Vi Redd: three essential albums
Lady Soul (1963) One of her earliest recordings as a bandleader, this album showcases the depth of her musical soul. With a mix of jazz standards and original compositions, the record highlights her blues-drenched saxophone phrasing and charismatic voice. Here we have We’ll be together again (Carl T. Fischer, Frankie Laine): Bird Call (1962): This […]
Vi Redd: a female alto saxophonist filled with talent and resilience
Los Angeles, California, September 20, 1928 February 6, 2022 In the jazz scene of the 1940s, a female alto saxophonist stands out: Elvira “Vi” Redd, a talented musician from California, born in the late 1920s. Beginnings and influences Raised in a family deeply immersed in music, Vi Redd distinguished herself as one of the few […]
Lorez Alexandria: some curiosities and her final recordings
Two more masterpieces appear under her contract with King Records: The Band Swings, Lorez Sings and Singing Songs That Everyone Knows (also titled Standards with a Slight Touch of Jazz). In the first of these, her voice stands out over an orchestral backdrop, marking her first collaboration with an orchestra. Her ability to swing, scat, […]
Lorez Alexandria: The Best Is Yet to Come…
Chicago, Illinois, August 14, 1929 Los Angeles, California, May 22, 2001 [… ]. The best is yet to come and babe, won’t it be fine? You think you’ve seen the sun, but you ain’t never, never seen it shine A-wait till the warm-up’s underway Wait till our lips have met And wait till you find […]
Mary Lou Williams: Jazz and Sacred Music; The Final Years
The 1950s and her conversion In 1952, Williams traveled to Europe, where she remained for two years. During this time, she experienced profound mental and physical exhaustion, leading her to take a break from the demanding life of a jazz musician. Upon returning to the United States two years later, she converted to Catholicism. In […]
Mary Lou Williams: adventures from the 1940s onwards
In 1942, Williams divorced her husband and left his group, returning to Pittsburgh. She was followed by her colleague, trumpeter Harold “Shorty” Baker, with whom she formed an ensemble that included Art Blakey on drums. After a gig in Cleveland, Williams and the band traveled to New York City and then to Baltimore, where she […]