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José Feliciano in 10 Tracks
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
About 80% of José Feliciano's music was recorded in Spanish. The 20% that's in English were pop covers that he routinely aced. His version of the Doors' Light My Fire reached No. 3 on Billboard's pop chart in 1968 (the Doors' hit No. 1 in '67) and is arguably on par with the original. And José's version of Stevie Wonder's Golden Lady in 1975 was a dance hit. [Photo above of José Feliciano courtesy of YouTube] It's Friday, so here ...
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Kenny Baker: Blowin' Up a Storm
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Looking up at the sky at night, I've often wondered whether there's another us out there in a parallel universe. You know, like on the Twilight Zone or in science fiction novels. A world where there are people who look and sound like us but have had different outcomes and made different contributions. When it comes to jazz, America's parallel universe is the U.K. When I listen to British jazz artists such as Tubby Hayes, Johnny Birch, Ronnie Scott, Harold ...
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Bill Evans: Munch Museum, 1966
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
I'm convinced that if we're going to get through the coronavirus pandemic together, it will be because of Bill Evans. The hope and humanity in his playing instills a sense that one day this will be over and we will resume our lives as they were meant to be lived, enjoying each other up close, food, travel, live performances and all of the things that make life special. Today, a video of Bill Evans performing in Oslo, Norway, at the ...
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10 Latin Albums for the Heat
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
When the temperature closes in on 95, as it did yesterday in New York, I put on Latin music. Growing up without air conditioning in Manhattan's Washington Heights in the 1960s, heat meant the thumping beat of a big square electric fan, a wash cloth, and boogaloo and early salsa. You could hear the music walking down Broadway, especially from 158th to 175th streets. Over the years, I've collected quite a bit of Latin music with the guidance of friends ...
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Bill Evans: Metropole Orkest, '78
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
On May 9, 1978, Bill Evans was in the Netherlands to play on the Dutch TV program Music Gallery with the Metropole Orkest. The piece was Gabriel Fauré's Pavane, arranged by Claus Ogerman. Pavane was the only work recorded by Bill with the orchestra that evening. According to pianist Dave Thompson, who sent along the following video link and research notes from Fred Dekker, project manager of the Metropole Orkest: 75 Years in Perspective series, Evans first recorded Pavane in ...
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Johnny Mandel in 20 Tracks
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Yesterday, I posted my complete 2008 interview with Johnny Mandel. But what did his music sound like over the decades and what made him so special? Here are my 20 favorite arrangements by Johnny, starting in 1944: Here's Johnny's arrangement of Magic Is the Moonlight for Boyd Raeburn in 1944... Here's Johnny's arrangement of his Krazy Kat for Artie Shaw in 1949... Here's Johnny's arrangement of his Innuendo for Shaw in '49... Here's Johnny's arrangement of Not Really the Blues ...
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Ray Crawford: Smooth Groove
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In October 1960, Gil Evans took a large band into the Jazz Gallery, a New York club that had opened earlier in the year at 80 St. Marks Place. It would be a six-week run, culminating in Evans's November recording of Out of the Cool, one of the first four albums released by Creed Taylor for his new Impulse! Records. Playing guitar in the Evans band at the club and on the album was Ray Crawford. Crawford had played in ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: We Insist! - Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, let's take a look back at an extended jazz composition of historical importance that, unfortunately, remains topical 60 years after its premiere. We Insist: Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite is the title of a 1960 album by drummer Max Roach, featuring a five-part work composed by Roach with singer and lyricist Oscar Brown Jr. Considered a significant work of protest during the Civil Rights era, the “Freedom Now Suite" reflects two important trends of its time: the continuing ...
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