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Backgrounder: Bobby Hackett, Memorable & Mellow

In 1967 and '68, cornetist Bobby Hackett recorded a pair of gorgeous LPs with strings on the Project 3 Total Sound label—That Midnight Touch and A Time for Love. In 1979, both albums with sterling fidelity were released as a two-fer by Project 3 as The Memorable & Mellow Bobby Hackett. With the advent of the ...
Fats Sadi: A Retrospective: 1953-1961

Like trumpeter Harry James, Fats Sadi began his musical career in the company of clowns. The Belgian jazz musician played the xylophone in a touring circus before World War II. After the war, he took up the vibraphone and recorded as a sideman and as a leader. He could play swing and bop, and his earliest ...
Ahmad Jamal: 1930-2023

Ahmad Jamal, whose spare but highly melodic piano style on trio recordings beginning in 1951 transformed the sound of the jazz piano and deeply influenced Miles Davis and Red Garland, died on April 16. He was 92. At the dawn of the 1950s, Jamal's gleeful and relaxed style was a radical departure from other piano approaches ...
Backgrounder: Mann and Rouse, Just Wailin'

On February 14, 1958, Bob Weinstock brought together a sextet to record for his New Jazz Records. Weinstock had founded New Jazz in 1949 as his first label just before launching Prestige later that year. Despite Prestige's success in the 1950s, Weinstock kept New Jazz alive for reasons that are unclear. He may have done so ...
Kenton: Marty Paich's 'Body and Soul'

Yesterday, Jim Eigo sent along a link to an audio clip he received from Jeffrey Sultanof, who posted on the subject at his blog The Eclectic's Corner: About the Arts. The clip features the voice of arranger Marty Paich providing Stan Kenton with audio notes and direction for his commissioned arrangement of Body and Soul. Such ...
Backgrounder: Gil Mellé's 1950s Blue Note Sessions

Last week, following my post on guitarist Lou Mecca, I heard from many readers who were unfamiliar with Gil Mellé and wanted to hear more. The place to start with Mellé are his 1950s recordings for Blue Note. As a foootnote, his first—New Faces, New Sounds: Quintet/Sextet, a 10-inch album—was the first to be recorded on ...
Doug Raney: New Videos From Spain

I've posted on guitarist Doug Raney multiple times in the past. Doug was the son of guitar great Jimmy Raney. Father and son performed as a duo in Europe in 1977. After they toured, Doug moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he lived until his death in 2016 at age 59. As Doug's younger brother, Jon Raney, ...
Three More Re-issues From Candid

Just out are three new spectacular re-issues from the Candid label. I posted about this previous re-issues here and here. As noted, the short-lived label was founded in 1960 as a subsidiary of Cadence Records. Its early output was overseen by jazz author and critic Nat Hentoff, who served as Candid's A&R director. In essence, he ...
Interview: Gene DiNovi

After my post on pianist Gene DiNovi in March, I included my email with hopes that Gene or his family would reach out so I could interview him. Joe Lang put me in touch with his daughter, who put me in touch with his wife and Gene. We had a lovely Zoom conversation. Gene is a ...
Backgrounder: Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt

On March 6 and 7 of 1961, arranger-conductor Ralph Burns assembled a top orchestra in New York, a rhythm section and saxophonist Sonny Stitt for an album that would be called The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt. I'm not sure what month in 1961 producer Creed Taylor arrived at Verve to become the label's recording chief, ...