of you who know Steve Wilson will probably wonder what cave I've been living in, but this club date was my introduction to the saxophonist, as well as Kennedy Center's KC Jazz Club. I certainly knew the work of his rhythm section: Billy Childs on piano, Ray Drummond on bass and Ben Riley on ...

Tour of the Louis Armstrong House Museum

by Bob Jacobson
February 7, 2005

When Louis Armstrong came home from a road trip one day in 1943, he handed the cab driver the address of the new home his wife Lucille has picked out as a surprise, the first home he had ever owned. Since the house they pulled up to was in a racially-mixed neighborhood, Louis thought the cabbie was either lost or playing a trick on him. But then Lucille, who'd bought the modest two-story, clapboard-shingled house in working-class Corona for $3,500, ...