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Amiri Baraka: Perspectives on Music and Race
by Lloyd N. Peterson Jr.
Amiri Baraka is the author of the insightful and comprehensive book, Blues People. It is a book that has opened many minds and readers to the African American Diaspora along with the history and roots of African American music. Baraka has now published a new book of essays titled, Digging (The Afro-American Soul of American Classical ...
Litchfield Jazz Festival 2009
by Marcia Hillman
Litchfield Jazz FestivalKent, ConnecticutJuly 31-August 2, 2009 For two and a half days this past weekend, jazz invaded Connecticut with the arrival of the 14th Annual Litchfield Jazz Festival. This year, in a new home on the Kent School grounds in Kent, Connecticut, this major musical event, hosted by WBGO broadcaster and jazz ...
Why George Russell Will Always Live in Time
by Raul d'Gama Rose
A measure of just how underrated a musician he was in his lifetime is reflected in the fact that even three days after he passed on most of the major publications had not even reported his death, much less celebrated his life in the glowing terms that he so richly deserved. Perhaps this was because oddly ...
Charles Davis: In the Air
by Terrell Kent Holmes
Saxophonist Charles Davis has spent the past few decades making history with such luminaries as Billie Holiday, Kenny Dorham, Abdullah Ibrahim, Clifford Jordan, Dinah Washington and Freddie Hubbard. Although Davis might be best known as one of the baritone players in the Sun Ra Arkestra, his many recordings and excellent performances outside of the Arkestral context ...
Sam Newsome: To Play or Not to Play the Soprano
by Sam Newsome
When I think about the radical move I made 14 years ago, switching from the tenor to the soprano saxophone, I sometimes ask myself: “What in the hell were you thinking?" Even though in hindsight I look back on my decision with amazement and disbelief, I'm happy to say that it's one I've never regretted. Becoming ...
Frank Wess Nonet: Once Is Not Enough
by Edward Blanco
Known affectionately as “Magic" to his professional colleagues, saxophonist/flautist Frank Wess is a living legend in the jazz world. His résumé includes stints with Billy Eckstine, the Clark Terry Big Band and a decade performing with the Count Basie Orchestra, and he is recognized as one of the first major flautists to have an impact on ...
Jymie Merritt: Dedication Personified
by Victor L. Schermer
Jymie Merritt came up in Philadelphia during the evolution of bebop and hard bop, when the town was a hotbed of musical activity. Players like John Coltrane, Benny Golson, and Philly Joe Jones were getting started there, and musicians like Charlie Parker, J.J. Johnson, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis would come to the city to perform ...
Concord Music Group to Release "Lester Young: Centennial Celebration"
CONCORD MUSIC GROUP SPOTLIGHTS SAXOPHONIST LESTER YOUNG IN THE LATEST INSTALLMENT OF THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION SERIESLESTER YOUNG: CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION MARKS THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF YOUNG'S BIRTHCOLLECTION TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 4, 2009By the time he reached the height of his powers in the 1950s, Lester Young had single-handedly redefined the ...
Billie Holiday Fifty Years Later: A Tribute and Reassessment
by Victor L. Schermer
Fifty years ago, on July 17, 1959, Billie Holiday died an untimely death at age 44 in a New York hospital from complications of drug and alcohol dependency. Now, half a century after her passing, it is an appropriate hommage to reflect once again on her legacy as a singer, an African American woman, a victim-- ...
Don Byas: Laura
by Mike Neely
Don Byas was clearly a rising star when he walked away from fame. He was the first to hold the Lester Young chair in the Count Basie Band, before his 30th birthday. After two years with Basie he moved to New York City, where he played and recorded with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Coleman ...
