John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

Merry Christmas! From Bird, Ella, Miles, Pops, Duke, & Me

Merry Christmas, everyone! Enjoy the tunes, they're wonderful. And in Miles' case, brilliantly strange. Charlie "Bird" Parker, "White Christmas." Ella Fitzgerald, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Miles Davis (w/Marcus Miller and Dave Sanborn), "We Three Kings." Louis "Pops" Armstrong, "Christmas Night in Harlem." Duke Ellington Meets Tchaikovsky, "The Nutcracker... Read more →

A Night in Zurich, A Morning in Paris: Sathima Benjamin and Duke Ellington, 1963

In 1963, Duke Ellington changed the lives of two young South Africans forever. One of them was the composer/pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, then known as Dollar Brand. The story of Duke’s discovery of this great talent in a Zurich, Switzerland, nightclub, the recording session that he produced in Paris, and the... Read more →

Soulful Sunday: Duke Ellington, "Come Sunday," Barbara Bruckmueller Big Band

One of the happiest things that happened to me in 2011 was being introduced to the music of Barbara Bruckmüller. Barbara is a young Austrian composer, arranger, and conductor who's been leading a big band in Vienna for the last several years. She's been following two related paths -- reimaging... Read more →

Happy Birthday, Billy Strayhorn! From Teenie Harris & Me

November the 29th is the birthday of one of my favorite composers, somebody that I'd argue ranks among the finest composers America has ever produced -- Billy Strayhorn. His songs -- "Lush Life," "Chelsea Bridge," "Day Dream," "Something to Live For," and many more -- are daringly complex, both musically... Read more →

Happy Birthday, Billy Strayhorn!

In its annual jazz critics poll, Downbeat magazine always has a category that it calls "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition [TDWR]." The winners are accomplished, often brilliant musicians, who are flying under the radar. Billy Strayhorn never won a TDWR award, but, over forty years after his death, he still... Read more →

Don Braden - Mark Rapp: The Strayhorn Project

Say the words "virtuoso tour-de-force" and whoever you’re talking to will immediately imagine dazzling displays of individual technique and musicianship. When I tell you that tenor saxophonist Don Braden and trumpeter Mark Rapp’s new album, The Strayhorn Project, is exactly that -- a virtuoso tour-de-force -- I mean something very... Read more →

Happy Birthday, Duke Ellington

I come from a family of Ellingtonians. My mother grew up in Washington, DC, not far from the Ellington family. My Uncle Teddy, her younger brother, edits the Duke Ellington Society's newsletter. So, it's impossible for me to let Duke's birthday passed unmentioned. To celebrate, a musical offering. First up,... Read more →