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Gary Peacock: West Coast (1959-62)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bassist Gary Peacock, who died in September of 2020, was probably best known for Trio '64, his sole album in 1963 with Bill Evans, as well as his work with Albert Ayler, Paul Bley, Marc Copland and Keith Jarrett. But before Trio '64, Peacock spent several years in Los Angeles working as a sideman. On the West Coast, Peacock emerged as part of a school of conversationalist bassists who didn't just keep time but were expected to engage with a ...
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Video: Bill Evans in Barcelona
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
On November 28, 1979, two days after recording The Paris Concert live at Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris, Bill Evans was in Barcelona with his final trio—bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera. There, the trio performed for about 45 minutes at RTVE studios in the Esplugues de Llobregat section of the city. Your eyes don't deceive you. Evans wasn't playing the piano and drums. All three players wore the same sports jackets that night, and Joe was in the ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Six musicians to watch in 2021
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
As the new year begins, no one is sure exactly when live music will resume on a widespread, regular basis or when touring artists will be able to start traveling again. We can, however, still keep an eye and ear on some of the jazz artists who seem likely to be influential over the next 12 months. So let's take a look at some performances from six musicians who made news in the year just ended and are poised for ...
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Five Michel Legrand Duets
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
For some reason, I felt like hearing the music of Michel Legrand yesterday, but I couldn't figure out why. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that with snow falling here, the ending scene from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (above) were likely projecting on the walls of my mind. Movies aside, here are five fabulous duet performances with Michel Legrand... Here's Legrand and Tony Bennett in 1982... Here's Legrand and Kuh Ledesma, a wonderful Filipina pop ...
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Bill Evans at Ease Abroad
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Want to hear Bill Evans in his prime in five different venues? Dig this gorgeous Jazz Icons video that runs an hour and a half. First, here's the song lineup with four different rhythm sections... Sweden 1964—My Foolish Heart and Israel, with Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. France 1965—Detour Ahead and My Melancholy Baby with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and drummer Alan Dawson. Denmark 1970—Emily, Alfie and Someday My Prince Will Come, ...
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New Video: Bill Evans, 1975
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Two weeks ago, the following video went up at YouTube of Bill Evans and Eddie Gomez performing a 30-minute set in July 1975 at the Antibes/Juan-les-Pins Jazz Festival on the French Riviera. As you'll hear, Evans and Gomez sounded fantastic—clear, spry, poetic and with a swinging snap. What's more, the set was Nardis-free! The songs were Elsa, All Mine, I Love You, What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? and On Green Dolphin Street. Evans working with Gomez ...
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Basie and Ella Docs
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
There are dozens of documentaries on jazz but precious few about the private lives of great jazz musicians. Eagle Vision recently released two—Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes and Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things. In both cases, the use of footage, still images and interview subjects are compelling and the music is rich. While a bulk of the material in the films covers familiar ground, you'll likely discover a few things about these artists' private lives you may ...
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Attila Zoller and Don Friedman
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Attila Zoller is another guitarist who's fame has unfairly faded with time among jazz fans. Like guitarist Gabor Szabo, Zoller was a Hungarian refugee who escaped Soviet invasion. He found his way to Austria in 1948 and moved to the U.S. in 1959 to perform, record and teach. He also had enormous influence over the jazz fusion movement that would start in the late 1960s and flower in the '70s. Among his many fascinating avant-garde albums were three recorded with ...
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