Rifftides

Other Matters: Watergate

Doug Ramsey — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:59:52 +0000

Last night on the PBS News Hour, Robert McNeil and Jim Lehrer remembered their marathon live reporting of the Watergate hearings that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. The hearings opened on May 17, 1973. In a special segment on the News Hour, McNeil and Lehrer recalled how their work as Public Broadcating System anchors [...]

Weekend Listening And Viewing Tip: Stamm And Holober Live

Doug Ramsey — Sat, 18 May 2013 04:58:37 +0000

Trumpeter Marvin Stamm and pianist Mike Holober just ended a duo concert at the library in Nyack, a Hudson River village north of New York City. The music was streamed live on the internet and is ready for viewing on the Nyack Library’s website. I snagged this screenshot as Holober and Stamm were launching into [...]

A Dave Brubeck Memorial Service

Doug Ramsey — Sun, 12 May 2013 21:12:35 +0000

At the very moment that last evening’s memorial service for Dave Brubeck got underway, the rumble of thunder penetrated the massive Gothic walls of New York City’s Cathedral of St. John The Divine. A murmur ran through the throng filling the 120-year-old church. With dignity and a commanding presence, Iola Brubeck read Langston Hughes’ [...]

Correspondence: Shearing And You Know Who

Doug Ramsey — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:19:36 +0000

Veteran Bay Area pianist and trumpeter Dick Vartanian writes: My brother-in-law was entertainment chairman of the Lion’s club in the early 1970s. They put on a benefit for the blind every year. He asked me if I could get some people to appear. George Shearing was in San Francisco, so I asked him. His reply, [...]

Springtime On The Hudson

Doug Ramsey — Fri, 10 May 2013 22:26:54 +0000

For my first New York visit in too long, nature trumped the forecasters and gave us a beautiful morning. This was the view from my host’s apartment across the Hudson River to Fort Lee, New Jersey Let’s hope that the weather holds for the Dave Brubeck memorial tomorrow. The service is late in the day. [...]

Recent Listening In Brief

Doug Ramsey — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:02:19 +0000

So many CDs, so little time. There are hundreds of review copies stacked up around here and no immediate hope of writing in depth about more than one or two. Therefore, I shall write not in depth about several. These mentions—a bit longer than tweets—point you toward albums that have impressed me on first or [...]

Brubeck Memorial, Brubeck Performance

Doug Ramsey — Mon, 06 May 2013 05:52:08 +0000

There will be a public memorial service for Dave Brubeck in New York City next Saturday, May 11. Brubeck died last December at the age of 91. Along with, no doubt, hundreds of others I will be at the service in the cavernous Cathedral Of St. John The Divine on the upper west side of [...]

John Lewis, “Django” and Django

Doug Ramsey — Sat, 04 May 2013 06:30:02 +0000

This is the birthday of John Lewis (1920-2001), the pianist and music director of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Many of his compositions are staples of the jazz repertoire. None is better known than “Django,” named for the Belgian Gypsy guitarist who was the first European musician to become a major jazz figure. Lewis discussed the [...]

2013 JJA Awards & A Gil Evans Video

Doug Ramsey — Wed, 01 May 2013 23:39:54 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association today announced its members’ choices for the 2013 JJA awards. The organization honored saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter with its lifetime achievement award. Trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith was named musician of the year. Centennial: Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans is the JJA’s record of the year. In addition, [...]

International Jazz Day

Doug Ramsey — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:53:00 +0000

This is International Jazz Day. It was celebrated in a massive concert streamed live from Istanbul. Herbie Hancock gave the keynote speech and hosted the webcast. To watch and listen to it replayed, click here.