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News: Interview

Interview: Berry Gordy Jr. (Part 2)

June 8, 2011

Meeting Berry Gordy Jr. while on assignment for the Wall Street Journal last week was quite a thrill. Having listened to Motown records since I'm a kid, it was quite something to spend an hour and a half with the person who built the label from scratch and developed the talent. And all of those skills ...

News: Interview

Interview: Berry Gordy Jr. (Part 1)

June 7, 2011

Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1971) is one of my favorite albums. As I've posted in this space in the past, the album has an unmatched sophisticated and sensitive tribal jazz-soul feel and a powerful socio-political message. For those unfamiliar with What's Going On, the album's vision and success changed soul music, giving artists greater latitude ...

News: Recording

Zoot Sims and Dick Nash

June 6, 2011

You're in for a huge treat, but you don't know it yet. Back in the 10-inch LP days, on February 14, 1955, tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims was in Los Angeles cutting a four-track session for Jump Records, a Hollywood label founded by Clive Acker and Ed Kocher in 1944 just after the first AFM recording ban ...

News: Interview

Interview: Marty Napoleon (Part 3)

June 3, 2011

It's hard enough to play jazz professionally. Now imagine you're playing with Louis Armstrong and musicians like trombonist Trummy Young, clarinetist Barney Bigard, bassist Milt Hinton, drummer Cozy Cole and vocalist Velma Middelton. That's jazz of the highest order. Plus artists who know a thing or two about entertainment. Pianist Marty Napoleon did just that, both ...

News: Interview

Interview: Marty Napoleon (Part 2)

June 2, 2011

After playing with a series of big bands in the mid-'40s, pianist Marty Napoleon recorded in small bop groups in the late '40s. His optimistic, high-energy personality and keen ear endeared him to many of the top players on the scene. He got along with everyone, even Buddy Rich, though that was a close call. [Photo ...

News: Interview

Interview: Marty Napoleon (Part 1)

June 1, 2011

Marty Napoleon is probably best known as the pianist in Louis Armstrong's All Stars, starting in 1952. That in and of itself would make Marty a superstar, considering who was in that band. But perhaps even more surprising is that Marty did not read music in the early part of his professional career. All of his ...

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News: Video / DVD

Dave Lambert: Audition at RCA

May 31, 2011

What you're about to see is going to blow your mind (unless you've seen it already). This was the first time I viewed the following video clip, and I knew nothing of it until JazzWax reader and publicist Michael Bloom sent along a link. Lambert from Peter on Vimeo. The clip is a 15-minute documentary short ...

159

News: Obituary

Weekend Wax Bits

May 30, 2011

Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011), a spoken-word singer- songwriter whose socially conscious soul-jazz albums of the '70s neatly leveraged the feel and urgency of Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye and Richie Havens, died in New York on May 27. He was 62. Scott-Heron's albums from the '70s are essential for fans of jazz and soul. His most dynamic recordings ...

141

News: Recording

Iola Brubeck Digs Disney

May 27, 2011

Following my post yesterday on Dave Brubeck's Dave Digs Disney (1957), I heard from Iola Brubeck, Dave's wife. The album has been newly remastered and reissued by Sony/Legacy in mono and stereo versions plus alternate takes. If you were ever a kid, you'll love the new release, which is brimming with childlike optimism and energy. [Pictured: ...

News: Recording

Dave Brubeck Digs Disney

May 26, 2011

In the summer of 1957, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond decided to record an album of well-known tunes from Walt Disney's animated films. Though Dave Digs Disney was first issued digitally in 1994, the album for years mysteriously remained on the back burner whenever Columbia producers reached into the vaults to remaster Dave's albums using the ...