Tag: obituary

  • The Unacknowledged Impact Gregg Allman Had on My Life as a Musician

    I never listened to the Allman Brothers much, which is probably not what you’d expect to hear from somebody who’s about to write 500 or so words about Gregg Allman. But as I reflected on his passing last week, I realized that Gregg and his brother Duane had a much greater impact on my life as…

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  • Reflecting on the Legacy of Chris Cornell, and What I Learned Playing His Music

    Words you say never seem To live up to the ones inside your head The lives we make never seem To ever get us anywhere but dead. — Chris Cornell/Soundgarden Chris Cornell left this Earth too soon. Still, judging by the life he led, he seemed like the sort of legendary artist who belonged to…

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  • Thank You, Nat Hentoff: A Writer Listening Beyond Category

    Thank You, Nat Hentoff: A Writer Listening Beyond Category

    By Sarah Manning In an interview with the Rutherford Institute in 2012, journalist, author, and jazz critic Nat Hentoff told interviewer John W. Whitehead about some advice Duke Ellington had given him. “Look. Do not categorize about music. You take each musician at the time and open yourself to that musician.” That’s exactly what Nat…

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  • Rudy Van Gelder: The Optometrist Who Pioneered an Ethos in Record-Making

    Rudy Van Gelder: The Optometrist Who Pioneered an Ethos in Record-Making

    By Brad Allen Williams Rudy Van Gelder died 25 August, 2016 at the age of 91, having made some of history’s most enduring sound recordings. If you’ve explored the variegated tapestry of 20th century recordings lumped together under the criminally reductionist banner of “jazz,” you probably know the name. If you’ve dug through crates and slid…

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RJD2: From Samples to Songs