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Interview

Lovano at 60

Source: RJ on Jazz by R.J. DeLuke
March 15, 2013

Heralded as one of the greats of his generation (my generation), Lovano keeps moving forward. But knows where he came from. Joe Lovano plays the shit out of the saxophone, that much is clear. He's paid all his dues, come up though the ranks, including stints with big bands like Woody Herman. But he doesn't just play. He's an artist. The sound comes from inside a big heart, informed, of course, by his study and hard work on the instrument. ...

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Interview

Duane Allman: Studio Picker

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 15, 2013

The name Duane Allman makes you think of the Allman Brothers Band and the birth of Southern rock—which uses the blues to create long, improvised electric guitar solos. But as I write in today's Wall Street Journal—in a preview of Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective, a new seven-CD boxed set—the late guitarist actually paid his dues as a prolific studio musician on pop, rock and R&B sessions. Duane and his brother Gregg grew up in Daytona Beach, Fla., forming their ...

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Interview

Ella Fitzgerald Foundation Included Todd Gordon's Story Of Off- And On- Stage Encounters With Ella

Source: Zzzing Agency
March 12, 2013

Todd Gordon tells the story... Preface I became a fan of Ella's music shortly after 'discovering' Frank Sinatra. I had been an avid Beatles fan as a young child, and loved music. One evening - I was 11 years old at the time - my mother said, “You've been listening to your music, I want to listen to one of my records" and she played one of the two Sinatra albums she possessed, “Songs for Swingin' Lovers!" The fact that ...

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Interview

Interview: Ernie Felice

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 5, 2013

The accordion's post-war popularity in America starts with Ernie Felice in 1946. Though George Shearing had recorded on the instrument in London in '39 followed by Art Van Damme on two sides in '45 and Joe Mooney in mid-'46, it's not until after Ernie's success with the Benny Goodman Sextet in late '46 and early '47 that the instrument began to be taken seriously as a jazz option by record labels. Of course, prior to 1946 there were plenty ...

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Interview

Other Places: Yusef Lateef

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
February 18, 2013

At 92, Yusef Lateef continues to earn universal admiration not only for his artistry as a saxophonist, flutist, oboist and composer, but also for the warmth of his personality and eagerness to share his musical knowledge, which is wide and deep. Thanks to Rifftides reader Harris Meyer for alertingme—and you— to a recent installment of the radio program American Routes. Lateef told host Nick Spitzer about his career, his music and his philosophy. In his early development as a professional, ...

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Interview

STLJN Interview: Dan Loomis of the Wee Trio on Recording Live at Jazz at the Bistro

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
February 8, 2013

As mentioned several times before in this space, The Wee Trio (pictured, top left) are in St. Louis this weekend, performing and recording a live album on Friday and Saturday nights at Jazz at the Bistro. Though scheduling complications over the past week rendered fruitless our attempts to connect via phone with bassist and St. Louis native Dan Loomis, he was kind enough to respond to a few questions about the impending gig/recording session via email: StLJN: Your last album ...

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Interview

Bill Evans: Molde, Norway

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
February 7, 2013

Just weeks before his death on September 15, 1980, pianist Bill Evans performed at the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway. Accompanying him in early August were Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums. It appears someone generously posted a crystal clear clip of the set a month ago at YouTube—with the trio playing Re: Person I Knew, Days of Wind and Roses and Your Story and Nardis. There's also an after-concert interview. While Evans's is clear and highly ...

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Interview

Jeff Sultanof on Robert Farnon, Part 2

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
February 7, 2013

Robert Farnon composed several film scores, of which the best known is the music for Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951). The trombonist, composer and arranger J.J. Johnson told me that a theme from the film, “Lady Barbara” was one of his favorites. Johnson eventually recorded it with Farnon. We hear a bit of the theme in this scene from the motion picture with Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo. Farnon recorded a long-running series of albums for U.K. Decca, released in the ...

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