Unsung Heroes

Evidence Releases Three Long-Overdue Jazz Gems by Pharoah Sanders

by Robert Spencer
September 26, 2022

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in May 1999. Ferrell Sanders came out of Little Rock, Arkansas and hooked up with Mr. Herman “Sonny" Blount, who preferred to be known as Sun Ra and dubbed Sanders “Pharoah." A little later a guy named Coltrane asked Pharoah to join his quintet, and the jazz world at large was introduced to the man one reviewer referred to as “the torch-mouthed screamer of the reeds." ...

In Memoriam: A Song for Boris Neisser

by Phillip Woolever
June 4, 2022

It was over a decade ago when I first encountered jovial Boris Neisser, the late administrative sparkplug of Dusseldorf's schauinsland-reisen Jazz Rally. He was flat on his back on a nicely carpeted opera house floor, grinning up at ornate ceiling chandeliers after a late night Sunday concert by Jan Akkerman and a competent Russian group called Jazzprom. Akkerman was in superb shredding form that night, while his makeshift backing band rose to the occasion to provide a blazing midnight finish ...

In memoriam: Alessandro Giachero

by Francesco Martinelli
October 27, 2020

Only with a very heavy heart one can write an obituary for a young friend and great musician who left this world suddenly, prematurely and unjustly, leaving his colleagues and pupils, but above all his family, in mourning. It will hopefully be useful to leave a trace of his musical contributions and a lead for future listeners. Softly-spoken, reserved, much loved by colleagues and students, Alessandro Giachero never threw anything in-your-face—not his music, not his presence, nor his ...

Remembering Turkish pianist and trombonist Elvan Araci

by Francesco Martinelli
February 15, 2018

As far as I can see only Turkish media published news about the loss of Turkish pianist and trombonist Elvan Aracı, 66, in Stockholm. From 1977 to 1999 Aracı lived in Sweden where he notably collaborated with Muvaffak `Maffy` Falay, Okay Temiz and Bernt Rosengren, notably in Maffy Falay's sextet with Rosengren, Åke Johansson on piano, Lars Lundström on bass and Sangoma Everett on drums, documented on a live video from the Stockholm Jazz Festival and in the We 6 ...

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Laurindo Almeida, Charlie Byrd, and Ralph Towner

by Sean Dietrich
January 25, 2011

The concert guitar is hailed by many as the perfect instrument. After being perfected in the Baroque age, virtuosos believed the wooden torso to posses the variety of an orchestra. The concert guitar produces a wide range of tone, timber, color, and dynamic expression unlike any other stringed instrument, capable of projecting a delicate voice of pure emotion. As music enters the age of electrified sound, fewer players seem to have the audacity to unplug. But amongst a ...

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Sammy Cahn, Vernon Duke, and Earl Zindars

by Sean Dietrich
September 1, 2010

Standards are the language of jazz. Standards represent music that have withstood the ruthless test of time. Songs built by craftsman, instead of limericks scribbled by American idols adorned in sequins and leather chaps. Music that has been constructed to last, built with the brick and mortar of harmony and melody. And yet, too often, the timeless master-song-craftsman's names are not usually recognized by listening audiences of today.Sammy CahnFew songwriters are able to weave such picturesque ...

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Vic Damon, 30th Street Studio, Village Vanguard

by Sean Dietrich
August 2, 2010

The oft forgotten recording studio. It's humble presence remains under-acclaimed. Electric lights suspended high above a giant mess of cables. Omniscient microphones standing tall, appraising the heart of arrogant musicians who approach. Scribbled papers rest on music stands, while heated brawls are incubated among hot headed horn players. This is where music is born. And yet many iconic studios, that have produced landmark recordings, are virtually absent from jazz-lore.Vic Damon Transcription Laboratory In the early 1930s Vic Damon ...

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Chu Berry, Joe Harriott, and Yusef Lateef

by Sean Dietrich
July 5, 2010

The role call for sax genius is a lengthy one. But upon briefly thumbing past names like Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins, one finds a glow beneath the surface radiating from lesser known players. Members of the vast sax community, who don't often get the same press other celebrated players receive.

Chu Berry

In the late 1920's American jazz was finally beginning to congeal. During this golden age, young Chu Berry laid ...

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Roland Hanna, Tete Montoliu, and Andre Previn

by Sean Dietrich
June 6, 2010

Throughout the line of musical history, certain pianists have changed the way audiences hear music. Musicians who dare to peek above a sea of bobbing heads, and create something unique. These specially cursed individuals have looked within themselves, and somehow added flesh to fantasy.While there are scores of brilliant pianists from years gone by, there are many excellent artists who aren't typically included in pre-gig-conversation. Fantastic players who've slid underneath the radar of pop-jazz citation. Somehow these players ...