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Video / DVD

Video: Milt Jackson, 1984

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 9, 2020

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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Video / DVD

Zoot Sims: Sweden, 1984

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 7, 2020

In November 1984, four months before tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims died at age 60, he performed at the library in the Sonet Records building in Lidingö, Sweden. Sims was backed by bassist Red Mitchell and guitarist Rune Gustafsson. They performed for nearly an hour, playing In a Sentimental Mood, Gone With the Wind, Castle Blues, Sweet Lorraine, 'Tis Autumn and Autumn Leaves. Zoot also was interviewed by Smith, and the results were used in between takes. Here's Zoot Sims in ...

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Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A David Sanborn retrospective

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
April 6, 2020

With no upcoming live shows to preview during the ongoing big shutdown, the last two installments of this weekly feature have spotlighted two of St. Louis' most famous jazz musicians, trumpeters Clark Terry and Miles Davis. This week, we're going for a trifecta of sorts, with a collection of clips looking back at various phases in the storied career of another local favorite, alto saxophonist David Sanborn. Each video is a full show featuring Sanborn with a different lineup of ...

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Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Miles Davis - Live in Copenhagen 1969

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 29, 2020

This week, let's take a look at some vintage performance videos of Miles Davis that recently became available online for the first time. Recorded in November, 1969 at the Tivoli Koncertsal in Copenhagen, Denmark, the videos feature Davis on trumpet along with Wayne Shorter on saxophones, Chick Corea on keyboards, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. This group has been referred to as Miles' “Lost Quintet," as the lineup was relatively short-lived and never made a studio ...

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Video / DVD

Thad Jones: Rehearsal Session

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 27, 2020

In February 1977 (I'm guessing), Thad Jones was rehearsing his orchestra in preparation for a performance with Dexter Gordon as guest soloist. I've narrowed the year to '77 because Gordon returned to the U.S. in 1976 and signed with Columbia and Jones left for Denmark abruptly in 1979. Gordon's famed Homecoming recording was in December '76. Since it's clear from the following video that the date was his birthday, I've narrowed the day to February 27, 1977. Last year, a ...

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Video / DVD

Videos: Art Farmer in the '60s

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 26, 2020

If we're evaluating jazz musicians on tone alone, Art Farmer was perhaps the prettiest trumpeter and flugelhornist to emerge in the 1950s. Distinguished by a warm, orchestral sound on his horn, Farmer was equally lyrical and spry as a composer and sideman. Virtually everything he played was elegantly seductive and touched your heart. If all he recorded was Work of Art in 1953, Wisteria and Soft Shoe in '54 and Farmer's Market in '56, he'd be remarkable. Here are five ...

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Video / DVD

Videos: Dexter Gordon

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 25, 2020

Yesterday I found myself listening to quite a bit of Dexter Gordon's Blue Note recordings in the 1960s. The cutting edge of his tenor saxophone and mournful quality of his blues sounded just right for the housebound. Here are four videos plus a bonus: Here's Dexter Gordon playing Tadd Dameron's Lady Bird in Belgium in 1964, with pianist George Gruntz, bassist Guy Pedersen and drummer Daniel Humair... Here's Oscar Peterson and Gordon playing You Stepped Out of a Dream in ...

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Video / DVD

Videos: Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 24, 2020

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was one of the purest and most fascinating jazz artists and composers of the post-war period. Blind from birth, he was a soulful and experimental and romantic multi-instrumentalist who defied his own physical limitations to become the very essence of jazz in all its free but gifted glory. Here are five clips of Kirk in action... Here's Kirk playing Stevie Wonder's My Cherie Amour in Paris in 1972... Here's Making Love After Hours in 1967, with pianist ...

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