The Shearing Sound – Pt. 2

by | Sep 1, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet, Solo/Duo, Vocal

From 1949 to 1978, The George Shearing Quintet was a household name and a staple in anyone’s record collection.  Between George’s “Locked Hands” style of playing and the addition of vibes to the group, their sound was unique.  The original group was comprised of Margie Hyams (vibes), Chuck Wayne (guitar), later replaced by Toots Thielemans, John Levy (bass), Denzil Best (drums), and of course Shearing himself (piano).  The quintet underwent several changes through the years, until finally it was disbanded, in favor of trio, duo, and solo performances … until toward the end of his career Shearing made several recordings with major vocalists such as Mel Torme, Nat Cole (Pick Yourself Up – bottom), Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee and others.

Move (above) was one of the earlier quintets after Joe Roland had replaced Margie Hyams on vibes; the tune is one of the less mellow arrangements for which the group became known.  The Duke (below) is a tune written by Dave Brubeck as a nod to the great Duke Ellington.  It’s a live performance with Neil Swainson accompanying Sir George Shearing on bass.

Pick Yourself Up

by George Shearing-Nat Cole | Nat Cole Sings, George Shearing Plays

Movin’ Wes

by | Aug 11, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet

A wonderfully natural improviser, Wes Montgomery’s octave playing was more like the sound of the jazz frontline saxophone and trumpet, rather than that purely of a guitarist.  He had a double-jointed thumb that enabled him to play up and down strokes effortlessly –– he chose not to use a plastic pick because he felt it got in the way.  As a jazz musician, his personal habits were as unique as his playing in that he didn’t drink or do drugs. In fact, at one point some of his fellow musicians even called him Reverend Montgomery.

The first two videos were recorded in Belgium in 1965.  John Coltrane’s Impressions (top) features Montgomery on guitar, Arthur Harper on bass, Jimmy Lovelace on drums, and Harold Mabern playing piano.

Here’s That Rainy Day (left) features the same group as above … however, Four On Six (below) was recorded in England with Rick Laird on bass, Jackie Dougan playing drums, and Stan Tracey on piano.

Chelsea Bridge – Joe Henderson & Kenny Drew

by | Jun 30, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet

Chelsea Bridge is yet another jazz standard written by the wonderfully prolific Billy Strayhorn.  The tune was originally recorded by Duke Ellington in 1941 –– fast forward to 1968 and the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway, and an impressionistic interpretation of the impressionistic song by Joe Henderson and the Kenny Drew Trio.  Sometimes soft, sometimes swinging, this most creative arrangement features Joe on tenor, Kenny Drew at the piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (NHOP) on bass, and Albert “Tootie” Heath playing drums.

Pop Music’s Favorite Jazz Pianist

by | Jun 25, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet, Smooth Jazz, Video

After recording more than 80 albums, and collecting 3 Grammy awards, plus 5 Gold Records, Ramsey Lewis remained a major figure in contemporary jazz until his death just last year at age 87.

While his award-winning 1965 recording of “The In Crowd” established him on the pop charts, his Sun Goddess album remains one of his most sought after by pop music and jazz fans alike.  Both of these selections are live performances of tunes from that album –– beginning with the video of Stevie Wonder’s Living for the City (topmost).

This is Sun Goddess, the title song from the album.  It features Ramsey on piano, Henry Johnson playing guitar, Chuck Webb on bass, Steve Cobb on drums and Mike Logan at the keyboards.

More Than Hard Times – David “Fathead” Newman

by | Jun 3, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal

Hard Times

by David "Fathead" Newman | Fathead

With a strong background in R&B, and a close friendship with Ray Charles, it was only natural for saxophonist David Newman to be introduced to the world by Charles himself, through his first album––Fathead. For most of his career, Newman remained best known for his solo on Hard Times, one of the featured songs from that debut album.

Red Top is a wonderfully straight ahead jazz tune written by Lionel Hampton, performed by David “Fathead” Newman. Normally, I list the accompanying personnel, but this time, I couldn’t track anyone down––not even the singing drummer. On Newman’s Chillin’ album, everyone sounds so precisely the same that I will risk a guess, and list the group that appears on the album. Both the video and recording are circa 1998, so it may be a relatively safe bet. I’m guessing that in addition to “Fathead” on tenor, John Hicks played piano, Steve Novosel was on bass, Winard Harper on drums, and Bryan Carrott played vibes.

The second video is the familiar Blue Bossa and features “Fathead” Newman and Houston Person on dual tenor saxes, along with the Rein deGraaff Trio. It was also recorded in 1998, when they were entering their twilight years but still going strong!

‘Round Midnight – Chet Baker

by | Apr 29, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet

This has always been my favorite rendition of Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight … so much so, that I couldn’t resist adding my own visual interpretation of the mood it evokes. This is music for a rainy night.  Music for lonely lovers and all those others seeking shelter from the storm, needing comfort for the soul.

By request, for the first time in six years on Mark Of Jazz, I am repeating a post (May 12, 2017).  Besides Chet, the players in this set are unidentified and I’m not sure exactly where this particular performance came from, but I think it’s worth sharing one more once.

Fiddlin’ Around – Jean Luc Ponty

by | Apr 23, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet, Trio

It isn’t everyday we have the opportunity to see Jean Luc Ponty together with the likes of guitarist Al DiMeola and bassist Stanley Clarke, but the stars aligned in 1994 at The Montreux Jazz Festival.  The video below featuring their performance of Renaissance is merely one example.  Their landmark appearance was eventually made into both a CD and a DVD.

Here is Ponty with Dr. L. Subramaniam in 2003, live at The Gateway of India. Billy Cobham is on drums and the tune is called Conversations.  Whether labeled jazz-rock or fusion, their music is frantic and it’s fun!

Hank Mobley – The Middle Man

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet

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.

Remember

by Hank Mobley | Soul Station

Flirty Gerty

by Hank Mobley | High Voltage

The Incredible Jimmy Smith

by | Apr 1, 2023 | Big Band, Quartet/Quintet

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

by | Mar 24, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet

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.