Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
These selected highlights from Broadcast Music Inc.’s one-time print periodical, BMI: The Many Worlds Of Music, reflect a particularly vibrant time in music and the arts. BMI’s back pages document a wide range of artistic works and public events, some of which have not been sufficiently recorded in history. This
Shelly Manne’s sole appearance on a release by Cincinnati-based Fraternity Records is linked to Tommy Wolf and the title track of his 1958 album, “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most,” a song that has been interpreted by a cross section of musicians from all along the jazz spectrum
Urszula Dudziak‘s debut single was deemed a ‘Pick of the Week’ by Cash Box whose October 4, 1975 review identified the Polish jazz vocalist as an important new voice from whom big things were expected: Since Minnie Riperton hit the scene a new vocal approach seems to be in the
Browsing Nina Simone‘s early single releases on Bethlehem Records — Gus Wildi‘s jazz label, whose control and eventual ownership would ultimately be given over to Syd Nathan of King Records — my eyes are immediately drawn to the instrumental B-side, “African Mailman,” a fairly radical and oblique song title for
JazzTimes‘ Christopher Porter, amusingly, conducted his interview with bass legend, Keter Betts, at Silver Spring, Maryland‘s humble 9-hole Sligo Creek Golf Course due to its proximity to both Betts’ home and JazzTimes‘ editorial office. .From Porter’s 2002 JazzTimes piece, I learned that — Photo: Discogs Hinton initially met Betts in
Jimmy Colvard was a teen in 1963 when he played those distinctive snapping and popping guitar sounds that helped make “Six Days on the Road” a runaway hit for Dave Dudley. I have since learned that Colvard played guitar on a number of albums in the 1960s and 70s by
George Barnes recorded a boss guitar instrumental – “Spooky” – that should be part of everyone’s Halloween soundtrack: “Spooky” by George Barnes (1962) Billboard conferred three stars (“moderate sales potential) upon this B-side, as well as its A-side “Trainsville,” in their June 23, 1962 edition. Exactly fifty years later, in 2012, someone would
I am liberating a special series of “maxi-tweets” tied to King Records‘ lesser known jazz legacy that were otherwise buried in a PDF file attachment — part of 2018’s King 75th Birthday Celebration so wonderfully organized by Brian Powers of Cincinnati Public Libraries. The following research was conducted primarily by
Penny Von Eschen‘s Satchmo Blows Up the World — observes Muneer Nasser in 2017’s Upright Bass: The Musical Life and Legacy of Jamil Nasser (in the chapter entitled ‘Getting the Soviets to Swing’) — “reinforces the myth that [Benny Goodman] introduced jazz to the Soviet Union”: Benny Goodman became the first
I was delighted to learn that the father of a childhood friend from Cincinnati was once a professional musician, whose chosen instrument was the saxophone. Milton Ostrow, in fact, was captured in a live performance with Tony Pastor and His Orchestra, accompanied by Dolores Martel, in a “Snader Telescription” short film
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