Hank Mobley – The Middle Man

Hank Mobley has been described as “the middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone” … a metaphor used to describe his tone, which was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Lester Young.  His style was laid-back, subtle and melodic, especially in contrast with players like John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins.  At the risk of sounding like a name-dropper, I’ll also point out that, like Charlie “Bird” Parker, any video of Hank is extremely rare.  Mobley’s 1968 performance of Summertime at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen is the only one I could find.  His tenor is joined by Kenny Drew on piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (NHOP) on bass and Albert “Tootie” Heath playing drums.

The two tunes just below that are Remember where Hank is joined by Art Blakey on drums, Wynton Kelly playing piano, and Paul Chambers on bass … and Flirty Gerty with Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Jackie McLean on alto, Bob Cranshaw playing bass, Billy Higgins at the drums, John Hicks on piano and, of course, Hank Mobley out front with his tenor.

The Incredible Jimmy Smith

Organ Grinder’s Swing (Top) was recorded at the Vienne Jazz Festival on July 7, 1993 in Vienne, France.  They rattled the cobblestones in the streets of that quaint old town with the likes of Jimmy on the Hammond, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Herman Riley playing tenor and Grady Tate at the drums.  Also in 1993, Smith performed Walk On The Wild Side with The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band In a special salute to the Jazz Masters.  We’re more used to hearing collaborations with Oliver Nelson on big band arrangements but the quartet merged equally well with the Carnegie group, as you can hear (Below, left).

While we don’t usually think of Elmer Bernstein when speaking of jazz, I’ve included the credits opening and original rendition of Walk On The Wild Side (Below, right) … because it may just be the greatest opening a motion picture ever had! Well-l-l-l, it certainly rates up there.

Whisper Not / No Problem – Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

In 1956, while performing with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Benny Golson wrote “Whisper Not”. The band recorded it in November of that year and in 1957 Golson recorded it with his own group. It’s a wonderfully mellow tune, performed here by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers in 1958 … with Benny on tenor, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons at the piano, Jymie Merritt on bass and of course Blakey, himself, playing drums.

By contrast, the Duke Jordan composition “No Problem” unleashes a more typical Messenger sound … and the message is “HOT!” It’s 1959 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the personnel are the same, except Wayne Shorter is on tenor and Walter Davis, Jr. plays piano.

Joseph Anthony Pass & Edward Kennedy Ellington

Hearing Joe Pass and Duke Ellington together would normally be a rare treat in itself, but put them together in a small group setting and you have reason to celebrate!  Ellington was always an underrated piano player, probably because he is usually lost among 15 or 16 other incredibly talented musicians in his own band and you don’t really hear him.  After all, as the leader Duke is often buried in plain sight.  Now add bassist Ray Brown and drummer Louie Bellson to the mix, and what you have is the amazing quartet performing Cottontail in the video above and Love You Madly below on a cut from Duke’s 1974 “Big 4” album. Joe Pass?  Well, he sets fire to any group of fine musicians … large or small, slow or fast!

Delilah / Beautiful Old Ladies – Ellis Marsalis

The Marsalis family’s musical gifts all flow from the “headwaters’ … an internationally renowned piano player named Ellis.   Sons Wynton, Branford, Delfaeyo and Jason have all become famous in their own right, with Wynton and Branford each standing with one foot in jazz and the other in classical music.  In the video, Ellis Marsalis is joined by Andrew Baham on trumpet, Derek Douget on sax, Gerald Watkins at the drums and Jason Stewart playing bass.  The tune is Delilah, recorded in New Orleans at The Jazz and Heritage Center December 15, 2018.  Below that is Beautiful Old Ladies, a tribute to older women from Ellis’s Whistle Stop album, featuring Branford Marsalis on soprano sax, Robert Hurst playing bass, Jeff Watts on drums and, of course, Ellis at the piano.

Lee Ritenour And Fourplay

Above, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin & Andreas Varady, perform Oliver Nelson’s  “Stolen Moments” at the 47th Montreux Jazz Festival in 2013. Tom Kennedy played bass and Chris Coleman was on drums.  Below, Lee adds Eric Marienthal’s tenor to his quartet for an infectious “Night Rhythms” … a Ritenour original recorded in 1988. Lee started as a session player when he was just 16 years old, and recorded his first solo album, First Course, in 1976.  By the way, Fourplay was the ‘supergroup’ that Lee Ritenour formed and performed with during the Smooth Jazz ’90s.

All Blues / Joshua – Miles Davis

In October 1964, Miles Davis appeared in concert at the Teatro dell’Arte in Milan Italy with a dream quintet including himself on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on sax, Herbie Hancock at the piano, Ron Carter playing bass and Tony Williams on drums. It doesn’t get better than that!  This was the era of Miles I have always preferred … when he was still innovating and not just experimenting.  Even as he evolved, one thing that never changed was his adherence to his statement, “Don’t play the notes that are there.  Play the notes that are not there.”  The two cuts below are from that live 1964 concert … a Miles Davis original All Blues (upper) and a Miles Davis-Victor Feldman tune called Joshua (bottom).

The Virtuosity of Eddie Daniels

Eddie Daniels recorded Slipped Disc during a “Benny Rides Again” tribute to Benny Goodman in 1992. The group was made up of Gary Burton (vb),  Makoto Ozone (p), Marc Johnson (b), Martin Richards (d) and of course Eddie Daniels (c).

Stompin’ At The Savoy was recorded in October of 2012 ‘upstairs’ at Vitello’s in LA.  Joe La Barbera (d), Tom Warrington (b) and Tom Ranier (p) provided a familiar rhythm section since they often head East to perform with Daniels in NY.

Hot House – Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie

This performance of Hot House is from a February 24, 1952 broadcast on the pioneering DuMont Television Network.  Broadcasting on the Earl Wilson Show ‘Stage Entrance’, Charlie Parker plays with Dizzy Gillespie in the only footage capturing “Bird” in a true live performance … a historic TV broadcast of the founding fathers of bebop playing together.  It is one of only two known sound films of Parker playing and the only one of him playing live, rather than synching to a prerecorded track.

The quintet playing on this rare video includes Parker on alto saxophone, Gillespie on trumpet, Sandy Block playing bass, Charlie Smith on drums and Dick Hyman at the piano.

Killer Joe / Autumn Leaves – Benny Golson

Born in 1929, saxophonist Benny Golson is one of the last surviving links to the Golden Age of modern jazz, ushered in by the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke and others in the early 1940s. Benny is a multi-talented, internationally famous jazz legend whose talents include composer, arranger, lyricist, producer and world renowned tenor saxophonist.

The video is from the Ramsey Lewis Legends of Jazz T.V. series and features Benny Golson on sax, Willie Pickens at the piano, Larry Gray on bass and Leon Joyce Jr. on the drums playing Killer Joe, a jazz standard written by Golson himself.  The audio track is another standard that is perfect for the season … Autumn Leaves.  It features another quintet with Benny on tenor, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Ray Bryant at the piano, Tommy Bryant playing bass, and Al Harewood on drums.