Jazz & Blues Lounge

Another elderly member of the jazz world has shuffled off this mortal coil and this one had a definite local Chicago tie-in.  For a full detail, check out the “Post No Bills” blog by the Chicago Reader.  John Young was 86-years-old and he passed away last week.
According to Peter Margasak, who writes the “Post No Bills” blog, “Although he released only six albums under his own name during a career that spanned as many decades, he was a crucial presence on the city’s bop scene. (Sadly, only his excellent 1959 album, Serenata, on Delmark, is currently in print.) He was …read more

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Ouch.  That’s all I have to say about this morning.  For those of you who are not in the Chicago area, you may not know that we have had one of the most brutal winters in almost thirty years.  It has been unbelievably cold followed by one big snow storm after another.  Normally, I love winter and I love fall, but this winter has gotten to me.  This morning, winter bit me back.
I was trying to get to my car.  Of course, walking anywhere around here means walking on what amount to glaciers.  Really, to walk here in Chicago you …read more

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Over the past couple of day, since Herbie Hancock pulled out a surprise win for Album of the Year during this year’s Grammys, I have noticed a bit of a backlash against the Grammy people.  Of course, this is nothing new.  Every year, there are dozens of people who claim to be music experts who say that the Grammys got something wrong.  Let us not forget the year, so many years ago now, when they gave out their first Heavy Metal award to Jethro Tull.
The most interesting complain I heard at one time, however, was that the award this year …read more

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I feel like I am driving this into the ground and if you are sick of me talking about Oscar Peterson, I apologize.  It’s just that, well, he was a musician I truly had a fondness for, but, at the same time, it had been a while since I had pulled out the Oscar Peterson records and CDs and took a listen.  It’s one of those moments like realizing that someone is gone and you meant to make a phone call to them the other day, but something else came up and you didn’t and now it’s too late.
What was …read more

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The death of Oscar Peterson got me thinking about jazz pianists recently.  As you may have known from reading past posts, I tend to be a man who is a fan of the horns.  However, if you read carefully, you will notice that I stray into other instruments from time to time.  I am a Lionel Hampton fan, for example, and he played the vibes.
I do enjoy jazz pianists.  However, who are the ones you should focus on?  Around here, I do try to imagine that people new to jazz stop by and check things out and, maybe, something I …read more

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I don’t want to delay too long on the death of Oscar Peterson.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s very sad that he passed.  I loved listening to him perform and loved his music, but he was in his 80s and had been a bit sick.  Not that that makes things all better, but you get my meaning. 
I also don’t want to appear as some kind of shill for Amazon.com.  They don’t pay me to mention them on this blog and I’ll show anyone my financial records to prove it.  It’s just that, well, you can find just about anything there.  …read more

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I was doing some poking around online and found some new music you migh like.  Of cousre, I also mixed up some medication this morning and instead of taking my acid reflux meds, took a Melatonin pill that has all but put me in a coma all day.  As such, I will be lucky to get a few paragraphs written here.
Although it is well documented that I love the horn players, particularly the trumpet players I do love other instruments used in jazz.  I am a big fan of Lionel Hampton, for example, and he plays the vibes.  I love …read more

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Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton is a rather controversial figure in the world of jazz.  Why?  Well, because of the legendary status for himself that he, essentially, created all on his own.  Many people who love jazz dismiss the man as a braggart and, quite frankly, a bit of an idiot.  His own arrogance has been the downfall and backlash against him by those who love jazz.  How arrogant was he?  He reportedly carried a business card with his name on it and beneath his name were the words “Originator of Jazz.”
Just like Little Richard likes to walk around calling himself …read more

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