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Peter Bernstein - The Bill Milkowski Interview
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Guitarist Peter Bernstein and author, writer and critic Bill Milkowski are two of my favorite Jazz people.Imagine my delight, then, when I came...
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Harry Carney and Gerry Mulligan: Two of A Kind
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Is it significant, I wonder, that neither Harry Carney nor Gerry Mulligan could identify any of the baritone saxophone players in the...
View ArticleThe Phineas Newborn Jr Trio Jazz Scene USA (1962)
Phineas Newborn, Jr. with Al McKibbon on bass and Kenny Dennis on drums, with Oscar Brown, Jr. hosting on this 1962 episode of Jimmy Baker's "Jazz Scene USA."
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Parker, Young and the Problem of Imitators - Lee Konitz: Conversations on the...
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Jazz is not a style: it’s not back in a log cabin in Mississippi. We are urban musicians - we can’t go back there.Jazz is not a...
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Dr. Billy Taylor – Jazz Emissary
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The late Jazz writer, Gene Lees, once said of pianist Billy Taylor: "With his knowledge of history, musical and otherwise, Billy quietly...
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Herbie Mann and Jazz Flute
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Herbie Mann is a brilliant flutist with a light, skipping attack and an unfailing rhythmic sureness.Mann occupies a similar position to...
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George Shearing: An Essay by Dick Katz
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“The live performances in this collection are unusually interesting, and are in many instances, a true revelation. Far from sounding...
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Scott Wendholt: Moving The Jazz Trumpet Tradition Forward
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.I had no idea who Scott Wendholt was, but when I saw his name listed in the Criss Cross catalogue, I thought I would investigate...
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On A Misty Night with Peter Leitch - A JazzProfiles Snapshort
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Drawing on every available aspect of the guitar tradition, Leitch is a smooth and accomplished performer whose very facility sometimes...
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Bob Crosby, His Orchestra and The Bobcats
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.The big band era largely blossomed during the decade of the 1930’s bringing the Swing Era into existence.The circumstances of the World...
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Woody Herman, "Road Father" - Three Appreciations
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.There is an old admonition that states: “If you can’t say or write something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.”When that someone...
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Stan Kenton by George T. Simon
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Few leaders have been accorded as much love and respect as Kenton achieved, not only because of his dedication and his talent, but also...
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John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman - A Improbable Duo
© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.Shortly after John Coltrane formed his classic quartet with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums, they...
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Kenny Drew, Jr. - Unacknowledged and Underappreciated
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.For some Jazz fans, solo piano is the ultimate conceit. Unbridled and unrestrained, to their ears it represents a kind of...
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Remembering Gerry Teekens - 1935-2019
© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.“Criss Cross releases have a certain standardized and simple look, each one accompanied by lengthy liner notes reflecting a...
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