A Super Saxy Battle

by | Oct 2, 2020 | Septet/Octet

On July 15, 1979 at the North Sea Jazz Festival something very special happened.  Five legends of the tenor saxophone descended upon The Hague in the province of South Holland … they were Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon, Arnett Cobb, Buddy Tate and Budd Johnson.   They were joined by Hank Jones at the piano, Gene Ramey on bass and Gus Johnson playing drums.  It was an all-star cast and a performance those jazz fans will never forget!

Two of my favorite performances were Lionel Hampton’s Flying Home (Top video) and The Hague Blues in ‘C’ (Below) which was written especially for the occasion.

Old Blue Eyes On Stage

by | Sep 11, 2020 | Big Band, Vocal

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!

D-Day – Danny Boy

by | Jun 5, 2020 | Big Band, Video

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.

Happy Reunion – Duke Ellington & Paul Gonsalves

by | May 29, 2020 | Solo/Duo

Happy Reunion was a frequent concert feature for Gonsalves in the Ellington band’s later years.  Here, Paul was at the end of his career and no longer anywhere near his prime.  Still, if you take into account the close, enduring friendship between these men, and the fact that they even died only 4 months apart, this rare collaboration with just the two of them, makes for a tender and most memorable moment.

The story behind this performance seems to be that Paul Gonsalves, who had a long history of alcohol and drug abuse, had been under the weather and was late for a rehearsal with the full band. The usual Ellington strategy with a wayward musician was to call upon him for one solo after another. This video was recorded the next afternoon as the legendary tenor man again shows up late and is greeted by Ellington with, “Stinky, you juiced again?” At the end of the classic duo’s number, Gonsalves requests four kisses … an Ellington specialty. It’s a happy reunion and everything is forgiven, as always.

Minnie The Moocher – Cab Calloway & ‘Betty Boop’

by | Feb 1, 2020 | Lighter Side, Vocal

Cab Calloway was one of the most colorful and popular entertainers of the 30s and 40s.  Calloway hit the big time with “Minnie the Moocher” (1931) … a number one song that sold more than a million copies. The tune’s famous call-and-response “hi-de-hi-de-ho” chorus was first improvised when Cab couldn’t remember a lyric and it became his signature phrase for the rest of his career.  His abundant scat-singing was perfected with coaching from none other than Louis Armstrong, the master of non-lyric lyrics.

Move over Michael Jackson because Cab Calloway was more than just a singer and bandleader.  His ‘dance’ moves, including early moonwalking, were so popular with the crowd that he became a regular at Harlem’s Cotton Club.  Cab’s moves were accurately captured on film for a 1932 ‘Betty Boop’ cartoon, as demonstrated in the video below!  Michael J. may have popularized such gyrations during the 60s and 70s but Calloway came first!

Avalon / Moonglow – Benny Goodman Quartet

by | Jan 17, 2020 | Quartet/Quintet

This is the Original Benny Goodman Quartet!  Except for guest bassist George Duvivier, it’s the same amazing group, along with the rest of the Benny Goodman Orchestra, that brought down the house with their Carnegie Hall Concert in 1938!  The concert has been described by critics as “the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history … jazz’s ‘coming out’ party to the world of ‘respectable’ music.”  The Quartet, which went on to perform for years to follow, was one of the first integrated jazz groups to achieve popularity during a era of pervasive racial segregation.

In 1972 Timex reunited clarinetist Benny Goodman, pianist Teddy Wilson, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, drummer Gene Krupa — adding Duvivier on bass — for a television special from Lincoln Center in New York.  Like Timex watches, which were always said to  “keep on ticking”, this timeless group still kept on swinging.  Goodman’s “Avalon” (Top) and the ever popular “Moonglow” (Lower) are here to prove it.

A Frank, Bing and Kenny Christmas

by | Dec 20, 2019 | Orchestral, Vocal

It’s classic upon classic!  First, Kenny G. takes a walk down memory lane with scenes from classic Christmas movies and his lush arrangement of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.  Then a classic clip from the 1967 Bing Crosby television special featuring a duet of White Christmas with Frank Sinatra, as the magic of the holiday season unfolds.

After that, the only thing left to say is MERRY CHRISTMAS!  I wish you and yours Christmas rainbows all through the new year!

That Ain’t Right – Fats Waller & Ada Brown

by | Sep 27, 2019 | Lighter Side, Vocal

In a scene from the 1943 film “Stormy Weather” Fats Waller and Ada Brown perform with legendary dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, drummer Zutty Singleton, bassist Slam Stewart, Trumpeter Benny Carter and singer Lena Horne, just to mention a few.  The film is considered one of the best Hollywood musicals with an African-American cast. It was viewed as a primary showcase of some of the top Black performers of the time, during an era when actors and singers of color rarely appeared in lead roles in mainstream movie productions,

WNEW Radio – A New York Institution

by | Jul 5, 2019 | Lighter Side, Stuff

Once upon a time there was a Pop-Jazz radio station in New York City.  It was the station that invented the music and news format as well as the very concept of “DJ” personalities.  This iconic station was called WNEW-AM.  During its 58 year history it developed a nearly cult-like following, becoming the radio home for millions of listeners, entertaining them with air talent that were the very essence of class and decorum … personalities who redefined the image of what a Disc Jockey was supposed to be.

I wish I could say that legacy WNEW went on to live happily ever after, but in 1992 the music died.  The station jingles below were only some that were used on a regular basis between 1958 and 1966 to reinforce the station sound.

Metropolitan Radio Jingle

In the style of Count Basie

In the style of Dave Brubeck

In the style of Charlie Barnet

In the style of Erroll Garner

In the style of Stan Kenton

Harlem Nocturne – Sam “The Man” Taylor

by | Apr 12, 2019 | Audio, Quartet/Quintet

Three weeks ago, I posted Five Faces of Harlem Nocturne and had several inquiries as to why I left out the original 1955 hit recording by Sam “The Man” Taylor. Sam was a jazz and blues player who set the standard for tenor sax solos in both rock ‘n roll and rhythm and blues … and became one of the most requested session sax players in New York during the 1950s.  Since I’ve always considered this to be the definitive version in the first place, I have no excuse.  None whatsoever.  Here to bail me out is Sam “The Man” with The Sixth Face of Harlem Nocturne.

Harlem Nocturne

by Sam "The Man" Taylor | Blue Mist