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Elizete Cardoso: Canção do Amor Demais
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Elizete Cardoso is widely considered the first popular bossa nova singer in Brazil. She started singing early and was discovered at age 16 in 1936, while her first recording was issued in 1950. Between 1950 and 1958, she recorded more than 35 singles and albums. Then in 1958, lyricist Vinicius de Moraes asked her to record an album of songs he wrote with Antonio Carlos Jobim. The result was Canção do Amor Demais. Though her voice tended to sound operatic ...
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Video: Quincy Jones Big Band in France
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Quincy Jones had a sterling jazz career in the 1950s arranging and conducting for top jazz recording artists. He also recorded with his own band. By 1959, Jones decided to invest in a touring production of Harold Arlen's jazz musical Free and Easy that used his arrangements for 18 musicians instead of a full orchestra. Free and Easy premiered in Amsterdam on December 7, 1959 and continued pre-opening performances in Brussels, Amsterdam again and Sweden in late 1959 and early ...
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Tony Scott's Centennial
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 17 was the 100th anniversary of Tony Scott's birth. The clarinetist, baritone saxophonist and arranger was born in New Jersey and attended Manhattan's Juilliard School of Music from 1940 to 1942. He began recording as a sideman in 1945 before leading his first band backing Sarah Vaughan in '46. He also played clubs with Charlie Parker in the late 1940s and backed Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Jackie Paris and other vocalists throughout the '50s. He also recorded extensively as ...
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Concert: McCoy Tyner in 2002
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Two musicians who arguably had the biggest impact on the jazz piano in the 1960s were Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner. They not only came from different backgrounds and experiences but also from different directions. Where Evans was lyrical, delicate and poetic, Tyner was percussive and stormy, using modal scales and chords to whip up drama and furiously rock the listener's boat. Here's Tyner in concert in 2002 with Bobby Hutcherson (vib), Stefano di Battista (as), Charnett Moffett (b) and ...
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Three New Stan Kenton Videos
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Cruising through YouTube yesterday, I noticed that three Stan Kenton Orchestra videos had gone up in recent weeks. The first was a short that was filmed in the spring of 1947 as a faux recording session for Capitol. In truth, the short was a showcase for five songs: . Artistry In Rhythm (the Kenton band's theme), Down in Chihuahua, Just a Sittin’ and a Rockin’, Concerto to End All Concertos and Tampico. The clip features Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, Chico ...
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Big 10 by Ben Webster
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
After yesterday's post, I decided to spend the day listening to Ben Webster. In his prime, Webster probably had the biggest sound of any tenor saxophonist. And on ballads, it sounded as if he was weeping through his instrument. Best of all, I love the puffs of air he let off in the spaces on ballads, like a huge truck or bus releasing its air brakes. Here's some of what I was digging yesterday: Here's Webster in Denmark in 1971 ...
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Frans Wieringa: Dutch Blues
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The last Dutch jazz pianist I turned you on to was Rob Madna. Today, I have another one for you: Frans Wieringa. As far as I can tell, he recorded five or so albums, two of them with Ben Webster in 1969. One with Webster was At Ease, recorded in Heemstede, Holland, in January on the Imperial label. The other was Blow, Ben Blow! for Prestige in October. Wieringa also recorded Jazz From Holland in 1968 on Dorplein,Well Organized Music/The ...
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Maria Creuza: Queen of Brazilian Ballads
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
As part of my ongoing series on great female Brazilian pop singers of the 1960s and '70s, I'm focusing today on Maria Creuza. In particular, I'm looking at the 10 or so albums she recorded for Brazilian RCA from 1973 to 1982. Born in 1944, Creuza's specialty were ballads about heartbreak, and she was Vinicius de Moraes' favorite interpreter of his songs. In fact, Creuza toured extensively worldwide with de Moraes and Toquinho. These RCA records are splendidly arranged with ...
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