Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Jazz Line Distribution has re-released Eric Dolphy: Last Date, a film about the life and musical career of Jazz legend Eric Dolphy. Dolphy, best known for his revolutionary saxophone playing, introduced the flute and bass clarinet as lead instruments and pushed the boundaries of mainstream jazz improvisation. The film attempts to shed light on the innovations Dolphy made to Jazz and pays tribute his legacy.
The film traces Dolphy’s personal and professional lives, from his upbringing in Los Angeles all the way up to his success in New York as a member of both Charles Mingus’ and John Coltrane’s groups. However, the film’s focal point is Dolphy’s final recording session in Hilversum, Holland, on June 2, 1964. Through rare footage and interviews with his jazz contemporaries, Dolphy’s contribution to the genre is examined, as is his battle with diabetes. Eric Dolphy died following a misdiagnosis by a German doctor, collapsing into a diabetic comma. The jazz legend failed to receive proper treatment due to the Berlin doctors mistaking him for a junkie.
Eric Dolphy: Last Date was previously released in VHS format in 1991.The current DVD edition is enhanced with bonus material including additional photographs, a discography, and an interview with the filmmaker Hans Hylkema.
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Sanborn’s highly stylized playing and searing signature sound — frequently ornamented with thrill-inducing split-tones and bluesy bent notes — influenced generations of jazz and blues saxophonists.
May 14, 2024 3:13 PM
David Sanborn, the star alto saxophonist who masterfully straddled the realms of straightahead jazz, R&B, rock and…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
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Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
“I’m also at a point in my life where I don’t feel like I have anything to prove, like at all,” Akinmusire says about his art.
Mar 26, 2024 12:45 PM
At the risk of oversimplifying and romanticizing the story, Ambrose Akinmusire came bursting on the jazz scene at the…
