08.26.09 Spotlight 0

A Hundred Candles for Lester Young

By Kevin Whitehead, eMusic Contributor

Tenor saxophonist Lester Young was born 27 August, 1909, and even at 100 he may be the coolest of cool jazz cats. He was (to single out a quality he prized) an original - a contrarian, even. For awhile he even held the bell of his horn out at a weird, unnatural angle. David Stone Martin once drew him playing in front of the tower of Pisa, leaning the opposite way. Young had his own way… more »

04.06.09 Spotlight 0

Baseball Music

By Dan Epstein, eMusic Contributor

Baseball and music are the twin obsessions of my life, but beyond drunken 7th inning renditions of "Take Me out to the Ballgame," I've always been fairly dubious about the wisdom of combining the two. Having grown up in an era where the only music heard at the ballpark came from a ghostly-sounding organ perched behind the press box, I find something extraordinarily distasteful about players running out onto the field to tune of '80s… more »

03.13.09 Spotlight 0

The Not Necessarily Happy Horns of Clark Terry

By Kevin Whitehead, eMusic Contributor

Can a musician's reputation be harmed by the persistent paying of a compliment? Clark Terry has a warm, plump, utterly distinctive sound on trumpet and its chubby pal the flugelhorn. He's rhythmically assured at any tempo, and has a deep feeling for the blues. But some writers fixate on how he has "the happiest sound in jazz," as if one trait defines his art. To be fair, it's not a rep he's run away from, having… more »