VA • The Hard Bop Years - Rudy Van Gelder Masters

 

Compilation of RVG's masters, 99 tracks.

Art Blakey, Grant Green, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny Burrell, Cannonball Adderley, Ike Quebec, Jimmy Smith, Joe Henderson, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Clifford Jordan, Blue Mitchell, Thelonious Monk, J.J. Johnson, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean, Lou Donaldson, Dexter Gordon, Stanley Turrentine ...

Elek Bacsik • I Love You

Elek Bacsik (22 May 1926 – 14 February 1993) was a Hungarian-born American jazz violinist and guitarist.

Bacsik was born in Budapest, the son of Arpad Bacsik and Erzsebet Pocsi. He was of Romani ethnicity and studied violin at the Budapest Conservatory, but found his primary musical inspiration in bebop pioneers Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. He was also the cousin of Django Reinhardt. In his early years he travelled as a musician to Lebanon, Spain, Portugal and Italy. He worked in Paris in the early 1960s and recorded with some well known French musicians such as Jeanne Moreau, Serge Gainsbourg and Claude Nougaro as well as making solo albums. In 1966, he went to work and live in the United States and played at Las Vegas. Bacsik recorded on guitar on Gillespie's Dizzy on the French Riviera (1962) and later appeared on violin with Gillespie at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1974. His bebop violin playing is featured on his two albums as a leader, I Love You (1974) and Bird and Dizzy: A Musical Tribute (1975).

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 Elek Bacsik (22 de mayo de 1926 - 14 de febrero de 1993) fue un violinista y guitarrista de jazz americano nacido en Hungría.

Bacsik nació en Budapest, hijo de Arpad Bacsik y Erzsebet Pocsi. De etnia romaní, estudió violín en el Conservatorio de Budapest, pero encontró su principal inspiración musical en los pioneros del bebop Dizzy Gillespie y Charlie Parker. También era primo de Django Reinhardt. En sus primeros años viajó como músico al Líbano, España, Portugal e Italia. Trabajó en París a principios de la década de 1960 y grabó con algunos músicos franceses muy conocidos como Jeanne Moreau, Serge Gainsbourg y Claude Nougaro, además de hacer álbumes en solitario. En 1966, se fue a trabajar y a vivir a los Estados Unidos y tocó en Las Vegas. Bacsik grabó con la guitarra en Dizzy on the French Riviera de Gillespie (1962) y más tarde apareció en el violín con Gillespie en el Festival de Jazz de Newport en 1974. Su violín bebop aparece en sus dos álbumes como líder, I Love You (1974) y Bird and Dizzy: A Musical Tribute (1975).

Dany Bittel Quartet • Venez Donc Chez Moi

Venu de Suisse, le swing de ce fils de pasteur évangéliste fait mouche pour ceux qui recherchent le son issu de la tradition. Pas d’esbrouffe, mais des mélodies et ce petit je ne sais quoi qui fait chanter les guitares. Ce supplément d’âme que recherchent les apprentis musiciens de swing, mais qu’il est impossible de trouver dans les livres. Ce petit fil invisible qui anime le pied sur les contre-temps de la musique. Car c’est la maitrise du son et du rythme qui caractérise le jeu de Dany Bittel. La version de "venez donc chez moi" est à ce titre un bel exemple. Dans la même veine Denis Maffli au violon, vient donner le contre point parfait à la guitare. On retrouve sur trois titres la guitare électrique de Christian Escoudè.
Du bel ouvrage, réglé comme un pendule... Suisse bien sûr.
http://www.djangostation.com/Venez-donc-chez-moi,246.html

 

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Hailing from Switzerland, this evangelist pastor's son's swing hits the nail on the head for those looking for a traditional sound. No showboating, just melodies and that little je ne sais quoi that makes guitars sing. It's that extra soul that apprentice swing musicians are looking for, but can't find in books. That little invisible thread that keeps your foot on the music's upbeats. For it is the mastery of sound and rhythm that characterises Dany Bittel's playing. His version of "venez donc chez moi" is a fine example of this. In the same vein, Denis Maffli on violin provides the perfect counterpoint to the guitar. Christian Escoudè plays electric guitar on three tracks.
A fine piece of work, like clockwork... Swiss, of course.
http://www.djangostation.com/Venez-donc-chez-moi,246.html

 

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Procedente de Suiza, el swing de este hijo de pastor evangelista da en el clavo para quienes buscan un sonido tradicional. Sin alardes, sólo melodías y ese pequeño je ne sais quoi que hace cantar a las guitarras. Es ese alma extra que buscan los aprendices de músicos de swing, pero que no encuentran en los libros. Ese pequeño hilo invisible que mantiene el pie en los redobles de la música. Porque es el dominio del sonido y del ritmo lo que caracteriza la forma de tocar de Dany Bittel. Su versión de "venez donc chez moi" es un buen ejemplo de ello. En la misma línea, Denis Maffli al violín pone el contrapunto perfecto a la guitarra. Christian Escoudè toca la guitarra eléctrica en tres temas.
Un buen trabajo, como un reloj... Suizo, por supuesto.
http://www.djangostation.com/Venez-donc-chez-moi,246.html

Billy Strange • Secret Agent File

Puede que su nombre suene al de un completo desconocido, pero lo cierto es que ha sido una de las figuras más importantes de la música contemporánea. Guitarrista, compositor, arreglista y productor, Billy Strange escribió grandes clásicos de la música y trabajó para estrellas como Frank y Nancy Sinatra, los Beach Boys, Elvis Presley o Nat King Cole.

Nacido en 1930, Strange empezó en la música a los cinco años, tocando junto a sus padres en una radio de Long Beach (California). Aunque su primer instrumento fue la trompeta, cuando le regalaron una Gibson L-7 su carrera cambió para siempre.

Tras recorrer el suroeste estadounidense en su adolescencia, Billy Strange se instaló en California, donde empezó a tocar y cantar para grupos country del momento, como The Sons of The Pioneers, Roy Rogers o Spade Cooley.

Con el tiempo, se ganó una buena reputación en Los Angeles y comenzó a participar como guitarrista en las sesiones de grabación. Así fue como haría grandes amistades con grupos como los Beach Boys o Jan & Dean, leyendas del surf-rock de la época.

El nombre de Billy Strange figura como coautor, junto a Mac Davis, de A Little Less Conversation de 1968, uno de los clásicos de Elvis Presley, para quien escribió numerosas canciones y con quien tocó en muchas otras.

Su guitarra suena en canciones de Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Wanda Jackson, los Beach Boys y, especialmente, Nancy Sinatra. El tremolo de su guitarra puede escucharse en Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) y compuso y arregló These Boots Are Made For Walking.

Su relación con los Sinatra fue muy fructífera. Trabajó en la famosa Something Stupid de Frank y a finales de los 60 dirigía la orquesta que Nancy llevaba en sus directos, hasta que en los 70 se instaló en Nashville para hacerse cargo de una empresa de ambos.

En solitario, Billy Strange puso su voz en varias bandas sonoras de programas de televisión y películas de Disney, y lanzó álbumes instrumentales con versiones de grandes éxitos, como You Only Live Twice, de la banda sonora de James Bond.

El trabajo de toda una vida fue reconocido cuando se le introdujo en el Rockabilly Hall of Fame, como merecía uno de los compositores que más han marcado la historia del rock. (europapress.es)

Automatic Translation:

His name may sound like a complete stranger, but the truth is that he has been one of the most important figures in contemporary music. Guitarist, composer, arranger and producer, Billy Strange wrote great music classics and worked for stars like Frank and Nancy Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley and Nat King Cole.

Born in 1930, Strange started in music at the age of five, playing with his parents in a radio station in Long Beach (California). Although his first instrument was the trumpet, when he was given a Gibson L-7 his career changed forever.

After touring the American Southwest as a teenager, Billy Strange settled in California, where he started playing and singing for country groups of the time, such as The Sons of The Pioneers, Roy Rogers or Spade Cooley.

Eventually, he earned a good reputation in Los Angeles and started participating as a guitarist in recording sessions. That's how he would make great friendships with groups like the Beach Boys or Jan & Dean, legends of surf-rock at the time.

Billy Strange's name appears as co-author, with Mac Davis, of A Little Less Conversation from 1968, one of the classics of Elvis Presley, for whom he wrote numerous songs and with whom he played in many others.

His guitar sounds in songs by Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Wanda Jackson, the Beach Boys and especially Nancy Sinatra. His guitar tremolo can be heard in Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) and he composed and arranged These Boots Are Made For Walking.

His relationship with the Sinatras was very fruitful. He worked in Frank's famous Something Stupid and in the late 60s he conducted Nancy's live band, until in the 70s he moved to Nashville to take over a company from both of them.

As a soloist, Billy Strange put his voice on several soundtracks for television shows and Disney movies, and released instrumental albums with versions of greatest hits, such as You Only Live Twice, from the James Bond soundtrack.

His life's work was recognized when he was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, as deserved by one of the most influential songwriters in the history of rock. (europapress.es)

How It Feels to Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement

 

In 1964, Nina Simone sat at a piano in New York's Carnegie Hall to play what she called a "show tune." Then she began to sing: "Alabama's got me so upset/Tennessee made me lose my rest/And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam!" Simone, and her song, became icons of the civil rights movement. But her confrontational style was not the only path taken by black women entertainers.

In How It Feels to Be Free, Ruth Feldstein examines celebrated black women performers, illuminating the risks they took, their roles at home and abroad, and the ways that they raised the issue of gender amid their demands for black liberation. Feldstein focuses on six women who made names for themselves in the music, film, and television industries: Simone, Lena Horne, Miriam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln, Diahann Carroll, and Cicely Tyson. These women did not simply mirror black activism; their performances helped constitute the era's political history. Makeba connected America's struggle for civil rights to the fight against apartheid in South Africa, while Simone sparked high-profile controversy with her incendiary lyrics. Yet Feldstein finds nuance in their careers. In 1968, Hollywood cast the outspoken Lincoln as a maid to a white family in For Love of Ivy, adding a layer of complication to the film. That same year, Diahann Carroll took on the starring role in the television series Julia. Was Julia a landmark for casting a black woman or for treating her race as unimportant? The answer is not clear-cut. Yet audiences gave broader meaning to what sometimes seemed to be apolitical performances.

How It Feels to Be Free demonstrates that entertainment was not always just entertainment and that "We Shall Overcome" was not the only soundtrack to the civil rights movement. By putting black women performances at center stage, Feldstein sheds light on the meanings of black womanhood in a revolutionary time.

 

Ruth Feldstein (Author)