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Woody Herman, "Road Father" - Three Appreciations
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.There is an old admonition that states: “If you can’t say or write something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.”When that someone...
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Billy Strayhorn - The Bill Coss Interview
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.For nearly everyone interested in jazz, the names Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn are, if not synonymous, at least inextricably connected....
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Beets Brothers - In The Beginning
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Marius Beets [pronounced “Bates”] is one of three brothers, all of whom are prominent players on the Dutch Jazz scene.Brother Peter is a...
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"Grit" and George Russell - The Dom Cerulli Interview
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“George Russell would have “killed" Bird.”- Miles DavisIn her new book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance [Scribner, 333 pages, $28],...
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Charlie Haden: The Ineffable Beauty of the Jazz Bass [From the Archives]
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Charlie Haden has a large, warm tone, the subtle vibrato, richness, and manipulations of which are central elements in his...
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The Jazz of Physics
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Science benefits from the same kind of leaps of intuition that a sax player makes when soloing.”“Deep down, the book feels like an attempt by...
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Thoughts on Jazz Trombone by Martin Wlliams
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.From the vantage point of when this article was written in January, 1962, many of the trombonists that Martin Williams writes about were still...
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Ray Brown: A Walking Sound
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“The warmth toward, the admiration for, this magnificent and pioneering musician were almost palpable. It amounted to reverence. And it was not...
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Chronicle Books - Blue Note: The Album Cover Art
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."They were sure that with these newartists they were introducing, so many of themwere leaders for the first time, somaybe the public in Harlem...
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Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Hampton Hawes [1928–1977] was one of Jazz's greatest pianists. With the help of Don Asher, a jazz pianist and author of nine books, Hawes wrote...
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Benny Goodman - Two Perspectives
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“You know, I don't talk much about my childhood," he said. "Many times I've been asked to talk in depth about it. But I've resisted. I don't...
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Hector Martignon's Banda Grande - "The Big Band Theory" (Zoho ZM 201605)
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.On this ambitious third release after two GRAMMY nominated ZOHO CDs Refugee (2007) and Second Chance (2012), Colombian-born but Harlem, NY...
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Porgy and Bess - The Jim Cullum Jazz Band
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."Jazz is the voice of the American Soul"— George Gershwin, Theatre Magazine, June 1926Porgy and Bess is an English-language [light] opera...
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Learning Jazz Through Osmosis - Early Performance Models
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Musically, Jazz can’t be taught, but it can be learnedWe all learn differently.When it came to Jazz, learning more about it became a burning...
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"How to Listen to Jazz" by Ted Gioia - The Economist Review
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.How to Listen to Jazz. By Ted Gioia. Basic Books; 272 pages;$24.99 and £16.99The following review of Ted Gioia’s new book How to Listen to Jazz...
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Victor Feldman - Blindfold Test with Leonard Feather
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Regular visitors to these pages are by now familiar with the personal and professional relationship I had with Victor Feldman during his and my...
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Cees Slinger (1929 - 2007) Jazz Pianist - Band leader - Composer - Arranger
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.During his lifetime [1929-2007], Cees [pronounced “Case”] Slinger was considered to be among the most important of European-based modern jazz...
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Rewinding with Max, Alberto and Frits
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Rewind is a co-release from Via Veneto Jazz and Jando Music. Italian saxophonist Max Ionata is among the leading players in the contemporary...
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"How to Listen to Jazz" by Ted Gioia - The Wall Street Journal Review
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I Hear a RhapsodyWant to listen to ‘the most joyous sound invented during the entire course of twentieth-century music? Put on some New Orleans...
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The Peripatetic Mel Lewis
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Drummers make or break big bands.Along with the lead trumpet and first alto sax, drummers help guide the band through its arrangements.The...
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