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Kai Winding: Solo, 1963
Trombonist Kai Winding is probably best known to jazz fans for his numerous 1950s albums with trombonist J.J. Johnson. In many regards, Johnson was the memorable player on those LPs with a more singular and inventive style. But Winding also had a spectacular tone and an attack that was crisp, persistent and swinging. His piercing blare ...
Adderley's 'Presenting Cannonball,' 1955
In the mid-1950s, drummer Kenny Clarke was the house drummer for Savoy Records. Aware that Clarke was plugged in to networks of musicians, Ozzie Cadena, the label's A&R chief, paid him extra to assemble interesting combinations of talent for recording sessions. As a reader pointed out a few days ago, the Kenny Burrell and Pepper Adams ...
Take Five With Guitarist / Composer Avinoam Ettun
by AAJ Staff
Meet Avinoam EttunAvinoam Ettun is a contemporary guitarist/composer/improviser based in New York City. With a focus on creating compositions for large ensembles and his own string quartet, Avinoam combines the sounds of electric guitar and chamber music. Ettun actively collaborates with animators, painters, filmmakers, and dancers and explores the intersections of different art forms.
Backgrounder: Kenny Burrell - Jazzmen Detroit
Jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell turned 93 on July 31 and is a national treasure. Kenny always plays with an elegant soul and a understated and lovely swing style. Best of all, he combines firm thumb picking with hushed, lush chords to fill space. One of his lesser-known albums is Kenny Burrell: Jazzmen—-Detroit. Recorded over two sessions ...
Backgrounder: Miles Davis - Miles Ahead, 1957
Miles Davis's Miles Ahead: Miles +19 for Columbia is one of jazz's most exquisite orchestral albums. The LP was arranged by Gil Evans, who, with Davis, selected nine jazz songs plus an Evans-Davis original and dressed them up in a modernist, Thornhillian style. The result is spectacular. Davis on flugelhorn is gentle and at times even ...
Perfection: Dave Brubeck - The Duke
Dave Brubeck first recorded his composition The Duke during a live performance at New York's Basin Street East on October 13, 1954. His quartet at the time consisted of Paul Desmond (as), Dave Brubeck (p), Bob Bates (b) and Joe Dodge (d). The song has a wonderful swing feel and the melody and bass lines are ...
Michael Howell: In the Silence, 1974
Michael Howell is a little-known jazz and fusion guitarist, but those who are familiar with his music love him. One of my favorites is his album In the Silence. Recorded for Milestone in April 1974, the LP features Bennie Maupin (ts,saxello,b-cl,alto-fl,pic), Michael Howell (g), Henry Franklin (b), Leon “Ndugu" Chancler (d) and Kenneth Nash (perc,cga). Born ...
Gábor Szabó: Jazz Raga
Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó is, in some respects, a forefather of jazz fusion. In the mid-1960s, his rhythmic guitar style, avant-garde feel and smart interpretations of pop-rock hits paved the way for sophisticated rock experimentation by young jazz guitarists. In most cases, his interpretations of hit songs produced a more interesting listen. Szabó left Budapest when ...
Eddie Wasserman: The Small Groups
Eddie Wasserman wasn't a star but he could have been. He never was a leader on his own session. Instead, he spent the bulk of his career playing woodwinds in top big bands. His first recording session was with Benny Goodman in December 1948 and remained there into 1948. Going forward, he was a favorite of ...
Backgrounder: Shorty Rogers Courts the Count
Whenever the jazz conversation turns to West Coast jazz, the talk usually centers on the laid-back style's major influences, including tenor saxophonist Lester Young, Woody Herman's Four Brothers band and Gerry Mulligan's quartet and arrangements. The biggest influence of all is rarely mentioned—Count Basie. Many of the leading West Coast arrangers of the day have cited ...
