Jazz Music Blog

Dizzy Gillespie's Bebop Reunion

Dizzy Gillespie has gradually emerged as the musician I've written about most since the inception of this blog nearly two years, so when I discovered this footage of his Bebop R

Kenny Barron in the Higher Echelons

If 70 is the new 60, then Kenny Barron’s been a full-fledged pro since the age of 7. Actually, the pianist was 17 when he first worked with Yusef Lateef, and Yusef included one of Kenny’s com

Montreal Jazz Festival

When I returned home from a month-long visit to France in 1991, my sister Paula, who lived in Paris, advised that if I found myself needing a quick hit of Europe, I could always jump in the car and

Mulgrew Miller, R.I.P.

I’m sure glad I got to see Mulgrew Miller as often as I did.

In my experience, any given week in New Orleans is second only to New York in terms of the crush of music events one must strategize over fitting in, but with enough preparation the canny music lov

100 Years of Herman Herds

Lennie Tristano Documentary

“He never left you with any doubt about what he meant.” Warne Marsh on Lennie Tristano

Among Charlie Parker's many admirers, Lennie Tristano was especially respectful of Bird's character and astute in his assessments of the saxophonist's music. The blin

Ellington at Fargo: Tired and Inspired

Like many American homes of the post-war era, mine had bookcases lined with Book-of-the-Month Club selections. William Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Page Smith’s two-vol

Stan Getz in Paris and Worcester

Credit Doug Ramsey at Rifftides for a posting last week of Stan Get

Thomas Reichman made this fascinating cinema vérité documentary on Charles Mingus in 1966. It was filmed during a particularly unsettled period in Mingus’s life and documents his eviction fro

Count Basie on the BBC

My YouTube find of the weekend is this film of the Count Basie Orchestra in London in 1965. It’s a BBC production, and it’s first rate for audio, video, and the performance itself. As o

Herb Pomeroy, First Call Bostonian

Today is Herb Pomeroy’s 83^rd birthday anniversary. It’s also Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts, so while the “shot heard ‘round the world” resounds in our historical memory, it’s also

Les Blank, 1935-2013

As filmmakers go, I probably knew the name Les Blank before anyone else besides Alfred Hitchcock. I would eventually become a devotee of Truffaut and Louis Malle and the American auteurs<

Lucky Thompson plays Tenderly

Since posting this blog entry on Lucky Thompson and Don Byas last year, I've discovered footage of Thompson playing "Tenderly

New England Public Radio

Jazz Music Blog

Programs

Support

Community

About

Listen