Results for "Profile"

Article: Profile

Marshall Allen: A Century of Joyful Noise

by Ian Patterson
May 25, 2024

Marshall Allen turned 100 years old on May 25, 2024. Back in 1995, when Allen inherited the leadership of the Sun Ra Arkestra at the age of 71, you would have got pretty good odds that he would not be holding the chair nearly thirty years hence. But the cosmology of the Sun Ra Arkestra, and ...

Article: Profile

Ahmad Jamal: After Poinciana

by Chuck Lenatti
May 21, 2024

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 On Location and at the Penthouse In an apparent effort to capitalize on the new-found popularity from his 1958 record, At the Pershing, But Not for Me (Argo LP628), Ahmad Jamal released a flurry of albums between 1958 and 1970, many of them ...

Article: Profile

Ahmad Jamal: An American Classic

by Chuck Lenatti
April 30, 2024

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 1930-1958: From Pittsburgh to The Pershing Frederick Russell Jones was born on July 2, 1930, to a working-class family in Pittsburgh. His friends called him Fritz. As a boy, he delivered newspapers to Billy Strayhorn's family. He converted to Islam around 1950 and ...

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Dickey Betts: Another Man Done Gone

by Doug Collette
April 21, 2024

Although Forrest Richard 'Dickey' Betts did not share the surname of the Allman Brothers Band to which he contributed so significantly, in terms of success both creatively and commercially, he was arguably as responsible for the seminal blues rockers' legacy as the two namesakes of the group, Duane and Gregg. And it does not ...

Article: Profile

Petr Kotik: Beyond Race, Beyond Genre, There’s Music

by Kurt Gottschalk
April 16, 2024

Petr Kotik has walked among giants. To the extent that he is recognized in New York City, where he has made his home for 41 years, it is as an associate of John Cage and Morton Feldman with an apparent fixation on Gertrude Stein. In his Czech homeland, he is held in higher esteem--in part, arguably, ...

Article: Profile

Bernardo Sassetti: The Pianist Who Danced With Silence

by Nathalie Tamara Freson
March 30, 2024

If a musician's degree of brilliance is measured by the emotions they awakens in his listeners, then Bernardo Sassetti was a genius. And that he certainly was. With a prolific career (which resulted in a discography and filmography of close to 30 CDs), Sassetti spent the first few years playing alongside illustrious figures of ...

Article: Profile

Ain’t Nothing Stopping Us Now: The Tower Of Power Story

by Jason Elias
January 8, 2024

For over 50 years Tower of Power has been the favorite of those who love R&B/soul, funk and sophisticated jazz. While the band is often known for its revolving door of lead singers, the band's founders, Emilio Castillo (saxophone) and Stephen “Doc" Kupka (baritone sax) have remained their constant. The Bay Area band's first album East ...

Article: Profile

Camilo Valencia: One Heart At A Time - A Remembrance (1959-2003)

by Dr. Alex Sino
January 6, 2024

Camilo Valencia, a soul brimming with boundless passion, sadly died on September 6, 2023 after undergoing a third heart transplant. He thus carried the weight of four hearts throughout his journey, each pulsating with an ardent desire to share his musical gifts with the world. During his career, Camilo Valencia racked up credits working ...

Article: Profile

Lilian Terry: Forever Sisters Of The Soul - Renaissance Jazzwomen

by Kerilie McDowall
December 31, 2023

I was warmly accepted by a giant such as Duke Ellington during his last seven years. He chose to be my friend, demanding my annual presence during his concert tours in Europe as his “good luck charm," and as his sounding board for all the phrases he would dictate to me, to be used later in ...

Article: Profile

Roy Ayers: A Retrospective

by Jason Elias
November 20, 2023

Vibraphonist, singer and producer Roy Ayers is a master of many musical styles and genres, from acid-jazz, jazz-funk to romantic ballads and dance tracks. While many of his contemporaries seemed to fail when they tried different sounds, Ayers always made sure a certain of musicality and identity was apparent in all of his work.