Results for "JazzWax by Marc Myers"

10 CD Discoveries of the Week

May 6, 2014

All kinds of stuff for you this week—from '70s soul and funk-fusion to funk-bluegrass, big band and American Songbook... Harvey Mason—Chameleon (Concord). On his new jazz-fusion album, Harvey Mason shows he hasn't lost his funky '70s touch. For decades, Mason has been one of the most in-demand studio drummers, recording behind dozens of top artists. He ...

Bill Potts: 'How Insensitive'

May 5, 2014

One of the rarest albums by pianist-arranger Bill Potts is How Insensitive (Decca). It was recorded by Brasilia Nueve (New Brazil)—a studio band assembled in New York in May 1967. The album seems to have been intended as an Easy Listening entry, but like all things by Potts, the album shows exceptional arranging and smarts. So ...

Stan Getz: Five Rare Videos

May 1, 2014

Like a jewel thief, Stan Getz had a way of climbing inside a song without disturbing its wiring. Getz tended to play in the upper register of the tenor sax—the range that's most seductive rather than bossy—and used the lower register for to kick off surges and to create contrast. When the song's melody and Getz's ...

Burt Collins: Time, Space and Blues

April 30, 2014

Sometime after March 1969, trumpeters Burt Collins and Joe Shepley went into the studio and recorded a masterpiece. I'm betting you've never heard the album—Time, Space & the Blues—because it has never been released digitally and is rare on vinyl. Pianist Mike Abene wrote many of the songs and all of the arrangements except one—Soft Landing, ...

Mike Cuozzo: Lost Sax

April 29, 2014

The name Mike Cuozzo won't ring a bell with most jazz fans. The tenor saxophonist's discography is slim—just four known recording sessions, including two leadership dates, in 1955 and 1956, when he was 30 years old. And that was it. He left the jazz scene to become a building contractor in Caldwell, N.J., a move likely ...

Gary Lefebvre: Ghost Great

April 25, 2014

One of the finest saxophonists with the fewest number of jazz recordings was Gary LeFebvre. The San Diego musician died at age 74 last August, leaving behind a king-size reputation among musicians but only two leadership albums and just a handful of others. LeFebvre got his start in 1956 at age 17 playing with the San ...

Four Wes Montgomery Videos

April 25, 2014

I had a craving for Wes Montgomery yesterday: those thick low notes, that swinging right thumb, rhythmic chords, octave solo style and cool demeanor. So today I thought I'd share with you what I watched—four fabulous Montgomery videos... Here's That Rainy Day in London in 1965 backed by Stan Tracey (piano), Rick Laird (bass) and Jackie ...

Leon Sash: 'I Remember Newport'

April 25, 2014

Arguments over which jazz accordionists are best is pointless. For one, there were too many great ones in the post-war period, so ranking them is like splitting hairs. For another, any accordionist who swings sounds great, making further discussion moot. With that said, one of the greats was Leon Sash, despite the fact that he recorded ...

Sarah Vaughan: Europe, 1958

April 18, 2014

Eddie Condon: New York, 1964

April 16, 2014

Before the Swing Era, when jazz was shaped by jny Kansas City's big-band dance beats, Chicago's frantic small-group sound was hot. Among the Chicago greats was guitarist Eddie Condon, king of the rhythm-keepers. In 1964, ABC in New York broadcast a Carnegie Hall tribute to Condon featuring the cream of the Chicago gang. Part 1...   ...