Tag: straight ahead

Sonny Criss – Talented But Tragic


Originally posted on Geezer Music Club:
We haven’t featured a jazz musician for a while and today’s spotlight falls on one of the best, alto saxophonist Sonny Criss. A contemporary of Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker — in fact, he played alongside him in the early years — Criss was an early bloomer musically, but his career…

THE WORLD STAGE 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION


posted by Robert J. Carmack      @blues2jazzguy SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 6PM The World Stage returns to the Ford Theatres to recognize local jazz legend and L.A. native Billy Higgins. His profound contribution to the Los Angeles jazz community lives on in the work of the musicians he instructed and inspired. Performances by former students…

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LOS ANGELES HOSTED 19TH ANNUAL CENTRAL AVENUE JAZZ FEST


posted by Robert J. Carmack   All photos by  Robert J. CarmacK Los Angeles Just completed hosting their 19th annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival on the very historic Central Avenue between Vernon Ave. and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd  . The city was a gracious host to some of the most colorful  and diverse audiences in…

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HOUSTON AFICIONADO BUILDS A HOUSE OF JAZZ


Posted by Carl Glatzel Houston-based Art Director and Jazz Blogger. The Collector: A Houston Saxophonist’s House of Jazz An unassuming mid-century bungalow in southwest Houston holds a jazz horde to be reckoned with. Local musician, photographer and jazz aficionado, Lindy Pollard, has turned his small but tasteful home into a living jazz museum. Some 5,000 titles…

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HIPSTER RETRO-JAZZ SERIES: GRANT GREEN IDLE MOMENTS


Grant Green  review by Justin  Scoville (1935-1979) was an overlooked guitarist who melded blues, bebop, latin, and funk influences into a unique, linear guitar style. Largely overshadowed by the more conventional jazz guitarists of his time, Green’s harmonic approach was an outgrowth of Charlie Christian and set the stage for many modern jazz guitarists (such as…

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HIPSTER RETRO-JAZZ SERIES:HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARMELL JONES


posted by Robert J. Carmack         #@blues2jazzguy                                           Carmell Jones    July 19, 1936  – November 7, 1996 Trumpeter/Composer  and one of my favorites of Horace Silver’s Trumpet players. As a very young…

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HIPSTER RETRO-JAZZ SERIES: POINT OF DEPARTURE * ANDREW HILL


  POINT of DEPARTURE -Andrew Hill  posted by  Justin Scoville     Andrew Hill (1931-2007) was a masterful jazz pianist and composer whose impact on jazz is only beginning to be understood and appreciated. Largely overshadowed during his early career by both the monumental contributions of Miles Davis’s “Second Quintet” and John Coltrane’s cosmic forays…

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HIPSTER RETRO JAZZ SERIES – FREE FOR ALL: BLAKEY’S HARDEST HARD BOP


Free For All: Blakey’s Hardest Hard Bop – By Carl Glatzel This isn’t just jazz, it’s war. On February 10, 1964 Art Blakey enlisted the aid of a special ops unit for this trailblazing mission. This edition of the Jazz Messengers was the quintessential hard bop lineup and the perfect team for the job. The frontline was a…

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