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Woody Herman: The Early Herds
© -Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I think one of the great tragedies in the field of writings about Jazz is that Gunther Schuller never completed his promised third volume on...
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West Coast Sounds: Millman, Graas & Pell
John Dunton uniquely treats the subject of West Coast Jazz by focusing on the work of three of its lesser known participants: Jack Millman, John Graas and Dave Pell."One of the false ideas prevalent in...
View ArticleSomara
Here's another of "the bloodless museum pieces" [Grover Sales] from Jazz on the West Coast.The tune is "Somara" by Carmell Jones; with Harold Land on tenor sax, Frank Strazzeri, piano, Red Mitchell,...
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Conrad Herwig - "Sketches of Spain Y Mas: The Latin Side of Miles Davis"
© - Steven A. Cerra - copyright protected; all rights reserved.I try to keep the topics for the blog postings somewhat spontaneous. All of them require a certain amount of technical planning for...
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Benny Goodman
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.As a teenager growing up in New England, listening to a stack of Benny Goodman Orchestra 78 rpm’s one wintry eve opened my ears for...
View ArticleThe Mitchell-Ruff Trio - The Catbird Seat
I’m always asking Jazz musicians and Jazz fans what they are listening to or for their opinions about my current listening and/or favorite recordings.It’s a fun way to get differing opinions about the...
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Wynton Kelly: 1931-1971 - “A Pure Spirit”
“Wynton’s situation … is worth noting as a startling example of the strange irrelevance of merit to fame in Jazz.”- Orrin Keepnews, Jazz Producer and Writer“Nothing about his playing seems calculated...
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The 80th Anniversary of Coleman Hawkins' Out-of-Body Experience
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“This is the granddaddy of jazz ballads, the quintessential torch song, and the ultimate measuring rod for tenor sax players of all...
View ArticleSolar
Boppin' and Burnin' The Blues on JazzProfiles with Mike on alto saxophone and Joe Farnsworth on drums.
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Reflectory: The Life and Music of Pepper Adams by Gary Carner
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Looking back, my journey has been an extraordinary blessing. On one level, Pepper Adams’ music has immeasurably enriched me....
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Carmell Jones: Remarkable and Resilient
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“… Carmell had the ability to blow everyone out of the studio, but it was not his nature….”- Todd Selbert“… he was a native of the...
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Jazz Festival - The Photography of Jim Marshall
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."This extraordinary book documents, through the brilliant photography of Jim Marshall, one of the most important periods in the...
View ArticleBlue Skies
Paul Whiteman's Sax - Soc-tette. L-R: Al Gallodoro, Sal Franzella, Jack Bell, Frank Gallodoro, Artie Deringer, Vince Capone, George Ford, Frank Simeone, and Murray Cohen. Here's a recreation of the...
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Mulligan and Desmond in the Studio - From "Jazz Heritage" by Martin Williams
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“The Washington Post has called Martin Williams "the most knowledgeable, open-minded, and perceptive American jazz critic today,"...
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The Four Freshmen: A Vocal Quartet with Quarter Tones
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.In retrospect, it’s amazing to consider having ever taken The Four Freshmen for granted.Yet for many years, that’s exactly what I did.I...
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The Woody Herman Big New Herd at The 1959 Monterey Jazz Festival
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Writing in The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Barry Kernfeld, ed., Sarah Velez and Paul M. Laird offer this overview of The Monterey Jazz...
View ArticleJMW Turner - "No Sun in Venice" Modern Jazz Quartet
No Sun in Venice is a 1957 French-Italian drama film directed by Roger Vadim. It was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival. The soundtrack for the film was composed by pianist John...
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"Hear Me Talkin' to Ya'"- Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved."Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn," - Charlie...
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Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich - The Willis Conover Interview
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Impresario Norman Granz often got slammed for putting on his Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts by Jazz “purists” who accused him of everything...
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Part 1 - The John Williams Interview with Steve Voce
I am bringing this piece up again in anticipation of posting Part 3 of Steve's interview with John Williams on these pages tomorrow, Oct 21, 2019. You can locate Part 2 if the interview in the sidebar...
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