Word: ellington
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...his name does not sound familiar, that's just how maverick clarinetist Tony Scott wanted it. Among the loudest horn blowers in jazz and a venerated sideman for greats like Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington, he was one of the rare masters of bebop--a jaunty sound previously deemed incompatible with the clarinet's soft tones. The arranger and composer also branched out to embrace sounds from countries like Japan and Senegal, helping launch the genre now known as world music. In doing so, he skirted classification--and high-voltage celebrity. "Without experimenters," he said, "jazz would die a lingering...
DIED. Bobby Rosengarden, 82, session drummer for artists from Duke Ellington to Harry Belafonte who became better known in the late 1960s as the musical smart aleck and bandleader on The Dick Cavett Show; in Sarasota, Fla. Rosengarden perfected the art of the witty, and sometimes risqué, "walk-on" song to accompany guests. Of Rosengarden's choice of tunes--Hello Dolly for Salvador Dalí, There'll Be Some Changes Made for transsexual Jan Morris--Cavett later said, "Luckily, the censor was dumber about music than...
Harris and his unconventional ensemble (a nonet including viola and cello) begin the album auspiciously with pieces from Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s 1970 “New Orleans Suite.” Here, Harris’ playing is at its bright-edged, percussive best, and his relentlessly-swinging approach pervades the whole band’s sound. Drummer Terreon Gully and bassist Derrick Hodge play with a bluesy intensity that recalls the hard-charging rhythm section of Dannie Richmond and Charles Mingus, and Steve Turre’s forceful trombone backgrounds make the ensemble sound twice...
...band already seems to have lost steam, even as Harris tries vainly to provide locomotion with his consistently stellar playing. The lean, muscular feel of the first tracks has deteriorated into a shapeless wash of strings and flute, a tone which blurs many of the remaining Ellington tunes, illuminating the danger of re-orchestrating the work of jazz’s most masterful arranger...
...exception to the forgettable latter portion of the Ellington suites comes with a pared-down trio version of “The Single Petal of a Rose.” On this, one of Ellington’s most beautiful compositions, Harris delicately draws out the richness of his instrument above warmly bowed bass and cello. His gentle touch proves beyond any doubt his astounding abilities as an instrumentalist. On Harris’s own “Gardner Meditations” suite, the group attempts a return to their early form, but never quite gets there: a few moments...