Results for "Paul Bley"

Paul Bley

"Since the Montreal-born, long-US resident Bley's 50's debut with Mingus and Blakey, he's worked with more first-rate, wide ranging original musical minds than anyone but Miles..." —Howard Mandel, Downbeat, April 1995 Bley gave violin recitals at age five. By age seven he was studying piano. He went through numerous classical teachers—including one Frenchman that had him play, balancing filled water glasses on the tops of his hands. At age 11 he graduated from the McGill Conservatory—having taken on their musical curriculum in addition to his public school education. Bley, who was known as "Buzzy" in his early adolescence, formed a band and played clubs and summer hotel jobs in the Laurentian Mountains at age 13. Four years later he replaced Oscar Peterson at the Alberta Lounge. Bley founded the Montreal Jazz Workshop and brought Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Brew Moore and Alan Eager to Montreal inorder to perform with them. In 1950 Bley left for New York City. He studied at the Julliard School of Music from 1950-54. While at Julliard, Bley had a band with Jackie MacLean, Donald Byrd, Arthur Taylor, Doug Watkins. In this period he toured with Lester Young, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge and Bill Harris. He was a frequent visitor at the famed Saturday night sessions at Lenny Tristano's studio. Bley served as president of the Associated Jazz Societies of New York in 1952, which led to Charlie Mingus hiring Bley to conduct his ensemble. Mingus also recorded Bley's debut album, along with himself and Art Blakey, on his label, Debut Records.

Frank Kimbrough: Changing the Contexts, Keeping It Fresh

By WAYNE ZADE

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in September 2002. Frank Kimbrough is one of the most versatile and innovative pianists in jazz on the New York and national scenes. He has been the pianist in the Maria Schneider jazz orchestra and has recorded seven albums under his own ...

Frank Kimbrough: From Now to Forever - A Remembrance

By LUDOVICO GRANVASSU

On December 30, 2020, pianist Frank Kimbrough passed away at the age of 64. True to form, 2020 wreaked havoc until the end. The cause of death was not Covid-19, but the shock at the untimely loss of a revered artist was not any less powerful. Frank Kimbrough had the rare gift of touching ...

Origin Story: Good Friday

By IAN PATTERSON

Past and present converge on Good Friday, the persuasive debut from Origin Story—the Dublin-trio of Greg Felton, Matthew Jacobson and Cormac O'Brien. Formerly known as F-JOB, the trio has been gigging since 2016, though the three musicians' paths have crossed in various settings over many more years. On these seven originals it is a case of ...

Matthieu Bordenave: La Traversée

By FRIEDRICH KUNZMANN

The French word La Traversée may equally refer to a crossing, a passage or a journey. Surely related yet with disparate meanings, the three terms have a sense of motion in common. How defined that motion is and whether it's backward, forward, or even sideways, remains unknown. The only thing for certain is its determination to ...

Keith Jarrett: A Biography

By IAN PATTERSON

Keith Jarrett: A Biography Wolfgang Sandner 215 Pages ISBN: 9781800500112 Equinox Publishing 2020 Given his impact on jazz and solo improvisation this past half century, relatively few are the books on Keith Jarrett. This is surprising, considering all the critical acclaim, the phenomenal influence he has had on countless ...

Karl Ackermann’s Best Releases of 2020

By KARL ACKERMANN

2020 abridged: A staggering loss of lives and livelihoods. We had worldwide social unrest, wildfires, locust swarms of Biblical proportions, killer hornets, killer drones, kids in cages; an impeachment, an election, an attempted insurrection. Oh, and Poland accidentally invaded the Czech Republic. It was not exactly the Gilded Age. Yet, amid doom-scrolling, the creative music community ...

Rope Trio: omaggio a Charlie Haden

By GIUSEPPE SEGALA

TrentinoInJazz, Ai Confini ed Oltre--The Art of the Trio Sala Falconetto, Palazzo Geremia Trento 22.10.2020 Il Rope Trio, con Fabrizio Puglisi al pianoforte, Stefano Senni al contrabbasso e Zeno De Rossi alla batteria, vanta ormai una rodata esperienza, partita nel 2002 e scandita da due registrazioni, Have You Met Miss Bates?, ...

Johanna Burnheart: Techno Jazz Shines A Light: New Directions In Music

By CHRIS MAY

A relatively new name on London's alternative jazz scene, the German-born violinist, vocalist and composer Johanna Burnheart has made a rapid ascent since leaving the city's Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2018. She has played on three of the scene's benchmark albums--spiritual-jazz band Maisha's There Is A Place (Brownswood, 2018), trombonist Rosie Turton's 5ive ...

In memoriam: Alessandro Giachero

By FRANCESCO MARTINELLI

Only with a very heavy heart one can write an obituary for a young friend and great musician who left this world suddenly, prematurely and unjustly, leaving his colleagues and pupils, but above all his family, in mourning. It will hopefully be useful to leave a trace of his musical contributions and a lead for future ...