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1996 WAS A YEAR OF TRIBUTES AND INNOVATIONS IN THE WORLD
OF JAZZ. JAZZ MADE ITS WAY ONTO THE WORLD WIDE WEB, AS
STRAINS OF COLE, POWELL AND GILLESPIE FILTERED THROUGH
GOURMET COFFEE SHOPS. AND, THE YEAR WAS NOT WITHOUT
SOME MOVING TRIBUTES TO HONOR PAST AND PRESENT JAZZ
GIANTS. [THIS ARTICLE] REVIEWS THE YEAR IN JAZZ,
WITH HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BLUES WORLD.
THE CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ALBUM THAT SPENT THE MOST WEEKS AT
NUMBER ONE WAS "Q'S JOOK JOINT," BY KEYBOARDIST, COMPOSER,
PRODUCER AND ARRANGER QUINCY JONES. JONES PRODUCED AND
ARRANGED MOST OF THE ALBUM'S FIFTEEN TRACKS, WHICH FEATURE
TOP NAMES FROM JAZZ, RAP, POP AND RHYTHM-AND-BLUES. JUKE
JOINTS WERE DANCE HALLS WITH COIN OPERATED RECORD MACHINES.
JONES EXPLAINS HOW EARLY AMERICAN JUKE JOINTS GAVE BIRTH
TO THE BLUES.
Diana Ross - The Lady Sings... Jazz & Blues
Starring: Diana Ross
VHS
Edition Details:
NTSC format (US and Canada only)
Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
"IT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT MUSICAL INSTITUTION
IN THE COUNTRY, BECAUSE IT'S THE ONE THAT SPAWNED THE
FEELING OF THE BLUES THE MOST. AND IT WAS ROUGH. I'M
NOT TALKING ABOUT ANY LITTLE CANDY STORE HERE. THE JUKE
JOINT WAS ROUGH. IT WAS LOWDOWN. PEOPLE WENT THERE TO
LET THEIR HAIR DOWN, AND YOU WOULD SEE PEOPLE FROM EVERY
WALK OF LIFE COME IN THERE. AND THAT WAS THE KIND OF
PLACE IT WAS. EVERYBODY LET THEIR HAIR DOWN AND NOT
HAVE ANY AUTHORITARIAN KINDS OF ATTITUDES GO ON.
EVERYTHING WAS JUST NATURAL AND IT BREATHED OUT THE
BIRTHPLACE FOR THE BLUES, REALLY."
FROM JUKE JOINTS TO COFFEE SHOPS, JAZZ HAS COME A LONG
WAY OVER THE LAST CENTURY. IN 1996, BLUE NOTE RECORDS
AND THE NATION'S LEADING COFFEE RETAILER STARBUCKS
TEAMED UP FOR AN ENCORE PERFORMANCE OF THE JAZZ
COMPILATION "BLUE NOTE BLEND." THE DISC FEATURES
CLASSIC JAZZ FROM NANCY WILSON, BUD POWELL, CHET BAKER
AND ART BLAKEY, AS WELL AS CONTEMPORARY SELECTIONS FROM
HOLLY COLE AND THE CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO. BLUE NOTE BLEND
COFFEE AND CDS ARE SOLD IN MORE THAN 750 STARBUCKS U-S
STORES, WHICH ALSO BEGAN SELLING A NEW SAMPLER OF
CLASSIC BLUES ENTITLED "BLENDING THE BLUES."
JAZZ HIT THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY WITH AN ON-LINE
NETWORK CALLED JAZZ CENTRAL STATION. THE BRAINCHILD OF
RECORD PRODUCER DAVE GRUSIN, JAZZ CENTRAL STATION OFFERS
JAZZ DESTINATIONS - AN UP-TO-DATE LISTING OF CONCERTS
AROUND THE WORLD; THE LISTENING CAR - CD, VIDEO AND
INTERACTIVE REVIEWS; RECORD COMPANY CARGO - RECORD
LABELS, ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES, PHOTOGRAPHS AND SOUNDCLIPS;
AND A JAZZ CLASSROOM CALLED MUSICIAN'S EXPRESS. THE WEB
SITE EVEN CONTAINS BREAKING NEWS, A JAZZ SHOPPING MARKET
AND ARTIST INTERVIEWS. DAVE GRUSIN BELIEVES THE
INTERNET WILL ULTIMATELY BOOST JAZZ'S WORLDWIDE
EXPOSURE.
Elvin Jones - Jazz Machine
Starring: Elvin Jones
VHS
Edition Details:
NTSC format (US and Canada only)
Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
"THE IDEA OF SEEING EVERYTHING THAT'S AVAILABLE, FIRST
OF ALL, ALL THE CURRENT STUFF, AND BEING ABLE TO ACCESS
THE CATALOG AS WELL...CATALOG ITEMS. BUT ALSO TO BE
ABLE TO HEAR SOUND SAMPLES AND MAKE DECISIONS THAT WAY.
I JUST FEEL IT'S JUST A WONDERFUL WAY TO BE KEPT
UP-TO-DATE."
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER IN NEW YORK LAUNCHED ITS NEW
SEASON WITH A 75TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO JAZZMAN JON
HENDRICKS, A PIONEER OF "SCAT" SINGING OR "VOCALESE."
THE CELEBRATION FEATURED JON HENDRICKS' MASTERPIECE
"EVOLUTION OF THE BLUES," AS WELL AS PERFORMANCES BY
SPECIAL GUESTS AL JARREAU, JAMES MOODY, BOBBY MCFERRIN
AND THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER.
THE LIFE OF JAZZ TRUMPETER, COMPOSER, BANDLEADER, FILM
STAR, AND MAYBE THE WORLD'S VERY FIRST SCAT SINGER
LOUIS ARMSTRONG WAS HONORED IN THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION'S MULTIMEDIA EXHIBITION "LOUIS ARMSTRONG -
A CULTURAL LEGACY." THROUGH PERSONAL LETTERS,
PHOTOGRAPHS, RECORDINGS AND VIDEOS, THE EXHIBIT
ILLUSTRATED WHY SATCHMO WAS TRULY AMERICA'S AMBASSADOR
OF JAZZ. JULY 6TH MARKED THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF
ARMSTRONG'S DEATH.
A LOUIS ARMSTRONG TRIBUTE HIGHLIGHTED THE 10TH ANNUAL
THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ COMPETITION IN
WASHINGTON, D.C. THE EVENT THIS PAST YEAR DREW
ASPIRING SAXOPHONISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. A
STEPPING STONE FOR PREVIOUS WINNERS MARCUS ROBERTS,
JOSHUA REDMAN AND JACKY TERRASSON, THE COMPETITION WAS
TAPED FOR FUTURE BROADCAST ON NETWORK TELEVISION. THE
1996 WINNER OF THE 20-THOUSAND-DOLLAR GRAND PRIZE WAS
29-YEAR-OLD JON GORDON FROM NEW YORK.
"ACTION MAN" IS ONE OF 38 TRACKS ON "ALLIGATOR RECORDS'
25TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION," FEATURING SCORES OF
AMERICA'S TOP BLUES ARTISTS. THE ALLIGATOR LABEL WAS
FOUNDED IN 1971 BY BLUES FAN BRUCE IGLAUER (IG-LOUR),
WHO LAUNCHED THE COMPANY WITH LESS THAN THREE-THOUSAND
DOLLARS. IGLAUER NEVER DREAMED HE WOULD SOMEDAY OWN
THE WORLD'S LARGEST INDEPENDENT CONTEMPORARY BLUES
LABEL.
Jazz at the Smithsonian - Art Blakey
Starring: Art Blakey
VHS
Edition Details:
NTSC format (US and Canada only)
HiFi Sound, CX Encoding, NTSC
"ALL I THOUGHT ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF ALLIGATOR WAS
PUTTING OUT ONE RECORD BY MY FAVORITE BAND AND TRYING
TO SELL ENOUGH OF IT SO THAT IT WOULD PAY FOR ITSELF
AND MAYBE I COULD DO SOMEBODY ELSE'S RECORD DOWN THE
ROAD. IT NEVER OCCURED TO ME THAT WE WOULD GROW INTO A
COMPANY WITH NOW ABOUT 170 RELEASES, A STAFF OF 21 AND
DISTRIBUTION ALL OVER THE WORLD. IT'S BEYOND MY
WILDEST DREAMS."
BLUES MUSIC POPULARITY IS BIG BUSINESS THROUGHOUT THE
UNITED STATES. CHICAGO BECAME THE FOURTH CITY IN THE
COUNTRY TO OPEN THE HOUSE OF BLUES. A SHOWCASE FOR
MODERN AND TRADITIONAL BLUES, SOUL AND GOSPEL, THE NEW
LOCATION INCLUDES A THREE-LEVEL NIGHTCLUB, 400-ROOM
HOTEL, RESTAURANTS, RECORD STORE AND RADIO STATION.
SADLY, JAZZ LOST ONE OF ITS GREATEST VOICES WHEN "THE
FIRST LADY OF SONG" ELLA FITZGERALD DIED AT THE AGE OF
78. ELLA'S CAREER SPANNED MORE THAN FIVE DECADES, AND
INCLUDED A CLASSIC SERIES OF SONGBOOKS FEATURING THE
MUSIC OF COLE PORTER, DUKE ELLINGTON, IRVING BERLIN,
JOHNNY MERCER AND GEORGE AND IRA GERSHWIN. 1996 SAW
THE PASSING OF THREE GENERATIONS OF JAZZ SAXOPHONISTS -
GERRY MULLIGAN, A PIONEER OF THE COOL JAZZ PERIOD;
TENOR SAXMAN EDDIE HARRIS; AND ART PORTER, JR., WHO
DIED IN A BOATING ACCIDENT AT AGE 35.
Source: Voice of America
