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Sonny Rollins: Soundtrack
With the coronavirus forcing most people around the globe indoors, the lockdown has given us a chance to listen to music with more care and gratitude. While writing yesterday, I pulled nine recordings by Sonny Rollins that, when assembled, become the thematic soundtrack for this new age of sheltering in place: Here's Time on My Hands ...
Oliver Nelson + Eric Dolphy
The blues were in Oliver Nelson's blood. Virtually everything he wrote and arranged had an indigo hue. But Nelson's original works weren't your average blues. They were blues cathedrals constructed with flying-buttress passages, gargoyle phrases and stained-glass voicings. When Nelson played the alto or tenor saxophone on these blues, there was a warm clarity to his ...
Herbie Mann in 10 Tracks
Love him or hate him, flutist Herbie Mann was in the groove and on top of just about every major music trend between mid 1950s and the 1980s and paved the way for World Music in the '60s. Admittedly, not all of his albums were great, but he did have a knack for being in the ...
Frank Wess + Kenny Burrell
Some of the hippest small-group albums recorded in the mid-1950s were those by Frank Wess for Savoy. These include Flutes and Reeds (1955), Opus de Jazz (1955) led by Milt Jackson, North South East Wess (1956), Trombones & Flutes (1956), No Count led by Frank Foster, Jazz for Playboys (1957), Flute Suite and Jazz Is Busting ...
Art Tatum and Ben Webster
For me, jazz is divided between those who recorded with Art Tatum and those who didn't. Tatum remains king of the jazz piano—a briskly shaken cocktail of unrivaled technique, impeccable taste and a staggering ability to make you fall in love whatever song he's playing. Every one of his recordings is a gem, exhibiting daring, speed ...
8 Clips: Boss Tenors
Boss tenors take charge. I don't know how else to put it. When a boss tenor plays a ballad, a mid-tempo tune or a barn-burner, the saxophone's sound is assertive and commanding, with a deep, forceful push in the lower register and a bluesy wail up top. Let me illustrate with eight clips: Here's Ben Webster ...
Bull Moose Jackson: Jazz Jump
A careful look at a jazz discography always yields an interesting historical story. Back in the late 1940s, many jazz artists had their start in R&B and jump blues bands. The groups were often smartly organized jazz-blues hybrids that played tightly arranged charts and regularly toured, ensuring they'd be well-oiled recording artists. Bull Moose Jackson led ...
René Thomas in 7 Clips
For some strange reason yesterday, I had a craving for guitarist René Thomas. I love the way he swings unevenly and the hip quality of his picking and sound of his guitar. Born in Belgium in 1927, Thomas moved to Paris and was deeply influenced by guitarist Jimmy Raney. In the 1960s, he often was featured ...
Miff Mole: Miffology
The jazz trumpet dates back to Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. The saxophone can be traced to Sidney Bechet and Frankie Trumbauer. And the piano dates back to Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton. As for the jazz trombone, it starts with Miff Mole. Mole is arguably the pioneer of the solo jazz trombone style. Born ...
Ivie Anderson: Early Jazz Voice
Like Mildred Bailey, Ivie Anderson was an early female vocalist who pioneered the jazz idiom in dance bands. She joined Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1931and for the next 12 years she toured and recorded with the band. Anderson's voice was more pointed and huskier than Bailey's and featured a mild tremolo. She also had a slinkier ...
