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Backgrounder: Horace Silver Trio (1952)
Looking back, we can say now that Horace Silver was way ahead of his time. The pianist not only invented hard bop piano but also funk. All in 1952, two years after being discovered by tenor saxophonist Stan Getz in Hartford, Ct. Silver's first album was a 10-inch LP recorded for Blue Note in October 1952. ...
Perfection: Bill Harris Herd - Blackstrap (1952)
There were New York big bands in the early 1950s and then there was the Bill Harris Herd in 1952—a pack of ex-Hermanites, or former members of Woody Herman's band. If you're hip to your New York studio guys, then the following personnel should blow your mind: Charles Frankhauser, Bernie Glow, Neal Hefti, Al Porcino and ...
Five Recently Uploaded Concert Videos
Today, five concert videos that recently went up on YouTube featuring exceptional jazz artists I've been thinking about lately... Here's Eliane Elias with Marc Johnson (b), Graham Dechter (g) and Rafael Barata (d), at Jazz à Vienne, France, in 2014... Here's the McCoy Tyner Quintet in 1990, with Freddie Hubbard (tp, fl-h), Ralph Moore (ts, ss), ...
Take Five with Guitarist Jamie Pye
by AAJ Staff
Meet Jamie Pye Jamie Pye is a jny: London-based jazz guitarist and composer with roots in both Australia and New Zealand. He performs in various line ups and contexts; from intimate duo residencies to headline performances as a bandleader showcasing his original music. He is often part of house bands for jam sessions around town, or ...
Backgrounder: Bossa Session (1964)
Happy Thanksgiving to my readers in the U.S. and abroad! To provide you with an after-dinner musical digestivo, I've chosen a wonderful bossa nova album on Elenco. Elenco was one of the most influential Brazilian record labels. Founded by producer Aloysio de Oliveira (above) in 1963, the label was instrumental in widening the popularity of the ...
Perfection: Frank Sinatra - There's a Small Hotel
Readers often ask me for my favorite Frank Sinatra track and arrangement from the singer's Capitol years (1953-1962). While I can't tell you which is No. 1 on my list—there are simply too many great ones—I can tell you which recording is in my top 3: There's a Small Hotel. For the film Pal Joey (1957), ...
Remembering All About Jazz's Chris May
by AAJ Staff
With profound sadness, the All About Jazz family mourns the loss of Chris May (1946-2024), a luminous soul whose passion and dedication took AAJ to new heights during his 20 year tenure. Chris was more than a colleague--he was a beloved writer, a brilliant editor, and a cherished friend whose words dazzled with grace and insight. ...
Miles Davis: Miles 54, the Prestige Recordings
In 1954, Miles Davis's future meant considerably more than his past. Recording for Prestige since 1951 (The New Sounds was his first album for the label), the trumpeter came into his own in 1954. Returning to New York in February of that year after kicking his heroin habit, Davis had also kicked his bebop fixation. What ...
Backgrounder: Hank Mobley - Soul Station (1960)
Soul Station was Hank Mobley's finest album. The trio behind him on the Blue Note release was tough, sensitive and swinging, and the song choices make this a perfect album. The four originals by the tenor saxophonist are among his best, and the two standards chosen are in the pocket for this quartet. Recorded in February ...
Perfection: Herb Pomeroy - 'Down Home Outing' ('58)
From my perspective, one of the only big bands in 1958 that rivaled Maynard Ferguson's in terms of innovation was Herb Pomeroy's. Pomeroy was an exquisite and much-admired Boston trumpeter, and his late-1950s band was first rate in terms of arrangements and individual talent. His finest album was Band in Boston, recorded in November 1958. Bob ...