In his 12th book, Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist, Scott Yanow discusses his beginnings in jazz, his busy career as a freelance jazz critic, memories of scores of live performances, his encounters with jazz greats, the history of the Playboy and Monterey Jazz Festivals, and his experiences as an occasional musician.
Colorful and insightful interviews of Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea and Maynard Ferguson are included along with Yanow’s thoughts on jazz criticism and six appendixes that will lead readers towards the jazz greats of the past, present and future.
Scott Yanow is one of the most prolific and widely respected jazz journalists in the business. An expert on all eras of jazz from New Orleans, swing and bebop to fusion, the avant-garde and today’s jazz scene, Yanow has been a very busy writer since 1974. In his career he has written 11 other books, over 900 liner notes, and more than 20,000 recording reviews in addition to contributing to every significant jazz magazine and participating in a countless number of projects.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Music credit: The Jazz on the Tube podcast theme song is “Mambo Inferno” performed by The Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria from the CD ¡Que Viva Harlem!
Memphis produced George Coleman, Hank Crawford, Booker Little, Phineas Newborn, Jr, Jamil Nasser, Charles Lloyd, Harold Mabern, and Louis Smith. And that’s the shortlist.
What the heck was going on there? The great Phil Schaap explains.
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube Thanks.
Music credit: The Jazz on the Tube podcast theme song is “Mambo Inferno” performed by The Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria from the CD ¡Que Viva Harlem!
This book is a model for jazz biography (and really for a biography of any creative person.) It not only documents the striving of an individual artist, in this case, William Parker, but also the dynamic communities that are essential for the development of artists.
I strongly recommend this book for music educators, music students, and anyone who wants to get “under the hood” of what goes into making an artist who succeeds in expanding the boundaries of the art.
Anyone interested in (or nostalgic for) the stunning flowering of creative music that took place in the 1970s when, believe it or not, rents in the East Village and Soho of Manhattan were low and musician-operated venues were abundant will also love this book.
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube Thanks.
Music credit: The Jazz on the Tube podcast theme song is “Mambo Inferno” performed by The Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria from the CD ¡Que Viva Harlem!
“Osage Stomp” and “Get with It” – Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys (1935)
Hezekiah Leroy Gordon “Stuff” Smith (1909-1967) – Toured Texas extensively in the ’20s
Ramblin’ – Ornette Coleman (Texas) with Charlie Haden (Missouri) and Don Cherry (Oklahoma) (1959)
BONUS
As I mentioned in the interview, we were only going to be able to scratch the surface of Dave’s work on this call. One areas he’s done work in is exploring the musicality of animals. If they can recognize and make music, we may need to recalibrate how we view and treat them.
“Rain” – Elephant Orchestra. Instruments built and directed by Richard Lair and Dave Soldier in Lampang, Thailand (2006)
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube Thanks.
Music credit: The Jazz on the Tube podcast theme song is “Mambo Inferno” performed by The Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria from the CD ¡Que Viva Harlem!
Jazz on the Tube is declaring 2020 the “Year of Eddie Durham.”
If you don’t know Eddie Durham (1906-1987), buckle your seat belts. He’s one the the secret sources of the music we call jazz.
Take Eddie out of the equation and a whole lot of things that made jazz jazz would never have happened.
He’s easily one of the most important musicians in the history of jazz and therefore one of the most important musicians in the history of American music.
Whose careers were nourished by Eddie Durham’s genius?
How about these for starters?
The Oklahoma City Blue Devils, Benny Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, Charlie Christian, Lester Young, Glenn Miller – and this is just the short list!
1. Moten’s Swing (1933) – (00:00)
2. Hittin’ the Bottle (1935) – (03:24)
3. Topsy (1937) – (06:24)
4. Good Morning Blues (1937) – (09:38)
5. Swinging the Blues (1938) – (12:26)
6. Countless Blues (1938) – (15:10)
7. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (1938 – two takes) – (18:07)
8. Jumpin’ at the Woodside (1939) – (24:09)
9. In the Mood (1939) – (27:18)
Documentary about Eddie Durham by the Center for Texas Music History
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Music credit: The Jazz on the Tube podcast theme song is “Mambo Inferno” performed by The Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria from the CD ¡Que Viva Harlem!
The Annual San Marcos Texas, Eddie Durham Tribute Sponsored by the Calaboose African American History Museum
The secret creative “spark plug” behind the success of the Blue Devils, Jimmy Lunceford, Lester Young, Freddie Green, Charlie Christian and Count Basie. Arranger of Glen Miller’s “In the Mood” too!