Home » Jazz News
Video / DVD News
Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, concert series, special events, job postings, crowdfunding campaigns and more. You can find more news by searching our website, viewing our news stream, seeing what's trending or reading our blog posts. Subscribe to our news RSS feed and/or embed AAJ news content on your website or blog. Learn about our news service here. Submit news here.
John Jenkins & Kenny Burrell
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Alto saxophonist John Jenkins never recorded a bad album—as a leader or a sideman. When you hear him, the first person you think of is Jackie McLean. Both had an urgent, insistent edge, particularly on the saxophone's upper register. Remarkably, Jenkins recorded just 11 albums, only three of which were leadership dates. Given how special Jenkins was, his studio output was shockingly scant. My favorite of the three leadership albums is John Jenkins With Kenny Burrell. Recorded for Blue Note ...
Continue Reading
New Duke Ellington Videos
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Yesterday, I was craving Duke. You know how it is. You find yourself in the mood for Ellington's earthy compositions, elegant arrangements, crisp horns, mournful trombones and mink-like reeds, and you have to hear it. So you listen to his Blanton-Webster band of the early 1940s and the Gonsalves-Terry band of the early '50s and beyond, and suddenly you feel alive in a different way. A day of Ellington inspired me to share five recently posted YouTube clips of the ...
Continue Reading
StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Christian Sands & "Remembering Erroll Garner"
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
It's been a good winter for St. Louis fans of jazz piano. We've got three top-shelf pianists performing here in as many weeks, starting last night with Matthew Shipp at the 560 Music Center; continuing next week with Aaron Diehl at the same venue; and then Christian Sands, who will be performing a program titled “Remembering Erroll Garner" on Saturday, February 8 at The Sheldon Erroll Garner was a major star in jazz from the 1940s until his death at ...
Continue Reading
Bob Freedman: Jazz Themes
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bob Freedman was a wonderful arranger and ardent JazzWax reader. His finest arrangement was And We Listened for Maynard Ferguson's A Message From Newport (1958). He finest album was the little-known Jazz Themes From Anatomy of a Murder. The album was recorded at Boston's Ace Studios for the Coronet label in 1959—the same year Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder film opened and Duke Ellington's soundtrack recording was released. Bob assembled a top-notch local band for the session: Herb Pomeroy, ...
Continue Reading
Jimmy Heath in 10 Tracks
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
The late Jimmy Heath had a crisp and deliberate sound on his tenor saxophone. His solos and double-and triple timing were fluid, seemingly effortless and never short on ideas. His soprano saxophone was insistent and his flute was divine. His compositions were melodic and sophisticated, and his arrangements were engaging, always taking the listener's short attention span into consideration. Though his name isn't generally thought of in the same breath as Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Hank Mobley and Stan Getz, ...
Continue Reading
StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: In the tradition with Aaron Diehl
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring pianist Aaron Diehl, who's coming to St. Louis to perform on Friday, January 31 at the 560 Music Center. The event is a solo piano recital presented by Washington University as its “Annual Carlin Concert," honoring the legacy of Seth Carlin, the internationally renowned pianist who taught at Wash U for 37 years. Carlin was a classical pianist who also enjoyed listening to jazz, and so in keeping with the ...
Continue Reading
Hoagy Sings Carmichael
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Hoagy Sings Carmichael has been called many things. I used to refer to the album as a recording by an aging songwriter singing his own songs in the shower. Others have likened Carmichael's voice to something on a fence you throw shoes at to get it to stop. Or a saloon-song album sung by swinging doors that need oiling. All funny and unfair. Carmichael's voice on the album may sound rusty and off-kilter, but he's still the guy who wrote ...
Continue Reading
Hank Mobley: Blue Note, 1963-70
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Between 1963 and 1970, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded 12 albums' worth of hard bop. Seven were released by Blue Note during this period, while the rest wound up sidelined in the vaults. When discovered in the CD era by producer Michael Cuscuna, the lost Mobley tracks were assembled and released as five additional albums. Now, Mosaic Records (with Michael producing) has released The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions, 1963-70, an eight-CD box with a lush booklet and poignant ...
Continue Reading
