My Favorite Things – Joey Alexander, Encore!

by | Nov 21, 2018 | Solo/Duo

Do you realize there is no Thanksgiving jazz?  The only Thanksgiving song I could  even think of was “Over The River and Through the Woods” but I couldn’t find a jazz rendition.  The closest I could come was “My Favorite Things” but what a find it was, holiday or not.  None other than Joey Alexander, that kid prodigy from Indonesia, once again dazzles us with his piano prowess.

To have reached this level of technical proficiency and have such a sophisticated harmonic understanding at the tender age of 12 is nothing short of astonishing!  I couldn’t decide which of these performances to share and the contrast between the two is most outstanding when heard side-by-side.  So here are both … and Happy Thanksgiving.  What is going on inside this young man’s head is enough to make many established jazz pianists blush!.

Joey Alexander performs the title track from his debut album “My Favorite Things” in studio, along with the intricate bass work of Larry Grenadier.  

Joey plays jazz piano like old timer, but he’s only 11-years-old for this solo performance.  They say he started playing at six … then “got serious” at seven.  

Parker’s Mood – James Moody

by | May 11, 2018 | Orchestral, Solo/Duo

James Moody was a jazz saxophonist and flutist from Newark, New Jersey, celebrated for his virtuosity, his versatility and his onstage ebullience. This is a gentle solo with strings, from Eastwood After Hours, recorded at Carnegie Hall in NYC on October 17, 1996.

Cry Me A River – Julie London

by | Feb 2, 2018 | Solo/Duo, Vocal

Sexy is, as the commercials say, “often imitated but never duplicated.”  It’s not baring lots of skin or exhibiting a particular sort of behavior but, rather, it is a natural quality that shines even through a high-button housecoat.  In other words, you either have it or you don’t.  Julie London oozed it!  Cry Me A River pretty much became her signature song and nobody ever did it better … it’s amazing how Julie’s simple but sexy rendition so completely outclasses modern ‘Divas’ with all their vocal gymnastics and glory notes!  This cut is from the May 1964 laser disc The Julie London Show with the Bobby Troup Quintet.

Satin Doll / Windsong – Mundell Lowe

by | Jan 5, 2018 | Orchestral, Solo/Duo

Mundell Lowe and Louis Stewart perform Satin Doll together with a string quartet.  It’s a unique treatment of the Ellington / Strayhorn classic, with the tender touch of one of jazz’s guitar icons.

Wind Song is a rhythmic, medium-up tempo tune featuring Mundell Lowe and Louis Stewart on guitars, Jim Doherty piano, Dave Gausden bass, Peter Ainscough on drums, augmented by a classical string quartet just to keep things interesting.

Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby & Dean Martin Christmas

by | Dec 22, 2017 | Solo/Duo, Vocal

In 1957, two giants of music paired up for a Christmas special guaranteed to put you in the Holiday mood.  Here are Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, in their prime, singing “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “White Christmas”.

“Marshmallow World” may not be jazz, but it is definitely Christmas … and these two characters are definitely Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra (in a 1967 TV special).  You can’t rub them together without making sparks!

The Third Eye / Drum Conversation – Max Roach

by | Sep 1, 2017 | Solo/Duo, Video

The Third Eye

When it came to mastering his domain, Max Roach took a back seat to no one!  His smooth, energetic style placed him in the constant company of jazz icons like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, and Sonny Rollins, to name just a few.

Drum Conversation

This is a Max Roach drum solo from “Jazz At Massey Hall” recorded live in Toronto, Canada.   A pioneer of bebop, Max worked comfortably in many other styles of music as well, and is generally considered to be one of the most important drummers in history.

Oleo – Joe Pass & Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen

by | Mar 3, 2017 | Solo/Duo

Joe Pass was an American musician of Sicilian descent … arguably one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century. Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (often called NHOP) was a Danish upright bassist and composer known as The Great Dane with the Never-Ending Name. Together they speak fluent jazz!