Bill Brownlee’s audio feature about the Grafton saxophone played by Charlie Parker at Massey Hall in 1953 aired nationally on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition program on January 3. A slightly different version of the story was heard on Kansas City’s NPR affiliate, KCUR, in December.
Steve Cerra is working on a promotional campaign for his recently self-published Gerry Mulligan Reader—40+ articles and over 350 pages, available through Amazon as a paperback and eBook. Also, he’s been bringing up features about jazz and its makers on his new Substack platform. 2024 marks the 16th anniversary of his JazzProfiles blog, which just reached 3,700 posts. He has begun work on a Bill Evans Reader: 30 articles to date.
Stephanie Crease will be speaking about her latest book, Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat That Changed America with jazz historian Loren Schoenberg, NJMH Senior Scholar on February 27, 7pm, at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. The presentation will include rare photos and recordings to portray a fuller picture of Webb, the innovative Swing Era drummer/bandleader, whose legacy is often under recognized.
Paul de Barros’s biography Shall We Play That One Together? The LIfe and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland will be reprinted this fall by the University of South Carolina Press. He is doing interviews for a new book about Seattle jazz in the modern era. He is also creating a phone app for a self-guided walking tour of Seattle’s historic jazz district.
Jeroen de Valk has been busy as editor-in-chief of Jazz Bulletin, a magazine devoted to Dutch jazz history, and enjoyed the presentation of the Italian translation — by member Francesco Martinelli — of his Chet Baker biography, which also featured Enrico Rava. De Valk wrote a series of investigative stories about special musicians who almost completely disappeared from view, including George Johnson, Sandy Mosse and Victor Kaihatu. They all moved back and forth between the U.S. and the Netherlands.
Doug Hall wrote a long-form profile of Billie Holiday for WICN public radio in Worcester, MA. He also recorded a podcast for the Belmont community channel with guest jazz guitarist and Berklee College of Music student Gabriel Jonas, on his program Talk About Jazz with Doug Hall.
Sanford Josephson will be making two presentations in February on “The Role of Jazz in Black History.” On February 21, he will be giving a virtual presentation for the Somerset Library in Bridgewater, NJ. On February 26, the presentation will be live at the Somerset Office of Aging & Disability facility in Somerset, NJ. In the February issue of Jersey Jazz, Sanford s’ Rising Star feature is on pianist Tyler Bullock.’
Dorothy Longo is finalizing the audiobook of Mike Longo’s biography The Rhythm of Unity: A Jazz Musician’s Lifelong Journey Beyond Black & White. It will be announced at a Tribute to Mike on February 24 by the Bob Magnuson Group at the Beanrunner Café in Peekskill, NY. Some of Mike’s Big Band members will perform including Christian Fabian, Bob Magnuson and Vinnie Cutro. Pianist Lenore Raphael, an ex-student of Mike’s, will also perform.
Howard Mandel wrote about loving “Rhapsody in Blue,” and jazz composers writing for symphony orchestras, on his Substack Mandel’s media diet. He reviewed A Canadian Songbook by Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop for DownBeat.
Bill McCann was recently elected as President of A Place for Jazz, a 501(c)(3) membership-based organization dedicated to promoting Jazz and Jazz Education in the Capital District of New York. Founded in 1987 by the late Butch Conn, APFJ has put on a series of 5 concerts each Fall for nearly 4 decades, featuring a Who’s Who of jazz greats.
Steve Monroe’s Jazz Avenues D.C. for X and Facebook for December/January included promos for artists including Steve Novosel, Akua Allrich, Lenny Williams, Lyle Link, Jane Monheit, Paul Carr, Chelsey Green, Tedd Baker, Paul Bollenback, Todd Marcus and Michael Thomas; reviews of the Ahmad Jamal “Emerald City Nights” album release, the new album by Stephen Arnold & Sea Change, and a special Facebook remembrance of recent ancestor saxophonist/educator Carl Grubbs.
Al Perlman is now hosting a weekly two-hour radio show/podcast called Jazz Collector Live at WTBR-FM in Pittsfield, Ma. The show features a weekly theme focused primarily on bop and post-bop jazz and vocals. Jazz Collector Live airs each Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern time and is available as a podcast after the show appears on the air. You can listen live from anywhere in the world at the WTBR website.
Lawrence Peryer hosts Spotlight On, an interview podcast that highlights jazz and other underserved forms and ideas. They kicked off 2024 with episodes featuring drummer Adam Rudolph (1/4), pianists Angelica Sanchez (1./11) and Kris Davis (1/18) and pedal steel improviser Susan Alcorn (1/25). Spotlight On turns four on February 6 and has upcoming episodes recorded with Phil Haynes, Quinsin Nachoff, Kevin Sun and many others.
Scott Thompson has been working with Orrin Evans on his upcoming tour. He is also working with Irish jazz funk band Chief Keegan as well as with the Geoffrey Dean Quartet new release Foundations. New followup from New Zealand Darren Pickering Volume 2: aesthetic and cool.
Michael J. West attended and covered the return of the Jazz Congress for DownBeat.
Deanna Witkowski teaches a six-week online course, “The Music of Mary Lou Williams,” for Swing U at Jazz at Lincoln Center beginning on Wed, Feb 7 at 7 pm EST. Registration for a single class or for the full course is available here.
