Sage Advice from Benny Powell
From “Jazz Player” magazine, this 1997 interview by Bob Bernotas with Ex-Basie trombonist Benny Powell really gives a well-rounded background of his career and more importantly, critical pieces of advice to budding (and even some seasoned) jazz musicians. Along with the interesting tidbits of his career, this first-hand guidance from someone who began on the road as a teenager with various big bands before becoming a 12 year member of Basie’s New Testament band, and then onto studio and TV work, is valuable information indeed.
-Scott Wenzel
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Frank Foster on Basie and Much More
As gifted as he was as a saxophonist, composer and arranger, Frank Foster was one of the nicest people to know and work with. He always had a smile, a positive outlook and a solution to any musical problem. Ben Bernotas’s article and interview captures the man. Frank tells the story of sitting in with Dexter Gordon while still in the army and asking naively if they could play “Cherokee”. Typically in his modest mode, Frank says he managed to keep up with Dexter. The way Dexter told me the story, he was absolutely flabbergasted by Foster’s amazing solo at a breakneck tempo.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Clark Terry: Trumpet Favorite of the Greats
This JazzWax feature on the wonderful trumpeter Clark Terry focuses on Terry’s early years, but even then, good things were already happening fast. His roots in St. Louis brought him into close contact with the young Miles Davis, who readily counted Terry was an influence; and Terry touches on his post-war gigs with Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
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The 52nd Street Club Where Basie Made His Breakthrough New York Appearance
From the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University (Newark campus) comes this digital exhibit of Count Basie. This is one of five exhibits co-produced by the Institute and the Dana Library Media and Digital Services and was overseen by staff member Tad Hershorn. Unlike the virtual tours of the Benny Carter, Mary Lou Williams and Fats Waller collections, this exhibit does not emerge from a specific collection housed at the IJS, but via images from various jazz photo collectors and musicians. Among the photo essays included are images from the Famous Door in 1938.
-Scott Wenzel
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