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Results for "JazzWax by Marc Myers"

435

News: Recording

Oscar Peterson and Nelson Riddle

March 7, 2009

Easy Listening as a genre has been unfairly maligned for years. Since the advent of rock in the late 1960s, the entire category has been disparaged as “elevator," “background" or “mall" music, depending on the decade. The assault has been so pronounced that the very term “Easy Listening" now is code for “artless music." But like ...

117

News: Interview

Interview: Chico Hamilton (Part 2)

March 5, 2009

Pianist Jimmy Rowles didn't show up. So on June 10, 1952, Gerry Mulligan went ahead and recorded three tracks with just Red Mitchell on bass and Chico Hamilton on drums. That's when Mulligan realized that the sound of his baritone sax could carry a session and that maybe a small group didn't need a piano after ...

156

News: Interview

Interview: Chico Hamilton (Part 3)

March 5, 2009

Chico Hamilton remains one of the greatest living drummers of our time. In the 1950s, Chico developed a sound on the instrument that was radically different from the bop-heavy style favored by his more explosive contemporaries. Chico's technique was whispery and tenacious, turning the snare, bass drum, cymbals and high-hat into coaxing co-conspirators. Understated and knowing, ...

167

News: Interview

Interview: Chico Hamilton (Part 1)

March 3, 2009

Drummer Chico Hamilton's contribution to West Coast jazz and quintet jazz in general is largely overlooked today. Partially eclipsed by the more explosive drummers of the late 1950s and 1960s, Hamilton's high-energy brushwork and wasp-wings time-keeping technique set new standards that were widely imitated for years on both coasts. Chico is perhaps best known for being ...

389

News: Music Industry

The Curious Case of Marcy Lutes

February 28, 2009

Marcy Lutes' first solo recording as a vocalist was her last. After 10 years toiling in the big bands of Ray McKinley, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Herbie Fields, Lutes finally was given a shot in late 1956. The album was called Marcy Lutes: Debut, and the LP might have been forgotten if it wasn't for ...

News: Recording

Five Hidden Jazz Downloads

February 27, 2009

Every so often I spend a little time squirreling around at Amazon and in the iTunes Store looking to see what has been added to their catalogs. Since these digital music services aren't set up like old-fashioned record stores, it's impossible to know what has recently arrived unless you stumble upon a new release in an ...

116

News: Interview

Interview: Billy Joel (Part 2)

February 26, 2009

Billy Joel's relationship with jazz fans has always been a bit tenuous. Much of the rancor dates back to Billy's 1978 album 52nd Street. With jazz on the ropes in the late 1970s, Billy's followup album to The Stranger featured the young singer-songwriter standing on the cover holding a trumpet and posing in a New York ...

191

News: Interview

Interview: Billy Joel (Part 1)

February 25, 2009

At about 12:45 pm yesterday, my office phone rang. When I answered it, a voice at the other end said, “Hi Marc? This is Billy Joel." A friend had told me he shared yesterday's post with the famed singer-songwriter in Miami and that Billy might call to talk about jazz and Just the Way You Are. ...

114

News: Recording

Phil Ramone: Just the Way You Are

February 24, 2009

Last Friday, in my interview series with Phil Woods, I asked the alto saxophonist about his iconic solo on Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are (1977). In my post, I referred to the hit as “sudsy." A cascade of e-mails from Billy Joel fans followed. Most took me to task for implying the song was ...

523

News: Interview

Interview: Phil Woods (Part 4)

February 21, 2009

Moving back to the U.S. from Europe in 1973, Phil Woods found himself a stranger in his own country. The economy had soured, and jazz was being squeezed out at clubs and record stores by folk, rock and soul. Discouraged, Phil planned to return to Paris. But just as he was set to depart, a lucky ...