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Video / DVD

Phineas Newborn Jr: 1962

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 26, 2016

Yesterday I was listening to the recordings of Phineas Newborn Jr. and was struck, yet again, at how remarkable a jazz pianist he was. His strength, poetic poise and, most of all, phrasing, were stunning. Born in Whiteville, Tenn., Newborn played often in Memphis with his father and other relatives in the late 1940s in an R&B band, but he shifted to jazz in the mid-1950s after being discovered by Count Basie. He recorded steadily as a leader and sideman ...

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Video / DVD

Dexter Gordon: Denmark, 1962

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 25, 2016

Let's hang in Scandinavia for another day this week. I want to show you a fabulous gig documentary made in 1962 for the German TV program, An Ort und Stelle: Jazz in Kopenhagen (or On the Scene: Jazz in Copenhagen). It featured Dexter Gordon (ts), Lars Gulin (bar), Sahib Shihab (fl/as), Harold Goldberg (p), Benny Nielsen (b) and drummer Alex Riel, who was in my Bill Evans post two days ago. The club scenes take place at Copenhagen's famed Jazzhus ...

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Video / DVD

Bill Evans: 'That Was Easy'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 23, 2016

On Oct. 28, 1966, pianist Bill Evans was in Oslo, Norway, to play a concert with his trio and to accompany jazz singer Monica Zetterlund. The Scandinavian tour must have been a short one, since he had been at New York's Village Vanguard a week earlier and was there again 13 days later. Joining Evans in Oslo was bassist Eddie Gomez, who had been with him since the spring, and Danish drummer Alex Riel. It's unclear why Riel was on ...

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Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Back to basics with The New Mastersounds

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
May 21, 2016

This week, let's check out some videos of the British funk/jazz quartet The New Mastersounds, who will be performing in St. Louis next Saturday, May 28 at The Bootleg at the Atomic Cowboy. Known for stripped-down funk in the vein of the Meters, Booker T and the MGs, and St. Louis' own Grant Green, The New Mastersounds- guitarist and bandleader Eddie Roberts, drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand, and keyboardist Joe Tatton- have played here a couple of times before ...

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Video / DVD

Gerry Mulligan: Three Videos

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 20, 2016

Video / DVD

Mulligan, Brubeck & Desmond

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 19, 2016

Let's stick with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan today. Yesterday, I came across a terrific video of All the Things You Are by the Dave Brubeck Trio in 1971 at the Newport Jazz Festival featuring Mulligan and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. Of course, Desmond had been a key member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet from the early 1950s up until 1967. As for Desmond, he and Mulligan recorded together frequently—in 1957 (Blues in Time), in 1962 (Two of a Mind) and ...

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Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The music of Rhys Chatham

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
May 14, 2016

Today, let's look at some videos featuring the music of Rhys Chatham, who's coming to St. Louis to perform a solo show on Sunday, May 22 at The Luminary. Chatham, who's 63 years old, is a composer, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist who's been a notable figure in American avant-garde and minimalist music for nearly five decades. Living in France since 1987, he tours only occasionally in the United States, lending his gig here next week an additional sense of importance. A ...

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Video / DVD

Jimmy McGriff: Late 1969

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 13, 2016

In the 1960s, organist Jimmy McGriff had a more pointed attack on the keyboard than many Hammond organists of the period. His playing was percussive and funky, with a heavy dose of the blues. McGriff was childhood friends with organ pioneer Jimmy Smith, and organist Richard “Groove" Holmes gave him lessons. He also studied at the Juilliard School of Music and with Smith and Milt Buckner among others. In the 1960s, McGriff became the house organist at clubs in Philadelphia, ...

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