This video appears to be from "Soundstage" in the 70's and features a collection of awesome musicians - Chick Corea, Bunny Brunel, Tom Breckline, Gayle Moran, and Al Jarreau - performing Chick Corea's "Spain." Wow, these guys were young! I hope you enjoy the clothes, music, and voices as much as I did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ipeQ5wXl7A
technorati tags:jazz, piano, chick, corea, al, jarreau, gayle, moran, gary, burton
I don't know much about Bela Fleck's work, except that it pushes the envelope. However, I'm a big fan of Chick Corea, with not nearly as many of his albums as I'd like. Here's an awesome sample of his acoustic work, courtesy of YouTube. Watch how he reaches inside the piano while he plays - wild. I almost feel a connection to him, since his Akoustic Band drummer, Dave Weckl, is a St. Louis guy. I heard him perform here with Tom and Ray Kennedy (which was AWESOME) years ago. I met Tom a few months back playing at a local hotel, and he's a friend of my former piano teacher. Six degrees? Maybe.
Anyway, this little track will get your blood moving:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NeIj1NwKvA...and here's more info about Bela and Chick's current tour. I'm sad to say I don't think I'll be able to make it out to see them, but perhaps you can catch it yourself. Here are the dates:
http://www.belafleck.com/tourdates.html
...and here's the article that got me on this whole entry in the first place:
 City Pulse | Béla Fleck catches up with his musical idol City Pulse, MI - “And if you’re going to play with a rhythmic jazz piano player, there’s no better one in the world than Chick.” In December 2006, Fleck and Corea finally ... |
Some may argue whether boogie woogie (or Dixieland, for that matter, which is the central music of many local "Jazz" clubs [member organizations, that is...too many nested parens now...]) is actually jazz. Well, I feel like it's just one more piece of the large foundation of jazz music as we know it today, and well worth any musician's respect.
I've only heard Ammons play once on a Smithsonian recording a while ago, I believe, but here's a chance to honor one of the boogie woogie greats - throughout the country this year.
 Jazz Police | Centennial Celebration for Boogie Woogie Legend Albert Ammons Jazz Police, MN - A leading practitioner of boogie woogie piano, Albert Ammons would have been 100 years old in September 2007. To mark the centennial of this legend of ... |
Man oh man...this will get your blood moving. I know this is the Jazz Piano blog, but when you toss Ella in the mix, it's just an added treat. This number swings like nobody's business. How long did they rehearse this, I wonder? The sign of a truly great artist is making the near-impossible look unbelievably easy...they hardly look like they're even trying (except for Oscar wiping his brow), which just reinforces the perfection of this performance.
You HAVE to check this one out!
Ella Fitzgerald sings "Stomping at the Savoy", UK 1961 - Oscar Peterson Trio
Author: chico75pi
Keywords: ella fitzgerald john dankworth oscar peterson live jazz savoy
Added: February 16, 2007
technorati tags:oscar, peterson, ella, fitzgerald, stompin, savoy, jazz, piano
This is a really interesting article about a journalist who had kind of a "reverse interview" with Bill Evans one night. It's kind of a personal insight into Bill Evans, the man. I don't know, something about this article touched me somehow...
In my early teens, I had an unusual hobby. Whenever the urge grew strong enough to overcome my basic diffidence, and whenever I didn't think it would show up too badly on my parent's phone bill, I used to make long - distance calls to different jazz musicians I admired.
Here's a nice magazine with a little something for all tastes, including music that you can play in each issue. Granted, there are only 4 issues per year, but it reminds me of the old Keyboard Magazine, or Jazz Pianist, or something like that that I used to subscribe to.
In fact, I just subscribed myself! Check it out:
For pianists with an interest in Classical Music and Jazz, our publication is filled with intriguing things to play: great pieces from all eras and styles, jazz arrangements by today's top artists, inside stories, lessons and playing tips, and a whole section just for beginning level. It's a masterpiece of a magazine!
I keep seeing Stefano Bollani's name in the news and watched is "Maple Leaf Rag" video that was in a previous article posted. I must say that I may have to buy his CD. I wish I could have seen the performance talked about in this NY Times article. Sounds like he's gonna cause some trouble for the pop and jazz purists by "playing outside the box."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/arts/music/08boll.html?_r=1&ref=music&oref=slogin
American jazz audiences best know Stefano Bollani as the pianist of choice for the trumpeter Enrico Rava, Italy’s most accomplished jazz musician. In Italy Mr. Bollani is considerably more: a novelist, a media personality, almost a comedic brand. His first ECM album as a leader, “Piano Solo,” arrived in the United States this week; when it was released in his own country six months ago, it breached the Top 20 on the pop charts.
