MetaFilter posts tagged with Music and jazz

A website devoted to jazz and American civilization

languagehat — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:40:12 -0800

Jerry Jazz Musician is "a website devoted to jazz and American civilization." Individual pages have been linked a few times on MeFi, but it's high time this terrific site got its own post. Anyone interested in jazz (or blues, or any of the related topics they frequently cover, like Ralph Ellison or Romare Bearden) should bookmark it pronto. A sample, more or less at random: the life and photography of Milt Hinton. (Via The Daily Growler, itself an excellent source for informed and passionate discussion of music, NYC, and life in general; the linked post finishes with a tribute to that fine pianist Terry Pollard.)

eavesdropping on jazz giants

madamjujujive — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:31:05 -0800

The Jazz Loft Project - From 1957 to 1965, celebrated photojournalist W. Eugene Smith made 4,000 hours of surreptitious recordings and took 40,000 photographs in a loft in Manhattan's wholesale flower district where Roland Kirk, Thelonius Monk, Hall Overton, Charles Mingus and other jazz greats jammed until dawn. Archived in the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, the project is now accessible via a book, a traveling exhibit, a 10-part Jazz Loft series on WNYC, NPR's Jazz Loft Project Sights & Sounds, and an interview with JLP author Sam Stephenson, which includes some images from the book. Via a Grain Edit post, which also has some great images. More about the passionate W. Eugene Smith, who abandoned his successful career at Life magazine and his family to devote himself to obsessively documenting the jazz loft. Non-jazz photography: Various images, including Tomoko Uemura in her bath, Minamata, Japan Life series The Country Doctor Life series Spanish Village Life series Man of Mercy, and essay on Albert Schweitzer The Pittsburgh Project An excellent documentary on 1950 photos from Wales: The Lost Pictures of Eugene Smith Part 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4

Blanche Calloway, singer and bandleader, remembered

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:53:53 -0800

Though she didn't enjoy the same level of fame and fortune as her younger brother Cab, singer and bandleader (said to be the first African-American woman to lead an all-male orchestra) Blanche Calloway is a musician worth remembering and checking out if you're a fan of 1920s/30s jazz stylings. It's Right Here For You, It Looks Like Susie, I Gotta Swing, Last Dollar and I Got What It Takes.

Tremé

nola — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:59:04 -0800

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans premieres Thursday, January 29 on PBS. Faubourg Tremé is considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz. Trailer for Faubourg Tremé

What's the word - have you heard?

madamjujujive — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:01:59 -0800

A long-awaited new recording from Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here - will be released in February. Video interview and report by BBC's Stephen Smith. Hear a sample: Where Did the Night Go?. Check out this awesome prior post: Happy Birthday Gil! (via Undercover Black Man)

it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing?

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:07:57 -0800

With his whimsically biting number from 1988 entitled Jazz Police, ol' Lenny Cohen has shown himself to be a prophet once again: Jazzer drop your axe it's jazz police! disclaimer: Larry Ochs, the offending saxophonist if question, is an old friend of mine, but his stature in the music world and the newsworthyness of the episode will, I hope, override any accusations of friend-linkery...

A loving look back on Dixieland Jazz

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:08:16 -0800

"Men working on the river would move in time to the beat of the music. It was everywhere: on the street, in the church. In the tonks and barrelhouses where people went to be together. Like the beating of a big heart. It gave everyone a good feeling." The Cradle is Rocking is a delightful 12-minute film that, though somewhat damaged (Folkstreams has found what may be the only surviving print), is highly recommended viewing for anyone interested in American roots music: in this case, New Orleans jazz. The film's thoughtful and affable narrator is trumpeter George "Kid Sheik" Cola, who can be heard along with Captain John Handy serving up some fine old-school Dixieland jazz here and here.

For Domu / Umod / Sonar Circle / Bakura (etc), This really is The End ...

filthy light thief — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:46:43 -0800

The story starts in 1992 or so, when the 14 year old Brit, Dominic Stanton, bought turntables and started spinning early drum'n'bass. He transitioned from DJ to producer, made demo tracks, and got signed by age 17. He went on to produce broken beat* and jazzy downtempo*, even into the realm of disco edits. Then about two weeks ago, the 31 year old musician called it quits.

The point is that I am no longer Domu. He is a character, always has been, and as of Friday 13th November 2009, he no longer exists. Neither does Umod, Sonar Circle, Bakura, Yotoko, Rima, Zoltar, Blue Monkeys, Realside or any of the other names I put out music under. I am cancelling all my gigs and not taking any more. My hotmail is closed, my Twitter is closed and my Facebook is closed.

Furthermore, his website is closed and the original post of his farewell message is lost, though you can still view the cached version or find it copied elsewhere. Domu's website now simply states This really is The End . . . Step inside for an abbreviated journey. Dominic Stanton's musical interests were first hip-hop and acid house and techno. From there, he followed the early days of jungle and drum'n'bass as a DJ, later producing some tracks and sending demos around, eventually signing with Dennis 'Dego' McFarlane and Mark 'Marc Mac' Clair on their label, Reinforced Records. For the first recording on Reinforced, Stanton joined two other guys and formed Static Imprints for one single, released in 1996. Then the trio became a duo, known as Sonar Circle, and they released their first three singles in 1997, including Devient Concept / Keep My Sanity. The duo released another single in 1998, and the only Sonar Circle album, Radius, came out in 1999. The duo became a solo artist, with Stanton becoming the only person behind the name. He released two more singles and two EPs by 2003, but had largely moved onto other projects. Dominic Stanton's most prolific profile started in 1999, when the Domu single Dressed to Ill was released on the 2000 Black label, a broken beat/ future jazz/ deep house imprint of the drum'n'bass focused Reinforced Records label. In 2000, Domu released his first single on the Italian Archive label, where he later released two albums (2001, 2005). In 2007, Domu produced an album for Pete Simpson on the Papa Records label. And this past summer, Tru Throughts released a compilation of what Stanton considered the most important works of his from the last 10 years. Stanton's two other solo projects were Umod and Zoltar. The former was more sample-based than his other work, and as Umod he released an album and a single in 2004, another single in 2006, plus some odd tracks. Zoltar was more of a one-off personality, and is credited for a 2004 single and a remix of a Umod track. The rest of his musical creations were collaborations. There were at least 10 profiles for these joint efforts, ranging from the one offs as Kudu (one single in 2000) and Blue Monkeys (one single in 2001), to the longer lasting Bakura, which produced an album in 2005 and a few singles. Another group was Legends of the Underground, a multimedia performance group based on music created by Stanton, Mark De Clive-Lowe and Paul "Seiji" Dolby (the trio had earlier collaborated as Kudu). The soundtrack was released on Kindred Spirits in Amsterdam in 2005. Live shows merged music, dance, and an animated 3D world (3D glasses supplied). Along with production and DJing, Dominic Stanton started the online label TrembleO, focusing on digital distribution of new and old tracks of his own creation, as well as other artists and a few releases on CD and vinyl. The official site was taken down, but the MySpace page is still public. In the wake of the announcement, there was much discussion on blogs and forums, and much use of the twitter tag 'weloveyouDomu'. Tribute mixes a-plenty were posted, highlighting the history of Dominic Stanton. People pulled out past mixes from Domu, letting the man speak for himself. He might return, or maybe find something else to fill his life. Until then, there is a vibrant past to re-live. Audio/Video clips 1997- Sonar Circle - Devient Concept (6:04), from Devient Concept/Keep My Sanity 2001- Sonar Circle - Havoc (5:59), from the Havoc EP 2001- Aardvarck - ReSpoken (Domu's Broken Dialect Mix) (6:21), from the Re Spoken 12" 2003- Bakura - Thinking About (Domu Mix) (5:34), from the Veya Veya / Thinking About 12" 2005- Domu - Quarantine (6:20), from The Electric Institute compilation 2007- Domu presents Pete Simpson - Coming Back Around video (4:29) and Play This Song (4:41), from the album Look a Little Further 2007- Domu presents Pete Simpson - Look A Little Further (The Muthafunkaz 12" Vocal Mix) (7:00), from the Look a Little Further single 2007- Making of Swell Session video (3:02), from Swell Communications featuring Domu and Elsa Esmeralda 2008- Broke'n'£nglish - Take It Low (Domu Remix) (5:09), from the Take It Low 12" 2008- Replife - Put It Down (Domu Remix) (4:41), from Put It Down / R U Ready 7" 2009- Domu & Yannah Valdevit - City Madness (A&D's 4 The Summer Mix) (2:25), sample from the City Madness / Info People single 2009- Tortured Soul - Home To You (Domu Remix) (5:17), from the Home To You remixes 2009- Interview in Paris (3:23), posted after his announcement to retire but recorded in the months prior Mixes by Domu 2004- Interview and mixset for Red Bull Music Academy Feb 22, 2005- Live from CSUF (scroll down for the link to the mix, read more on his profile) October 2007- Exclusive Domu guest mix for Urban Landscapes [dates unknown]- TrembelO Radio Show, showcasing Domu and a rotating cast of extras including Shifty, Marin, and Soza.

Live Recordings from the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival

Kattullus — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:57:33 -0800

27 live recordings from the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival can be streamed for free at Wolfgang's Vault. Here's a few of the musicians you can listen to: Count Basie & His Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson Trio and Thelonious Monk. Registration is required but it's oh so worth it. The New York Times has the backstory of how these recordings ended up at Wolfgang's Vault.

The shape of jazz gone by

kenko — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:42:53 -0800

NPR's jazz blog A Blog Supreme recently concluded a series in which they asked jazz bloggers to "name five albums you would recommend to somebody looking to get into modern jazz". The results are now up in the category Jazz Now; the intro has the index, including reactions elsewhere. Destination: Out had some pricklier suggestions—see also their best of the 90s list (and their own nominations). Some related reading: An interview with Henry Threadgill. (Some tracks from his new album.) An interview with Tootie Heath. An interview with Julius Hemphill. Evan Parker on John Coltrane.

Jazz in Azerbaijan

netbros — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:53:16 -0800

Jazz in Azerbaijan Before the turn of the 19th century, Baku Azerbaijan was already known for its oil. Europeans gravitated to this city on the shores of the Caspian, and together with local entrepreneurs, they succeeded in producing more than 51 percent of the world's supply of oil. At about the same time, America was giving birth to a new musical form-jazz. This mesmerizing new sound which originated in the restaurants and back alleys of New Orleans and Chicago drew upon many different cultural traditions, including African rhythms, Asian improvisations and abstract thinking, European classical music and even symbols borrowed from Native American tribes. Soon afterward, this new musical synthesis found its way to other cities all over the world, including Baku. Newspaper archives indicate that bands were performing jazz in Baku restaurants. It's very possible that Robert Nobel and his brothers, Ludwig and Alfred, listened to jazz in Baku.

Creed Taylor International

The Card Cheat — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:17:38 -0800

The CTI never sleeps. A collection of LPs from Creed Taylor's CTI and Kudu labels, as compiled by Doug Payne.

Lester Young Centennial

ism — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:26:14 -0800

Lester Young (Aug. 27, 1909–March 15, 1959) is given not just a memorial, but extensive musicological criticism and contextual information in this ten-chapter series by jazz pianist and blogger Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus. Solo transcriptions and analyses, interviews with Lee Konitz, Tootie and Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, an essay on Young's influence on Miles Davis, a discographic primer and more. (Previously.) For more of Iverson's top-notch jazz blogging, here's Do the Math's table of contents. A lot of this deserves to be published outside of the blogosphere.

"...A Fourth of July picnic, a Sunday Best church revival, an urban rock concert and a rural civil rights rally"

Miko — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:15:26 -0800

There was a historic music festival in the summer of 1969. But it's not the one that took place in Bethel, NY. The Harlem Cultural Festival ran from June 29 to August 24 that summer, presenting a concert every Sunday afternoon in Mount Morris Park (known today as Marcus Garvey Park). Three hundred thousand people turned out for the six free concerts, hearing acts like Nina Simone , Sly & the Family Stone (the only act to play both Woodstock and the "black Woodstock"), Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, The 5th Dimension, Moms Mabley and. Speakers included Jesse Jackson and "blue-eyed soul brother" Mayor John Lindsay. Security was courtesy of the Black Panthers, since the NYC police refused to provide it. Filmmaker Hal Tulchin recorded over 50 hours of concert footage, which has remained unreleased. Historic Films seems to hold the footage; it was supposed to be made into a movie to premiere at Sundance 2007, but its release seems to be continually delayed for reasons unclear. There are a couple of other concerts that also get called the "Black Woodstock," though they took place well after 1969 -- this is a good way to confound researchers in the oughts. They are: Zaire 74, and WattStax.

Ahmet Ertegun profiled by George W. S. Trow in 1978

Kattullus — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:42:39 -0800

Ahmet Ertegun was profiled by George W. S. Trow in The New Yorker in a classic piece back in 1978. Ertegun was the son of the Turkish ambassador to the US and he remained behind in D.C. studying medieval philosophy at Georgetown. Instead of devoting himself to his studies he founded Atlantic Records with his friend Herb Abramson. Trow charted how Ertegun moved from tramping through muddy, Louisiana fields in search of hot new sounds to the whirl of Studio 54. Below the cut are links to the songs mentioned in the article, as best as I could find, in the order in which they appear. Hugues Panassié, Le Jazz Hot (performed by Julie Andrews). I couldn't find any online versions of Dirty Mother for You but here's Roosevelt Sykes rippin' it up on Swedish TV in 1972. Couldn't find Ruth Brown singing A - You're Adorable, so here's the Sesame Street version. Ivory Joe Hunter, Since I Met You Baby. I couldn't find any footage or recordings of Bob Howard and His Rhythm, who recorded Button Up Your Overcoat and Memories of You for Atlantic Records, but here's Ruth Etting's 1929 version of the former and Sinatra's 1956 take on the latter. Here's a performance by Boyd Raeburn and His Orchestra who recorded The Lady is a Tramp and How High the Moon for Atlantic, here's Jaye P. Morgan doing the former and Les Paul and Mary Ford the latter. Sticks McGhee and His Buddies, Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee. Couldn't find Clovers' version of Skylark, so here's Bette Midler. I couldn't find a version of Don't You Know I Love You online. Joe Turner, Chains of Love. Ruth Brown, Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean. Joe Turner, Shake, Rattle and Roll. Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters, Money Honey. The Coasters, Searchin'/Young Blood. I couldn't find Chuck Willis' Hang Up My Rock n' Roll Shoes, but here's Bruce Springsteen covering the song and another song by Chuck Willis, What You Gonna Do When Your Baby Leaves You. Bobby Darin, Splish Splash. Ray Charles, What'd I Say? and I Got a Woman. The Rolling Stones, Street Fighting Man, Satisfaction and Love in Vain. Stevie Wonder, Happy Birthday and Uptight/Satisfaction (with The Rolling Stones). Muddy Waters, Hoochie Coochie Man. Aretha Franklin, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You. Professor Longhair, Tipitina (with The Meters). I can't figure out what that Trammps song is that's referenced, but here they're performing Shout. It's impossible to know what Johnny Dodds song Ahmet Ertegun is da da dooing along with, so here's some random Johnny Dodds. I couldn't find Brown Skin Man by Lovie Austin and Her Blues Serenaders, but here's Charleston Mad (Priscilla Steward singing). Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, King Porter. Tampa Red and Georgia Tom, You Can't Get That Stuff No More. Fred Astaire, Puttin' on the Ritz. I didn't find The Jealous Kind online. If I missed anything, please add a link.

Jazz hands

klangklangston — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:48:08 -0800

Audio archive from Small's Jazz Club, searchable by instrument, then performer, then date, starting with September 27, 2007. Hours and hours and hours and hours of the some of the best jazz from New York's downtown scene. Stream and snap your fingers, man.

His name was Albert Ayler

Joe Beese — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:25:57 -0800

One of the giants of free jazz, Albert Ayler was also one of the most controversial. His huge tone and wide vibrato were difficult to ignore, and his 1966 group sounded like a runaway New Orleans brass band from 1910. - AllMusic Albert Ayler's greatest studio recording was Spiritual Unity (1964).

Old Style Jazz

paisley henosis — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:49:59 -0800

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is made up of Chicago Jazz man Phil Cohran's 8 sons on horns and an (unrelated) drummer. The band sold 300,000 units of their first CD while playing on the streets, which they followed with a second home-made album and a live album. They have since preformed their tight, up-tempo, rhythm driven jazz with Mos Def with whom they have a project in the works, and Erykah Badu. They have turned down contracts with Def Jam and Atlantic, but released a self-titled album as well as a number of singles on vinyl on Honest Jon's records. Their now out of print albums have sell for a significant premium on eBay, but their main releases are all available to download on both Amazon and iTunes. They were also the subject of a recent profile in The New Yorker. A few YouTube links: 1 2 3a 3b 3c

Now I Wanna Be Your Insightful, Respectable Rock Icon

Jon_Evil — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:57:42 -0800

You wouldn't expect Iggy Pop to be the poster boy for rock stars who age gracefully, but he seems to be doing a pretty good job of it. At the age of 62, he's released Preliminaires, an album steeped in French Literature and containing jazz standards, hardscrabble blues, and the Louis-Armstrong-meets-Tom-Waits hit, King of the Dogs. NPR's Fresh Air has this interview with a thoughtful, avuncular Iggy Pop

An American Art Form

netbros — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:06:00 -0800

NEA Jazz in the Schools takes a step-by-step journey through the history of jazz, integrating that story with the sweep of American social, economic, and political developments. This multi-media curriculum is designed to be as useful to high school history and social studies teachers as it is to music teachers. Start with the introductory video to get a feel for the place. The education outline contains five lessons. If you just want to listen, all the music samples are on one page. Perhaps you're more interested in individual artist biographies, or a jazz history timeline. These lessons are designed as units; five units serve as a week-long curriculum. NEW ORLEANS: MELTING POT OF SOUND — Jazz grew out of the African-American community at the turn of the 20th century, a time when blacks were being denied their most basic rights. The music has since become a part of every American’s birthright, a timeless symbol of American individualism and ingenuity, American democracy and inclusiveness. The birthplace of jazz is New Orleans, the most cosmopolitan city in the South. THE JAZZ AGE AND CHICAGO — In the 1920s, jazz spread rapidly all across America. The rise of jazz was part of a new, post–World War I optimism, a prevailing sense that something new was happening, that America was finally breaking from European culture and coming into its own. Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald called the new era the Jazz Age. FROM SWING TO BOP — With the decline in popularity of swing bands and the rise of singers as pop stars, many jazz musicians in the mid-1940s retreated to smaller groups of five or six instruments that were easier to organize, were cheaper to book in clubs, and provided more freedom for individual musicians to express themselves. NEW FRONTIER — The 1960s are virtually synonymous with social and political upheaval in America, and with a popular culture nourished by intrepid experimentation and a rejection of traditional symbols of authority. Of course, in the world of jazz, musicians had already been responding to—and carrying out—upheavals in American society for some time. AN AMERICAN STORY — Jazz is the purest expression of the American spirit—innovative, independent, and, ultimately, revolutionary. The history of jazz is inextricably linked with the political, geographic, and cultural history of America, and to understand the evolution of this music is to grasp the passion and genuine humanity at the heart of American democracy.

Jimmy Smith on the BBC

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:02:14 -0800

If you're in the mood for some of that juicy, satisfying, blues-inflected and soulful-as-hell organ jazz served up Jimmy Smith-style, check out these 1964 BBC TV appearances from Smith and his trio: The Sermon, Wagon Wheels, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Uptempo Blues and Theme from Mondo Cane. What a great trio Smith had here: Billy Hart is the consummate jazz percussionist, and Quentin Warren (on a Strat!) sounds mighty fine, smooth as silk. And the BBC cameramen did a fine job of shooting these kicking performances. Enjoy! BTW, the YT poster's titles all indicate that this performance was from 1964, but I notice one clip contains a caption indicating the year was 1965... well, whatever the year, it's damn good music. And... Jimmy Smith obit from 2005, previously.

At last, the present is getting Soul!

myopicman — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:45:40 -0800

Soul! New York City PBS affiliate WNET have digitized 9 episodes of Soul!, a early 1970's live music program, providing a groovy video interface with chapters to break down each hour long episode. I ran across this whilst looking for Rahsaan Roland Kirk and his multiple saxophone performances and wow, I never would've thought I'd find something like his appearance on October 4, 1972.

"I played at August Wilson's funeral. You know what he wanted me to play? Danny Boy."

Ndwright — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:59:23 -0800

Wynton Marsalis waxes poetic (and music) at the Kennedy Center about art, freedom, jazz, the minstrel shows of yesterday and today, Walt Whitman, American history, the similarities between the Battle Hymn of the Republic and the Mickey Mouse Club March, rock and roll, and how it all ties together. Excerpts: "A financial inheritance can be accurately assessed in dollars, but what is the value of an artistic heritage? Who calculates the value of "Amazing Grace" or "Yankee Doodle" or "Go Down Moses"? ... "Random black folks on the plantation imitating the ways of white folks are imitated by itinerate white entertainers who blacken up and create plantation skits. Plantation owners then cull through their slaves for the most talented who then imitate the white entertainers’ imitation of black folks imitating white folks. These selected blacks are then imitated by professional white performers, and after the Civil War and the rise of black minstrelsy as an enterprise, white professionals were imitated by black professionals." ... "Artists effortlessly speak across time because the technology of the human soul does not change. Ask Eugene O’Neill who absorbed the spirit of the Greeks through the spirit of Wagner’s acolyte Nietzsche who told him what Whitman said was what Buddy Bolden said…Wake up!" Transcript

Happy Birthday Gil!

p3t3 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:53:56 -0800

April Fools Day, 2009 also means happy 60th birthday to one of my favorite musicians, Gil Scott-Heron (previously). From his popular early works like the heavily referenced "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", "Whitey On The Moon", and "The Bottle", to his continued productions and tours over the decades, he's had a few hurdles, but never stopped. For more on his life and music, here's a great documentary from a few years back (MLYT): pt. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Lester Young (1909-1959)

Joe Beese — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:58:48 -0800

50 years ago today, we said goodbye to Pork Pie Hat. One of the saddest lives in jazz was the inspiration for Geoff Dyer's But Beautiful - which Keith Jarrett praised as "the only book about jazz that I have recommended to my friends. It is a little gem". You can read an excerpt here. [On the left side of the screen, click the "Excerpt link.]