Would someone who listens to one of these releases listen and enjoy the other? Can smooth and avant-garde be friends? Sam Rivers, who just departed from us fairly recently, left us with one last gift, a recording of a reunion…
Author: George W. Harris
OTIS WILLIAMS: 50 YEARS OF TEMPTATION
Yeah, you’re right. Technically, charter member of the famed R&B quintet The Temptations is NOT a jazz singer. GET OVER IT!!! Would YOU turn down a chance to sit at the feet and learn from the last living member of…
PONCHO SANCHEZ: CON ALMA
Up there with Tito’s Tacos, Bob’s Big Boy, Tommy’s Burgers, Vin Scully and Pinks Hot Dogs has to be salsa King Poncho Sanchez in terms of LA institutions. If you’ve never been to a club to hear, feel and take…
WHERE WAS THIS HIDING?!? Miles Davis Quintet: Live In Europe 1969; The Bootleg Series Vol.2
I’ve come to the conclusion that, though we tend to put Miles Davis’ career into certain creative segments, (like the First Quintet, the Second Quintet, the Gil Evans period) and everything between those eras being considered a “transition” period, the fact…
Branford Marsalis Quartet@Valley Performing Arts Center 02.02.13
Returning to the town where he used to lead the Tonight Show band, Branford Marsalis reunited with fans and friends by bringing his hard working group of Joey Caldarazzo/p, Eric Revis/b and Justin Faulkner/dr to the acoustically enjoyable Valley Arts…
LA’S SIX STRINGERS
Since the days of Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson, guitars have been an integral part of jazz. Before plugging in, guitarists were either part of the rhythm section a la Freddie Green being the pulse of Count Basie’s Orchestra for…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Randy Klein’s Two Duos: What’s Next?
I’ve always been a sucker for jazz duets. Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Jim Hall & Pat Metheny…the list could go on forever. There’s nowhere to hide, and if you’re posing, it’s going to come…
BEST SOUNDING TENOR ALIVE-AS LEADER AND SIDEMAN: Houston Person: Naturally, LaVerne Butler Love Lost and Found Again
I’m sorry, but the more I listen to jazz, the less impressed I am by chops for chops sake, and the more I spend time listening to a horn player that’s got a sound that calls me back for more. …
Woody Herman: Blue Flame-Portrait of a Jazz Legend
Woody Herman would have been 100 years old if he had made it to the year 2013; unfortunately, the heart that he gave to his musicians, his wife and his fans gave out a few decades before that. This wonderful…
JAZZ AT CAMELOT-Paul Winter Sextet: Count Me In 1962/1963
This 2cd set is a 50th year anniversary anthology of a band, a style of music and an era that is regrettably long gone. Back in 1961, a young student at Northwestern University named Paul Winter started a small band…