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Backgrounder: João Gilberto, 1998
In the early spring of 2008, I planned to see João Gilberto in Boston. That is until he cancelled at the last minute. Gilberto had a reputation for such things throughout his career. Some I've interviewed have said he had agoraphobia—a psychological fear of being outside. Others have claimed he was hyper-finicky about things he wanted, ...
Backgrounder: Art Pepper and the Marty Paich 4
In August 1956, Art Pepper was teamed with Marty Paich on piano, Buddy Clark on bass and Frank Capp on drums on a Hollywood recording session for Tampa Records. The label was founded in Los Angeles a year earlier by Robert Scherman and Irving Shorten, and the album was Pepper's first since 1954 due to time ...
Backgrounder: Sidney Bechet/Martial Solal
Soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet was one of jazz's most complex giants. Born in New Orleans in 1897, four years earlier than Louis Armstrong, Bechet made his first recordings in early 1920, three years before the trumpeter. Unfortunately, these recordings were never issued. His first released recordings, for Okeh, came out the same year as Armstrong's earliest ...
Backgrounder: Brazilian Jazz Quartet
Who were the musicians in the Brazilian Jazz Quartet? According to Wikipedia, the group featured José Ferreira Godinho Filho “Casé" on alto saxophone, Moacyr Peixoto on piano, Luiz Chaves Oliveira da Paz “Luiz Chaves" on bass and Rubens Alberto Barsotti “Rubinho" on drums. The reason I pose the question is the remarkable similarity in tone between ...
Backgrounder: Sammy Sings, Laurindo Plays, 1966
One of Sammy Davis Jr.'s finest albums is Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays, an LP he recorded in June 1966 accompanied only by Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida. Captured at United Recordings in Las Vegas and released on Reprise, the album of ballads allowed listeners to hear Sammy's voice exposed in an intimate, near-a ...
Backgrounder: Sonny Rollins Plus 4
The sound of the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet on their studio recordings for EmArcy starting in 1954 was unmistakable. Trumpeter Brown's pointed and lyrical blowing combined with Roach's restless drums and the deliberate sound of Harold Land's tenor saxophone poured the foundation for a new daring and elegant form of hard bop. By 1956, tenor saxophonist ...
Backgrounder: Pepper Adams Quintet,' 1957
Stu Williamson was a gorgeous trumpeter and valve trombonist. His smooth tone and ease with which he played and soloed landed him in the Hollywood studios in the 1950s. Born in Brattleboro, Vt., Williamson moved to Los Angeles in 1949. Sadly, he struggled with drug addiction for much of his career. The younger brother of West ...
Backgrounders: Basie With Quincy and Hefti
In 1958, the French Vogue label put out a double LP in Europe entitled Count Basie Plays Quincy Jones & Neal Hefti. Essentially, it was a re-issue of two previous Roulette releases—Basie One More Time: Music From the Pen of Quincy Jones (1960) and Basie Plays Hefti (1958). Both are classics in the Basie canon and ...
Backgrounder: Barry Galbraith - Guitar and the Wind
Barry Galbraith was one of New York's busiest session jazz guitarists in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Between 1941 and the late 1970s, he was on 620 recording dates, a staggering total. How many albums did he record as a leader under his name? Just one—Guitar and the Wind, for Decca. What a shame. His sole ...
Backgrounder: James Moody - Return From Overbrook
This James Moody CD came out in 1996 and covered two great albums by the saxophonist and flutist—Last Train From Overbrook (tracks #1-10; recorded in 1958) and Flute 'N' the Blues (tracks #11-20; recorded in 1956). Both were released on Chess's Argo label. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Moody, these two albums are ...
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