Tony Bennett, the jazzy singer of the American Song Book, passed away last Friday, July 21st, at the age of 96. There have been, and will continue to be, countless tributes honoring his decades of greatness … but, it seems to me, his work and his remarkable legacy speak most loudly for themselves.
With her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretation of lyrics, Carmen McRae is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century. Her heartfelt rendition of Monk’s ‘Round Midnight in 1962 (above) was only a precursor of the greatness to come. Carmen is joined here by pianist Norman Simmons, bassist Victor Sproles, and drummer Walter Perkins.
Nearing the end of her career in 1990, she performed one of my personal favorites –– On Green Dolphin Street –– in Tokyo (below left) at the Good Day Club, together with Eric Gunnison (p), Scott Colley (b), and Mark Pulice (d).
In 1980, during what some say was her “prime” (never figured how anyone can determine that, especially with the great ones), McRae paints some vivid word pictures (below right) with Miss Otis Regrets; she makes you feel like you personally missed a lunch date, but fortunately, we don’t have to miss Carmen’s impassioned performance of the Cole Porter tune.
Generally know for his ability to play beautiful melodies and spin soft solos, Take It From The Top is one of Earl Klug’s more up-tempo arrangements –– swinging quietly and still maintaining his trademark mellow sound. It was originally recorded for BET on Jazz on The Jazz Channel which launched in 1996 with the emphasis on smooth jazz, and has undergone several metamorphoses since.
Wishful Thinking, recorded in 2018 during a weekend of jazz at the Broadmoor, features Earl on guitar, Al Turner on bass, Tom Braxton playing sax, David Lee at the keyboards, and Ron Otis on drums.
Since You’re Gone adds the amazing George Benson to an already mellow mix of musicians –– the way smooth jazz ought to be played. Arguably, two of the greatest guitarists of the modern era in a rare appearance together.
Chelsea Bridge is yet another jazz standard written by the wonderfully prolific Billy Strayhorn. The tune was originally recorded by Duke Ellington in 1941 –– fast forward to 1968 and the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway, and an impressionistic interpretation of the impressionistic song by Joe Henderson and the Kenny Drew Trio. Sometimes soft, sometimes swinging, this most creative arrangement features Joe on tenor, Kenny Drew at the piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (NHOP) on bass, and Albert “Tootie” Heath playing drums.
After recording more than 80 albums, and collecting 3 Grammy awards, plus 5 Gold Records, Ramsey Lewis remained a major figure in contemporary jazz until his death just last year at age 87.
While his award-winning 1965 recording of “The In Crowd” established him on the pop charts, his Sun Goddess album remains one of his most sought after by pop music and jazz fans alike. Both of these selections are live performances of tunes from that album –– beginning with the video of Stevie Wonder’s Living for the City (topmost).
This is Sun Goddess, the title song from the album. It features Ramsey on piano, Henry Johnson playing guitar, Chuck Webb on bass, Steve Cobb on drums and Mike Logan at the keyboards.
On May 7, 2023 NEA Jazz Master pianist Kenny Barron and eight-time Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride went to church –– to play, not to pray. That’s gospel! As part of Trinity’s music series, in association with Jazz House Kids, the dynamic duo played practically nonstop for more than an hour, to the delight of a packed houseful of fans and supporters.
The top-tune is Billy Strayhorn’s Isfahan, while below that, McBride performs a few finger gymnastics on the more familiar Body and Soul.
“The Jet Song” from West Side Story never sounded quite like this. On August 20, 1982 at the Frank Sinatra Concert for the Americas, at age 64, Buddy Rich performed what may have been one of the greatest drum solos by one of the greatest drummers ever. Wincing from chest pains, which caused him to go to the hospital afterword, he gave his usual flawless performance––once again demonstrating his fierce life force and love for the music.
This performance of “Hawaiian War Chant” was recorded on January 5, 1987. Just a few months later, on April 2, 1987 Buddy Rich died of heart failure following surgery for a malignant brain tumor. He was 69 and maintained his unparalleled, life-long excellence right to the end. It’s hard to believe Buddy was self-taught and didn’t read music!
With a strong background in R&B, and a close friendship with Ray Charles, it was only natural for saxophonist David Newman to be introduced to the world by Charles himself, through his first album––Fathead. For most of his career, Newman remained best known for his solo on Hard Times, one of the featured songs from that debut album.
Red Top is a wonderfully straight ahead jazz tune written by Lionel Hampton, performed by David “Fathead” Newman. Normally, I list the accompanying personnel, but this time, I couldn’t track anyone down––not even the singing drummer. On Newman’s Chillin’ album, everyone sounds so precisely the same that I will risk a guess, and list the group that appears on the album. Both the video and recording are circa 1998, so it may be a relatively safe bet. I’m guessing that in addition to “Fathead” on tenor, John Hicks played piano, Steve Novosel was on bass, Winard Harper on drums, and Bryan Carrott played vibes.
The second video is the familiar Blue Bossa and features “Fathead” Newman and Houston Person on dual tenor saxes, along with the Rein deGraaff Trio. It was also recorded in 1998, when they were entering their twilight years but still going strong!
Barry Harris is part of an exceptional group of Detroit-bred jazz musicians, including Tommy Flanagan and Donald Byrd, who rose through the extraordinary arts education program in the public school system during the 1930s and 1940s. He took piano lessons from his mother at the age of four––a church pianist, she asked him if he was interested in playing church music or jazz. Fortunately for us, he chose jazz.
In his teens, he learned bebop largely by ear, imitating solos by Bud Powell, who along with Thelonious Monk was a strong influence on his playing. Early on, he developed an interest in passing the torch through education. Barry began teaching his musical theories as early as 1956, tutoring young, promising talent––all the while performing professionally with the likes of Miles Davis, Max Roach, and Lee Konitz. He has carried on the teaching tradition throughout his life.
Still going strong in 2017 at the age of 88, his arrangement of A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square at Dizzy’s in New York is as unique as Barry Harris himself.
Also at Dizzy’s, Blues In Bb features the trio of Barry on piano, Leroy Williams on drums and Ray Drummond playing bass.
Gerry Mulligan fronting a big band is a long way from his pianoless quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker … still historically regarded as one of the best cool groups in jazz. Out Back Of The Barn [left] features Gary Teller on tenor trading fours and more with Mulligan, while Song For Strayhorn [right] offers a captivating piano solo by Harold Danko.
Although the original quartet lasted fewer than two years, it had a profound effect upon jazz that extends even to this day. It was comprised of Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax and Chet Baker on trumpet, with a rhythm section of either Larry Bunker or Chico Hamilton playing drums, and either Joe Mondragon or Bob Whitlock playing bass … depending upon the session.
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