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The View from the Back of the Band: The Life and Music of Mel Lewis
by Chris Smith
The following is an excerpt from “Chapter 13: Opening Night at the Village Vanguard" of The View from the Back of the Band: The Life and Music of Mel Lewis by Chris Smith (University of North Texas Press, 2014). In November of 1965, Thad and Mel quickly put together a list of the ...
Art Pepper
by C. Michael Bailey
Alto Saxophonist Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr. (1925-1982) wanted to be known as the “greatest alto saxophonist in the world," a tall order considering contemporaries like Charlie Parker, Johnny Hodges, and Paul Desmond. In spite of this, Pepper outlived all of them while forging a unique and personal sound. Pepper, along with Desmond and Lee Konitz, were ...
Drawing Jazz
by Keith Henry Brown
A twist on the old cliché, “Those who can't play--draw,"--that's my personal point of view. I've been a jazz nut since as long as I can remember, and as soon as I could push a pencil--even though I could barely bang out a simple tune on a piano--I was sketching some of my favorite players, Charles ...
Take Five With Michael Janisch
by AAJ Staff
Meet Michael Janisch:Freelance double & electric bassist, composer, producer, record label owner & bandleader from the USA, resident since 2005 in London, England. Performances with Joe Lovano, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, George Garzone, Dianne Reeves, Shirley Horn, Evan Parker, Gary Husband, Joe Locke, Walter Smith III, Mike Moreno, Jason Palmer, Jon Irabagon, Logan Richardson, Will ...
Bill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961
by C. Andrew Hovan
Those of us who are diehard jazz collectors often loathe answering questions from neophytes as to a good starting place for building a jazz collection. Nonetheless, a short go-to list would probably include the iconic live sessions of Bill Evans and his trio captured on tape by Riverside Records back in June of 1961. For sheer ...
Billy Harper: A Life of Persistence and Improvisation
by R.J. DeLuke
On stage, Billy Harper puts his lips to the tenor saxophone, stands relatively erect and sings through his horn; a strong, angular, muscular sound. There little physical gesticulation, belying the effort it takes to express feelings and emotions through the instrument. But Harper's creative statements demand attention. Over the last few years, a lot ...
John Riley: Inspiring Innovation
by Ben Scholz
Foremost an innovator, John Riley has always been a “drummer's drummer" in the world of straight-ahead jazz. With nearly a hundred recordings, a dozen videos, and five books under his belt, Riley is a veritable font of knowledge in the bebop realm. In this article, we take a look back at some of his musical endeavors ...
Meet Kojo Roney
With hardly a week going by in which we don’t lose a venerable musician, it may be natural to wonder whether the art form will wither. That is unlikely. New players emerge and enrich the music. It is rare, however, that they emerge quite as young as Kojo Roney of the Philadelphia Roneys. He is the ...
Ed Palermo: Not Only In It For The Money
by Duncan Heining
It's been twenty years since saxophonist-composer-arranger Ed Palermo and his Big Band began playing the music of Frank Zappa. Twenty years, not a lot of bread but a whole lot of love from fans and musicians alike. Oh No! Not Jazz!! on Cuneiform Records marks the band's fourth Zappa album and the third for that remarkable ...
Minton's: An iconic Jazz Haven Re-opens in Harlem
by Rob Mariani
An iconic jazz haven is born again. It's a name I don't think I've heard spoken of in many years. And so when I learned that after many years, “Minton's Playhouse" was re-opening at its original address at West 118th Street in Harlem on the ground floor of the old Cecil Hotel, I was ...
