Blame It On Geoffrey Chaucer
St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius
Legend states that before his execution he wrote “from your Valentine” as a farewell to her. Today, Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine’s Day, albeit on July 6th and July 30th, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).
The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as valentines). Valentine’s Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards. - Wikipedia
Percy Sledge Sings When A Man Loves A Woman
Al Green Sings Love And Happiness
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Cecil Taylor in brilliant concert form
An all-too-brief, but for the most part, beautifully shot, clip of Cecil Taylor in superb solo form at the Jazz Ost-West Festival in N\u00fcrnberg 1984, Germany. Wish we could provide you with more.
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I was born in old Manchuria; today it’s China. I had a piano. I studied piano from 7 years old, so I never heard of jazz. Then when the war was ended, my parents lost everything, so I didn’t have a piano, so I took a job in a dance hall. This was a Japanese dance hall for Japanese people, and there was one Japanese jazz record collector. He invited me to his home, and played the Teddy Wilson’s “Sweet Lorraine.” Actually this became a pretty famous story. That’s when I thought, Oh, I’d like to play just like that. That was the beginning. – From a Ted Panken Interview
Toshiko Akiyoshi talks to the Smithsonian about the humble, salad days circumstances under which the Akiyoshi-Tabackin Big Band, whose first five excellent studio albums for RCA were finally reissued on Mosaic Select MS-033.
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Charlie Haden Chats with Ethan Iverson
Ethan Iverson’s 2008 interview with Charlie Haden, in its longer form in Iverson’s blog Do the Math, is a constantly fascinating encounter between two of the most probing and committed figures in jazz. Haden seems to leap at Iverson’s questions to talk about his history in the music, from Ornette Coleman The Shape of Jazz to Come to the Liberation Music Orchestra, Old and New Dreams and Quartet West. Especially illuminating: Haden’s take on the bass greats.
-Nick Moy
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Jack White’s Dream: Reissue Thousands of Vintage Blues Recordings on Vinyl
More signs that music on vinyl is making a comeback fueled by young listeners: Jack White, the singer and guitarist behind White Stripes, has launched a plan with Scottish label Document Records to reissue 25,000 rare and vintage blues recordings — on vinyl. Read more about his labor of love and expression of passion.
-Nick Moy
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John McLaughlin: Remembering Ravi Shankar
Guitarist John McLaughlin’s musical journey has taken him down many fascinating paths, including Miles Davis, the Tony Williams Lifetime, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. Ravi Shankar was an important influence on his thinking and his musical direction, and McLaughlin speaks with deep emotion of his relationship with Shankar in this interview with Ian Patterson.
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I made two trips out of New York for Riverside Records, both of which remain remarkably fresh in my memory as I look back on my career. My aim was to capture before it was too late, performances by veteran jazz and blues artists who were still active. In this, the first of two posts, I reminisce about New Orleans, where Audio engineer Dave Jones and I made 12 albums in one week.
Chris Albertson’s blog Stomp Off!; is full of great memoirs and I think this essay is one of his best. It chronicles the origins of the New Orleans Living Legends series that he recorded there in 1961. This is a wonderful reminiscence of many special people who are no longer with us.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Renee Rosnes Meets Steve Wilson at the Village Vanguard
NPR’s Live At The Village Vanguard is a well-curated series of performances from one of the most venerated jazz clubs in the world. Alto and soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson and pianist Renee Rosnes first played together in the band OTB in the late ‘80s. Their musical paths have crossed constantly over the past 25 years and their empathy strengthens as this wonderful drummerless performance with bassist Peter Washington attests.
-Michael Cuscuna
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A Rare Look At The Cootie Williams Band
The Cootie Williams band never did have a hit record, however, they did boast a number outstanding players like Charlie Parker and Bud Powell (unfortunately not seen in this clip) as well as Cleanhead Vinson and Sam Taylor (who are seen). The short comes from a Columbia Pictures series entitled “Film Vodvil”. A rare chance to see this band which made some magnificent recordings for Capitol (“House of Joy”, “Everything But You” just to name a couple) when this clip was filmed.
- Scott Wenzel
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Junior Mance: Jazz and the Chicago Blues
One of the first records I produced was by blues guitarist Buddy Guy in 1968. It was his last album for Vanguard and I was feeling eclectic and convinced Bubby to use some of my jazz friends on the session, including Junior Mance, Gary Bartz and Bill Folwell. I had no idea how steeped in blues and boogie Junior was until that session, which led to another album entitled “Buddy And The Juniors,” with Junior Wells as the third musician. Mance’s playing on that album is a revelation. And of course, his modern jazz credentials are impeccable. Tom Reney’s New England Public Radio blog includes an essay, a video interview and live music from New York City’s Cafe Loup in 2007.
-Michael Cuscuna
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