Results for "Bill Ashton"

Bill Ashton

Born: December 6, 1936

"Lone Wolf" Finds Plenty to Chew On

by Jack Bowers
March 8, 2013

With Betty sidelined by a bad cough, it was up to me to seek out local jazz events in February, and I managed to find a couple of pretty good ones, starting February 7 at the University of New Mexico's Keller Hall where SuperSax New Mexico performed for the third time in Albuquerque. As you may ...

Buddy Rich: In a Zone of His Own

by Jack Bowers
February 10, 2013

One of the channels that came with my Dish Network package is Classic Arts Showcase, which is a treasure trove of film clips documenting classical, ballet, folk, pop and other forms of music that one is unlikely to see anywhere else (although some footage is presumably available on YouTube, which more and more seems to encompass ...

Nova Jazz Orchestra / Christian McBride Big Band / NYJO

by Jack Bowers
March 5, 2012

Nova Contemporary Jazz OrchestraWho Sez You Can't Dance to Bebop?Nova Jazz2010 When last heard from, Minnesota's dauntless Nova Jazz Orchestra was performing alongside the legendary Stan Kenton Orchestra--well, not actually “alongside," but as part of the Tantara label's ongoing two-disc salute to Kenton, Double Feature, Vol. 2. ...

Confessions of a Mad Journalist

by Jack Bowers
May 6, 2011

The headline above this column has almost nothing to do with its contents; it was designed simply to grab your attention. That's what we writers do: offer a modest prize with one hand while concealing a more desirable treasure in the other. It's what we have in common with magicians. Actually, as last month marked the ...

Tops in '10: The Best Big Band Albums of the Year

by Jack Bowers
December 3, 2010

The holiday season is upon us, which means it's a perfect time to name my choices for the best big band albums of 2010. Looking back, this was a better year for large ensembles than memory envisaged, and narrowing the list of candidates to 10 wasn't as easy as I thought it might be. Nevertheless, the ...

Toshiko Akiyoshi: The Music Keeps Her Young

by Jack Bowers
August 2, 2010

Pianist Billy Taylor, now in his eighty-ninth year, once recorded an album titled Music Keeps Us Young. I'm a firm believer in that and could point to several notable examples, one of whom is composer / pianist / bandleader Toshiko Akiyoshi who was in Albuquerque and Santa Fe last month with husband Lew Tabackin to headline ...

Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra Rekindles Cuban Fire Suite

by Jack Bowers
July 4, 2010

On June 5, 2010, with the temperature in Albuquerque hovering around 100 degrees, the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra couldn't have wished for a better time to perform Johnny Richards' incendiary Cuban Fire suite, first recorded in 1956 by the Stan Kenton Orchestra. The sold-out concert was the opening event in the city's annual Jazz and Blues Under ...

Anthony Jackson and Yiorgos Fakanas: Interspirits

by Ian Patterson
May 11, 2010

It may come as a surprise to anyone wading through bass guitar giant Anthony Jackson's discography, which mind bogglingly totals over three thousand recordings, that he has never recorded a solo album. The legendary bassist--who has played with an astonishing variety of artists of the caliber of Chick Corea, Roberta Flack, the O'Jays, Buddy Rich, Paul ...

Mike Barone / National Youth Jazz Orchestra / Vaughn Wiester / Dutch Jazz Orchestra

by Jack Bowers
April 3, 2009

Mike Barone Big Band Class of '68 Rhubarb Recordings 2009 While some may deem composer / arranger / trombonist Mike Barone's latest album gratuitous, those who were introduced to Barone's music via the band's superb recording Live at Donte's, 1968 should take enormous pleasure in hearing further inspired ...