JazzWax
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Marc Myers writes daily on jazz legends and legendary jazz recordings. He is two-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association's best blog award.
JazzWax
11h ago
In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed actress Justine Lupe for my House Call column in the Mansion section. Justine now co-stars in the runaway hit (can't say I didn't tell ya), Nobody Wants This, a Netflix rom-com...
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Perfection: Ammons & Stitt - You Talk That Talk (1971)
Don, Frank and Dalida
Gene Ammons: 'The All-Star Sessions'
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JazzWax
2d ago
1971, tenor saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons came together for one of their finest albums. The title track of You Talk That Talk is a blues composed by Leon Spencer Jr. The Prestige session featured Gene Ammons (ts), Sonny...
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Don, Frank and Dalida
Gene Ammons: 'The All-Star Sessions'
Backgrounder: Gene Ammons - 'Boss Tenor,' 1960
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JazzWax
3d ago
Fortunately for us, Glenn Miller made two jukebox films before he went into the Army in 1942—Sun Valley Serenade (1941) and Orchestra Wives (1942). Fortunately because his band was featured in both. While they weren't playing live to camera (songs...
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Glenn Miller: Chesterfield Broadcasts, 1940-'42
Carrie, Sergio and Margaret
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JazzWax
5d ago
When he wasn't playing and recording in the 1960s with Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron, Milt Jackson and others, alto saxophonist and flutist Leo Wright recorded a handful of albums as a leader. One of the best of these was Suddenly...
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Ashley, Gino and Bill
Backgrounder: Kenny Burrell - 'Jazzmen - Detroit'
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JazzWax
1w ago
Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Carrie Coon for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Carrie is one of this country's finest actresses best known for her role as the social climbing Bertha...
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Why Benny Golson Was Special
Benny Golson (1929-2024)
Luke, Casey and Gene
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JazzWax
1w ago
As you can see, I'm still hooked on I'll Be Around, one of composer Alec Wilder's best songs. He reportedly wrote the music in 10 minutes while riding in a cab in Baltimore. But the words "took much longer," he...
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JazzWax
1w ago
It's a strange admission, but I came to jazz through the big bands of the 1930s and '40. And I'm glad this was the case. Through these bands, my ear became atuned to syncopation and swing, and I developed a...
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JazzWax
1w ago
Karrin Allyson has been singing professionally since the late 1980s. She has recorded more than 15 albums and has been nominated for a Grammy five times. Her new album, A Kiss for Brazil, is a breezy swing through bossa nova...
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JazzWax
1w ago
Benny Golson, one of jazz's most prolific composers of sophisticated jazz standards and one of the most graceful powerhouse hard-bop tenor saxophonists, died on September 22. He was 95. [Photo above of Benny Golson courtesy of Arkadia Records] Benny's long...
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JazzWax
2w ago
In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed Cristin Milioti for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). You probably know Cristin best from The Wolf of Wall Street or Palm Springs. She now is co-starring...
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Gillespie Quintet Live: 'Gillespiana,' 1961
Irene, Alba and Rey
Backgrounder: Fats Navarro - 'Nostalgia'
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