Kessel’s Chordal Cool

by | Mar 20, 2024 | Trio

The amazing Barney Kessel is generally ranked among the greatest jazz guitarists of all time … especially known for his knowledge of chords, inversions, and chord-based melodies. When playing chords, Kessel frequently used his fretting-hand thumb, something unorthodox for most jazz players of the day. In fact, he would regularly use it to fret both the 6th and 5th strings simultaneously, creating a type of voicing rare in jazz guitar.

Below left, Barney plays the familiar standard Autumn Leaves, with (what may be) Kenny Napper on bass and John Marshall playing drums. Below right, he joins bassist Stur Nordin and drummer Pelle Hulten on Swedish television in 1974, with Minor Mode.  At the bottom, also in 1974, Kessel swings along with the legendary pianist Oscar Peterson, and iconic bassist Niels-Henning Oersted Pedersen (NHOP) at Ronnie Scott’s Club in London, on Watch What Happens.  When you put these guys together … just watch what happens!

Killer Joe / Autumn Leaves – Benny Golson

by | Nov 7, 2021 | Quartet/Quintet

Born in 1929, saxophonist Benny Golson is one of the last surviving links to the Golden Age of modern jazz, ushered in by the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke and others in the early 1940s. Benny is a multi-talented, internationally famous jazz legend whose talents include composer, arranger, lyricist, producer and world renowned tenor saxophonist.

The video is from the Ramsey Lewis Legends of Jazz T.V. series and features Benny Golson on sax, Willie Pickens at the piano, Larry Gray on bass and Leon Joyce Jr. on the drums playing Killer Joe, a jazz standard written by Golson himself.  The audio track is another standard that is perfect for the season … Autumn Leaves.  It features another quintet with Benny on tenor, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Ray Bryant at the piano, Tommy Bryant playing bass, and Al Harewood on drums.

Autumn Leaves

by Benny Golson | Gone With Golson

Two Tenors – John Coltrane & Stan Getz

by | Jun 26, 2020 | Quartet/Quintet

Ballads.  Put your feet up on a rainy Sunday afternoon and let the music wash away the week.  In a rare appearance together, John Coltrane and Stan Getz were actually supposed to be playing Autumn In New York … but it’s the one tune they don’t play!  The medley they do play consists of Autumn Leaves, What’s New and Moonlight In Vermont.  Besides Coltrane and Getz on tenors, Wynton Kelly is at the piano, Paul Chambers is on bass and Jimmy Cobb plays the drums.

Autumn Leaves – Chet Baker & Paul Desmond

by | Aug 2, 2019 | Quartet/Quintet

Chet Baker and Paul Desmond are not a pairing you hear everyday, which is why I wanted to share them here even though the audio-video synchronization seems a bit off.  The addition of Bob James on keyboards, Ron Carter playing contrabass and Steve Gadd’s drums round out a combo with a sound that swirls the Autumn leaves to new heights … and is irresistible if your toes or fingers tend to tap!

Autumn Leaves / Pete Kelly’s Blues – Beegie Adair

by | May 16, 2017 | Trio, Video

The Beegie Adair Trio provides a gentle swinging version of the jazz classic “Autumn Leaves,” written by Joseph Kosma (English lyric by Johnny Mercer), live at the Nashville Jazz Workshop in Nashville, Tennessee.  Listen for the way bassist Roger Spencer throws a few bars of “Suicide Is Painless” from M*A*S*H* into his solo!

Beegie is a huge but lesser known talent who never fully received the recognition she deserves.  She has been playing piano since the age of five … originally from Kentucky, she now lives in Nashville. Her rendition of “Pete Kelly’s Blues” (one of my favorites) is the best I’ve heard outside of the movie soundtrack.