Author name: Thomas Cunniffe

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Such Sweet Thunder”

Historical Essays /

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.

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Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue

CD Reviews /

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.

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Standards, Old and New

CD Reviews /

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.

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Keyboard Heritage

CD Reviews /

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.

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Remembering Amy Duncan

Best of JHO, Sidetracks /

Former Jazz History Online contributor Amy Duncan passed away in June 2018. With the exception of a single Facebook post by jazz critic Chip Deffaa, no obituaries or memorials have appeared in print or online since Amy’s passing. In this special edition of Sidetracks, Thomas Cunniffe curates a tribute to our friend and colleague, Amy Hildreth Duncan. (Cover photo by Robert Serbinenko.)

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The Swingles Jazz

The Swingles at Lakewood Cultural Center (March 16, 2019)

Concert Reviews /

The loss of a voice can be traumatic to a chamber vocal group. The Swingles arrived for their concert in Lakewood, Colorado, minus one pivotal member, lead soprano Federica Basile, who was unable to travel due to a delayed US artist visa. The group members did some crafty editing of their arrangements, and performed 6-voice versions, with everyone in the group helping to cover the missing soprano notes. Thomas Cunniffe, a longtime fan of the group, reviewed the concert, and reports that the program was still entertaining and that there were no obvious gaps in the harmony.

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THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN JAZZ (edited by Francesco Martinelli)

Book Reviews /

Jazz was born in the United States, but its influence spread across the world shortly after it was first recorded. Europe embraced the music, producing their own famous soloists. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the massive reference volume, “The History of European Jazz” (Equinox) and notes that its series of essays on each country’s jazz history makes the book seem more like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle than a comprehensive narrative.

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