Articles by Edward Bride
Eli Newberger: Music Maker, Medicine Man
by Edward Bride
Such is the nature of jazz tuba that few prominent players are household names outside their genre. Can you name “the Art Tatum of the tuba" or a “the Clifford Brown of the tuba"? Many of these instrumental performers are part-timers. Only, don't tell Eli Newberger that jazz is his secondary field: it ranks solidly in a two-way tie with his role as physician, lecturer and consultant in pediatric matters.
To jazz fans, Newberger is perhaps best-known as co-founder and ...
Continue ReadingMyron Walden: Eclectic Reedman
by Edward Bride
In words often used to describe the music of Duke Ellington, Myron Walden is a saxophonist beyond category. More so than many other musicians, Walden himself eschews reliance on any one instrument, not tenor or alto nor soprano nor bass nor... well, you get the idea. The voice that he is striving to use in any particular setting can vary widely from time to time; there is no favorite child in this man's family of instruments.
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Gary Smulyan: Low Man Aims High
by Edward Bride
A baritone saxophonist who plays like Bird? And harvests more than a half-dozen Grammy awards in the process? That seeming contradiction characterizes the great successes of Gary Smulyan, one of today's most in-demand jazz performers, educators, and recording artists.
To be fair, Smulyan has his own voice, but he cites Charlie Parker as one of his earliest, most important, and enduring influences. And in these later years, Phil Woods also falls into that category. That one ...
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