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Stan Kenton - The Kenton Era
© -Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“In every time there are men whose special role it is to give expression to the spirit of their day. The become its symbols, each in his own...
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"Swingin' in Seattle" - Cannonball Adderley Quintet Live at the Penthouse...
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved. “The way I saw it, Julian was one of the most completely alive human beings I had ever encountered. Seeing and hearing him on the bandstand,...
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Michel Petrucciani - One Night in Karlsruhe
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved. “Over the course of this year [2009] , Dreyfus Jazz, the French-American label, will issue remastered, repackaged, and in most cases expanded...
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Stan Kenton - The Innovations Orchestra [From the Archives]
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."About that Stan Kenton band,” comedian Mort Sahl was telling audiences around this time, "a waiter dropped a tray and three couples got up to...
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Stan Kenton: New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm - Parts 1 and 2 [From the...
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“There can be little doubt Stan Kenton saw himself as a musical visionary—a questing, exploratory spirit—and it's a tribute to his...
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The Blue Note Years of Dizzy Reece by Tony Hall, Leonard Feather, Ira Gitler...
© -Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Reece is the opposite of the performer who aims only for effects he is certain of attaining…his fondness for wide intervals and the grasp...
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"Standards in Silhouettes" - the Kenton-Mathieu Alliance
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“... the sound of Kenton is the battle cry of a squadron of stratosphere-scraping trumpeters blowing with such fury that athletic cups must...
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André Previn - The Jazz Years in California
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rightsAndré Previn died yesterday [February 28, 2019] at the age of 89 and the editorial staff at JazzProfiles wanted to memorialize him on these pages by...
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Pee Wee Russell: A Singular, Scintillating & Shuddery Style
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.CHARLES ELLSWORTH "PEE WEE" RUSSELLBorn: St. Louis, Mo., March 27, 1906Died: Alexandria, Va., February 15, 1969Musician - Legend - Jazz...
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Don Menza Sextet - Live at Carmelo's
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“These live performances at Carmelo’s [were a great experience for me. It was a chance to play with some of my favorite players and, as time...
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RIP, Ed Bickert The great and revered Canadian jazz guitarist died in Toronto...
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Peter Hum wrote this obituary of Ed Bickert in The Kingston [Ontario] Whig Standard, March 2, 2019.I’m posting it as a remembrance of Ed on...
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Hank Mancini: Jazz Musician
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved. “Hank Mancini was the most successful and certainly the most visible composer in movie history. Most film composers do their work in...
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Early Morning Blues - The Rein de Graaff Trio
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved. Since its inception 11 years ago, writing this blog has brought me into contact with many new Jazz friends and musicians, among whom are three...
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Barend Boy ten Hove - Jazz Caricatures
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“During the years after World War II there were a large number ofjazz clubs in Amsterdam. These clubs were of different character.Some were...
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Stan Kenton: The Relentless Searcher
© - Steven A. Cerra - copyright protected; all rights reserved."Some of the wise boys [i.e. Jazz critics] who say my music is loud, blatant, and that's all, should see the faces of the kids who have...
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Feldman Swing Club - Jazz Journal, April 1966
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Mark Gilbert, editor of JazzJournal, granted copyright permission to reprint this article about the Feldman Swing Club that first appeared...
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Shorty Rogers - An Invisible Orchard
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.At one point in my life, the music of Shorty Rogers was anything but “invisible.” Heck, I came of age as a Jazz drummer during the heyday...
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André Previn - Maestro and Music
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“An enigmatic fellow, Andre Previn. Intensely private, yet given to scandal and something of a showman...., one of the most thoughtful and...
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Verve Norman Granz Centennial Celebration
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Given the legacy of recorded Jazz that Norman Granz has left Jazz fans, the editorial staff at JazzProfiles thought that the least it...
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Drummer Tony Williams - A Mid-Career Interview
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Given its percussive bent, the editorial staff at JazzProfiles has posted extensively about drummer Tony Williams [1945-1997] in previous blog...
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