Author Archives: The Independent Ear

Ain’t But a Few of Us: Robin Washington

Posted on January 13, 2011 by The Independent Ear

Our series of commentaries from black music writers continues. This time we hear from a jazz documentary writer-producer-editor who is based in the seemingly unlikely outpost of Duluth, Minnesota, as editor of the Duluth News Tribune (stay warm Robin, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Ain't But a Few of Us | 5 Comments

Songs that made the phones ring: 2nd half of 2010

Posted on December 23, 2010 by The Independent Ear

“Songs that Made the Phones Ring” is an unabashed bit of theft from the fertile mind of the late record man Joel Dorn. Several years ago when Joel was mining his 32 Jazz label for fresh ideas he came up … Continue reading →

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Berklee and the Pat Patrick Collection

Posted on December 22, 2010 by The Independent Ear

One of the sweeter stories from 2010 — on more than one front — was Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s donation of his father’s collection to Berklee College of Music. Saxophonist Pat Patrick, who passed on to ancestry in 1991, came … Continue reading →

Posted in Jazz Ed | Leave a comment

Moody’s From Heaven

Posted on December 13, 2010 by The Independent Ear

Anyone who has experienced the joy of hearing the great NEA Jazz Master James Moody’s hilarious turnaround on the old Tin Pan Alley tune “Pennie’s From Heaven,” which he re-cast as “Bennie’s From Heaven” can appreciate that this fabulous man … Continue reading →

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From Timbuktu to the Mississippi Delta pt. 2

Posted on December 13, 2010 by The Independent Ear

Guitarist-educator-author-jazz club impressario Pascal Bokar Thiam, who is of Senegalese descent, continues our conversation on the origins of blues & jazz and how that story has been distorted down through history. What was your ultimate mission in writing the book … Continue reading →