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Great Live Moments - Roy Haynes
July 1, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.
Add new comment | Filed under: 1940s, 72 years, advocate, badass, bassist, donald harrison, ed howard, Great Live Moments, innovator, jazz drummer, july 1987, listener, Listening Post, living jazz, musicians, posterity, quartet, riverside park, roy haynes, saxophonist dave, superlative, wbgoI typically steer clear of superlatives when I write about musicians. My opinion is no less valid than any listener's opinion. That's one reason why I would never consider myself a critic. Just an advocate, really. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me tell you that Roy Haynes is the greatest living jazz drummer. There. I said it. And I'm not just basing this on his accumulated career - you know, the 50+ years of playing with every major innovator since the late 1940s. Truth be told, Roy Haynes is eternally youthful, and he's still a badass. In July 1987, when Roy was a cool 62 years old (retirement age for the lucky few), he brought his quartet to Riverside Park in New York. WBGO recorded it for posterity, including this lovely jam on "All Blues." Donald Harrison is the saxophonist, Dave Kikoski played piano, Ed Howard is the bassist.
And the leader...Roy...(tap tap tap)...Haynes...
Click here to listen.
-Josh© 2008 WBGO
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Tuesday Night - Sweet Rhythm
June 4, 2008. Posted by Becca Pulliam.
Add new comment | Filed under: becca, drummer, etta james, evenings, greg lewis, james browne, jazz gallery, jazz party, Live Music, long time, musicians, night man, Notes, photos, santaniello, seventh avenue, sweet rhythm, tozzi, wbgoOn the way home from the Jazz Gallery, walking up Seventh Avenue,
used-to-be WBGO night man James Browne pulled me into his club Sweet
Rhythm to see Lezlie Harrison sing. A long time ago, Lezlie hosted the
jazz party on Saturday evenings on WBGO. She's never stopped using that
fine voice, and moved me with her singing and the solos by Luca Tozzi on
guitar and Greg Lewis on organ on "A Lover is Forever," once recorded by
Etta James. I'm going to download Etta right now. Lezlie's drummer is
Luca Santaniello. As I was leaving, Greg was rolling his Hammond out the
door. Musicians work hard and give much! Wish I had photos.
-Becca© 2008 WBGO
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Great Live Moments - Dee Dee Bridgewater
April 18, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.
Add new comment | Filed under: artistic career, celebration, collaboration, dee dee bridgewater, east coast, eve, grand hyatt, horace silver, Jazz Alive, Listening Post, Live Music, love, musicians, new year, npr, peace, red earth, reminder, sing song, toast of the nation, tribute to horace, wbgoIt has been amazing to know Dee Dee Bridgewater, and an honor to hear her read my name occasionally in the credits for JazzSet. And what an artistic career! Her latest recording, "Red Earth," a collaboration with Malian musicians, is just another reminder of how truly hip she is.
Long before she was the host of NPR's JazzSet (a program lovingly produced here at WBGO), Dee Dee Bridgewater was a part of our annual New Year's Eve coast-to-coast celebration, Toast of the Nation. From the ballroom at the Grand Hyatt in New York, Bridgewater greeted 1996 on the East Coast with music from her then recent recording, Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver.Listen to Dee Dee Bridgewater sing "Song for My Father," from the WBGO Archives.
-Josh© 2008 WBGO










