The more time I spend looking into the history of music and musicians, the more I realize the magnitude of my ignorance. I've always enjoyed music, but for most of my life it was pretty much just an aural experience for me, and I seldom delved too deeply into the backgrounds of the musicians themselves. … Continue reading Dinah Washington – Queen Of The Blues
Category: Big Band
Bix, Bing, And The King Of Jazz
Jazz and I have been old friends for a long time, but as much as I enjoy my favorite kind of jazz - swing music - I'm not old enough to actually remember it during its heyday. Its golden age was probably the 1930's, and it was still pretty popular during the war years but … Continue reading Bix, Bing, And The King Of Jazz
Charlie Barnet – The Millionaire Bandleader
Early jazz musicians were a varied lot but were often drawn from the ranks of the less fortunate side of society. Many grew up in urban areas filled will poor blacks or immigrants and others came from the depressed rural areas that were home to many hard-scrabble folks. But there were exceptions to the rule … Continue reading Charlie Barnet – The Millionaire Bandleader
REVIEW: Bennie Wallace – Disorder At The Border
When making a tribute album, I would think that an artist would have to walk a fine line between truly saluting a legendary musician or being perceived as trading on the fame of the past master. That sounds like a tricky task, but I think it's been done the right way with this new release … Continue reading REVIEW: Bennie Wallace – Disorder At The Border
Dick Haymes – The Forgotten Crooner
I was going through some DVDs recently and ran across a favorite old movie of mine, one that triggered some fond memories. The movie was the 1945 version of State Fair, starring Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, and Dick Haymes. It was actually the second of four movies made from the original book, but was the … Continue reading Dick Haymes – The Forgotten Crooner
Getz, Gilberto, And The Birth Of Brazilian Jazz
I've been a fan of jazz for something like fifty years, starting with big band music and continuing into later variations, and for most of that time I've had two constants. First, I've always been partial to the reed section of a band, possibly because I played a reed instrument myself (badly). My instrument was … Continue reading Getz, Gilberto, And The Birth Of Brazilian Jazz
REVIEW: Stryker-Slagle Band – Latest Outlook
The Stryker-Slagle Band's new release, Latest Outlook, due out soon on the Zoho label, is the real thing, folks. Talented jazz musicians at the top of their game, playing together with a confidence gained by long-time collaboration, and offering an outstanding mix of music that should appeal to every fan of good jazz. Guitarist Dave … Continue reading REVIEW: Stryker-Slagle Band – Latest Outlook
More Than Just A One-Hit Wonder
The whole concept of "one-hit wonder" has always seemed a little unfair to me, but there's little doubt that there have always been a lot of musicians who are remembered for one big tune. Tom Hanks even made a movie about the subject, That Thing You Do, which featured a band whose very name, The … Continue reading More Than Just A One-Hit Wonder
The Music Of Peter Gunn – Beyond Mancini
In the late 1950's, a ground-breaking TV show caught my attention because of the very feature that made it revolutionary. It was just a private-eye show, but instead of using canned music for background it made the music part of the show, and even more unique, that music was jazz. This confluence of things occurred … Continue reading The Music Of Peter Gunn – Beyond Mancini
Beatles Weren’t First British Musical Invasion
When I was a teenager, learning about big band music by listening to it with my friend Louie on his homebrew "hi-fi" (this was pre-stereo), I soon found myself becoming more and more familiar with the star bandleaders and their styles. I got pretty good at telling the difference between the music of Benny and … Continue reading Beatles Weren’t First British Musical Invasion
Geezer Music Club 