Shiny Stockings – Dee Dee Bridgewater & J.J. Johnson

by | Mar 1, 2019 | Big Band, Vocal

“Shiny Stockings”, one of the most enduring songs in jazz, was written by Frank Foster in 1955 while he was with the Count Basie Orchestra.  Not being very savvy about such things at the time, Frank gave away the rights and royalties to what has now become a jazz standard.

For years the tune was recorded by artist after artist with the revenues flowing to a company that collected on the publishing rights to songs it had acquired.  It wasn’t until the early 2000’s when a close examination of U.S. Copyright Laws finally enabled Foster to collect the royalties that were rightfully his.

Now listen to Dee Dee Bridgewater, J.J. Johnson and Kenny Burrell with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band in a live performance of that swinging homage to hosiery!

Maynard Ferguson ’69

by | Jan 18, 2019 | Big Band

The first time I heard Maynard Ferguson was at the Pinebrook Show Tent in New Jersey and it cost me all of a dollar for a seat on a long wooden bench.  I was a kid in my impressionable teens and the tent was only set up for that one summer, but I was in the front row every Friday night.  I’ll never forget it!  That buck bought around three hours of nearly nonstop jazz performed by the likes of Ahmad Jamal, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey, (Maynard of course) and so many others!  Sometimes I think the musicians had more fun than we did.

For my money, the band Ferguson had during the 60’s was his greatest ever.  It was before the days of “Theme From Rocky”, “Pagliacci”, and some of the disco tunes with which he experimented later on.  The three cuts below from 1969, to me, represent the sound of that incredible orchestra and the excellence that simmered just below the surface.

Maynard Ferguson and his Orchestra play “Somewhere” from Leonard Bernstein’s musical “West Side Story” on a 1969 TV show.  Whether or not you like show tunes, you’ve got to love this rendition by the original “Boss”.

Here is Maynard with his high flying treatment of “One O’Clock Jump”, a song usually associated with the Count Basie Band. Please excuse the time code in the middle of the screen, but the Orchestra was too tuned in to miss!

“Danny Boy” is a bit of a departure for the Ferguson Orchestra but is proof positive that this powerful band had a deeper third gear in addition to hot or mellow … sweet.  Brass, not pipes are callin’.

Sunny Side Of The Street / Begin The Beguine – Arnett Cobb & Lionel Hampton

by | Jan 4, 2019 | Big Band

Sunny Side Of The Street was recorded July 16, 1978 in Nice, France.  They put on quite a show, with Arnett sounding particularly bright on tenor and Lionel singing and playing drums.  Neither is an everyday sight!

Begin The Beguine, also recorded in Nice in ’78, was practically Artie Shaw’s theme song, once upon a time.  Here it gets quite a different treatment between the tenor of Arnett Cobb and the vibe virtuosity of Lionel Hampton.

Flying Home – Lionel Hampton

by | Nov 2, 2018 | Big Band

Lionel Hampton was in the Benny Goodman Band and a gig in 1939 required them to fly from Los Angeles to Atlantic City New Jersey.  It was the first time Hampton had been on a plane. He began whistling a tune while waiting for the plane to taxi and Goodman asked him what it was.  Lionel simply said, “I don’t know. We can call it Flying Home, I guess.” (Hampton later confessed that the tune was a way for him to keep his mind off of the upcoming flight.)  They played it for the first time with the Goodman Quartet that night and later that year Goodman recorded the first version of the song. This rendition was filmed in 1965 and features a baritone sax solo that would have made Gerry Mulligan blush!

The Lady Is A Tramp – Frank Sinatra & Ella Fitzgerald

by | Oct 26, 2018 | Vocal

Sinatra said Ella Fitzgerald was the best singer he ever heard and the only one who made him nervous to sing with, because he had to be up to her standards. “The best way to start any musical evening is with this girl. It don’t get better than this,” Frank said about performing with Ella.  Beyond that, there isn’t much to say about two of the greatest singers of all time.   You just sit back and listen!

Double Play – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga

by | Oct 12, 2018 | Vocal

But Beautiful features the unlikely pairing of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.  It’s from their DVD “Cheek To Cheek – Live” and is, in fact, a beautiful stylistic blending of the old and the new into the traditional!

It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) is a lively performance of the classic Duke Ellington tune, also from the Cheek To Cheek video, featuring Tony Bennett and highlighting Lady Gaga’s surprising jazz virtuosity.

A Dynamic Duo from Charles Mingus

by | Sep 14, 2018 | Big Band, Quartet/Quintet

Charles Mingus was an American jazz double bassist, pianist, composer and bandleader, and truly one of the most creative musicians in the business, right down to the titles of his tunes!  Who else could have come up with names like “Don’t Be Afraid, The Clown’s Afraid Too” or “The Shoes of the Fisherman’s Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers”?  The latter composition is featured in this post.  A major proponent of collective improvisation, Mingus was a man ahead of his time.  Whether big band or small, one listen to his orchestrations and arrangements is all the proof anyone needs.

Celia is a Mingus original from his quintet’s live 1972 performance in Berlin.  It features Charles Mingus on bass, Joe Gardner on trumpet, Hamiet Bluiett playing barry, John Foster at the piano, and Roy Brooks on drums.

The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers

by Charles Mingus | Let My Children Hear Music

A Count Basie Trilogy

by | Aug 31, 2018 | Big Band

This trilogy is from the Show Of The Week T.V. series, recorded in London.  The Count Basie Orchestra for this session consists of Sonny Cohn, Al Aarons, Wallace Davenport, Phil Guilbeau, trumpet; Al Grey, Henderson Chambers, Grover Mitchell, trombone; Bill Hughes, bass trombone; Marshall Royal, Bobby Plater, Eric Dixon, reeds; Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, tenor sax; Charlie Fowlkes, baritone sax; Count Basie, piano; Freddie Green, guitar; Norman Keenan, acoustic double bass; Rufus ‘Speedy’ Jones, drums.

April In Paris

Count Basie and His Orchestra in a live 1965 performance of this classic tune.  It’s exciting to hear his signature arrangement one more once, just as he recorded it on Verve in 1955.

 

Li’l Darlin’

Here’s a jazz standard written by Neal Hefti for The Count Basie Orchestra.  Introduced as an instrumental by The Basie Band in 1957, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross added lyrics a year later.

Jumpin’ At The Woodside

Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis delivers an outrageous solo in this 1965 live performance … also featuring Rufus Jones on drums, Freddie Green on guitar and the rest of the Basie Band in its prime!

Oasis – Dave Grusin & Dave Valentin

by | Aug 24, 2018 | Big Band, Smooth Jazz

Jazz flutist Dave Valentin and pianist Dave Grusin join forces for this session videotaped in 1985, live at the famous Record Plant recording studio in Los Angeles, California.  Grusin and Valentin are joined by Lee Ritenour on guitar, Larry Williams at the sax and keyboards, Carlos Vega as the drummer man and Abraham Laboriel playing bass.

Queen Latifah Jazz

by | Aug 3, 2018 | Audio, Vocal

A “Queen” of rap and hip-hop featured on a jazz website?  What’s wrong with this picture?  Not a thing if she really can sing … and not only has a voice but impeccable phrasing!  Whether soft or swinging, Queen Latifah is a pleasant surprise when she turns her attention toward more standard fare.  She is another wonderfully talented musician from that magical [Newark] New Jersey corridor of spectacular performers, and a shining example of tunes and talent crossing over between jazz and other musical genres.

Close Your Eyes

by Queen Latifah | The Dana Owens Album

Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars

by Queen Latifah | Trav'lin' Light