Muniini K. Mulera

Byrd in Flight by Donald Byrd celebrated Ghana’s independence

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicFebruary 15, 20210 comments

I have spent the evening enjoying some of the great Jazz music reissues by Blue Note in its Tone Poet Series. This one is another masterpiece by Donald Byrd. To my ears, one of the best among his recordings. This one is special because of its celebration of Ghana which had become ...

Donald Byrd (1932-2013) – CHANT: swinging post-bop Jazz

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicFebruary 15, 20210 comments

Donald Byrd – Trumpet Pepper Adams – Baritone saxophone Herbie Hancock – Piano Doug Watkins – Bass Teddy Robinson – Drums Label: Blue Note (Tone Poet Series) Recorded: Monday, April 17, 1961 Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder Location: Van Gelder ...

Chic Corea: Now He Sings, Now He Sobs

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicFebruary 13, 20210 comments

Chick Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was one of the most popular musicians of the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries. His work with Miles Davis at the end of the 1960s and with his own Return to Forever earned him great international acclaim. His ...

Dexter Gordon (1923-1930) on Blue Note

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicJanuary 30, 20210 comments

Dexter Gordon (1923-1990) My top ten jazz tenor saxophonists are (in alphabetical order): Tina Brooks, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Coleman Hawkins, Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter, Buddy Tate, Ben Webster and Lester Young. If asked to choose ...

Kenny Dorham – trumpet master

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicJanuary 6, 20210 comments

Kenny Dorham – trumpet master Born August 30, 1924 in Fairfield, Texas Died December 5, 1972 in New York, New York One of the great trumpet masters and composers of Bebop/Hard Bop. His recordings on the Blue Note label stand shoulder to shoulder with those of better celebrated ...

Edward Lee Morgan (1938-1972): lee-way

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicMay 12, 20200 comments

To my ears, Edward Lee Morgan was the best of the best trumpeters in the Hard Bop idiom.His very premature death, gunned down by his spouse while he was at work at Slug's Saloon, a club in New York City, ended a very brief but brilliant career of a young man that had enjoyed great ...

My Kind of Music: Whistle Stop with Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley et al

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicOctober 28, 20160 comments

Thursday October 27, 2016 It started snowing early this morning. First snow of the season. Cold day outside. After a long day at work, what better way to unwind than listening to KENNY DORHAM (trumpet), in the good company of Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Kenny Drew (piano), Paul Chambers ...

Bud Powell: Genius of the piano - his music lives!

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicSeptember 27, 20160 comments

Happy birthday to all friends who were born on September 27! You share the date with the great genius of Jazz piano music - both as a composer and player. Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was born on September 27, 1924. Bud Powell Sept 27, 1924 - July 31, 1967 By the time of his premature ...

John Coltrane at 90

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicSeptember 23, 20160 comments

John Coltrane would have been 90 years old today. Whereas there have been many great Jazz Saxophone players, to my ears Coltrane is one of the top 5 (the others being Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Lester Young and Hank Mobley.) His playing was so uniquely his that it is difficult ...

Thank you for the music Rudy Van Gelder (1924-2016)

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicAugust 26, 20160 comments

If, like me, you consider the great Jazz recordings from the 1950s and 60s on Blue Note, Prestige and Impulse labels to be some of the greatest treasures in the creative arts, you should spare a moment and thank the recording engineer who made it possible for us to enjoy the exceptional ...

Horace Parlan: the triumph of a genius of Jazz piano

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicMarch 11, 20170 comments

Horace Parlan: b. January 19, 1931 Pittsburgh, PA, USA d. February 23, 2017 Korsor, Denmark Horace Parlan, a giant of Jazz piano music, may not be as well known as some of his contemporaries, but his music is some of the best in the Jazz canon. The Blues and Soul were ...

Dexter Gordon's Timeless Tenor Saxophone

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicNovember 6, 20160 comments

Dexter Keith Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was a giant in the literal and professional sense. At 198 cm (6 feet 6 inch) tall, Mr. Gordon towered over nearly all the people he played with. Dexter Keith Gordon (1923-1990) Photos and videos of him in the various ...

Lou Donaldson at 90, still playing on

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicNovember 4, 20160 comments

Lou Donaldson --Born November 1, 1926 Lou Donaldson, the alto saxophonist who turned 90 on November 1, 2016, is the last living and performing member of the cohort of great Jazz musicians who recorded timeless music over 60 years ago. Born in Badin, North Carolina on November 1, ...

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