When not pressing the valves on his trumpet or the record button on his tape recorder, Armstrong’s fingers found other arts with which to occupy themselves. One of them was collage, which became a visual outlet for his improvisational genius. ... These little stories, illuminating and entertaining syntheses of Armstrong’s passions, now reside in the Louis Armstrong Archives at Queens College in Flushing, New York. [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Oct 28, 2009 - 11 comments

"A wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals even three decades after her debut, Betty Davis combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis, her husband for a year. ... she turned Miles on to Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone (providing the spark that led to his musical reinvention on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew), then proved her own talents with a trio of sizzling mid-'70s solo LPs." - All Music Guide (many links nsfw-ish)
posted by Joe Beese on Feb 17, 2009 - 22 comments

Even if you're one of those "I don't like jazz" folks, the iconoclastic multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936-1977) is probably someone you can dig. For one thing, he wasn't afraid of using a fat backbeat, more akin to soul/R&B than most of the jazz of his time. And how can you say no to a guy who passed out little flutes to his audience members, inviting them to join in, saying "What about a blues in W, in the key of W". Or who played 3 or 4 horns at once, followed by a nose-flute solo? God bless you, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Aug 7, 2007 - 50 comments

Jimmy Smith (wikipedia) passed away last night. [ mi ]
posted by bluedaniel on Feb 9, 2005 - 47 comments