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The Rotten Apples: Beach Party at the Orchard
by Gordon Marshall
The Rotten Apples, “the tightest out-of-tune band in the world," had an antecedent in guitarist Keith Waters' Belmont High School band (Belmont is a town just north of Boston). Even that early evolutionary ancestor of the current band blew effortless attitude in the face of the powers that be. Waters remembers playing a party at the ...
Mike Westbrook: Art Wolf at 75
by Duncan Heining
Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine a jazz composer who began with Ellington and then moved on through Mingus. He soon encompassed rock music, Kurt Weill, Rossini, the traditions of English church music and the pastoralism of Vaughan Williams and Holst, but still found a place in his music for The Beatles, European political cabaret ...
Manfred Eicher: Through the Lens
by John Kelman
It begins in silence, always silence. Since the 1990s, all ECM recordings begin with five seconds of silence, and so, too, do directors Norbert Wiedmer and Peter Guyer open their feature film on the heralded German record label and its enigmatic founder, Sounds and Silence: Travels with Manfred Eicher. As longtime ECM recording artist Keith Jarrett's ...
Eddie Jefferson: The Scientist of Vocalese
by Ed Hamilton
Detroit once had a reputation as the “Killer Kapital," but things have changed--Dave Bing, basketball Hall of Famer is Mayor and is striving to clean up the city. But 32 years ago, actress Brenda Vaccarro and altoist Richie Cole witnessed the drive-by shotgun slaying of the architect of Vocalese, Eddie Jefferson, at Bakers' Lounge. Jefferson was ...
The Devil and Gil Scott-Heron
by Jeff Winbush
Live long enough and you'll either be disappointed by your heroes or you'll bury them.Did I say “heroes"? Sorry. I meant to say Gil Scott-Heron wasn't my hero. He was an innovator, a trailblazer, a pioneer and an inspiration, but he wasn't my hero.He was just one of the coolest brothers I ...
Jaga Jazzist: Maximalistic
by Angela Shawn-Chi Lu
A Norwegian nonet that rocks 35 instruments onstage and smashes Afrobeat, prog, film music, cheesy fanfares and Steve Reich arpeggios together against a backdrop of gigantic slot machine fruit? The odds of that happening are “No friggin way!" But as it turns out, one such nonet does exist. What's even more shocking is that Jaga Jazzist ...
Aaron Heick: From Sting to Spiderman
by Keith Henry Brown
Outside of the New York music scene, multi-instrumentalist Aaron Heick's name may not be as well known as some of his colleagues. But it doesn't matter; he's had a rich, varied career. This well-traveled, seasoned pro has played with some of the most prominent musicians in jazz, pop, reggae, funk, world, and classical music. Those who ...
John McNeil's Backbone
by Ben Waltzer
Like many trumpeters, John McNeil has a unique brand above his upper lip where flesh meets metal. It looks like a setting sun, and was visible from up close, as he removed his instrument from his mouth, rose steadily from his stool, and grasped the microphone. “This is the part of any jazz ...
Phil DeGreg: Cincinnati Jazz Heavyweight
by Michael Shults
Cincinnati-based pianist Phil DeGreg has made his mark in the jazz world over the past three decades as a recording artist, composer, and pedagogue. An alumnus of the Woody Herman band, DeGreg boasts ten recordings as a leader, and has appeared alongside J.J. Johnson on the legendary trombonist's video Live in Concert (City Hall, 2007). Since ...
Johanna Grussner: From Scandinavia to NYC... and back again
by Chris Mosey
Johanna Grüssner is a truly remarkable young woman. Aged 28, she has emerged as one of the best, most professional jazz singers in the Nordic Area after paying her dues in the toughest environment jazz has to offer; gigging around clubs in New York City, including Birdland, where she sang backed by a big band she ...
