(Above: Jazz pianist Mark Lowrey teamed up with local musicians for the second installment of the Mark Lowrey vs. Hip Hop series.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record Mark Lowrey sits behind a grand piano, contemplating using a Thelonious Monk number as an introduction to the rapper Common’s song “Thelonious.” As his fingers coax a [...]
Posts Tagged ‘John Coltrane’
A Black Friday blowout
Posted in band feature, Kansas City music scene, tagged A Tribe Called Quest, Big Joe Turner, Biggie Smalls, Black Friday, Brandon Draper, Charlie Parker, Common, Count Basie, Diverse, Dominique Sanders, Ella Fitzgerald, Hearts of Darkness, Hermon Mehari, hip hop vs. jazz, J. Dilla, Jay McShann, Jay-Z, John Coltrane, Kansas City, Les Izmore, Like Water for Chocolate, Mark Lowrey, Michael Jackson, Mutual Musicians Foundation, Notorious B.I.G., Reach, Ryan Lee, Schelli Tolliver, Stan Getz, Talib Kweli, Thelonious Monk on November 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
On the Streets of Philladelphia
Posted in Music history, tagged Billie Holiday, David Bowie, Durell Bottoms, Gamble/Huff, jazz, John Coltrane, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Phildadelphia, Phildadelphia soul, soul music, Teddy Pendergrass, the sound of Phildadelphia, Young Americans on July 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Billy Paul’s 1972 smash “Me and Mrs. Jones” is a quintessential slice of Philly soul.) All Photos by Joel Francis The Daily Record There’s no shortage of history to be discovered and embraced in the City of Brotherly Love. Sadly, the many of Philadelphia’s musical landmarks have not been preserved as well as those [...]
Review: Kind of Blue turns 50
Posted in Concert review, tagged American Jazz Museum, Cannonball Adderly, Freddie Freeloader, Jammin at the Gem, jazz, Jimmy Cobb, John Coltrane, Kind of Blue, Kind of Blue 50, Miles Davis, So What, So What band on October 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Jimmy Cobb’s So What Band delivers “The Theme” – and a drum solo.) By Joel Francis Jimmy Cobb had been onstage at the Gem Theater for over an hour Saturday night before he finally gave the capacity crowd what they came for: a drum solo. As the last living musician from the landmark Miles [...]
Releasing Jazz from Aspic
Posted in Industry commentary, Kansas City music scene, tagged Beach Boys, Bill Haley, Branford Marsalis, British Invasion, Buddy Holly, can jazz be saved?, Chuck Berry, Common, Danny and the Juniors, dixieland, Elvis Presley, fusion, future of music, Head Hunters, Herbie Hancock, jazz, John Coltrane, Martin and Wood, Medeski, Miles Davis, Mos Def, Ornette Coleman, Q-Tip, Rocket 88, Ron Carter, Roy Hargrove, Terry Teachout, The Roots, Wynton Marsalis on September 4, 2009 | 2 Comments »
(Above: Ornette Coleman jams with the Roots. Improbably, people respond positively to the non-traditional collaboration.) By Joel Francis In 1958, Danny and the Juniors sang “Rock and Roll is Here to Stay.” Although the genre was only seven years removed from the its birth on the “Rocket 88” single and three years from its explosion [...]
“Kind of Blue” coming to KC
Posted in Kansas City music scene, tagged 18th and Vine District, Jammin at the Gem, Jimmy Cobb, John Coltrane, Kansas City jazz, Kind of Blue, Kind of Blue 50, Miles Davis, So What band on June 24, 2009 | 4 Comments »
(Above: Drummer Jimmy Cobb gets down with his So What band.) By Joel Francis Fifty years ago, Miles Davis walked in to the recording studio, handed everyone in his band slips of paper with outlines of melody and a couple scales and told them to start playing. What emerged from those two sessions is arguable [...]
The Derek Trucks Band makes old-school rock new
Posted in band feature, Cover story, Kansas City Star, tagged Allman Brothers Band, Bela Fleck, Bill Frisell, Bob Dylan, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Derek Trucks, Eric Clapton, Jack DeJohnette, jam band, John Coltrane, John Scofield, Marc Ribot, McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, Susan Tedeschi, Warren Haynes on April 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Guitarist Derek Trucks was 12 years old when Bob Dylan asked him onstage during a show to play “Highway 61 Revisited.” For Trucks, it was just another gig. The look on his dad’s face, however, told a different story. “I knew who Dylan was because my dad was [...]
Five Jazz Legends Still Adding to Their Legacies
Posted in Industry commentary, Music history, tagged Art Blakey, Bela Fleck, Bobby Hutcherson, Brad Mehldau, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Chick Corea, Christian McBride, Clifford Brown, Dave Brubeck, Derek Trucks, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, jazz, Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane, John Scofield, Joni Mitchell, Lester Young, Marc Ribot, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, My Favorite Things, Paul Desmond, Randy Jones, Ron Carter, Roy Haynes, Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Rollins, Terence Blanchard, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, Weather Report on April 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: The Dave Brubeck Quartet “Take Five” at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.) By Joel Francis In a belated post-script to The Daily Record’s series on 15 jazz greats to emerge in the past 20 years, we look at five artists who are still significantly contributing to their legendary status. Although their reputations were cemented generations [...]
15 jazz greats to emerge in the last 20 years (part three)
Posted in Album review, Industry commentary, Kansas City music scene, tagged ?uestlove, Art Tatum, Bad Plus, Bamboozled, Ben Folds, Black Sabbath, Brad Mehldau, Bubby Hutcherson, Christian McBride, Count Basie, Eddie Harris, Eldar, Eric Clapton, Herbie Hancock, Jay McShann, jazz, Jazz at the Lincoln Center, jazz tap, John Coltrane, Joshua Redman, Kansas City jazz, Martin and Wood, Matana Roberts, Medeski, Miguel Zenon, Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny, Philadelphia Experiment, Pixies, Reg E. Gains, Savion Glover, Sesame Street, SF Jazz Collective, Spike Lee, Sting, tap dancing, The Roots, Thelonious Monk, Uri Caine, Weather Report, Wynton Marsalis on February 20, 2009 | 6 Comments »
(Above: Savion Glover does his thing with plenty o’ swing.) By Joel Francis Continuing The Daily Record’s look at the state of jazz today, here is the final of three installments shedding light on 15 jazz greats to emerge in the last 20 years. Note that these musicians are not necessarily the 15 greatest jazz [...]
15 jazz greats to emerge in the last 20 years (part two)
Posted in Album review, Industry commentary, tagged Afrika Bambaataa, Alice Coltrane, Andrew Hill, Cassandra Wilson, Christian McBride, Cole Porter, Dave Brubeck, Diana Krall, Don Byron, Elvis Costello, Fats Waller, Jason Moran, jazz, John Coltrane, Kora Jazz Trio, Martin and Wood, McCoy Tyner, Medeski, Prokofiev, Ralph Sharon, Ravi Coltrane, Tony Bennett, world music on February 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: The Kora Jazz Trio in concert.) By Joel Francis Continuing The Daily Record’s look at the state of jazz today, here is the second of three installments shedding light on 15 jazz greats to emerge in the last 20 years. Note that these musicians are not necessarily the 15 greatest jazz artists to arrive [...]
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A Christmas conversation
Posted in Industry commentary, tagged Albert King, Allen Toussaint, Ava Maria, Back Door Santa, Bill Brownlee, Booker T and the MGs, Brenda Lee, Charles Brown, Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas Cooking, Christmas Gumbo, Clarence Carter, Dan Hicks, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton, Donny Hathaway, Elvin Jones, Emmylou Harris, Fats Domino, Greensleeves, Isaac Hayes, Jackson 5, Jimmy Smith, John Coltrane, John Fahey, Johnny Cash, Lester Bowie, Lou Rawls, Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Matt Wilson, Max Roach, McCoy Tyner, Michael Jackson, Motown Christmas, Nat King Cole, Odetta, Otis Redding, Plastic Sax, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Rufus Thomas, Sam Billen, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Staple Singers, Stax, Stevie Wonder, Sufjan Stevens, Temptations, There Stands the Glass, Vince Guaraldi on December 17, 2010 | 1 Comment »
(Above: Jimmy Smith’s “Christmas Cooking,” released in 1964, is a classic, overlooked holiday album.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record The other day I was in a retail bookstore when I noticed the wonderful sounds of the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack coming from the overhead speakers. As I enjoyed the music, two thoughts hit me. [...]
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