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Stan Kenton in Paris, 1953
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
From late August to late September of 1953, Stan Kenton embarked on one of the great European tours of his career. His hard-charging New Concepts band—formed in 1952 to feature a brassy, swinging wall of sound that showcased the personalities of individual soloists—was electrifying. The musicianship of each chair in the band was hair-raising when combined with gutsy arrangements. Kenton's 20-person road band in the late summer of '53 consisted of Buddy Childers, Conte Candoli, Don Dennis, Don Smith and ...
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Tubby Hayes + Paul Gonsalves
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Today I want to share with you two albums that are so rare they'll likely come as a surprise to even the most knowledgeable jazz fans. The albums—Just Friends and Change of Setting— paired British saxophonist Tubby Hayes with Ellington saxophonist Paul Gonsalves. Just Friends was recorded in 1964, while Change of Setting was recorded a year later but not released until 1967. They are superb and grow on you with each listen. How did Hayes and Gonsalves wind up ...
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Tiny Bradshaw Sings the Blues
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
The great migration of the early 1940s by African-Americans from the South to the West and Midwest in search of war-plant work had a profound impact on music nationwide. Young families from the South brought with them a passion for the blues, but once they settled in the urban markets of Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and other cities, their tastes shifted from the rural Delta sound to the dance-able boogie-woogie and jump blues. As jazz fans, we too often think ...
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Catching Up, More Or Less…As 2016 Fades
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
As the hours left in 2016 dwindle, we briefly acknowledge a few of the hundreds of albums that have accumulated this year at Rifftides world headquarters. Many releases stacked up without reviews. This does not indicate that they are unworthy, only that there are limits to how much music the linear process of listening can accommodate. Science has yet to come up with digital downloading directly into the brain, but I’ll bet someone is working on it. Clare Fischer, Out ...
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Pianst Lisa Hilton Release "Day & Night" on Ruby Slippers Productions
Source:
All About Jazz
Nineteen albums in, after working with the top-drawer jazz masters, like Antonio Sanchez, Christian McBride, Nasheet Waits, Sean Jones, Marcus Gilmore, Steve Wilson, Jeremy Pelt, Lewis Nash, Billy Hart, Larry Grenadier, Rudy Royston, and Bobby Militello, among others, LISA HILTON strips her music down to the essentials and returns to the solo format with Day & Night to be released on the Ruby Slippers Productions label (#1021) with a street date of December 16 th 2016 and heading to radio ...
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Joe Alterman: Comin' Home
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
If you're like me, you probably grow frustrated when you run out of early recordings by pianists such as Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, Gene Harris and Les McCann. You know, pianists who listened to themselves as they played and loved more than anything to swing and move souls. These pianists had a healthy respect for space, they loved single-note improvised lines, they didn't rush songs and they avoided jamming in as many notes as possible. Block chords were ...
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Holiday Listening In Brief: Two New CDs And A Modern Classic
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
The NOLA Players, Christmastime in New Orleans (Verve/Aim Higher) A cross-generational and cross-racial gathering of Crescent City jazz veterans generates spirited versions of traditional Christmas music. Some of the players are well known outside of New Orleans; bassist Roland Guerin, percussionist Jason Marsalis, saxophonist Tony DaGradi and trumpeter Bobby Campo among them. All eighteen musicians have the celebrated N’Yawlins feeling for rhythm and good times. Campo’s first notes of “Jingle Bells” over a modified parade beat morph into a series ...
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New Origin Records CD By Pianist/Composer Bill Anschell, "Rumbler," Set For January 20 Release
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
One of the most valuable players in Seattle’s thriving jazz scene, pianist Bill Anschell is a prolific composer and adept arranger who’s explored those aspects of his craft since debuting on disc 20 years ago. His new Origin Records CD, Rumbler, which will be released January 20, is Anschell’s ninth album as a leader and his first full ensemble jazz recording in a decade. Throughout the recording, Anschell embraces odd meters, shifting tonalities, and other striking effects. “I’ve written enough ...
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