Tenor and soprano saxophonist John Coltrane had recently signed with the newly formed Impulse! record label and settled on what wold be his greatest band featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones when these epochal recordings were committed to tape in 1961. Coltra...

The first classic Mile Davis Quintet, recorded in 1955 when they were starting out, playing a Benny Golson tune, 'Stablemates.' Still finding their way at this point, a fascinating glimpse of what was to come when Davis road-hardened the band into a formidable playing and recording unit. With Philly...

Image via Wikipedia There is a great tune Coletrane used to play -  It was written a year after I was born ! It is an Evergreen!  This week we lost John Hoyer Updike he will now join the Great Evergreen’s of American Literature !  Last night Charlie Rose had some Literary Guru’s on  ...

Bookends – Booker Little, with Booker Ervin beside him in the frontline on a 1960 session, originally issued under the leadership of Teddy Charles. Recorded at the Museum of Modern Art, some fiery blowing here. The track: 'Scoochie.' Ushered in by a sharp burst of drums from Eddie Shaughnessy, who...

This is the week that was in matters musical … 1842, formed by a group of local musicians, the New York Philharmonic gives its first concert … 1877, the world’s first record and playback machine is completed … designed by Thomas Alva Edison, the phonograph picks up sound t...

Be warned, jazz neophytes, this is not Coltrane for beginners, nor is it jazz for beginners. Recorded less than a year before his untimely death, this long journey captures two Coltrane performances at different venues in Tokyo in July, 1966. The set list shows Coltrane's wild interpretations of son...

Finally, after all the excitement and exhaustion – back to the music. So we beat on, boats against the current... whatever... The Clusone Trio give the Herbie Nichols tune, '117th Street,' an outing. Always an element of drollery lurking when Bennink is involved – those crazy Dutch, eh? This swi...

James and Gus photo by John Katz . Used with Gus’ permission. The Good Musician interview with Dallas-based composer and sound designer, James Neel, principal of James Neel Music House. James is the very definition of “a musician’s musician.” And he’s been doing it for ...

Yes, that's right: Barack Obama is as white as he is black....

Some of my favourite contemporary musicians – the Joe Morris/Rob Brown quartet, enclosing William Parker and Jackson Krall, playing 'Pivotal,' from their 1995 album, 'Illuminate.' Spirals of interlocking melody as the bass runs deep and the drums spatter: Krall has one of those especially dustbin-...