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Backgrounder: Miles Davis - Miles Ahead, 1957
Miles Davis's Miles Ahead: Miles +19 for Columbia is one of jazz's most exquisite orchestral albums. The LP was arranged by Gil Evans, who, with Davis, selected nine jazz songs plus an Evans-Davis original and dressed them up in a modernist, Thornhillian style. The result is spectacular. Davis on flugelhorn is gentle and at times even ...
Perfection: Dave Brubeck - The Duke
Dave Brubeck first recorded his composition The Duke during a live performance at New York's Basin Street East on October 13, 1954. His quartet at the time consisted of Paul Desmond (as), Dave Brubeck (p), Bob Bates (b) and Joe Dodge (d). The song has a wonderful swing feel and the melody and bass lines are ...
Michael Howell: In the Silence, 1974
Michael Howell is a little-known jazz and fusion guitarist, but those who are familiar with his music love him. One of my favorites is his album In the Silence. Recorded for Milestone in April 1974, the LP features Bennie Maupin (ts,saxello,b-cl,alto-fl,pic), Michael Howell (g), Henry Franklin (b), Leon “Ndugu" Chancler (d) and Kenneth Nash (perc,cga). Born ...
Gábor Szabó: Jazz Raga
Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó is, in some respects, a forefather of jazz fusion. In the mid-1960s, his rhythmic guitar style, avant-garde feel and smart interpretations of pop-rock hits paved the way for sophisticated rock experimentation by young jazz guitarists. In most cases, his interpretations of hit songs produced a more interesting listen. Szabó left Budapest when ...
Eddie Wasserman: The Small Groups
Eddie Wasserman wasn't a star but he could have been. He never was a leader on his own session. Instead, he spent the bulk of his career playing woodwinds in top big bands. His first recording session was with Benny Goodman in December 1948 and remained there into 1948. Going forward, he was a favorite of ...
Backgrounder: Shorty Rogers Courts the Count
Whenever the jazz conversation turns to West Coast jazz, the talk usually centers on the laid-back style's major influences, including tenor saxophonist Lester Young, Woody Herman's Four Brothers band and Gerry Mulligan's quartet and arrangements. The biggest influence of all is rarely mentioned—Count Basie. Many of the leading West Coast arrangers of the day have cited ...
Perfection: Gene Krupa - Mulligan Stew
On October 20, 21 and 22 of 1958, drummer Gene Krupa assembled a crack New York big band to record Gene Krupa Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements for Verve. The idea was brilliant. One of the most interesting songs out of the 12 recorded was Mulligan Stew, a sexy bop chart. The material is terrific—from the song's ...
Interview: Jon De Lucia on the Brubeck Octet
With World War II over at the end of August 1945, Dave Brubeck returned home from Europe and was discharged from the Army. He returned to California and immediately began studying at Mills College with Darius Milhaud, the famed French modern-classical composer and conductor who had a great reverence for jazz. That year, Milhaud (above) asked ...
Coleman Hawkins Meets the Big Sax Section
An interesting Coleman Hawkins album that's unavailable and virtually unknown today is Coleman Hawkins Meets the Big Sax Section. Originally entitled The Saxophone Section, Featuring Coleman Hawkins, it was recorded in April 1958 for the World Wide label. When Savoy re-issued the album, the label changed the title. The LP featured 4/5 of Count Basie's sax ...
Perfection: Miles Davis - A Gal in Calico
On June 7, 1955, Miles Davis recorded Musings of Miles for Prestige. One of the tracks for the album was “A Gal in Calico," composed by Arthur Schwartz. It was introduced in the 1946 film The Time, the Place and the Girl. Musings of Miles was the trumpeter's first 12-inch LP (earlier ones were 10 inches). ...
