Big Boss Tenor – Houston Person

by | Apr 19, 2024 | Quartet/Quintet, Solo/Duo, Trio

In Texas they have a town they call “Houston.”  New York has a street named “Houston” but they pronounce it “Howstin.”  In jazz, there’s a particularly noteworthy Person, and no matter how you say Houston, he’s been playing his big boss tenor both hot and cool for more than half-a-century!  Houston Person’s musical role seems to be as a show stopper and spotlight stealer, no matter who he plays with … he can touch you and growl at you, equally well, during the same electrifying passage.  I have described his style as silk and cement, and you’ll find examples of both––and everything inbetween––in the three videos below.

Topmost is a 1998 performance of Blues Up and Down with David “Fathead” Newman and the Rein deGraaff Trio.  Below that is a tune who’s name is not listed, and which I can’t seem to identify, but Houston’s duo with John Clayton is comfortably energetic nonetheless.  Finally, At Last is a tune with Emmet Cohen (p), Kyle Poole (d), and Russell Hall (b) that has just enough silk and just enough cement to prove my point.

Recorded live in June of 2023 at the Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY.  Person and Clayton … a unique duo with a combined swinging sound will find a place in the heart of any jazz fan.

Recorded in 2021 at Emmet’s Place, in Harlem, NYC. The weekly performances are by invitation only … and they entertain only around 8 guests per show.

The Shearing Sound – Pt. 2

by | Sep 1, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet, Solo/Duo, Vocal

From 1949 to 1978, The George Shearing Quintet was a household name and a staple in anyone’s record collection.  Between George’s “Locked Hands” style of playing and the addition of vibes to the group, their sound was unique.  The original group was comprised of Margie Hyams (vibes), Chuck Wayne (guitar), later replaced by Toots Thielemans, John Levy (bass), Denzil Best (drums), and of course Shearing himself (piano).  The quintet underwent several changes through the years, until finally it was disbanded, in favor of trio, duo, and solo performances … until toward the end of his career Shearing made several recordings with major vocalists such as Mel Torme, Nat Cole (Pick Yourself Up – bottom), Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee and others.

Move (above) was one of the earlier quintets after Joe Roland had replaced Margie Hyams on vibes; the tune is one of the less mellow arrangements for which the group became known.  The Duke (below) is a tune written by Dave Brubeck as a nod to the great Duke Ellington.  It’s a live performance with Neil Swainson accompanying Sir George Shearing on bass.

Pick Yourself Up

by George Shearing-Nat Cole | Nat Cole Sings, George Shearing Plays

The Shearing Sound – Pt. 1

by | Aug 26, 2023 | Orchestral, Solo/Duo

George Shearing was a British born pianist who led a popular jazz group that took the country by storm for many years.  Born blind, the youngest of nine children, he started learning to play at the age of three … and went on to compose more than 300 titles during his illustrious career, including the jazz standard Lullaby of Birdland (Uppermost video).  He had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 60s, 80s, and even the 1990s.

Shearing emigrated to the U.S. and founded the first George Shearing Quintet in 1949, which saw a number of permutations over the years and finally led to solo and trio performances later in his career.  He drew upon classical music and the records of Teddy Wilson and Fats Waller for his influences, eventually developing a harmonically complex style––mixing swing, bop and modern classical into his playing.  His technique became known as Shearing’s Voicing … a type of double melody block chord, with an additional fifth part that doubles the melody an octave lower.  This style of playing is also known as Locked Hands.

Henry Mancini’s Dreamsville, like the video above, was recorded in 1992 at the Munich Philharmonie … with Neil Swainson on bass.

George goes solo with John Williams at the Boston Pops with his performance of Look At That Face.  The picture quality is a bit compromised, but the music is near perfect!

 

Jazz at Trinity Church – NYC

by | Jun 18, 2023 | Solo/Duo

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.

Dreams Of Christmas

by | Dec 24, 2021 | Holiday

Arguably, the greatest Christmas movie ever made is Irving Berlin’s star-studded White Christmas.  The topmost video is the grand finale from that motion picture, guaranteed to catapult you into the Christmas spirit … in case you’re not already there.  Below that are performances by young Joey Alexander and The Swingle Singers in a medley from one of their two spirit-inspiring Christmas albums.  Finally I have brought The Christmas Show forward from our Jazz Scene Podcast page.  May you enjoy every minute of this musical Christmas card and have the Merriest of all Christmases with the ones you love!

Joey Alexander was already an accomplished piano genius at the tender age of 14 in this performance of My Favorite Things.  Clearly, jazz is one of his favorite things … and his music is one of mine! 

The Incredible Swingle Singers take a step back from their usual jazz interpretations of classical music to perform a Christmas Medley in a more traditional fashion.

The Christmas Show

by Fred Masey | Jazz Scene Podcast

Clark Terry & Red Mitchell Together

by | Feb 23, 2021 | Solo/Duo

In 1988 at the ZDF Jazz Club, two of Duke Ellington’s most popular compositions were performed by two of jazzdom’s most talented musicians … Clark Terry on flugelhorn and trumpet plus Red Mitchell playing double bass.  Separately, either one can help you forget your troubles for hours.  Together, they can make you forget the entire rest of the band for good!  Terry connects all the notes into a single string of melodic calisthenics on “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”  and you can almost hear Mitchell’s bass sing when the “Sophisticated Lady” and Red musically dance as one!  This is a dynamic duo you are going to enjoy.

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.

Like Someone In Love / Red Suede Shoes – Chuck Loeb

by | Nov 29, 2019 | Quartet/Quintet, Solo/Duo

Like Someone In Love is a jazz standard.  Chuck Loeb was a guitarist with one foot anchored in traditional jazz and the other tap dancing its way around the [so called] smooth jazz genre. John Patitucci is an award winning bassist and composer, who was inspired by the likes of Ray Brown and Ron Carter … but who frequently likes to dance to the beat of his own drummer.  Put all three together and you have a couple of old friends just noodling on a familiar tune that makes everyone within earshot feel like “dis must be da place!”

As a sort of bonus, I’m including Red Suede Shoes as a sample of Chuck’s smooth jazz virtuosity.  Notice the orchestration reaches beyond the usual “death by saxophone” or “death by guitar” sound that seems to dominate the genre.

Red Suede Shoes

by Chuck Loeb | Plain 'n Simple

Squatty Roo / Five O’Clock Whistle – Ray Brown

by | Jun 28, 2019 | Solo/Duo, Trio

Squatty Roo was recorded in 2002 at the Bern Jazz Festival by the Ray Brown Trio.  It’s a kicky little tune written by Johnny Hodges, with Ray of course on bass, Larry Fuller at the piano and Karriem Riggins playing drums.

Five O’Clock Whistle is an exercise in “lyrical bassism” (My term, not theirs).  John Clayton joins Ray Brown in a duo setting that will have you wide-eyed and keen-eared from beginning to end.   This is something you just never hear … but here it is!

My Favorite Things – Joey Alexander, Encore!

by | Nov 21, 2018 | Solo/Duo

Do you realize there is no Thanksgiving jazz?  The only Thanksgiving song I could  even think of was “Over The River and Through the Woods” but I couldn’t find a jazz rendition.  The closest I could come was “My Favorite Things” but what a find it was, holiday or not.  None other than Joey Alexander, that kid prodigy from Indonesia, once again dazzles us with his piano prowess.

To have reached this level of technical proficiency and have such a sophisticated harmonic understanding at the tender age of 12 is nothing short of astonishing!  I couldn’t decide which of these performances to share and the contrast between the two is most outstanding when heard side-by-side.  So here are both … and Happy Thanksgiving.  What is going on inside this young man’s head is enough to make many established jazz pianists blush!.

Joey Alexander performs the title track from his debut album “My Favorite Things” in studio, along with the intricate bass work of Larry Grenadier.  

Joey plays jazz piano like old timer, but he’s only 11-years-old for this solo performance.  They say he started playing at six … then “got serious” at seven.