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Backgrounder: Marge Dodson - Lovely Way to Live
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Vocalist Marge Dodson recorded just three albums. Her first two for Columbia were straightforward songbook efforts: In the Still of the Night (1959) and New Voice in Town (1960). But the third, for Decca, was way more interesting and so 1960s! A Lovely Way to Live (February 1968) was swinging, brash and groovy, from the psychedelic cover art to the arrangements by Dave Blume, who also conducted and composed a few of the songs. The album was produced by Dick ...
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Who Was George Adams?
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The reason you may not be familiar with George Adams or his music is that much of it was recorded in Italy. Born in Covington, Ga., in 1940, the tenor saxophonist and flutist did most of his recording as a leader or co-leader in a range of Italian studios. Adams is probably best known for his work with Charles Mingus, including his terrific solos on Changes One and Changes Two, both released in 1975. His finest work was co-leading a ...
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John Cameron: Off Centre (1969)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
John Cameron has had some career. The British jazz pianist, arranger and composer of film, TV and stages scores came up at the height of Swinging London in the mid-1960s. He had been playing piano professionally since age 14 in his hometown of Croydon and he attended Cambridge University. One of his first pop jobs was arranging Donovan's Sunshine Superman on the album of the same name and the hit single in 1966. John brought in a range of jazz ...
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Backgrounder: Grant Green and Sonny Clark
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Throughout jazz history, there have been magical pairings of musicians in recording studios. Sometimes the union was established jointly by the two musicians. At other times, producers brought them together. These couplings include Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden, Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Shirley Scott and Stanley Turrentine, Sonny Stitt and Don Patterson, and Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams. Add to the list guitarist Grant Green and pianist Sonny Clark. ...
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Six YouTube Clips: Terry Gibbs
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I love Terry Gibbs. Like Shorty Rogers, Chubby Jackson, Teddy Charles and so many other jazz players, Terry had and still has wild, enthusiastic energy. And given that it rained in New York for two days and expected to return again tomorrow and Friday, what better way to perk up than with music by Terry. I'm betting that many of you have never heard or seen the following clips of Terry before: Here's one of several albums made by Terry ...
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Perfection: Sonny Stitt - Goin' Down Slow
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Today, I'm serving up two tracks for this week's Perfection entry, because as anyone who bought Sonny Stitt's LP Goin' Down Slow in 1972 knows, it's impossible to listen to the first without the second. The two featured tracks are Stitt's Miss Ann, Lisa, Sue and Sadie and Where Is Love by Lionel Bart from Oliver! The songs were recorded by Stitt in February 1972. Produced by Ozzie Cadena for Prestige, the first song featured Thad Jones (tp), Sonny Stitt (as), ...
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Backgrounder: Sonny Rollins - Alfie (1966)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
No album better reflects Sonny Rollins's personality than his Alfie: Original Music From the Score, arranged by Oliver Nelson. Recorded in New York in January 1966, the original music has his energy, passion, tenderness and his melancholy in one fell swoop. It's all very mid-1960s. To learn more about the recording, consult my two-part post on The Making of Alfie, from 2010. The first part was devoted to the popular song by Hal David and Burt Bacharach and the second ...
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