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Bobby Zankel: Peaceful Jazz Warrior
by Victor L. Schermer
For many decades, Philadelphia has been home to a cadre of multi-generational jazz musicians who go on year-after-year composing, arranging and performing some of the best, highest level music to be heard anywhere. This tradition is exemplified in no better way than by alto saxophonist, composer and bandleader Bobby Zankel. Zankel apprenticed with legendary ...
Sonny Rollins Takes a Ride
A couple of months ago, I asked Sonny Rollins if he would be willing to visit his old neighborhood in Harlem with me from the back of a comfortable car for the Wall Street Journal. His 80th birthday was coming (September 7). So was a much heralded concert at New York's Beacon Theater (September 10). Now ...
Eden Brent: A Jazz Queen With a Case of the Blues
Jazz grew out of the blues some time in the late 19th or early 20th century in and around New Orleans. While the two styles grew apart as each developed its own lexicon, there's no mistaking the fact that the they are deeply intertwined—one need look no further than Billie Holiday, Count Basie and most musicians ...
Orrin Keepnews on Bill Evans
In rereading producer Orrin Keepnews' superb book, The View From Within, a collection of his jazz writings and recollections over the years, I came across the following passage on Bill Evans and the recording of Explorations. I've often posted that the years between 1959 and 1965 represent my favorite Bill Evans period, with Explorations being among ...
Zappa Bust to be Unveiled in Baltimore on 9/19
SEPTEMBER 19 WILL BE DECLARED “FRANK ZAPPA DAY" IN BALTIMORE Details of events were announced today for the unveiling of a sculpture of Frank Zappa and celebration honoring the composer for the legacy of his music and his commitment to the First Amendment. September 19, 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Zappa's testimony on Capitol Hill ...
Happy Birthday, Gene Harris!
Pianist Gene Harris (1933-2000) recorded prolifically during his long career. He started out playing in Army bands during the early 1950s. In 1956, he formed The Three Sounds with Andy Simpkins on bass and Bill Dowdy on drums. (Actually, it was originally The Four Sounds, but saxophonist Lonnie “The Sound" Walker dropped out after a year.) ...
Wycliffe Gordon: What This is All About
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
Versatility is an important part of a well-developed artistic soul. The arts provide a wide range of outlets of expression that can be nurtured and grown into their finest results. Music could very well be a reason to believe in the extraordinary, and jazz musicians are no exception; they might even be a norm. It is ...
Latin Jazz Conversations: Hilario Duran (Part 3)
There are many potential elements that can constitute a successful and inspired Latin Jazz career, but one thing is guaranteed—constant change. A creative individual rarely stays on one artistic track for too long during their career, it's simply not in their nature. They might shift between different artistic directions at several points during their career, taking ...
Charlie Parker and McKusick's Suit
In early 1945, saxophonist Hal McKusick found himself in Los Angeles sharing a hotel room with arranger and pianist George Handy. Weeks earlier, Hal and Handy had been in Boston with Boyd Raeburn's band. But just before Christmas 1944, they quit in protest. Raeburn was handing solos meant for tenor saxophonist Al Cohn's to alto saxophonist ...
