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Jazz Ear Training: The Best Ear Training Guide For Jazz Musicians
by Freek Just Rijna
You've heard the gospel: if you want to play jazz, you need to train your ears! That might be easier said than done though. Where do you start? And if you're a bit more advanced, how do you train your ears in a way that impacts your playing? In this article, I'll explain why ear training ...
Dance Along With Basie, 1959
You won't find one of my favorite Thad Jones albums listed under his name. It's Dance Along With Basie, recorded for Roulette at the tail end of the 1950s. Cut over four sessions during the December holiday season in 1959, the album features mostly mid-tempo, swinging arrangements of standards. They're all strikes and perfect for a ...
New Video: Bill Evans in Belgium
In June 1972, Bill Evans and Eddie Gomez were at Club Thalamus in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels, Belgium. On drums, Evans hired Tony Oxley, an English avant-garde player. The gig was taped by Belgian TV. Evans and Gomez's European tour came just weeks after Evans recorded Living Time with George Russell, his last album for ...
Take Five with Liga Latina
by AAJ Staff
Meet Liga Latina Liga Latina is a unique gathering of driven Scandinavian musicians for whom it is a passion to convey the legacy of styles that originate hereof, at a high artistic and international level. Their acclaimed compositions as well as interpretations of the Latin song book, form an energetic sphere where creativity and respect for ...
Documentary: Ronnie Scott and His Club
You may not have played Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club as a musician or had the pleasure of hearing jazz artists perform there. And even if you have, who knows when you'll be back given the pandemic in Europe. For now, here's a solid documentary, Ronnie Scott and His World Famous Jazz Club, written and directed by ...
New Videos: Dave Pell Octet
Between 1943 and 1947, tenor saxophonist Dave Pell started out recording with big bands led by Bobby Sherwood, Tony Pastor and Bob Crosby. Then in late '47, he joined the Les Brown Orchestra, where he remained until 1955. In '53, Dave began recording with an octet he formed made up of Brown bandmates. Here's what Dave ...
Sonny Stitt and Oscar Peterson
I love Oscar Peterson's playing. I'm just never crazy about his tempos. As the leader on recording sessions with his trio or quartet, Peterson tended to take songs excruciatingly slow or erratically fast. I'm not sure why Verve and Pablo producer Norman Granz never bothered to mention this to him over a dinner or from the ...
Bill Evans in Rochester, N.Y., 1977
Over the weekend, pianist Dave Thompson sent along a link to a recently uploaded, hour-long video of the Bill Evans Trio in concert in 1977. While the person who uploaded it thought the performance took place in Boston, it actually was held at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, N.Y. Based on my additional research, Evans performed ...
Interview: Lucy Yeghiazaryan
I discovered Lucy Yeghiazaryan by accident a month or so ago. I was flying through Facebook before turning in for the night and there she was, singing away. I was most struck by her 1950s phrasing. She clearly had done quite a bit of intensive listening. I also was curious about her Armenian past and how ...
Pharoah Sanders: Promises
Even when Pharoah Sanders plays up-tempo, he sounds as if he's playing a ballad. That's because the tenor saxophonist, known for his deeply spiritual approach, is always in a meditative state when creating. Sanders began playing jazz in 1961, when he moved to New York from Oakland, Calif. Born Farrell Sanders in Little Rock, Ark., he ...


