Interesting Articles

The Village Voice has an article on one of my favorite alto saxophonists, Arthur Blythe:

From the late '70s to the mid '80s, Arthur Blythe blurred the lines between avant-garde and mainstream, simultaneously pursuing loft-scene polyphony, swinging postbop, and harmolodic fusion—and maintaining an improbably lengthy association with Columbia Records. Since then, Blythe's stature has diminished, along with his huge and bracing alto saxophone sound. But a weeklong Blue Note engagement reaffirmed the wisdom of his inclusive vision.

The New York Times has a lengthy write up on the life and career of bassist Percy Heath, who passed away at age 81:

Mr. Heath recorded with most of the leading musicians in modern jazz, including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. But from the early 1950's through the middle 1970's, most of his recording activity and all of his live performances were devoted to the group known to its fans around the world as the M. J .Q.

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