Bill Perkins
with Steve Voce

Ken Burns' "JAZZ"
reviewed by Tom Cunniffe

Ken Burns appeared at a sparsely attended lecture at Denver's Paramount Theatre on May 5. As expected, he brought along excerpts from his upcoming PBS documentary, "JAZZ". I can't totally condemn this documentary—after all, as Burns says, it should do wonders for increasing the audience for this music—however, I must admit some misgivings about the project as a whole.

Why can't they get it right?
By Don Rose

The music world was saddened by the recent death of composer-arranger Ralph Burns, whose remarkable career led him from Woody Herman's two great Herds of the mid-'40s and early '50s, all the way to major successes in Hollywood and on Broadway, where he won a Tony Award for "Fosse."

Jazz Places
by Howard S. Becker

Howard S. Becker, now a prominent sociologist, was a pianist in Chicago in the late 1940s. He studied with Lennie Tristano and succeeded Lou Levy with Harold Fox's band. He wrote early books about drug abuse among be-bop musicians.

What follows was first given as a talk at the Université Mendes-France in Grenoble, France. It was followed by a 45 minute "recital," in which I was accompanied by Benoit Cancoin, a really excellent bass player from Lyon. A good time was had by all.

Accolades for Bill Russo
Chicago Jazz Ensemble
by Joe Cunniff

William Russo has often been described as an outsider, a rebel. His Chicago Jazz Ensemble struggled at first, then disbanded. Who could guess what was to come?

These are remarkable days for William Russo and his Chicago Jazz Ensemble. A successful tour of Italy, a new CD, new audiences, a growing educational program at Columbia College Chicago, and a new composition about Chicago are just some of the things going on with this conductor and his orchestra.

Lester Young: An American original
by David Simpson

1999 Jazz Awards
by Howard Mandel

The 1999 Jazz Awards, held Monday, June 14, in New York City, came off splendidly—celebrating all jazz musicians and jazz music, as well as some worthy jazz journalists. It was a loose event, hot and humid in the draperied hall where about 500 members of the jazz corps convened on folding chairs.

CLARK TERRY, Part 2
with Steve Voce

Click here for Part One

Mingus Big Band rocks Hancher— Preserves Legacy
concert review by Dr. William S. Carson

Unlike classical music, jazz is an art form with the emphasis primarily upon the performer, rather than upon the composer. The rise of be-bop in the 1940s increased the emphasis on improvisation, and further diminished the importance of the composer. It should come as no surprise, then, that only a handful of the most significant jazz musicians are known as great composers. Three names stand above the rest: Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk, and Charles Mingus.

AACM—for youth
and community
by Richard Abrams

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a not-for-profit organization chartered by the State of Illinois, was formed more than four years ago when a group of musicians and composers in the Chicago area saw an emergent need to expose and showcase original music.