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John Hollenbeck
by AAJ Staff
By Chris DiGirolamo To take on the labels “composer , “drummer , “percussionist and “bandleader means being a busy man for John Hollenbeck. Maintaining his composition practices while leading The Claudia Quintet and his Large Ensemble, Hollenbeck this year alone has also toured and/or will soon be touring with vocalist Meredith Monk, pianist ...
Fats Waller
by Tim Kirker
1904-1943Fats Waller's jazz legacy is an unlikely combination of pianist, composer, singer, and comedian. Sometimes referred to as “the greatest comedian who ever played jazz, Fats' appeal was as much visual as it was musical. From his physical presence (he had a huge girth and wore a size 15 shoe) and wildly arched eyebrows ...
Johnny Maddox: Ragtime Historian
by Elliott Simon
When the Grateful Dead sang a hundred verses in ragtime to “Ramble On Rose, it was no accident that the leader of their conjured-up band was Crazy Otto. Their reference was to ragtime pianist Johnny Maddox, whose Crazy Otto Rag released in 1955, sold over 2 million copies and in the process became the first million ...
Jacques Coursil
by Andrey Henkin
Since Henry Grimes' resurfacing, the bar has been raised for dramatic stories of life away from music. During the summer, trumpeter Jacques Coursil released a new record, his first since 1969. Was there a commensurate exciting story for his long sojourn away from music? Not really. Since an early age, music has just been one of ...
Absolute Zero: Never Acquiescent
by Gary Gomes
It seems unlikely that certain types of music will ever be popular, although there are times when they come close. Rock music has always maintained a coterie of fringe musicians who have maintained their interest in creating a unique musical vision instead of acquiescing to the current style, idiom or fashion. Absolute Zero fit into that ...
Lonnie Liston Smith
by Terrell Kent Holmes
It's been suggested that if anyone bridged the gap between John Coltrane and Earth, Wind & Fire, it was keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith. Born December 28th, 1940 in Richmond, Virg., he began his jazz career playing acoustic piano as a sideman with such luminaries as Pharoah Sanders, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Betty Carter and Gato Barbieri. A ...
Bill Dixon: The Morality of Improvisation
by Clifford Allen
Followers of improvised music are very good at expanding on the personalities of artists, and that oral tradition has certainly been aided by the musicians through a sort of 'educational mythology.' To be sure, the personalities of Miles, Trane, Cecil, Mingus and Ornette are fascinating and notable, but this interest in the men and their whims ...
In Memory of Keter Betts
by Eric M. Brewington
While not the most prominent instrument in jazz, the bass is one of its most essential elements. In a jazz quintet, one of the responsiblities of the bass is to help drive the rhythm section steadily forward while keeping the music interesting. All of this is done in an effort to support the soloist and make ...
Giacomo Gates
by Elliott Simon
Whether lending his smooth baritone to a ballad or practicing the art of vocalese, Giacomo Gates brings a sense of honesty to a song. So much so, that when he says straightfaced that the trombonist hasn't shown and then proceeds to fill the void with the best mouth trombone you ever want to hear, you believe ...
Freddie Redd Reconnects
by Rex Butters
At the second annual Jazz Journalists Association award show at the Jazz Bakery, West Coast Edition, a small dapper man sits watching in the back. After an energy bath by the Vinny Golia Quintet, he strolls to the stage and without waiting for an introduction, Blue Note legend Freddie Redd beams a radiant smile beneath a ...
