Sidetracks

MEL POWELL ON VANGUARD (1953-1955)

In 2023, Scott Wenzel and the late Michael Cuscuna commissioned JHO’s Thomas Cunniffe to write liner notes for two Mosaic collections of classic recordings from the Vanguard label. Produced by John Hammond between 1953 and 1959, the Vanguard Jazz Showcase presented a wide range of jazz musicians performing at peak creativity, and captured with exquisite audio fidelity. The sets were released in late 2024 and early 2025, and Mosaic graciously allowed JHO to reproduce a portion of his liner notes. Cunniffe selected his discussion of Mel Powell’s Vanguard sessions for inclusion here.

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Music for a Cool Yule 2021

Happy Holidays from Jazz History Online! For our annual feature, Music for a Cool Yule, Thomas Cunniffe and Marti Mendenhall offer capsule reviews of the best in holiday jazz, both new and classic. We have received far less holiday discs for review this year, so we hope that you will look through the entire list to find a new holiday favorite, regardless of whether it is a new release, or one from years past.

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Remembering Amy Duncan

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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Camille Bertault: The Girl on the Internet

Since the summer of 2015, when she uploaded her remarkable scat version of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, French jazz vocalist Camille Bertault has been an internet sensation. In this edition of Sidetracks, Bertault tells Thomas Cunniffe about the inspiration for that video, and her unique and varied background. The article includes four embedded videos (and links to several more) plus a review of Bertault’s new CD, En Vie.

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The Essence of Billie

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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