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- All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America - Glenn C. Altshuler
- The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee, Peter Richmond
- The B-Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song - Ben Yadoga
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Category Archives: Jazz
“Hip Strut” – Jackie McLean (1959)
“Hip Strut” is the first cut on Jackie McLean’s 1959 album New Soil, on the Blue Note label. Personnel are Jackie McLean (alto sax), Donald Byrd (Trumpet), Walter Davis Jr. (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Pete LaRoca (drums). As Steve Huey … Continue reading
“On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe” – Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers (1945)
As a thought exercise, I was wondering what song topped the American charts on August 15, 1945, also known as Victory over Japan Day (VJ-Day), or the day hostilities ended for WWII (with hostilities having already ended in Europe on … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz, Jazz at the Movies
Tagged Johnny Mercer
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“Have You Met Miss Jones?” – Lucky Thompson (1959)
Eli “Lucky” Thompson (1924-2005) played tenor and soprano saxophone. He was one of the earlier musicians, along with Coltrane and Steve Lacy, to reintroduce the soprano sax as a jazz instrument. His career arc saw him starting out playing swing with the orchestras of … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz
Tagged Lucky Thompson
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“Western Suite” – Jimmy Giuffre (1960)
Jimmy Giuffre’s album Western Suite was recorded on December 3, 1958 in NYC and Connecticut, produced by Nesuhi Ertegun, and released on the Atlantic label (LP1330) in 1960. Giuffre plays clarinet, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone with Jim Hall on … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz
Tagged Bob Brookmeyer, Jim Hall, Jimmy Giuffre
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“It Ain’t Like That” – Una Mae Carlisle (1941)
Una Mae Carlisle (1915 – 1956) was an American jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter, born in Xenia, Ohio. She was “discovered” by Fats Waller while still in her teens. Waller strongly influenced her boogie-woogie/stride piano style. Humour was also a part of her … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz
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“Serenity” – Joe Henderson (1964)
Once the British Invasion took hold, times were tough for all sorts of competing genre, not the least of which was jazz. So, what was happening in jazz after the Beatles made their debut on the Ed Sullivan show and … Continue reading
“I Dig Chicks” – Jonah Jones (1959)
There’s a store that sells old vinyl a few blocks from my house in Toronto. I’m not really a collector. And given all the options for accessing music, it makes no sense to me to get my music that way. I … Continue reading
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“Swingin’ Shepherd Blues” – Moe Koffman (1957)
When I first got to Toronto in 1980, some people I met suggested I get down to George’s Spaghetti House to hear Moe Koffman. Koffman booked the venue and also played there on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I never managed … Continue reading
“The Preacher” – Horace Silver (1955)
Not that jazz can’t be happy music, but this one is a particularly upbeat thing. “The Preacher” is by Horace Silver, recored first by Silver’s quintet in February of 1955. That would be Silver on piano, with Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone), Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Doug Watkins (bass), and Art … Continue reading
“Something Different” – The Mangione Brothers Sextet (1960)
Though Chuck Mangione would become an international superstar in the 1970s with smooth jazz mega-hits like “Feels So Good,” and “Chase the Clouds Away,” he started out as bebop trumpeter in the Dizzy Gillespie tradition. While Chuck was studying at … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz
Tagged Chuck Mangione, The Jazz Brothers
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