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Article: Album Review

The Saxophones: Eternity Bay

Read "Eternity Bay" reviewed by Gareth Thompson

by Gareth Thompson
February 7, 2020

Alexi Erenkov started out as a jazz student, but turned to guitar-based songwriting in a bid for deeper self-expression. Put simply, he found this new approach more liberating than working on Big Band arrangements. Interesting, then, to recall that guitars were merely tolerated and rather buried in the rhythm section during Big Band's heyday, until the ...

About Charlie Christian

Results for pages tagged "Charlie Christian"...

Musician

Charlie Christian

Born: July 29, 1916

As the man who popularized the guitar in a jazz setting, his legacy lives on. Charlie Christian was born on July 29, 1916 in Bonham, Texas but was raised in Oklahoma City from the time he was two years old. Charlie's immediate family were all musically talented - his mother played the piano; his father sang and played the trumpet and guitar; his brother, Clarence, played the violin and the mandolin; and his oldest brother, Edward, played the string bass. His parents made a living writing accompaniments for silent movies. At the age of twelve, Charlie was playing on a guitar that he had made from a cigar box in a manual training class

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Blue Note 50ths and a Tad More

by Marc Cohn
January 10, 2020

Happy New Year! First show of the month and 2020—it's time for Blue Note albums that are celebrating their 50th anniversary, being from January 1970! Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Lonnie Smith, Andrew Hill and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra! Bassist and saxophonist Mark Zaleski will be in Baton Rouge at Chorum Hall on Wednesday, January 8th, ...

Article: Album Review

Nat King Cole: Hittin’ the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943)

Read "Hittin’ the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943)" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
November 9, 2019

Before pianist/vocalist Nat King Cole had a career as a pop crooner--his many hits included “All for You," “The Christmas Song," “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons," “Nature Boy" and “Mona Lisa" (the No. 1 song in 1950)--he led a successful jazz trio which featured both his piano playing and ...

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Article: Take Five With...

Take Five With Mike Lorenz

by AAJ Staff
August 21, 2019

Meet Mike Lorenz: Mike Lorenz, guitarist/ composer/ educator, hails from Bethlehem, PA where he is a member of the music faculty at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. For over a decade, Mike has kept a busy schedule as a freelancing performer, leading his trio/quartet in performances up-and-down the Northeast Corridor. He holds ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

BU@100, Newk with Monk & More

by Marc Cohn
June 13, 2019

Art Blakey turns 100 in October. He's too important to have to wait till then. So, we've got 3 more tracks from Bu as well as a 'pre-Bu' segment of tunes associated with or inspired by the great drummer. Our chronological Sonny Rollins celebration continues with a 4tet session with Monk @ the 88s. Along the ...

Article: Live Review

Pittsburgh Celebrates the Guitar with "Four on Six" at Alphabet City

by Mackenzie Horne
May 31, 2019

For countless bluesmen, rockers, and bossa players, the guitar is the path to jazz; that trail was blazed as early as the 1920s by practitioners such as Eddie Durham, Eddie Lang, Django Reinhardt, and Charlie Christian. For Pittsburgh guitarist Mark Strickland, it was Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue (Blue Note, 1963) that first sparked his interest in ...

Article: The Jazz Life

A Professional Jazz Musician? Really? What's That?

by Peter Rubie
February 27, 2019

I've been around as a musician long enough to understand when a promoter or booker ghosts me. “Yeah, sure, send me an email," they say in that sincere way that sounds like someone saying, “Of course I love you" just to shut you up. It comes with the territory, and a musician has to be Zen ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Joey D Came To Town, Abdullah’s A Winner & More

by Marc Cohn
November 30, 2018

Three features for you this week. Joey DeFrancesco wowed Baton Rouge on Wednesday, November 28th at the Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge; we warmed up the crowd on Gifts and Messages with DrJazz's request list. Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim is a 2019 NEA Jazz Masters Award winner, and we spotlight his Penguin Guide 'Core Collection' recording, Yarona. ...

Article: Under the Radar

Blue Highways and Sweet Music: The Territory Bands, Part II

by Karl Ackermann
August 30, 2018

Part 1 | Part 2 Part 1 of Blue Highways and Sweet Music: The Territory Bands looked at the roots, drivers and challenges of the travelling groups who brought jazz music to the non-urban areas of the Southern Plains, through one-night-stands, in often impromptu venues. A black phenomenon, often misappropriated by white musicians, promoters, ...