Jazz Articles

George Gershwin: Gershwin Performs Gershwin: Of Rhythm and Constipation

by Marc Davis
June 11, 2014

Insert your favorite toilet joke here.I tried. I considered dozens of poop puns, then finally decided nothing could top reality. So here it is:In the 1930s, George Gershwin--already a huge star--hosted a radio show on which he played piano between laxative commercials.It's funny, really, when you hear it. And yet it doesn't detract from the music, which is sensational. Actually, the Feen-A-Mint ads are kind of charming.You can hear it yourself on ...

Jim Manley: Alter Ego

by Jack Bowers
July 13, 2005

Jim Manley is an impressive trumpeter (and pianist), as he proved on an earlier album, Splendor in the Brass, and his sidemen are no doubt talented musicians as well, but what they have conspired to produce on Alter Ego is surely aimed at a generation younger than my own, people who grew up listening to MTV, rock, “alternative bands, and all manner of electronic gadgetry, not to mention smooth jazz.

Whenever I see the term “programming next to a musician's ...