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Video: Monk in Berlin, 1969
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Forty-eight years ago this month, pianist Thelonious Monk appeared at the Berliner Jazztage festival, which when translated means Berlin Jazz Days and now is known as JazzFest Berlin. On solo piano, Monk played four Duke Ellington songs—Satin Doll, Sophisticated Lady, Caravan and Solitude followed by his Crepuscule With Nellie. Then on Blues for Duke, Monk was joined on piano by Joe Turner, Hans Rettenbacher on bass and Stu Martin on drums. Interestingly, Turner recorded for MPS soon after this concert. ...
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Count Basie: New Testament Band
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
The history of the Count Basie orchestra is generally divided into two broad periods—the Old Testament band, which lasted from 1935 to 1950, and the New Testament band, which lasted from 1952 until Basie's death in 1984. The former orchestra thrived in the 78 era and was marked by frantic riffs, the blues and a cavalcade of superstar soloists, including Lester Young, Jo Jones, Buck Clayton and Harry “Sweets" Edison, among others. By contrast, the latter band was more suited ...
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Bobby Scott: The City
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bobby Scott was a remarkable arranger, composer, multi-instrumentalist and singer. If you're unfamiliar with him, you certainly know his biggest pop hits in the 1960s: A Taste of Honey and He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. Before he topped the Billboard charts, Scott began his recording career on jazz piano for Savoy in 1953 at age 16. The following year, he was discovered by producer Creed Taylor, who recorded him between 1954 and '56 for Bethlehem and then ABC-Paramount. These ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Russell Gunn's Blackhawk Revisited
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Today, let's check out some videos featuring trumpeter and East St. Louis native Russell Gunn, who's bringing his “Blackhawk Revisited" project to St. Louis to perform starting next Wednesday, November 15 through Saturday, November 18 at Jazz at the Bistro. The word “Blackhawk" in this case refers not to the hockey team, the comic-book hero, or the helicopter, but to the Black Hawk nightclub in San Francisco where Miles Davis in 1961 recorded In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at ...
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Video: Mulligan in Rome, 1959
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
On July 19, 1959, baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan was on tour in Rome, performing at the Teatro Adriano. Joining him was trumpeter Art Farmer, bassist Bill Crow and drummer Dave Bailey. The performance was captured by Italian television and issued recently on DVD. Part of the concert was posted at YouTube about two weeks ago. The songs on the clip: As Catch Can; Moonlight in Vermont; Spring Is Sprung (with Mulligan on piano). Then the clip seems to repeat itself. ...
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Milt Buckner: Locked Hands
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Yesterday I posted on Go Power!, saxophonist Illinois Jacquet's 1966 album with Milt Buckner on organ and Alan Dawson on drums. In the post, I mentioned that Buckner had created the locked-hands technique on the piano keyboard. Unleashing this difficult approach requires that both hands play the same chords with the song's melody note up on top. Thrilling for the listener, challenging for the player. Buckner (above) began playing this way on the piano while with Lionel Hampton in the ...
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Illinois Jacquet: Go Power!
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
At the tail end of October, I devoted several posts to Wild Bill Davis, who I feel is the true father of the soul-jazz organ. Davis's superb taste, popular success and treatment of the instrument as a big band in the late 1940s and early '50s helped pave the way for all organists who followed. Coming in at No. 2 would have to be Milt Buckner, who began recording on piano with Lionel Hampton in 1946 and switched over to ...
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Chet Baker: Limelight Sessions
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In January 1964, trumpeter Chet Baker was arrested at the Blue Note in Berlin. Earlier, at a local pharmacy, he had foolishly tried to fill prescriptions for Jetrium from two different doctors—a sign of abuse or hoarding with an intent to sell. More commonly known as dextromoramide, Jetrium was a powerful opioid analgesic about three times as potent as morphine. After his arrest, Baker was confined to a sanitarium for just over a month. Rather than jail him the way ...
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