Win A Free Record: Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall
Sep 29, 2009 Free Collectibles, Verve
Okay, it is time for our next Jazz Collector free collectible give-away contest. We always try to find interesting items for you, and this time we are offering up this: The Essential Billie Holiday Carnegie Hall Concert, Verve 8410. This is an original pressing with the MGM label and the gatefold cover. The record is in nice condition, although there are some marks at the end of side two. It’s an interesting record in that it was recorded in 1956 and issued here in 1961 as part of Verve’s Essentials series, which were tributes to jazz greats on the Verve labels, several of whom, unfortunately, had died. These included Lester Young and Charlie Parker. This LP was recorded live at Carnegie Hall as part of a concert in which Holiday sang and in which she also had several sections of her autobiography, Lady Sings The Blues, read aloud to highlight various aspects of her life and to
Tags: Al Cohn, Billie Holiday, Buck Clayton, Carl Drinkard, Carnegie Hall, Carson Smith, Chico Hamilton, Coleman Hawkins, Kenny Burrell, Nat Hentoff, Roy Eldridge, The New York Times, Tony Scott
What is Soul in Jazz?
Jun 16, 2004 Verve
Quote of the Day:
“What is soul in jazz? It’s what comes from within: It’s what happens when the inner part of you comes out. It’s the part of playing you can’t get out of the books and studies. In my case, I believe that what I heard and felt in the music of my church was the most powerful influence on my musical career. Everyone wants to know where I got that funky style. Well, it came from the church. The music I heard there was open, relaxed, impromptu – soul music.” – Milt Jackson, from the liner notes to the LP Plenty, Plenty Soul, Atlantic 1269, liner notes by Nat Hentoff.
One of the criticisms of the Modern Jazz Quartet was that the structure of the band held back the playing of the brilliant vibist Milt Jackson. This was Jackson’s response when he was asked if, indeed, being in the MJQ held him down:
“No, not actually. It may not sound or look like it when you’re listening out front because it’s all so well planned, but I still get to play more or less what I want to play. I’m relaxed. I’ve always been able to adjust myself to a situation. When I first joined the MIQ, there were times when I looked at the planning as a handicap, but now I’ve come to look on it as an asset. In terms of the business, and musically too. Discipline can be a good thing and having been under discipline can be a help when you do let loose.” – Source: Liner notes to the LP Milt Jackson, Plenty, Plenty Soul, Atlantic 1269. Liner notes by Nat Hentoff.
“Lester was a one or two take man. He’d say, ‘I can’t do anything better than that,’ and usually that was it. His statements were emotional ones and when they were done, they were done.”
Norman Granz on Lester Young. Liner notes from the album The Lester Young Story, Verve MG V-8308, 1960. Liner notes by Nat Hentoff.
Tags: Atlantic, Jazz Quotes, Lester Young, Milt Jackson, Modern Jazz Quartet, Nat Hentoff
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
