September Song / 2:19 Blues – Wynton Marsalis & Sarah Vaughan

by | Mar 6, 2020 | Orchestral, Septet/Octet, Vocal

To open we have three musical icons, Wynton Marsalis and Sarah Vaughn teaming up to present the classic September Song.  The third legendary artist is John Williams conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra … or is that four musical icons? 

Next Wynton is in Marciac France with his Septet in another live performance.  2:19 Blues was recorded in 2015 and features Marsalis doubling on trumpet and handling vocals … together with Walter Blanding and Victor Goines playing saxophones, Sam Chess on trombone, Dan Nimmer at the piano, Carlos Henriquez with his bass, and Jason Marsalis on drums.  It’s down and dirty blues at its best!

Eric’s Gale / Moonlight In Vermont – Houston Person

by | Feb 21, 2020 | Quartet/Quintet, Trio

As one of the unsung heroes of the tenor sax, Houston Person’s role in life seems to be as a show stopper and spotlight stealer, whether performing live or recorded.  Eric’s Gale is one of those occasions.  His silk and cement style added to the likes of Lonnie Smith on organ, Ron Carter at the bass and Grady Tate on drums makes you want to say “Wow!” and play it again, just to make sure Houston really did that.

Eric's Gale

by Houston Person, Eric Gale | In A Jazz Tradition

Moonlight In Vermont is a standard but Houston Person‘s incredible solo is anything but!  It may be Joey’s album but, that evening, Person was once again a thief in the night.  In 1993 at The Five Spot Cafe in New York, he joined Joey DeFrancesco at the organ, Paul Bollenback with his guitar and Byron “Wookie” Landham playing drums to make a statement that teases legendary status. Personally, I’ve always liked what Houston has had to say.

Moonlight In Vermont

by Houston Person, Joey DeFrancesco | Live At The 5 Spot

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!

Poutin’ – Ben Webster and the Oscar Peterson Trio

by | Jan 24, 2020 | Quartet/Quintet

In 1972 two stars collided to make wonderful music together!  Of course, they didn’t do it alone.  The great Ben Webster on tenor and the incomparable Oscar Peterson playing piano were joined in Hannover, Germany by Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen (Aka The Great Dane with the Never-Ending Name) with his  bass, and Tony Inzalaco on drums.  Here is just a sample of the results.  It’s called Poutin’ … but it left the crowd smilin’ and wanting more.

I Got A Heartful Of Music – Benny Goodman Quartet

by | Jan 20, 2020 | Quartet/Quintet

Here is a sort of bonus this week as the same Benny Goodman Quartet — different year, 1937 — plays “I Got A Heartful Of Music”.  Compare it with the 1972 performances.  They haven’t lost much of a step in all those years … and Krupa is nuts!

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.

Frank and Ella Perfect Together

by | Jan 3, 2020 | Vocal

Frank Sinatra said Ella Fitzgerald was the best singer (male or female) he ever heard and the only one who made him nervous to sing with, because he had to be up to her standards. Two legends and only one word to describe them:  Respect!   Frank even lets Ella dominate their performances to showcase her greatness.  He was always the gentleman. Talent like Frank and Ella are extinct now and nobody comes close to them … not then, not now. 

It was 1967 and both singers were in their prime on That’s Why The Lady Is A Tramp!  At one point they respectfully bow to each other, since hugging was not yet a public possibility … still they managed it, lyrically.

Frank may have met his match on Moonlight In Vermont and he knew it.  You can tell by the way he looks at her while they’re singing.  They sound so perfect, I wish they had made an album together.

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!

Winter Wonderland / My Favorite Things – Tony Bennett

by | Dec 13, 2019 | Big Band, Vocal

Tony Bennett makes you want to slip on your galoshes and follow him into the snow with this rendition of Winter Wonderland.  It features the Count Basie Orchestra and is certain to add Holiday spring to anyone’s step!

My Favorite Things is a classic song swung by a classic performer with a classic band.  While the tune was written for a Broadway play, not as a Christmas song, the season wouldn’t be complete without it.

Diana Ross Sings Billie Holiday

by | Nov 22, 2019 | Vocal

Her true versatility is on full display as Diana Ross moves seamlessly from R&B to jazz in the 1972 motion picture Lady Sings The Blues … the life story of the legendary Billie Holiday. My Man is one of the featured songs.

Riding atop the power of a big band, with All Of Me Diana shows she can swing with the best of them, in addition to melting your heart with her poignant approach to a ballad.

Give Me A Pig Foot And A Bottle Of Beer is a familiar Billie Holiday song that unquestionably distances Diana Ross far from her original Motown days with The Supremes.

God Bless The Child (That’s Got His Own) has been recorded by several top artists but NOBODY ever did it like Billie Holiday … although Diana comes pretty darn close.  Another tune featured in Lady Sings The Blues.