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Aleks Girshevich Trio: Tomorrow
by Florence Wetzel
The word “prodigy" comes from the Latin prodigium, which means “sign" or “portent." Jazz boasts its fair share of these exceptional individuals, including drummer Tony Williams, pianist Keith Jarrett, saxophonist Grace Kelly and Trombone Shorty. Folks on the Colorado music scene have been talking for years about the tremendously talented drummer Aleks Girshevich, who was born ...
Matt Smiley: Quartet Art
by Florence Wetzel
Colorado-based bassist Matt Smiley is an excellent example of the virtues of musical versatility. His résumé includes performing internationally at the Montreux, North Sea, and Montreal Jazz festivals; premiering John Hilliard's 2nd Piano Concerto at the Kennedy Center; presenting his own arrangements of bassist Dave Holland's seminal “Conference of the Birds"; playing with a funk band; ...
Katie Glassman: Snapshot
by Florence Wetzel
The marriage of jazz and country music has a long and colorful history. In writer Geoffrey Himes' excellent article, “Jazz and Country Fusion: The Searchers" (JazzTimes, December 2008), he explores how this history contains everyone from saxophonist Sonny Rollins, bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist Bill Frisell, to banjoist Béla Fleck and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Defining “country ...
Erik Deutsch: Demonio Teclado
by Florence Wetzel
The title of Erik Deutsch's Demonio Teclado means “Keyboard Demon"--and indeed he is. Raised in Washington, DC and Nashville, Deutsch spent ten years in Colorado honing his craft, receiving a degree from the University of Colorado in piano performance, plus studying and playing with pianist Art Lande and gigging with trumpeter Ron Miles. In the mid-2000s ...
The Teaching: 12.26.09 Live at Dazzle
by Florence Wetzel
One of the most inspiring stories in jazz concerns saxophonist John Coltrane's valiant attempt to kick heroin. In the midst of a physical firestorm, Coltrane had a spiritual awakening, and he asked God to give him the means and privilege to make others happy through music--which he ultimately did, creating jazz history in the process.
Art Lande / Dave Peterson: Polar Opposites
by Florence Wetzel
Nestled in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado, there is a rare and precious jazz gem: pianist Art Lande. Born in 1947, Lande has had a long and fruitful career, including membership in his Rubisa Patrol quartet, which included trumpeter Mark Isham and drummer Bill Douglass. He recorded for ECM from 1973 to 1987, with players such ...
Brian Harker: Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings
by Florence Wetzel
Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven RecordingsBrian HarkerSoftcover; 186 pagesISBN: 9780195388404Oxford University Press2011In 1925, Louis Armstrong was 24 years old. He had just returned to Chicago from New York City at the behest of his second wife, pianist Lil Hardin Armstrong, who wanted ...
Clark Terry with Gwen Terry: Clark - The Autobiography of Clark Terry
by Florence Wetzel
Clark: The Autobiography of Clark TerryClark Terry with Gwen TerryHardcover; 344 pagesISBN: 9780520268463University of California Press2011There are many sad stories in jazz. Cornetist Joe Oliver lost his embouchure and ended up working as a janitor in a pool hall, singer Billie Holiday was arrested ...
Colin Stranahan / Glenn Zaleski / Rick Rosato: Anticipation
by Florence Wetzel
The piano-bass-drum trio format is a classic configuration in jazz, and with good reason: given the right musicians, this particular combination of instruments forms a perfect sonic triangle. As the jazz world mourns the November 2011 death of drummer Paul Motian--a member of pianist Bill Evans's paradigm-shifting trio, along with gifted bassist Scott LaFaro--it's good to ...
Sean McGowan: Sphere
by Florence Wetzel
For many jazz lovers, pianist Thelonious Monk's solo recordings of his own compositions are an exquisite pleasure. The simplicity of a single instrument reveals the compositions' elegant architecture, allowing their angular beauty to become refreshingly clear. The challenge and joy of recording Monk's music solo continues to entice musicians, thus creating afresh some of the twentieth ...
