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Leonard Bernstein
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A presence on Broadway, in Hollywood, at Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein was a major force in twentieth century music. His exuberant and dramatic style caught the heart of America, bringing classical music to thousands of people from diverse backgrounds. More than any American conductor before him, Bernstein expanded the audience of classical music while maintaining a deep artistic integrity. Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1918. His parents were first generation Jewish immigrants from Russia. Though he began learning the piano at age ten, his family hoped he would follow a more practical route, and sent him to the Boston Latin School. After graduating, he attended Harvard University, where he majored in music. His interest was in becoming a concert pianist, but upon graduating he began to seriously study orchestration at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. More important than any of the formal training, however, were the summers he spent in Tanglewood, Massachusetts, studying with the great conductor Serge Koussevitzky. In 1942, Koussevitzky invited Bernstein to be the assistant conductor at Tanglewood. Though very young for a conductor, his flamboyant style and emotionally charged performances caught the attention of others in the classical music community--one of whom was Arthur Rodzinzki, who appointed him assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. It was at the New York Philharmonic that Bernstein got his big break. Asked to fill in for an ailing guest conductor, Bernstein (then only twenty-five) conducted a difficult and energetic performance with only an evening's preparation. Impressing all who came, Bernstein found himself on the cover of The New York Times--an instant celebrity. Within two years he was named the director of the New York City Symphony. He spent much of the 1950s conducting, teaching, and becoming involved in composing for non- classical genres. Of his many popular efforts of the time, On the Waterfront (1954), Candide (1956), and West Side Story (1957) are the best known. For On the Waterfront he received an Academy Award, and for nearly everything he did, he received the acclaim of an adoring public. In 1957, Bernstein returned to the New York Philharmonic, where he was to make his greatest contribution to the music world. The versatile musical genius that had made him a success on Broadway and in the classical concert halls of the world, found its true home at Lincoln Center. For the next eleven seasons, Bernstein would energize the Philharmonic and American classical music in a way no other director had done. Taking advantage of the recent technological advance of television, Bernstein presented classical music to a wider audience. While he toured throughout the world, visiting seventeen different countries, he also concentrated on creating accessible performances for the average American. For both children and adults, he created shows which were both entertaining and educational. By the time of his resignation from the Philharmonic, he had conducted nine hundred and thirty nine concerts with the orchestra--an unprecedented amount.
5 Epic Jazz Songs That Forever Changed the World
by Alan Bryson
So You Don't Like Jazz normally focuses on ways to turn people on to jazz, but this column focuses on five jazz songs whose impact profoundly changed modern music. In the process they also demonstrated that jazz could be successful in a modern culture dominated by pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues. Arguably the ...
Jim Witzel Quartet: Very Early (Remembering Bill Evans)
by Jack Bowers
Very Early, a warmhearted tribute to the late great pianist Bill Evans, is led not by a pianist but by a guitarist, San Francisco-based Jim Witzel, an Evans admirer since his introduction to the pianist's singular music on Evans' 1961 album, Live at the Village Vanguard. There is a pianist on this tasteful quartet ...
Roberto Magris: Lovely Day (s)
by Dan McClenaghan
Italian pianist Roberto Magris began his journey to the United States--specifically, Kansas City--in 2007, although his recording career began in 1990, in Europe. He expresses himself, for the most part, in the bebop mode--good old-fashioned bop. His inspirations: Lee Morgan, Elmo Hope, Cannonball Adderley and more. Magris found a home at Kansas City's JMood ...
Sonhos, Pesadelos & An American Tune
by Katchie Cartwright
Dreams and nightmares this week on Caminhos do Jazz, with a host of superb Brazilian performers, including singers Maria Bethânia, Gal Costa, Alaide Costa, Lenine and the MPB group Nação Zumbi. The set also includes a cut by the extraordinary Norwegian world-jazz ensemble Music for a While, featuring vocalist Tora Augestad, and one from the renowned ...
Jim Witzel Quartet: Very Early (Remembering Bill Evans)
by Troy Dostert
While tributes to pianist Bill Evans have certainly not been in short supply over the years, he has unsurprisingly been given far more attention by pianists than from other instrumentalists. Efforts from guitarists have been particularly rare. There are some noteworthy exceptions: John McLaughlin took a stab at it in 1993 with Time Remembered (Verve) alongside ...
Roberto Magris: Lovely Day (s)
by Edward Blanco
Veteran Italian jazz pianist Roberto Magris has enjoyed a four-decade career with the accumulation of over thirty albums as leader, in addition to appearing as a sideman on another 10 recordings. Yet, this highly versatile, creative and talented musician has never recorded a solo performance project until now. With Lovely Day(s), Magris finally keeps his promise ...
Dolomiti Ski Jazz - Edizione 2025
by Paolo Peviani
Dolomiti Ski Jazz--XXIX Edizione Val di Fiemme, Val di Fassa, Val di Cembra 07-16 marzo 2025 Fedele al motto “musica calda tra paesaggi innevati", anche questa ventinovesima edizione del Dolomiti Ski Jazz ha puntato sul consueto mix di concerti di intrattenimento sulle terrazze dei rifugi per allietare la pausa pranzo degli sciatori, ...
Brussels Jazz Orchestra & Naima Joris: Saudade
by Angelo Leonardi
Dopo il disco con Camille Bertault dedicato a Serge Gainsbourg del 2023, la Brussels Jazz Orchestra torna a incidere con una cantante e presenta al pubblico del jazz Naima Joris, singer-songwriter molto apprezzata nell'Europa settentrionale per le sue interpretazioni introspettive ed evanescenti. Figlia di Chris Joris, uno dei protagonisti del jazz in Belgio, Naima ...
Marc Copland: Alter Ego Lausanne 2022
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Marc Copland began his jazz journey playing the alto saxophone. It was an electric alto saxophone. Plugged-in saxophones are not heard much in jazz. And that is a shame. It seems like a good idea, juicing up the horn and making new sounds. But Copland soon found this way of making music limiting. He went ...
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