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Article: Building a Jazz Library

Ronnie Cuber: Baritone Boss

by Mark McKergow
September 14, 2026

Ronnie Cuber (1941-2022) made his mark on the jazz world as a versatile and muscular baritone saxophonist. Born in New York on Christmas Day 1941, he started on tenor saxophone but switched to baritone at 17, attracted by the vacant chair in Marshall Brown's Newport Jazz Youth Band (which also featured lifelong colleagues Eddie Gomez and Michael ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

The Top 25 Songs Featuring Clarinet

by Dean Nardi
April 21, 2026

As Ian Dury might have sung had he played the clarinet, “Hit me with your licorice stick." (That is “rhythm stick" for those not fluent in punk rock.) From the intricacies of classical music to the smooth swing of jazz to Klezmer--the folk music of the Eastern European Jewish population--the instrument resonates throughout a good portion ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

Henry Mancini: The Architect of Sound

by Nazareno Bicocchi
April 20, 2026

Henry Mancini was not merely Hollywood's most celebrated composer; he was the vital bridge between the Golden Age of Big Bands and cinematic modernism. His genius lay in his ability to be a “melodic tailor," capable of dressing every scene with an unprecedented sonic palette. Born to Abruzzese immigrants--his father, Quinto, played the flute in a ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

Mal Waldron: His Journey Across 12 Albums

by Carl Medsker
February 20, 2026

Mal Waldron's life story is compelling, and to mark his 2025 centenary, this article aims to introduce his work to those less familiar with it by tracing his journey across 12 distinctive recordings. Max Roach once singled him out, along with Thelonious Monk, Herbie Nichols, Hasaan Ibn Ali and Randy Weston, as uniquely original ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

A Jazz Reading List

by Karl Ackermann
December 10, 2025

From 2015 through 2020, a personal research project included my reading dozens of jazz books and related media. They included mainstays such as the massive reference The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (Penguin Books, 2006), Ben Ratliff's excellent interview collection The Jazz Ear: Conversations Over Music (Times Books, 2008), the off-shore perspectives of Circular Breathing: The ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

Jazz Dogs: Ten Essential Dog-Eared Tunes

by Ian Patterson
December 9, 2025

Everybody's best friend. Okay, so not everyone loves dogs. But find yourself buried in an avalanche and it will be a dog that sniffs you out. The last person found alive after the World Trade Center collapsed on 9/11 was sniffed out by a rescue dog. Guide dogs helped lead their blind owners to safety from ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

Ornette Coleman's and Horace Silver's "Lonely Woman" — A Disambiguation

by Artur Moral
July 27, 2025

Reality is filled with confusion and misunderstandings; some are suggestive or creative, while others are disappointing or, worse, malicious. The jazz world is no stranger to the first type: specific compositions are often confused or misidentified as if they were the same. Usually, this happens because of similar melodies or titles that are sometimes identical. This ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

Brian Wilson Jazzed: Ten Essential Wilson Covers

by Ian Patterson
June 17, 2025

Brian Wilson is widely hailed as one of the most significant songwriters of the 20th century--the master craftsman behind The Beach Boys' music. Inspired by rock 'n' roll, doo-wop, George Gershwin, vocal quartet The Four Freshmen and Burt Bacharach, he developed sophisticated harmonies and a signature sound that sold millions of records. His singular ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

Prescribing Jazz: A Top Ten

by Artur Moral
March 30, 2025

National Doctors' Day is celebrated unevenly across our mistreated planet. It is absent in most countries, while it is observed as a holiday in a few. Coinciding (in the United States and Australia) with this day of recognition for a vital profession, this article is especially directed to the entire jazz-loving medical community, focusing on six ...

Article: Building a Jazz Library

Grateful Dead: Idiosyncratic Improvisationalists

by Doug Collette
March 8, 2025

As the Grateful Dead morphed from an eccentric folk-blues group into an eclectic jam juggernaut, the band adopted an idiosyncratic approach to improvisation they would then hone over three decades. Regular shifts of personnel nurtured an ongoing alteration of the Dead's musicianship, as did the growing wealth of original material the group interspersed with a wide ...