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Jimmy Gourley: American in Paris
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Jazz guitarist Jimmy Gourley spent much of his career in France, creating the impression for many jazz fans that he was French. He wasn't. He was born in St. Louis and grew up a high school band mate of alto saxophonist Lee Konitz. After Gourley's father bought him a guitar, Gourley picked up the basics by playing along to the radio. Discharged from the Navy in 1946, Gourley met guitarist Jimmy Raney in Chicago. Hearing him play, Gourley decided he'd ...
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Helen Merrill and Bill Evans
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In February 1958, singer Helen Merrill recorded five tracks backed by Bill Evans, who was part of a superb quintet. The tracks would be their only studio recordings together. Evans would move on to the Miles Davis Quintet and Sextet that May and then form his own trio at year's end. Helen would spend 1958 and '59 recording jazz albums and touring before moving to Italy, where she'd spend the next four years. Helen and Evans were close friends. During ...
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10 tracks: Niehaus and Brass
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
With the recent passing of alto saxophonist and arranger-composer Lennie Niehaus, I spent yesterday listening to his Stan Kenton and sideman sessions and arrangements. During this period, Lennie used a wonderful device on up-tempo arrangements, opening with a heavy, dark riff and then cutting the cord and letting the song float into bright swing. On ballads, he used an effective inhale-exhale style that slowed the heart and captured the ear. Here are 10 brassy Lennie Niehaus arrangements: Here's one of ...
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Greek Legend Manolis Mikelis
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Today, jazz flourishes in Athens—or at least did before the virus lockdown. Many clubs dot the city, and gifted Greek jazz musicians perform there. Greek jazz greatness begins with a pianist whose name might be new to you—Manolis Mikelis. That's because Mikelis barely recorded, preferring to play live throughout Europe during his lifetime. Back in the 1950s, when the U.S. State Department began sending American jazz musicians on goodwill tours to the far reaches of the world, artists found an ...
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Norman Mapp: Nothin' But Soul
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Norman Mapp was one of the finest male jazz vocalists of the 1960s, topped only by Johnny Hartman. Leading jazz players in the late 1950s and '60s were hip to Mapp, but virtually everyone else drew a blank. Odds are you aren't familiar with him either or the one album he recorded—Jazz Ain't Nothin' But Soul. Recorded in March 1961 for Epic, the album featured Clark Terry (tp), Seldon Powell (ts and fl), Tommy Flanagan (p), George Duvivier or Peck ...
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Videos: Art Blakey Tour, the '60s
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In the 1960s, drummer and Jazz Messengers leader Art Blakey shifted with the times and gave hard bop a more political, pan-nationalism feel. The more the group toured, the more Blakey yearned to incorporate the rhythms and vibe of other cultures. Here are five clips that recently went up at YouTube illustrating Blakey's evolution: Here's 49 minutes of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in Tokyo... Here's Blakey in Paris in 1963 with Cedar Walton on piano... Here's Blakey in ...
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Dick Twardzik and Jay Migliori
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Boston had a heavy home-grown jazz scene in the 1940s and '50s. Top music schools were thee, a steady college demographic ensured a sophisticated club audience, and Boston was a major stop on the East Coast club touring circuit. Jazz musicians who benefited from the rich jazz activity were Serge Chaloff, Dick Wetmore, Charlie Mariano, Jaki Byard, Jimmy Woode, Varty Haroutunian, Boots Mussulli, Herb Pomeroy and others. Among the many jazz clubs in Boston back then was the Stable, in ...
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More Harry James in Hi-Fi
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Throughout the 1950s, Count Basie saw Harry James in his rear-view mirror. For James, Basie was an inspiration and a model on which to record. Their connection dated back to 1939, when James recorded Two O'Clock Jump, a trumpet-driven interpretation of Basie's popular One O'Clock Jump credited to Basie, James and Benny Goodman. The update became James's closing theme and an exercise in attempted one-upmanship. In 1952, when Basie formed his New Testament Band, a re-tooling of his dance band ...
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