Sweets for the Suite

by | Jul 5, 2025 | Big Band, Quartet/Quintet

Harry “Sweets” Edison came to prominence as a soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra, and as an occasional composer/arranger for the band. His most notable contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backing any number of famous singers, most notably Frank Sinatra. It was Lester Young who gave him the nickname “Sweets” because of his sweet style of playing. It started out as “Sweetie Pie,” was eventually shortened to “Sweets,” and has stuck as Edison’s trademark moniker to this day.

(Top left) is Lester Leaps In, recorded in 1990 together with Billy Mitchell (ts), Paul Kuhn (p), Major Holley (b), and Butch Miles (d). (Lower left) “Sweets” slows things down with Willow Weep for Me, featuring that mellow muted sound that earned him his nickname. Finally, (at the bottom) Edison joins the Louie Bellson big band in 1992 with the tune Sweet Tooth.

Dueling with Buddy

by | Jun 27, 2025 | Big Band, Stuff

Who would believe that Buddy Rich was self taught and didn’t read music? He was not only a great drummer, but a versatile and energetic entertainer, who demonstrated his fierce life force and love of music with every performance. Picking up his first pair of sticks at the age of two, he was playing with some of the biggest bands in the country by the time he was twenty and soon added songwriter, conductor, and bandleader to his extensive resume … in addition to being considered one of the most influential jazz drummers of all time!

(Above) Buddy duels with drummer Ed Shaughnessy on The Johnny Carson Show in 1978. Although Rich was his usual brand of incredible, Shaughnessy showed, in no uncertain terms, that he was no slouch!

(Top left) Buddy faces off in 1966 with Gene Krupa, his main competitor for the top jazz drummer title. Krupa is smooth, classy, and melodious, while Rich is pure technical precision, speed and aggression. After a bit of ‘hoofing’ by Sammy Davis Jr., Buddy and Gene engage in an epic drum battle.  (Bottom left) Rich tangles with The Muppet Show’s Animal, showing his lighter side and love for all creatures, even red ones.

The Real McCoy

by | Jun 22, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Solo/Duo, Trio

Alfred McCoy Tyner was an American jazz pianist and composer known, primarily, for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965. His long solo career spanned six decades, and netted five Grammy Awards. McCoy’s powerful, propulsive style of piano playing was an integral part of the Coltrane Quartet in the early 1960s, and influences countless young jazz musicians to this day.

The (topmost) video is a 2002 performance of Moment’s Notice, and features the instantly recognizable piano of Tyner, along with Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Charnett Moffett on bass, and Eric Harland playing drums.

To the (left) is a solo performance of Coltrane’s Giant Steps from 1996. It is a classic example of McCoy Tyner’s signature emphatic left-hand attack, particularly on the low keys.

To the (right), A Song for Love was recorded in 1997 with his trio, including Avery Sharpe on bass and Aaron Scott on drums. It shows the softer side of Tyner, and brought down the house at the jazz festival in Berlin!

A Hot Time in Bern

by | Jun 14, 2025 | Septet/Octet

Clark Terry was a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, not to mention one of the most prolific of all jazz musicians with over 900 recordings during his more than 70 year career! As a composer, educator, and mentor to some of the greats, he became one of the most influential swing and bebop trumpeters of our time.

(Above) he joins Kenny Davern (c), Danny Moss (ts), Johnny Letman (t), George Masso (tb), Ralph Sutton (p), Howard Alden (g), Milt Hinton (b), and Gus Johnson (d) at the 1989 Bern Jazz Festival with a tune popularized by the great Count Basie … Swingin’ the Blues. (Below) Clark blows the audience away with a flugelhorn solo of God Bless the Child, backed by the same incredible personnel.

Sugarfree Swing – Charlie Barnet

by | Jun 6, 2025 | Big Band, Vocal

Nicknamed “Mad Mab,” saxophonist and bandleader Charlie Barnet is one of the more colorful figures in jazz history, and was more than a bit of a playboy throughout his life. Charlie was unusual in a couple of ways, having been one of the few jazzmen to be born a millionaire … not to mention being married eleven times!  Although his orchestra isn’t usually mentioned among the first tier of big bands during the late 30s and early 40s, Barnet’s was, arguably, one of the most popular bands in the country during that period.

He eschewed the more popular sweet sound of the 1930s dance bands in favor of a harder style of swing that sometimes bordered on bop.

The three tunes to the left are only three of the many seemingly signature songs associated with the Charlie Barnet Big Band. At the (top) is Cherokee–also known as Indian Love Song–a jazz standard written by the British composer and band leader Ray Noble and published in 1938. In the (center) is Caravan, with a vocal by Bill Derry. Finally at the (bottom) is Barnet’s own Skyliner, written and first recorded in 1945.

Miles-tones

by | May 31, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Sextet

“Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” This is yet another quotable quote from Miles Davis, and probably the one that best describes his musical style. His early playing was sometimes tentative and not always fully in tune, but his unique, intimate tone and fertile musical imagination outweighed his technical shortcomings … which by the 1950s he turned into considerable assets. Miles would have celebrated his 99th birthday a few days ago, on May 26th, but while he severed his earthly bonds in 1991, he left behind a wide variety of timeless jazz that will be enjoyed by many generations to come.

(Top) The Pan Piper and Solea are both tunes from Davis’ 1960 album Sketches of Spain. They are co-arranged with Gil Evans, blending jazz and classical influences, incorporating a flamenco theme for this 1991 Montreux performance. (Middle) is a Davis original, now a standard, Milestones from his 1958 album of the same name. It features a regular who’s who of jazz, with Miles on flugelhorn, Cannon Adderley playing alto, John Coltrane, playing tenor, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones at the drums. Finally (Bottom), the quintet’s 1964 performance of My Funny Valentine evokes a slightly different feeling with Miles on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on sax, Herbie Hancock playing piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams at the drums –– talk about a who’s who!

Milestones

by Miles Davis | Milestones

Sassy and Sultry Diana Krall

by | May 23, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal

Some of Diana Krall’s fans are not necessarily jazz fans. Many seem to want a stronger focus on the vocals, which is quite understandable given how great Krall is at the microphone … and they want her to sing in a more straightforward, singer-songwriter/pop fashion, rather than using her voice as a jazz instrument or inserting improvisational passages into her piano playing.  But, that’s not who Diana is. She’s a jazz artist who puts on jazz shows. She has been playing since the age of four and performing since the age of fifteen.

During her concerts, vocals are just a part of the attraction. True jazz fans get this, and appreciate the lengthy spotlights given to Krall’s band mates as well: bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton, and guitarist Anthony Wilson are all phenomenal players with so much to say musically that is absolutely worth hearing. (Above) is something on the soft side from the group with Cry Me a River and (below) they pick up the tempo with East of the Sun. See what you hear!

The Artistry of Stan Kenton Pt. 2

by | May 16, 2025 | Big Band

Stan Kenton’s music has been described as “combining formal education with big-band jazz.” Blending jazz with other musical genres, he created what became the popular stage (or concert) band movement of the 1960s and ’70s … and each of these tunes is a prime example.

(Above) is Malagueña … an old Spanish folk song with flamenco stylings,dating back to the 1800s, by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. It’s the story of a man telling a woman––from Málaga, Spain––how beautiful she is, and how he would love to be her man, but that he understands her rejecting him for being too poor. (Below) the Kenton Orchestra’s rendition of George Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue. The Rhapsody is one of Gershwin’s most recognizable creations, and a key composition that defined the Jazz Age. The video was shot with a personal camcorder during a 1972 Copenhagen concert, but was never produced commercially. Chuck Carter is out front with a memorable solo on baritone sax.

The Artistry of Stan Kenton Pt. 1

by | May 10, 2025 | Big Band, Vocal

Several years ago, it became necessary for me to lay over in Chicago. I was traveling with a fellow who liked folk and country music, and even took his banjo on the road with him for entertainment during sometimes lonely nights in a strange town. Reggie had not ever really listened to jazz. To my profound delight, I discovered that Stan Kenton was playing at a supper club called Mr. Kelly’s … and I conned him into going. Kenton was his usual brand of spectacular. During the first show, all my friend could say was “Outrageous! Outrageous!!” Reg was hooked, and it took absolutely no arm twisting to get him to stay for the second show, which elicited equally enthusiastic responses from the newly christened jazz buff! Such was the magnetism of Stan Kenton and his orchestra. For anyone else who is somehow not familiar with the excellence of Stan Kenton––bandleader, pianist, and composer––you’re in for a treat.

(Above) The riveting Kenton rendition of Jimmy Webb’s Grammy Award winning song, MacArthur Park … recorded during the band’s 1972 European tour. (Top left) is There Will Never Be Another You, a 1976 throwback to the vintage Kenton sound, with Anita O’Day and The Four Freshmen. Finally, (Bottom left) is Intermission Riff, the Stan Kenton standard that was the tune that hooked me on his full, rich style and exceptionally creative arrangements.

Jaws!

by | May 3, 2025 | Big Band, Quartet/Quintet

Virtually from the beginning of his career, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis achieved one of the primary goals of all jazz musicians: to have his own sound. Most jazz fans are able to identify “Jaws” within two or three notes. Was he a bop, swing, hard bop or early R&B improviser? Duke Ellington’s description of a “beyond category” perfectly fit “Jaws” because his highly individual voice always stood apart from everyone else. No one seems quite sure how Davis acquired the moniker “Lockjaw” (later shortened to “Jaws”) … it is thought that it either came from the title of a tune, or from his way of biting hard on the saxophone mouthpiece.

The top video, If I Had You, was recorded live in 1985 at the Jazzhus Slukefter Club in Copenhagen Denmark. Lockjaw was on tenor, Niels Jorgen Steen played piano, Jesper  Lundgaard was on bass, and Ed Thigpen was at the drums. In the middle is the jazz standard Green Dolphin Street from his Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis album … but there is nothing standard about his ‘saxy’ approach to this popular 1947 tune.  Finally, “Jaws” delivers an outrageous solo in this 1965 live performance of Jumpin’ at the Woodside … also featuring Rufus Jones on drums, Freddie Green on guitar and the rest of the Basie Band in its prime!

Green Dolphin Street

by Eddie Lockjaw Davis | Eddie Lockjaw Davis