Category: Posts

RECENTLY I LISTENED to three John Coltrane pieces, two from albums, one from a TV show, to figure out why his music always leaves me cold. Yes, I am a heretic, dislike Coltrane and a lot of contemporary jazz, and…

EVERYONE CAN HEAR sound, rhythm, and lyrics. Some can repeat a simple melody but it seems few can do much more. Individual limitations, the population’s overall lack of exposure to classical music and jazz, along with other social issues unique…

JON-ERIK KELLSO is a very good jazz trumpet player in New York. A couple of days ago he posted excerpts from a Seattle Weekly interview with Branford Marsalis. Branford had noticed the music in old records “always sounds better” than…

LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND his All Stars performed at UCLA’s Royce Hall in November 1965. It was the most important musical event I could imagine at the time and perhaps still holds that honor. I was a freshman at UCLA so,…

ON MAY 6 I learned my lifelong pal, Deane Hagen, had died from a massive stroke. Deane was a complete musician. He not only was a superb drummer but also could compose, arrange, and orchestrate. He was the most creative…

I DELIBERATELY HAVE taken a long break from writing anything here because, from a practical standpoint, it seems unproductive. None of the posts has helped to sell an album and it is very unlikely any has influenced your own thoughts,…

THE ANSWER IS easy: Jazz died because it stopped being fun and expressing happiness. Given today’s mood, it would seem melodic, upbeat jazz is long past due for a comeback. In the mid 1940s, when Bebop began its systematic dismissal…

IF YOU WERE to scour the world, you would find a handful of terrific jazz musicians whose names and recordings are unknown to all but their families and colleagues. They live and perform in relative obscurity. Festival directors and club…

WHAT A HOOT! On Monday night, June 26, 2011 I was fortunate to perform with the Jonathan Stout Orchestra again, this time at New York City’s Lincoln Center. It was an inspirational two hour concert and the opening event for…