Articles by Gene Lees
John Coltrane: His Life and Music
by Gene Lees
John Coltrane: His Life and Music Lewis Porter Univ of Michigan Press ISBN: 0472101617 Thirty-one years after John Coltrane died, just short of forty-one years old, he remains an enigma, not to only to me but to the various persons who have attempted to capture his character in books. There are, with the publication of Lewis Porter's John Coltrane: His Life and Music, eight books in English about the man. None of them, including ...
Continue ReadingTenor Saxophonist, Harry Allen
by Gene Lees
Stan Getz was once asked his idea of the perfect tenor saxophone soloist. His answer (pianist Lou Levy was present and heard it) was, “My technique, Al Cohn's ideas, and Zoot's time." The fulfillment of that ideal may well be embodied in thirty-year-old Harry Allen, who is so good that after several takes of a tune on a record date, arranger and composer Johnny Mandel said from the control booth, Harry, would you mind screwing up on some ...
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