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Georgie Auld: To the Losers
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The last time I wrote about an exceptional tribute album to Frank Sinatra by a jazz artist was in January. The album was Oscar Peterson's A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra, recorded in May 1959. Now I want to hip you to another gem. It's Here's to the Losers, a glorious little-known album by tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld and produced by Jack Tracy for Philips Records in July 1963. While Sinatra isn't named on the cover or the liner notes, ...
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Oscar Peterson: Hello Herbie
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Oscar Peterson first heard guitarist Herb Ellis in the spring of 1953. Ellis was playing at a club in Buffalo, N.Y., with the Soft Winds, a trio featuring Ellis, Johnny Frigo doubling on bass and violin, and Lou Carter on piano. Peterson and Ellis met briefly between sets, and the pianist filed away Ellis's name. And it's a good thing he did. That summer, tired of relentless touring, guitarist Barney Kessel, left the Oscar Peterson Trio to take on a ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on The Baylor Project
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, StLJN's video spotlight shines on The Baylor Project, who will be making their St. Louis debut starting next Wednesday, March 28 through Saturday, March 31 at Jazz at the Bistro. Fronted by singer Jean Baylor and drummer Marcus Baylor, her husband and a native of the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, they released their first album The Baylor Project (The Journey) in 2017 and were nominated for Grammy Awards this year in the categories of Best Jazz Vocal ...
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Six Videos of Hal McKusick
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Before he died in 2012 at 87, Hal McKusick was one of JazzWax's biggest fans and a dear friend. We spoke almost weekly about historical jazz events and recordings sessions Hal was on. Many of our conversations were captured in my JazzWax posts. Hal was an educator and always available, and he was loaded with stories and insights. Naturally, his passing was devastating. His encouragement was fantastic and his cool and phrasing were entertaining in and of itself. Hal was ...
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Jazz West: Lighthouse All-Stars
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
To fully understand the romance of West Coast jazz of the early 1950s, you have to walk the beaches of Hermosa, Huntington, Leguna and Redondo in California. I did that in the 1980s with a Walkman. As I walked the sand in tan Converse sneakers, I listened to home-made cassettes of Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Stan Kenton and Johnny Richards, among others. Only then did I realize how much Pacific Ocean in the music along with the air, the salty ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Victor Wooten Trio's Trypnotyx
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Today, let's check out some videos of the Victor Wooten Trio, who are coming to St. Louis to perform Tuesday, March 27 at the Old Rock House. Featuring Wooten on bass, Dennis Chambers on drums, and Bob Franceschini on tenor sax, the group is touring in support of their latest album Trypnotyx, which was released last September. The album feature 14 tracks of original material, with Wooten and Franceschini augmenting their instruments with various electronics to expand the sound, plus ...
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Five Videos: John Coltrane
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Listening to John Coltrane, it's hard not to become transfixed by his saxophone. His music is muscular, intellectual, earthy and heroic, with each musician in Coltrane's groups bringing the highest level of thinking and expression to each performance. Here are five live clips of Coltrane in action: Here's Coltrane (ts), Eric Dolphy (as), McCoy Tyner (p), Jimmy Garrison (b) and Elvin Jones (d) playing Coltrane's Impressions... Here's Coltrane (ts), Tyner (p), Garrison (b) and Jones (d) playing Coltrane's Alabama on ...
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Justin Hinds: Jamaican Groove
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Though Jamaican pop was recorded in English, most Americans know very little about the history of the country's music, its artists or hits. Interestingly, Jamaican rhythms are hardly foreign to American ears. For example, the following U.S. hits were powered by Jamaican rhythms: Millie Small's My Boy Lollipop, Johnny Nash's Hold Me Tight, the Beatles' Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Eric Clapton's cover of I Shot the Sheriff, Blondie's cover of The Tide Is High, the Clash's Guns of Brixton and the Police's ...
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