Welcome to the long-awaited and much-delayed new issue of Jazz History Online. I apologize for the late appearance of my latest articles,
but I will not trouble you with excuses and rationalizations. I will just say that several issues contributed to the late publication of this issue.
I am making several changes to this site, effective immediately. While I have always thought of JHO as an online magazine, I will no longer post articles in groups as an “issue” of the website. Instead, articles will be posted as soon as they are written, edited, and approved. This should result in quicker turnarounds between event/release dates and their eventual reviews. As I approach retirement age, I plan to slow down—but not cease—my activities with JHO. All of the features you expect from this site will continue (with the possible exception of these editorial notes; I haven’t decided what to do with them). My goal is to shift the balance of the site back to older recordings. I have not written a Historical Essay in the past few years, and I enjoy researching neglected musicians and their albums. I have an essay on Pee Wee Russell’s “modern” recordings in the works, and there is a segment from my Marty Paich studies that I wish to transform into an article.
Due to the late publication of this issue, I am not including a 2024 Summation (but the annual list of recently deceased musicians appears below). Concert Reviews for Autumn 2024 and Spring 2025 appear in separate articles (I have withheld reviews of Christmas-themed concerts for obvious reasons). I have written 14 CD reviews for albums released in 2024, all located within a single article. Long articles are a regular part of this website, so I imagine everyone can scroll through the reviews. There are still some 2024 discs that I want to discuss, and I will include them with reviews of new releases in the coming months.
Some of you may know that I was commissioned to write liner notes for two new Mosaic sets, each featuring classic recordings from the Vanguard label. These recordings, nearly all produced by John Hammond, are like a treasure chest, filled with extraordinary performances by great artists including Ruby Braff, Vic Dickenson, Jo Jones, Buck Clayton, Jimmy Rushing, Count Basie, Sir Charles Thompson, Ellis Larkins and many more. The albums have not been “reissued to death”, and a few of the albums have not been heard in full since their original releases in the 1950s. Both sets—”Classic Vanguard Small Group Sessions” (MD-280; 7 CDs) and “Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions” (MD-281; 6 CDs)—are now available and selling well. The sets have received several complimentary reviews (and to my joy and surprise, each reviewer praised my essays). There is an advertisement in the banner of The Front Page, and you can purchase one or both sets by clicking through the ad. I experienced many “eureka” moments when researching the music, none greater than in the recordings by pianist/composer Mel Powell. Four superb Powell albums appear in the “Piano Sessions” set, and Mosaic has allowed me to include my notes for those recordings here on JHO. You won’t be able to stream most of this music, but I hope that my words will inspire you to purchase the album.
This issue includes two Book Reviews: a full-color discography of Thelonious Monk, and the highly-anticipated third volume of Ricky Riccardi’s Louis Armstrong biography, “Stomp Off, Let’s Go“. There are also two Retro Reviews: capsule reviews of sets by Don Byas, Art Tatum, Nat Cole, Shelly Manne, and Sonny Rollins, plus more Louis Armstrong in “Centennial“, a Grammy-winning collection featuring the best audio transfers to date of the complete 1923 King Oliver Creole Jazz Band records. Those 37 recordings are presented on both CD and LPs. “Centennial” also includes two additional CDs of historic recordings relating to Armstrong’s development and Joe Oliver’s contemporaries, plus an 80-page book of Grammy-winning notes by Riccardi. My review includes an interview with Richard Martin, who explains his methods for restoring acoustic recordings. Finally, my IT guru discovered a new slider for the Swingle Singers Discography. The discography was offline for an undetermined time this past winter due to an issue with a third-party software developer. From now on, JHO will have complete control of the document.
As promised, here is the list of jazz friends and musicians who left our world in 2024: Jean-Philippe Allard, Danny Bacher, Jewel Brown, Eleanor Collins, Jerry Coker, Michael Cuscuna, Claire Daly, Barbara Dane, Palle Danielsson, Papa John DeFrancesco, Lou Donaldson, Bill Douglass, Jan Evensmo, Benny Golson, Dan Haerle, Roy Haynes, Albert (Tootie) Heath, Bill Holman, Zakir Hussain, Laurie Johnson, Jack Jones, Quincy Jones, Russell Malone, Llew Matthews, John McNeil, Sergio Mendes, John Minnock, Dan Morgenstern, Ray Mosca, Jack Mouse, Phil Nimmons, Barre Phillips, Anthony Pinciotti, John Pisano, Kim Richmond, Alex Riel, Herb Robertson, Jim Rotundi, Bob Rusch, David Sanborn, Sigi Schwab, Marlena Shaw, Doug Sides, Kathy Sloane, Jimmie Smith, Martial Solal, Caterina Valente, Kiane Zawadi (Bernard McKinney).
Best,
Tom