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Video: Bill Evans, Seattle 1978
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
One night in Seattle, pianist Bill Evans had dinner with dancer Bill Evans. The dancer, at the time, was prominent in the Northwest and was making a name for his dance company nationwide. He first danced professionally in 1966 and formed the Bill Evans Solo Dance Repertory in 1970. Four years later he formed the Bill Evans Dance Co. Over the course of his career, he choreographed more than 250 works, a number of which with jazz musicians. Two of ...
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New Video: David Oquendo
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Today you're in for a treat. Cuba's filin movement began in the late 1940s and lasted into the 1960s. It was a particular way of singing a ballad so that it sounded extra romantic and passionate, what we'd call crooning. Filin (pronounced FEEL-in) came out of the steamy bolero and canción and the 19th century trova, short for trovadors or troubadours—traveling artists who sang ballads and accompanied themselves on guitar. Today, David Oquendo is one of the finest singers of ...
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New Videos: Dave Pell Octet
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Between 1943 and 1947, tenor saxophonist Dave Pell started out recording with big bands led by Bobby Sherwood, Tony Pastor and Bob Crosby. Then in late '47, he joined the Les Brown Orchestra, where he remained until 1955. In '53, Dave began recording with an octet he formed made up of Brown bandmates. Here's what Dave told me about the formation of the octet when I interviewed him in 2009: JazzWax: What caused the shift to smaller jazz groups? New ...
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Sonny Stitt and Oscar Peterson
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I love Oscar Peterson's playing. I'm just never crazy about his tempos. As the leader on recording sessions with his trio or quartet, Peterson tended to take songs excruciatingly slow or erratically fast. I'm not sure why Verve and Pablo producer Norman Granz never bothered to mention this to him over a dinner or from the studio control booth. Only a handful of Peterson leadership albums are just right throughout. A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra (1959), West Side Story ...
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Bill Evans in Rochester, N.Y., 1977
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Over the weekend, pianist Dave Thompson sent along a link to a recently uploaded, hour-long video of the Bill Evans Trio in concert in 1977. While the person who uploaded it thought the performance took place in Boston, it actually was held at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, N.Y. Based on my additional research, Evans performed there twice—on Friday, April 8, 1977, at 8 p.m. (tickets were $4, or $2 for students and seniors) and again on Tuesday, April 12. ...
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Pharoah Sanders: Promises
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Even when Pharoah Sanders plays up-tempo, he sounds as if he's playing a ballad. That's because the tenor saxophonist, known for his deeply spiritual approach, is always in a meditative state when creating. Sanders began playing jazz in 1961, when he moved to New York from Oakland, Calif. Born Farrell Sanders in Little Rock, Ark., he was urged in New York to use the name Pharoah instead of Ferrell by Sun Ra. Sanders followed the orchestra leader's advice and promptly ...
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