Results for "san francisco"

I Like Ike

August 18, 2010

Saxophonist Ike Quebec, born August 17, 1918, was one of my favorite soul-jazz artists on Blue Note Records in the early 1960s. He had a full-throated sound (in the Coleman Hawkins vein), a sensuous and firm tone, rhythmically dynamic, and swinging. Quebec can be heard on breathy ballads, quiet bossa nova tunes, and more aggressive blues. ...

Great Stuff

August 15, 2010

Stuff Smith, born on this date in 1909, was one of the three great pre-bop jazz violinists (along with Joe Venuti and Stephane Grappelli). In an era when the violin was considered a bit old-fashioned sounding for jazz, Smith's playing was more raw and rhythmic, using a more Texas blues feel to knock any whiff of ...

Aural History

August 12, 2010

For fans of Miles Davis's legendary 1959 record, and for jazz fans in general, Ashley Kahn's Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece is a compelling read. It's an insider's look at people involved in the recording of this most popular of jazz records, including never-before-seen session photos. Kahn provides some historical context ...

Benny Carter - "Wave" (1977)

August 9, 2010

A Showcase for Benny Carter

August 8, 2010

Sax ala Carter! (Capitol, 1960) was released fifty years ago and remains one of saxophonist Benny Carter's most easy-going and enjoyable sessions. Backed by Jimmy Rowles on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Mel Lewis on drums—an absolutely stellar rhythm section—Carter takes a swinging stroll through a number of standards as well as a few surprises. ...

A Note on Mitch Miller

August 8, 2010

Jazz fans owe a debt of gratitude to Mitch Miller, who passed away at the age of 99 on July 31. Miller may have been known to many from his shlocky 1960s television show, Sing Along With Mitch, but he played an indirect role in the success of jazz in the 1950s. Miller was an oboist ...

San Francisco Bay Blues & Jazz Scene

August 6, 2010

The Fillmore Jazz Era From the mid-1940s through the late 1950s, The Fillmore was known as the Harlem of the West, a vibrant cultural treasure that was one of the worlds leading centers for jazz music and jazz culture. Jazz was popular in the Fillmore as early as 1930, and as the black population of San ...

San Francisco-Based Jazz Vocalist Natasha Miller to Release New CD on 9/14

August 4, 2010

Sooner or later, most singers get the urge to make a standards record. “And they always try to make it different," says Natasha Miller, the sterling Bay Area-based jazz singer prized for her rich sound, streamlined phrasing and unforced feeling. “I wanted to make a standards album that was different different." Miller pulls that off brilliantly ...

Jazz Poetry - "Trane"

August 2, 2010

"Trane" by Kamau Brathwaite Propped against the crowded barhe pours into the curved and silver hornhis old unhappy longing for a home the dancers twist and turnhe leans and wishes he could burnhis memories to ashes like some old notorious emperorof rome. but no stars blazed across the sky when he was bornno wise ...

Picking Up the Horn

July 28, 2010

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Sonny Rollins was in his apartment in Greenwich Village, six blocks from the World Trade Center, when the first plane hit. He pulled out his old black-and-white TV, which he hadn't used in years, and hooked it up just in time to see the second plane hit. He ran ...