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The Sadness of St. Louis ["La Tristesse de St. Louis"] by Michael Zwerin
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Very few of my business trips to Europe turned out as planned; there was always an inconsistency to them.I suppose that since I was involved...
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Joe Morello - A Career Overview
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."The first thing that comes to mind in thinking about Joe is that he was the greatest drummer in the world. He had students and people...
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The Blue Angel Crowd by Dave Frishberg
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The following piece by pianist and composer Dave Frishberg is another example that Gene Lees published to support his premise that Jazz...
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"One Man's Road" by Clare Fischer
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.One of the most pleasant associations I ever had during my time playing Jazz back when the World was young was formed during an afternoon I...
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"Mel Lewis: The View from the Back of the Band" - The Chris Smith Biography
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Mel showed me at that time, what a drummer is capable of doing as far as being integrated as an inescapable component of the arrangement as a...
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Vic Dickenson - A Melodic Trombonist
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.A recent feature on trombonist J.C. Higginbotham brought to mind Vic Dickenson, Dickie Wells, and Trummy Young.You don’t hear their names...
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Stoop Summit - The Story Behind The Iconic 'A Great Day in Harlem' Photograph
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“There were musicians from several eras of jazz. That picture depicted what a robust scene it was for jazz musicians in New York.”— Sonny...
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Rudy Van Gelder 1924-2016: A Signature Sound [From the Archives]
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.[Rudy van Gelder died on August 25, 2016. He was 91 years old. The Jazz World owes him an enormous debt of gratitude not only for what he did...
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"How Rudy Van Gelder Shaped the Sound of Jazz As We Know It"
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The Following by Nate Chinen is excerpted from the August 26, 2016 New York Times.“When a musical hero of towering influence dies, the urge is...
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[My Vince Guaraldi] "Lighthouse Memories"
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Before the growth and development of Jazz programs on most of the major college and university campuses, the advent of concert quality Jazz...
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Little Johnny Rivero - "Music In Me"
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“With one foot rooted in his native Puerto Rico and the other firmly planted New York City's "El Barrio," it is only fitting that Little Johnny...
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Rudy van Gelder - The Ben Sidran Interview - Part 1
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The source for Ben’s interview with the legendary recording engineer, Rudy van gelder, is Talking Jazz: 43 Jazz Conversions which are drawn...
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Rudy van Gelder - The Ben Sidran Interview - Part 2
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Ben:. And these days, we're talking about ways of removing each individual from the live process.Rudy: That's exactly right. It's almost as if...
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Dave Stryker - Eight Track II
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The editorial staff at JazzProfiles has always been a big fan of guitarist Dave Stryker. In many ways, we see him as the epitome of the working...
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Jive for Five: The Bill Holman - Mel Lewis Quintet
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Andex Records was one of those boutique labels that popped up now and then to produce a few Jazz recordings by up and coming Jazz artists. In...
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The Passionate Conviction: An Interview with Jimmy Giuffre by Lorin Stephens
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Candid self-assessment was as much a characteristic of Jimmy Giuffre’s personality as was the constantly innovative approach he took to making...
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Sarah Vaughan Live at Rosy's
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The editorial staff at JazzProfiles thought it would be fun turn its attention to reviews of recently released recordings with a particular...
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Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot Revisited
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“The music of Eric Dolphy and Booker Little (the latter died of uremia in October of 1961 at the age of twenty-three, only several months...
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Bassist Andrew Simpkins Remembers Sarah Vaughan
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“What I am about to do really can't be done at all, and that is to do justice to Sarah Vaughan in words. Her art is so remarkable, so unique...
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Bill Evans - LIVE AT TOP OF THE GATE
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The editorial staff at JazzProfiles continues its features on recently released recordings by George Klabin and the fine team at Resonance...
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