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.
Landmark album, stellar players … Miles Davis on trumpet, “Cannonball” Adderley on alto sax, Jimmy Cobb plays drums, John Coltrane on tenor sax, Wynton Kelly at the piano and Paul Chambers bass.
Freddie gets a more uptempo treatment here with a trio consisting of Wes Montgomery on guitar, Melvin Rhyne playing organ and George Brown on drums.
Here is a more intimate version of the Miles Davis tune, featuring Bill Evans on Piano, the amazing Eddie Gomez playing bass and Elliott Zigmund at the drums.
It’s Miles Davis’ classic tune with lyrics by Hendricks, featuring Bobby McFerrin singing Wynton Kelly’s piano solo, Al Jarreau singing Davis’ solo, Hendricks singing Coltrane’s tenor solo and George Benson singing Cannonball Adderley’s alto solo. One amazing track.
You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To is from a live 2005 Seattle (DVD) concert entitled “Deedles Is My Name”. Diane Schuur is backed by Maynard Ferguson and his powerful Big Bop Nouveau Band, although many of the songs feature the more intimate setting of a quartet. It’s fascinating to hear Diane trade riffs with Maynard, mimicking his exuberant, high-flying sound.
Billy Joel’s New York State Of Mind, featuring Diane together with the sensuous sax of Stan Getz, was first released as a 45 RPM single and on her “Deedles” album with Dave Grusin in 1984… then again on her “Best Of” album in 1995. Below you’ll hear the original 45 release, nostalgic clicks, pops and all. By the way if you ever wondered where Diane Schuur’s nickname “Deedles” came from, it was an affectionate name her mother called her as a child and it just sort of stuck!
If the world ends someday, this song will be the credits. What A Wonderful World was first recorded and popularized by Louis Armstrong in 1967. Although there have been many recordings by other significant performers, Satchmo’s rendition continues to stand above the others. This arrangement is a mellow jazz instrumentation rather than the more common version with strings. While it isn’t really a jazz tune, I defy anyone to tell me it shouldn’t be included here.
In 1965 The Cold War was raging and the Berlin Wall stood strong, not to keep people out, but to keep people in! On March 22nd, despite the political tensions and human oppression, the ambassador of jazz Louis Armstrong, gave a legendary concert in East Berlin at the Friedrichsstadt Palast. The bottom two videos, Mack The Knife and When The Saints Go Marching In are just two of the powerful performances from that evening.
Thelonious Monk is something of an acquired taste. As Monk himself has said, “The piano ain’t got no wrong notes” … but once that taste is acquired, the listening experience is singular and thoroughly enjoyable! The impression is one of almost hitting the note by playing around it, implying the expected note by actually creating a new version of it. Monk is the very definition of avant-garde … half pianist, half painter. As for Charlie Rouse adding his tenor to the mix, Charlie rents space inside Monk’s head. Together they are musical twins joined at the hip!
Recorded in 1966 in Denmark, Don’t Blame Me puts Monk’s quartet on hold for a solo performance of the time-tested classic.
Monk’s Bolivar Blues was recorded in Japan in 1963. The quartet is Thelonious at the piano, Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone, Frankie Dunlop playing drums and Butch Warren on bass.
Open Country was recorded at the Storyville nightclub in Boston during 1956. His famous ‘pianoless’ quartet at that time included Bob Brookmeyer (tb), Gus Johnson (dr) & Wyatt Ruther (b).
Song For An Unfinished Woman was recorded in 1982 at the North Sea Jazz Festival at the Hague. Solos are by Dave Glenn on trombone, Harold Danko playing Piano and Chris Rogers on flugelhorn
At the impressionable age of fourteen, Opus de Jazz was the first jazz album I ever bought. While the other kids were rocking to Buddy Holly, The Del Vikings and The Platters, I was getting hooked on the likes of Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck and Count Basie! It wasn’t until I became a disc jockey (Back when we actually played those round things made of vinyl) that I developed a nodding acquaintance with Rock music … but my love affair with jazz has only intensified to this day.
Opus de Funk and Opus And Interlude were recorded at a Savoy Records session in New York, October 1955 and were released on the album Opus de Jazz (subtitled A Hi-Fi Recording for Flute, Vibes, Piano, Bass, Drums) along with two other songs in 1956. All featured Frank Wess on flute (tenor sax on one tune), Milt Jackson on vibes, Kenny Clarke playing drums, Hank Jones at the piano and Eddie Jones on bass.
Through the years, the definitive version of One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) has been associated with Frank Sinatra … but Dianne Reeves gives ‘Old Blue Eyes’ a run for his money on this one. It’s from her 2008 appearance at the Jazzopen Music Festival in Stuttgart, Germany. Her band is comprised of Peter Martin on piano, Peter Sprague playing guitar, James Genus on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums. Even with all of the energy Reeves typically puts into her performances, she has a lower, slower gear … and I’ve selected two of my more mellow favorites from her live concerts.
Stormy Weather was taken from Dianne’s 2012 performance at Jazzwoche Burghausen, also Germany. It’s a jazz/pop standard that she infuses with anything but a standard feeling … featuring Peter Martin at the piano, Romero Lubambo on guitar, Reginald Veal on bass, and Terreon Gully playing drums behind the vocal instrumentation of Ms. Reeves.
The first video is one of only two existing pieces of footage of Charlie Parker in performance. This session was recorded in October 1950 in an effort to add video to some previously recorded audio tracks. Bird was smiling because Hawkins, Rich and company were trying to mime their own improvised solos and it wasn’t working out so well. Bird had a good time with it until he got into “trouble” with the producer for laughing at Hawkins. I believe the tune they are attempting to re-dress is called Celebrity.
The second video is the other piece of performance footage and is entitled Hot House. It was recorded in 1951 and ‘co-features’ Dizzy Gillespie in the days before his trumpet developed its trade mark distinctive ‘curve’. The two audio selections, Lover Man and They Can’t Take That Away From Me are simply more ‘Bird’ at his best, including a cut from his album with strings.
In this session Bird was, of course, on alto, Coleman Hawkins on tenor, Hank Jones played piano, the great Ray Brown played bass, and you’re sure to recognize Buddy Rich on drums.
When Parker got together with Dizzy Gillespie to jam, you knew the music had to be hot, so the tune was bound to be a few degrees above normal, too! If you look closely toward the end, you’ll spot Dick Hyman at the piano.
In celebration of “Bird’s” Centennial”, August 29, 2020, here are a couple of tunes from, perhaps, the greatest recording session of all time at the WOR Studios in New York on November 26,1945. In addition, the video features the original Charlie Parker Quintet playing Out Of Nowhere, also recorded at the WOR Studios a few years later in1947 … with Miles Davis (trumpet), Charlie Parker (alto sax), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter(bass), Max Roach (drums).
Ko-Ko, which sort of became Bird’s theme song, and Billie’s Bounce are both from the 1945 session. It was the first session in two years due to a ban on such recording to save on shellac as part of the war rationing effort. The dream date called for Parker, of course, Miles Davis on trumpet, Bud Powell on piano, Curly Russell on bass, and Max Roach on drums. However, Bud Powell couldn’t make the date and Dizzy Gillespie ended up playing piano, as well as sitting in for Miles on a few sets!
Next week Bird’s Centennial Celebration Part 2 features the only two existing pieces of footage showing Charlie Parker in performance.
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