Fellow Adagio Lovers: “Lujon” is a musical piece by Henry Mancini originally composed as a secondary theme for the ’50’s TV series Mr. Lucky. By the way, the origin of this TV show was the 1943 Cary Grant movie Mr. Lucky. The melody was subsequently included in the soundtracks for the films Hatari!, The Big Lebowski,… Read More Roger Crane Song Scout: On the Lovely Mancini Melody, “Lujon”
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 What could be better than trombonist J.J. Johnson joined with Clifford Brown, Jimmy Heath, John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke all in one band? I can’t think of anything at the moment. This was the band on J.J. Johnson The Eminent Volume One on Blue Note Records, recorded on June 22,… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Bop ‘Bone: J.J. Johnson The Eminent Volume One (Blue Note)
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 Don Heckman The stage was almost empty Tuesday night at Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc. Almost, that is, except for one notable exception. Seated at the club’s large concert grand, pianist/arranger/composer Alan Broadbent performed several generous sets over a memorable three hours. Originally scheduled as a duo with bassist Pat Senatore, it became a solo night… Read More Live Jazz: Alan Broadbent at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc.
By Tony Gieske I was thinking all night that nobody at Vitello’s could possibly deserve, much less grasp, all the wonders that Billy Childs and his ensemble were bestowing on us last Saturday. Childs was playing in his flawless and bounteous way on the piano, in front of which sat Larry Koonse, listening to him… Read More Live Jazz: The Billy Childs Jazz Chamber Ensemble at Vitello’s
By Don Heckman Bill Cosby’s irrepressible personality has been such a vital element at the Playboy Jazz Festivals that the event seemed to lose its spark in the one year in which he took a hiatus. In addition to his role as master of ceremonies, his all-star Cos of Good Music band has become one… Read More Q & A: Bill Cosby, Jazz and the Playboy Jazz Festival
By Michael Katz There were plenty of reasons to celebrate Friday night at the Jazz Bakery. For starters, there was the return of proprietor Ruth Price, back hosting the music with her trademark effervescence for the first time since a December auto accident. For another, there was the news she shared that the Bakery, whose… Read More Live Jazz: The Ron Carter Trio (with Russell Malone and Mulgrew Miller)
The International Review of Music 