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Mary Ellen Desmond: Comfort and Joy 2020 Virtual Stream

by Victor L. Schermer
Mary Ellen Desmond Comfort and Joy: Virtual Stream Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany Philadelphia, PA December 13, 2020 In the course of two decades as a jazz reviewer in Philadelphia, it has often been my pleasure to hear Mary Ellen Desmond sing, and for ...
Fred Hersch: Songs From Home

by Victor L. Schermer
As Fred Hersch is sometimes wont to do, this album is built around a story, some of which is intended, and some of which may be embedded in the pianist's unconscious and manifested in his imagination and the way that he plays. The conscious part is simple, and basically stated in the liner notes. Hersch leaves ...
Chuck Anderson: Dominos

by Victor L. Schermer
This noteworthy album by Chuck Anderson, one of our finest guitarists, was composed and recorded in the midst of the pandemic but with no mention of it in the liner notes, so you can draw your own conclusions as to whether the dominos" in the title bear any relation to the falling dominos" of all the ...
Richie Beirach: Exploring Who Matters Most Among the Jazz Pianists

by Victor L. Schermer
[The following is a commentary on pianist Richie Beirach's 2020 e-book The Historical Lineage of Modern Jazz Piano: The 10 Essential Players (Conversations between Richie Beirach and Michael Lake), downloadable for free here.] Jazz piano has always garnered (no intended reference to Erroll Garner) special interest among the instruments because it is truly an ...
Charlie Parker: In Praise of Bird on His 100th Birthday!

by Victor L. Schermer
A hundred years ago, on August 29, 1920, soon after jazz was born, Charlie Parker came into this world, and in the 35 years of a life cut short by addictions and impulse-driven living, he changed the face of the music. His innovations as one of the creators of bebop and his stunning sound and virtuosic ...
Jim Ridl: Solo Piano Livestream

by Victor L. Schermer
Jim Ridl: Solo Piano Global Music Foundation Online Concert Series Broadcast Live on ZOOM July 12, 2020 This hour-long Zoom-cast featuring Jim Ridl on solo piano in his home proved to be especially gratifying for a number of reasons. First and foremost, Ridl delivered a set that was ...
Tom Lawton: Not Less Than Everything

by Victor L. Schermer
Not known, because not looked for But heard, half-heard, in the stillness Between two waves of the sea. Quick now, here, now, always-- A condition of complete simplicity (Costing not less than everything) --T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets; Little Gidding" This poetic quotation ...
Vince Mendoza: Streams of Influence Flowing into a River of Sound

by Victor L. Schermer
Vince Mendoza is a jazz composer, arranger, and conductor of consummate originality, skill, and adaptability, so much so that he has for several decades received frequent invitations and commissions from the whole gamut of ensembles and performers like the WDR Big Band, the Metropole Orkest in the Netherlands, the Los Angeles and Berlin Philharmonic, and the ...
The John Coltrane Home in Philadelphia: The Fight to Preserve an Historic Landmark

by Victor L. Schermer
John Coltrane (1926-1967) was in the upper echelon of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. He, along with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, and other innovators, changed the face of jazz forever. Beyond such encomiums, Coltrane has become a great African American hero, overcoming his heroin addiction, experiencing a spiritual ...
Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, John Swana and the Philly All-Stars: Chris’ Jazz Cafe

by Victor L. Schermer
Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, John Swana and the Philly All-Stars Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA February 22, 2020 This first set on the second night of a two night stand with a packed house featured three superb and well-known hard bop masters backed by a local rhythm section ...