Black Coffee – Chris Connor

by | Jul 28, 2017 | Audio, Big Band, Vocal

Chris Connor didn’t just sing a song, she owned it!  Born in Kansas City to a musical family, she was originally trained on the clarinet but made her first on stage appearance as a singer … and a singer she remained forever more.  Her easy going manner and distinctive ability to get ‘inside’ a lyric became her trademark.  Although she performed with big name big bands, including the Stan Kenton Orchestra, Chris preferred smaller groups and established her lasting reputation touring internationally as a solo performer leading her own trio.  She was one of only a handful of white vocalists considered to be, incontestably, pure jazz singers.

Black Coffee

by Chris Connor & Maynard Ferguson | Double Exposure

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.

Hard Hearted Hannah – Ella Fitzgerald

by | Jun 9, 2017 | Video, Vocal

Ella Fitzgerald in a scene from the 1955 movie “Pete Kelly’s Blues”, starring Jack Webb, Lee Marvin and a host of young stars.  Like Ella, Peggy Lee also has a cameo role and a couple of great songs in the film.

Love For Sale – Mel Torme & Buddy Rich

by | Mar 31, 2017 | Video, Vocal

I never cared much for scat singing … always figured maybe the singer just forgot the words. Then I heard this amazing scat and drum solo from 1979, when Mel and Buddy appeared on the Merv Griffin Show.  Mel made a believer out of me. Give these two legends a big “Amen!”

Take The ‘A’ Train – Duke Ellington

by | Feb 27, 2017 | Big Band, Video, Vocal

The ‘A’ train is the storied New York City subway renowned as the preferred means of transportation to Harlem. Here’s a segment from the film “Reveille with Beverly” (1943) featuring the famous Blanton-Webster edition of the Ellington Orchestra, with Ivie Johnson’s vocal.