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Jessica Ferber on Bob Campbell
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Last Thursday, my phone rang. On the other end was a young woman who hurridly began telling me a story, adding that a friend had suggested she contact me. The only words that stuck at the time were “photographs," “Campbell" and “homeless." Since I hear from media relations people all day long promoting one thing or another, I asked her to send me an email and that I'd take a look. She sent along a link to a Kickstarter drive ...
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Steve Lipman: The Singin' Dentist Balances Healing With Frank Sinatra
Source:
Harry Watters
When the Dream Academy sang, “Like Sinatra in a younger day," in their wind-swept '80s hit, “Life in a Northern Town," they could easily have been describing jazz singer Steve Lipman. Looking and sounding like Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Lipman mesmerizes with his warm crooning on his latest album, Ridin' the Beat. But what's fascinating about Lipman is that he balances a career in music with also being a dentist. Dubbing himself “The Singin' Dentist," he occupies a unique persona ...
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Interview: Sue Raney (Part 2)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
What makes vocalist Sue Raney special? First and foremost, she uses her intonation like a net to capture you completely. As Sue sings, she has this way of wrapping a lyric around her finger without ever becoming possessive. What's more, she lays back in just the right places by adding a breathiness to her voice—feathering her delivery. This enables her to seem attached to a song without smothering it. It's a studied coolness that seduces you without ever being clingy. ...
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Interview With Jazz Pianist Tal Cohen
Source:
Harry Watters
Q: What made you decide to become a pianist? Did you receive any formal training? A: I always liked the piano. At first I played xylophone but wasn't very good at it, unfortunately, so my mum suggested the piano. I immediately said yes because it meant I wouldn’t need to carry the xylophone to lessons anymore. I will always thank mum for that. The sound of the piano always touched me, and I suppose as a child in Israel everyone ...
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Interview: Sue Raney (Part 1)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Sue Raney is a direct link to America's golden age of pop and jazz singers. Yet she remains one of the most underrated female vocalists still on the scene today. Sue has recorded exquisitely with every major arranger—Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Ralph Carmichael, Bill Holman, Bob Florence, Jack Marshall, Billy Byers and others. She also has been teamed with Buddy DeFranco, Page Cavanaugh, Shelly Manne, the Four Freshmen, Supersax and her husband, French hornist Carmen Franzone. So why isn't Sue ...
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Clifford Brown, 1930-1956
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Today is the 82nd anniversary of Clifford Brown’s birth. Here is what I wrote in Rifftides on June 26, 2006, half a century following his death. Fifty years ago today at The Seattle Times, as I ripped copy from the wire machines my eye went to a story in the latest Associated Press national split. A young trumpeter named Clifford Brown had been killed early that morning in a car crash. My heart stopped for a beat or two. My ...
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Jon Burlingame on 007 (PT. 2)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
When Skyfall opens in the U.S. on Nov. 9, it will be the 23rd film in the James Bond series. High-intensity action films are a dime a dozen these days, thanks largely to the successful mold pioneered by the Bond films. But the Bond franchise stands for more than just explosions, bridge leaps and car chases. Threaded neatly into each Bond film is music designed to enhance the action and adventure, and burnish the main character's cool and collected demeanor. ...
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Jon Burlingame on 007 (PT. 1)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
As I wrote recently in my Wall Street Journal article on the James Bond Theme, men of a certain age love the song with the machine-gun guitar solo. It makes them feel extra guy-ly. But so do some women, according to Louann Brizendine, professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of The Male Brain and The Female Brain. Something about yearning to be swept off their feet and why such guys are in such ...
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