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92nd Street Y Jazz in July: The Music of Clifford Brown
The Y's Jazz in July programing this summer included an evening celebrating the music of Clifford Brown on July 23rd—a treat for me as it was one of the few such tributes I've seen since Oxford U. published my biography of Brownie over a decade ago. The production included a panorama of Brownie photos projected onto the stage's big screen and some knowledgeable commentary from the series' director Bill Charlap. The musical aggregation amassed for the evening included ...
read moreBirth of Hard Bop (1954 - 1958)
While the “Cool School" was emerging on the West Coast from its roots in Bix and Pres as codified by Miles in The Birth of the Cool sessions of 1949-- 1950, what became known as Hard Bop, a gospel-and blues-influenced variant was growing from Bebop in the east. Playlist Host Intro 0:00 Miles Davis Quintet “Doxy" from Bags Groove (Prestige) 3:13 Miles Davis Quintet “Airegin" from Bags Groove (Prestige) 8:04 Host speaks 13:01 Art Blakey Quartet “Once in ...
read moreClifford Brown and Max Roach in 1954: New Research
Jazz history is all about revisionism. New material about musicians--biographical information, newly discovered recordings and photos, corrected anecdotes and stories -are some of the areas where history is constantly evolving. This is an important process and writers should always be aware of it and report its occurrences. Since I published my book on Clifford Brown Clifford Brown: The Life and Art of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter (Oxford University Press, 2000) I have been contacted by individuals who ...
read moreJazz With Strings
Please note the title of this collection. It does not include symphony orchestras playing jazz compositions. Nor does it feature what is known as “third stream" music, which is the combination of jazz and classical elements for what is hoped to be a unified whole. No, just like the title says, this collection includes jazz musicians performing jazz with string sections. Jazz-with-strings is where the passion of jazz meets the power of an orchestra. This musical genre ...
read moreBrownie Speaks: A Video Documentary: The Life, Music, and Legacy of Clifford Brown
Brownie Speaks: A Video Documentary: The Life, Music, and Legacy of Clifford Brown Glanden Productions 2014 This thoroughly researched and fascinating documentary about legendary jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown reveals the full scope of the man and his music through extensive interviews, recordings, photos, and both new and archival film and video footage. It is the result of the labor and devotion of Don Glanden, pianist and Division Head of Graduate Jazz Studies at The University ...
read moreMore from Clifford Brown
Ever since I wrote the biography of Clifford Brown (Oxford University Press, 2000) I've been hoping that someone would come forth with some newly discovered recording, some new photos of Brownie, or some new piece of information about his life that wasn't available at the time the book was published. One of the great bonuses of new-age information technology is the amazing dissemination of material that seems to come forth in dribs and drabs. Any biographer hopes that new discoveries ...
read moreMy Pet Peeve: The Mislabeled CD – Clifford Brown Memorial Album – Blue Note 1526
And now it's time for a personal pet peeve, something far worse than a squeaky sax or a fumble-fingered pianist: The mislabeled CD. Today's example: The Clifford Brown Memorial Album. Let's start by noting that this is a terrific record--recorded in 1953, released in 1956, shortly after Brown's tragic death in a car crash at age 25. This is early Brown, the great hard bop trumpeter, on the verge of stardom. It's a 4-star record that ...
read moreClifford Brown: With Strings
Clifford BrownWith StringsEmarcy1955 Recordings setting soloists alongside string ensembles were not a staple of the bop years, but, when trumpeter Clifford Brown recorded With Strings, he had two illustrious predecessors. In 1946, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie recorded four Jerome Kern standards with an ensemble arranged by Johnny Richards. Kern's estate, horrified at the “desecration," blocked their release (they were finally issued in 1980 on Phoenix Records). In 1949, saxophonist Charlie Parker recorded ...
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