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12 YouTube Clips of Anita O'Day
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Anita O'Day was one of jazz's first slick chicks." Born Anita Colton in 1919, O'Day was raised in Chicago. She left home during the Depression at age 14 to become a walk-a-thon contestant—the last person standing after sleepless hours won a cash prize. Dance-a-thons would soon follow. In 1936, O'Day began singing professionally and fronted her fist big band two years later. In 1941, she joined Gene Krupa's band and revolutionized the term girl singer, opening the door to attitude. ...
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Backgrounder: Quincy Jones - Americans in Paris
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In 1957, Quincy Jones moved to Paris to study composition and theory with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen. In his spare time, the producer, composer, arranger, bandleader and conductor became music director at Barclay, a French record company owned by Eddie Barclay, a composer-arranger and contractor. Barclay also was the licensee for Mercury in France. Jones's first album for the label was Et Voila!, which was released on United Artists in the U.S. as Americans in Paris. In addition to ...
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Bill Evans: Here's That Rainy Day
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
I've always loved Bill Evans's solo interpretation of Here's That Rainy Day from Alone in 1968. He opens with enormous sensitivity and delivers a measured ballad reading, followed by rising intensity and swing as the tempo quickens. The master take that appears on the album never fails to thrill me. Yet despite his beauty, Evans didn't bother to hold onto it like some other songs. Perhaps he felt that the Alone version was as good as he was ever going ...
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Bill Evans: On Green Dolphin Street
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
To the best of my knowledge, there are only 10 known recordings of Bill Evans playing On Green Dolphin Street. Composed in 1947 by Bronisław Kaper (with lyrics by Ned Washington), the song was written for the film Green Dolphin Street, which was based on the 1944 novel of the same name by Elizabeth Goudge. The song suited Evans perfectly. Here are all 10 renditions: Evans first recorded the jazz standard in 1958 with the Miles Davis Sextet, a spectacular ...
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Documentary: Jimmy Wormworth, 2015
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Jimmy Wormworth was determined to play drums from an early age. Born in Utica, N.Y., he quickly became part of the Upstate Guys"—a local nickname that referred to the sizable number of jazz musicians who grew up and gigged in the center of New York state. In the 1950s, Jimmy toured in Europe, and in the U.S. with Nellie Lutcher. Starting in 1960, Jimmy gigged with Charles Mingus, Horace Parlan, Charlie Rouse and played and recorded with Lou Donaldson, Lambert, ...
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Video: Lionel Hampton in Belgium, 1958
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Sadly, Lionel Hampton's vital role in the rise of jazz, R&B and rock 'n' roll is all but forgotten. In 1936, Benny Goodman saw Hampton perform on vibes in Los Angeles and hired him for his trio with drummer Gene Krupa and pianist Teddy Wilson. They were the first A-list integrated jazz ensemble. Here's Hampton in the Benny Goodman Quartet in 1937... In the 1940s, Hampton led a first-rate band that included future jazz stars such as Illinois Jacquet, Arnett ...
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Duke Ellington at Grinnell College, 1957
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
On January 10, 1957, during a snowy Thursday evening, the Duke Ellington Orchestra played a concert at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. The performance was taped by the school with sophisticated gear, and the subsequent LP was released in limited supply. As a result, it has always been a highly sought-after album. Last week, Carl Woideck emailed with news that all the tracks were up on YouTube. Which is great to hear, since copies of vinyl copies very hard to ...
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Backgrounder: João Gilberto, 1998
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In the early spring of 2008, I planned to see João Gilberto in Boston. That is until he cancelled at the last minute. Gilberto had a reputation for such things throughout his career. Some I've interviewed have said he had agoraphobia—a psychological fear of being outside. Others have claimed he was hyper-finicky about things he wanted, especially regarding the sound system, and if he didn't get them, he was a no-show. My next opportunity to see him in concert came ...
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