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Gold Medalists Abound at Big Band Olympics
by Jack Bowers
As this is being written, Betty and I are just back from a ten-day visit to California, the first six days of which would be of absolutely no interest to readers of this column. The last four, however, were spent at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel attending the L.A. Jazz Institute's “Big Band Olympics," which ...
Are You Sure, Bobby?
by Jack Bowers
In late March, I received an e-mail from trumpeter Bobby Shew. He said he'd performed a gig in West Palm Beach, FL, and had met my brothers, whom he described as “nice guys." My first impulse was to write back and ask if he could have been mistaken. My brothers? Nice guys? Well, the fact is ...
A Memorable Evening with Andy Martin
by Jack Bowers
After several months of inactivity, big-band jazz in Albuquerque sprang vibrantly to life for one memorable evening February 19 as Andy Martin, one of the world's most accomplished trombonists, flew in from Los Angeles to team with the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra for an electrifying concert at the Eldorado High School Performing Arts Center, crowning the city's ...
Roberta Piket: Making a Difference
by Victor L. Schermer
Roberta Piket is a jazz pianist, composer, and arranger with an exceptional range of expression. In the same tune or performance, she moves fluidly between bebop, hard bop, blues, soft and mellow, up-tempo, contrapuntal, and advanced harmonic motifs, making it all come together in meaningful, coherent statements of ideas and emotions. She thinks hard when she ...
Moody's Mood Was Always Happy
by Jack Bowers
James Moody, whose noble spirit and radiant personality were as impressive as his exploits on saxophone and flute for more than six decades, died December 9, 2010 from pancreatic cancer at his home in San Diego. He was 85 years old. To anyone who was lucky enough to meet him, the Moody hug ...
Musical Talent Is (Now and Then) All in the Family
by Jack Bowers
The induction of almost the entire Marsalis family (father Ellis, piano, and sons Wynton, trumpet; Branford, saxophones; Delfeayo, trombone; and Jason, drums) set me to thinking about how musical talent sometimes runs in families. In the pop world, almost everyone knows about the Jacksons, the Kings, the Osmonds and others. The same is true in jazz, ...
Travelling the “Rhythm Road”: Jazz Ambassadorship in the Twenty-First Century
by Victor L. Schermer
When asked to define jazz, Count Basie, said, “Tap your feet!" Rhythm brings people together, and is part of what makes jazz America's musical bridge to the world. “Jazz ambassadorship," a concept which came on the scene over half a century ago, continues into the New Milennium. One current basis for its longevity is that every ...
"A Swingin' Affair" Outshines Its Name
by Jack Bowers
With an appreciative bow and genial tip of the hat to the late Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra, the Los Angeles Jazz Institute named its semi-annual big-band soiree May 21-24 at the Sheraton LAX Four Points Hotel “A Swingin' Affair." Was the event able to live up to its name? In the immortal words of ...
Bud Shank: A Voice for the Ages
by Jack Bowers
I'll always have fond memories of the 2007 Prescott (Arizona) Jazz Summit, as it was the last time I had the great pleasure of seeing and hearing the phenomenal alto saxophonist Bud Shank doing what he did best: enfolding an entire audience in the palm of his hand with a seemingly endless stream of irrepressible notes ...
Louie Bellson: Tasteful Drummer, Sweeter Guy
by Jack Bowers
To say that drummer extraordinaire Louie Bellson, who left us on February 14, 2009 at age eighty-four, had a remarkable career would be to explicitly understate the record. Bellson's success at age 17 in a nationwide contest sponsored by one of his idols, Gene Krupa, and Slingerland Drums set the talented wunderkind on a path that ...
