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Five New Dexter Gordon Videos
As jazz musicians go, Dexter Gordon was among the coolest. He walked cool, he talked cool and he played cool. Cool came naturally to him. Perhaps that side of him came from growing up in Los Angeles in the 1930s. Or perhaps it came from meeting all of the cool musicians his physician father treated, including ...
Burt Bacharach: Parting Post
My final post on Burt Bacharach will look at one of the lowest points in his life that resulted in a song, a theme for ABC's Movie of the Week and a tragic end. We tend to think of Burt as a guy who had it all—he was a brilliant composer, a stunning arranger and a ...
Burt Bacharach: Jazz Covers
Songs by the late Burt Bacharach worked neatly as instrumental covers, especially when jazz artists were compelled by labels to record with-it albums of contemporary hits in the 1960s and '70s. Like Henry Mancini's music, Burt's melodies were clean and catchy and weren't tied directly to specific artists, which is what made many rock-artist hits difficult ...
Burt Bacharach (1928-2023)
At 10:15 on Thursday morning, I received an email from the Wall Street Journal's Arts in Review editor letting me know that Burt Bacharach had died. He also asked how quickly I could turn around an appreciation essay. I had interviewed Burt at length twice for the WSJ—once in 2011 for a feature and again in ...
Backgrounder: Johnny Richards Something Else
One of my very favorite big band albums is Johnny Richards' Something Else. Recorded for Bethlehem in Los Angeles in August 1956, the album features Richards compositions and arrangements and a band that will make West Coast jazz fans gasp. Waltz Anyone featured Pete Candoli, Buddy Childers and Maynard Ferguson (tp); Stu Williamson (tp,v-tb); Tommy Pederson, ...
Ted Nash Plays Frank Comstock
Frank Comstock is a name today that has long been forgotten. Many of those who are familiar with Comstock probably associate him with the Hi-Lo's vocal group, for whom he arranged and conducted their first eight albums in the 1950s. Or they know him as the composer of the theme for the Rocky and His Friends ...
Dennis Budimir (1938-2023)
Dennis Budimir, whose credits as a session guitarist on movie soundtracks and rock, folk and jazz recordings rank him as one of the most diverse and prolific in-demand studio musicians in the second half of the 20th century, died in January 2023. He was 84. On films alone, Budimir reportedly recorded on more than 900 movies ...
Joe Chambers: Dance Kobina
Drummer Joe Chambers is best known for playing on a long list of critically acclaimed Blue Note jazz albums in the 1960s. These include Joe Henderson's Mode for Joe; Freddie Hubbard's Breaking Point; Dialogue, Components, Happenings and Total Eclipse by Bobby Hutcherson; Tender Moments by McCoy Tyner; Andrew!!! and Compulsion!!! by Andrew Hill as well as ...
The tasty groove of Jazz Simpatico
After pandemic pauses and a Hurricane Ian-related cancellation last fall, the Charlotte County Jazz Society delivered the fifth edition of its informal matinee concerts on Thursday, February 2—-and it was a gem. Trumpeter Bob Zottola performed with his Naples-based Jazz Simpatico band at the Grill at 1951 in Port Charlotte, Florida. It was billed as a ...
Peanuts Hucko: Big Band Clarinet
A few days ago, when I mentioned Peanuts Hucko in a post on trumpeter Don Ferrara, I received a bunch of emails from readers either wondering who he was or chortling about his nickname. Michael “Peanuts" Hucko was born in Syracuse, N.Y., and would become one of the biggest and most prolific clarinetists after Artie Shaw, ...
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Points of View: Celebrating Dave Holland
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John Coltrane At 100: A Global Perspective
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Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a...
Live Review
Detroit Jazz Festival 2026: A Gathering in a Great Jazz City
Profile
Sequoia Snyder: Growing in the Light of the Masters
Interview
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New York City Jazz Performance Preview: Fall 2026
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