In Chicago, the cult of Bird fanatics probably lived harder than in other cities – and in the few decades after Charlie Parker's death, the city was host to annual Bird Memorial concerts during the month of August. This obscure 2LP set on Cadet does a good job of documenting the energy and comraderie that went into those sessions – as it captures tunes from four different performances during the series, all recorded at Chicago's North Park Hotel. Players include Dexter Gordon, Howard McGhee, Vi Redd, Lee Konitz, Art Hoyle, Von Freeman, Jodie Christian, Roy Haynes, Muhal Richard Abrams, Eddie Jefferson, and Kenny Dorham – and the set's a great crossection of players – from the bop to the less obvious Parker-philes – in a strong illustration of Bird's still-consistent influence even at the end of the 60s.
This 2 CD set is comprised of the complete 1954, 1956 and 1957 Capitol and Bethlehem albums 'Kenton Jazz Presents Sal Salvador', 'Frivolous Sal', 'Shades Of Sal Salvador' 'Tribute To The Greats' & 'Sounds By Socolow' (1 session). Also included as bonus tracks is the complete session under the saxophonist Frank Socolow leadership, and featuring legendary westcoaster trombonist Eddie Bert in addition to the Salvador-Costa quartet.
Edwin James Costa (August 14, 1930 – July 28, 1962) was an American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer and arranger. In 1957 he was chosen as Down Beat jazz critics' new star on piano and vibes – the first time that one artist won two categories in the same year. He became known for his percussive, driving piano style that concentrated on the lower octaves of the keyboard. Costa had an eight-year recording career, during which he appeared on more than 100 albums; five of these were under his own leadership.
The reissue of Eddie Costa's Guys and Dolls Like Vibes once again makes available one of his few dates as a leader. A talented vibraphonist (and also pianist, though he doesn't play it on this 1958 session), Costa leads a sterling quartet with the legendary Bill Evans on piano (although he was just starting to get noticed by the jazz press at the time), Wendell Marshall on bass, and drummer Paul Motian, in a Frank Loesser songbook taken from the musical Guys and Dolls.
The DVD has a wonderfully three-dimensional Dolby-Digital 5.1 sound mix that brings the Salzburg Cathedral ambience alive, and a stunningly detailed and clear anamorphically enhanced picture. Documentation is minimal; no texts, subtitles, or information about either Von Karajan or Rachel Harnisch is given. There is only one special feature, which is not documented on the disc: by default the disc offers a standard multi-camera view, but at a press of the Angle button it switches to a second set of cameras focused entirely on Abbado.–Gary S. Dalkin, Amazon.co.uk
It was a deeply affecting and appropriate farewell. The spirit of Claudio Abbado, the great conductor and founder of orchestras who died in January 2014, was present in music, words, and silence. Thousands upon thousands came to the Basilica di Santo Stefano in Bologna and the Piazza della Scala in Milan to pay their last respects. In Lucerne, the members of the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA paid tribute to this extraordinary man and friend with a deeply moving concert – “The emotional intensity was unbelievable; this could only be achieved by true musicians, by those capable of love.” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) Friends and associates look back fondly on Claudio Abbado and speak of how they experienced these moments of grief and farewell.
September 8, 1960 Oscar Pettiford, American bassist/cellist/composer with unparalleled recognition died abruptly at age 38 due to a virus disease in Copenhagen where he had made his permanent residence. He was one of American jazz players Denmark welcomed in in the 60s and 70s. A few weeks after Pettiford's passing a circle of Danish jazz fans organized a memorial concert presented here to raise funds for his children with a star-studded program that included Stan Getz, Alice Babs, among others.
A "triumph of remembrance," wrote Die Welt following this stirring concert given by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Seiji Ozawa and with Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist. It left its audience hovering between hushed reverence and deafening exultation. The Golden Hall of Vienna's Musikverein was the dazzling venue for the live recoding of this concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of Herbert Von Karajan's birth. And Karajan's "Berliners" never sounded better, according to the Frankfuter Allgemeine Zeitung, evoking "a time which self-confidently sought the private and subjective in music, and believed it could find them in the mirror of the works."