Oscar Peterson performs “Body and Soul” with John Williams and The Boston Pops Orchestra. His ability to play ‘more notes per measure’ than nearly anyone else was one of the defining characteristics of his destinctive style.
As jazz crosses over and influences other musical genres, so artists from those other genres sometimes dip their toes into the cool waters of jazz. For all of her ‘pop’ success, it turns out that Linda Ronstadt, has a marvelous voice for the standards. What’s New? Listen and find out!
Reminiscent of the Andrews Sisters era, Linda is joined by vocalists Liza Edwards, Elizabeth Lamers, Rita Valente and pianist Red Young for their rendition of the old Glenn Miller classic, I’ve Got A Gal In Kalamazoo.
Linda turns away from her top 40 stylings in favor of the ever popular Lover Man (Where Can You Be). When Nelson Riddle is behind you, the result is as good as guaranteed to be terrific!
Herbie Hancock performs “Watermelon Man”, first as originally written in 1962, then in the jazz fusion style he embraced with both hands eleven years later. Hancock’s first version was released as a grooving hard bop record, and featured improvisations by Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon. He radically re-worked the tune, combining elements of funk, for his album Head Hunters in 1973.
One of only two existing pieces of footage of Charlie Parker (alto) in performance. Here he is joined by Coleman Hawkins (tenor), Hank Jones (piano), Ray Brown (bass) and Buddy Rich (drums). This session was recorded in October 1950 in an effort to add video to some previously recorded audio tracks. Bird was smiling because Hawkins, Rich and company were trying to mime their own improvised solos and it wasn’t working out so well. Bird had a good time with it until he got into “trouble” with the producer for laughing at Hawkins.
Hundreds of versions exist of Bobby Troup’s song “[Get Your Kicks on] Route 66,” better known simply as “Route 66.” He wrote it during a cross-country trip on that highway after World War II … and In 1946 Nat King Cole had a huge hit with Troup’s best known song. Today it is a jazz standard.
James Moody was a jazz saxophonist and flutist from Newark, New Jersey, celebrated for his virtuosity, his versatility and his onstage ebullience. This is a gentle solo with strings, from Eastwood After Hours, recorded at Carnegie Hall in NYC on October 17, 1996.
Drum virtuoso Ed Shaughnessy adds an entirely new dimension to The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra with driving rhythms and a ride that’s not to be believed. The great ones make it seem so easy. Also look for solos from clarinetist Eddie Daniels and the trumpet of Doc Severinsen. 1988 was a very good year! Thanks to Drummerworld, where you’ll find performances of many masters of the skins.
Here’s Grappelli in a rare 1991 live appearance in Warsaw, Poland. It’s a surprising arrangement of How High The Moon. Stéphane Grappelli had something very few musicians have … although it’s hard to imagine, like fine wine he got even better with age!
When this recording of Fascinating Rhythm was made Grappelli had been playing with his trio for two years. Performed in Saratoga, California at the Paul Masson Winery on the 4th of July1982, musicians include the always amazing Stéphane Grappelli (v), Diz Disley (rhythm g), Martin Taylor (g), and Jack Sewing (b).
“Stormy Monday”, a Lou Rawls classic, is infused with an extra shot of funk from the boss tenor of Stanley Turrentine at a 1989 Blue Note concert in Japan. They are joined by Les McCann on piano, Curtis Robertson on bass and Curtis Alan Sharrod, Jr. at the drums.
Andre Previn is a pianist, composer, conductor and arranger masterfully standing astride two musical genres … both classical music and jazz. Many fans don’t realize that he had one foot in jazz before his other became firmly planted as a classical musician. Here we sample a touch of his conducting, arranging and piano artistry with “Rhapsody In Blue” before stepping back a few years into a swinging performance of Lerner and Loewe’s “Get Me To The Church On Time.”
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