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Backgrounder: Tina Brooks, 'Back to the Tracks'
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Tina wasn't his real name. When Harold Brooks was young, he was nicknamed Teeny, which at some point wound up as Teena and then Tina. Between 1958 and 1961, the tenor saxophonist recorded five hard bop albums for Blue Note as a leader. There were plenty of Blue Note sideman dates as well. Back to the Tracks was recorded in September and October 1960 but not released until 1998, when producer Michael Cuscuna found the tapes in the Blue Note ...
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Video: Bud Powell in Color
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
On July 13, 1960, pianist Bud Powell performed at the Antibes Jazz Festival on the French Riviera. His on-camera solo recording of Sweet and Lovely and Swing Napoli have been colorized, giving Powell and his playing a new, more vivid dimension. Two notes of interest. Powell didn't sit straight on a the piano but off to the side. He also rarely looked at the keyboard, which is remarkable. Here's Bud Powell in color in 1960... And here's Powell with Charles ...
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Backgrounder: Bobby Hackett, Memorable & Mellow
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In 1967 and '68, cornetist Bobby Hackett recorded a pair of gorgeous LPs with strings on the Project 3 Total Sound label—That Midnight Touch and A Time for Love. In 1979, both albums with sterling fidelity were released as a two-fer by Project 3 as The Memorable & Mellow Bobby Hackett. With the advent of the CD player in the 1980s, the double album was issued on CD in 1986. Now, in 2023, I'm providing these beautiful albums to you ...
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Fats Sadi: A Retrospective: 1953-1961
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Like trumpeter Harry James, Fats Sadi began his musical career in the company of clowns. The Belgian jazz musician played the xylophone in a touring circus before World War II. After the war, he took up the vibraphone and recorded as a sideman and as a leader. He could play swing and bop, and his earliest recordings in 1946 were with fellow Belgian standout, saxophonist and flutist Bobby Jaspar. In 1950, Sadi moved to Paris in search of work and ...
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Backgrounder: Mann and Rouse, Just Wailin'
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
On February 14, 1958, Bob Weinstock brought together a sextet to record for his New Jazz Records. Weinstock had founded New Jazz in 1949 as his first label just before launching Prestige later that year. Despite Prestige's success in the 1950s, Weinstock kept New Jazz alive for reasons that are unclear. He may have done so for tax-saving purposes or for jukebox distribution or just to have a label for jazz artists who wanted to take risks and try out ...
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Kenton: Marty Paich's 'Body and Soul'
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Yesterday, Jim Eigo sent along a link to an audio clip he received from Jeffrey Sultanof, who posted on the subject at his blog The Eclectic's Corner: About the Arts. The clip features the voice of arranger Marty Paich providing Stan Kenton with audio notes and direction for his commissioned arrangement of Body and Soul. Such a tape was made by an arranger when a bandleader requested the arrangement while on the road. The tape allowed the arranger to provide ...
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Turtle Bay Records Release Episode 2 Of 'On The Back Porch' Video Series Featuring Queen Esther
Source:
EMPKT PR
Turtle Bay Records, the vibrant jazz label known for discovering and showcasing some of the best jazz artists in NYC, has launched an exciting new video series called On the Back Porch. This series takes you behind the scenes and into the world of the most dynamic performers on the jazz scene today. The label has released the second installment of the series, featuring the incredible blues and Americana singer, Queen Esther. Hailing from Atlanta, GA and Charleston, SC, Queen ...
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Backgrounder: Gil Mellé's 1950s Blue Note Sessions
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Last week, following my post on guitarist Lou Mecca, I heard from many readers who were unfamiliar with Gil Mellé and wanted to hear more. The place to start with Mellé are his 1950s recordings for Blue Note. As a foootnote, his first—New Faces, New Sounds: Quintet/Sextet, a 10-inch album—was the first to be recorded on tape at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, N.J. In all, Mellé recorded five Blue Note albums between 1952 and 1956—New Faces, New Sounds: ...
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