Notablog

Song of the Day: El Sonido Nuevo (“The New Soul Sound”), composed by Latin vibraphonist Cal Tjader and pianist Eddie Palmieri, is the title track to the duo’s 1966 album. The album is a mix of Afro-Cuban rhythms, Latin jazz, and syncopated beats. Yesterday, the Bronx-born Palmieri died at the…

Song of the Day: When The Saints Go Marching In is a traditional black spiritual that became a jazz standard in no small measure because of the efforts of Louis Armstrong, who was born on this date in 1901. A native of New Orleans, Armstrong was a beloved ambassador of…

Song of the Day: It Had to Be You, music by Isham Jones, lyrics by Gus Kahn, was first released in 1924 and since become one of the classic standards of the Great American Songbook. First up in our August birthdays is Tony Bennett (no relation to Cody), born on…

Today marks two anniversaries relevant to the history of the jazz guitar. Earlier today, I posted a remembrance of trailblazing guitarist Charlie Christian on the anniversary of his 1916 birth. This date also marks the anniversary of the passing of jazz guitarist Chuck Wayne, who died at the age of…

Song of the Day: Honeysuckle Rose, music by Fats Waller, lyrics by Andy Razaf, was introduced in a 1929 Off-Broadway revue, “Load of Coal.” Waller’s 1934 recording of this song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Today, the featured rendition is by the Benny Goodman Sextet, with Benny…