At the 1971 Newport Jazz Festival, Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond joined the Dave Brubeck Trio for the Kern – Hammerstein standard All The Things You Are. The result is this masterpiece featuring a memorable Desmond solo and a portrait in syncopation, during the last few minutes, that will take your breath away!
The Three Tenors? Jazz? Well, when you add Frank Sinatra to the mix and understand the musical reverence they have for him, it begins to make sense. In July 1994, José Carreras, Plàcido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti, together with conductor Zubin Mehta and The L.A. Philhrmonic, performed “A Tribute to Hollywood” medley at their legendary concert at the Los Angeles Dodger Stadium. Old Blue Eyes was in attendance and his reaction to the trio’s uniquely tender rendition of My Way demands that I share this with you.
When it comes to sharing the spotlight, Oscar Peterson is the poster boy. For example, at the Bern Jazz Festival in 1988 Oscar added several numbers by the incredible Carmen McRae … such as “Sometimes I’m Happy”. Peterson played piano, naturally, while Dave Young was on bass and Martin Drew on drums to round out the trio. In a more intimate setting back in 1969, the trio had Sam Jones playing drums and Bobby Durham on bass, and shared the spotlight with yet another superstar in the person of Dexter Gordon. The tune is an uptempo arrangement of “You Stepped Out Of A Dream”.
Cal Tjader is most often associated with Latin Jazz, sometimes combining the two and other times moving easily between them. As you’ll hear on Doxy and Speak Low, he swings with an easy, relaxed feeling … while on his well known 1964 hit Soul Sauce the Latin flavor is very apparent. The video was recorded live in1959 at Hugh Hefner’s original Playboy Mansion in Chicago.
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is a popular song written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and introduced to the public in the 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter. While the lyrics make no mention of a holiday, it is popularly regarded as a Christmas song owing to its winter theme. The song was released in no fewer than eight recordings in 1949 and was originally an invitation to leave, not to stay.
Some on the fringe say the lyrics are ‘sexist’ … I say they seem near-perfect for welcoming in the New Year, especially in places like the bone-chilling northeast where January brings more than just cold and fireplaces are more than just atmospheric!
To join our Mark Of Jazz Facebook discussion group.
For more posts and to leave comments on Twitter.
As well as follow and download the Jazz Scene Podcast on iTunes, too!