PDF Jazz Music

Bill Cosby Story of Sitting in With Sonny Stitt

Jim — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:06:00 +0000

Bill Cosby is one of the greatest story tellers of our time. Even the most mundane story keeps you riveted when Bill tells it.

What alot of people don't know however is that Bill originally wanted to be a jazz musician in his early days. This was before he started making ALOT more money than he ever could as a jazz player.

I stumbled across this Dick Cavett episode (must be from the 1970s) of Bill telling a great story of sitting in with some jazz giants, Reggie Workman and the "Isaac Stern" of jazz, Sonny Stitt. This is pretty long but with Bill telling the story, you can totally picture the scene. I'm sure if there are any drummers reading this, they will totally be able to relate. Enjoy...!

Gene Harris Jazz Competition Information

Jim — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:03:00 +0000

A long time subscriber and customer of PDFjazzmusic.com Brad Peters has let me know of a terrific competition that will be held at the Gene Harris Jazz Festival this year. This sounds like a great way to get your group heard and for a chance to win a recording contract. I have put details below, but be sure to visit the Gene Harris Jazz Festival website to download necessary materials.

2008 Gene Harris Jazz Competition

Rules and Recording Details

The Gene Harris Jazz Festival and Origin Records are excited to announce the first annual Gene Harris Jazz Competition. We are looking for the next great unknown jazz artists. The winner will receive a CD Recording Project to be released through Origin Records and will open for Roy Haynes and the "Birds of a Feather" head line concert in June 2008. Here are the rules

Age

There are no age restrictions, bands that are invited to participate and have minors as members must obtain parental/guardian permission and provide their own chaperones.

Existing Recording Agreements

Neither you, nor any member of your group or ensemble, may be signed with any other major label. You may have self-produced and marketed CDs, distributed through CDBaby or equivalent, etc., but not through any national distributor.

Ensemble Size

Trios to Sextets (3 to 6) (no Solos or Duo acts)

We are looking for instrumental based groups. Any vocals should be in a supportive role and not be the main focus of the presentation. Student groups need to approach this as "professional jazz artists," and consider long term commitment as an ensemble as well as a name. (do not enter as the University of Somewhere Jazz Combo # 3).

Musical Content and Submission

Electronic Video submission is preferred and can be of any standard format, including links to other sites that have your material on them. (YouTube). DVDs and CDs can also be submitted by mail, postage prepaid. Note: manual submissions will become the property of the Gene Harris Jazz Festival, and will not be returned.

Submissions should be a maximum of 15 minutes and should demonstrate your full range of abilities and styles.

You must have some (if not all) Original Music. It is OK to have some arrangements of standards, but we are looking for new talent and ideas.

Bands will be judged on musicality, professionalism, presentation, arrangements and creativity.

Submissions must include:

Name of group, ensemble, and individual artists

Bios of all of the personnel that would come if selected to participate

Promotional materials (2 pages maximum)

Stage set up and instrument requirements

Submission Deadline is May 1^st 2008

A Non-Refundable Processing Fee of $20 is required for your Submission to be considered. Processing Fees can be paid through the Gene Harris Store go to (link) or by check made out to:the Gene Harris Jazz Festival

and sent to:

Brad Peters

Gene Harris Jazz Festival

1910 University Dr.

Boise, ID 83725-1560

Attn. Jazz Competition

Electronic Submissions go to: bpeters@boisestate.edu , johnbishop@originarts.com ,

allegrojazz@yahoo.com

Mailed Submissions - one copy each go to:

Brad Peters

Gene Harris Jazz Festival

1910 University Dr.

Boise, ID 83725-1560

John Bishop
Origin Records
8649 Island Drive South

Seattle, WA 98118

The Jazz Competition

A maximum of 10 groups may be selected to participate and must travel at their own expense to Boise for the Jazz in June event. The dates for the Competition will be June 18^th - 21^st, 2008. We will have arranged preferred festival rates on lodging at certain hotels, subject to availability.

All participants will perform on Wed. June 18^th and receive feedback and comments from industry professionals. From these performances semi-final bands may be selected to perform again on Thurs. June 19^th in the morning. A maximum of 4 bands may be selected as finalists and will perform head to head on sets for Club Night June 19th in the Big Easy Concert House in downtown Boise.

The winner will be chosen by a combination of audience votes, judge's choice and artistic quality as established by Origin Records and the Gene Harris Jazz Festival.

The winner will be awarded a CD Recording Project to be released through Origin/OA2 Records and will open for Roy Haynes and the "Birds of a Feather" headline concert on June 20th 2008.

The Festival and Origin records reserve the right to not choose a winner due to a lack of artistic quality.

Groups that are eliminated during the competition are invited to stay and enjoy the rest of the Festival and will have the opportunity to perform on June 20th and 21st in the Gene Harris Band Shell during the day as a part of the concerts at the event.

Finalists will be required to promptly furnish such additional information, and to execute such additional agreements, as may be requested or required by The Gene Harris Jazz Festival and/or Origin Records prior to the competition, including any necessary acknowledgments, consents, waivers, and/or releases.

Gene Harris Jazz Festival & Origin Records

Jazz Competition CD Recording Details

Winner will receive:

Studio Time

- Up to a Total of $1500.00 from the Gene Harris Festival to record with.

- This will be paid directly to a recording studio

(to be approved by Origin and the Festival)

- Artist will supply Origin with a production ready master

- Origin will retain right of refusal of final project depending on its

compatibility with the Origin catalog

CDs

- Artist will receive 150 CDs free to sell or do with as they wish

- Artist may buy additional CDs for $5.00 each.

- Origin will design the CD package, produce 1000 CDs, and add to catalog

- Origin will assign the CD to Origin or OA2 Records imprint depending on

which is the better fit musically

A licensing deal with Origin Records

- Artist retains ownership of publishing and sound recording

- Artist pays mechanical licensing for use of "cover" songs

- Artist handles their own taxes for their CD sales

- Origin will license the CD for 4 years with rights to use sound files

indefinitely for promotional purposes by Origin & Gene Harris Festival

- Origin has exclusive distribution worldwide

- Total payout from Origin to artist for the initial pressing will be 150

free CDs plus 2/3 of wholesale price on additional copies ($5.00 ea)

Distribution

- CD will be available through City Hall Distributors with access to 2400

retailers worldwide

- Digital sales are handled through IODA on 100+ digital music sites

including itunes, rhapsody, emusic, etc...

Promotion

- CD and one-sheets will be mailed to 300 press and radio contacts

nationwide including major magazines, JazzWeek reporting stations, music

licensing & databases

- CD added to Origin's website: new releases, recordings, artist page, and

news

- Origin keeps artist updated on airplay, reviews, etc...

Download Competition Rules and Recording Details (PDF)

Visit Gene Harris Jazz Festival Website

Stan Getz, Coltrane and Oscar Peterson Video

Jim — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:12:00 +0000

In the history of jazz, the late 50's and early 60's might be one of the best times to be a jazz player and listener. The era of rock and roll was still a few years away and alot of musicians were coming into their prime years.

Ok, so we had lost Charlie Parker in 1955 but ALOT of great players were on the scene after the bebop and post bob eras. The 1960's started to change everything in the music (and everything else!) but 1960 was still a great year for jazz. Miles Davis had recorded Kind of Blue the previous year but things were still cooking along and straight ahead in 1960.

On that note, check out this video featuring three giants of jazz - Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz and John Coltrane. This may be the only video in existence of these three on the band stand together. Coltrane recorded Giant Steps not long after this and died just a few years after this video was recorded. This will be a classic 100 years from today. Hope you enjoy it.

John Coltrane - Stan Getz - Oscar Peterson / Hackensack
Uploaded by Delta_Mike

Oscar Peterson Jazz Exercises: Young Piano Players

Jim — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:29:00 +0000

I've said it before on this blog, but I'll say it again: the internet is amazing! I was just surfing through what is becoming a favorite sight of mine - Scribd.com

Scribd.com is a place where you can share documents in just about any format, but people usually upload PDF files or .doc files. The cool thing about this site is that you can share the documents to other places on the internet - kind of like YouTube allows you to embed videos elsewhere - but these are documents. I have posted many videos on this blog but never documents like this.

I thought I would try posting with a document embedded on this blog post.

I ran across an exercise book that Oscar Peterson put together back in the 1960's. This book is copyrighted and I'm not sure how someone was able to upload this, but the embed code was available for anyone, sooooo....

I know this is small but you can expand it to fit your screen, then print if you'd like. To view the book in full screen, click the itty bitty button on the far right top of the screen below. It should open up to full screen mode.

Have fun, here is the file:

Jazz Gig Guide for 2008

Jim — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:06:00 +0000

When I lived in Chicago, a lot of players would come through town….but I would always seem to hear about it AFTER they came through and performed. It seems as if I didn’t pick up a Reader (Chicago’s Village Voice basically) every week to check, I always seem to miss them. If you live in NYC, its easy to catch just about anyone anytime, but those of us that live in jazz deprived areas, its not that easy.

As usual, the internet has made it easy to do one more thing. I just ran across the Jazz Gig Guide for 2008. A listing of today’s touring jazz artists that links to their personal touring schedules. Just a quick glance at a couple of artists’ schedules for 2008 uncovered two guys I wouldn’t mind catching near me – Tom Harrell in Detroit in Feb and Wynton Marsalis in South Bend, IN in Feb. These are 2 places that are only a couple hour’s drive from me. There are dozens of links to each guy’s schedule. This makes it easy to get out your calendar and start penciling in some jazz performances that you want to catch near you this year.

If you want to stay current, bookmark this page. Maybe one day I’ll create a page like this for convenience on PDFjazzmusic.com, but looks like someone already did all the work. Works for me!

New Oscar Peterson Jazz Video Libary

Jim — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:25:00 +0000

Well, we lost another jazz giant yesterday….the great Oscar Peterson. If you haven’t heard already, Oscar died in his home, a suburb of Toronto, at the age of 82. I guess he had been fading for a few months now.

There are few jazz greats that I really wanted to see in concert or a club one time before they died and Oscar Peterson was one of them. Unfortunately I never got the chance to catch Oscar during his playing days. If you ever did, consider yourself lucky. The guy was one of the most amazing piano players of the 20^th century.

There are some players that come along that play so good that it is hard to even comprehend what they are doing on the instrument. Oscar’s technique was so comprehensive that I had a hard time imagining anyone can actually play jazz piano with that much facility while still swinging their ass off. Thankfully, Oscar was around for quite some time and left us with a vast body of recorded work.

My tribute to Oscar is a simple one, but one that I hope you will find not only entertaining but a fitting tribute to this jazz piano virtuoso.

I have put together a video library of some of Oscar’s greatest moments on video. There is not much to say about it. You just have to go there.

Visit the here Oscar Peterson Video Library here.

I am working on putting together video libraries for many more jazz artists. Below are a few more complete. They don’t link together yet, but they will soon. Hope you guys enjoy these.

Oscar Peterson Video Library

Charlie Parker Video Library

Keith Jarrett Video Library

Miles Davis Video Library

Dave Spring Donation Video

Jim — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:16:00 +0000

The Dave Spring Benefit was a great success, thanks to all of you who donated for the cause. You guys chipped in over $3500 for Dave and his family.

I have made a video for you with some details and my kids and I draw the winner of the Flip Video camera. It is pretty lame on the production side, but it does the job. My wife couldn't believe I would put something so "amateurish" on the internet. I'm sure the winner of the video camera won't mind! My kids and I had fun making it anyway.

Posted below the drawing video is some footage I took of the event. I just put background music to it so you wouldn't hear all of the mumble jumble conversation going on.

Feel free to leave any comments if you wise. I can't say enough about how cool this Flip Video camera is. I didn't have time to make a video about that, but you can watch a video from the company about how easy it is to use here.

Thanks again to everyone who made this a terrific success. We will definitely do it again next year.

Drawing for the Flip Video Camera

Video from the Dave Spring Benefit, December 13th, 2007

$299 Software for Free

Jim — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:07:00 +0000

This post doesn't have anything to do with jazz per se, but it is such a great deal I had to let readers of this blog (if there are any!) know about it. (If you are Mac user, this software may not work for you. It comes as a .exe file. )

If you have ever wondered how people make instructional videos by recording the action on their computer screen while they are talking, then you will absolutely love this.

I have used this program to show features of music software, and I even made "scrolling" charts by recording the score of a chart while the music plays.

The program I have used to do this is called Camtasia Studio and it normally goes for $299. The first time I saw it in action I was absolutely amazed at how cool it was. I”ve used version 2.0 for awhile now. But….

I just downloaded a complete working copy of Camtasia Studio 3 for nothing. Totally legal. No catches or gimmicks, really.

The company (Techsmith) that makes this software is now promoting their "upgrade" to version 5, but version 3 works just fine and does everything you need.

(Mac Users: This is a .exe file so I believe it will only work on PC.)
To get your free working Camtasia Studio 3 version, do these steps:

1. Download the free trial version of Camtasia Studio 3

Then....

2. Click here to go to a promotion page, then complete your name, country and e-mail address and Techsmith will send you the software key to unlock the program.

3. Just install the program you downloaded from step 1 above and then enter the software key you receive from Techsmith and you'll have a fully working version of Camtasia Studio 3 on your PC.

Click here to see the company demo of the program made by Techsmith.

There are so many uses for this software, I figured you had to at least know about this.

Saved you $299 too!. :)

Consider it an early Christmas gift. :)

Have a terrific Thanksgiving weekend!

Jon Faddis Demonstrates Attacks in Upper Register

Jim — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 23:20:00 +0000

One of my favorite pastimes in the last year or so has been to surf around Youtube for jazz videos and videos of some of my favorite jazz players. I just ran across a very short video of Jon Faddis talking about "attacks". What an amazing player. One thing that I've learned though as I get older is that no one is ever totally born with the ability they make look so easy.

My opinion now is that people that can do anything amazingly well has practiced their ass off to get to that level. Sure they were born with talents, but there is no substitute for working hard to get better. Tiger Woods is a case in point. He could play golf better than 99% of the population at age 12, but he is the most focused and practiced player on the PGA tour today. Its no wonder why he is so good.

Take one look at Jon Faddis's lip and you can tell this guy has paid some dues. Al Vizzuti has a lip similar to his and he is a legendary practicer. A friend of mine who studied with Al told me that he is divorced twice because he spent more time with his trumpet then he did his wives. (That's what Al told him apparantly)

This video is short but it shows the amazing ability of Faddis on the trumpet. Thought you guys (especially trumpet players) would like this one.

Cannonball Sextet Video

Jim — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:03:00 +0000

One of the best things about the evolution of the internet lately is the amount of jazz videos that are available now - submitted by people all over the world. These are videos that you normally would never see on mainstream (or even non-mainstream) television or other media. When television was somewhat newer, and people's taste were somewhat hipper (at least in the U.S.), I think TV programmers were more apt to run jazz quartets, quintets and such. Once the Beatles hit the scene in the 60s, jazz seems to have dwindled from site on television. I think Europe is still somewhat more progressive and appreciative of jazz as an art form, but my fellow Europeans may beg to differ on that one.

One of my friends in Sweden sent me this terrific video of Cannonball and his group from 1963 German television. Its pretty long, but the first cut is absolutely fantastic. Would make a good combo club selection...:)

Take a few minutes on your next break from work and watch this one. A true gem.

Cannonball Adderley Sextet
Uploaded by alternativa

Classic 70s Rock Tunes Arranged for Big Band

Jim — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:53:00 +0000

If you are a lover of classic 70s rock bands, and a lover of big band jazz, you’re going to love what Ryan Fraley and the guys down in Indianapolis have been working on. Ryan emailed me a few months ago and leaked news of a project he was working on with some sample mp3s of the charts. I wanted to let you guys know then, but he wanted to keep it under wraps until now.

Ryan has taken some classic rock tunes and arranged them for big band – and the results are amazing! I think they came out better than the originals, but I’m biased to the jazz side somewhat. My favorite band from the 70’s was Yes. Rick Wakeman was my non-jazz hero as well. I thought it was cool that a guy could be such a virtuoso on the piano and be a long haired beer drinking rock star. Anyway, take a listen to some cuts from this interesting big band record. Get on the mailing list and buy this thing when its released. CLICK HERE to listen

Playjazznow.com - Vocal Tracks now Available

Jim — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:36:00 +0000

One of the first experiences I had playing jazz with a professional rhythm section was with the Jamey Aebersold records (yes, they were 33 RPM) back in high school. I had a very hip band director who purchased the first 8 or 9 records (that’s all there was then), and I promptly borrowed them and wore them out basically. Back in the late 70’s, it wasn’t easy to find jazz educational materials like you can find today. The internet has made finding jazz materials really easy and there is enough material out now to keep you busy for 3 lifetimes.

One of my subscribers sent me a press release announcing a new series of play along tracks for vocals. Playjazznow.com is a very cool site that basically takes the Jamey Aebersold concept and puts it on the internet – play along tracks that are instantly downloadable. The site is very comprehensive and should meet the needs of just about any level of aspiring jazz player. Pick up Steve Neffs books in PDF, then head over to playjazznow.com – then start practicing. No excuses anymore. Start becoming a better jazz player TODAY. Here is Bill’s press release:

=======================================================

CHICAGO, IL (September 24, 2007) – In its desire to provide jazz educators and students the kind of materials they can really use, PlayJazzNow.com announces a new series of sing-along tracks.

“I’ve been hearing from a lot of jazz vocalists who want what instrumentalists have had for years,” says PlayJazzNow “trackmeister” Bill Harrison, a professional jazz bassist who has been playing and teaching for nearly 30 years. “We’ve just posted arrangements of some of the best loved standards, in comfortable keys for singers.”

Instead of chord progressions only, these tracks feature typical introductions, several choruses of the chord changes to the song, and a written ending. Vocalists can now have their own personal trio on call whenever they feel like practicing! As they have in the past, PlayJazzNow provides free downloadable charts in all the available keys for each tune.

Over the past fifteen months, PlayJazzNow has garnered a reputation for producing high quality, swinging tracks for horn players, bassists, guitar and piano players and drummers. “The instrumental tracks have proven to be a great help to many musicians all over the world. Now vocalists can get in the game as well,” says Harrison.

Bill Harrison is an accomplished jazz bassist who has performed with many jazz masters including; Clark Terry, James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Kenny Burrell, Bunky Green and Joe Daley. He has been a faculty member of Chicago State University and the American Conservatory of Music, and has taught at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Clark Terry’s Great Plains Jazz Camp and the Saskatchewan Summer School for the Arts. Harrison currently plays jazz, commercial and theatre gigs in Chicago and maintains two teaching studios.

Ron McCroby Whistling Videos

Jim — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:32:00 +0000

When I was a kid I learned to whistle in and really could never whistle out until I was an adult. My brothers and sisters always thought it was a little strange that I only could whistle inward so I practiced being able to whistle outwards as well. When I started getting involved in jazz, I thought it would be cool to be able to whistle jazz lines by whistling both in and out. I worked on it and got pretty good at not having to breathe while I kept a line going. It was for my own amusement and only my wife heard me whistling (and she said it hurt her ears.)

Anyway, before Johnny Carson retired in ’92, I tuned in one night and caught Ron McCroby whistling on the show and was absolutely blown away. He uses all kinds of articulations to produce amazing facility within his whistle. He whistles perfectly in tune and he definitely makes all the changes…something I never came close to mastering. Check out this video containing that original Johnny Carson clip. You will be amazed if you have never heard him. I can only imagine if Charlie Parker heard this guy. They would have a ball trading fours. Here’s the clip

Max Roach Dies at Age 83

Jim — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 02:58:00 +0000

Max Roach, a Founder of Modern Jazz, Dies at 83

By PETER KEEPNEWS

Published: August 16, 2007

Max Roach, a founder of modern jazz who rewrote the rules of drumming in the 1940's and spent the rest of his career breaking musical barriers and defying listeners' expectations, died Wednesday night at his home in New York. He was 83.

His death was announced today by a spokesman for Blue Note records, on which he frequently appeared. No cause was given. Mr. Roach had been known to be ill for several years.

As a young man, Mr. Roach, a percussion virtuoso capable of playing at the most brutal tempos with subtlety as well as power, was among a small circle of adventurous musicians who brought about wholesale changes in jazz. He remained adventurous to the end.

Over the years he challenged both his audiences and himself by working not just with standard jazz instrumentation, and not just in traditional jazz venues, but in a wide variety of contexts, some of them well beyond the confines of jazz as that word is generally understood.

He led a "double quartet" consisting of his working group of trumpet, saxophone, bass and drums plus a string quartet. He led an ensemble consisting entirely of percussionists. He dueted with uncompromising avant-gardists like the pianist Cecil Taylor and the saxophonist Anthony Braxton. He performed unaccompanied. He wrote music for plays by Sam Shepard and dance pieces by Alvin Ailey. He collaborated with video artists, gospel choirs and hip-hop performers.

Mr. Roach explained his philosophy to The New York Times in 1990: "You can't write the same book twice. Though I've been in historic musical situations, I can't go back and do that again. And though I run into artistic crises, they keep my life interesting."

He found himself in historic situations from the beginning of his career. He was still in his teens when he played drums with the alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, a pioneer of modern jazz, at a Harlem after-hours club in 1942. Within a few years, Mr. Roach was himself recognized as a pioneer in the development of the sophisticated new form of jazz that came to be known as bebop.

He was not the first drummer to play bebop - Kenny Clarke, 10 years his senior, is generally credited with that distinction - but he quickly established himself as both the most imaginative percussionist in modern jazz and the most influential.

In Mr. Roach's hands, the drum kit became much more than a means of keeping time. He saw himself as a full-fledged member of the front line, not simply as a supporting player.

Layering rhythms on top of rhythms, he paid as much attention to a song's melody as to its beat. He developed, as the jazz critic Burt Korall put it, "a highly responsive, contrapuntal style," engaging his fellow musicians in an open-ended conversation while maintaining a rock-solid pulse. His approach "initially mystified and thoroughly challenged other drummers," Mr. Korall wrote, but quickly earned the respect of his peers and established a new standard for the instrument.

Mr. Roach was an innovator in other ways. In the late 1950s, he led a group that was among the first in jazz to regularly perform pieces in waltz time and other unusual meters in addition to the conventional 4/4. In the early 1960s, he was among the first to use jazz to address racial and political issues, with works like the album-length "We Insist! Freedom Now Suite."

In 1972, he became one of the first jazz musicians to teach full time at the college level when he was hired as a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. And in 1988, he became the first jazz musician to receive a so-called genius grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

Maxwell Roach was born on Jan. 10, 1924, in the small town of New Land, N.C., and grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. He began studying piano at a neighborhood Baptist church when he was 8 and took up the drums a few years later.

Even before he graduated from Boys High School in 1942, savvy New York jazz musicians knew his name. As a teenager he worked briefly with Duke Ellington's orchestra at the Paramount Theater and with Charlie Parker at Monroe's Uptown House in Harlem, where he took part in jam sessions that helped lay the groundwork for bebop.

By the middle 1940's, he had become a ubiquitous presence on the New York jazz scene, working in the 52nd Street nightclubs with Parker, the trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and other leading modernists. Within a few years he had become equally ubiquitous on record, participating in such seminal recordings as Miles Davis's "Birth of the Cool" sessions in 1949 and 1950.

He also found time to study composition at the Manhattan School of Music. He had planned to major in percussion, he later recalled in an interview, but changed his mind after a teacher told him his technique was incorrect. "The way he wanted me to play would have been fine if I'd been after a career in a symphony orchestra," he said, "but it wouldn't have worked on 52nd Street."

Mr. Roach made the transition from sideman to leader in 1954, when he and the young trumpet virtuoso Clifford Brown formed a quintet. That group, which specialized in a muscular and stripped-down version of bebop that came to be called hard bop, took the jazz world by storm. But it was short-lived.

In June 1956, at the height of the Brown-Roach quintet's success, Brown was killed in an automobile accident, along with Richie Powell, the group's pianist, and Powell's wife. The sudden loss of his friend and co-leader, Mr. Roach later recalled, plunged him into depression and heavy drinking from which it took him years to emerge.

Nonetheless, he kept working. He honored his existing nightclub bookings with the two surviving members of his group, the saxophonist Sonny Rollins and the bassist George Morrow, before briefly taking time off and putting together a new quartet. By the end of the 50's, seemingly recovered from his depression, he was recording prolifically, mostly as a leader but occasionally as a sideman with Mr. Rollins and others.

The personnel of Mr. Roach's working group changed frequently over the next decade, but the level of artistry and innovation remained high. His sidemen included such important musicians as the saxophonists Eric Dolphy, Stanley Turrentine and George Coleman and the trumpet players Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham and Booker Little. Few of his groups had a pianist, making for a distinctively open ensemble sound in which Mr. Roach's drums were prominent.

Always among the most politically active of jazz musicians, Mr. Roach had helped the bassist Charles Mingus establish one of the first musician-run record companies, Debut, in 1952. Eight years later, the two organized a so-called rebel festival in Newport, R.I., to protest the Newport Jazz Festival's treatment of performers. That same year, Mr. Roach collaborated with the lyricist Oscar Brown Jr. on "We Insist! Freedom Now Suite," which played variations on the theme of black people's struggle for equality in the United States and Africa.

The album, which featured vocals by Abbey Lincoln (Mr. Roach's frequent collaborator and, from 1962 to 1970, his wife), received mixed reviews: many critics praised its ambition, but some attacked it as overly polemical. Mr. Roach was undeterred.

"I will never again play anything that does not have social significance," he told Down Beat magazine after the album's release. "We American jazz musicians of African descent have proved beyond all doubt that we're master musicians of our instruments. Now what we have to do is employ our skill to tell the dramatic story of our people and what we've been through."

"We Insist!" was not a commercial success, but it emboldened Mr. Roach to broaden his scope as a composer. Soon he was collaborating with choreographers, filmmakers and Off Broadway playwrights on projects, including a stage version of "We Insist!"

As his range of activities expanded, his career as a bandleader became less of a priority. At the same time, the market for his uncompromising brand of small-group jazz began to diminish. By the time he joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts in 1972, teaching had come to seem an increasingly attractive alternative to the demands of the musician's life.

Joining the academy did not mean turning his back entirely on performing. In the early '70s, Mr. Roach joined with seven fellow drummers to form M'Boom, an ensemble that achieved tonal and coloristic variety through the use of xylophones, chimes, steel drums and other percussion instruments. Later in the decade he formed a new quartet, two of whose members - the saxophonist Odean Pope and the trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater - would perform and record with him off and on for more than two decades.

He also participated in a number of unusual experiments. He appeared in concert in 1983 with a rapper, two disc jockeys and a team of break dancers. A year later, he composed music for an Off Broadway production of three Sam Shepard plays, for which he won an Obie Award. In 1985, he took part in a multimedia collaboration with the video artist Kit Fitzgerald and the stage director George Ferencz.

Perhaps his most ambitious experiment in those years was the Max Roach Double Quartet, a combination of his quartet and the Uptown String Quartet. Jazz musicians had performed with string accompaniment before, but rarely if ever in a setting like this, where the string players were an equal part of the ensemble and were given the opportunity to improvise. Reviewing a Double Quartet album in The Times in 1985, Robert Palmer wrote, "For the first time in the history of jazz recording, strings swing as persuasively as any saxophonist or drummer."

This endeavor had personal as well as musical significance for Mr. Roach: the Uptown String Quartet's founder and viola player was his daughter Maxine. She survives him, as do two other daughters, Ayo and Dara, and two sons, Raoul and Darryl.

By the early '90s, Mr. Roach had reduced his teaching load and was again based in New York year-round, traveling to Amherst only for two residencies and a summer program each year. He was still touring with his quartet as recently as 2000, and he also remained active as a composer. In 2002 he wrote and performed the music for "How to Draw a Bunny," a documentary about the artist Ray Johnson.

Excellent Straight Ahead Swing CD

Jim — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 02:11:00 +0000

Jim Kerl has been a subscriber and customer of pdfjazzmusic.com for quite awhile now, I don’t even remember how long now but its been awhile. He recently sent me a link to a CD that his big band just put out and I thought I would make mention of it here. This CD is not Maria Schneider, but if you are into excellent straight ahead big band it is definitely worth taking a listen to. All of the charts are standards pretty much but they are played well and soloists are very good as well.

You know, there still is room for straight ahead big band playing. One of the charts on this CD, (Basie), brought back some fond memories of playing with Rob Parton’s big band in Chicago at the Old and New Moosehead Bar and Grill. (both of them long gone now). At the end of every Wednesday night gig, we would play Basie and it seems as though it got faster and faster every week (depending on how much beer Rob or the saxes had consumed I think!) That chart always got more applause than all the others. Audiences always loved the energy and the chart in general. Anyway, take a listen to some of the charts here.

New Recordings for Birds Eyeview and Shuffle This

Jim — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 16:37:00 +0000

Big thanks to the Jazz Celebration Big Band in PA for recording a couple of my charts for the website – Birds Eyeview and Shuffle This.

You can listen to these charts here.

These 2 charts were recorded live at Bucks County Community College, Newtown, PA

Not easy readers by any means and they did a great job! Thanks again you guys!

Jim Pugh - Conrad Herwig at Their Finest

Jim — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:07:00 +0000

Ok, this is another post specifically for trombone players, but what a great video it is. Just when you thought trombone was dead in the water, videos like this will totally inspire you.

I first met Jim Pugh in 1983 at a 6 week summer workshop at the Eastman School of Music. I had watched and heard him play with Woody's band in the 70's and was always inspired by his almost perfect approach to playing the instrument. Classically trained, but with jazz roots too. What a great player. He has everything together. One of the best all around players today. He can basically play anything and his control and sound are as good as ever.

And Conrad Herwig? What can you say...the guy is amazing. One of my all-time favorites. He can play loud as hell and still move around as good as Bill Watrous or Fontana. I first heard him with Toshiko Akiyoshi's band back in the 80's and his soloing blew me away. It was like Michael Brecker on trombone. After Fontana and Watrous, we need guys like this to keep it moving forward.

So enjoy some of the best jazz trombone playing around below. Great chart too!

Internet Video Has Arrived - Even For Presidential Elections!

Jim — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:09:00 +0000

This post has nothing to do with jazz, but the topic is historical I think. My home page is set to google.com and I just noticed that there is a link to a page on Youtube allowing you to submit a question via video to the presidential candidates for the debates on July 23^rd. Amazing. Youtube has actually become part of our democratic process! This election will be the first “youtube” election! I’ll bet more people will get information on the candidates from Youtube then from any other source.

Like it or not, video on the internet has definitely arrived. I have been using video a little bit for pdfjazzmusic.com over the last year or so, but soon I am going to start using it much more to communicate with you guys. I just purchased a Logitech webcam (on the internet of course) and I have some terrific software that will convert the video quickly to flv format for posting on the site. Both were very inexpensive too. Click here to pick up a Logitech webcam for under $30. (It has gotten some good reviews and I’m looking forward to putting it into action.)

Video is here to stay on the internet. If you have a jazz group, get some good video and get it on your site. In a couple of years, I think web visitors will expect video on websites. It will be like turning on your television. Who knows, television and the internet may be seamlessly combined by then. What a great time we live in isn’t it? To think that just 25 years ago not one of us even had a computer, let alone the internet. It wasn’t until Al Gore (self-proclaimed “internet founder”) came along that we all were blessed with this wonderful tool.. J

As soon as I get the new Logitech webcam I will post a welcome video to this blog.

Maynard Would be Proud

Jim — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 05:57:00 +0000

Ok.....I just stumbled (2 in the morning mind you) across this video that features some trumpet players from Japan (as far as I can tell) and I'm just wondering...what the hell are they doing over there to be able play like this!?

Maynard would shit his pants if he heard this renidtion of Give it One. From a nostalgic point of view, this is a tune that literally sealed my fate for wanting to become a jazz musician. I remember buying this album (yea, that's what we called them in the 70's) when I was in 5th grade. It was after my dad (died suddenly in '87 - miss him like crazy) took me to see Maynard live. Soon after when browsing through a department store (Target of today) record bin and finding the MF 1 & 2 albums I discovered some Maynard records with this tune on it. Man, who would have thought that over 30 years later trumpet players in other countries would be playing the shit out of this tune. Take a listen and I'm sure you'll be as blown away as I was. Anyone want to let us know the name of this trumpet player? Any input is appreciated. Here it is....

Classic Tuba Joke

Jim — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:01:00 +0000

I have endured many a trombone joke over the years so here is one for

Fellow tuba players.

A Tuba Joke:

A young child returned from his first music lesson on the tuba.

"How did it go?" asked his father.

"Great," said the child. "I learned how to play a 'C'."

The next week the child took another lesson and his father asked about the lesson.

"Terrific," said the child. "I learned how to play a 'G'."

The following week the child didn't come home.

The father was frantic with worry when the child didn't come home until 2:00 AM.

"Where in hell have you been?!" screamed the father...

"Out gigging," answered the son.

Jazz Festival Season Approaching: So Where is the Jazz?

Jim — Wed, 23 May 2007 18:17:00 +0000

Well, it’s that time of year again – time to check out who is on the bill of your favorite jazz festival this summer. When you do, you may notice a disturbing trend that has emerged over the past few years – the simple fact that a “jazz festival” no longer means what it says.

About a year ago I ranted about a European jazz festival having a rap artist on the program – and a headliner to boot! I don’t remember which festival it was off hand but it was not an obscure one that’s for sure.

I understand that tickets have to be sold and that there is the economic portion to the whole deal, but I think there are enough jazz fans in the world that will come out if they would just stick with jazz artists! Why get every musical genre known to man to be booked on a jazz festival. They are alienating the jazz fans themselves by diluting these things. I’m not sure of what is really going on , but I would bet that it mostly has to do with the people booking these festivals. The “suits” that don’t have a clue as to what jazz even is, let alone the artists that deserve to be heard. They figure if they book a “popular” artist, the people will come and everyone will be happy. I’ll tell you, I would never go near a “jazz festival” that was headlining pop or rap artists. Please. Imagine having a reggae festival with James Moody as the headliner. Would never happen. So why do the jazz festivals do it?

I’m’ not alone in my opinion. Here is a terrific article that questions the San Jose Jazz Festival.

Don’t forget to bookmark the jazz festival news page for the latest goings on the jazz festival circuit. Warning. You might be disappointed so choose wisely!

Gordon Goodwin CD Open Auditions!

Jim — Tue, 01 May 2007 14:36:00 +0000

About a year or so ago I had a subscriber who was attempting to put together a "virtual" big band by having people submit their part via mp3, then he would mix them together and voila - a big band made up of players from around the world. Tough thing to do, and I think it really never got off the ground because it was technically just too challenging. But.... here is something along those same lines that I think is terrific. Your chance to record on Gordon Goodwin's next CD project.

You know, no matter how good you think you are, there is always someone, somewhere in the world who can play better it seems. But oftentimes these great players toil away and never get heard. The idea of using the internet to further the jazz cause is a great one, and this idea is not only brilliant marketing on Gordon's part, but it brings jazz players together and lets them be heard. 50 years ago, it was the jam session that was the social and playing outlet for jazz players. Could this be the start of a trend toward "virtual" jazz jam sessions?

From a marketing standpoint, I think this idea will help sell alot of CDs simply because it gets people involved, (and who is not going to want to get the CD to hear who won? ) Ingenious. Its kind of a jazz version of American Idol. Ok, here is Gordon in his own words explaining the program. Visit the bigphatjam website here and submit your solo or vote for your favorite soloist. Take it away Gordon!

Tommy Newsom Dies at 78

Jim — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 05:18:00 +0000

As I was watching CNN tonight I noticed a quick blurb about Tommy Newsom. My hunch was right that if CNN mentioned a jazz musician, it was probably obituary related. Sure enough, sadly, Tommy Newsom has died of cancer at age 78.

Many people reading this blog probably don't even know who Tommy Newsom was, but if you are old enough to remember the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, you'll know exactly who Tommy was.

You see, there was at one time a national late night show that actually employed an entire big band as the house band. Yep, amazingly enough, NBC executives actually were willing pay 17 guys to provide music for the show. Doc Severinson was the leader for most of the tenure of the band, but when he was not around (which was frequent) Tommy Newsom, lead alto for the band, would take over as the front man. He was known for his dry humor banter with Johnny, always unassuming and acted like he really didn't want to deal with having to be on camera.

I actually got to meet Tommy on a recording session that my father did in LA in 1982. He (my father) was working for the cherry industry at the time and the session was for a jingle to promote cherries. He managed to get a 2 for 1 ticket to LA for me so I tagged along. It wasn't until I was on the plane that I got the list of musicians that were on the session. The list read like a who's who of jazz! Bill Watrous, Conti Condoli, Tommy Newsom, Ray Brown, Jack Nimitz, Shelly Manne, and others.

The session went well and I was impressed with the down to earth attitudes of all the musicians. I had heard that the studio scene was cut throat and I was prepared for a tense atmosphere. It was the exact opposite. All of the guys were relaxed and it was a great experience. Most of them, including Bill Watrous, hung around after the session to talk and share some advice of the business. In fact, I have 8 X 10 photo I signed by everyone in the band) of the session hanging on a wall in my office. It was a terrific experience, especially for an aspiring college age jazz musician.

Tommy Newsom was friendly, unassuming and as nice a guy as you would expect. Hearing of his death was sad. It reminded me that the end of an era is quickly approaching, if not already here. I hope I'm not the only one that misses hearing a big band on national TV every night. Thanks for the memories Tommy!

Bill Reichenbach and Michael Davis Video

Jim — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:20:00 +0000

Just stumbled across a terrific trombone video. I would love to get a copy of this duet! Last time I heard something like this was on a Jim Pugh/Dave Taylor record back in the 80s.

Bill Reichenbach Michael Davis

Coltrane And Miles Top Itunes Jazz List This Week

Jim — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 02:33:00 +0000

Its interesting to see how the top ten jazz albums on Itunes changes throughout the year. Around Christmas time it is always Harry Connick and Louis Armstrong who top the list, and at other times of the year a totally new set of artists dominate, some old and some new. The one that always makes the list however is Miles Davis and Kind of Blue. I recently heard that this was the best selling jazz record of all time and I believe it. Thankfully it is “jazz” and not something that is watered down to sound like it. (You know the kind of jazz I’m talking about.) I just checked the list noticed that Coltrane is holding his own on the list as well. Its nice to know that these guys continue to dominate favorite jazz lists even decades after their deaths. You can view the list here. Keep in mind that this list changes constantly, so it might have changed by the time you read this.