Makin’ Whoopee – Dr. John & Ricki Lee Jones

by | Apr 12, 2019 | Video, Vocal

Combine some blues with pop, add a dash of jazz, stir in a bit of boogie woogie with a smattering of rock and roll — not to mention the occasional touch of Louisiana voodoo — and you have the recipe for Dr. John!  His music is a perfect example of the influence and integration of jazz with other musical styles, or the other way around if you like.  Serve up Ricki Lee Jones as a delicious side dish to provide the Good Doctor with a gentle counterpoint, and it is impossible to keep your feet still whether you usually prefer Led Zeppelin or Miles Davis!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Kenny G

by | Dec 7, 2018 | Smooth Jazz, Video

This is Kenny G’s official Christmas video and features clips from five of the best traditional holiday movies ever.  There is good reason they are viewed continually by millions every year … nothing compares, period!  With Hollywood icons like Burgess Meredith and Jimmy  Stewart in the background of Kenny’s gently nostalgic performance, the experience is nothing less than pure emotional magic.

Let It Snow – New York Voices

by | Dec 3, 2018 | Video, Vocal Group

‘Tis the season to be snowy!  New York Voices is the Grammy Award winning vocal ensemble renowned for their excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. Like the great groups that came before, such as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Singers Unlimited, Manhattan Transfer and, of course, The Four Freshmen, they have learned from the best and taken their musical form to new levels.  I couldn’t resist adding a few pictures to their marvelous rendition of this Sammy Cahn – Jule Styne tune … written in July 1945!

Fantan – Shelly Manne and His Men

by | Jul 20, 2018 | Quartet/Quintet, Video

Fantan is a Russ Freeman composition … light ‘n easy bebop for lovers of “The West Coast Sound” during the1950s and early 60s. When talking about creative drummers, you have to put Shelly Manne at the top of the list. He was born in New York but after honing his chops with jazz giants from Stan Kenton to Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, in 1952 Shelly left the New York scene for Los Angeles. It was there that he really came into his own, as a pioneer and lynchpin of the West Coast “cool jazz” sound. Here he is featured with Russ Freeman on piano, Conte Candoli on trumpet, Ritchie Kamuca doing tenor sax duty and Monte Budwig keeping time on bass.

The Flying Scotsman / Wallflower – Gerry Mulligan

by | Jan 26, 2018 | Quartet/Quintet, Video

Brilliant performance of The Flying Scotsman at the 1990 International Jazz Festival in Bern Switzerland … featuring Gerry Mulligan (bs), Bill Charlap (p), Dean Johnson (b) and David Ratajczak (d).

Gerry Mulligan is at his soulful best as the quartet performs Wallflower at the 1990 Jazz Festival in Bern. The first festival took place in 1976 and has been thrilling fans with world class jazz every spring since.

On Green Dolphin Street – John Coltrane

by | Dec 1, 2017 | Quartet/Quintet, Video

This video was taken on March 28, 1960 in Düsseldorf, West Germany during Coltrane’s first time in Europe. The band is one of Miles Davis’s first great quintets, but without Miles who chose to sit out this particular night.  It’s John Coltrane on tenor with sidemen Wynton Kelly on Piano, Paul Chambers bass and Jimmy Cobb drums … all stars in their own right.  The clip is sourced from the John Coltrane “Jazz Icons” DVD.

Epistrophy – Thelonious Monk

by | Oct 13, 2017 | Quartet/Quintet, Video

This is Thelonious Monk in Japan in 1963,  playing with the kind of group that suited him best … a quartet. Charlie Rouse is the saxophonist who understood Monk’s music best and provided the perfect complement.

Four Songs – Four Freshman

by | Oct 6, 2017 | Video, Vocal Group

In 1948, four young men created a sound that forever changed the way vocal jazz harmony was heard and performed. Known as The Four Freshmen, the group started with two brothers, Don and Ross Barbour, their cousin Bob Flanigan, and friend Hal Kratzsch.  With a soaring, true tenor in Bob Flanigan, the group created a sound that has endured for over 6 decades.  This is the second iteration of The Four Freshmen, circa about 1956.  Performing are Bob Flanigan, Ross Barbour, Don Barbour and Ken Albers, who replaced Hal.

Upper left is Love Is Just Around The Corner, upper right Somebody Loves Me, lower left It’s A Blue World, and lower right There Will Never Be Another You.  (Our thanks to Ray Anthony TV)

Bluesette – Toots Thielemans

by | Sep 29, 2017 | Orchestral, Video

Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor Baron Thielemans, known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian-American jazz musician. He was known for his harmonica playing, as well as his guitar, whistling skills, and composing.  Possibly his most important contribution was in championing the ‘humble’ harmonica and making it into a legitimate voice in jazz.  His own composition, “Bluesette”, which Toots typically performs on harmonica or while playing the guitar and whistling in unison, has now become a jazz standard.  He said, “If there’s a piece of music that describes me, it’s that song.”  This rendition was recorded in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2009.