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Gerald Wilson is 95
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Gerald Wilson celebrated his 95th birthday yesterday. He looks back on a career studded with achievement as a trumpeter, bandleader, composer and pioneering arranger. Early on in his writing Wilson achieved the unexpected, incorporating daring classical harmonic techniques in his big band arrangements and making them accessible to general audiences. He is the personification of a lifelong learner. Following big successes capped by a sold-out tour with Ella Fitzgerald, Wilson dissolved his successful post-World War II big band because he ...
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Corky Hale + Marian McPartland
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Corky Hale called yesterday to chat. Most jazz fans know Corky as Los Angeles' first-call harpest in the '50s and '60s. If a harp was needed on pop and jazz recordings, Corky was likely on the session. Her harp appears on many of Ella Fitzgerald's songbook albums as well as recordings by Anita O'Day, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and so many others. Corky also plays a range of woodwind instruments and sang with Harry James, Ray Anthony and a bunch ...
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Gary Burton on Music (Pt. 2)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Gary Burton started out in 1960 with Hank Garland, combining jazz vibes with country guitar. Then he was in the thick of the bossa nova movement with Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto in 1964. In 1967 he released Duster, one of the first jazz-rock fusion albums and continued those explorations with Country Roads & Other Places (1968), Throb (1969) and Ring (1974). Through the '80s and '90s there were pairings with Chick Corea, Ahmad Jamal, Ralph Towner, Astor Piazzolla, Pat ...
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Cedar Walton on "Giant Steps"
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Cedar Walton, a powerful hard-bop pianist who appeared on more than 400 recordings and combined a meaty, rhythmic playing style with sensitive, delicate solos, died August 19. He was 79. [Photo of Cedar Walton and Hank Mobley during Mobley's Third Season session in 1967 by Francis Wolff] During an interview in 2011, Cedar told me that his ability to switch metaphorically from jackhammer to knitting needles in a single song came naturally to him—and was likely the result of listening ...
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Interview: Bev Kelly (Part 2)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Few singers curl up on a song's lap like Bev Kelly. In the '50s she worked clubs and recorded several albums with pianist Pat Moran. She also recorded her first solo album in 1957. But just as she had attracted the attention of personal manager John Levy, Bev had a choice to make—her career or her son Greg. A close call in a car accident also made her think hard about her priorities. Bev had a cute singing style that ...
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Interview: Bev Kelly (Part 1)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
With the proliferation of travel in the 1950s, Chicago became a hotbed for jazz-pop singers and singing groups. The city was a national railroad hub, and passengers arriving from the East, West and South needed places to stay. As the number of hotels in Chicago grew, so did the number of hotel lounges and clubs and establishments that competed with them and handled the spillover. Singers were especially popular with weary business travelers, particularly hip singers with a swinging jazz-pop ...
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Aakash Mittal: From Denver to Kolkata, Jazz Crosses Continents and a Big "Ocean"
Source:
JazzINK by Andrea Canter
I first encountered Aakash Mittal when he invited me to review his debut recording in 2009. The young saxophonist from Denver gave that disc the rather hesitant title, Possible Beginnings. Such humility is characteristic of Mittal. Now, at the ripe age of 28, he's releasing his third full-length recording, Ocean,as he prepares for a ten-month “sabbatical" studying traditional music in India via a grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies. Since that first interview in 2009, I've enjoyed many ...
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In Praise of Steve Allen
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Despite living with television sets for nearly 65 years, most of us dread being in front of a camera. We love criticizing people on TV but wouldn't dream of switching places with them. Those who have been interviewed on national TV know what a jarring experience it is. Much prep work is required to keep from forgetting what you want to say or sounding like an idiot. [Pictured above: Steve Allen] Our TV phobia is warranted. No other medium exposes ...
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