Author name: Thomas Cunniffe

Erroll Garner: “Ready, Take One” (Columbia/Legacy 36331)/ Shirley Horn: “Live at the Four Queens” (Resonance 2015)

Retro Reviews /

The names Erroll Garner and Shirley Horn do not usually appear side-by-side in jazz histories. Yet in a vintage interview, Horn said that Garner was her first jazz influence. Both Garner and Horn created unique styles that were difficult for others to copy, specifically Garner’s idiosyncratic approach to rhythm and Horn’s intimate way with ballads. Thomas Cunniffe reviews newly released recordings by Garner and Horn in this month’s Retro Review.

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Erroll Garner: “No One Can Hear You Read” (First Run Features)

DVD Reviews /

In the 1950s, Erroll Garner was ubiquitous: his recordings (on several different labels) were everywhere, and he frequently appeared in concerts and on television. But Garner’s style didn’t fit easily into accepted jazz genres and hardly any pianists played exclusively in his style. Atticus Brady’s new documentary No One Can Hear You Read attempts to revitalize the legacy of this self-taught wonder. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the DVD.

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The Essence of Billie

Sidetracks /

For many jazz fans and historians, there are two categories of jazz singers: Billie Holiday and everyone else. Thomas Cunniffe has a similar rating system for Billie Holiday tribute albums: there’s Carmen McRae’s and everyone else’s. However, two new Holiday tributes by José James and Cassandra Wilson stand up well to comparisons with McRae’s classic LP. The similarities and differences are discussed in this month’s Sidetracks.

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For Our Jazz Heroes

CD Reviews /

This month’s instrumental CD reviews are all (in one form or another) tributes to jazz giants. Thomas Cunniffe reviews Marc Cary’s salute to his former boss, Abbey Lincoln, Eli Yamin and Evan Christopher’s homage to a wealth of jazz heroes, Eddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway’s live performances of Ellington and Hush Point’s debut CD which examines the continuum between cool and free jazz.

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Four Jazz Masters

CD Reviews /

It’s been about six years since pianist Renee Rosnes and saxophonist Lew Tabackin released albums under their own names, but each of them has a new disc out, and as Thomas Cunniffe notes in his reviews, both albums were worth the wait. Also reviewed is a collection of 2005 duets by trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and pianist John Taylor. The album was originally issued as a memorial to Wheeler, but by the time of its release, Taylor had also passed away.

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Frank Sinatra on the Radio

Retro Reviews /

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s birth, Sony Music and the Smithsonian Institute have released a total of 5 CDs featuring radio performances spanning the first two decades of the legendary vocalist’s career. In this month’s Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe reviews both the Sony 4-CD set and the Smithsonian single disc package, noting that the recordings offer a rare opportunity to hear Sinatra performing songs he never officially recorded.

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Frankie Newton: The Forgotten Trumpeter (part I)

Best of JHO, Historical Essays /

Despite appearing on some of the greatest jazz records of the 1930s, and possessing one of the most personal sounds in jazz history, trumpeter Frankie Newton is barely remembered today. His biography is filled with contradictory information, and his discography has several mysterious gaps. Thomas Cunniffe sorts out the conflicting details and discusses all of Newton’s recordings in this special 2-part Historical Essay.

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Frankie Newton: The Forgotten Trumpeter (Part I)

Uncategorized /

Despite appearing on some of the greatest jazz records of the 1930s, and possessing one of the most personal sounds in jazz history, trumpeter Frankie Newton is barely remembered today. His biography is filled with contradictory information, and his discography has several mysterious gaps. Thomas Cunniffe sorts out the conflicting details and discusses all of Newton’s recordings in this special 2-part Historical Essay.

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Good Things Come Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz (by Fred Hersch)

Book Reviews /

Like most autobiographies, “Good Things Happen Slowly” is a story of discovery and identity. However, as the subject is Fred Hersch, this book tells of the more-or-less simultaneous emergence of two distinct (and for some, incongruous) character traits, that of a gay man and of a jazz pianist. Thomas Cunniffe reviews this touching memoir, notable for its candor and understated tone.

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Fred Hersch: “My Coma Dreams” (Palmetto)

DVD Reviews /

Like most people, Fred Hersch doesn’t remember his dreams. But the dreams he envisioned while in a medically-induced coma were so vivid, he described them in detail after he regained consciousness. Those dreams, and the story of his illness, are part a of a hybrid jazz/theatre work called My Coma Dreams. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the newly released DVD of a performance at Columbia University.

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