Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Katherine's new stand-up special, Missus, is airing on Veeps, a new streaming platform. [Photo above of Katherine Ryan courtesy of Katherine Ryan via Instagram] Here's the first paragraph of my column, in Katherine's voice... My parents took me to my first day in kindergarten when I was 4 but dropped me at a French-speaking school. I don’t have many memories of that age, but I recall thinking it was a prank. Here's Katherine in action... Hurry up ..read more

In the years leading up to World War II, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest got his start in bands led by Jay McShann and Andy Kirk. After the war, he was with Duke Ellington and then was on his own. His big claim to fame was co-writing and first recording Night Train, which became a jazz and R&B standard. He also toured with Count Basie. Among my favorite albums by Forrest are those on the New Jazz and Prestige record labels. He always had a big bossy, blues sound with a smooth bite and serious groove. Recorded for Prestige's New Jazz label in August 1960, Forrest Fire featured Forrest (ts ..read more

I last posted about trombonist, composer and arranger Mike Barone at the start of November. As you may recall, Mike had just released Live at Los Angeles City College, 1967, and the arrangements and band knocked me out. So I reached out to Mike for an e-interview to find out more about him and his passion for big bands. [Photo above of Mike Barone] Mike is a self-made arranger, which seems hard to believe given his stunning gift for arranging. He didn't have formal training. Instead, he worked hard to figure out how the arrangements he loved were written and then began to score big band char ..read more

Over the past few months, I set aside 16 new box sets and albums to feature in a JazzWax holiday gift-giving post. There's no rhyme or reason for the albums selected below other than they are seriously cool and feature terrific music and fidelity. Great as gifts for others or yourself: The Beatles: Red and Blue Albums (Apple)—Three years after Paul McCartney announced the Beatles breakup in April 1970, Apple released what has become known as the Red and Blue Albums. These were the popular compilations simply named 1962-1966 and 1967-1970. Or more widely known as the double albums with the F ..read more

This past week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed former Detroit Lion Barry Sanders for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Barry won the Heisman Trophy, is the No. 4 rushing leader in NFL history and is an NFL Hall of Fame inductee. Barry is now the subject of Bye Bye Barry, a documentary now airing on Prime Video. Here's the documentary's trailer... And here's why I wanted to interview Barry... Time is running out. The December holidays are drawing near, which means you need the perfect gift for people you love. My book, Anatomy of 55 More Songs (Grove Press ..read more

Mercury Records began as a Chicago R&B label in 1945, shortly after the first musicians union recording ban was settled. As the LP business took off in the early 1950s, Mercury became a mainstream pop label, launching EmArcy to handle its jazz business. Run by Bob Shad, EmArcy began production in 1954 by recording Dinah Washington's Dinah Jams; Erroll Garner's Contrasts; and Clifford Brown, Maynard Ferguson and Clark Terry's Jam Session. EmArcy's fourth album of 1954 was Moods, by Paul Quinichette, who, up until then, had worked largely in swing, blues and R&B bands as a sideman and ..read more

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S., and if you're like me, you will likely find yourself in front of a fireplace either before or after dinner. Whether you're on a sofa alone or with someone else, or you're sitting with headphones on and reading, I have a gift that will wrap you in tranquility as you watch logs aflame, snapping and hissing. Here are five of my favorite fireplace albums for the holiday weekend, without ad interruptions. Happy Thanksgiving, and safe travels: Here's Johnny Hartman's And I Thought About You (1959)... Here's Grant Green's I Want to Hold Your Hand (1966)... Here ..read more

Prior to the 1969 release of pianist Les McCann's hit live album Swiss Movement, I was never much of a fan. In the 1960s, on studio LPs, he seemed a melange of pianists I liked better, including Red Garland, Gene Harris and Billy Taylor. The percussive, soul-riff approach he favored seemed better articulated in the hands of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. For me, McCann always sounded better live. He was more soulful, freer and spiritually present, mixing jazz and soulful blues, and his intensity fed off audience reactions. [Photo above of Les McCann by Lee Tanner, courtesy of Resonance Rec ..read more

Last November, I posted on two albums of previously unreleased material that the Ahmad Ahmad Jamal Trio recorded with at Seattle's Penthouse club between 1963 and 1966. The albums issued by Zev Feldman's Jazz Detective Records were Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1963-1964 and Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1965-1966. Now, Jazz Detective is releasing a third volume: Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1966-1968 on December 1 in multiple formats. The vinyl LP will be released in record stores on November 24, Record Store Day. [Photo above of Ahmad Jamal in 1967 b ..read more

This past week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed novelist Nora Roberts for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Nora has a new book out, Inheritance, and she has authored more than 230 novels. [Photo above of Nora Roberts, courtesy of Nora Roberts] Nora's big break came during a blizzard, when being stuck in house with two kids led to her try her hand at a romance novel. The rest is literary history. Here's Nora on Lifetime... Perfect gift. I added three new songs to the paperback edition of Anatomy of 55 More Songs (Grove Press), due out December 5. The book is ..read more