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When Bop Meant Business
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bebop officially emerged in 1945 when Dizzy Gillsepie recorded Be-Bop (also known as Dizzy's Fingers). The jazz press didn't start using the term until 1946 to define an entire genre of emerging music. While bop continued to develop in New York and Los Angeles, it wasn't until late 1948 and '49 that the jazz style hit its popularity peak. Why 1949? For one, the American Federation of musicians and the record labels had finally come to an agreement on contributions ...
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Beth Carvalho (1946-2014)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Beth Carvalho, one of Brazil's most beloved singers whose zesty, alto voice neatly engaged the booming churn of the samba, died in Rio de Janeiro on April 30. She was 72. On her many albums dating back to 1969, Carvalho's vocals surfed the samba's percussion and driving guitar perfectly. Her lilting vocals coasted atop the heavy samba beat and seemed to be sailing speedily across a wind-chopped surface. While the bossa nova in the 1960s was a soft folk form ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Jazzmeia Horn
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring singer Jazzmeia Horn, who will make her St. Louis debut with performances starting this coming Wednesday, May 8 though Sunday, May 12 at Jazz St. Louis. Originally from Dallas, TX, Horn, 28, began singing in church as a young girl and went on to graduate from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in her hometown. After moving to NYC to attend the New School for ...
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West Coast Jazz Horror
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
There's only one film I know of that includes French hornist John Graas (right). As you may recall, I posted on Graas back on April 24. The film is Dementia, better known as Daughter of Horror. Completed in 1953, the film wasn't released until '55, thanks to nettlesome issues with Hollywood censors. The expressionist film was directed by John Parker and starred Adrienne Barrett. Comedian Shelly Berman can be seen as a stoned beatnik toward the end, and Marni Nixon ...
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Gil Mellé: Blue Note Years
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Gil Mellé was a fascinating saxophonist and composer. Not widely known today, Mellé [pronounced MELL-ay] was a renaissance man. He played tenor and baritone saxophone, he was a painter, an inventor, he wrote film scores and he led groups. Jazz was a passion, and he worked hard to develop a sound—not an overarching one that identified him but a sound that suited his compositions. All of Mellé's Blue Note recordings are available on a fabulous two-CD set: Gil Mellé: The ...
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Carlos Lyra: Além da Bossa
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In the late 1950s, Rio de Janeiro experienced enormous optimism. North American trade was on the rise, and the advent of jet travel between Brazil, France and the U.S. boosted tourism. Business at the city's hotels, lounges and restaurants soared. Throughout Rio, a new form of music was stirring. It was more jazz-romantic and folk-centric than the whistle-infused samba. It also was intimate and expressive, and celebrated the sensuality and cool of the young beach crowd. When João Gilberto released ...
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John Coltrane in 1958
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
John Coltrane in 1958 was unnerving. If you were a tenor saxophonist back then, Coltrane's playing in clubs and on albums was dazzling and daunting. A year earlier, Coltrane was largely a sideman, most notably with pianists Thelonious Monk, Red Garland, Sonny Clark and Tadd Dameron as well as with a batch of trumpeters. There were two notable leadership dates in which Coltrane began to show his prowess and promise—Coltrane and Blue Train. But 1958 was a different bag. That ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Arturo O'Farrill's Afro-Cuban jazz legacy
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Today, our video spotlight shines on pianist, composer and bandleader Arturo O'Farrill, who's coming to town to perform this coming Wednesday, May 1 and Thursday, May 2 at Jazz St. Louis. The son of famed musician, arranger, bandleader and Afro-Cuban jazz pioneer Chico O'Farrill, Arturo O'Farrill was born in 1960 in Mexico City and moved with his family in 1965 to New York. He first gained wide exposure at age 19 as part of pianist and composer Carla Bley's band, ...
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