Jazz

This Night Belongs To Jazz. The virtuoso instrumentalists and the great voices light up the dark night with a piece of genius and jazz. Like stars in the night sky, they make the essentials of jazz music shine. One side is devoted exclusively to instrumental arrangements featuring Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd, Miles Davis and James Clay. The other side sparkles with sung standards by Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Doris Day, Rosemary...

We Love The West Coast. What would jazz be today without the musicians and clubs of mid-20th century California? It‘s hard to imagine. Typical of the West Coast Jazz is a light, lyrical melody and a relaxed, loose rhythm, often characterized by intricate, polyrhythmic drumming. The style was a reaction to the bebop style that had emerged on the East Coast of the United States. West Coast musicians were influenced by the big bands and swing music of the 1930s and 1940s and wanted to create a...

The Jazz and the Broadway. Popular songs have always served jazz as improvisational material. Especially the great Broadway tunes up to the 1960s were a good source and inspired the jazz musicians of that time. In addition, around Broadway jazz clubs and theaters were door to door for many years, composers and musicians appreciated each other and had friends in crossing genre boundaries. This resulted in unique jazz versions of important and timeless Broadway compositions from West Side Story,...

Let‘s Jazz. Dixieland jazz, also known as traditional jazz, originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in the early 20th century. Its roots lie in the music of African-American communities in the South, particularly the brass bands that played at funerals and other community events. Louis Armstrong was a pioneer and key figure in the development of Dixieland jazz. With his virtuoso trumpet playing, innovative improvisations, and soulful vocals, he brought a new level of musicality to the genre. His...

The Queen Of Jazz. Ella Fitzgerald is one of the most defining voices of jazz ever. Her pure tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and „horn-like“ improvisational ability, especially in her scat singing, remain unmatched to this day. After a turbulent youth, Fitzgerald found stable musical success with the Chick Webb Orchestra. She performed all over the country, but was most often associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Later, Norman Granz, founder of the Verve...

Satchmo. Growing up in extremely precarious circumstances, only music and trumpet gave Louis Daniel „Satchmo“ Armstrong stability in his childhood and youth. At the age of 26, together with Kid Orys, he had his first hit, Muskrat Ramble, in the Billboard charts. Until 1966, another 78 hits were to follow. Concert tours worldwide, plus appearances in Hollywood films such as High Society or Hello Dolly and legendary collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald, among others, make him the figurehead of...

Unrivaled. Ella And Louis is the collaboration of two of the greatest jazz legends of all time - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. First released in 1956, the record is still considered one of the most outstanding jazz albums of all time and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015. The connection between Fitzgerald and Armstrong on this album is unique. Their voices complement each other perfectly, and their interpretations of the songs are full of emotion and passion. Having...

Strange Fruit Of Jazz. Billie Holiday had a turbulent childhood with all imaginable abysses. At the age of 12, she began working as a cleaning woman in a brothel and first came into contact with the music of Louis Armstrong. As a young teenager, she began singing in Harlem nightclubs and was discovered. The song Strange Fruit, based on the poem of the same name by the Jewish teacher Abel Meeropol (alias Lewis Allan), and hauntingly addressing the lynching of blacks, made Billie Holiday a star....

Black Lives Matter. Nina Simone began playing the piano at the age of four. She had to finish her music studies without a degree, because as a black woman she was not admitted to the exams. A job as a piano teacher led her to singing, whereby she improvised her own pieces right from the start. She chose the stage name Simone as a homage to the actress Simone Signoret. A concert in New York City Town Hall in 1959 made her famous worldwide. Nina Simone used her popularity early on to bring about...

James Dean of Jazz. Chet Baker is one of the innovators of cool jazz. He has been considered the James Dean of jazz. Unfortunately, the trumpeter was also repeatedly conspicuous by drug excesses and prison stays. Nevertheless, he still is the „Prince of cool“ because of his genius, his special personality and the timeless sound… till today. Chet Baker Sings is his debut vocal album, released by Pacific Jazz Records. The album was initially released in 1954 in single format as a 10“ and...