505, July 25 Duke Ellington wrote compositions with specific members of his magnificent orchestra in mind and Thelonious Monk wrote to suit his singular approach to the piano. Given that the jazz composer’s job is to inspire improvisers, Barney McAll has succeeded brilliantly with the material primarily from the Mooroolbark…
Category: Concert Reviews
The Studio, July 23 Although Louis Armstrong invented jazz singing and Sarah Vaughan made it soar to dizzy heights, Billie Holiday remains the pinnacle if understatement, emotional directness and rhythmic nous are allowed to outweigh power and vocal gymnastics. In the centenary year of Holiday’s birth – she died in…
The Studio, July 20 Four more diverse finalists are hard to imagine. MC Tim Richie referred to the judges’ difficulty in comparing apples with oranges, but this was more like comparing apples with fire-engines, churches and wombats. In the event the judges awarded the $15,000 Music Trust Freedman Jazz Fellowship…