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From Far and Wide
August 2010
Fradley Garner
Fradley Garner is an American freelance writer, editor and translator based in Denmark.The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is busy digitizing its new acquisition of some 1,000, mostly unplayed discs recorded from live broadcasts in the late 1930s, and featuring extended performances by Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and others in their league. Historian Dan Morgenstern calls the Savory Collection "the treasure trove we had hoped it would be." Audio engineer William Savory (1916-2004) recorded on 12- and even 16-inch acetate and aluminum discs, sometimes at "LP speeds" of 33 1/3 in an era when 78s usually played for 3½ minutes. There are airshots from the 1938 Carnival of Swing, perhaps the first outdoor jazz festival. Visit the museum online for the whole story and music samples.
Paul Desmond (1924-1977) was the Dave Brubeck Quartet's alto saxophonist. He wrote the quartet's biggest hit, "Take Five." His lyrical sound is as distinctive as any jazz icon's. Watch Desmond play Johnny Mandel's waltz "Emily" at the 1975 Monterey Jazz Festival. Jazz on the Tube is free, and you get a worthy video a day, so far free of heckling ads.
Thanks to Joán McGinnis of Mission Viejo, CA for Web research assistance.
