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Between Jazz and Rock 'N' Roll
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In the beginning, there was Fats Waller, whose successful stride piano and whimsical vocals set the tone for regional blues bands. By the mid-1940s following the first recording ban by the American Federation of Musicians, Decca had cornered the market for boogie-woogie revival artists like Lionel Hampton and Louis Jordan. In the late 1940s, the music became “jump blues" before becoming known in 1949 as rhythm and blues. By the 1955, when the music began to cross-over to white teens ...
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STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A Roscoe Mitchell Sampler
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
When multi-instrumentalist and composer Roscoe Mitchell performs with keyboardist Craig Taborn next Friday, December 5 at The Stage at KDHX, the concert sponsored by New Music Circle will be his first St. Louis appearance since the 1990s. After first gaining wide attention in the 1960s as a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musician, Mitchell has gone on to combine improvised music with more formal methods of composition, putting him ...
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Suddenly, It's the Hi-Lo's
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
As far as jazz-pop male vocal groups of the 1950s go, I always favored the Four Freshmen. Albums by the Hi-Lo's, their chief rivals, seemed a bit flat. Song choices on the Hi-Lo's early Columbia albums were often corny and stiffly arranged instrumentally by Frank Comstock, while vocal arrangements for the Four Freshmen's Capitol dates, many by Pete Rugolo, were crafty and swinging. But recently, my position on the Hi-Lo's has evolved, particularly after watching them on newly uploaded YouTubes. ...
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STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Cactus Truck Hitting Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center on Sunday, November 30
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Prickly and persistent, loud and as unsubtle as an 18-wheeler careening down a stretch of bad road at 70 miles an hour, the music of Cactus Truck certainly fits their name. Their balls-to-the-wall skronk also seems like an appropriate soundtrack for a state of emergency, either real or imagined, and so the upcoming visit by the Amsterdam-based trio on Sunday, November 30 to Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center seems rather timely. Comprised of saxophonist John Dikeman (who's originally from the USA, ...
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Videos: Jo Stafford
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
There was a time in the late-1940s and early '50s when Jo Stafford was America's most popular female singer, eventually matched only by Ella Fitzgerald. The maternal warmth of Stafford's voice, her soulful tones and her relaxed sense of swing made her a favorite of white and black audiences. With the advent of TV in the 1950s, Stafford was given a live show in 1954 and her grace and take-charge charm easily won over audiences. After listening yesterday to my ...
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STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Today, let's spend a little time with saxophonist Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet, who will be in St. Louis to play next Wednesday, November 19 through Saturday, November 22 at Jazz at the Bistro. Now based in Nashville, Coffin first gained wide attention in the 1990s as member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and in 2008 joined the Dave Matthews Band after the death of their original saxophonist Leroi Moore from injuries suffered in an ATV accident. The Mu'tet ...
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Videos: Horace Silver
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I wound up on a Horace Silver jag yesterday. While writing, I let Silver run on my iTunes and found myself marveling yet again at Silver's gospel-funk syncopation and the tight, bright Latin-influenced horn lines. Silver perfected the hard bop quintet, rivaled only by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. I thought I'd share a few videos with you: Here's Silver playing Song for My Father, which gives you a great view of his playing style. Bill Hardman on trumpet, ...
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Not the Miles Davis Nonet
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Picking up where we left off yesterday, 1949 was quite a remarkable year for jazz. The second American Federation of Musicians' ban ended in late '48, allowing record production to resume after nine months. The LP record was introduced by Columbia, RCA unveiled the 45, magnetic tape started to roll in recording studios, bebop was peaking, R&B was heating up and cool was the new brainy sound, with some jazz artists straddling all three genres. Just as jazz styles were ...
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