Pianist and composer Milcho Leviev was born and raised in Bulgaria in 1937 which means he had the experience of World War II, the Soviet invasion, and a long dictatorship as a child and young man.
Milcho is part of a wave of supremely accomplished musicians from Eastern Europe who’ve made huge creative contributions to jazz over the decades.
Their dedication to the art is epic and perhaps not fully appreciated.
During the Communist times, jazz was, for all practical purposes, a banned music in the Eastern Bloc. Schools did not teach it, public performances were frowned on, jazz records were seized at Customs and pursuing jazz was a potential career-killer for a professional musician.
Still they persisted.
Milcho relates how a small group of dedicated musicians and fans in his country tuned into Willis Conover’s 1 AM Voice of America jazz broadcast with their primitive tape recorders turned on.
The hope was that one of the group would get a relatively clear signal (the program was jammed by authorities) and could share the tape with others. They then laboriously worked together to transcribe the recordings so they could study them.
Why did they love jazz so much? Because it exemplified freedom.
A sampling of where that love of freedom has brought Milcho. Enjoy!
Milcho returns to Bulgaria
With Art Pepper
With Don Ellis
With Bill Cobham
With Dave Holland
Tribute to Voice of America’s Willis Conover
Bulgarian cartoon from the 60s (Jazz in banned in Heaven)
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Musician, educator and historian Bruce Conforth introduces us to the real Robert Johnson.
Far from the one-dimensional “native genius” he is often portrayed as, Robert Johnson was a well read, well traveled, versatile artist whose genius was no accident.
Dead at the age of 26, in his short life Johnson’s art left an indelible mark on American and world music.
Conforth, a guitarist and harmonica player, has been studying Johnson’s life and work for 40 years.
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We discovered this gem in the middle of a documentary about Puerto Rican culture in New York.
The late great Charlie Palmieri (1927 – 1988) does what so many great musicians have done – and continue to do – over the years: teaching the next generation.
That’s why we have the great music we do.
Interviews about Latin music education on Jazz on the Tube:
I was thinking of calling this one “What happens when money is invested in music education.” I was also thinking of calling it “The Universality of Afro-Cuban Music.”
You’re looking at the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra.
New Brunswick is a province in the country of Canada. It has less than a million people total and a good number of them are in rural areas.
There may be some Latinos in the province, but my guess is it’s less than 1%.
So how do you explain the existence of this orchestra and this performance?
First, Canada, like every other developed country in the world (except the U.S.) makes a serious investment in music education for youth.
Second, the orchestra’s director Antonio Delgado. His training is rooted in his experience as conductor of the world renowned “Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela” (National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela), a group every music educator should study carefully.
He took this orchestra to a first place win at the prestigious Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Competition in Vienna, Austria.
For the youth orchestra of a small Canadian province to top the European youth orchestras of places like Germany, France and Italy is like the Estonian basketball team winning the NBA finals. It’s an amazing accomplishment – and you’re watching the group that did it – and they did it with Cuban music!
And then there is this…
Japanese people are crazy – but in a very good way!
Honestly, who else would have thought of combining Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with Pérez Prado’s Mambo Number 5?
Still with us?
I hope so.
Here’s the original with some great photos from the Golden Age of the Palladium Ballroom.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
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Musician, bandleader, music director, club owner, and educator, Ed Polcer has played with the greats, hosted the greats at his club Eddie Condon’s in New York City, programmed great jazz parties around the country, and now in addition to playing is enjoying introducing the next generation to the beautiful art of jazz.
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube Thanks.
Paul Steinbeck, a musician and educator, (Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Washington University in St. Louis), covers one of the most intriguing bands in the history of American music.
Founded in Chicago in the “tumultuous” 60s, The Art Ensemble of Chicago carved out a space for itself in the notoriously conservative music industry that not only allowed its members full creative freedom, but also paved the way for countless other creative musicians and artists.
How did this group which accepted no limitations or labels survive and thrive in a world that demands musicians put themselves in a box?
The answer is in the pages of this book.
Roscoe Mitchell, one of the members of the group, had this to say about it:
“This book is more than we could have hoped for, telling the complete history of the Art Ensemble of Chicago in careful, engaging detail.”
1. Get it
2. Review it
3. Let your college’s librarian know about it
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
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