Tal Farlow, Downbeat, One More Time
May 6, 2011 Books/Magazines
Dan is back with another request. This upcoming memoir better be good. (Actually, it is: I’ve seen early drafts). This time Dan is looking for a high-res scan of the following photo from Downbeat, May 2, 1967. I know I have this issue in nice condition, bit it is somewhere in storage and I can’t access it. So if someone out there can help out (again), I’m sure it would be most appreciated.
Tags: Downbeat, Tal Farlow
In Search of An Obscure Article
Apr 27, 2011 Books/Magazines
OK, we’re going to see if we can use the collective wisdom, expertise, knowledge and possible collections of the community to see if we can solve a mystery for a friend. In this case, we are looking for a specific article in Downbeat. All we have is a partial headline and story, pictured here. To me this looks like a Downbeat from the early 1950s when it was still in a newspaper format. We are looking for the issue date of the article and, if possible, a copy of the article itself. My friend says we will not be successful in this quest, that the reference is too obscure. I say never underestimate the power of the Jazz Collector community. Let’s see.
Tags: Downbeat, Tal Farlow
More Blue Note Favorites, Courtesy of Downbeat
Feb 10, 2010 Blue Note
I did that post earlier today and mentioned that Downbeat had done a whole feature asking various artists about their favorite Blue Note records. I was able to dig up my copy of the magazine — I don’t have a subscription anymore, but I had purchased this one on the newsstand because of the cover. It was from March of 2009. The cover, as you can see, has Joe Lovano with his favorite Blue Note: Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Free For All, Blue Note 4170. It’s quite gratifying to see his picture with a vinyl pressing, and a mono vinyl pressing at that and perhaps even an original mono pressing. Inside, the magazine asked a variety of other jazz artists to name their favorite Blue Notes as well. Here are their replies:
Tags: Andrew Hill, Art Blakey, Bobby Hutcherson, Dexter Gordon, Donald Byrd, Downbeat, Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Freddie Redd, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, JJ Johnson, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, John Coltrane, Larry Young, McCoy Tyner, Sheila Jordan, Sonny Clark, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter
Miles, Introducing Trane, On eBay, In Metronome
Aug 17, 2009 Books/Magazines, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Prestige
I was perusing eBay early this morning and came across this beautiful item: Miles, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. I’ve always loved this LP, not just for the music and the great cover, but for the historic value as well: The introduction of the great Miles Quintet of the ’50s and, in particular, the introduction of John Coltrane. So, I put this item on my watch list and took a further look and it turns out to be a listing from Rudolf, our faithful friend and commentator. So we are happy to help Rudolf publicize this listing on the Jazz Collector site, but we also noticed a nice teaser in the listing, which notes that they album will be offered with a copy of Metronome’s July 1956 review of the album. Furthermore, the listing notes that the Metronome review is
Tags: Downbeat, John Coltrane, Metronome, Miles Davis
Heroes: Musicians and Their Influences
Mar 10, 2009 Features
From our our archives, here’s an interesting item from June 18, 2004.
If you’re looking for a good read, pick up the July issue of Downbeat. It’s being promoted as the “70th Anniversary Collector’s Edition” and the focus is a feature called “Our Heroes” in which more than 70 musicians talk about their primary influences. Here are a few highlights:
Sonny Rollins on Coleman Hawkins: “I first saw him play on 52nd Street. I used to put eyebrow pencil on my lip to make a fake mustache so I could get in. We’d stand in the back, and it was like looking at a god playing.”
Joe Zawinul on Art Tatum: “He always sounded like two piano players. The story goes like this:
Tags: Antonio Hart, Art Tatum, Cannonball Adderley, Coleman Hawkins, Downbeat, Joe Zawinul, Sonny Rollins
From The Archives: The Duke As a Hillbilly????
Feb 27, 2009 Questions
When I was researching that “trick” quiz question on the first Leonard Feather Blindfold Test, I came upon the Downbeat Special 20th Anniversary Issue from June 30, 1954. In addition to talking about the Blindfold Tests, Feather had some great stories and quotes. Here’s a comment from Jack Teagarden on Duke Ellington: “I never did like anything Ellington ever did. He never had a band all in tune, always has a bad tone and a bad blend. I’d just as soon listen to a hillbilly on a jukebox.”
This is what Feather had to say about the first Mary Lou Williams Blindfold test from 1946:
Tags: Blindfold Test, Downbeat, Duke Ellington, Jack Teagarden, Leonard Feather, Mary Lou Williams
Reflections From Sonny Rollins, Part 2
Jul 13, 2005 Newsletters
Yesterday we offered a quote from an interview by Joe Goldberg with Sonny Rollins from Downbeat August 26, 1965. Here’s a second quote from the same article.
“The thing to do is to work on myself, so I can play me. The audience can tell that. I remember one night, on the first tune, something went wrong with the rhythm section I was working with. They weren’t together at all, not with me, not with each other. We were playing Lover, I think, and there was this shambles behind me, and all I was trying to do was keep things from falling apart. I was playing as hard as I could, but I couldn’t get anything going; I didn’t play a thing. Finally we got through it, and I’ve never heard an audience applaud like that. I thought about it later, and I decided that they felt how hard I was trying, and they responded to that. It’s the same thing when an audience is talking and drinking while you’re playing. It’s a challenge to make them stop and listen. You can do it with tricks, but I’ve learned that it’s better to do it by playing something you really mean. Then they’ll listen. I can usually accomplish that, when I try.”
Tags: Downbeat, Jazz Quotes, Sonny Rollins
Reflections From Sonny Rollins, 1965
Jul 12, 2005 Newsletters
I must admit, I’m putting a lot of time into my regular gig these days, and not spending too much on eBay. So, this morning, looking for something quick and simple to write, I came upon an old Downbeat from August 26, 1965, with a cover story titled: “The Further Adventures of Sonny Rollins: A revealing conversation with the controversial tenor saxophonist, by Joe Goldberg.”
Without doing major analysis, I will offer a couple of revealing quotes: One today and one tomorrow. Here’s today’s:
“The average Joe knows just as much as I do – he knows more than I do. I’m the average Joe, and I think people recognize that. That’s why I play standards. Everybody knows Stardust. These guys who play only their own tunes, they can cover up a lot of things, but if you play the melody of Stardust, everybody can tell whether you’re doing it right or not. I’ve called tunes like that to guys who didn’t know them. How can you call yourself a professional musician if you don’t know all those songs?”
Tags: Downbeat, Jazz Quotes, Sonny Rollins
What Makes a Jazz Hero? Our Readers Weigh In
Jun 24, 2004 Jazz Memoirs
In our newsletter last week we asked readers to tell us about their heroes. Here are some of the responses. We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to write to us.
“Please keep up the fantastic work with the newsletter…every one just gets better. As for heroes, I’d have to start with Art Pepper, then Dave Pell, Shorty Rogers, Zoot Sims and who can forget Cal Tjader? All mostly West Coast cats but they had ‘the sound’ and knew what we wanted. Guess I better add my most favorite and versatile sax man: Charlie Ventura. Man, could he wail!
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Tags: Clark Terry, Count Basie, Downbeat
The Gift Of Hindsight
Jun 16, 2004 Impulse, Jazz Vinyl, Prestige, Riverside
One of the pleasures of having an extensive jazz collection is that it gives you the opportunity to go back and review the history of jazz in real time, as it was happening. This is particularly the case when you look at old issues of Downbeat or Metronome, or review old liner notes, an art form that began approaching extinction with the advent of the compact disc format. In any case, allow me to share some interesting stuff from my archives.
Downbeat, January 18, 1962
Review: John Coltrane, Africa/Brass, Impulse 6
This record was a departure for Coltrane: The first time he ever played with a brass section. It is now regarded as a classic, rightfully so, particularly the title cut, which makes up the entire first side of the album. At the time, however, the Downbeat reviewer, Martin Williams, didn’t see it that way. He gave it only two stars, out of a possible five. Here’s a sample from the review:
Tags: Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Downbeat, Impulse, Ira Gitler, John Coltrane, Metronome, Philly Joe Jones
Reader Comments: Dinah Washington, Prestige Covers
Jun 10, 2004 10-Inch LPs, Blue Note, Prestige
If it’s Thursday, it must be mail day. Today we have a couple of thank-you notes, plus a request for information about Prestige 10-inch LPs. If anyone out there has the answer to the Prestige question, send a note to us. And please, keep those cards and letters coming.
“Just wanted to say thanks for the Dinah Washington Sings Fats Waller LP I won a month or so back. Only got to listen to it last night and, wow, was I impressed. My orbit for jazz vocals has always had Ella at the center, with Sarah Vaughan, a little early Nancy Wilson and not much else. I’d never really heard Dinah before. Oh, what I’d been missing.
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Tags: Art Taylor, Charlie Parker, Curtis Fuller, Dial, Dinah Washington, Downbeat, Euclid Records, IAJRC, Thad Jones
Interesting Quotes from ’50s Downbeat Issues
May 10, 2004 Features
I couldn’t sleep again the other night so I went into my music room and started poring through the batch of 115 Downbeat and Metronome magazines I bought at the WFMU Record Show in New York last week. Most of the magazines are from the 1940s and 1950s, with a few Downbeats from the 1960s thrown in. I love these things because they give you a real view of the history of jazz as it was happening. I’m always surprised that so few people seem to be collecting the old magazines. It’s okay, because the prices are always reasonable and it would be nice if they stay that way. Anyway, over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of the interesting items I find as I go through the magazines. Here are a few snippets:
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Tags: Dave Brubeck, Downbeat, Duke Ellington, Jazz Quotes, Leonard Feather, Metronome, Nat Hentoff, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, WFMU Record Show
Our First Newsletter, May 9, 2004
May 9, 2004 Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Newsletters, Norgran, Prestige, Savoy, Verve
Welcome to Jazz Collector. If you’re receiving this, then you’ve been selected for a free subscription to our daily email newsletter. For more information come to our web site at jazzcollector.com. Otherwise, please read on. Woke up in a generous mood this morning, so I delved into the collection and came up with an item to give away to a lucky subscriber. Here it is: Gene Ammons, Live! In Chicago, Prestige 7495. This is an original
Tags: Ben Webster, Downbeat, Gene Ammons, John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson
