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Roy Ayers (1940-2025)
Roy Ayers, a vibraphonist, record producer and composer who created a new jazz sound in the mid-1970s that combined electronic jazz, trippy funk and soothing soul that rested heavily on mellow chord sequences and lyrical melodies, died on March 4. He was 84. Ayers began by recording hard bop in 1962 with Curtis Amy and recorded ...
Backgrounder: A.K. Salim on Savoy
One of the least researched and virtually forgotten master arrangers of the 1950s is Ahmad Khatab Salim—better known as A.K. Salim. He had a muscular, orchestral style and lyrical instrumental approach that caught the ear and packed a punch. Salim also arranged for Dizzy Gillespie and had one of the finest Latin-jazz pens, scoring Machito's Kenya ...
Perfection: Machito - Conversation (1957)
In the 1950s, many top New York jazz musicians found additional work playing in top Latin bands. The mambo and cha-cha-cha were in full swing, and the demand for live bands was high, especially in the smaller clubs in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. The jazz players were top sight-readers, which was a big plus. So ...
Johnny Richards and Stan Kenton
Johnny Richards arranged several crackerjack albums for Stan Kenton. They include Cuban Fire!, tracks on Back to Balboa, Kenton's West Side Story and Adventures in Time. Even more exceptional are Richards's albums recorded as a leader, including Something Else, Wide Range, Walk Softly/Run Wild and Aqui Se Habla Español. With Kenton, Richards came a long way ...
Wes Montgomery: 'Incredible Jazz Guitar' (1960)
Guitarist Wes Montgomery recorded many exceptional albums, but the one that stands out for me is The Incredible Jazz Guitar (Riverside). Backed by Tommy Flanagan on piano, Percy Heath on bass and Albert “Tootie" Heath on drums, Montgomery is presented in classic form in this January 1960 recording produced by Orrin Keepnews. The album has just ...
Backgrounder: Al Sears - Swing's the Thing (1960)
Al Sears was one of those versatile tenor saxophonists who could slide between jazz and R&B in the 1950s. Born in 1910, he landed his first major professional job as the replacement for Johnny Hodges in Chick Webb's group in 1928. In the 1940s, he played with Andy Kirk (1941-42), Lionel Hampton (1943-44) and Duke Ellington ...
Perfection: Urbie Green - Please (1957)
If you've always wondered what all the fuss was about when jazz talk turns to trombonist Urbie Green, his recording of Please should bring you up to speed. Composed by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger, Please was first recorded by Bing Crosby with Anson Weeks and His Orchestra in 1932. It also was showcased by Crosby ...
Earl Swope: 11 Tracks on Trombone
With the arrival of bebop in 1946 and the proliferation of independent record labels, trombonists seemed perfectly positioned to take on the new music. Perhaps it was the fluidity of the instrument's slide. Whatever the reason, a surging number began to emerge from the big bands to master the modernist form. The list included J.J. Johnson, ...
Backgrounder: Buddy Fite - Tasty (1975)
Unless you lived in western Oregon in the late 1960s and '70s or the 1990s, you probably have no idea who Buddy Fite was. I bumped into his jazz guitar playing by accident last week on YouTube and was astonished. So I did a little research in old newspapers. Born in Vancouver, Wash., in 1938, Ronald ...
Perfection: Maynard Ferguson - Starfire (1959)
One of the late Benny Golson's prettiest ballads is Starfire. For some strange reason, Benny never recorded it, and now I wish I had asked him why not. The song was recorded only a few times, most notably by Maynard Ferguson and His Orchestra on June 17, 1959. Benny wrote the arrangement for him. Just as ...
