By Devon Wendell Having covered The Playboy Jazz Festival for Don Heckman & The International Review Of Music for many years, I had met Hugh Hefner a few times.I didn’t get out of it what most might think. Growing up I was one of the few nerds who really did read Playboy for the articles… Read More Remembering Hef
By Devon Wendell. The first half of the opening night at The Hollywood Bowl kicked off with a heartfelt, spirited performance of Stephen Sondheim’s “Children Will Listen” by the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Vocal Ensemble, accompanied by The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. This was presented by The LA Phil Education Fellowship Program. … Read More Live Music: Steely Dan And The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra At The Opening Night At The Hollywood Bowl, Saturday June 18th, 2016
By Devon “Doc” Wendell On March 6, 1960, Art Blakey and his most recent incarnation of his ever- changing Jazz Messengers were on fire. The Messengers consisted of the young trumpet wizard Lee Morgan, who emerged from Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band in 1957 and had made two previous recordings with Blakey & The Messengers: The… Read More Doc’s Prescription For Hard-Bop: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers-The Big Beat (Blue Note)
By Devon Wendell So much is written about the life and music of John Coltrane. Everyone has their favorite Coltrane period. Most fans and journalists focus on the ‘60s modal and “free” Coltrane eras. My favorite music of “Trane’s” career is his rebellious hard-bopper faze of the late ‘50s, when he was playing with Miles… Read More Doc’s Prescription for ‘Trane: John Coltrane-The Believer
Give It Back to You (Concord) By Devon Wendell Way too many rock fueled blues bands of today are still hell bent on copying Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Albert King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan but not Los Angeles’ own The Record Company (Chris Vos, guitar, lead vocals, harmonica, Alex Stiff, bass, guitar, vocals,… Read More CD Review: The Record Company
By Devon (Doc) Wendell In my late teens, my goal was to find the ultimate bop recordings. I was an obsessive “completist” of the works of Bird, Sonny Rollins, Bud Powell, Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Dexter Gordon and of course Miles Davis. The harder and more complex the music was, the better. There are… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Ultimate Bop: “Miles Davis/Collectors Items”
By Devon Wendell Paul Bley, who passed away at the age of 83 on Sunday, January 3, was always different. His polytonal approach to the piano stood out from the flocks of imitators copying Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, and Herbie Hancock. There was this amazing dissonance to his playing that reminded me of Bud… Read More An Appreciation: Paul Bley
By Devon Wendell Although I despise the whole concept of “desert island discs,” top ten, twenty, or 100 “Greatest” lists and that kind of lazy and pedantic journalism, I do accept the fact that there are certain recordings that I simply cannot live without. The Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet is the perfect band of the… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription for Bebop: “Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Streets” (Emarcy)
By Devon Wendell I’ve had this deep, lifelong obsession with the trumpet. I’ve written about some of the greatest musicians to ever pick up the instrument like Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, Art Farmer, Clifford Brown, and Wild Bill Davison, to name a few. I’d trade my right foot and… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Hard-Bop Trumpet: Donald Byrd’s ”Byrd In Hand” (Blue Note)
By Devon Wendell So the year 2015 is quickly winding down. And although there are no signs of any healthy seasonal changes here in the belly of Hollywood California, the cold and heartless calendar never lies. This means the Grammy awards are rapidly approaching. It has become an invalid and overly predictable cliché to bash… Read More The Grammy Awards: Hope, Love, and Jazz
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