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Paul Bley: Early Trios
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Pianist Paul Bley is often thought of today as a free-jazz trailblazer and avatar of the avant-garde. But in the beginning, in the early 1950s, Bley was a swinging modernist, leaning heavily on bop. Bley led a trio in New York and recorded three albums—Introducing Paul Bley (Debut), Autobiography in Jazz (Debut) and Paul Bley (Emarcy). The two 10-inch albums for Charles Mingus's Debut label were recorded in November 1953 and featured Bley (p), Mingus (b) and Art Blakey (d). ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The BAG legacy, part 3
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, StLJN's look at music from former members of the Black Artists Group (BAG) continues with some videos featuring the sounds of trumpeter Baikida Carroll and multi-instrumentalist J.D. Parran. You can see part one, featuring videos of BAG-related ensembles the World Saxophone Quartet, Clarinet Family and more, plus some links to background info, here. Part two, with music from saxophonists Oliver Lake and Hamiet Bluiett, is here. Like Lake and Bluiett, both Carroll and Parran have enjoyed diverse and ...
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Sonny Greenwich in 10 Clips
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Yesterday I received an email from Bob Miller in Canada. In his note, he mentioned Sonny Greenwich, a guitarist who is little-known in the U.S. but a favorite among musicians north of the border. Canada, of course, has produced its share of great jazz musicians, including Greenwich, multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson, saxophonist Moe Koffman, pianist Oscar Peterson and guitarists Lenny Breau and Ed Bickert, plus dozens of others. Today I'm showcasing Greenwich, whose style has always been distinct and whose edgy ...
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Chuck Israels and Alec Katz
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bassist Chuck Israels and I have become fast pen pals. Every since my interview with Chuck in 2019 (here), he sends along wonderful notes with insights into the historic subjects of my posts. I share many of them with you. Recently, Chuck sent along a thrilling album featuring his trio live at a club in Tel Aviv. The album features pianist Alec Katz and drummer Yonatan Rosen. If you're unfamiliar with Katz, he's a gloriously sensitive player with swing. Chuck ...
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Lenny Breau and Brad Terry
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Back in October 1978, guitarist Lenny Breau and clarinetist Brad Terry found themselves in the living room of Terry's mother's farmhouse in Maine. A tape recorder was there as well. Breau and Terry decided to record several songs. Both musicians were so proficient, the results sounded as if they had rehearsed in advance of the farmhouse session. In fact, they didn't. Over a series of visits by Breau to the house, the pair completed 23 tracks in the living room ...
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Chet Baker: Sweden, 1985
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
On June 30, 1985, Chet Baker performed in the library of Sonet Records in Lidingö, Sweden, backed by French pianist Michael Graillier and Belgian bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse. As with the Zoot Sims video posted earlier, Red Mitchell conducted an interview that was interspersed between songs. [Photo above of Chet Baker courtesy of YouTube] Chet played the following songs and sang on some of them: Candy, Love For Sale, Tempus Fugue-It, Sad Walk, Red’s Blues, Nardis, Bye Bye Blackbird and My ...
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Video: Milt Jackson, 1984
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Vibraphonist Milt Jackson's earliest recordings were accompanying Dinah Washington on her first releases on Apollo Records in Los Angeles in 1945. He also was among the first to perform bop with Dizzy Gillespie's Rebop Six in December '45 (Groovin' High) and with Gillespie's big band of 1946. Through the years, he recorded with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and many other important artists in the early 1950s. And he pioneered chamber jazz as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, starting ...
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