Jun 1, 2020 12:12 PM
Impressions of Art Tatum at the Grand Piano
The scene is The Three Deuces, a popular gathering place for the Chicago music profession. The tables are crowded and…
Art Tatum (1909–’56)
Jun 1, 2020 12:12 PM
The scene is The Three Deuces, a popular gathering place for the Chicago music profession. The tables are crowded and…
Lee Konitz (1927–2020)
Apr 27, 2020 11:04 AM
On the afternoon of May 4, when Lee Konitz was informed of his induction into the DownBeat Hall of Fame, he was not at…
Sarah Vaughan (1924–1990)
Mar 27, 2020 2:35 PM
Complexes of one sort or another are often by-products of greatness.
As Sarah Vaughan recalls it, her life began…
Stan Getz (1927–1991)
Feb 19, 2020 3:06 PM
An American tourist who had picked up enough Danish to become aware of Danish radio’s predilection for lecture series…
Lionel Hampton (1908–2002)
Jan 24, 2020 4:00 PM
Known as the master of the vibes, king of the drums and creator of the two-fingered piano, Lionel Hampton has endeared…
Benny Golson genuinely is excited by the opportunity to write good music in any genre.
Jan 3, 2020 2:49 PM
One of the most successful of this country’s regular across-the-pond commuters is a man with several strings to his…
Woody Herman (1913–1987)
Dec 2, 2019 11:55 AM
New York—“Woody Herman has the greatest ofay swing band in the country—bar none!”
That’s what all the band…
Chet Baker (1929–1988)
Oct 26, 2019 4:47 PM
In the middle 1950s, Chet Baker was the young Lochinvar out of the West, the fair-haired boy of critics and laymen…
Sun Ra (1914–1993)
Sep 30, 2019 10:14 AM
Shards of sound scatter across the concert hall. Blips and bleeps, squiggles and snarls spew out from stage right,…
Ella Fitzgerald (1917–’96)
Aug 30, 2019 1:14 PM
“We had a request to sing,” Ella began over the applause—and suddenly she stopped. “You know,” she grinned,…
