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.

More Than Hard Times – David “Fathead” Newman

by | Jun 3, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal

Hard Times

by David "Fathead" Newman | Fathead

With a strong background in R&B, and a close friendship with Ray Charles, it was only natural for saxophonist David Newman to be introduced to the world by Charles himself, through his first album––Fathead. For most of his career, Newman remained best known for his solo on Hard Times, one of the featured songs from that debut album.

Red Top is a wonderfully straight ahead jazz tune written by Lionel Hampton, performed by David “Fathead” Newman. Normally, I list the accompanying personnel, but this time, I couldn’t track anyone down––not even the singing drummer. On Newman’s Chillin’ album, everyone sounds so precisely the same that I will risk a guess, and list the group that appears on the album. Both the video and recording are circa 1998, so it may be a relatively safe bet. I’m guessing that in addition to “Fathead” on tenor, John Hicks played piano, Steve Novosel was on bass, Winard Harper on drums, and Bryan Carrott played vibes.

The second video is the familiar Blue Bossa and features “Fathead” Newman and Houston Person on dual tenor saxes, along with the Rein deGraaff Trio. It was also recorded in 1998, when they were entering their twilight years but still going strong!

Teacher, Musician, Legend – Barry Harris

by | May 27, 2023 | Trio

Barry Harris is part of an exceptional group of Detroit-bred jazz musicians, including Tommy Flanagan and Donald Byrd, who rose through the extraordinary arts education program in the public school system during the 1930s and 1940s.  He took piano lessons from his mother at the age of four––a church pianist, she asked him if he was interested in playing church music or jazz.  Fortunately for us, he chose jazz.

In his teens, he learned bebop largely by ear, imitating solos by Bud Powell, who along with Thelonious Monk was a strong influence on his playing.  Early on, he developed an interest in passing the torch through education.  Barry began teaching his musical theories as early as 1956, tutoring young, promising talent––all the while performing professionally with the likes of Miles Davis, Max Roach, and Lee Konitz. He has carried on the teaching tradition throughout his life.

Still going strong in 2017 at the age of 88, his arrangement of A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square at Dizzy’s in New York is as unique as Barry Harris himself.

Also at Dizzy’s, Blues In Bb features the trio of Barry on piano, Leroy Williams on drums and Ray Drummond playing bass.

Whisper Not / No Problem – Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

by | Mar 24, 2023 | Quartet/Quintet

In 1956, while performing with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Benny Golson wrote “Whisper Not”. The band recorded it in November of that year and in 1957 Golson recorded it with his own group. It’s a wonderfully mellow tune, performed here by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers in 1958 … with Benny on tenor, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons at the piano, Jymie Merritt on bass and of course Blakey, himself, playing drums.

By contrast, the Duke Jordan composition “No Problem” unleashes a more typical Messenger sound … and the message is “HOT!” It’s 1959 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the personnel are the same, except Wayne Shorter is on tenor and Walter Davis, Jr. plays piano.

Delilah / Beautiful Old Ladies – Ellis Marsalis

by | Feb 19, 2022 | Quartet/Quintet

The Marsalis family’s musical gifts all flow from the “headwaters’ … an internationally renowned piano player named Ellis.   Sons Wynton, Branford, Delfaeyo and Jason have all become famous in their own right, with Wynton and Branford each standing with one foot in jazz and the other in classical music.  In the video, Ellis Marsalis is joined by Andrew Baham on trumpet, Derek Douget on sax, Gerald Watkins at the drums and Jason Stewart playing bass.  The tune is Delilah, recorded in New Orleans at The Jazz and Heritage Center December 15, 2018.  Below that is Beautiful Old Ladies, a tribute to older women from Ellis’s Whistle Stop album, featuring Branford Marsalis on soprano sax, Robert Hurst playing bass, Jeff Watts on drums and, of course, Ellis at the piano.

Beautiful Old Ladies

by Ellis Marsalis | Whistle Stop

Not Easy Being Green

by | Jan 29, 2022 | Trio

I had never really listened to Benny Green until I came across some old Art Blakey Jazz Messenger’s recordings and focused my ears past the drums.  It has been said that that “those who can’t do teach” … well, Benny Green teaches but is equally gifted as a performer, evidenced by the videos below.  Topmost, Tempus Fugit is an uptempo Bud Powell composition, recorded at New York’s Lincoln Center, that features a trio of Green at the piano, David Wong on bass and Aaron Kimmel playing drums.  Lower left is Me And My Baby.   Lower right something called Cupcake.  Both offer the trio of Benny playing piano, Ben Wolfe on bass and Carl Allen on drums.

This is Me And My Baby, a comfortably toe-tapping tune that takes Benny Green’s trio out of the concert hall and into a more relaxed clublike atmosphere.

Cupcake is a more laidback piece than the first two, keeping you in that same easy going setting.  It’s a clever arrangement that is sure to capture your attention.

Houston: A Person Worth Listening To

by | Jan 23, 2022 | Sextet

Silk and cement … that’s the way I would describe Houston Person’s tenor voice.  After more than half-a-century, he can still touch you or growl at you during the same musical passage and I’ve always liked what he had to say.  In 2017 Houston appeared in Spain at the San Javier International Jazz Festival with his sextet, Jim Rotondi (t), Dena DeRose (p), D.J. Foster (b) Marc Miralta (dr).  The two videos are from that performance:  The topmost cooks comfortably with the popular 1966 tune Sunny, while the video below it is a wonderfully soulful treatment of the familiar standard Since I Fell For You.  Finally, Person treats our ears and our hearts to the wonderfully gentle But Beautiful, audio from his album The Art And Soul Of Houston Person.

But Beautiful

by Houston Person | The Art And Soul Of Houston Person

C-Jam Blues – Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington

by | Jan 14, 2022 | Big Band, Vocal

Sometimes referred to as “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century.  She first met Duke Ellington in the mid-1930’s, while she was performing at Harlem’s legendary Savoy Ballroom with Chick Webb and His Orchestra. The two would remain friends and collaborators for the rest of their lives.  Here, Duke and Ella team up to perform Ellington’s C-Jam Blues (also known as “Duke’s Place”) during their 1966 European tour.

The Genius Of Bill Evans

by | Jan 7, 2022 | Trio

The legendary pianist Bill Evans is a great way to begin any New Year!  “Re: Person I Knew” is an original composition, recorded at the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway during August 1980, and was Evans’ last performance before his passing only five weeks later. It was also his last trio, and consisted of Bill Evans (p) Marc Johnson (b) and Joe La Barbera (dr).

On March 19, 1965, a much earlier version of the Bill Evans Trio stopped by the BBC studios in London to play a couple of sets on Jazz 625, a popular TV program hosted by the British trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton. From that performance, the second video features an obviously younger Evans along with Chuck Israels (b) and Larry Bunker (dr) playing the Victor Young standard “My Foolish Heart”.

The Virtuosity of Eddie Daniels

by | Nov 19, 2021 | Quartet/Quintet

Eddie Daniels recorded Slipped Disc during a “Benny Rides Again” tribute to Benny Goodman in 1992. The group was made up of Gary Burton (vb),  Makoto Ozone (p), Marc Johnson (b), Martin Richards (d) and of course Eddie Daniels (c).

Stompin’ At The Savoy was recorded in October of 2012 ‘upstairs’ at Vitello’s in LA.  Joe La Barbera (d), Tom Warrington (b) and Tom Ranier (p) provided a familiar rhythm section since they often head East to perform with Daniels in NY.