Category Archives: Birthday Party

BELATED HAPPY 80th ANNIVERSARY BENNY GOODMAN & FRIENDS AT CARNEGIE HALL, January 16, 1938!

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Brew

While some folks think that all has been said about this significant event in jazz history, here are some things you might not know. One of my fellow bloggers, Mr. Eric Bogart, has detected one of two little details, only … Continue reading →

Posted in 1938, All American Rhythm Section, Anniversary, Benny Goodman, Birthday Party, Carnegie Hall, CD review, Clarinet, Dedication, Gene Krupa, George Gershwin, Harry James, It's been a ball!, January, Jazz History Lecture, Jazz Stories & Tales, Invented Truths & Actual Happenings, Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, Martha Tilton, Ziggy Elman | Tagged big band, Carnegie Hall, Clarinet, drum feature, endless solo, great american songbook, great solo, jazz, jazz quartet, living jazz history, race, standard, Swing Era | Comments Off

DIZZY’s big P.S. to his kinda BOSSA NOVA – 1966

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Brew

Another fantastic rendition of “No More Blues” (a.k.a. Chega de Saudade) has been broadcasted by BBC2 as part of their “Jazz 625” series in August 1966, featuring Dizzy Gillespie (tp) James Moody (as/ fl) Kenny Baron (p) Christopher White (b) … Continue reading →

Posted in Anniversary, Birthday Party, Bossa Nova, Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz Stories & Tales, Invented Truths & Actual Happenings | Comments Off

DIZZY GILLESPIE’s “NEW WAVE”, or: THE REAL BIRTH OF BOSSA NOVA

Posted on October 22, 2017 by Brew

This is Dizzy, ‚live‘ at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1961, giving the real birth to bossa nova, months before Stan Getz’s and Charlie Byrd’s Jazz Samba, and more than a year before the most famous bossa nova album got … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, Birthday Party, Bossa Nova, Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz Adaptation, Jazz History Lecture, Jazz Rhumba, Jazz Stories & Tales, Invented Truths & Actual Happenings, Love, Mambo, Samba | Tagged Lalo Schifrin | Comments Off

THE DIZZY GILLESPIE QUINTET in ITALY, 1960

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Brew

This is a superb set, presenting everything from, err, plain bebop to latin rhythms and also some fun vocal. Birks was at the peak of his creative powers then, and there was no one on the planet – at this … Continue reading →

Posted in Anniversary, Birthday Party, Celebration, Dedication, Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz Stories & Tales, Invented Truths & Actual Happenings | Comments Off

If you wanna learn something about John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie…

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Brew

…feel free to watch this documentary from 1990. By the way, the tune at 18:15 is “Oop-Bop-Sh’Bam”. And Diz is eating most of the time 😉

Posted in Bebop, Birthday Party, Celebration, Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz Stories & Tales, Invented Truths & Actual Happenings | Comments Off

Belated Happy 100th Birthday, Harry James!

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Brew

You’re a great inspiration, nevertheless, you made many of us trumpeters sound like amateurs. There was never, and there will never be another you. Although your label Columbia treated your enormous and hit-loaded recorded output between 1938 & 1954 like … Continue reading →

Posted in Anniversary, Birthday Party, Carnegie Hall, Harry James, Jazz Stories & Tales, Invented Truths & Actual Happenings, Swing Era, Trumpet | Comments Off

HAPPY 95th ANNIVERSARY, CHARLIE “BIRD” PARKER! ∽ RE: KLACT-OVEESEDS-TENE

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Brew

PREFACE & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My special thanks goes to Doug Ramsey for having reminded me of Charlie Parker’s 92nd anniversary three years ago. Since I’m not too strong with such dates, I appreciate Doug’s (and everybody’s) reminder(s), and will gladly take the … Continue reading →