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Shelly Manne - The Kenton Years - Part 4
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.In 1947 the average factory worker made about fifty to seventy-five cents an hour — maybe $25 a week. Stan Kenton was paying Shelly Manne $200...
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Shelly Manne - The Kenton Years - Part 5
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.As the United States entered the year 1950 it had no idea that by June it would once again be at war — this time in Korea. The "post-war" years...
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Shelly Manne - The Kenton Years - Part 6
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Each time I delve into the career of drummer Shelly Manne, I come away amazed by the scope of his involvement in the modern Jazz movement that...
View ArticlePepper Adams - An Interview With Gene Lees
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.When Adams is at his peppery best - furious, angry, pouring into the horn a wealth of fiercely felt emotion - it brings to mind his nickname...
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Jazz Humor - The Zoot Finster Series by George Crater
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Jazz musicians love to laugh.As bassist Bill Crow explains in the following excerpts from the Preface to his superb book Jazz Anecdotes:“Jazz...
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''Is Seeing Believing?'' - Liebman, Ineke, Laginha, Cavalli, Pinheiro
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.In sending me a preview copy of the ''... CD Is Seeing Believing? by the Liebman/Ineke/Laginha/Cavalli/Pinheiro Quintet [Challenge - Daybreak...
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"Stan Levey, Jazz Heavyweight: The Authorized Biography" [From the Archives]
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."Stan Levey is without a doubt one of the greatest drummers ever and one of the founding fathers of modern music. Along with Klook, Max, and...
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Remembering Don Friedman - 1935-2016
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Pianist Don Friedman died on June 30, 2016.The editorial staff at JazzProfiles has fond memories of the four LP’s he did for Riverside Records...
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Jack Teagarden, J.J. Johnson & Frank Rosolino - A Trombone Triumvirate
- Steven Cerra [C] Copyright protected; all rights reserved.If one can be said to have a genetic pre-disposition to Jazz, when my haploid genome got to the trombone part in its development, it probably...
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Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones - The JazzProfiles Review
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Context is everything so, for the record, Paul Devlin, editor, Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones (As Told To Albert Murray)...
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Julie London and "Cry Me a River" - An Essay by Michael Owen
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I recently received the following correspondence from Michael Owen concerning the status of his Julie London book project and I thought it...
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Julian "Cannonball" Adderley - The Barbara Gardner Interview [From the Archives]
© - Steven A. Cerra - copyright protected; all rights reserved.In the following interview, Cannonball brings out some interesting expectations on the part of Jazz club owners and patrons about the...
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Claude Williamson: 1926-2016 - A Tribute
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Claude Williamson, qui ne cache pas son admiration pour Bud Powell, lui dediant SALUTE TO BUD dans son premier album en trio. L'ombre de Bud...
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Solo Jazz Piano at Maybeck Recital Hall: A Treasure Hunt Remembered [From the...
"In 1989, JoAnne Brackeen was about to do a solo performance at Maybeck Hall, a small and exquisite location in Berkeley, California, with an excellent piano. She called Carl Jefferson to ask that he...
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Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFaro - The JazzProfiles Synopsis
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I HOPE THIS BOOK WILL BRING a glimpse into the development and the life of Scott LaFaro, and an understanding of the man and his music. In my...
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The Gene Harris Trio Plus One [Stanley Turrentine]
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“The reemergence of pianist Gene Harris on the jazz scene is one of the musical delights of the past two years. Gene is best remembered for his...
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The Hi-Lo's And All That Jazz [From the Archives]
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.For the purposes of this feature, I wasn’t sure how best to describe The Hi-Lo’s, one of my all-time favorite vocal quartets, so I thought...
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J.C. Higginbotham - Jazz Trombonist
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I got to hear J.C. Higginbotham in performance during my first visit to a Jazz festival.The occasion was a July 4, 1957 birthday tribute to...
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GARY SMULYAN INTERVIEW WITH GORDON JACK
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Gordon Jack is a frequent contributor to the Jazz Journal and a very generous friend to these pages in his allowance of JazzProfiles...
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Reggie Watkins: Avid Admirer - The Jimmy Knepper Project
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Trombonist Reggie Watkins had the opportunity to meet trombone master Jimmy Knepper just once, shortly before Knepper's death in June 2003....
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