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Kenny Dorham's Centenary
August 30 will mark the 100th anniversary of Kenny Dorham's birth. The trumpeter and singer was born in Texas in 1924 and always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. Early on, he played in the bop bands of Billy Eckstine and Dizzy Gillespie and jump blues band of Lionel Hampton. From ...
Russell Malone (1963-2024)
Russell Malone, a jazz guitarist and composer who could play with a brash attack and lightening-fast fingers as a soloist and with a powdery, gentle feel and sturdy rhythm as a sideman, died of a heart attack on August 23 while on tour in Tokyo with bassist Ron Carter and pianist Donald Vega. He was 60. ...
Take Five With Pianist And Vocalist Kelly Green
by AAJ Staff
Meet Kelly Green Kelly Green is a renowned pianist and vocalist based in Queens, New York. A Florida native, she began her musical journey early, studying piano from age seven and diving into jazz at eleven. She earned her Bachelor in Jazz Studies from the University of North Florida, where she was awarded the Outstanding Musician's ...
Meet Ken Peplowski
by AAJ Staff
This article was first published on All About Jazz in August 1998. In numerous rave reviews, critics have exalted Ken Peplowski as the epitome of jazz traditionalism. But repeated listenings of his work reveals that Peplowski is perhaps more experimental and diverse than some have described him. It is worth noting that while Benny ...
Backgrounder: The Strolling Mr. Eldridge, 1953
In December 1953, trumpeter Roy “Little Jazz" Eldridge recorded The Strolling Mr. Eldridge for Norman Granz's Clef label. Eldridge was a member of Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic tour and recording group of all stars. The album was released during the “speed wars," when Columbia's 33 1/3 and RCA's 45 rpm formats were in fierce competition. ...
Perfection: Barney Kessel - Like Someone in Love
Soaring is one of Barney Kessel's finest albums of the 1970s. Recorded in August 1976 for Concord, the guitarist was backed by Monty Budwig on bass and Jake Hanna on drums. The entire record is perfect in every way. What I like most is how Kessel is isolated, allowing us to hear how gifted he was ...
My Conversation with John Fedchock
by AAJ Staff
This article was first published on All About Jazz in December 2000. Hit The Bricks, John Fedchock's first small-group record as a leader, has been eagerly awaited by old friends and long time fans who know him not only as the confident and competent leader of big bands, but as a lyrical, innovative soloist ...
Gene Ammons: The All-Star Sessions
Like many musicians who performed in Billy Eckstine's big band between 1944 and '46, tenor saxophonist Gene “Jug" Ammons went on to jazz fame in the independent record label era of the late 1940s. He also did well in the blues 78 market (he was the first artist to record for Chess in Chicago) and the ...
My Conversation with Anthony Braxton
by AAJ Staff
This article first appeared on All About Jazz in September 2001. In Puccini's Tosca, the lead heroine sings “Vissi d'arte" in the second act. It is with passion and anguish then that the audience understands the opera singer Floria Tosca is asking the heavens why she has suffered so much for her art when ...
Backgrounder: Gene Ammons - Boss Tenor, 1960
During the second half of the 1950s, tenor saxophonist recorded mostly jam session albums for Prestige. In June 1960, the label's founder and producer, Bob Weinstock, figured out that Ammons could also record with just a rhythm section behind him. The result was one of Ammons's finest albums—Boss Tenor. The LP featured Gene Ammons (ts), Tommy ...
