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News: Obituary

Chick Corea (1941-2021)

February 13, 2021

Chick Corea, one of the most spirited and heralded jazz keyboardists and composers of the rock era who launched a mystical form of psychedelic jazz fusion in the early 1970s that influenced a generation of young musicians, died on February 9. He was 79. Chick was enormously prolific. Not a day went by that he didn't ...

Article: Interview

My Conversation with Chick Corea

by AAJ Staff
February 12, 2021

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in August 1999. It would be silly for me to even attempt to pontificate on the ramifications Chick Corea has had on this music. But it should be universal that his impact has been substantial at worst. So I will let him ...

News: Video / DVD

Lockjaw Davis Meets the Hammond

February 12, 2021

Tenor saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis was among the first jazz saxophonists who used an organ combo on tour and when recording. Like many horn players who started out in R&B bands along the Chitlin' Circuit in Black communities throughout the upper Midwest in the early 1950s, Davis realized that the Hammond B-3 organ was a moneymaker. ...

News: Recording

Flip Phillips: Rock With Flip

February 11, 2021

Flip Phillips, like Charlie Ventura, was cut from the same hyperactive cloth. Both tenor saxophonists crossed over to bop from the tail end of the swing era and both were born ready to jump and jam. While Ventura came up influenced by Coleman Hawkins's tough 'n' gruff approach to the instrument, Phillips was more of a ...

News: Recording

Joe Derise on Bethlehem

February 10, 2021

Lounge singers are all but forgotten today. Some might say deservedly so, but that would be unfair. The best lounge singers in the '50s were exceptional vocalists and frequently accompanied themselves on piano, guitar or accordion. The term lounge singer originally referred to those who entertained in a small bar or room adjacent to or near ...

Article: Interview

Guillermo E. Brown: Freedom of Music

by AAJ Staff
February 9, 2021

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in April 2002. When it comes to music, Guillermo E. Brown is something of an omnivore. Whether it be calypso, out jazz, hip hop, or electronica, Brown is all ears. That makes the 25 year-old New Yorker something of an exception to ...

News: Recording

Charlie Ventura: Adventure With Charlie

February 9, 2021

The last time I posted about tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura was in 2013. As I wrote ruefully back then, the 78-era soloist seems to have disappeared completely from view in today's jazz world, his recordings and contribution sadly forgotten. Throughout Ventura's career, his solos were uniformly high energy, earthy and flawless. He was a swing-era blower ...

News: Video / DVD

Beautiful Cat: Joan Chamorro

February 6, 2021

Joan Chamorro is a jazz hero. A brilliant musician who plays bass, saxophones and clarinet, Joan is the founder and director of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, a youth band in Barcelona, Spain. All you have to do is watch him in action in video clips to see the love he spreads and receives from his ...

News: Video / DVD

Lucky Thompson's Ballads (1953-'56)

February 5, 2021

Lucky Thompson was one of the most gorgeous tenor saxophonists of the post-war period. His tone was pronounced, slippery and confidential and his improvising was as fluid and as seamless as syrup. His sweet spot was mid-tempo numbers, like Lullaby in Rhythm and East of the Sun, but his ballads also were standouts. Delivered with a ...

News: Video / DVD

Dexter Gordon's Ballads (1946-'52)

February 4, 2021

Dexter Gordon in the late 1940s and early '50s was best known for jumpers such as The Chase, The Hunt and Dexter's Deck. But among his many high-energy 78s are a handful of ballads that show off his yearning, romantic tone. Here are five Dexter Gordon ballads and a bonus track: Here's Gordon in New York ...