Home Archive by category "Jazz" (Page 7)

Category: Jazz

Exploring the Music of Ahmad Jamal on his birthday (July 2nd) Happy 84th Birthday, Ahmad!

On this date July 2nd in 1930  jazz, composer, pianist and educator Ahmad Jamal was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Now, while I have seen his name on the JazzWeek charts over the last several months when his latest release Saturday Morning (No 29 on the 2013 Jazz Week Year End Chart)  was on the charts. His name sounded sort of familiar, but I admit I didn’t know much about the man and his music. So when I read at Wikipedia today, that American music critic Stanley Crouch places him second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 I was…

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Explorations of Jazz Fusion – Jazz Rock and Finding Connections to My Vinyl Collection

So a few days ago in my post about the sub-genres of jazz, I wrote that I still had some sub-genres to add to the mix. One of those sub-genres is Jazz Fusion/Jazz-Rock, which  rose in the late 60s, kinda’ peaked in the 1970s, but managed to extend into the 1980s and 90s and many musician’s music still  fit into sub-genre today!  This is probably the  sub-genre that I have least explored at least as far as jazz bands go. From Wikipedia….. Jazz fusion, fusion, or jazz-rock are variants of a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and…

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From the Archives – A Morning of Jazz – Wes Montgomery and Wynton Kelly – Smokin’ at the Blue Note!

Last night when I was sifting through my vinyl collection I came across the Wes Montgomery album Willow Weep For Me, Finding that album reminded me of this post I had written a while ago. I read the liner notes for the album which has always been a favorite and discovered that in the summer of 1968 Verve Records discovered previously unreleased tracks and the seven that are included on Willow Weep for Me were recorded at the same booking at The Half Note in Greenwich Village! In the notes Richard Lamb writes: The Half Note is one of the…

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Re-Exploring Jimmy Smith – Jimmy Smith’s Greatest Hits! (video)

By the time I became familiar with the music of Jimmy Smith in 1969, Jimmy had already recorded thirty-one (31) albums on the Blue Note label and an addition 25 albums on Verve! So I started with a Greatest Hits Album that covered the Blue Note years. The condition of the album cover may give you an idea of how much the album has been used over the years! Anyway the other day I was sifting through my vinyl albums, saw it, cranked up the turntable and gave it a listen. I picked out the side 4 of the second…

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An Evening Spent Exploring the Sub-Genres of Jazz – from Swing to Hard Bop

As you may have surmised if you have read any of my posts, I am not a jazz guru. I am someone who has been listening to the music of the genre since the late 1960s. Until a few years ago, my listening has been limited to a select few musicians, including Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Smith, Miles Davis and a few others. However, within the last several years, I have listened to more and more jazz and within the last year my list of favorites has exploded!!  As a result, I have developed this website to write about my explorations…

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2014 Jazz from NYC Saxophonist Jeff Hackworth – Soul to Go!

When I transfered files this one got lost because it wasn’t in the right category, it belongs with the 2014 albums that I listened to…. On the Roots Music Report on the Week of June 20th the albums was #32 and LW it was #31! So this morning’s soundtrack was Soul To Go!, the latest release from New York City tenor saxophonist, Jeff Hackworth. Currently, the album is #35 and climbing on the JazzWeek Jazz Chart. Hackworth began his musical journey playing countless gigs in the smokey clubs in his hometown of Buffalo,New York. While he played in many blues and…

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This Day in Music – May 25, 1960 – In Philly – Jazz Trumpeter Wallace Roney was born! (video)

Today is the great Miles Davis‘ birthday. He shares his birthday with the only trumpet player that he ever mentored Wallace Roney. Wallace was born in Philadelphia in 1960 So he is too young to have experienced 1960, which was the year that former Whiz Kids manager re Eddie Sawyer resigned as the hapless Phillies’ manager after a 9-4 opening day loss to the Reds and said.: “I’m 49 years old and I want to live to be 50.”  But I digress so it’s back to Wallace. It was discovered when he was 4 years old that Wallace had perfect pitch…

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This Day in Music – May 24, 1941 – Jazz Organist Charles Earland was born in Philly!!

I browse the daily listing of jazz birthdays each day not only for whose birthday it is that particular day, but also to discover new music. Many times I select who I read about by the instrument they play. Other times I select someone with a foreign sounding name, figuring that will lead me to explorations of jazz music beyond America’s shores. Tunisian born Wajdi Cherif is a perfect example of this type of choice. I read about, and spent time listening to Charles Earland’s music this morning, based on the instrument he plays – Hammond B3 organ!! Charles Earland…

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This Day in Music – May 20, 1975 – Tunisian Jazz Pianist Wajdi Cherif was born. Happy Belated Birthday, Wajdi!

So May 20th was a holiday in several nations including, Cambodia, East Timor and Cameroon. It was also the birthday of a Tunisian jazz piano player, Wajdi Cherif!! Knowing nothing about his music, other than that he played piano, I went to Spotify and listened to his 2009 release Fuzzy Colours and I didn’t have to listen long to become intrigued by and enjoy his music. Returning to All About Jazz, I discovered that at five years of age Wajdi was learning to play tunes he heard on the radio in his homeland of Tunisia on his little piano. Wajdi…

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