After Bill Lee’s 40 Years in Brooklyn: There Goes the Neighborhood…
Jazz has only been a bit more than a century old; for some 40 years of that century, venerable bassist Bill Lee has seemingly lived a relatively tranquil life as a musician living in the Fort Greene community in Brooklyn. Now, according to a neighbor of recent vintage, Bill Lee is making too much noise. What gives? Maybe the New York Times can help shed some light.
-Nick Moy
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Christian McBride Picks Five Bass Tracks that Made a Difference
In this JazzTimes feature, bassist Christian McBride shares with Nate Chinen five bass tracks that turned his head when he was young, and tells why they still do that today. I knew he wasn’t kidding when he picked Bootsy Collins on James Brown’s “Soul Power,” but I’m glad he directed me to Ray Brown’s walk on “Killer Joe.” All these choices feed valuable insight into the composite that is Christian McBride and the bass today.
-Nick Moy
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A Conversation with Rufus Reid
I once said that having Kenny Burrell in the studio is like having your best friend there. He is so kind, helpful and professional. The same could be said of Rufus Reid, with whom I was in the studio often during his years with Dexter Gordon. Rufus was the rock, the foundation in that group and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. This lengthy 1997 interview chronicles his career from his early Chicago days.
-Michael Cuscuna
(Photo by Daniel Sheehan, EyeShotJazz)
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Great Jazz Bassists 1964-1965
Bassist and educator Michael Formanek zeroes in on a fertile period for modern jazz recordings and for the jazz bass. He highlights five great examples of jazz bass playing during this time, and regrets leaving out more; yet you can hardly go wrong starting with his picks.
The article highlights a selection from Mosaic’s recent release, Charles Mingus - The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65. This set is still in stock, and you can order here.
-Nick Moy
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Charnett Moffett: Solo
This is a great interview with Charnett Moffett, a superb bassist and a great personality with a wonderful sense of humor. I first got to know him when we put together the Tony Williams Quintet in 1987. Charnett tells stories of his years with Tony, but omits the one unforgettable night that Moffett ended his bass solo with an inspired moment of insanity by twirling his bass. Now, either you find that very funny or very offensive. Tony fell on the side of offensive and chewed Charnett out mercilessly after the set. But the next day, Tony was laughing about it too.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Charnett Moffett: Solo
Jimmy Garrison, After John Coltrane
Wow, a nice nod to Jimmy Garrison by Doug Ramsey, on what would have been his 79th birthday, plus a posted 1968 video of the Elvin Jones trio with Joe Farrell and Garrison. I had no idea there was any footage on this trio. A lovely discovery. I only worked with Jimmy Garrison once on an Archie Shepp album about a year before he died. For such a large talent on his instrument, he was modest and kind person.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Esperanza Spalding on NPR Piano Jazz
Is it too early to think of this as a retrospective? Probably; yet Esperanza Spalding has done a lot since this 2008 visit to Marian McPartland’s piano jazz, so let’s just consider this an interesting listen, documenting where this quickly evolving artist was in her (relative) youth — including her take on “Jazz Ain’t Nothin’ but Soul.”
-Nick Moy
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Percy Heath: Bass Giant in the Background
Bassist Percy Heath was a modest, often self-deprecating gentleman, seemingly content to hover in the background, behind a host of jazz greats. His modesty was unjust. In this two-part All About Jazz interview with R.J. DeLuke, many bass giants parade by — Mingus, Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, Ron Carter. Anyone who heard him, especially live, knows that Percy Heath easily belonged up there among all of them.
-Nick Moy
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Read MoreThe Christian McBride Trio
If you haven’t checked out Christian McBride’s exciting trio, with piano phenom Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, we’d like to offer you the opportunity to sample their easy, youthful brilliance and exuberance. Recorded At Scala, in Leverkusen, Germany.
-Nick Moy
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Ray Brown: Chasing Perfection
The core of this compendium of Ray Brown by Ted Panken is a 1996 interview with Brown on WKCR, posthumous tributes to Brown by his storied compatriots follow. The range of greats Ray Brown met worked with is surely staggering, but throughout, he was always looking forward, in his quest for perfection.
-Nick Moy
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