The great pianist-arranger-composer
Clare Fischer has died. Besides being a mean pianist who even Herbie Hancock called a huge influence, very few could claim the achievements of this man, who worked with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie, the Hi-Los and other jazzmen to Prince, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Paul McCartney, Prince, and so many more.
posted by Seekerofsplendor
on Jan 28, 2012 -
9 comments
As jazz fans know, fifty years ago on March 2, 1959,
Miles Davis, Bill Evans,
John Coltrane,
Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb met at the Columbia 30th Street Studios in NYC for the first session of Miles new album,
Kind of Blue. (Link goes to the 50th anniversary collector's box set edition page at amazon.) It was the touchstone for many other future recordings bearing its mighty influence and it fostered several high profile careers, and a new modal sound for jazz.
Kind of Blue went on to be
certified platinum, selling 4 million records, the most ever for a jazz album. Bill Evans had left the band in late 1958, but was called back by Miles for the sessions, which included his new pianist Wynton Kelly on one track only,
Freddie Freeloader. The tunes they did that day,
"So What",
"Blue in Green" (written by Evans, though credited to Miles) and "Freeloader" all became standards as did "All Blues" from the April session. Documentaries and entire books have been written on this one album alone. The phenomenon lives on. (
previously on AskMeFi, but just on Trane and Miles.)
posted by Seekerofsplendor
on Mar 3, 2009 -
71 comments
The iconic photographer
William Claxton has died at the age of 80. His unforgettable shots of
Miles Davis, Steve McQueen,
Chet Baker (the book of his Baker photos
here),
Bob Dylan, Charlie Parker,
Ray Charles,
John Coltrane, Billie Holiday,
Bill Evans,
Lenny Bruce,
Frank Sinatra and so many others are legend. His books
"Jazz Life" and
"Photographic Memory" are great collections, but
his official site is probably the best way to appreciate the amazing legacy of work he left behind.
posted by Seekerofsplendor
on Oct 12, 2008 -
13 comments
