I started out aiming to do a post on Fats Navarro, and sort of made it. This is “52nd Street Theme,” which Wikipedia says was written by Thelonious...
Category - Jazz
Drummer William Henry (Chick) Webb, who died in 1939 — at only 34 — would be celebrating his 111th birthday today. Here is more on Webb, who was...
It’s a shame how many great musicians don’t have much video — for any — of them actually playing. Seeing these greats is half the fun...
I heard this pretty song — “Melba’s Tune” — while driving the other night. I’m reasonably well acquainted with jazz, but...
Very pretty stuff. Blue Mitchell is on trumpet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Roy Brooks on bass. Here is more on Mitchell: Richard Allen “Blue”...
Nothing much to say about Ben Webster. The only thing to do is listen. The other players above, according to the notes at YouTube, are Stan Tracy on piano...
On the very short list of most important musicians ever. And, as is the case with people who change their field so radically, Sinatra’s influence went...
. I was introduced to John Yao, in a cyber sense, by Matt Panayides, a tremendous jazz guitarist whom I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing a couple of...
Jazz trombonist, guitarist, composer and arranger Eddie Durham was born on this day in 1906. An excerpt from Wikipedia’s profile: He was the co-composer...
HT: DW My son showed me this, which is “Shelter Song” by Temples. The music and the video pretty obviously show that the band was trying to sound...
Reading Music
The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.
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Here are some books to check out.
Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.
What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.
The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").
David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.