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Backgrounder: Bill Evans in Rio, 1979
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bill Evans recorded a studio duet album only once—The Ivory Hunters (1959), when he and Bob Brookmeyer both played pianos. He also recorded multiple piano overdubs for Conversations With Myself (1963) and Further Conversations With Myself (1967). And then there was From Left to Right, on which he played two different keyboards—the piano and the Fender Rhodes electric piano. The only time he was recorded live playing a duet was in 1979, during his South American tour that included the ...
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Paul Horn: 'Night Tide' (1961)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Last week, Bill Kirchner sent along a gorgeous print of Night Tide (1961), a convoluted, miserably written psych thriller directed by Curtis Harrington. It co-stars Dennis Hopper, in his first lead role, and Linda Lawson. Filmed in 1960 and screened in 1961, the movie wasn't widely released until 1963, probably because the Navy first had to figure out what it was about. What's notable for readers is that flutist Paul Horn is featured in the opening scene at a club. ...
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Backgrounder: Bossa Nova Modern Quartet
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
By now I'm sure you've guessed that I have a sizable digital collection of rare Brazilian bossa nova albums from the early 1960s, when the new genre was at its peak. Collecting that period is one of my many obsessions. If I were to blindfold you and lead you into a used record store, where I placed your hands on albums in a bin of Brazilian LPs released between 1962 and 1966, you could pull out as many as you ...
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Oscar Pettiford: Gentle Art of Love
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Oscar Pettiford was one of jazz's most lyrical bassists and an exceptional composer. Among his finest pieces was The Gentle Art of Love, first recorded in June 1956. To give you a sense of how widely Pettiford was admired, here are the New York all-stars who was in his band for the session: Ernie Royal and Art Farmer (tp), Jimmy Cleveland (tb), Julius Watkins and David Amram (fhr), Gigi Gryce (as,arr), Lucky Thompson (ts,arr), Jerome Richardson (ts,fl), Danny Bank (bar), ...
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Bobby Cole: A Point of View
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Like Bobby Troup and Bobby Scott, Bobby Cole was a songwriter, arranger and lounge pianist-singer. But unlike the other two Bobbys, Bobby Cole is virtually unknown today. That's largely due to the year Cole came up, in 1960, and his decision to pass on recording opportunities with major labels because of the junk they wanted him to sing and their refusal to let him record songs he wrote. In retrospect, Cole was right. [Photo above of Bobby Cole] Want proof? ...
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Backgrounder: Leon Spencer's 'Louisiana Slim'
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Leon Spencer Jr. was and remains my favorite organist. In the early 1970s, he was part of Prestige's stable of soul-jazz musicians who recorded relentlessly as leaders and sidemen on other artists' albums. One of my first albums purchased, in 1971, was Spencer's Louisiana Slim. Backing Spencer were Virgil Jones (tb) Grover Washington, Jr. (ts, flute), Melvin Sparks (g) Idris Muhammad (d) and Buddy Caldwell (congas)—the classic Prestige lineup at the time. Bob Porter produced and the engineer was Rudy ...
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Six Bands That Swing Hard
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Once upon a time in America, big bands could swing their tails off. Count Basie was the gold standard, but there were many lesser-known bands in the 1950s that could rock the house. In some cases, they were studio bands assembled just to record one album. In other cases, they were touring working bands making a stop in the studio. Top musicians loved getting the call for these sessions, since the work reminded them of their big band days and ...
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Videos: Al Green Live in Concert
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
When it comes to stage performers who could really get an audience going, names such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis come to mind. Al Green should be on that list, too. In his prime and even years after his hit records, the Reverend Green could whip up any size audience and leave them wanting more. I've seen him in concert and I had the good fortune in 2012 to interview ...
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