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Jazz Articles about David Hazeltine
Mary Stallings: Songs Were Made to Sing
by Dave Linn
One of eleven children, Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco in 1939. In her teens, she began singing in San Francisco night clubs and performed with Ben Webster, Earl Hines, Red Mitchell, Teddy Edwards, and Wes Montgomery. Before graduating from high school, she joined R&B singer Louis Jordan's Tympani Five. In the early '60s, she performed with Dizzy Gillespie at both the Black Hawk nightclub and the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival. Her debut album was Cal Tjader ...
Continue ReadingDavid Hazeltine: Blues For Gerry
by Chris May
A longtime member of the Criss Cross family, pianist David Hazeltine began recording for the label in the mid 1990s. Since then he has released around 30 Criss Cross albums, including eight as leader. During this time, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth, who complete the trio on Blues For Gerry, have been frequent comrades in arms. Sadly, Criss Cross founder Gerry Teekens passed in 2019. The good news is that his son Jerry has taken ...
Continue ReadingDavid Hazeltine: Inversions
by C. Andrew Hovan
It's often said that those with enviable skills make the most sophisticated actions look easy. Be it glass blowing or ice-skating, what appears to be within the grasp of the novice often involves an underlying complexity not readily apparent at first. The same could be said of higher forms of music such as classical and jazz. What might seem simplistic or straightforward on the surface, actually involves a highly refined degree of mastery that's akin to a magician's flick of ...
Continue ReadingDavid Hazeltine: Blues Quarters, Vol.2
by C. Andrew Hovan
A lot of water has passed under the proverbial bridge since the last time that David Hazeltine got together with Eric Alexander for the initial 1998 session billed as Blues Quarters Vol.1 (Criss 1188). As strong a showing as the pianist and his cohorts made on that initial release, I think all would agree this latest incarnation is even better, imbued with a maturation and musical camaraderie that has further developed due to countless numbers of gigs undertaken in the ...
Continue ReadingDavid Hazeltine: Close to You
by C. Andrew Hovan
New York's a tough town. To be seen and heard among the scores of would-be jazz musicians you have to possess talent that is beyond the everyday and a voice that sets you apart from the crowd. Since settling permanently in the Big Apple in 1992, David Hazeltine has done just that. He's consistently in demand as a sideman, works regularly with the hard bop sextet One For All, and leads his own ensembles to boot. Over the years, he's ...
Continue ReadingMike DiRubbo: Human Spirit
by C. Andrew Hovan
In an era that seems to more fully embrace the idea of the 'tough young tenor,' alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo puts forth a singular voice that stands apart from the crowd. With exceptions such as Kenny Garrett, Steve Wilson, and Vincent Herring, DiRubbo is one of the few musicians of this generation to choose the alto horn as his main axe, although his sound and approach seems heavily rooted in the conventions of the tenor and its many historic practitioners. ...
Continue ReadingSteve Davis: Systems Blue
by C. Andrew Hovan
From Kid Ory to Roswell Rudd, the role of the trombone has changed dramatically over the brief span of jazz history, as we know it. Whether it be keeping a beat via the style of “tailgating," exploring a multitude of textural possibilities through the challenges of the avant-garde, or working somewhere in that middle ground that we call mainstream jazz, the instrument has remained a highly expressive vehicle for communication within the idiom. It's somewhat surprising then that a fairly ...
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