Look out for Jenny Scheinman
Around this time of year, Winter Jazzfest is on the brain in New York. Here’s a look at violinist Jenny Scheinman and her hot band, Mischief and Mayhem, at last year’s Winter Jazzfest at Le Poisson Rouge with Nels Cline’s guitar, Todd Sickafoose on bass and Jim Black on drums. People attribute lots of conceivable influences to Jenny Scheinman, including folk roots and classical tendencies; as I hear it, though, her sound is fiercely her own. Thanks to Peter Hum for pointing to this clip.
-Nick Moy
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Bernie Glow: Lead Trumpet Extraordinaire
I didn’t have the chops to be a trumpet player, but my futile youthful attempts to master the instrument did teach me to respect lead trumpeters. Back then, one memorably named trumpeter kept appearing on records I picked: Bernie Glow (1926-1982). Thanks to this 1969 article from the New Yorker by William Whitworth (revived by Bret Primack), I now know who Bernie Glow is. So should you.
(Bernie Glow appears second from the left in the photo, courtesy jazzontherecord.blogspot.com )
-Nick Moy
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Duke Ellington’s Musical Homage to Martin Luther King
Duke Ellington wrote the words and music for “My People” for the 1963 Century Of Negro Progress Exposition in Chicago. The show ran less than a month and the original cast album, released on the small Contact label, got very little notice. This blog post by Paul Devlin, posted on Martin Luther King Day, spotlights one of the pieces from the show that was Ellington’s tribute to brave, coolheaded work of Rev. Dr. King. Hear the tune and read the background on the piece and Ellington’s take on the times in this fascinating piece. And be sure to read our recent post on Ellington and Race in America.
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Preview: Wayne Shorter’s New Album
Wayne Shorter is one of the most purely original music creators to emerge in the 20th Century, and that’s putting him in some heavy company. As that century drew to a close, Wayne, famous for avoiding the travails of leading a band, assembled a quartet with Danielo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade that exploded with empathy and spontaneity from day one, and remains one of the greatest and most stable groups in jazz over a dozen years later.
Wayne returns to Blue Note Records with the aptly titled “Without A Net” by the quartet, with highlights from its 2011 European tour including a 23-minute work “Pegasus,” on which they are joined by the Imani Winds. A magnificent album.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Preview: Wayne Shorter’s New Album
<h2>Roy Eldridge, All Day on WKCR</h2>
<p>Here is a must for anyone interested in Roy Eldridge and his music: WKCR Radio’s Roy Eldridge Birthday Broadcast, all day January 30. Listen at 89.9 FM in the New York City region, or stream online at wkcr.org. Phil Schaap, who should know, divulges that these tidbits about the festival: “the live broadcast of Roy in various discussions at The West End on his 76th birthday (1/30/1987) will be aired at 8:20am ET and a much longer interview done on his 77th birthday (1/30/1988) will be aired at 6:00pm ET.” Eldridge interviews are pretty scarce, so immerse and enjoy. </p>
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The Day Dollar Brand Met Thelonious Monk
Those of us who grew up listening to South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibhahim, aka Dollar Brand, assume that the man considered “Africa’s Monk” must have grown up under Thelonious Monk’s influence. According to the prolific Monk biographer Robin Kelley, here is where it started, and how it happened.
-Nick Moy
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Lee Konitz, Without Compromise: but with Feeling
Dan Morgenstern may be one of the best journalists in jazz history. This 1964 article on Lee Konitz is a perfect example of how he gets out of the way and lets his subject reveal himself. Lee is such a strong and pure spirit, that this could have been written yesterday (49 years later) and who still be accurate and relevant. The only thing that Dan didn’t bring to the surface here is Lee’s bone-dry sense of humor. Great writing about a great artist and person.
-Michael Cuscuna
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“Houston Person’s Timeless, Yet Endangered Style”
The title of Tom Reney’s profile of saxophonist Houston Person says it all, with perfection: few play quite like Person nowadays, with the sense that the church is always nearby. And, as you might surmise when you’ve read this, he’s a delightful person. No pun intended, honest. (Photo by Patricia Myers.)
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Two utterly unique masters, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joe Henderson, on stage at Carnegie Hall in 1994, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Verve Records. A visually and aurally gorgeous performance. Pat Metheny is on guitar, Charlie Haden is the bassist and Al Foster is on drums.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Late Bill Evans, Early Piano Jazz
NPR has just unearthed an early session from its Piano Jazz series hosted by Marian McPartland, and it’s a beauty: an encounter with Bill Evans, recorded during the first year of Piano Jazz broadcasts in late 1978, when Evans had just assembled what would be his last trio. Although Evans sounds vital and delightfully convivial during the broadcast, NPR’s timing proved fortuitous: Evans would be gone two years later.
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