In 1944, six weeks before D-Day, Warner Brothers filmed this gem of a jazz session, boasting a stellar lineup led by Lester Young in his prime. But it’s Marie Bryant who steals the show, first with a fine rendition of The Sunny Side of the Street, and next with an astounding dance number with Archie …
This is one of the most famous jazz performances ever recorded for television. When it aired live on Dec. 8,1957, Billie Holiday and Lester Young were both in terrible health and far past their artistic best. Formerly close, they were now estranged, but the jazz critic Nat Hentoff had persuaded them to share the stage …
The New Hot 5 plays for a herd of cows in Autrans, France.
Alfonso Ponticelli has been playing a weekly gig of Django Reinhardt music at the venerable Green Mill in Chicago for well over a year now. (Al Capone reportedly hung out at the Green Mill.) I recommend everyone go hear Ponticelli. Here he is in action at the Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest in Madison, Wisconsin. Located …
http://youtu.be/fzz6fAdFFis
Drummer Jimmy Cobb, alto saxophonist Sonny Fortune, bassist Buster Williams and guitarist Mike Stern range in age from 82 (Cobb) to 58 (Stern). Miles Davis, the man they play to honor, would have been 85 on May 26th. Sitting across from me at Seattle’s Jazz Alley, Tom Kipp wasn’t completely sure if four sidemen from …
For perhaps the first time in Grammy Award history, the winner of the Best New Artist Grammy is actually an artist. East Portland’s hot, young and talented jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding surprised everyone by beating out Youtube sensation and all around nice guy, Justin Bieber. Immediately after her victory, outraged Bieber fans hacked Esperanza’s Wikipedia …
Seattle trumpeter Thomas Marriott’s upcoming release on Origin records, Constraints & Liberations, is now available for preorder from Amazon (http://tinyurl.com/22rh3lh), and will be available in stores Nov. 16, 2010. The video above is the electronic press kit for Both Sides of the Fence, Marriott’s 2007 release (http://tinyurl.com/2aozvt7). The vid gives you a feel for Marriott …
From “Jazz on a Summer’s Day,” filmed at Newport Jazz Festival, 1958. Lovely clip. It’s the hat and the crowd that make it special. Here’s her version of “My Funny Valentine” from around the same time. According to John Siscoe, “Ah, the forever lovely Anita O’Day. The hat, the dress, the heels, and holy mackerel, …