The mournful and soul-penetrating rhythms of the organ filled the high-ceilinged room, piercing the air, commanding the attention of every person, every piece of furniture and every artifact. The young man sitting in front of…
Tag: jazz
1920s photo posters of Armstrong, Smith & other jazz greats
Posted in Black history, Music, and Photos
A black and white photo of a man with his fingers on the keys of a grand piano lay atop a stack on a table filled with papers at the auction house. His skin was…
The jazz memories of singer Don Gardner
Posted in Music
I hadn’t much noticed the gray-haired man with the cane until my buddy Rebecca mentioned that he was someone famous. She spoke his name, and I recalled seeing his young face with a wide smile on one…
When I saw the ink outline of two musicians on the auction website, I immediately looked for a signature on the drawing. It was signed “David Stone Martin,” and somewhere deep in my mind, I…
Jumping for joy with Duke Ellington
Posted in Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Music
I was perusing the catalog at Swann Auction Galleries recently when I came across a photo of Duke Ellington and his band, all handsome and stylishly dressed in heavy overcoats on what was apparently a cold…
The paper fan lying there on the table at the auction house was like a slap in the face. It held all the stereotypes affixed to African Americans during a time when the country was…
I hadn’t listened to much of the jazz stylings of the legendary pianist Hank Jones before he died Sunday at age 91. But since then, I’ve devoured his music because after the saxophone, the piano is my…