It’s June in February

by | Feb 6, 2026 | Big Band, Vocal

Although she was the epitome of the vocal cool movement of the 1950s, June Christy was a hypnotically warm vocalist, whose audiences either loved her or were confused by her unusual, sometimes off-key phrasing. She was able to stretch out her impressive voice on uptempo swing tunes, as well as on laid back ballads, and set herself apart from other vocalists with her deceptively simple enunciation. Midnight Sun originally an instrumental composed by Lionel Hampton and Sonny Burke in 1947 –– now considered a jazz standard –– receives a very gentle yet powerful interpretation by June when she was with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. For more June Christy and further examples of the versatility that made her one of the top jazz vocalists of the 50’s era, see our post of September 19, 2019, “June Christy and Friends.”

For Times Gone By

by | Dec 31, 2025 | Big Band, Holiday, Vocal

More than once I have said that it’s okay to look back, just be careful not to stare. Remember we are celebrating “out with the old” and “in with the new.” To set the mood for The Holiday, I’ve brought Days of Auld Lang Syne forward from our Jazz Scene Podcast page. It features everything from an ear toward the great dance bands of the 30s and 40s, to my 1989 interview with Fay Wray –– the lady who did all that screaming in the classic horror film “King Kong” –– and, at last, I have a reasonable explanation of just what the heck Auld Lang Syne actually means. All this is to offer my sincerest wishes for a most Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!

Days Of Auld Lang Syne

by Fred Masey | Jazz Scene Podcast

For Times Square New Years Eve ball drop watchers I’ve assembled a montage of ‘drops’ from years gone by, right through the new millennium. Next, Kenny G returns with Auld Lang Syne as the background for an historical retrospective, to which I’ve added an opening door to infinity, reminding us that somewhere out in space, all the material ever broadcast is still hanging around!

A Marsalis-Torme Christmas

by | Dec 12, 2025 | Big Band, Holiday, Vocal

Jingle Bells is one of the most commonly sung and widely recognized Christmas songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published in 1857 as “The One Horse Open Sleigh.” It was originally thought to be a drinking song, and had no real connection to Christmas until it eventually became associated with winter and Christmas in the 1860s and 1870s. Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz Big Band (above), with one of the thousands of recordings of the song, gives it the most powerful treatment you’re ever likely to hear … horses at a full gallop! The Christmas Song (below), also known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”, was written by 19-year-old Mel Tormé and 22-year-old Bob Wells on a scorching summer day in Los Angeles as a means of keeping cool (much like the composition of “White Christmas”). Ironically, while Torme wrote the music, it was Nat ‘King’ Cole who had, not one, but three popular recordings, one of which resides in the Library of Congress!

Mellow McRae

by | Oct 4, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal

Carmen McRae is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century. She was known for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretation of lyrics, both of which seemed to come to her quite naturally. Carmen didn’t just sing a song, she owned it! The three tunes below are prime examples, and while McRae could swing with the best of them, I always felt she shone brightest in a mellow mood.

(Topmost) is the 1935 standard I’m in the Mood for Love, with Carmen accompanying herself on the piano. She was joined by Scott Colley on bass and Mark Pulice playing drums, in 1990 at the Good Day Club in Tokyo. Ruby My Dear (middle) may be the most beautiful Thelonious Monk composition since ‘Round Midnight. It was recorded in 1988 at the Newport Jazz Festival, with Clifford Jordan playing tenor and Eric Gunnison on piano, joining Carmen and her rhythm section on stage. At the Bern Jazz Festival, also in 1988, she eschews the usual uptempo arrangements of Have You Met Miss Jones (bottom) in favor of a more heartfelt version all her own. Dizzy Gillespie adds a few notes of counterpoint to her amazing vocal.

The Incomparable Cleo Laine

by | Aug 2, 2025 | Orchestral, Vocal

Cleo Laine was a British singer blessed with an agile contralto voice, boasting an incredible four-octave range!  She became not only the most creative and materially successful jazz singer the UK music scene has known, but also gained a worldwide reputation as one of a mere handful of truly original, jazz-inspired vocalists. Cleo was actually quite comfortable in almost any idiom, from jazzy standards to the frontiers of classical music and even opera … she was the only female singer to receive Grammy nominations in jazz, popular and classical categories. At the tender age of 97, Dame Cleo Laine passed away only last week, July 24, 2025, but leaves her magical touch on all musical genres for the inspiration of future enthusiasts.

(Above) she teams up with husband John Dankworth on Sophisticated Lady, a clip from the BBC film, “A Salute to Duke Ellington” on his seventieth birthday. (Immediately below) is a performance, again teaming with Dankworth, at the 1982 MDA Telethon. It’s the old favorite, I Don’t Know Why I Love You Like I Do, plus a surprise medley with a couple of mind-blowing Cleo twists toward the end! Finally (at the bottom) is a pair of tunes from a live performance in 1968, with Dame Laine truly in her prime … Come Rain or Come Shine (L) and Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone (R).

Dizzy Is as Dizzy Does

by | Jul 19, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal

John Birks Gillespie earned the name “Dizzy” with his playful, even mischievous behavior both on and off stage … his bent-bell trumpet is sort of a reflection of that off-beat character, although its ‘birth’ was accidental. One day someone fell over his horn, and he liked the new sound so well that he had his trumpets constructed with that special bend from then on. Gillespie’s effect on jazz can’t be overstated; his trumpet playing influenced every player who came after him. His compositions have become part of the jazz canon, and his bands have included some of the most significant names in the business. During the early 40s, along with Charlie Parker, Dizzy was one of the major leaders of the bebop movement.

On (top) is a 1951 Gillespie jazz standard, Birk’s Works. Most often heard with a big band, this quartet arrangement has Dizzy on trumpet, Ray Brown on bass, Ed Cherry playing guitar, Tommy Campbell at the drums, and Valerie Capers playing piano. It was recorded in Belgrade in 1981.  While I’m not a huge fan of scat singing, this one had to be shared. Gillespie is joined at the 1985 Jazz Festival in Bern by James Moody (bottom) to give even Mel Torme a run for his ‘scatting’ money on Oop-Pop-A-Da. They’re backed by Gene Harris on piano, Ray Brown playing bass, and Grady Tate on drums.

 

Sugarfree Swing – Charlie Barnet

by | Jun 6, 2025 | Big Band, Vocal

Nicknamed “Mad Mab,” saxophonist and bandleader Charlie Barnet is one of the more colorful figures in jazz history, and was more than a bit of a playboy throughout his life. Charlie was unusual in a couple of ways, having been one of the few jazzmen to be born a millionaire … not to mention being married eleven times!  Although his orchestra isn’t usually mentioned among the first tier of big bands during the late 30s and early 40s, Barnet’s was, arguably, one of the most popular bands in the country during that period.

He eschewed the more popular sweet sound of the 1930s dance bands in favor of a harder style of swing that sometimes bordered on bop.

The three tunes to the left are only three of the many seemingly signature songs associated with the Charlie Barnet Big Band. At the (top) is Cherokee–also known as Indian Love Song–a jazz standard written by the British composer and band leader Ray Noble and published in 1938. In the (center) is Caravan, with a vocal by Bill Derry. Finally at the (bottom) is Barnet’s own Skyliner, written and first recorded in 1945.

Sassy and Sultry Diana Krall

by | May 23, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal

Some of Diana Krall’s fans are not necessarily jazz fans. Many seem to want a stronger focus on the vocals, which is quite understandable given how great Krall is at the microphone … and they want her to sing in a more straightforward, singer-songwriter/pop fashion, rather than using her voice as a jazz instrument or inserting improvisational passages into her piano playing.  But, that’s not who Diana is. She’s a jazz artist who puts on jazz shows. She has been playing since the age of four and performing since the age of fifteen.

During her concerts, vocals are just a part of the attraction. True jazz fans get this, and appreciate the lengthy spotlights given to Krall’s band mates as well: bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton, and guitarist Anthony Wilson are all phenomenal players with so much to say musically that is absolutely worth hearing. (Above) is something on the soft side from the group with Cry Me a River and (below) they pick up the tempo with East of the Sun. See what you hear!

The Artistry of Stan Kenton Pt. 1

by | May 10, 2025 | Big Band, Vocal

Several years ago, it became necessary for me to lay over in Chicago. I was traveling with a fellow who liked folk and country music, and even took his banjo on the road with him for entertainment during sometimes lonely nights in a strange town. Reggie had not ever really listened to jazz. To my profound delight, I discovered that Stan Kenton was playing at a supper club called Mr. Kelly’s … and I conned him into going. Kenton was his usual brand of spectacular. During the first show, all my friend could say was “Outrageous! Outrageous!!” Reg was hooked, and it took absolutely no arm twisting to get him to stay for the second show, which elicited equally enthusiastic responses from the newly christened jazz buff! Such was the magnetism of Stan Kenton and his orchestra. For anyone else who is somehow not familiar with the excellence of Stan Kenton––bandleader, pianist, and composer––you’re in for a treat.

(Above) The riveting Kenton rendition of Jimmy Webb’s Grammy Award winning song, MacArthur Park … recorded during the band’s 1972 European tour. (Top left) is There Will Never Be Another You, a 1976 throwback to the vintage Kenton sound, with Anita O’Day and The Four Freshmen. Finally, (Bottom left) is Intermission Riff, the Stan Kenton standard that was the tune that hooked me on his full, rich style and exceptionally creative arrangements.

Gambarini Carolina Style

by | Apr 20, 2025 | Big Band, Vocal

On April 12, 2025 three time Grammy nominated, international vocal powerhouse, Roberta Gambarini joined forces with eighteen of the most outstanding jazz musicians, soloists and band leaders from across the Carolinas at the Harbison Theater in Irmo, South Carolina. Together with the South Carolina Jazz Masterworks Ensemble she brought the house down … and I was lucky enough to be there!

Of eleven songs, in two sets, Roberta performed nine of them … ranging from uptempo scat to gentle classics straight from the heart. Meanwhile, the SCJME orchestra, and their uniquely creative arrangements, demonstrated why ‘the house’ is always packed when they play. I was able to record three of the numbers that evening from row G, seat #118. Since I was working only with my I-Phone, the audio and video quality isn’t as professional as I would have liked –– but all of it is most enjoyable, and the best I could do to put you in the seat next to me! The first tune is a Slide Hampton arrangement of Hammerstein/Romberg’s Lover Come Back to Me.

Next is a change of pace with Roberta and the orchestra tweaking our chordae tendineae with their rendition of Thelonius Monk’s 1943 jazz standard, ‘Round Midnight.

Finally some cool scat from Roberta as she joins the SCJME orchestra for a walk On the Sunny Side of the Street. Pay particular attention to her incredible vocal range!