Open Country was recorded at the Storyville nightclub in Boston during 1956. His famous ‘pianoless’ quartet at that time included Bob Brookmeyer (tb), Gus Johnson (dr) & Wyatt Ruther (b).
Song For An Unfinished Woman was recorded in 1982 at the North Sea Jazz Festival at the Hague. Solos are by Dave Glenn on trombone, Harold Danko playing Piano and Chris Rogers on flugelhorn
The Oliver Nelson standard Stolen Moments is from the 1961 Impulse album “The Blues And The Abstract Truth” … a classic album that fully captures the feeling of that very prolific jazz era. It features Oliver Nelson on tenor sax, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Eric Dolphy playing flute, George Barrow on baritone sax, Bill Evans at the piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Roy Haynes playing drums. Kind of a ‘who’s who’ of the time.
The Miles Davis tune Milestones was recorded by Oliver Nelson with The Berlin Dream Band in 1970. The band was comprised of several of the top jazz musicians from West Berlin’s underground music scene and, as this wild, up-tempo arrangement proves, European musicians can positively hold their own with their American counterparts!
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. In 1982, Lionel Hampton and Peggy Lee paid tribute to that year’s honoree Benny Goodman. Lionel performed “Air Mail Special” and “Sing, Sing, Sing” while Peggy performed “Where or When” in a star-studded gala at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. Master of ceremonies Andre Previn introduces the segment.
In 2003 a concert was held for Dismas House in St. Louis Missouri, the first halfway house in the country. It featured The Rat Pack … Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. performing at their relaxed, professional finest! The Count Basie Orchestra, led by Quincy Jones, provided much of the accompanying music.
I’ve chosen to highlight Sinatra in this video and selected Get Me To The Church On Time and Luck Be A Lady Tonight from the concert, because their performances are so very, very Sinatra. Old Blue Eyes’ ability to make a song his own is one of the elements that makes him so appealing and these tunes so enjoyable. Now … someone tell me that Frank is not actually jazz or that he doesn’t swing and I’ll be glad to send you some polka records!
Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith were a “dynamic duo” on many jazz recordings throughout the years, mostly albums headlined by Jimmy. Jumpin’ Blues, recorded at NYC Town Hall in February of 1985, can be found on Smith’s blockbuster album Midnight Special. It features Kenny Burrell on guitar, Jimmy Smith playing the Hammond B-3, Grady Tate on drums and adds Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax to add yet another dimension to the already potent trio.
Greensleeves was recorded 20 years earlier in 1965 and netted Gil Evans a Grammy Award nomination in 1966 for Best Instrumental Arrangement. The album itself was nominated for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance. Burrell is on guitar, with Roger Kellaway on piano, Grady Tate at the drums, Willie Rodriguez on conga and Joe Benjamin playing double bass. The tune starts out like a lamb, as you would expect, and morphs into a very swinging lion before all is said and done!
Take The ‘A’ Train to Jazz At The Philharmonic in Paris. The year was 1960 and Roy Eldridge was featured with all stars like Benny Carter, Don Byas, Coleman Hawkins and Jo Jones, among others from the ‘who’s who’ of jazz. An historic performance of the Ellington tune!
An Eldridge original, Rosetta, was performed just 5 years later in Paris at the Jazz festival à la Mutualité with notables such as Earl Hines, Stuff Smith, Ben Webster, Don Byas and Kenny Clarke, to name just a few of the all-stars on hand.
On June 6th 1944, 76 years ago, a bunch of mostly American and Brit kids saved the world from Nazism and preserved the freedom we, now, seem so ready to relinquish. Danny Boy seemed the right mood and Glenn Miller the right orchestra for a salute to all those heroic members of The Greatest Generation who so willingly made the ultimate sacrifice for liberty and justice for all.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra Scandinavia, based in Stockholm Sweden, began operations July 1st 2010 with permission and authorization from Glenn Miller Productions in New York. The band is led by Jan Slottenäs and, arguably, offers the finest reproduction of the original Glenn Miller sound anywhere.
Moonlight Serenade (The video above) became Glenn Miller’s signature song … opening and closing each performance of the band. Below, Perfidia (Spanish for “perfidy”, meaning faithlessness, treachery or betrayal) is a throwback to the 1940s, replete with a vocal group that does The Modernaires proud. In The Mood (Just below that) is a familiar tune for anyone who has ever seen a World War II movie! While a frequently requested dance number for the Miller Band, it became closely associated with the war and the 40s era itself. GMO Scandinavia primarily performs in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. These videos were recorded at the Vasterås Concert Hall in Sweden, during 2015.
Born in a London suburb, Cleo Laine showed early singing talent, which was nurtured by her Jamaican father and English mother. She gained recognition in both jazz and pop, becoming known for her scat singing, evidenced here in Crazy Rhythm.
In Don’t Talk about me When I’m Gone Cleo uses her more than 3 octave vocal range to subtle advantage. Her big break came when she met composer, saxophonist Sir John Dankworth in the 50s … they remained a team for most of her career..
Thad Jones’ composition Three and One was recorded by The Czech National Symphony Orchestra as part of its “Trumpet Summit” program, with the St. Blaise’s Bigband. Featured soloists were Bobby Shew, Randy Brecker and Jan Hasenöhrl, as brass and reeds shook the usually classical foundations of the historic Municipal House in Prague. You might think of them as “The Three Tenors” of jazz … with trumpets!
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