Rifftides

On The Road

Doug Ramsey — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:04 +0000

Tomorrow, the Rifftides staff is headed south, then west through the magnificent Columbia River Gorge to Portland, Oregon, one of my favorite former hometowns. The occasion is the Portland Jazz Festival. As usual, PDX Jazz is packed with far more music than anyone can take in. I will try to choose carefully and carve out [...]

Recent Listening: Ellington 1932-1940

Doug Ramsey — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:45:00 +0000

This wraps up discussion of the albums I voted for in the 2011 Rhapsody critics poll. The Complete 1932-40 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington And His Famous Orchestra (Mosaic) This magnificently produced and remastered set of 11 CDs covers the Ellington era from roughly the end of his Cotton Club years to [...]

Prez On Presidents Day

Doug Ramsey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:20:23 +0000

Today is Presidents Day in the United States. It falls between the birthdays of two of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22). Many years ago, there was a movement in the Congress to consolidate the two observances into one holiday that would honor all US presidents. The effort never [...]

Other Matters: The Owl

Doug Ramsey — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:26:18 +0000

Toward evening yesterday, we heard a raucous disturbance among the flock of blue jays occupying a blue spruce at the edge of the yard. We looked out to find the jays dive bombing a row of arbor vitae. About halfway up one of the shrubs was what we later concluded was a western screech owl. [...]

Odds And Ends

Doug Ramsey — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:51:38 +0000

Correspondence Rifftides reader George McCord writes: ..I was wondering..I read that Brubeck put in a contract that whilst Desmond was playing with the group he could not record with another piano player…I find that hard to believe.. Brubeck and Desmond had no written contract. They had a handshake agreement throughout the life of the quartet. [...]

Zurke And Monk: A Discovery

Doug Ramsey — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:06:20 +0000

Researching Thelonious Monk’s inspirations and examples, the Canadian composer and musicologist Andrew Homzy has turned up a connection that may seem unlikely—until you hear the evidence. “It has been well documented,” Homzy wrote a group of fellow jazz researchers yesterday, “that Monk was inspired by Mary Lou William’s ‘Walkin’ And Swingin’’ (‘Rhythm-a-ning’) and John Kirby’s [...]

New Recommendations

Doug Ramsey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:30:22 +0000

In the right column under Doug’s Picks, (and, for a time, directly below) please find recommendations of CDs by a trumpeter-arranger, an uncategorizable singer and a drummer who composes and plays piano. We also call your attention to a DVD meant to instruct—it certainly does that—and ends up entertaining. A new book pick will be [...]

CD: Jimmy Owens

Doug Ramsey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:29:01 +0000

Jimmy Owens, The Monk Project (IPO) In this Thelonious Monk tribute, trumpeter Owens’ septet includes pianist Kenny Barron, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland and low-register specialist Howard Johnson on tuba and baritone sax. Kenny Davis is the bassist, Winard Harper the drummer. There are good solos throughout, but the stars of the album [...]

CD: Jack DeJohnette

Doug Ramsey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:27:23 +0000

Jack DeJohnette, Sound Travels (e one) DeJohnette leads small ensembles in seven of his compositions. He plays both drums and piano on several. His sidepersons include Ambrose Akinmusire, Tim Ries, Jason Moran, Lionel Loueke, percussionist Luisito Quintero and vocalists Bobby McFerrin, Bruce Hornsby and Esperanza Spaulding. Spaulding also plays bass. The personnel list may suggest [...]

CD: Wesla Whitfield

Doug Ramsey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:26:27 +0000

Wesla Whitfield, Mike Greensill Trio, The Best Things In Life Wesla Whitfield plugs her current of understated energy into a diverse collection that encompasses “The Best Things in Life Are Free” from 1927, “Bein’ Green” from Sesame Street, and “Walkin’ After Midnight” from the Patsy Cline hit parade. There are also standards by Loesser, LeGrand, [...]