To Canadians, as the new 2012 liner notes to this historic meeting of the jazz minds so rightly notes, Massey Hall is a building. To fans of this music worldwide, it’s something else You May Also Like: ‘Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings’ (2023) Giancarlo Tossani’s BigRead More
Dick Clark, who shaped music tastes for generations with TV’s “American Bandstand,” delighted us in the afternoons with the well-watched $25,000 “Pyramid” game show, then gave the world a peek at Times Square craziness with his annual “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” specials, has died. You May Also Like: No relatedRead More
With today’s passing of Earl Scruggs at age 88, we returned to a stirring tribute to the three-finger banjo style of this Country Music Hall of Famer by Ricky Scaggs. You May Also Like: Marty Stuart, April 7, 2017: Shows I’ll Never Forget
Jerry “Boogie” McCain, the Alabama-born blues harmonica player, has died at age 81. He was best known for a double-sided 1960 hit, “She’s Tough”/”Steady” — the A-side of which was later redone by the Fabulous Thunderbirds. You May Also Like: Denise LaSalle, Soul-Blues Belter (1939-2018): An Appreciation Left Lane CruiserRead More
On April 22, Jean-Baptiste Frederic Isidor “Toots” Thielemans turns 90 years old. Four weeks before that comes a look back on one of the richest and yet disregarded career in jazz music, Yesterday & Today. You May Also Like: Eliane Elias Confidently Expanded Her Main Influences on ‘Bossa Nova Stories’
I was quite active in the early days of live television, most of which was shot in Hollywood, California. Sometime in the latter part of 1951, I got a call from the director and producer of many teen-oriented TV shows. You May Also Like: How Pee Wee Ellis Finally SteppedRead More
Dismissed late in life as a sell-out entertainer, Wes Montgomery — you’re reminded all over again, with this group of previously unreleased sides — could play with both an uncanny smoothness and a sharp improvisational wit. You May Also Like: Wes Montgomery – ‘The Complete Full House Recordings’ (2023) WesRead More
Los Angeles/Hollywood, California, in the late 1940s through the early 1960s was a happening place for jazz and jazz musicians. There was always a place to play a jam session, or more correctly session(s) You May Also Like: Ornette Coleman – ‘Genesis of Genius: The Contemporary Albums’ (1958-59; 2022 reissue)
Elvis Aaron Presley. I spent most of a day and night with the cat, back in March or April 1956. Me? I was stationed at Fort Riley Kansas in the 1st Infantry Division — the Big Red One You May Also Like: What I Learned From Elvis Presley: An AppreciationRead More
“Thank you very much, you make me feel so wonderful. It’s been a pleasure being here but I really must go now, it’s so hot.” — Clifford Brown at the end of his final performance, June 25, 1956 You May Also Like: Jazz’s Best Last Records by John Coltrane, EricRead More
