I’ve been noticing some buzz on the internet about an up-and-coming mono reissuing of Kenny Dorham’s Quiet Kenny by the Craft label, so I thought I’d feature a track off that album for this edition of Origins of Bop. “My Ideal” dates back to 1930, the year of both its publishing and … More→
It is my pleasure to introduce a new Deep Groove Mono video blog (“vlog”, as the kids say) series titled Record Collector Confessions. The inspiration to do this partly came from fellow members of the jazz community who are making terrific podcasts, and it also came from filmmaker Alan Zweig. The confessional style … More→
Truth be told, I snubbed Lester Young for a long time for the simple fact that he rose to fame during the swing era. I didn’t realize how hip he could be until I heard the Oscar Peterson Trio sessions he recorded for Norgran. From there, something told me to check him out when I started collecting 78s, and sure enough, I discovered the set of… More→
For the first installment of Origins of Bop, we looked at a 1948 bebop classic (Bird’s “Ah Leu Cha”) covered in the hard bop era (by Miles). This time, we explore a jazz standard with roots stretching back much further. “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise” has been covered by many artists including John Coltrane and Larry Young… More→
There is something to be said about the role exclusivity plays in record collecting and even in music appreciation in general, with this 78 being a prime example. If you’re a collector and you want to preview the songs on this disk, it’s possible to unearth them on YouTube. But you won’t find them on Spotify, and you’ll need to make a considerable… More→
Welcome to Origins of Bop, a new Deep Groove Mono series that aims to explore the lineage of some of my favorite hard bop recordings. I have always been interested in music history, and with jazz, that has meant finding out more about where my favorite compositions came from. This series is therefore intended to provide some backstory… More→
It’s been several months since I last did a proper record review. It’s a rule of mine to refrain from writing unless inspiration strikes, and it hadn’t until now. I recently received a birthday gift from my significant other in the form of a homemade video. She knows I adore Thelonious Monk, and while the inclusion of some of Monk’s music was a… More→
Since Rudy Van Gelder’s passing in 2016, Van Gelder Studio owner Maureen Sickler has been working toward a reopening of the studio, and that time has now come. On Saturday, November 14 at 9:00 P.M. Eastern Time (alternate times for Asia and Europe), Van Gelder Studio will host a virtual tribute concert for legendary composer and saxophonist Hank Mobley. More→
It is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of RVG Legacy, a new website dedicated to preserving the legacy of Rudy Van Gelder. Since the pandemic has taken away all opportunities for me to give my presentation on Rudy in person, I decided to build a website that would essentially deliver all the content of my talk virtually. In the spring I wrote the narrative, then over the summer I put everything together and developed the site. More→
While I have never felt apologetic about my sincere adoration for music, sometimes I do struggle with feelings of guilt related to how important collecting is to me. I spend a lot of time thinking about and partaking in this hobby, and my propensity toward anxiety and obsession has made my active participation difficult at times. At this point in my life, some of the old challenges have compounded and new ones are presenting themselves… More→