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Mike Barone – Composer-Arranger
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Within five minutes, or ten minutes, no more than that, you know that you are in the presence of incredibly talented big band arranger.When...
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Marty Paich
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."Dans The Broadway Bit, I Get Boot Of You et What's New, il remet tranquillement en cause la conception usuelle du grand orchestre, car...
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Clark Terry - Parts 1-3 Complete
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Clark Terry died on February 21st/2015. He was ninety-four [94] years old [born: December 14, 1920].With the following introductory caveat...
View ArticleShelly Manne & His Men - Summer Night (mono)
This Marty Paich 1955 arrangement of Walter Dubin's "Summer Night" is a portent of things to come in terms of his unique approach to arranging. The voicings in the shout chorus which begin at 2:20 are...
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Freddie Gruber - "None of a Kind"
© Introduction Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The first time I met Freddie Gruber, he came up to me at a gig at a Hollywood Jazz club and said: “You’re working too...
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JJA Special Citation
Special CitationsFebruary 19, 2025Our nomination process is focused on the current efforts of individual authors/journalists. In 2024, however, projects collecting historic and more recent writings by...
View ArticleJohn Lewis Kansas City Breaks
Tracks: 1 Django 00:00 2 Sacha's March 06:11 3 Lyonhead 12:49 4 Winter Tale 18:18 5 Valeria 22:25 6 D&E 29:35 7 Kansas City Breaks 39:06 8 Milano 46:04 Credits Bass – Marc Johnson Drums – Shelly...
View ArticleHalf and Half - Cal Tjader featuring Paul Horn
This tune is from Paul Horn's Something Blue LP and has two introductions: [1] features Cal's vibes out-of-tempo improvising on two chords over Lennie Hewitt's piano and [2] features Paul Horn's...
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“Two of a Mind” - Desmond and Mulligan
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I’ll always been indebted to Will Thornbury for making possible one of my most favorites Jazz recordings, Erroll Garner’s Concerts...
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Gerry Mulligan and Stan Kenton - Opposites That Didn't Attract [Excerpts from...
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“In her biography, Straight Ahead - The Story Of Stan Kenton, Carol Easton refers to a personality clash between Kenton and...
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Shelly Manne: His Life and Music by Steven A. Cerra Editor
Hot off the press! The Shelly Manne biography is now available as a paperback and an eBook exclusively on Amazon.
View ArticleQuincy Jones - Hard Sock Dance [1961]
Checkout the marvelous trades between trumpeters Freddie Hubbard [leads off] and Thad Jones beginning at 0:47 with Bill English on drums booting things along in The Engine Room. Great shout chorus at...
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Bill Evans - The 1979 Wayne Enstice - Paul Rubin Interview
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Bill Evans, one of the foremost jazz pianists of the postbop era, profoundly influenced three generations of keyboard players. Among...
View ArticleBlueport (Live At The Village Vanguard / 1960) - Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz...
Stick around for the trades between Gerry Mulligan at Clark Terry which begin at 6:13. I guarantee they'll have you smiling throughout.
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Part 1 -Duke Ellington - "The Hot Bach" by Richard O. Boyer
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Few writers have depicted Ellington and his world as vividly as Richard 0. Boyer in "The Hot Bach," a three-part profile published...
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Shelly Manne: His Life and Music
This Shelly bio is now available as both a paperback and an eBook exclusively on Amazon. Just type my name in the search box. I am donating most of my royalties toward building a scholarship drum kit...
View ArticlePete Jolly Trio - Variations
I always thought of Pete Jolly [1932-2004] and Lou Levy [1928-2001] as the West Coast equivalents of Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan - out of Bud Powell but with a gift for making Bop more lyrical in...
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