Results for "JazzWax by Marc Myers"

Blossom Dearie: '54, '65, '72 And '83

October 25, 2013

Singer-pianist Blossom Dearie was a singular artist of fascinating contrasts. She was hipper than many of the men she played with and could swing just as hard. She had a “good girl" look yet struggled with a husband (Bobby Jaspar) who was addicted to heroin. She was a jazzy cocktail-cabaret act but could arrange vocal and ...

Mike Barone: Hollywood, 1968-'69

October 24, 2013

Based on the flood of emails I received this week, readers seem to get a kick out of my big band posts—particularly when I write about superb recordings that they may have missed. Today I'm going to tell you about two albums led by Mike Barone recorded in late 1968 and early 1969 that are out ...

Henri Renaud: Paris, 1951

October 23, 2013

Clamart is a French town about five miles southwest of Paris. Each year since 1949, a jazz festival has been held there. In June 1951, soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet was injured in a car accident on his way to the festival and was replaced by Don Byas. Also at the festival was French pianist Henri Renaud ...

Dizzy Gillespie: London, 1966

October 22, 2013

In August 1966, Dizzy Gillespie appeared in London on the BBC's Jazz 625 TV show. Gillespie was introduced by British “trad jazz" trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and then appeared with James Moody (ts,as,fl), Kenny Barron (p), Chris White (b) and Rudy Collins (d) for a five-song set. While parts of this video have been up on YouTube ...

Bob Keene: 1951-'52 Sessions

October 21, 2013

As part of my continuing series on big band recordings from the '50s that may have escaped your radar, let me hip you to Bob Keene's Dancing on the Ceiling. Originally issued as a series of singles in 1951 and '52, the LP on Los Angeles' Whippet label featured clarinetist Bob Keene, who was 29 at ...

Terry Teachout on Ellington (PT. 2)

October 17, 2013

The impact, influence and sheer longevity of Duke Ellington's jazz career is astonishing, rivaled only perhaps by Louis Armstrong's. From his first recordings in 1924 until his last at Georgetown University in 1974 just three months before his death, Ellington was essentially responsible for creating jazz's national highway system. Thanks to the trails he blazed, other ...

Terry Teachout on Ellington (PT. 1)

October 16, 2013

Back in the early 2000s, Terry Teachout and I were sitting in my living room listening to Erroll Garner when I asked him what his motivation was for writing. Terry thought for a moment and said, “To connect with average readers in the simplest and most engaging way possible so I can turn them on to ...

MJQ in Germany, 1956-58

October 15, 2013

Ten years after the end of World War II, Germany was still furiously rebuilding. Aided by American dollars, West Germany was eager to shore up its infrastructure and re-invent itself as a modern, democratic nation. The faster it was integrated into the West, the better its chances of staving off Soviet and East German influences and ...

Crawford and McGriff, 1989

October 14, 2013

Dick Lapalm: 1927-2013

October 10, 2013

Dick LaPalm, one of the music industry's most committed and knowledgeable record promoters who ensured that singles and albums by jazz and pop artists such as Nat King Cole, Ahmad Jamal, Woody Herman, Sarah Vaughan, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Sonny Rollins and many others were played on the air, died October 7. He was 86. [Photo ...