Results for "JazzWax by Marc Myers"

Henri Salvador, Part 1

September 28, 2020

Henri Salvador was a French singer, musician and dancer whose talents were so exceptional and profound, we don't really have anyone of comparable status in the U.S. Salvador played guitar and trumpet, he sang beautifully and he was a star in virtually every music genre, including jazz, pop, chanson, cabaret, rock 'n' roll and bossa nova. ...

Thelonious Monk: Palo Alto

September 24, 2020

There are no bad recordings of pianist Thelonious Monk together with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse. Well, maybe two—when they were in a top-notch group assembled in the late 1940s to back a so-so vocalist named Frankie Passions, who recorded two lackluster pop songs. But starting in the fall of 1958, at New York's Five Spot, they ...

10 by Mancini in 1960

September 23, 2020

Hollywood composer, arranger and conductor Henry Mancini released four albums in 1960—two soundtracks and two instrumental LPs. The scores were for the film High Time and the TV series Mr. Lucky. The instrumentals were The Blues and the Beat and The Mancini Touch. Their cool swing, jauntiness and instrumental textures were in sync with the minimalist ...

San Gabriel 7: Red Dress

September 21, 2020

What would Tower of Power sound like if we swapped out Lenny Williams for Femi Knight and added an eye-dropper of the Jazz Crusaders? Obviously, we'll never know, but the San Gabriel 7's new album Red Dress, (Jrl Sgs), with singer-songwriter Femi Knight, gives us an idea. The SG7 is based in the Los Angeles area, ...

Five Guitarists With the Blues

September 17, 2020

By 1971, my family had moved out of Manhattan for the northern reaches of Westchester County. I wasn't happy about being there, but it was better than dealing with overcrowded classrooms in the city and muggings in school stairways. Craving the city at 15, I started taking the train into New York to spend hours at ...

B.B. King at Sing Sing, 1973

September 16, 2020

René Thomas: Rare and New

September 15, 2020

Born in Liège, Belgium, guitarist René Thomas moved to Paris in the early 1950s and became part of the active jazz scene there. Paris back then was similar to 52nd Street in New York, where musicians could engage in steady gigging with leading musicians from Europe and from America. What most of the European jazz musicians ...

Neil Swainson: 49th Parallel

September 14, 2020

In 1987, Neil Swainson wanted to record six original compositions. At the time, the Canadian bassist was playing Toronto jazz clubs with Canadian drummer Jerry Fuller and pianist Gary Williamson. When Woody Shaw came to town earlier that year, the trio backed him. Swainson also played with the trumpeter a couple of years earlier and recorded ...

Jazz Doc: Stéphane Grappelli

September 10, 2020

European jazz starts with Stéphane Grappelli and the Hot Club of France Quintet. The violinist along with guitarist Django Reinhardt added Louis Vola on bass and Joseph Reinhardt and Roger Chaput on guitar. The group ended its run in 1939 with the onset of World War II. Grappelli was in London when war broke out and ...

Miles: Ascenseur pour l'échafaud

September 8, 2020

Known in English as Elevator to the Gallows, this 1958 French crime film is notable for three reasons: The movie, directed by Louis Malle, launched French new wave cinema. It stars Jeanne Moreau, one of France's finest actresses and a personal favorite. And best of all, Miles Davis improvises throughout. In a nutshell, the film is ...