Results for "JazzWax by Marc Myers"

Rose Max: Bossa Nova 2013

July 12, 2019

On March 21 and 22, 2013, Brazilian vocalist Rose Max was in Costa Rica with guitarist Ramatis Morais, pianist Michael Orta, bassist Jamie Ousley and drummer Carlomagno Araya. They were backed by Costa Rica's National Symphony Orchestra at the National Theatre of Costa Rica in San José. The orchestra was arranged and conducted by Jeremy Fox, ...

The Complete Morton Project

July 10, 2019

New Orleans pianist Jelly Roll Morton is widely considered to be jazz's first arranger. Though jazz was considered exclusively an improvised form early on, Morton proved that jazz could retain its joyous, freewheeling feel even when scored on music paper. He also was jazz's first published composer. His Jelly Roll Blues was published in 1915. As ...

Abdullah Ibrahim: The Balance

July 9, 2019

Unlike other forms of popular music, jazz is a product of where artists are from. Each musician's sound is flavored by their environment and surrounding culture. Louis Armstrong had a joyful New Orleans sound, Dizzy Gillespie had the arch flavor of New York, Chet Baker had a relaxed West Coast feel and Howard McGhee had a ...

João Gilberto (1931-2019)

July 8, 2019

João Gilberto, whose chiffon-soft vocal covers of Brazilian colleagues' songs, his romantic guitar arrangements and intoxicating rhythms helped the bossa nova gain worldwide attention in 1959, died July 6. He was 88. The bossa nova had been played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, since 1957, when Antonio Carlo Jobim, Carlo Lyra, Sylvia Telles, Johnny Alf, Roberto ...

Documentary: Lennie Tristano

July 5, 2019

Documentary: John Philip Sousa

July 4, 2019

Today being July 4th and all, what better way to celebrate America's birthday than to look at the life and music of John Philip Sousa (1854-1932). Known as the “March King," the composer and conductor of brassy, dramatic patriotic songs in the 1800s also laid the track for jazz. By the turn of the 20th century, ...

Stanley Clarke: Halston

July 2, 2019

Jazz and the movies have a long history. Many silent films were accompanied by live ragtime, and jazz was performed in movies or was a mainstay of movie storylines for decades once talkies emerged in 1929. Movie scores by jazz artists is a different matter. That started in the late 1950s with I Want to Live ...

History of the Jazz Piano

July 1, 2019

The history of the jazz piano starts in 1899. By my count, 20 pianists changed the direction of jazz over the course of 75 years. Here are 20 sample tracks in chronological order of those pianists. Listen for how the the piano evolves over time—the right hand, the left hand, the feel and the bounce Here's ...

BBC Doc: Yacht Rock

June 28, 2019

With July 4th on a Thursday this year in the U.S., next week is pretty much a wash. Many people are taking off, turning the first week in July into a sweltering version of the week between Christmas and New Year. Today, you can literally hear New York quiet down to a hush. Since it's Friday ...

10 Little-Known Maiden Voyages

June 27, 2019

In January 1965, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock received a call from a Hollywood jingle agency. Its client, Yardley, needed background music for a TV commercial and wanted a trio playing something jazzy, since the men’s fragrance ad took place in a sophisticated club. But instead of writing straight-ahead jazz, Mr. Hancock arranged a catchy rhythmic line ...