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Backgrounder: Johnny Alf: Rapaz de Bem, 1961
For those in the know, Johnny Alf has long been thought of as the father of the bossa nova. Whether that statement is completely accurate or whether he was merely a significant influence has been hotly debated over the years. Even if the Brazilian singer-songwriter wasn't the bossa's earliest pure exponent, his softly romantic, Johnny Mathis-like ...
Take Five with Pianist Shereen Cheong
by AAJ Staff
Meet Shereen Cheong Shereen Cheong is a New York-based Malaysian pianist, composer, arranger, producer and educator who developed a sense of music from the tender age of three. Pursuant to her classical training, she studied jazz piano with Malaysia's jazz veteran, Michael Veerapen. She is a graduate from Berklee College of Music, holding a dual degree ...
Shorty Rogers: Centennial
Sunday, April 14, will mark the 100th anniversary of Shorty Rogers' birth. The trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer and arranger who was a founding father of West Coast jazz died in 1994 from melanoma at age 70. Today, in celebration of Rogers' contribution to jazz, I've assembled 10 of my favorite clips plus three bonus clips: Here's one ...
Backgrounder: Lou Levy 4 - Jazz in 4 Colors
When Shorty Rogers signed with RCA in the early 1950s, he had two jobs: to record albums for the label and to function as an A&R executive who would come up with new ideas with talent and record them. One of those ideas in 1956 was to help Lou Levy create a new sound for a ...
Documentary: Ronnie Scott and All That Jazz
Director John Fordham's joyously poetic documentary Ronnie Scott and All That Jazz first appeared on the British TV series Omnibus in 1989. It tells you all you need to know about Ronnie, his straight-faced sense of humor and the Soho club still in operation founded in 1959. Ronnie passed in 1996. Here's Ronnie Scott and All ...
Johnny Hodges: 3 Shades of Blue (1970)
Yesterday, I posted on Webster's Dictionary, a rare late-career album by tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and arranged by Stan Tracey that is virtually unknown by even ardent jazz fans. To continue my series on great saxophonists and little-known gems in their final years, today I'm looking at Johnny Hodges's 3 Shades of Blue, arranged and conducted ...
Ben Webster: Webster's Dictionary, 1970
One of my favorite Ben Webster albums from the tail end of his career is Webster's Dictionary, recorded in London for Ronnie Scott Records in October 1970. The label was founded by Scott, the famed British tenor saxophonist and club owner, which tells you immediately it's an intelligent record. By intelligent, I mean that Scott did ...
Backgrounder: Quincy Jones - Twilight Time
Early in March, I posted a Backgrounder on a 1957 album arranged by Quincy Jones in Paris. In the U.S., the LP was released by United Artists and was called Americans in Paris. In France, it came out on Barclay and was known as Et Voila! The album was recorded with Eddie Barclay, the owner of ...
Tony Monaco: Over and Over
One of the most exciting Hammond B3 players today is Tony Monaco. He knows how to shake up the funk and turn it loose. He also brings enormous energy to his playing style, pouring it gleefully into the keyboard and pedals. And it's no wonder, since he came up mentored by the incomparable Jimmy Smith. Growing ...
Johnny Lytle: People & Love
Johnny Lytle was a big deal during the 1960s and early 1970s. In some respects, the vibraphonist and composer perfected an album model that inspired Creed Taylor's CTI label, combining jazz originals and jazzy interpretations of soul hits. In many respects, there isn't a bad Lytle album. One of my favorites was his interpretation of songs ...
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