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Tony Bennett Sings for Madison Ave.
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Like many vocal stars eager to supplement their income and remain visible, Tony Bennett did his fair share of TV and print ads for a wide range of products. Here are a bunch of TV commercials, as well as two rare ones from my archives that were given to me by friends: Here's Tony for Rheingold Beer, popular in the Northesast in the 1950s and '60s... Here's Tony for Visa Checkcard in 1998... Here's one featuring Tony for Japan's Tanaka ...
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Video Clips: Rita Payés Plays and Sings
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Born in 1999 in Vilassar de Mar, a seaside suburb just north of Barcelona, Spain, Rita Payés grew up with musician parents and played piano and guitar and sang. She started her music studies at the School of Music in Premià de Mar and, at age 8, she attended the School of Modern Music in Badalona. There, she studied trombone with David Sanabria and Joan Palacio. In 2017 she joined the esteemed Sant Andreu Jazz Band led by bassist and ...
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Backgrounder: Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of the finest jazz flute albums is Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds (and the followup, At the Cinema). Recorded in Los Angeles in March 1958, the album for EmArcy was arranged mostly by Pete Rugolo and featured Buddy Collette and Paul Horn (fl); Harry Klee (pic,fl); Shank (pic,fl); Bill Miller (p); Joe Comfort (b) and Bill Richmond (d,cga). All compositions are by Buddy Collette (above) except as indicated: Pony Tale (Paul Horn) Machito (Pete Rugolo) Short Story Flute Diet Improvisation ...
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Johnny Dankworth: What the Dickens!
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of Britain's finest jazz musicians, arrangers and composers was Johnny Dankworth. The alto saxophonist and big band leader was best known here as the husband of singer Cleo Laine. The pair married in 1958 and made the rounds of variety shows for years. But Dankworth was a giant in his own right and one of the U.K.'s most inventive arranger-composers. His recording career began in 1944 and by the late 1940s he was recording bebop. Once the 12-inch LP ...
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Backgrounder: Vic Lewis - Plays Bossa Nova
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Vic Lewis was a British jazz guitarist and bandleader with enormous taste and ease. In 1963, he recorded a superb album entitled Vic Lewis Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away (CSD). The first side was recorded in London in February and the second side was recorded in Hollywood in January. What's remarkable about this album are the musicians brought in for the dates. In both the London and Hollywood sessions, we're talking about the very upper tier of studio ...
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Jon Eardley: Horn A-Plenty
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Yesterday I posted on a new Chet Baker streaming album with flugelhornist Jon Eardley and alto saxophonist Bob Mover. Many of you asked about Eardley, so today, let's give a look and listen. His pointed, crisp style and moody feel on ballads was favored by a long list of top jazz leaders, most notably Gerry Mulligan, who featured him in his quartet and sextet in the mid-1950s. Eardley was born in Altoona, Pa., in 1930. Inspired by his father, a ...
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Chet Baker and Jon Eardley in Cologne
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
On May 21 and 23 of 1981, trumpeter Chet Baker performed at the Salt Peanuts Club in Cologne, Germany. Backing him were Jon Eardley (fhrn), Bob Mover (as), Dennis Luxion (p), Rocky Knauer (b) and Burkhart Ruckert (d, only on the first three tracks). Now Germany's Circle Records has released a streaming remaster of the performance on 'Round Midnight: Chet Baker Live in Cologne, culled from the gigs. Mark Wingfield did an incredible job on the remastering. Rudolf Kreis, who ...
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