What is the Periodic Table of Jazz?

If you haven't seen this, you should.

The Periodic Table of Jazz is a creation from Seattle based Jazz trombonist and educator, David Marriott, Jr.

There's not a lot I can say about this table, I just think it's very cool. If you click on the table it will enlarge and you'll see the names and time periods he has chosen. You'll also note that there are some names are obvious by their absence. Well, I'll let you read the words of it's creator, which you can do by going to, theperiodictableofjazz.com

Once at the site you can also order a poster of the table to hang on your wall, or give as a gift.

Click on the table.

Larger Than Life: Bobby Timmons at the Piano

One night in the late sixties I was walking down Avenue C in the East Village. It was late, and I was looking for a new place to grab a meal, and listen to some Jazz.

As I walked, I found a spot called, Rafikki. Not sure of the spelling now. I was only there once, and, I think it's gone now. But, it looked like a nice place, and the sign outside read, " live Jazz". Well, I had found a little piece of paradise.

Having been exposed to live Jazz from the age of eight by my mother in 1955, I was impressed even then with the music. But, my interest waned as one might expect from a child. It was only years
later that my interest and love of this music began to evolve. Sometime in the early sixties, when I was fifteen, my oldest brother, Dan, brought home some albums, Ramsey Lewis, among them. I'd heard of Ramsey,

The Cedar Walton Trio at the Village Vanguard, and, Suddenly in Walked Roy

In the late sixties, when I was hanging out around Jazz clubs in lower Manhattan, I couldn't afford to go to the storied, and costly, Village Vanguard. Enjoying a live show at this Jazz shrine had been a life long dream. I finally get there a few years ago.

I went with my wife in 2008. The cover was still a bit pricey, but I was no longer a broke college student. Once we were comfortably shoe-horned into our seats, the great Cedar Walton, and his trio, began the set. Trumpeter, Roy Hargrove, was also on the bill. Hargrove and

1968: The Jazz Journey Takes a Detour

The Jazz Journey has taken several artistic detours over the course of it's fifty plus years. In March 1968 I saw Jimi Hendrix perform live at the Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio. While Jazz has always been the main focus of my musical journey, you couldn't help but notice other genres of the period. 

Like many others, I was intrigued by what Hendrix was doing, and later, discovered that Miles Davis himself was discussing a collaboration with the guitarist just before Hendrix died.

Also, many of the hip Jazz clubs in the fifties and sixties were in the East Village in lower Manhattan. It was a paradise if you were into Bebop, Improv/Avant Garde. Of course, the West Village was home to

Next Stop for the Jazz Journey: The Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium Festival

Jazz: A Music of the Spirit 

The Thirteenth Annual Central Brooklyn Jazz  Festival(CBJC) will kickoff on March 30, thru April 30, 2013. Since 1999 the consortium has worked to recognize the works of  African American artists that have a "social conscious", and seek to improve relations among people and institutions in their community. The annual festival is a showcase for their efforts, for Jazz, and the arts.

This year's festival will feature Lou Donaldson, Dee Alexander, Houston Person, Winard Harper, Arturo O' Farrill, Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers, and many other international and local artists. Also, tributes will be made to honor many other artists, among them, Gloria Lynne, Gil Scott-Heron, Kenny Dorham, and Cecil Payne.

The Consortium will also give awards in the following categories: Jazz Impact Award, honoring the Jazz member credited with making the most significant contribution to the community; CBJC Hall of Fame Awards, which has inducted such notables as, Mary Lou Williams, Art Blakey, and Carmen McRae, among others; and the the Jazz Shrine Award, selecting a Jazz venue that has made a significant contribution to the community.

This event is held annually. But, I hope to see some of you this time around.

For more info write to, info@cbjcjazz.org or call (718) 773-2252.

Geoffrey Smith's Jazz From the U.K.

Geoffrey Smith is many things, musician, freelance writer, lecturer, and host of Geoffrey Smith's Jazz. The program is heard on the BBC each week where he shares his passion for Jazz by exploring the great artists of the genre from his unique viewpoint. I just recently found the show while surfing the web. I was impressed.

Geoffrey was born in Michigan in 1943, and was raised in an environment of classical, contemporary, and Jazz music. He became a percussionist, playing in diverse groups from Dixieland to Avant-Garde. He went to Britain in 1973 to complete work on a doctorate degree, and decided to stay. 

He spent more than twenty years hosting, Jazz Records Request. In his new gig, Geoffrey Smith's Jazz, he explores the history of Jazz across a wide spectrum, or as he himself puts it, 'I always try to convey the energy and spontaneity that's so vital to Jazz, the sense of discovery I knew in my days as a drummer with groups ranging from Dixieland to big bands to a very free New York quartet'.

To check out the program, and all the Jazz on BBC Radio3, hit the link below.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01h5z0s/episodes/guide

Space is the Place for My Jazz Journeys

Sometime during the late 60's I was turned on to a cut from an ESP compilation album that definitely caught my  attention. It was from bandleader, Jazz musician, and philosopher Sun Ra, someone I had never heard of.  When I heard his stuff, though, I'm like, "...who is this cat"? I remember thinking, "...wow, you either get this cat, or you don't". Well, I got it. That's what you get from Sun Ra who, with at least a thousand songs to his credit,  from 1934 to 1993, he has been called the twentieth centuries' most prolific Jazz composer.


To quote Sun Ra, "...if you find earth boring, just the same old same thing, c'mon sign up with Outer Space Ways, Incorporated". That line from his 1967 release, "We Travel the Space Ways". After having been introduced to Jazz at age eight, I was in my early twenties when I first heard this artist. I am a lifelong fan.

I caught up to Sun Ra's Solar Arkestra twice. Once in Seattle in the early 90's before his death, and in 2008 in Durham, NC, I saw the Arkestra under the direction of  the incomparable Marshall Allen. Last I heard the Arkestra had played to enthusiastic throngs at the 2011 Melbourne Jazz Festival, continuing to keep Sun Ra's legacy alive.

I continue to be in awe of Sun Ra as I hear more of his work more than forty years on.

For more info go to, www.elrarecords.com