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Musical Talent Is (Now and Then) All in the Family
by Jack Bowers
The induction of almost the entire Marsalis family (father Ellis, piano, and sons Wynton, trumpet; Branford, saxophones; Delfeayo, trombone; and Jason, drums) set me to thinking about how musical talent sometimes runs in families. In the pop world, almost everyone knows about the Jacksons, the Kings, the Osmonds and others. The same is true in jazz, ...
These Are a Few of My Favorite....Charts
by Jack Bowers
Whenever the topic of desert islands arises among jazz fans, the focus is invariably on which albums (discs) one would choose to cram into a suitcase if one were ever stranded on an otherwise barren island. While the consideration of particular arrangements seldom governs the debate, I really think it should. After all, few albums, however ...
Toshiko Akiyoshi: The Music Keeps Her Young
by Jack Bowers
Pianist Billy Taylor, now in his eighty-ninth year, once recorded an album titled Music Keeps Us Young. I'm a firm believer in that and could point to several notable examples, one of whom is composer / pianist / bandleader Toshiko Akiyoshi who was in Albuquerque and Santa Fe last month with husband Lew Tabackin to headline ...
Fred Hess Big Band / Timucua Jazz Orchestra / Michael Treni
by Jack Bowers
Fred Hess Big Band Hold On Dazzle Records 2010 When listening to Hold On, composer / arranger / saxophonist Fred Hess' fourteenth album as leader but first in front of a big band, one question immediately arises: What took him so long? As it turns out, recording his ...
Rob McConnell: Boss of Bosses
by Jack Bowers
Even though largely unknown to most of us south of the border, a number of world-class big bands have made their home in Canada over the years. For nearly three decades, however, there was one whose name and influence rose conspicuously above the others. That band was, of course, the incomparable Boss Brass, and the reason ...
Take Five With Jeff Antoniuk
by AAJ Staff
Meet Jeff Antoniuk: Saxophonist Jeff Antoniuk is an internationally respected jazz composer and musician whose concerts and recordings are consistently well received by critics. His latest CD, Brotherhood, is out in May of 2010. Antoniuk has shared the stage with U.S. hitmakers Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Freddie Hubbard, Najee and Marcus Miller. He's worked with Canadian ...
Rob McConnell Dies at 75; Valve Trombonist Who Led the Boss Brass
He led one of Canada's best-known big bands and won three Grammys, one as an artist for the album 'All in Good Time,' was known as one of the few modern masters of the valve trombone. Rob McConnell, a celebrated composer, arranger and valve trombonist who led the Boss Brass, one of Canada's best and best-known ...
Sonny Rollins Elected as Member of American Academy of Arts & Sciences
by Jack Bowers
This month's most welcome news has nothing to do with big bands but everything to do with artistry and excellence: saxophonist and jazz icon Sonny Rollins has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The Academy, a center for independent policy research (I don't quite understand what that has to do ...
Rob McConnell (1935-2010)
Rob McConnell, a revered Canadian bandleader, valve trombonist, arranger and composer whose swinging versions of standards raised him to near cult status among his many global fans, died May 1st in Toronto. He was 75. In an age when many big bands are viewed today as uneven relics, McConnell's crisp arrangements and straight-shooter stage presence helped ...
Rob McConnell: 1935-2010
Another significant Canadian contributor to jazz is gone. Barely more than a week after Gene Lees died comes news that Rob McConnell lost his long struggle with cancer yesterday in a Toronto hospital. A valve trombonist, arranger, composer and leader, McConnell made his Boss Brass one of the significant big bands of the latter part of ...
