Betty Carter Wakes Up Today
This clip of Betty Carter, singing her “Droppin’ Things,” must have been some wake up call for viewers of the Today show in 1990. With Marc Cary’s piano, Dwayne Burno on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums.
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Singer Madeleine Peyroux: Perfect Musical Pedigree and Beyond
Madeleine Peyroux has the perfect artistic pedigree: New Orleans heritage and raised in Brooklyn and Paris. Her unique vocal approach is directed toward the songs that Ray Charles popularized on “Modern Sounds In Country And Western” on her latest album “The Blue Room,” for which I had the honor of writing the liner notes. Here’s a brief but interesting interview in the Great Britain’s The Guardian.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Where Gretchen Parlato is Coming From
In this interview, singer Gretchen Parlato chats with Brian Howe about her roots, the ethnomusical studies that colored her development, and how her sound and vocal style reflect her artistic intentions. A revealing video of Parlato’s performance of Blue in Green fills out this look at this singer and her approach to her art.
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Remembering Vocal Giant Betty Carter
Betty Carter was one of the most uncompromising jazz artists of her time \u2014 even more remarkable, since the horn she carried resided within her body. This JazzTimes piece reminds us how singular Betty Carter was, as jazz musician, entrepreneur, mentor and vigorous advocate for the integrity of her art form.
-Nick Moy
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Read MoreUnderstanding Gregory Porter: Melody and Intention
Try it; just listen to singer Gregory Porter throughout this profile, and then look: Gregory Porter has this way of sounding like he’s smiling, as he tells you about the church, family and influences of youth that created his infectiously joyous musical composite.
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View VideoAndy and the Bey Sisters: Rare Footage
Andy Bey and sisters Salome and Geraldine worked together in the mid ’60s and recorded several albums for Prestige. They always seemed on the verge of success, but never quite got there. This unusual clip is from a 1964 Paris appearance. They perform Arnett Cobb’s “Smooth Sailing” with none other than Kenny Clarke on drums.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Why John Coltrane Chose Johnny Hartman
In the midst of John Coltrane’s “ballad period,” an artistic period perhaps as popular and embedded in jazz culture as Picasso’s “blue period” is in modern art, Coltrane was searching for a vocalist for his next ballad album. The result immortalized Johnny Hartman. Why did Coltrane choose Hartman as his partner for that album? Jazz Times gives us a glimpse at Coltrane’s thinking, from Gregg Akkerman’s recently published book, The Last Balladeer: The Johnny Hartman Story.
-Nick Moy
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