HARLEM IN MONTMARTRE: A Paris Jazz Story Hits All the Right Notes on PBS' Great Performances Series Aug 5, 2009
Inspired by the book Harlem in Montmartre: a Paris Jazz Story (University of California Press) by historian William A. Shack and utilizing rare archival material from both France and America, this remarkable performance- driven documentary features the stories and music of such key figures as James Reese Europe, Josephine Baker, Sidney Bechet, Bricktop, Eugene Bullard, Django Reinhardt and more. The film explores a fascinating, yet often neglected, era in African-American cultural... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
The week ahead: music Jul 16, 2009
BLUE HORIZON JAZZ BAND Named for a signature composition by Sidney Bechet, jazz s first great soloist, this traditional New Orleans-style jazz ensemble upholds Bechet s legacy, notably in the mighty, throbbing soprano saxophone and clarinet of leader Stan McDonald, formerly of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, who has helmed this group since 1981. 7 p.m. July 21. (Boston Globe)
Dover-Sherborn letters to the editor Jul 15, 2009
Without hesitation, he declared, Sidney Bechet. my idol and primary inspiration who, with Louis, was one of the most creative and compelling jazz players in history. (Dover Sherborn Tab, MA)
Middle-schoolers free their metal mindset with a little jazz Jul 11, 2009
Those sources, MacDonald says, include trumpeter Louis Armstrong, pianist Jelly Roll Morton, trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke, trombonist Edward Kid Ory, clarinetist/saxophonist Sidney Bechet and bandleader and trumpeter King Oliver. Public Display of Rock doesn t plan on becoming Public Display of Dixieland. (Winona Daily News, MN)
Allen Toussaint, 'The Bright Mississippi' May 11, 2009
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame pianist and R&B hitmaker ("Lady Marmalade," "Workin' in a Coal Mine") revisits jazz classics by Duke Ellington, Leonard Feather, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton, Django Reinhardt, and Thelonious Monk and takes them for a stroll through Preservation Hall, imbuing his own funky brand of pop-song charisma. The results are coolly sophisticated, an unfussy, mostly instrumental set of slink-and-slide joints shot through with a harmonic imagination that turns even a... (Boston Globe)
Singer-pianist Eddie Bo passes away at 79 Mar 21, 2009
His uncle Peter Bocage played with world-renowned clarinetist Sidney Bechet, for example. According to his web site, Bocage returned to New Orleans after World War II to study music composition and arranging at the Grunewald School of Music. (WWLTV.com, LA)
'1959 - Jazz's Greatest Year,' Classic Albums by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus All Celebrate 50th Anniversaries in 2009 Mar 14, 2009
The same year that saw the deaths of jazz icons Lester Young in March, Sidney Bechet in May, and Billie Holiday in July, also included the releases of Kind Of Blue by Miles (which was reissued in January 2009 as a deluxe double-CD Legacy Edition), Blues and Roots by Mingus, John Coltrane's Giant Steps, Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz To Come, The Genius Of Ray Charles, The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco, the Oscar Peterson Songbook series, and Duke Ellington's soundtrack for... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
A Passage to India Feb 23, 2009
He studied Baroque recorder for two years, then switched to alto saxophone at the age of eleven, coming under the influence of a teacher who exposed him to everything from Sidney Bechet to Frank Zappa. By ninth grade, Mahanthappa was fronting a band that, by his own account, tortured tunes by Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and others he admired. (New Yorker)
