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Something Else! Interview: Steve Cropper, of Booker T. and the MGS
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Something Else!
Steve Cropper, a seminal soul figure and guitarist in Booker T. and the MGs, pays tribute to childhood musical heroes the 5 Royales with Dedicated, set for release on August 9. Cropper, who has often credited 5 Royales guitarist Lowman “Pete" Pauling as a key influence, shot to fame as a guitarist and producer at Memphis' Stax Records in the 1960s. There, he'd score a handful of hits with the MGs, even while working with greats like Otis Redding, Sam ...
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Interview: Donald Fagen
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, co-founders of Steely Dan, wrote the soundtrack for anyone who attended college in the 1970s. Their music was adored by dorm-bound jazz heads who wanted modern music but didn't want to give up the sound of horns and an acoustic piano. For today's Wall Street Journal (go here), I interviewed Mr. Fagen a couple of weeks ago, just before the start of Steely Dan's world tour last Saturday. My outtakes from our conversation are below. ...
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Nestor Zurita Saxophonist and Teacher by James Cubby on July 05, 2011
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Nestor Zurita
Saxophonist Nestor Zurita shares his talents when he performs onstage but it's a special person who can teach another to play a musical instrument. While Nestor taught himself to play the saxophone, most aren't as quick to pick up an instrument and teach themselves to play-not like Nestor Zurita anyway. Miami locals are familiar with Nestor Zurita who has played at venues like the Van Dyke Café, Arts at St. Johns, Alliance Francaise and has concerts at the Gusman Hall ...
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Interview: Betty Bennett (Part 2)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
It seems everyone has a good Benny Goodman story, and the best often are from those who actually worked for him. In fact, in his lifetime, Goodman may have generated as many great stories about his flinty personality as he did hit singles. Vocalist Betty Bennett sang with Goodman in 1959 and, like many other artists, didn't have an easy time of it. In Part 2 of my two-part e-conversation with Betty, the seasoned big band vocalist (and guitarist Mundell ...
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Something Else! Featured Artist: The Funky, Funky JB Horns
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Something Else!
James Brown got all of the headlines, be they for his fancy moves, his fancier suits or his brushes with the law. But the JB Horns, those great groovers who provided the punctuation to every grunt, gasp and squeal, remain an underrated element to the legend. Maceo Parker, the muscular saxophonist, has perhaps had the most solo success, but the truth is fellow saxophonist/arranger Pee Wee Ellis and trombonist Fred Wesley have often joined him on those projects. They remain, ...
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Interview: Betty Bennett (Part 1)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Back in May, in one of my Sunday “Oddball Album Covers of the Week" posts, I showcased two LPs featuring women stretched out on lawns. One was Nobody Else But Me, a 1955 album by vocalist Betty Bennett for Atlantic Records that was arranged by Andre Previn and Shorty Rogers. The point of my post was to show how art directors at the time seemed to fancy showing attractive women relaxing on grassy glades. [Pictured: Betty Bennett in 1948] A ...
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Something Else! Interview: Delfeayo Marsalis, Producer and Trombonist
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Something Else!
Delfeayo Marsalis, recipient of the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award, stepped out with a rare recording as a leader this year—just his second since the 1990s. Sweet Thunder: Duke and Shak, a canny reworking of Duke Ellington's 1957 suite Such Sweet Thunder on Troubadour Jazz, led to a 36-date theatrical jazz production that ran through May. Still, he's more associated with his work as record producer. It is in that capacity that Delfeayo Marsalis has helped shape his family's sound, ...
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