Tribute to Teo Macero - May 18th at NYU

May 13, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: analog, brian eno, compositions, electric style, guest soloists, jazz orchestra, jazz program, loewe, master manipulators, Masters, miles davis, Notes, nyu, razor blade, saxophonist, semi retirement, sessions, sonic tapestry

Long before the digital era and its master manipulators - Brian Eno, J Dilla et al - producer Teo Macero was splicing analog reels from various Miles Davis sessions, creating the sonic tapestry of Miles' early electric style. The saxophonist, composer, and master of the razor blade will be remembered at a memorial service this Sunday, May 18 at NYU’s Loewe Theatre, 35 West 4th Street, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Macero spent his later years in semi-retirement, occasionally helping the NYU Jazz Program. He produced two CD’s with the NYU Jazz Orchestra featuring his original compositions. Special guest soloists will join the NYU Jazz Orchestra for the memorial.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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Great Live Moments - Al Grey and Buddy Tate

April 14, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: al grey, baby josh, benny carter, buddy tate, count basie, herschel, lionel hampton, Listening Post, Live Music, man of the year, michael jackson, ones and zeros, resonance, Riff, saxophonist, sense of loss, stints, sweet basil, time magazine, traction, trombonist, vitality, wbgo

When I listen to swing music these days, I love it with a sense of loss, a disconnect. Nearly all of the swing legends are gone. This music has the feeling of a time that no longer exists, not that it ever did for me. I had to find it. Twenty-six years ago, however, swing still had some traction in our culture.
I would like to put myself back in that time. I'd be the coolest eight year old in the world, digging the scene at Sweet Basil. Trombonist Al Grey and saxophonist Buddy Tate are playing "Undecided." I can't believe I'm hearing this.
Chances are, however, I was anticipating the release of Michael Jackson's Thriller, which came out in records stores the week after this recording was made.
As I listen to this performance from the WBGO Archives, I am reminded of the vitality of the swing era, and that the music still had resonance in 1982. Count Basie was still alive. So were a number of his associates. Tate was one of them. Grey another. Tate was the tenor player that had the unenviable task of replacing Herschel Evans in Basie's band. Al Grey joined Basie much later, but he had previous stints with Benny Carter and Lionel Hampton. These were swing men through and through.
So much seems different now. By the end of 1982, Time Magazine declared the computer as Man of the Year, the first-ever distinction for an object. These real men are gone, except for their music. Here I am in 2008, writing a blog entry on my laptop, trying to get closer to an analog era. How do I feel about it? Decidedly Undecided. All I know is that it's easy to get lost in ones and zeros, better to be found alive, and even greater to be swung....Tempus fugit, baby.
-Josh
PS That amazing photo courtesy of Rein. Check out her photostream.

© 2008 WBGO

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Legends of Jazz - 2007 NEA Jazz Masters

April 10, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: celebration, conversations, cool things, creators, curtis fuller, frank wess, Jazz Alive, jazz appreciation, Jazz Community, jazz master, jazz royalty, legends of jazz, music, nancy wilson, nea, pbs, pbs series, pianist, ramsey lewis, saxophonist, smithsonian, trombonist, Video

April is Jazz Appreciation Month. One of the many cool things about the Smithsonian's monthlong celebration has been online. The creators of the LEGENDS OF JAZZ PBS series put together a one-hour web special, hosted by 2007 NEA Jazz Master Ramsey Lewis, that features conversations with and music by NEA jazz royalty - pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, trombonist Curtis Fuller, singer Jimmy Scott, Basie-veteran Frank Wess, and saxophonist Phil Woods. Nancy Wilson, herself an NEA Jazz Master, talks with Ramsey Lewis about his own half-century career. Find it here.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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