Apr 22, 2011
Karrin Allyson is one of my favorite singers. She has the uncanny ability to choose from among the myriad of songs available to her and make selections that produce albums that are greater than the sum of their songs. Rather than simply pick from the Great American Songbook, she has devoted whole albums to songs by...
Apr 21, 2011
Fifty years ago tonight, Miles Davis brought a quintet into the Blackhawk club in San Francsico, California for two weekend dates. Seven sets later, the shows were history, but thankfully both Friday night and Saturday night shows were recorded, and eventually released on separate, then a combined, album.
1961 was a...
Apr 13, 2011
Violinist Billy Bang, noted for forging his own way on his instrument, died on April 11. According to an associate, he had been suffering from lung cancer. Bang was 63.
Born in Mobile, Alabama as William Vincent Walker, Bang was raised in the Bronx and began playing the violin at a very young age. He was allegedly...
Apr 8, 2011
Our annual Spiritual Music Podcast features music from faiths from across the world (or in Sun Ra’s case, across the universe). I hope you’ll find something moving in the various songs I’ve selected, including music from:
Jonas Hellborg – “Be! And All Became” from The Word.
Johnny Griffin Orchestra...
Apr 7, 2011
Gary Smulyan is consistently ranked as the greatest baritone saxophone player in jazz by the yearly Downbeat reader and critic polls. Currently a faculty member at Amherst College, Smulyan keeps a busy schedule of touring as a sideman in bands like the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stras and Joe Lovano’s Nonet, while performing...