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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Six from Ramsey Lewis
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, our video spotlight shines on the veteran pianist Ramsey Lewis, who's coming back to St. Louis to perform on Saturday, November 7 for the annual “ArtSounds" fundraiser at the Sheldon Concert Hall. (As with many of their fundraising events, the Sheldon also is offering a concert-only ticket option for those who just want to hear the music.) Lewis was here most recently in March of this year to play a private gig at the Ferring Jazz Bistro, and ...
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Bill Kirchner: Evening of Indigos
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Saxophonist Bill Kirchner was on a roll in 1993. He had studied with saxophonist Lee Konitz, pianist Harold Danko and arranger Mike Crotty. He was leading a nonet that recorded several albums. His arrangements had been recorded by Konitz, Dizzy Gillespie and Patti Austin. And he had annotated numerous projects for a range of major labels. But that year, Bill was diagnosed with a non-malignant but life-threatening tumor in his spinal cord. The tumor was removed after two major surgeries, ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: St. Louis Gypsy Jazz Festival
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
If you dig guitarist Django Reinhardt, you'll want to have a look at the bands and musicians performing in the first-ever St. Louis Gypsy Jazz Festival, which will take place this coming Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25 at Evangeline's. Organized by singer Eve Seltzer and her husband, guitarist Ben Wood, both of the band Franglais, the event will include three nights of evening performances and late-night jam sessions, with brunch-time shows added on Saturday and Sunday, all featuring ...
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Weekend Extra: Fuse Plays Brubeck
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Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
On Yahoo’s Dave Brubeck listserve, John Bolger called attention to an usual version of Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo ala Turk.” It is by the Dutch ensemble Fuse—five string players and a percussionist. According to the group’s website, like many young bands today they play in a variety of genres including pop, rock, classical and jazz. Among composers whose works they have recently performed are Brubeck, Bartok and Britney Spears. Here’s the Brubeck piece. Fuse is Mascha Van Nieuwkerk, cello; Adriaan Breunis, ...
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Early Nelson Riddle
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Arranger Nelson Riddle is most often associated with Frank Sinatra. Which makes sense, since Riddle scored a number of successful albums for Sinatra in the 1950s that sassed up the singer's swinging sound at Capitol. He did this with playful sectional riffs, unusual instrumental textures and bright solo tones added for punctuation. But where did Riddle's sound for Sinatra begin? Yesterday I took a look at Riddle's pre-Sinatra jazz discography for clues. Here's Riddle's first known recorded arrangement for Charlie ...
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Billy Eckstine and Vocal Groups
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Billy Eckstine was a sex symbol in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The vocalist's movie-star looks and seductive baritone earned him a prominent place in magazines and jukeboxes, leaving black and white girls with a terrible crush on him. All were smitten by the tenderness and understanding in Eckstine's butterscotch voice. Today, Eckstine and the crucial role he played in paving the way for R&B balladeers of the 1950s and beyond has been largely forgotten. Those who do remember ...
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Post-Parker String Dates
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The genius of Charlie Parker's studio recordings with strings in 1949, 1950 and 1952 for Norman Granz's Cleff label wasn't in the merging of jazz and fiddles. In Parker's case, that was something of a happy accident when he turned up at a Carnegie Hall recording session at the tail end of 1947 and asked to solo over Neal Hefti's Repetition. The real genius of Parker and strings is that he knew exactly what to do with them. Rather than ...
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