[Monday Notes no. 18] A former member of Duke Ellington‘s orchestra, Ben Webster began like many by imitating Coleman Hawkins, later developing a more personal style. The saxophonist was capable of powerful and passionate playing but his most original characteristics are his warm timbre and masterful use of dynamics, as occurs in Chelsea Bridge.Continue readingBen Webster, Chelsea Bridge. The warm voice of the tenor sax
Tag: jazz
[Monday Notes no. 17] Every art has its own magic places, where at a particular moment something special and decisive happened. For jazz music, one of these places is certainly Minton’s, where some musicians used to meet late at night for endless jam sessions, sometimes after playing elsewhere. Drummer Kenny Clarke was one of them.Continue readingKenny Clarke & Charlie Parker, Si Si. Bebop nights at Minton
[Monday Notes No. 16] In the 1930s, Benny Goodman was called by the press the ‘King of Swing’. To obtain this vague title, the clarinettist was certainly favoured by the colour of his skin. Nevertheless, the musician was of the highest calibre. Let us listen to and analyse one of his renditions of My Old…Continue readingBenny Goodman & Pegge Lee, My Old Flame
[Monday Note no. 8] Guitarist J.W.Smith remembers that Dizzy Gillespie, his room-mate during a European tour, used to wake him up every morning listening to Roy Eldridge’s After You’ve Gone.Continue readingRoy Eldridge, After You’ve Gone. Jazz trumpet between Armstrong and Gillespie
[Monday’s Note No. 5] Billie Holiday had a troubled existence, full of suffering. Many men enriched themselves by exploiting her, only to turn their backs on her in times of trouble. Among her few genuine friends was Lester Young, to whom she owes the nickname ‘Lady Day’. Let us analyse their interpretation of Without Your…Continue readingBillie Holiday e Lester Young, Without Your Love
[Monday’s Note No. 4] Louis Armstrong is one of the most charismatic characters in jazz history. Of humble origins, he survived a childhood full of dangers, and it almost seems as if a guardian angel lived on his shoulder and that nothing could disturb his extraordinary optimism. We listen to and analyse his performance of…Continue readingLouis Armstrong, West End Blues. Trumpeter singer and showman
[Monday’s Note No. 3] Jelly Roll Morton boasted that he had invented jazz, he had a diamond in his tooth, and he often used to exhibit his gun to persuade his musicians to play his way. Eccentric and over-the-top, the character long overshadowed the musician. Let’s listen to his curious composition Hyena Stomp.Continue readingJelly Roll Morton, Hyena Stomp. Laughter is contagious
[Monday Note No. 84] Lady Bird is one of the most famous pieces composed by Tadd Dameron, one of the most important pianists and arrangers for the rise of bebop. Lady Bird is an extremely simple and compact piece, consisting of only 16 measures in which, however, a lot happens.Continue readingTadd Dameron, Lady Bird. 16 measures for playing jazz
[Monday Notes no. 7] There have been many virtuoso pianists in the history of jazz, Art Tatum, however, represents a unique and unparalleled case. Art Tatum mastered both the classical piano repertoire, from Chopin and Listz to Ravel, and the masters of the stride piano such as Fats Waller, James P. Johnson and Jelly Roll…Continue readingTea For Two, Art Tatum the unsurpassed virtuoso
[Monday Notes no. 76] Bunny Berigan was one of the greatest trumpet players of the 1930s, esteemed and requested by many musicians including Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. In the song entitled I Can’t Get Started we can appreciate his prowess as a trumpeter, but also his personality and charisma as a singer.Continue readingBunny Berigan, I Can’t Get Started. The Chet Baker of the 1930s