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Lockjaw Davis: Goin' to the Meeting
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Fans of tenor saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis will completely understand what I'm about to say: There are great Lockjaw Davis albums. And then there are really great Lockjaw Davis albums. What constitutes a really superb Davis recording? Davis has to be a bit on edge and faced with formidable, assertive competition behind him. On such albums, he doesn't just plunge in with a biting reed attack. He also gives it a big 360-degree twist. Goin' to the Meeting, a Prestige ...
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The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn receive praise for infectious brew of Dixieland jazz, swing, and classic blues
Source:
Lauren Rogers
Getting thumbs up from a music legend is like a badge of honor, and the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn wear it well. On June 11, 2007, country icon Willie Nelson raved, “The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn provided fantastic entertainment." It's not hard to see what impressed Nelson. The Blue Vipers deliver a potent sting, an infectious brew of Dixieland jazz, swing, and classic blues. Although based in New York, the Blue Vipers' latest album, Permanent Magic, is steeped in the ...
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Something Else! Interview: Bobby Whitlock, of Derek and the Dominoes
Source:
Something Else!
By Nick DeRiso Keyboardist Bobby Whitlock reflects on Derek and the Dominoes' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, given a deluxe reissue Tuesday on its 40th anniversary, as well as signature dates alongside George Harrison, Sam and Dave and Delaney and Bonnie, among others. Discover which soul singer Whitlock had in mind when he, Eric Clapton and the rest of the Dominoes were ready to record “Tell The Truth." Go inside the sessions that produced Harrison's smash solo debut, “All ...
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Interview: Grace Slick
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Grace Slick was Jefferson Airplane's lead singer. But she was much more than that. In the history of rock, her iconic voice, with its passing-gear force, stinging vibrato and flower-power passion marked a turning point in the music. Last week I interviewed Grace on a range of topics by phone. My Q&A with the San Francisco vocalist, who paved the way for two generations of rock singers, appears in today's Wall Street Journal (or go here). Before Grace, female pop-rock ...
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Lucky Thompson in Person
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Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
The logical followup to the piece below about Chris Byars' hero Lucky Thompson is a piece by Thompson. Here's a film from Paris in 1959 at the Blue Note. The rhythm section is Bud Powell, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Jimmy Gourley, guitar; Kenny Clarke, drums. The compostion is Dizzy Gillespie's and Charlie Parker's “Anthropology." The video clip ends before the tune does, but this is a rare opportunity to see the great tenor saxophonist in action with a band of ...
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Eric Jackson over the years and at Jazz Week on May 2nd and May 6th
Source:
Chris Rich
Learning about this music in the early 70s in greater Boston was, in retrospect, an unusual and happy coincidence for me. A friend handed me Volunteered Slavery from Rahsaan Roland Kirk and I was good to go. I got so much of my basic sense of the idiom from FM radio. It is important to note that FM back then was an exotic and mysterious thing for audiophiles and classical music. We were still mainly an AM top 40 culture ...
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Q&A: Kurt Elling
Source:
Jazz Online By Joseph Vella
I remember when Kurt Elling came onto the scene back in the 1990's and he really stood out. The sound of his voice, phrasing and repertoire was refreshing and unique. He's been steadily refining his craft and on his latest album The Gate, Kurt continues to raise the bar. This time we find him working through a not so obvious collection of pop tunes, intriguing originals and a beautiful jazz classic and he still stands out. He’s the real deal ...
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