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Charlie Parker: At Birdland 1950 Revisited
by Stefano Merighi
Il 1950 per Charlie Parker è un anno di cambiamenti. Dopo lo scioglimento del quintetto aureo con Miles Davis e Max Roach, le formazioni diventano più effimere, occasionali, almeno fino al sodalizio con Red Rodney. Norman Granz sta per trascinare Parker nella fortunata formula con gli archi, nel frattempo c'è l'impegno di una lunga e tormentata tournèe nel sud del paese. In questo contesto, le registrazioni preservate al Birdland di New York del giugno di quell'anno, possiedono un'aura ...
Continue ReadingTrio and Quintet
by C. Michael Bailey
Pianist and composer Elmo Hope has more in common with Tadd Dameron than most of his other jazz peers. Both men were primarily composers and arrangers who concentrated on their own music rather than standards. Both men spent their professional lives in New York City during the twilight of bebop and the flourishing of hard bop. Neither man boasted large discographies as leaders, but appeared on a significant number of recordings as sidemen. Their careers were both shortened dramatically by ...
Continue ReadingDug and Jazz Spot Intro in Tokyo
by Sanford Josephson
I owe my love of jazz to the time I spent in Japan in the mid-1960s when I was working as a writer in the public information office of the American Red Cross' Far Eastern Area headquarters, located on a U.S. Army base about 45 minutes from Tokyo. While there, I saw Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Mann, Oscar Peterson, and many other well-known jazz artists at concerts or in clubs. But, I also hung out at the ...
Continue ReadingLee Morgan: Here's Lee Morgan
by C. Andrew Hovan
While Craft Recordings' new OJC reissue series has largely drawn from its treasure trove of Prestige and Riverside titles, the label recently expanded its scope to include two standout jazz albums from Chicago's historic Vee-Jay Records. Founded in 1953 by husband-and-wife team James Bracken and Vivian Carter, Vee-Jay was not only one of the earliest Black-owned and woman-owned labels but also a remarkably eclectic imprint. Known for its blues releases--and even some early Beatles records--Vee-Jay also documented top-tier ...
Continue ReadingThelonious Monk, John Coltrane: Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane 1957. Revisited.
by Stefano Merighi
Ci sono sodalizi artistici che segnano in maniera indelebile la ricchezza creativa dei protagonisti. Tra questi, di sicuro quello tra Thelonious Monk e John Coltrane, anno di grazia 1957. L'estroso pianista e compositore, ancora lontano dal ricevere i riconoscimenti meritati, trova finalmente qualcuno che interpreta le sue partiture con rara dialettica esecutiva: leggerezza e profondità, acume sottile e abbandono istintivo. L'apollineo sassofonista, all'epoca ancora turbato dalla tossicodipendenza, passa dalla frustrazione di un licenziamento da parte di ...
Continue ReadingFrom Flock to Shepherd: The Evolution of the Drummer-Led Ensemble in Jazz
by Jon Sheckler
On November 15th, 2017 at 8:30pm, the Jazz Standard in New York City had a line around the block. Starting from the dual entrance of the Jazz Standard jazz club and Blue Smoke restaurant in the direct middle of East 27th Street, the line of people stretched almost to Lexington Avenue, nearly 300 feet. Just after 9:00pm, audience members from the earlier set began to be released. The faces included some of the most prominent members of the New York ...
Continue ReadingThelonious Monk: Celebrating 75 Years Of His First Recordings Revisited
by Stefano Merighi
Affrontare oggi queste pagine monkiane significa non solo riconsiderare l'importanza cruciale di un repertorio senza tempo, ma provare proprio un'ebbrezza dell'ascolto difficilmente eguagliabile. Thelonious Monk marchia a fuoco con la sua personalità tutta un'epoca del jazz che è quella rivoluzionaria del bebop--nonché quella “riformista" dell'hard bop--e stabilisce molte delle coordinate che ispirano la migliore musica africana-americana di oggi, sia di orientamento free che di stampo armonico progressive. In questo caso, la collana ezz-thetics realizza un'operazione davvero interessante, assemblando ...
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