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Jack Teagarden, Basin Street Blues and New Orleans
© Introduction Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“‘Jack was just a gentle, good-natured, soft-spoken guy,’ said bassist Jack Lesberg, who worked with Teagarden...
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Dermot Rogers is Alive, Well and Very Busy at Livia Records
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra 2025 All rights reserved.While I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my recent books Profiles inJazz: Writings on Jazz and Its Makers Volume 1 and Jazz Drummers Volume...
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Profiles in Jazz: Writings on Jazz and Its Makers - Steven A. Cerra
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra 2025 All rights reserved.Now available as a paperback and eBook exclusively from Amazon. In depth reviews of the Jazz literature on the life and music of twelve Giants of...
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"THE GERRY MULLIGAN QUARTET 1952–1953" - Matthew Ruddick, My Funny Valentine:...
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.© Copyright ® Matthew Ruddick, copyright protected; all rights reserved, used with the author's permission.The following is...
View ArticleChet Baker & Gerry Mulligan- Carioca
This is from a time when no self-respecting Jazz musician, especially one with a big band arranging background like Gerry Mulligan, "would go anywhere" [i.e. play a tune/song] without an arrangement....
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Milt Jackson [1923-1999] - A Vital Force on the Vibraphone [From the Archives...
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Improvisation is raised to the level of an art when it involves two factors which pull the performer in opposite directions:...
View ArticleSuperwoman - The Phil Woods Six
I thought the title of this tune was appropriate for today's [May 11th] celebration of Moms because who among us doesn't recognize them as SUPERWOMAN?Phil Woods is certainly no stranger to recordings...
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Porgy and Bess Goes Latin - Nueva Manteca [From the Archives with Additions]
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The Gods who control media platforms in their infinite wisdom and power deleted the video from the original posting. Luckily, I was able...
View ArticleIt Ain't Necessarily So - Nueva Manteca
Check out the incredible trumpet work by Toon de Gouw and Jarmo Hoogendijk on this arrangement by Jan Laurens Hartong.
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Hoagy Sings Carmichael With Johnny Mandel and The Pacific Jazzmen [From the...
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Hoagy Sings Carmichael With The Pacific Jazzmen [Pacific Jazz CD 0777 7 46862 2 8] has sat in my collection for a long time, but I never knew...
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Hugo Friedhofer - A Compositional and Orchestral Genius
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."But if you feel about music as I do, you are always working at the outer periphery of your abilities. And that makes you insecure."Look,"...
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Michael and Claus
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."Every twenty-five years a musician like Michael comes along. He reminds me of Glenn Gould, because Glenn played everything very...
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Ed Thigpen: 1926-2002 - The Drummer as Colorist and Percussionist [From The...
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Over the course of his career, Ed Thigpen, never got the attention he deserved as a drummer especially for the additional dimensions he brought...
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Sean Imboden Large Ensemble - Communal Heart
This posting falls under the broad category of bringing new music to your attention while I’m slammed with a variety of writing deadlines. As you would imagine after doing this since 2008, the blog...
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Ed Shaughnessy and The Joys of Jazz Drumming
© Introduction. Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."The superb engine that drove the Tonight Show Band for thirty years with spirit and immense skill."- Doc Severinsen,...
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