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Clarke-Boland Big Band: 1967
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was started in Europe in 1961 by American drummer Kenny Clarke, Belgian pianist Francy Boland and American bassist Jimmy Woode. It recorded more than 15 albums and was on par with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Some think it was earthier and better. You can decide. In October 1967, the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was on tour in Prague. The band consisted of Benny Bailey, Idrees Sulieman, Jimmy Deuchar and Dusko Goykovich (tp); ...
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10 Videos of Bossa Nova Trios
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I was in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. Not the real Rio but the Rio of YouTube and my imagination. With temperatures still frigid in New York, my mind drifted off to South America and the many great bossa trios that have emerged from Brazil over the years. Here are 10 clips of trios, seven of which are Brazilian and three are Italian: Here's the Baden Powell Trio in 1964... Here's the Zimbo Trio... Here's Brazilian singer Leny Andrade backed by ...
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Don Fagerquist: Eight By Eight
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
The octet plays a special role in the evolution of jazz, especially on the West Coast in the 1950s. Record labels loved octets because they saved them money without compromising much on sound. Jazz fans loved them because eight instruments seemed to be the maximum number the ear could hear distinctly. Octets also meant a lower risk of recording mistakes and re-takes. The octet wasn't a modern invention. The configuration dates back to the 1930s, when leaders wanted to hold ...
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Maurice Vander: Piano Jazz
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Paris after World War II was awash in jazz pianists. Many of them were raised in musical families. Others studied music in school. The reason they were in Paris was for the steady club work. Paris also was where the French record companies were based. The list of French jazz pianists in the late 1940s and '50s included Bernard Peiffer, André Persiany, Raymond Fol, Claude Bolling, Michel Legrand, Eddie Bernard, Henri Renaud, Martial Solal, René Urtreger, Jack Diéval, Léo Chauliac ...
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Pianist Romain Collin Releases Eighth Video In #taurussesh Series
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Romain Collin releases another new video in #TaurusSesh, a series of intimate videos in which he explores the vast musical possibilities offered by his unique combination of acoustic piano, vocal loops and textures, and the bass synthesizer Moog Taurus. The newest video features Collin with saxophonist Yosvany Terry in the original Terry tune “Reuniendo La Nacion." Videos showcase spontaneous collaborations with special guests including Sachal Vasandani, Grey McMurray, Christina Courtin, Gregoire Maret and Yosvany Terry. In addition to the #TaurusSesh ...
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Birth of the West Coast Cool
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In late 1949 and '50, the Miles Davis Nonet recorded 12 songs in New York that were arranged by Davis, Gil Evans, John Carisi, John Lewis and Gerry Mulligan. The music was unusual in that it seemed to apply the relaxed feel of the Claude Thornhill Orchestra to bebop. Of the dozen songs recorded in January 1949, April 1949 and March 1950, only six were released by Capitol in the 78rpm era. Jeru and Godchild were paired, along with Move and ...
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More From The Late Ed Bickert With Paul Desmond
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Following yesterday’s announcement about the loss of the brilliant Canadian guitarist Ed Bickert, here is a piece from the 1975 Paul Desmond Quartet album Live, recorded at Bourbon Street in Toronto in 1975. We hear Bickert and Desmond with bassist Don Thompson and drummer Jerry Fuller. They play Desmond’s composition “Wendy." Desmond based “Wendy” on the chord structure of one of his favorite ballads, “For All We Know.” He named the piece for a woman who was a romantic interest. ...
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Before Miles Ahead + 19
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of Miles Davis's finest albums is Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19, an orchestral jazz recording arranged and conducted by Gil Evans in May and August 1957. In many ways, the LP was jazz's first concept album. The music unfolds like a story and can only be heard from start to finish. As gentle and as seamless as this album is—with Evans's heaving orchestration and Davis's innocent trumpet throughout—most of the music had already been recorded by other artists. To ...
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