Mellow McRae

by | Oct 4, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal

Carmen McRae is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century. She was known for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretation of lyrics, both of which seemed to come to her quite naturally. Carmen didn’t just sing a song, she owned it! The three tunes below are prime examples, and while McRae could swing with the best of them, I always felt she shone brightest in a mellow mood.

(Topmost) is the 1935 standard I’m in the Mood for Love, with Carmen accompanying herself on the piano. She was joined by Scott Colley on bass and Mark Pulice playing drums, in 1990 at the Good Day Club in Tokyo. Ruby My Dear (middle) may be the most beautiful Thelonious Monk composition since ‘Round Midnight. It was recorded in 1988 at the Newport Jazz Festival, with Clifford Jordan playing tenor and Eric Gunnison on piano, joining Carmen and her rhythm section on stage. At the Bern Jazz Festival, also in 1988, she eschews the usual uptempo arrangements of Have You Met Miss Jones (bottom) in favor of a more heartfelt version all her own. Dizzy Gillespie adds a few notes of counterpoint to her amazing vocal.

Coltrane

by | Sep 26, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet

The 1960 video (above) is from John Coltrane’s first time in Europe, touring as a member of one of Miles Davis’ first great quintets. On Green Dolphin Street was recorded in Dusseldorf Germany, and features Coltrane on tenor, Wynton Kelly playing piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb at the drums. Miles sat out this particular evening, thus leaving the spotlight all to Trane.

(Upper right) Stan Getz joins the quartet in a medley of standards with John soloing on What’s New? and Stan doing the chores with Moonlight in Vermont. Alabama (Lower right) is a powerful tune penned by Coltrane in response to the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four young Black girls.

Monk … Notes Not There

by | Sep 20, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Solo/Duo

One of Miles Davis’ notable quotes is, “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” Thelonious Sphere Monk has seemingly mastered the art of doing exactly that … playing the notes that are not there! His compositions and improvisations feature dissonances and angular melodic twists, often using flat ninths, flat fifths, unexpected chromatic notes together, low bass notes and stride, and fast whole tone runs, combining a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of switched key releases, silences, and hesitations. Whatever else that means, it all boils down to Thelonious Monk is an acquired taste.

Take a sip from this 1963 Brussels performance of his composition Rhythm-A-Ning (above), as he is joined by Charlie Rouse on sax, John Ore playing bass, and Frankie Dunlop on drums. (Below left) is Lulu’s Back in Town, a popular song and jazz standard written in 1935 by Warren and Dubin … performed in 1966 in Poland by Monk at the piano, Charlie Rouse on tenor, Lawrence Gales playing bass, and Ben Riley on drums. At the Berliner Jazztage in 1969, Monk shared his recipe for greatness with a classic solo rendition of Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady (below right).

Power of the Pen –– Sound of the Horn

by | Sep 13, 2025 | Orchestral, Quartet/Quintet, Video

Terence Blanchard is jazz royalty—trumpet player, bandleader, film score composer, and recording artist, all rolled into one. Terence is an alumnus of the Berklee College of Music, the premier institute of the performing arts, along with such notables as Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, as well as any number of other Grammy-winning engineers, producers, and instrumentalists across various musical genres. His close ties to Berklee revolve around teaching and mentoring rather than merely as an alumnus … that and similar educational involvements, in addition to his film scoring, may be the reason Blanchard hasn’t exactly become a household name.

In the early ‘90s Terence gained attention as a soloist, performing on Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and Mo’ Better Blues. He went on to score all of Lee’s subsequent films, including the Hurricane Katrina documentary, When the Levees Broke. Levees was originally part of the musical score, evocatively performed by Terence in the following video along with a forty piece orchestra!

The song I Cover the Waterfront was written by Johnny Green and Edward Heyman in 1933; it was inspired by Max Miller’s 1932 novel of the same name and a subsequent 1933 film. The Terence Blanchard rendition from his 1994 album, The Billie Holiday Songbook, features Terence on trumpet, Bruce Barth at the piano, Troy Davis playing drums, and Chris Thomas on bass.

I Cover the Waterfront

by Terence Blanchard | Billie Holiday Songbook

Sing Soweto is a New Orleans jazz and bop track released in 1991 on the album titled Terence Blanchard. The Soweto Uprising (or Rebellion) was a 1976 protest in South Africa, where thousands of Black students were killed in a march against the requirement they be instructed only in the Afrikaans language, which they strongly associated with the apartheid government. Blanchard’s trumpet and subtle chorus on the video (below) capture the pain of the struggle.

Settings – Ellis Marsalis

by | Sep 6, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Trio

Ellis Marsalis is a father figure of jazz in a number of ways. As a pianist, he was among the first generation of musicians to bring bebop to New Orleans; as an educator, many great musicians came through Marsalis’ tutelage, including Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Donald Harrison, and Nicholas Payton. Ellis is, of course, the headwaters –– the actual father –– of four exceptional jazz musicians: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo, and Jason Marsalis. Here he demonstrates his prowess in three settings, including a quintet, quartet, and trio … equally as masterful in all of them.

Delilah (top) was part of a concert streamed live by WWOZ from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Center in 2018. It features the quintet with Ellis on piano,Gerald Watkins at the drums, Jason Stewart playing bass, Andrew Baham on trumpet, and Derek Douget on sax. In the (middle) is Homecoming, an Ellis original performed with his quartet at his 80th birthday celebration event at Dizzy Gillespie’s Club CocaCola, in New York. Finally (bottom) in 1997 Syndrome, another Ellis Marsalis original, is given the trio treatment in Bern Switzerland.

Sax from the Woods

by | Aug 31, 2025 | Orchestral, Quartet/Quintet

Phil Woods was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. He did it all and did it well! Woods earned the top alto sax player award almost 30 times in DownBeat magazine’s annual readers’ poll. He composed more than 200 songs during his 60 plus year career, and staked his claim to being the finest alto saxophonist in mainstream jazz.

I have to laugh when someone tells me they don’t like jazz. My reply is usually, “Which kind don’t you like?” If you really listen, there’s something for everyone … even ‘pretty’ jazz. Take, for example, Phil’s performance of I’ll Remember April (above) with the Orchestre du Conservatoir National Regional de Toulouse at the Marciac Jazz Festival in 2005. It’s as lush and mellow, as Steeplechase (below) is cookin’! Woods’ famous quartet recorded the tune in 1990 at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France; it consisted of Phil (as), Hal Galper (p), Steve Gilmore (b), and Bill Goodwin (d).

Big Boss Barry

by | Aug 2, 2025 | Big Band, Quartet/Quintet, Tentet

Frisco Club (below top) is the opening sequence from the 1958 film “I Want To Live.” The film score, composed by Johnny Mandel, features the Gerry Mulligan Jazz Combo and has become a classic, grab your socks, soundtrack album … in fact two Grammy Award nominated albums! The players on those recordings include Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, Shelly Manne playing drums, Art Farmer on trumpet, Red Mitchell on bass, Pete Jolly at the piano, Bud Shank playing flute, and Frank Rosolino on trombone. (Below that) Chet Baker joins Gerry for the 1927 Hoagy Carmichael standard Stardust, a blend of heart-felt sound that only these two jazz icons could have created. Henry Grimes on bass and Dave Bailey on drums round out the quartet.

Stardust

by Gerry Mulligan & Chet Baker | Reunion

To the left (Top) Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll is from the quartet’s 1993 Japan concert, with Gerry (bs), Ted Rosenthal (p), Dean Johnson (b), and Ron Vincent (d). (Bottom left) is a Mulligan original, Walkin’ Shoes … cited as one of his most popular compositions. His tentet includes Lee Konitz (as), Art Farmer (t), Rob McConnell (tb), Mike Mossman (t), Ken Soderblom (c), Bob Routch (frh), Ted Rosenthal (p), Dean Johnson (b), and Ron Vincent (d).

The Incomparable Cleo Laine

by | Aug 2, 2025 | Orchestral, Vocal

Cleo Laine was a British singer blessed with an agile contralto voice, boasting an incredible four-octave range!  She became not only the most creative and materially successful jazz singer the UK music scene has known, but also gained a worldwide reputation as one of a mere handful of truly original, jazz-inspired vocalists. Cleo was actually quite comfortable in almost any idiom, from jazzy standards to the frontiers of classical music and even opera … she was the only female singer to receive Grammy nominations in jazz, popular and classical categories. At the tender age of 97, Dame Cleo Laine passed away only last week, July 24, 2025, but leaves her magical touch on all musical genres for the inspiration of future enthusiasts.

(Above) she teams up with husband John Dankworth on Sophisticated Lady, a clip from the BBC film, “A Salute to Duke Ellington” on his seventieth birthday. (Immediately below) is a performance, again teaming with Dankworth, at the 1982 MDA Telethon. It’s the old favorite, I Don’t Know Why I Love You Like I Do, plus a surprise medley with a couple of mind-blowing Cleo twists toward the end! Finally (at the bottom) is a pair of tunes from a live performance in 1968, with Dame Laine truly in her prime … Come Rain or Come Shine (L) and Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone (R).

The Swingin’ Side of Stan Getz

by | Jul 26, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet

Stan Getz was often called “The Sound” because of his warm, lyrical tone, due largely to the influence of the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. He elicited from his tenor sax a luxuriant tone, which made Stan a natural to spread the sound of cool jazz in the ’50s, and furthered the bossa nova explosion of the ’60s of which he was a centerpiece.

We have become accustomed to hearing a very mellow Stan Getz, as exemplified by his definitive rendition of Desafinado (top right) … bossa nova at its best, with Joanne Brackeen on piano, Clint Houston playing double bass, and Billy Hart on drums. Just (below that) Getz continues in a mellow mood, as he is joined by Chet Baker on Dear Old Stockholm, not too surprisingly recorded in Sweden, in 1983.

A bit less usual Stan swings out on the old favorite Slow Boat To China, with Kenny Barron playing piano, Alex Blake on bass, and Terri Lyne Carrington on drums (just left), performing at the Munich Philharmonie Hall in Germany, in 1990. And, finally, Getz once again lights it up, joined by Chet Baker … also featuring Jim McNeely at the piano, George Mraz on bass, and Victor Lewis playing drums (bottom) on Miles Davis’ Milestones.

Dizzy Is as Dizzy Does

by | Jul 19, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal

John Birks Gillespie earned the name “Dizzy” with his playful, even mischievous behavior both on and off stage … his bent-bell trumpet is sort of a reflection of that off-beat character, although its ‘birth’ was accidental. One day someone fell over his horn, and he liked the new sound so well that he had his trumpets constructed with that special bend from then on. Gillespie’s effect on jazz can’t be overstated; his trumpet playing influenced every player who came after him. His compositions have become part of the jazz canon, and his bands have included some of the most significant names in the business. During the early 40s, along with Charlie Parker, Dizzy was one of the major leaders of the bebop movement.

On (top) is a 1951 Gillespie jazz standard, Birk’s Works. Most often heard with a big band, this quartet arrangement has Dizzy on trumpet, Ray Brown on bass, Ed Cherry playing guitar, Tommy Campbell at the drums, and Valerie Capers playing piano. It was recorded in Belgrade in 1981.  While I’m not a huge fan of scat singing, this one had to be shared. Gillespie is joined at the 1985 Jazz Festival in Bern by James Moody (bottom) to give even Mel Torme a run for his ‘scatting’ money on Oop-Pop-A-Da. They’re backed by Gene Harris on piano, Ray Brown playing bass, and Grady Tate on drums.