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Documentary: Bert Joris and A Song Is Born
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bert Joris is a Belgian trumpeter and flugelhornist with a beautiful tone who has been recording since 1978. Let me give you a taste. In 1987, Bert recorded with legendary Belgian vibraphonist Fats Sadi on a spectacular album called Sadi's Nonet. If you dig Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool, you'll love this album. Here's Thanks a Million... Recently, Jef Somers in Belgium sent along a link to a 48-minute documentary on Bert. It's directed by Jef's brother, Steven Somers, ...
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Julie London Turns Winter to Summer
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
JazzWax readers know I traditionally feature Julie London on Christmas Day, but today I wanted to take a beat to let you know what a great singer she is any time of year. To me, London is a consummate jazz singer—from her tone to her phrasing. Like Anita O'Day, London had an understated hipness built into her delivery along with a dry airiness that all but eliminated any trace of vibrato. I also love that she never quite fit in, ...
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The Henry Glover Story, 1947-1961
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Henry Glover is all but forgotten today, but back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he was one of the most significant executives in R&B recording. After Syd Nathan founded King Records in Cincinnati in 1943, the label began recording roots country artists, what the trade publications used to call “hillbilly music." But by 1946, it was clear to Nathan what type of music was going to pay the bills. With the vast migration of black Americans from the ...
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100 Years of Max Roach
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Max Roach's birth date could easily be a time signature played by the drummer. Though his birth certificate listed his arrival as January 10, 1924, he told radio historian Phil Schapp that his parents said he was born on January 8. As a result, his birth date is typically given as January 8/10. Last week was his centenary. Roach would become the first jazz drummer to fully exploit bebop's speed, freedom and form. While keeping time, he'd often drop in ...
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Backgrounder: John Carisi's Show Boat
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
John Carisi was a self-taught and highly proficient East Coast trumpeter who played in Herbie Fields's Orchestra from 1938 to 1943. After enlisting or being inducted into the military during World War II, he was recruited for Glenn Miller's prestigious Army Air Force Band. After the war, Carisi was a member of multiple leading bands, arranged for others and studied with composer Stefan Wolpe. Carisi worked as a freelance arranger in the 1950s and went on to teach in the ...
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Backgrounder: Sidney Bechet/Martial Solal
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet was one of jazz's most complex giants. Born in New Orleans in 1897, four years earlier than Louis Armstrong, Bechet made his first recordings in early 1920, three years before the trumpeter. Unfortunately, these recordings were never issued. His first released recordings, for Okeh, came out the same year as Armstrong's earliest 78s, in 1923. The following year Bechet was with Duke Ellington, and his clarinet-like approach on the soprano sax influenced Ellington's vision for his ...
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Martial Solal Trio Recordings, 1953-1962
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Martial Solal was born in Algiers in 1927, when the city was part of what was known then as French Algeria. At 6, he began taking piano lessons and for years played classical pieces. Then he discovered the extraordinary recordings of Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum, and turned to jazz. Solal moved to Paris in 1950 and played with a variety of bands and combos. In April 1953, he recorded with Django Reinhardt on what would be the guitarist's last ...
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Paul Smith: Swinging Elegance
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In the late 1940s and 1950s, few pianists moved as effortlessly and deftly between jazz and pop as pianist Paul Smith. Instrumental pop, as a genre, came into its own after 1948, with the advent of the 10-inch LP. Pop back then still had plenty of swing but was really jazz-light—easy-going music that had a bit of a kick but didn't venture too far off a familiar song's melody. Pop as a lucrative record-company division emerged then when record buyers ...
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