Results for "JazzWax by Marc Myers"

George Shearing: Quintet Xmas

December 12, 2019

At JazzWax, 12 is the number of years I've posted annually on my selection for the JazzWax Vintage Holiday Album Hall of Fame. The point of this is to offer up perfect holiday music that conjures up feelings of a time long past or is just superbly executed seasonal music. Combined on your iTunes or Spotify ...

Documentary: Jim Hall

December 11, 2019

Buddy Rich: Final Recording

December 10, 2019

In 1983, I saw Buddy Rich and his big band at a long-gone New York club called Wednesday's on East 86th Street. I recall a mid-week gig and that the place was a disco on the weekends. The only table available was the one directly in front of Rich's bass drum. We took it. People had ...

Videos: Mulligan and Brookmeyer

December 7, 2019

The original Gerry Mulligan Quartet had its charms. Mulligan on baritone saxophone, Chet Baker on trumpet, Bob Whitlock on bass and Chico Hamilton on drums had a breezy, contrapuntal sound laced with innocence and coy harmony. But the meatier group with a swing passing gear was Mulligan's quartet with Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone, Bill Crow ...

Artie Shaw: Love of My Life

December 6, 2019

Artie Shaw's first feature-length film was Second Chorus, in 1940. By then, the 30-year-old clarinetist was earning up to $60,000 a week ($1.1 million in today's dollars), becoming the best-paid and most celebrated music star of the swing era. That same year, he recorded his massive hit Frenesi with a pickup orchestra, married actress Lana Turner ...

Video: Chick Corea in Spain, 2018

November 29, 2019

On July 28, 2018, the Chick Corea Acoustic Band performed at Jazz San Javier in southeast Spain. Pianist Chick Corea was accompanied by John Patitucci on bass and Dave Weckl on drums. The songs were Morning Sprite, A Japanese Waltz, That Old Feeling, In a Sentimental Mood, Life Line, A Sonata (by Domenico Scarlatti), You and ...

Royce Campbell: Organ Trio

November 28, 2019

One of my favorite albums celebrating the music of Henry Mancini is guitarist Royce Campbell's Tribute to Henry Mancini, recorded in 1996. Royce marvelously captures Mancini's hip and gentle melody lines and his passion for space. Royce should know. He was Mancini's guitarist for 19 years. A year before this album, Royce recorded a solid organ-trio ...

Video: Zoot Sims at Donte's

November 27, 2019

Sometime in 1970, tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims performed at Donte's, a North Hollywood club at 4263 Lankershim Blvd. He was with Roger Kellaway on piano, Chuck Berghofer on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. Fortunately for us, part of the gig was filmed. They played Zoot's Piece, My Old Flame, On the Trail and Motoring Along. ...

Video: Stan Getz in Munich

November 26, 2019

On July 18, 1990, Stan Getz performed at the Munich Philharmonic Hall in Germany. Though the YouTube upload describes this as Getz's last concert, it wasn't. The tenor saxophonist was recorded live at the Montmartre Jazzhouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 3,4, 5 and 6, 1991. Getz died June 6 of that year. He was 64. ...

Jazz for the Fireplace

November 23, 2019

With Thanksgiving coming next Thursday and the December holidays just around the corner, you'll likely find yourself in front of a fireplace or cooking for friends in the coming weeks. Or simply unwinding by yourself. To make those evenings extra cozy, here are 10 jazz albums that are hip and remarkably soothing. Here are album titles ...