Daily Archives: December 12, 2014

Biography: In his 1985 biography on Lester Young, entitled Lester Young, Lewis Porter describes Young as a man of few words, who often “spoke through silence” (Porter P.4). Young’s language was one of his own creation, wrapped in “exquisite loneliness” … Continue reading →

Biography: “There’s no other purpose, so far as I’m concerned, for us except to reflect the times, the situations around us and the things we’re able to say through our art, the things that millions of people can’t say.” Nina … Continue reading →

Biography: Wayne Shorter didn’t pick up a musical instrument until he was fifteen, a relatively late start for a jazz great.  He’d always preferred the visual arts, specifically film.  It wasn’t until a revelatory moment of hearing Thelonious Monk’s ‘Off … Continue reading →

Biography: (1923 – 2000) El Rey de Mambo Caliente by Mark Allred As summer rolls around the Puget Sound, the longer days and hotter temperatures can conjure memories of palm trees blocking stunning sunsets. A yearning can be felt for sand, … Continue reading →

The Trumpet That Listens by MARK ALLRED “Every listener to jazz has had a few experiences so startling that they are literally unforgettable. One of mine took place during an engagement the Dizzy Gillespie big band had at Birdland in … Continue reading →

Biography: Joni Mitchell (born Roberta Joan Anderson; November 7, 1943) – Part Two by Mark Allred As promised this 2nd part of Joni Mitchell will delve a little deeper specifically in the individual Mitchell songs from the CDs in the … Continue reading →

Biography: Joni Mitchell (born Roberta Joan Anderson; November 7, 1943) – Part One: Joni Mitchell by Mark Allred “A singer, composer and lyricist of exceptional talent and unmatched influence, Joni Mitchell has crafted an extraordinary body of work spanning more … Continue reading →

Biography: Indianapolis-born trombonist/composer J. J. Johnson virtually reinvented the trombone for the purposes of postwar jazz.  A perfectionist in the realm of music and a man utterly dedicated to making the trombone do what he wanted, Johnson evolved a level … Continue reading →

Biography: Hubbard started playing the mellophone and trumpet in his school band, studying at the Jordan Conservatory with the principal trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In his teens Hubbard worked locally with brothers Wes and Monk Montgomery and worked … Continue reading →

Biography: (b. November 1, 1959 Lawton, Oklahoma, USA) by Mark Allred “But the great thing about jazz is that nothing is so sacred that it can’t be recomposed and reinvented and rediscovered.”  – Conrad Herwig New York jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig has … Continue reading →