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Experiencing Jazz: A Listener's Companion by Michael Stephans
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I suppose when you write a blog about Jazz, there is the presumption that you know something about what books to recommend that describe...
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New Directions Revisited – The Rich and Unique Legacy of Teddy Charles by...
© -Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Noal Cohen maintains a Jazz history website replete with a number of discographies of important Jazz artists and he is also the co-author...
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Miles Davis - 'Round About Midnight Revisited
© - Steven A. Cerra - copyright protected; all rights reserved.One of the things I enjoy about periodically pouring over the Jazz Literature is spotting fresh ideas that often send me back to...
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Two Critics: Otis Ferguson and Whitney Balliett
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“A critic has two functions: (1) to spread knowledge and appreciation of his subject among those who don't know but might learn about it;...
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Don Ferrara - The Gordon Jack Interview [From the Archives]
© -Steven Cerra. Copyright protected; all rights reserved."Don is a real improviser and a very complete player—sound, ideas, time. He possesses very cohesive intuition."… Don was a powerful player and...
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The Saxophone and Jazz
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Written from the standpoint of the early 1980’s and published in one of the earliest editions of Gene Lees Jazzletter, Mike Zwerin’s concluding...
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Joe Magnarelli - Revisiting "Mags"
© -Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I first met Joe Magnarelli in March, 1998 in a Seattle recording studio where we were recording Italian Jazz pianist Dado Moroni’s Out of...
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Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Tough Tenor Saxophonist
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Davis straddles bop and swing in his phrasing; if anything, with his swallowed notes, sandpapery tone and sudden shrieks, he’s already a...
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"What Is Jazz" - From Jazz Americana by Woody Woodward
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Frenchmen call it Le Jazz Hot. If you want a hot argument, just ask twoor more jazz enthusiasts to define it for you.”“The jazz musician...
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Gordon Beck: From Two Perspectives – Solo & Duo
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“It concerns me that, now, at the time of his passing, he won't be accorded the place he's so clearly earned. The proof is there in the...
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The Complete Blue Note Hank Mobley Fifties Sessions by Bob Blumenthal
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Possessed of both his own conception, which made Mobley's music readily identifiable, and the equally rare inspiration that also made...
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A New Life of the Bebop Legend Dexter Gordon, Written by His Wife by David Hadju
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.While the editorial staff at JazzProfiles completes a feature on the recently received preview copy of SOPHISTICATED GIANT: The Life and...
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Paul Motian: The Drummer As Musician
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“One writer said, “Paul Motian can turn a set of drums into an orchestra without overshadowing his fellow players.” Another critic wrote,...
View Article"Count Your Change" - The Paul Horn Quintet [From the Archives]
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I really enjoyed playing on the Paul Horn composition, Count Your Change. Because it transitioned so easily from 4/4 to 5/4 time, it helped me...
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Jazz Visions: Lennie Tristano and His Legacy by Peter Ind
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Jazz Visions is a remarkable book which presents a fascinating double portrait of the subject and the author."- John Chilton,...
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An Interview with Johnny Griffin by Dom DeMichael
© - Steven A. Cerra - copyright protected; all rights reserved."When Bird [alto saxophonist, Charlie Parker] was alive, I wouldn't go near him too much," he said. "The same thing goes for [tenor...
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