Articles by Ken Dryden
Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1958
by Ken Dryden
Duke Ellington left a formidable discography at his death at the age of 75 in 1974, and it has expanded greatly with the number of concerts that have been uncovered and issued since then. This CD is drawn from two 1958 concerts at KB Hallen in Copenhagen, though they are not sourced from the original, long lost broadcast tapes, but dubs evidently made by a fan. What makes this a valuable find is that the band is in top form ...
Continue ReadingRecord Store Day 2024 with Zev Feldman
by Ken Dryden
A preview of Record Store Day 2024 releases produced by Zev Feldman, including newly discovered music from the US and Europe. Exceprts of a recent interview I did with Zev are included. ...
Continue ReadingAnthony Braxton & Lee Konitz: Chess Match
by Ken Dryden
Anthony Braxton and Lee Konitz were hardly strangers by the time they appeared together on Dave Brubeck's LP All The Things We Are (Atlantic), on the track “All The Things You Are." Prior to that 1974 session, the men had met, found common ground and planned to record together in Copenhagen, though that session evidently did not come to fruition. During the Brubeck session they discovered a mutual love of playing chess and got together for regular chess games when ...
Continue ReadingNathan Davis Quintet: The Hip Walk
by Ken Dryden
There are numerous examples of talented American jazz musicians who had long careers but were overlooked by critics, broadcasters and much of the jazz audience, often because they spent decades as full time jazz educators, which limited their opportunities to tour in support of their recordings. Nathan Davis, primarily known as a tenor and soprano saxophonist, though he was also a fine flautist and clarinetist, falls into that category, though part of the reason he is lesser known is that ...
Continue ReadingFrank Zappa: Funky Nothingness
by Ken Dryden
Long after his death at the age of 52 in December 1993, Frank Zappa remains one of the most fascinating musicians and composers of his generation. Zappa was a rare individual who was equally skilled playing and writing in a number of different genres and styles, Funky Nothingness represents the brief era of a band which deserved to last longer than it did. Early on, Zappa realized the importance of recording whenever possible, as an impromptu studio jam or concert ...
Continue ReadingHal Galper Trio: Trip the Light Fantastic
by Ken Dryden
This liner note assignment was very special to me, as it followed a phone interview that I did with Hal Galper that was a cover feature. Galper was ecstatic when it was published and called me one afternoon, exclaiming that the release date for his new CD was being moved up and he didn't have time to writer the liner notes, so he asked me if I was interested. With so much great material from the recent interview, all I ...
Continue ReadingWerner Klemperer: Colonel Klink Swings World War II
by Ken Dryden
Werner Klemperer was a veteran actor who escaped Germany with his family prior to the start of World War II. Classically trained as a violinist and the son of noted conductor Otto Klemperer, he played Colonel Klink, the bumbling commandant of Stalag XIII on the 1960s television series “Hogan's Heroes," and was occasionally featured in the program playing violin badly. But what many viewers didn't realize is that he also picked up a love of jazz in his youth and ...
Continue ReadingAdmiral Isoroku Yamamoto: The Real Tokyo Blues
by Ken Dryden
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (April 4, 1884-April 18, 1943) is a notorious military figure, as he was the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet during much of World War II. Yamamoto was responsible for planning and executing the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. But before Japan attacked the United States, Yamamoto spent significant time in North America, between 1921 and 1923 in Boston at Harvard, plus a stint as the Japanese naval attaché in Washington, ...
Continue ReadingLorraine Feather's Language Turns A Witty Phrase
by Ken Dryden
I got to know Lorraine Feather through reviewing several of her CDs, amazed by her gifts as a lyricist and singer, who was equally at home with witty songs and tender ballads. I first met Lorraine when she was performing at the late lamented Manhattan club Danny's Skylight Room with pianist Shelly Berg. We would chat during IAJE conferences and I was delighted when she invited me to write the liner notes for this CD. This release stands the test ...
Continue ReadingJoe Pass: Meditation
by Ken Dryden
Although a few jazz guitarists still perform solo concerts in the early days of the 21st century, none of them has produced anything approaching the series of live recordings by Joe Pass during his two decades as a Pablo artist. Incredibly, Pass maintained that playing unaccompanied on stage wasn't even his idea. During my November 1993 interview with him, Pass recounted this verbal exchange: “I don't know why I did it. I was asked to do it. I was put ...
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