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.

Tangerine / In A Mellow Tone – The Great Guitars

by | Sep 15, 2017 | Trio, Video

The Great Guitars are Bucky Pizzarelli, Mundell Lowe, and John Pisano.  Here they prove that, for the great ones, groovin’ on a guitar is just like riding a bike … the ability stays with you and never gets old.  These are live performances of “Tangerine” (Top) and “In A Mellow Tone” (Bottom) at the KPLU studios in Seattle.  There may be snow on the roof but there is still a fire in the fingers!

It Might As Well Be Spring – Erroll Garner

by | Sep 8, 2017 | Trio, Video

From the 1945 movie “State Fair,”  It Might As Well Be Spring was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. It’s a tune that has been covered by many of the greatest singers through the years, but when it comes to instrumental treatments, Erroll Garner demonstrates the reason the piano was invented!

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.

Sing, Sing, Sing – Benny Goodman

by | Aug 25, 2017 | Big Band, Video

This is a compilation of dance scenes from the 1935 movie “Roberta” and other films featuring the incredible Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  Their timeless steps are set to the classic “Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing)” performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra, with the legendary Gene Krupa keeping a driving beat on the drums. The song and its lyrics were written by Louis Prima in 1936 who originally recorded it with The New Orleans Gang.  The more popular 1937 Goodman recording lasted 8 minutes 43 seconds and took up both sides of a 78RPM record!

“New Orleans” – Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong

by | Aug 11, 2017 | Video, Vocal

Here are three classic musical performances by Lady Day and Satchmo Armstrong from the 1947 motion picture “New Orleans”.  The film is a tribute to the birth of jazz, and also features Woody Herman along with some of music’s greatest legends.  The video at the top is The Blues Are Brewin’ with Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans at the lower left and Dixie Music Man on the lower right.

Tour De Force – Dizzy Gillespie, Et Al

by | Aug 4, 2017 | Quartet/Quintet, Video

Recorded 1971 in Tivoli by The Jazz Giants:  Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet; Thelonius Monk, piano; Kai Winding, trombone; Sonny Stitt, alto and tenor saxes; Al McKibbon, bass and Art Blakey, drums.  It just doesn’t get better than that!

Birks Works – Frank Wess, Jon Faddis & BJO

by | Jul 21, 2017 | Big Band, Video

Frank Wess, Jon Faddis and The Barcelona Jazz Orquestra play John Birks Gillespie’s classic composition. “Birks Works” has been recorded by many of the greatest in jazz … and “Birks”?  Well, that refers to Dizzy’s middle name! Jazz At Lincoln Center, 11/2012.

Skylark – Linda Ronstadt, Nelson Riddle

by | Jul 14, 2017 | Video, Vocal

In Jazzcast #003 I pointed out the symbiotic relationship between jazz and other forms of music.  On Lush Life, the second in a trilogy of 1980s jazz albums with Linda Ronstadt and Nelson Riddle, Linda temporarily abandons her pop/rock stardom in favor of more traditional fare.  Her excellence in any genre becomes immediately apparent from the first few bars, with the album going Triple Platinum registering sales of over 3 million copies in the United States alone.