Saturday, August 28, 2010

A Jazzman's Jazzman

From the "Merely the Mockumentary" Department:



Gotta respect a man who takes care of his shoes. Gotta give it up to anyone with the patience for stop-motion animation. Premieres at Seattle's Fremont Abbey on Friday, September 10, 2010

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Tip: PJ at Blog Supremo.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Zubatto Syndicate Passes the Hat

I caught the Zubatto Syndicate's premier last fall at Seattle's Town Hall. The group includes some of the city's top jazz cats in a delightfully reed-heavy mix. (How can you not love a band with a bassoon?)

They're getting ready to record their first studio sessions and could use your help. See below for details. [Full disclosure: I'm a backer, yes I am.]

Monday, August 2, 2010

The Gottlieb Jazz Photo Collection on Flickr

Stumbled upon a treasure trove the other day. According to the Library of Congress Flickr stream, "In accordance with the wishes of William Gottlieb, the photographs in this collection entered into the public domain on February 16, 2010." Well, hallelujah.

Gottlieb covered the jazz scene in New York for Downbeat from 1938-48, when jazz was king. Many of his subjects have since become icons of American culture: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and that skinny Sinatra kid. One of my favorites of this first batch is a shot of a very young Miles Davis brooding in the background while Coleman Hawkins takes a solo.

The first 200 or so are now up, with more to come every month until all 1600 are online. Here's a slide show link to the collection:



Or you can go here to see for yourself. Either way, it will be time well spent.