Apr 26, 2022 1:31 PM
Keith Jarrett’s Seminal Facing You Turns 50
A half century has passed since Keith Jarrett released his first solo piano album, Facing You (also his first recording…
Dr. John (1941–2019)
(Photo: Bruce Weber)There’s still some magic left, apparently.
While Dr. John died June 6, a posthumous studio set’s on the way, as well as this live dispatch, recorded in 1995 with the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany. Big Band Voodoo includes countless familiar tunes, including the closing version of Professor Longhair’s “Tipitina.” As ever, though, Dr. John filtered America’s musical history through the unique lens of his New Orleans upbringing, which bumped up against blues, jazz, r&b and early strains of rock ’n’ roll.
The premiere of the pianist’s take of “Stagger Lee” from the 1995 set is below.
“It’s been recorded thousands of times [in] numerous musical genres,” Stanley Chaisson, Dr. John’s long-time manager, wrote in an email. “This song was important to Mac because of its high emotion and danger. Mac has used this song on stage many, many times, and his piano playing is an interpretation like no one else[’s]. He adds the New Orleans left hand, the blues and a kind of boogie-woogie that fattens it up and has you stomping your feet. It’s a one of a kind.”
For additional information about Big Band Voodoo, visit the Orange Music website. DB
“Keith’s thing was startling,” pianist Craig Taborn says of Facing You.
Apr 26, 2022 1:31 PM
A half century has passed since Keith Jarrett released his first solo piano album, Facing You (also his first recording…
Bassist-composer Ron Carter turns 85 on May 4.
May 3, 2022 12:38 PM
On May 10, the iconic bassist-composer Ron Carter will be fêted in an 85th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall. With…
“I have no concept of what I did before! That’s irrelevant,” Ibrahim said. “I can’t change anything. I can’t change the past, I can’t change the future, I can only deal with what is now.”
May 9, 2022 2:52 PM
It is 2022. The pandemic lingers, yet life is moving forward in unexpected ways.
The necessary move to video…
The Detroit Jazz Festival has announced its lineup for Labor Day weekend during a livestream preview event that included a live performance from the 2022 Artist-in-Residence Chucho Valdés.
May 24, 2022 10:25 AM
The Detroit Jazz Festival has announced its lineup for Labor Day weekend during a livestream preview event that…
Meghan Stabile was the founder of Revive Music Group.
Jun 21, 2022 11:37 AM
Meghan Stabile, a promoter, presenter and producer, died on June 12 in Florida at age 39. The apparent cause was…