Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Cifu's legacy

Picture by Jaime Massieu, October 2014

One year has already gone by since Cifu left us. He was the dean of Spanish jazz commentators, still active on national public radio, and his absence is still deeply felt. Time flies, though. Life goes on, there is music, and we are still breathing.

After the rains of sadness and tribute, In the months after Cifu's passing, happier news have been reaching our shores. One is the establishment of the association CifuJazz and its brand new website, to promote his legacy. The other one is the recovery, pushed hard by Cifu's family—his wife and daughters—of the series Jazz entre amigos, which aired from 1984 to 1991, on Spanish national television.


What this programme meant for my generation, barely a decade after Franco's passing, can only be described with superlatives. Today, in the age of the Internet, YouTube, and immediate access to whatever crosses one's mind, it may be hard to grasp that these weekly one-hour programmes were the first and, for years, only chance to watch the makers of this music. Bear in mind too that this was a low-budget programme; regarding its contents and approach, this was 1980s Spain, and jazz historiography has improved enormously since then. That said, and even though the programmes are, obviously, in the local language, I think non-Spanish speakers will find the footage, with abundant live performances and interviews, and some of it rather obscure, appealing enough to check this out.

Cifu's legacy remains with us, thanks to good people of the RTVE archive and the firm push by Asociación CifuJazz to keep this available to the public.

A note about dubbing: programmes are in stereo; interviews with non-Spanish speaking musicians usually carry the Spanish dub on the left channel, and the original language on the right channel. Pan as appropriate. 

As of now (updates tend to happen on Thursdays), the programmes are as follows (and the date of the original broadcast):

About jazz
  • Introduction to jazz (1984.10.03)
  • Jazz styles (1984.11.14)
  • Differences between jazz and other music genres (Harry "Sweets" Edison, Arnett Cobb, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin) (1984.12.19)
  • Jazz criticism/ESMUC (1987.07.13)
  • Jam Session ("Jazz on Stage": Harry Edison, Sonny Criss, Teddy Edwards, Hampton Hawes, Leroy Vinnegar, Bobby Thompson, LA, 1970) (1987.06.12)
  • Hard Bop (Henderson-Berg-Farrell/Transatlantic/Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers) (1985.04.18)
  • West Coast Jazz (1) (Three groups: Shorty Rogers-Joe Maini-Pete Jolly-Max Bennett-Mel Lewis; Paul Horn-Larry Bunker-Paul Moer-Victor Gaskin-Milt Turner; Conte Candoli-Richie Kamuca-Russ Freeman-Monty Budwig-Shelly Manne.) (1987.11.16)
  • West Coast Jazz (2) (African-American musicians — The Jazz Crusaders: Wilton Felder-ts, Wayne Henderson-tb, Joe Sample-p, Victor Gaskin-b, Stix Hooper-d; Curtis Amy: Curtis Amy-ts, Dupree Bolton-tp, Ray Crawford-g, Charles Coker-p, Victor Gaskin-b, Ron Selico-d; Gerald Wilson Orchestra: Gerald Wilson-Al Porcino-Robert Knight-Jules Chaikin-John Audino-Fred R. Hill-trumpets, John Ewing-Bob Edmondson-Louis Blackburn-trombones; Buddy Collette-fl-as, Joe Maini-as, Teddy Edwards-Henry Grant-ts, Jack Nimitz-bars, Jack Wilson-p, Jimmy Bond-b, Mel Lewis-d.) (1987.11.23)
  • Avant-Garde (Imagine the Sound documentary: Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Paul Bley, Archie Shepp) (1987.07.27)
  • Four stars of jazz-rock (Al di Meola, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin) (1986.08.15)  
  • Jazz Fusion (Pat Metheny, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Jean-Luc Ponty) (1985.09.04). 
  • ECM/Touring musicians (Chick Corea, Don Cherry, Gary Burton, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny / James Moody) (1987.01.02)
  • Commercial Jazz (Manhattan Transfer, Miles Davis, Al Di Meola, Weather Update, George Benson, Pat Metheny) (1988.12.05)   
Ballads
  • Ballads (Buddy Tate; Johnny Griffin; Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis; Benny Carter; Phil Woods/Tom Harrell) (1985.01.09)
  • Ballads II (Terence Blanchard; Illinois Jacquet; Woody Shaw; Tete Montoliu) (1986.01.29)
  • Ballads III (Stanley Jordan, Steps Ahead, Sphere, Nat Adderley w. Cedar Walton, Larry Coryell, Slide Hampton, Ray Charles) (1986.07.11)
  • Night Ballads (Jim Hall; Tete Montoliu; Stan Getz; Tom Harrell; Phil Woods) (1991.05.10)
Jazz entre amigos anniversaries
Women in jazz
  • Women in jazz (1) (Laurie Frink, Jane Ira Bloom, Dolly Jones, Ina Ray Hutton, Thelma White, Vi Redd, Mary Osborne, Marian McPartland, Melba Liston, and Alive) (1986.02.19)
  • Women in jazz (2) (Jane Ira Bloom, Anna Mae Winburn and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Willene Barton, Salamander, Martha Davis, Joanne Brackeen, Carla Bley, Sharon Freeman, and Mary Lou Williams.) (1986.03.05)
  • Jazz ladies (singers: Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday) (1985.02.06) 
Instruments: Trumpet
  • Trumpet Kings (documentary by Burrill Crohn and David Chertok) (1989.07.11)  
  • Great trumpets of Modern Jazz: Dizzy Gillespie (Oscar Peterson-p,  Joe Pass-g, NHØP-b, Martin Drew-d), Miles Davis (Bob Berg-s, John Scofield-g, Robert Irving III-kb, Darryl Jones-b, Al Foster-d, Steve Thorton-per), Freddie Hubbard (Joe Henderson-ts, Michel Petrucciani-p, Buster Williams-b, Billy Hart-d), and Wynton Marsalis (Branford Marsalis-ss, Kenny Kirkland-p, Ray Drummond-b, Jeff Watts-d) (1985.02.13)
Instruments: Sax
  • Rocky tenors (Joe Henderson: "Invitation" with George Cables-p, Herbie Lewis-b, and Louis Hayes-d; Sonny Rollins: "Alfie", Festival internacional de jazz de Barcelona, 1976, with Mike Wolff-p, Aurell Ray-g, Don Pate-b, and Eddie Moore-d; Dexter Gordon: "Those Were the Days" Café Montmartre, Copenhaguen, 1969, with Kenny Drew-p, NHØP-b, and Makaya Ntshoko-bat; Johnny Griffin: "Blues for Gonzi" with Ronnie Matthews-p, Curtis Lundy-b, and Winard Harper-bat.) (1984.11.21)
Instruments: guitar
Instrumentos: piano
  • Pianists: Michel Petrucciani (with Palle Danielsson, Eliot Zigmund, and Jim Hall); Keith Jarrett (interview); Horace Parlan (solo) (1987.11.30)
  • Pianists of the Forties (Soundies by Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, and Nat "King" Cole) (1989.10.10)
  • Piano legends, documentary (Spanish dub) by Burrill Crohn (credits on LoC) + Ahmad Jamal on Jazz from Sixty-one, from 1959 (1989.04.17)
  • Jazz pianists (Oscar Peterson, Marty Napoleon, George Cables, Ronnie Matthews, Monty Alexander) (1985.03.13)
Instruments: organ
  • The organ in jazz: Wild Bill Davis (Guy Lafitte, Clyde Lucas)/Jimmy Smith (Terry Evans, Melvin Lee) (1985.05.03)
Instruments: violin
  • Violines: Jean-Luc Ponty y Didier Lockwood (1986.06.20)
Big bands
  • Big Bands: Buddy Rich, Duke Ellington, Mel Lewis, Count Basie (1985.07.10)
Cinema
Jazz in New York
  • Jazz in New York: Stanley Turrentine Quintet, Ronnie Matthews Trio, Roy Haynes Quintet, Thomas Chapin Trio, Frank Wess Quartet, Kenny Barron Trio (1990.09.01)
  • Jazz in New York (2): Stanley Turrentine Quintet at Birdland; Ronnie Matthews Trio at Sweet Basil (1990.10.20) 
  • Jazz in New York (3): Sonny Fortune-Kenny Barron-Buster Williams at Bradley's; Frank Wess Quartet (Richard Wyands, Jamil Nasser, Akira Tana) at the Village Vanguard (1990.11.17)
  • Jazz in New York (and 4): Thomas Chapin Trio (Mario Pavone, Pheeroan akLaff - dubbed interview with Michael Dorff) at the Knitting Factory; Roy Haynes (Donald Harrison, Graham Haynes, David Kikoski, Chip Jackson - interview in Spanish with Andy Lugris) at Visiones (1990.12.08)
  • Village Vanguard (featuring Nat Adderley, Charlie Rouse, Mal Waldron, Woody Shaw, Lee Konitz, Sir Roland Hanna, Mel Lewis, Michael Brecker, John Abercrombie, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter et al, plus snippets of interviews with Milt Jackson, Stanley Turrentine, Ed Blackwell, Charlie Haden, Peter Erskine, and Ray Brown) (1987.09.28) 
Jazz in Spain
Jazz in Brazil
Jazz in Cuba
  • Cuban Jazz (I) (Arturo Sandoval; Emiliano Salvador; Irakere) (1986.11.07)
  • Cuban Jazz (II) (Afrocuba; Felipe Dulzaides; Irakere Cuarteto/Chucho Valdés; Gonzalo Rubalcaba; Arturo Sandoval) (1986.11.14)
Jazz in Copenhagen
  • Jazz in Copenhaguen (1): Doug Raney, Horace Parlan, Kenny Drew, Jens Winther, Dexter Gordon. (1988.02.06)  
  • Jazz in Copenhaguen (2): Horace Parlan, Dizzy Gillespie, Ernie Wilkins, Danish Radio Orchestra, Ben Webster-Teddy Wilson, Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, NHØP-Philip Catherine  (1988.02.13)  
Jazz in Italy
  • Italian jazz (I) (Roberto Gatto Quartet, Mamo Gang, Mario Piacentini Trio, Giovanni Tommaso Quinteto) (1989.08.22)
  • Italian jazz (II) (Giovanni Tommaso Quintet/Mamo Gang) (1989.10.30)
  • Italian jazz (III) (Roberto Gatto Quartet/Mario Piacentini Trio) (1989.11.06)
Jazz in France
Jazz in Europe

SINGLE-ARTIST PROGRAMMES:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
  • Quest (Dave Liebman-ss, Richie Beirach-p, Ron McClure-b, Billy Hart-d) (1990.02.19)
R
S
T
V
W
Z
  • Zhivaro (Gerard Marais, Syuain Kassap, Didier Levallet, Henri Texier, Jean-Marc Padovani, Claude Barthelemy y Louis Sclavis) (1989.03.06)
  • Zoot Sims (1985.06.13)
  • Zoot Sims (2) (1990.07.28)
  • Zyklus/Zé Eduardo Unit (Wade Matthews-Baldo Martínez-Pedro López/Jordi Gaspar-Joan Viñals-José Luis Gómez-Marc Miralta-Zé Eduardo-David Xirgu-Jorge Pardo) (1990.04.21)
Posted by Fernando Ortiz de Urbina at 1:52 PM
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