Mark Stryker
@markstryker.bsky.social
Author, Journalist, Critic, Filmmaker.
Books: “Jazz from Detroit”; “Destiny: 100 Years of Music, Magic, and Community at Orchestra Hall in Detroit.”
Film: “The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit.”
Former Detroit Free Press arts reporter/critic, 1995-2016
Books: “Jazz from Detroit”; “Destiny: 100 Years of Music, Magic, and Community at Orchestra Hall in Detroit.”
Film: “The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit.”
Former Detroit Free Press arts reporter/critic, 1995-2016
Of those 834 sessions, the first is pictured below: At 20, Randy is on one track from a recording documeting an international jazz competition held on May 24, 1966. He apparently came in second in the trumpet category, narrowly beaten out by the 24-year-old Franco Ambrosetti.
November 27, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Of those 834 sessions, the first is pictured below: At 20, Randy is on one track from a recording documeting an international jazz competition held on May 24, 1966. He apparently came in second in the trumpet category, narrowly beaten out by the 24-year-old Franco Ambrosetti.
I'll be able to share more news soon. Meantime, you now know what to stream this holiday season.
November 18, 2025 at 7:53 PM
I'll be able to share more news soon. Meantime, you now know what to stream this holiday season.
Prime Video is also just the first step toward what promises to be a dynamic 2026 for the film. In addition to multiple streaming platforms, the film will be seen at arts institutions, universities, jazz clubs, and other venues throughout the country.
November 18, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Prime Video is also just the first step toward what promises to be a dynamic 2026 for the film. In addition to multiple streaming platforms, the film will be seen at arts institutions, universities, jazz clubs, and other venues throughout the country.
🧵BREAKING NEWS: Beyond thrilled to report that the documentary I wrote & co-produced, "The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit," premieres December 9 on Prime Video. The most frequently asked question I get about the film is when and where can I see it? Now I have an answer.
November 18, 2025 at 7:50 PM
🧵BREAKING NEWS: Beyond thrilled to report that the documentary I wrote & co-produced, "The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit," premieres December 9 on Prime Video. The most frequently asked question I get about the film is when and where can I see it? Now I have an answer.
Evening Vinyl
1940-41 recordings, 1966 pressing.
1940-41 recordings, 1966 pressing.
November 3, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Evening Vinyl
1940-41 recordings, 1966 pressing.
1940-41 recordings, 1966 pressing.
New acquisition
1965, first pressing. Arrangements by Frank Foster, Billy Byers, Dick Hyman, Mort Garson.
1965, first pressing. Arrangements by Frank Foster, Billy Byers, Dick Hyman, Mort Garson.
October 31, 2025 at 10:46 PM
New acquisition
1965, first pressing. Arrangements by Frank Foster, Billy Byers, Dick Hyman, Mort Garson.
1965, first pressing. Arrangements by Frank Foster, Billy Byers, Dick Hyman, Mort Garson.
H/T @natechinen.bsky.social for a kicker: On Jack’s first night in NYC he sat in at Minton's w/ Freddie Hubbard, whose drummer was (wait for it) Al Foster. Nate relays a passage from Jack’s oral history for the Smithsonian and imagines Foster being impressed and perhaps taken aback by the new kid.
October 30, 2025 at 12:26 PM
H/T @natechinen.bsky.social for a kicker: On Jack’s first night in NYC he sat in at Minton's w/ Freddie Hubbard, whose drummer was (wait for it) Al Foster. Nate relays a passage from Jack’s oral history for the Smithsonian and imagines Foster being impressed and perhaps taken aback by the new kid.
The fancy-schmancy, red leather binding with gold trim is certainly not my thing, but the book is signed by Ellison, as you can see, and thus proved irresistible.
October 28, 2025 at 9:10 PM
The fancy-schmancy, red leather binding with gold trim is certainly not my thing, but the book is signed by Ellison, as you can see, and thus proved irresistible.
I now have, um, six editions of the novel. (No judging, please.) The three in the top row are all Modern Library editions. Left to right: 1963, first printing; 1992, and 1994.The paperback in the bottom row is a 22nd printing of a Signet edition. The book on the left is a 1980 Franklin Mint edition.
October 28, 2025 at 9:09 PM
I now have, um, six editions of the novel. (No judging, please.) The three in the top row are all Modern Library editions. Left to right: 1963, first printing; 1992, and 1994.The paperback in the bottom row is a 22nd printing of a Signet edition. The book on the left is a 1980 Franklin Mint edition.
On Sunday at the Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair I found a first edition, third printing at a reasonable price in nice condition, though certainly not perfect. I carpe-diemed that m.f. immediately.
October 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM
On Sunday at the Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair I found a first edition, third printing at a reasonable price in nice condition, though certainly not perfect. I carpe-diemed that m.f. immediately.
I bought this LP 10/83 after a friend introduced me to the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. I barely knew anything about Bartok and nothing about Berio. The Bartok was wild, but I got it immediately. The Sinfonia was wilder and it took me a while get it. I was 20. The LP changed my life.
October 22, 2025 at 2:46 AM
I bought this LP 10/83 after a friend introduced me to the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. I barely knew anything about Bartok and nothing about Berio. The Bartok was wild, but I got it immediately. The Sinfonia was wilder and it took me a while get it. I was 20. The LP changed my life.
It's complicated. A month earlier, Ellison was excited to get Cannonball's autograph at Newport.
October 20, 2025 at 5:44 PM
It's complicated. A month earlier, Ellison was excited to get Cannonball's autograph at Newport.
🧵Time Capsule
This page from the Michigan Chronicle, the leading African American newspaper in Detroit, offers a snapshot of highlights on the Detroit jazz scene the week of Feb. 27, 1954.
This page from the Michigan Chronicle, the leading African American newspaper in Detroit, offers a snapshot of highlights on the Detroit jazz scene the week of Feb. 27, 1954.
October 18, 2025 at 2:30 AM
🧵Time Capsule
This page from the Michigan Chronicle, the leading African American newspaper in Detroit, offers a snapshot of highlights on the Detroit jazz scene the week of Feb. 27, 1954.
This page from the Michigan Chronicle, the leading African American newspaper in Detroit, offers a snapshot of highlights on the Detroit jazz scene the week of Feb. 27, 1954.
"... but, helpfully, Stryker first elucidates the sonic vocabularies forging the Sanders sound ..."
--Marc Medwin, New York City Jazz Record
--Marc Medwin, New York City Jazz Record
September 27, 2025 at 10:32 PM
"... but, helpfully, Stryker first elucidates the sonic vocabularies forging the Sanders sound ..."
--Marc Medwin, New York City Jazz Record
--Marc Medwin, New York City Jazz Record
A heavyweight prize fight in Detroit in 1960. The Gold Room at the 20 Grand was a ballroom that could hold about 1,200. The $2 advance ticket would cost $22 today, the $2.50 at the door translates to $27.50. #JazzFromDetroit
September 10, 2025 at 10:42 AM
A heavyweight prize fight in Detroit in 1960. The Gold Room at the 20 Grand was a ballroom that could hold about 1,200. The $2 advance ticket would cost $22 today, the $2.50 at the door translates to $27.50. #JazzFromDetroit
September 9, 2025 at 12:11 PM
New acquisition
One hundred years old and swinging like a motherfucker. While I already had the four tracks from 1929, the others from 1923 and '25 had eluded me. I first heard these in Larry Gushee's jazz history seminar at the University of Illinois in 1985.
One hundred years old and swinging like a motherfucker. While I already had the four tracks from 1929, the others from 1923 and '25 had eluded me. I first heard these in Larry Gushee's jazz history seminar at the University of Illinois in 1985.
August 16, 2025 at 8:20 PM
New acquisition
One hundred years old and swinging like a motherfucker. While I already had the four tracks from 1929, the others from 1923 and '25 had eluded me. I first heard these in Larry Gushee's jazz history seminar at the University of Illinois in 1985.
One hundred years old and swinging like a motherfucker. While I already had the four tracks from 1929, the others from 1923 and '25 had eluded me. I first heard these in Larry Gushee's jazz history seminar at the University of Illinois in 1985.
Nightcap
1946. A great, if unsung, band of the day, perched between the late swing era and the emerging modernism. Check out the cats in the ranks, and Benny is his usual quintuple threat -- alto, trumpet, arranger, composer, bandleader. One of the most quietly influential figures in jazz.
1946. A great, if unsung, band of the day, perched between the late swing era and the emerging modernism. Check out the cats in the ranks, and Benny is his usual quintuple threat -- alto, trumpet, arranger, composer, bandleader. One of the most quietly influential figures in jazz.
August 11, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Nightcap
1946. A great, if unsung, band of the day, perched between the late swing era and the emerging modernism. Check out the cats in the ranks, and Benny is his usual quintuple threat -- alto, trumpet, arranger, composer, bandleader. One of the most quietly influential figures in jazz.
1946. A great, if unsung, band of the day, perched between the late swing era and the emerging modernism. Check out the cats in the ranks, and Benny is his usual quintuple threat -- alto, trumpet, arranger, composer, bandleader. One of the most quietly influential figures in jazz.
Alert
"The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit" screens at the Penn Theatre in Plymouth, MI, 5 pm, Sunday. All seats $5. No advance sales; box office opens at 4:30, 30 minutes prior to the show. I'll be on hand to introduce the film and host a Q-and-A after the show.
"The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit" screens at the Penn Theatre in Plymouth, MI, 5 pm, Sunday. All seats $5. No advance sales; box office opens at 4:30, 30 minutes prior to the show. I'll be on hand to introduce the film and host a Q-and-A after the show.
August 1, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Alert
"The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit" screens at the Penn Theatre in Plymouth, MI, 5 pm, Sunday. All seats $5. No advance sales; box office opens at 4:30, 30 minutes prior to the show. I'll be on hand to introduce the film and host a Q-and-A after the show.
"The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit" screens at the Penn Theatre in Plymouth, MI, 5 pm, Sunday. All seats $5. No advance sales; box office opens at 4:30, 30 minutes prior to the show. I'll be on hand to introduce the film and host a Q-and-A after the show.
Nightcap
Brahms Concerto, Halle' Orch., Hamilton Harty. 1928. Peak Szigeti--sublime, deeply thought, expressive, never showy or mannered. Modernist sheen of the playing enhanced by quality of the original recording & transfer: So good it almost sounds like prime 1950s mono.
Brahms Concerto, Halle' Orch., Hamilton Harty. 1928. Peak Szigeti--sublime, deeply thought, expressive, never showy or mannered. Modernist sheen of the playing enhanced by quality of the original recording & transfer: So good it almost sounds like prime 1950s mono.
July 30, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Nightcap
Brahms Concerto, Halle' Orch., Hamilton Harty. 1928. Peak Szigeti--sublime, deeply thought, expressive, never showy or mannered. Modernist sheen of the playing enhanced by quality of the original recording & transfer: So good it almost sounds like prime 1950s mono.
Brahms Concerto, Halle' Orch., Hamilton Harty. 1928. Peak Szigeti--sublime, deeply thought, expressive, never showy or mannered. Modernist sheen of the playing enhanced by quality of the original recording & transfer: So good it almost sounds like prime 1950s mono.
Saturday night agenda.
July 27, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Saturday night agenda.
I don't own the recording linked to above, but I have a beautiful first edition of the book that grew out of the festival.
July 26, 2025 at 2:20 PM
I don't own the recording linked to above, but I have a beautiful first edition of the book that grew out of the festival.
Here's another, this one immortalized in Stanley's electrifying reading recorded at the landmark A Festival of New Black Poets in America, held in New York in 1972. Astonishing imagery. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApT...
July 26, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Here's another, this one immortalized in Stanley's electrifying reading recorded at the landmark A Festival of New Black Poets in America, held in New York in 1972. Astonishing imagery. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApT...
An extraordinary poem by Stanley Crouch written in 1970.
July 26, 2025 at 2:17 PM
An extraordinary poem by Stanley Crouch written in 1970.
Exactly 31 years ago tomorrow, I reviewed a Mangione concert for the Dayton Daily News. A few days later, I followed up with piece meditating on the Fender Rhodes electric piano that Mangione occassionally played during the concert.
July 24, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Exactly 31 years ago tomorrow, I reviewed a Mangione concert for the Dayton Daily News. A few days later, I followed up with piece meditating on the Fender Rhodes electric piano that Mangione occassionally played during the concert.