Sarah Vaughn
by Stuart Nicholson

Sarah Vaughan
Sassy Swings the Tivoli (Complete Version)
+Emarcy (J) 832 788-2.
Vaughan (vcl); Kirk Stuart (p); Charles Williams (bs); George Hughes (d).
Copenhagen, 18–21 July 1963.

Rain Shortens Jazz Unites Festival
reviewed by Rahsaan Clark Morris

This is a truncated story because Jazz Unites’ Festival, held August 5-6, 2000 at the South Shore Cultural Center was a truncated fest. The promise of two sunny days of beautiful jazz free to all turned out to be one-and-a-third muggy and ultimately washed out days of beautiful free music. I’ll say this: true jazz fans hung tough and were rewarded.

Paul Desmond
by Stuart Nicholson
Paul Desmond Live
Horizon A&M SP-850, Verve 543 501-2 (+CD issue).

Desmond (alt); Ed Bickert (g); Don Thompson (bs); Jerry Fuller (d)
Toronto
25, 27, 30, 31 October and 1 November 1975.

Wendy. Wave. Things ain't what they used to be. Nancy. Manha de Carnival. Here's that rainy day. My funny Valentine. Take five.

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.

McCoy Tyner
by Stuart Nicholson

Atlantis
Milestone [A] MCD 55002-2.
Azar Lawrence (ten, sop); McCoy Tyner (p); Joony Booth (bs); Wilby Fletcher (d); Guilherme Franco (perc).
San Francisco
31 August & 1 September 1974.

Atlantis. In a sentimental mood. Makin’ out. My one and only love. Pursuit. Love samba.

Live the Spirit at Hothouse: June 2002
reviewed by Rahsaan Clark Morris

I had been hearing about Ernest Khabeer Dawkins’ Live The Spirit Band and, in fact, I had seen various combinations of the group at places like Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge and of course, Hothouse. But, earlier this summer there was a CD release set thrown by the Hothouse for the band’s last project—a recording of a live concert from late 2001, after 9-11.

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.

John Zorn
by Stuart Nicholson

Naked City
Elektra Nonesuch 979238-2.
John Zorn (alt); Bill Frisell (g); Wayne Horvitz (key); Fred Frith (b); Joey Baron (d); Yamatsuka Eye (v).
New York, 1989.

Batman. The Sicilian clan. You will be shot. Latin quarter. A shot in the dark. Reanimator. Snagglepuss. I want to live. Lonley woman.
Ingeneous ejeculation. Blood duster. Hammerhead. Demon sanctuary. Obeah man. Ujaku. Fuck the facts. Speedball. Chinatown. Punk china doll. N.Y. flat top box. Saigon pickup. The James Bond theme. Den of sins. Contempt. Graveyad shift. Inside straight.

JAZZ: Episode 8, Risk
a jazz documentary by Ken Burns

reviewed by Walt Davis

As part of the Doubletake Documentary Film Fest held in Durham, NC on April 6-9, Ken Burns gave a sneak preview of one two-hour segment of his upcoming documentary, Jazz, scheduled to air on PBS in January, 2001. This episode is titled "Risk" and covers the years 1945-55. JIC website editor Paul Baker read a review I had posted to a jazz newsgroup, and asked me to revise it for publication here.

Horace Silver
by Stuart Nicholson

Blowin' the Blues Away
Blue Note BLP4017 (A) BST84017 (A); GXK 8036 (J) CDP7465262 (A)+; CP325246 (J)+.

Blue Mitchell (tpt); Junior Cook (ten); Silver (p); Eugene Taylor (bs); Louis Hayes (d).
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
29 & 30 August 1959 and 13 September 1959.

Blowin' the blues away; The St. Vitus dance; Break city; Peace; Sister Sadie; The Baghdad blues; Melancholy mood.