“But, Can You Sing Me a Song” By Roger Crane “Song Scout” I discovered jazz thanks to a hip girlfriend named Jennie. She thought that I was “like way too square, man” and, sometime, in the ‘50s, the pretty, zoftig Jennie took me to The Haig, (a small club with a big sign) to see… Read More In Praise of Gerry Mulligan, Lester “Prez” Young and Melodic Jazz
By Devon Wendell I simply cannot write about jazz or music in general without doing a piece on Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. After all, these pieces are written out of love, and Bird and Dizzy were my initial introduction to the world of jazz and possibly still my favorites of all time.… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription for Ultimate Bebop: Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie’s “Diz ‘N Bird At Carnegie Hall” (Blue Note)
By Devon Wendell Phil Woods was not just a musician; he was a force of nature to be reckoned with. He was tough, full of grit, and always ready to defend the music that he loved and played so effortlessly with all of his might. I’ve seen Phil reduce mere mortals to ashes when they… Read More An Appreciation: Phil Woods
By Devon Wendell This album consists of three separate recording sessions between 1949-1950 lead by the great Sonny Stitt on tenor saxophone. The first two sessions from 1949 feature Stitt with Bebop piano master Bud Powell, with Curly Russell on bass and Max roach on drums This is bop at its finest. Stitt consistently… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Bop: Sonny Stitt/BudPowell/J.J. Johnson (Prestige)
By Devon Wendell Ornette Coleman; they called him “atonal”, they said he played “out”, and was “avant-garde.” People tried to force these labels on me as I was discovering his music in my youth. They did the same thing when I got my first records by Monk, ‘Trane, and Dolphy, and Bird. All I knew… Read More Ornette Coleman: A Remembrance
by Brick Wahl A jazz promoter asked a fascinating question: Do you think Bird would have dug Ornette? I have wondered about this. Not that Bird is the ultimate arbiter of good and bad, but Ornette was arguably the next major innovator in the music and Bird died JUST before Ornette came on the national… Read More Ornette Coleman: An Appreciation
by Don Heckman ‘Twas the night before Christmas and the gig was running late; No sugar plums, no candy canes, just another overtime club date, Holidays are work days in a jazz musician’s life, A chance to make some extra bucks to take home to the wife. Chanukah’s over, Kwaanza starts tomorrow, The Ramadan fast… Read More A Christmas Jazz Tale
A Christmas Jazz Tale by Don Heckman ‘Twas the night before Christmas and the gig was running late; No sugar plums, no candy canes, just another overtime club date, Holidays are work days in a jazz musician’s life, A chance to make some extra bucks to take home to the wife. Chanukah’s over, Kwaanza starts… Read More A Christmas Jazz Tale
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Aug. 27. Tues.) Lyn Stanley “Lost in Romance.” Jazz vocalist Lyn Stanley celebrates the release of her new album in the stellar company of Tamir Hendelman, Mike Lang, Llew Matthews, Dominic Genova, Jim DeJulio, Bernie Dresel, Rickey Woodard, Bob McChesney and Grant Geissman. Add to that an appearance by… Read More Picks of the Week: August 26 – Sept. 1
By Brian Arsenault When I first heard Bird: The Savoy Recordings so many year ago I thought that Charlie Parker must be from a different place, a different planet, somewhere in a galaxy far far way. And I was sort of right. He was from the remarkable jazz planet of Kansas City, Missouri in the… Read More Book Review: “Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker,” by Chuck Haddix
The International Review of Music 