A Beautiful Untitled Chord Improvisation by Kurt Rosenwinkel

Mr. Rhythm

Film: Let Yourself Go - The Lives of Fred Hersch

The New Yorker Fred Hersch is one of the best pianists and composers of contemporary Jazz. His musical work is remarkable, and so is his way of life.

Hersch, now 53 years old, has been HIV positive for twenty years. His disease progressed to AIDS only a few years ago. He was one of the first Jazz musicians who 1994 publicly came out as gay and HIV-positive.

Openly and well-humoured, he speaks on this DVD about his life, his career with all its ups and downs and about his music - the vital force that empowers him to live with his illness.

Filmmaker Katja Duregger has followed Fred Hersch over a period of two years. She shot much of the material by herself, which enabled her to produce a very intimate and moving portrait of this exceptional musician.

Continue reading ...

AllMusic’s Favorite Jazz Albums of 2008

The first ten:




Azymuth - Butterfly




Brian Blade Fellowship - Season of Changes




Anthony Braxton - Beyond Quantum




James Carter - Present Tense






Francisco Mora Catlett - Outerzone




Gerald Cleaver - Gerald Cleaver’s Detroit




Bill Dixon/Exploding Star Orchestra - Bill Dixon with Exploding Star Orchestra




Dave Douglas & Keystone - Moonshine





Lisle Ellis - Sucker Punch Requiem




Kenny Garrett - Sketches of MD

Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2008, Fred Kaplan on Slate

Full article with links and sounds sample, here.

Sonny Rollins' Road Shows, Vol. 1

Shirley Horn, Live at the 1994 Monterey Jazz Festival

Frank Kimbrough's Air

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Kinsmen

Carla Bley Big Band's Appearing Nightly

Paul Bley's About Time

David Murray and Mal Waldron's Silence

Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson's Two Men With the Blues

Steven Bernstein's Diaspora Suite

Jeff Gauthier's House of Return

NPR's Gary Walker - The Year In Jazz: Best CDs Of 2008

For album covers, links, descriptions and sound samples, click here.

David "Fathead" Newman
Album: Diamondhead

Chick Corea/Gary Burton
Album: New Crystal Silence

Pat Metheny Trio
Album: Day Trip

Steve Turre
Album: Rainbow People

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Album: Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard

Anat Cohen
Album: Notes from the Village

Dave Holland Sextet
Album: Pass It On

SF Jazz Collective
Album: Live 2008: 5th Annual Concert Tour

The Stryker/Slagle Band
Album: Scene

Dick Oatts
Album: Gratitude

Russell Malone is One Hell of a Fine Guitarist

Click through to view - embedding disabled on this video of Malone with Billy Taylor on Piano - There Will Never Be Another You.

Pat Martino, Oleo, June 2008

You Can Purchase the Pat Martino Movie "Unstring" Here:

The Jazz Cares website. Cost: $30 plus shipping. I wonder if this movie will be available on Netflix soon ....

90 min. Documentary Feature Film Legendary jazz guitar great Pat Martino underwent brain surgery that saved his life but erased all memory, emotion and the ability to play. There he should have remained yet, after years in the wilderness, he came back with such astonishing power and artistry as to bring into question all the known medical facts. Neuropsycologist Paul Broks explores the mysteries of memory, self and creativity underlying the human condition. Martino provides the sublime soundtrack. Martino is the protagonist of a story which is more Hollywood than Hollywood."

Oh yes, U.S. only.

Click here for earlier post on this movie.

Once a guitar genius, always a guitar genius.

Mark Whitfield

Great article on this amazing guitarist, here.


"I walked in because I heard someone playing guitar. On the stage, sitting by himself in a chair was Joe Pass. It had to be about three o'clock in the afternoon. Joe Pass is one of the four or five greatest guitar players of all time. And he is at Disneyland at around 60 playing a gig, playing solo guitar for two hours for a bunch of tourists and little kids. I just sat there and listened to him play for a couple of hours. Of course I was just dreaming that one day I'd be able to play like him. So that's where reality sets in ... one of the four or five greatest guitar players, and certainly one of the greatest musicians of all time, playing a gig at Disneyland. He's not playing the Hollywood Bowl. He's in Tea Cup Land. So reality says, 'Hey, you've got a long way to go before you can even be worthy to carry his guitar case. And this is what he's doing."

Listen to Whitfield's 1995 album, 7th Avenue Stroll, on lala.com, here: