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Results for "Billy Strayhorn"
Duets From Strangers And Old Friends
by Jerome Wilson
The first of these duo recordings is from two musicians meeting for the first time. The second comes from long-time acquaintances. The compatibility of the playing on both is so high you would be hard-pressed to tell which was which. Pierrick Pedron & Gonzalo Rubalcaba Pedron Rubalcaba Gazebo 2023
Ryan Kisor: Power Source
by C. Andrew Hovan
Taking full advantage of what might be termed his “second wind," Ryan Kisor has grown into one of the most mature trumpeters of his generation. Back in 1990 when he impressed his elders by taking the prize at the Thelonious Monk Institute trumpet competition, things appeared promising and a major record label deal even came through ...
Mike Melito: To Swing Is The Thing
by Jack Bowers
The leader of any group whose credo is To Swing Is the Thing had best enlist some hired hands whose propensity to swing is sure and steady, regardless of mood or tempo. Veteran drummer Mike Melito's talented quintet runs that course without breaking a sweat, lending Melito all the help he needs to keep his eighth ...
MIke Melito: To Swing Is The Thing
by Pierre Giroux
Rochester NY native Mike Melito is an fine drummer who has been active on the jazz scene for many years. His whose drumming style was inspired by Roy McCurdy, who was an integral part of the jazz groups fronted by both Nat Adderley and Julian “Cannonball" Adderley. With a wide-ride cymbal beat and fluid phrasing, Melito's ...
Introducing Vocalist April Varner
by Sanford Josephson
The 1957 Verve album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book, contained 38 tracks, including some of the best-known tunes associated with Ellington such as “Solitude," “Satin Doll," and “I'm Beginning to See the Light." Contestants in this year's sixth annual Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition, sponsored by Blues Alley Jazz, were asked to select ...
Recent Jazz Releases including a new one from Kenny Barron
by Jerome Wilson
Here are reviews of a diverse selection of jazz releases from the past few months. Allegra Levy Songs For You And Me Little Moon Records 2023 Vocalist Allegra Levy has made a children's music album for the most natural of reasons. She became a mother in 2021, ...
Rich Thompson: Who Do You Have to Know?
by Jack Bowers
Veteran drummer Rich Thompson ushers a lithe and swinging quartet through its paces on his latest album, Who Do You Have to Know? (the answer to which, alas, is not forthcoming). This is basically late-night jazz, the kind often reserved for after-hours jam sessions whose participants are fully engaged in the task at hand and hold ...
2023 American Pianists Awards
by Mark Sullivan
2023 American Pianists Awards Indianapolis, Indiana April 20-22, 2023 The mission of the American Pianists Association is “to discover, promote and advance the careers of young, American, world-class jazz and classical pianists." One of the major activities in that mission is the bi-annual competitions run by the Association, alternating classical and jazz ...
Mike Allen: To a Star
by Jack Bowers
If you're a tenor saxophonist leading a piano-less trio, much of the group's melodic and harmonic components rest squarely on your shoulders. In spite of that--or perhaps because of it--Canadian tenor Mike Allen says he prefers working within that framework, as he has been doing for many years. If that is one's choice, ...
Ahmad Jamal: In his Own Sense of Time and Place
by Josef Woodard
This interview first appeared in the Santa Barbara News-Press on October 2005. The introduction has been updated. For the late, great and uniquely poetic pianist Ahmad Jamal, who passed on at age 92 on April 16, 2023, easy descriptors never sufficed in capturing his particular magic. He was a classicist, a modernist, a minimalist ...
