In honor of the upcoming Summer equinox, Jazz History Online’s principal writer has retrieved and revised one of his vintage articles, discussing 17 different of George Gershwin’s “Summertime”. Embedded YouTube clips are included, so grab an iced tea and take this article out on the porch.
THE MANY SOUNDS OF “SUMMERTIME” Read More »
The challenge for singers to find unique repertoire is not new, but with new jazz vocalists debuting every week, the repertoire challenge is as important as ever. Thomas Cunniffe reviews new CDs by Claire Martin, Judy Wexler, Hilary Gardner and Rosana Eckert which find solutions to this continuing issue.
NEW SONGS: DISCOVERED & CREATED Read More »
All three of the albums covered in this issue’s Instrumental CD Reviews are led by bassists, but they are also tied together in their focus on compositions by the leaders and well-regarded masters. Thomas Cunniffe examines albums by Jay Anderson, Mark Dresser and Linda May Han Oh.
BASSISTS & COMPOSERS Read More »
The Soiled Dove, a 300-seat club in East Denver was transformed into an intimate cabaret on June 6, 2019, as Cyrille Aimée presented her jazzy interpretations of Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway songs. Thomas Cunniffe was there, and in this Concert Review, he reports that the music’s presentation varied considerably from her recent CD, as Cyrille used a reduced instrumentation (piano and bass) and added detailed introductions of the songs.
CYRILLE AIMÉE AT THE SOILED DOVE, DENVER (June 6, 2019) Read More »
Welcome back to Jazz History Online! I’m pleased to report that our entire archive is now fully functional on the new site. With help from a few of our supporters, we’ll do some work inside the site which will help our search visibility on Google and other search engines, and correct several outdated links. We
NOTES FROM THE EDITOR 6-19 Read More »
Newly revised to include the premiere performance in Stratford! In 1956, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn spent a week at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival. Inspired by the performances of the Bard’s plays, Ellington promised that he and Strayhorn would write a new Shakespeare-inspired suite for the next year’s festival. The result was Such Sweet Thunder, one of the most highly acclaimed albums in the Ellington discography. In this Historical Essay, Thomas Cunniffe explores the suite in depth, offering historical and musical background for this important recording. A rare aircheck of the Ellington orchestra performing portions of the suite is also included in this extended article.
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Such Sweet Thunder” Read More »
Long considered the greatest presentation of jazz on television, Robert Herridge’s “The Sound of Jazz” succeeded by just letting the musicians be themselves, and allowing them to develop their music on their own terms. This newly revised interactive essay includes the complete show and a running commentary by Thomas Cunniffe.
The Sound of Jazz: An Interactive Essay Read More »
Thanks to Ward Swingle, Olive (Molly) Simpson, Michael Dore, Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, Rachel Weston, Patrick Ardagh-Walter, Jacqueline Barron, Simon Grant, Wendy Nieper, Kineret Erez, Kevin Fox, Tobias Hug, John Neal, Edouard Reichenbach, Tom Lord, Daniel Richard.
Swingle Singers Discography Read More »
“ST. LOUIS BLUES” (by W.C. Handy) 1. Bessie Smith (3:10) BESSIE SMITH (v); LOUIS ARMSTRONG (cor); FRED LONGSHAW (harm). NYC; 1/14/25. 2. The Dixie Stompers (Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra) (3:03) RUSSELL SMITH, JOE SMITH, TOMMY LADNIER (tp); JIMMY HARRISON (tb); BUSTER BAILEY, DON REDMAN, COLEMAN HAWKINS (r); FLETCHER HENDERSON (p); CHARLIE DIXON (bj); JUNE
“St. Louis Blues” playlist personnel Read More »
George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” lives in two disparate worlds: opera and popular music. With an award-winning, but controversial production running on Broadway, the show has never been more popular. In this Historical Essay, Thomas Cunniffe discusses several jazz adaptations of this American masterwork.
Jazz Adaptations of “Porgy and Bess” Read More »
This month’s vocal CD reviews spotlight four remarkable singers–two who have been reviewed here before (Sara Serpa and Elisabeth Lohninger), and two others who are new to our pages (Alyssa Allgood and Maggie Herron). Reviewer Thomas Cunniffe is eager to note that the adjectives in the review title are not intended as descriptions of each disc in turn, but a collection of qualities shared throughout the group.
Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue Read More »
Many of today’s jazz vocalists strive to find unique repertoire. This month’s Vocal CD Reviews spotlights three singers with their own solutions to the problem. Catherine Russell and Ann Hampton Callaway both explore classic songs written before 1950, with notably different results, while Cyrille Aimée transforms the music of Stephen Sondheim. Thomas Cunniffe notes the strengths of each album.
Standards, Old and New Read More »
Welcome to the new and improved Jazz History Online! Consider this a “soft” opening. We planned to launch this new version in mid-May, but a technical issue occurred, which made it impossible for me to edit articles on the old site. Bear with us! We have 7 new articles to share right now in the
Notes from the Editor 4-19 Read More »
The twin concepts of personal and stylistic heritage is examined and celebrated in this month’s Instrumental CD Reviews. Ehud Asherie performs music from several different jazz eras on “Wild Man Blues”, Benny Green celebrates his mentors on “Then and Now”, Stu Mindeman explores the indigenous music of Chile on “Woven Threads” and Kenny Werner adds his artistry to the long tradition of solo pianists on “The Space”. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the four CDs.