Results for "Louis Armstrong"

Jason Roebke Octet: Cinema Spiral

by Mark Corroto
August 31, 2016

If entropy is a scientific theory that describes how all things in nature tend towards a gradual decline and disorder, then Jason Roebke's Octet is the anti-entropy. His second octet release Cinema Spiral and the previous High/Red/Center (Delmark, 2014) make order out of the impression of chaos. Such is the enticement of jazz.

Jazz Popularity and You

by Douglas Groothuis
August 26, 2016

Twenty years ago I read in a William Bennett book that jazz made up only 3% of the music market. I often lamented that when jazz came up in any of the classes I taught. I further wondered if that lamentable percentage included sales by Kenny G. If so, all the worse, since, as Pat Metheny ...

Dominick Farinacci: Sharing Stories

by R.J. DeLuke
August 25, 2016

Dominick Farinacci, a trumpeter from Cleveland, is a strong improviser with a wide, round tone. It's suited for his predilection for the melodic side of the music. But his vision of music extends beyond the act of playing and the art of performing--something he has done around the globe for years, carving out a successful career ...

Take Five with Mercedes Nicole

by AAJ Staff
August 16, 2016

About Mercedes Nicole Soft-spoken Mercedes Nicole has an intimate and alluring stage presence that reaches out beyond the limits of time and space. Her voice is haunting and arresting, wrapping itself like a comforter around the human experience, encouraging uplift, seeking not only triumph but healing. She is that exquisite mix of a Mezzo-Soprano & ...

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Happy birthday, Louis Armstrong!

August 7, 2016

Today, let's take a look at some vintage videos featuring trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong, who's back in the StLJN spotlight this week for two reasons. First, as you may already know, this past Thursday, August 4 was the 115th anniversary of Armstrong's birth. It's true that during his lifetime, he claimed to have been born ...

Jazz Musician of the Day: Louis Armstrong

August 4, 2016

All About Jazz is celebrating Louis Armstrong's birthday today! By virtue of the role he played in its evolution during the first quarter of the 20th century, Louis Armstrong is regarded as the most influential jazz musician in history. This distinction is coupled with his stewardship of jazz around the world over the next five decades ...

Documentary: Fats Waller

July 28, 2016

Umlaut Big Band: Euro Swing Vol. 2

by Mark Corroto
July 24, 2016

In Elvis Costello's autobiography, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink (2015), he writes about his mother working in a music shop in the 1940s in Britain, and how she somehow became an expert in acquiring American jazz records from musicians and other international travelers. Certainly, she learned her craft from other music sellers and fans, maybe a ...

Dominic Duval: Follow Your Melody

by Maxim Micheliov
July 22, 2016

In memory of Dominic Duval: 1945-2016. This article was first published in October 2010. Bassist Dominic Duval is a mystery to many—even to those interested in free music. Seemingly emerging out of nowhere in the mid-1990s, over the course of 15 years he has built a formidable discography, firmly establishing him as one of ...

Brian Groder Trio: R Train On The D Line

by Mark Corroto
July 22, 2016

An album like R Train On The D Line is what separates jazz listeners from non-jazz listeners. The Brian Groder Trio plays the kind of composed yet improvised music that portends to go off the rails at any time, yet never does. And that may be the true definition of jazz. Consider the audiences' ...