“Poinciana” was written in 1936 by Nat Simon and Buddy Bernier, based on a Cuban folk song called “La canción del árbol”. Ahmad Jamal included a jazz cover version of the song in his album “Poinciana”, released in 1963, and it has since become associated with him to the extent that it might actually be considered his theme song. It is certainly his most requested song during personal appearances.
While the Mark of Jazz usually features more traditional jazz, I believe it is important to understand as many aspects of the genre as possible, and, after all, by any other name good music is still good music!. Smooth jazz is one of the more recent iterations of the idiom and is represented most ably by award winning composer, producer, music publisher Dimitri K. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Dimitri has written more than 250 songs which can be heard on over 300 radio stations on five continents! His recorded music is part of the Golden Music Library of the National Radio in Sofia. His use of instruments not often found in jazz provides a unique musical experience.
Even though he plays violin, as well as some guitar and piano himself, Dimitri prefers to use only top flight soloists when recording his music. “I Saw Her” features Alvin L. Guile’s on piano and Jamie Strefeler on oboe; “You’ve Got Me” spotlights Harry Hall playing sax and John Valeri with the guitar; finally, on “A Day In Paris” we have Konstantin Dimitrov with the violin, Rob Mullins on piano and John Valeri playing guitar.
Bolivar Blues was recorded in 1963 in Japan just two days after the concert that produced the Columbia set Monk in Tokyo. This studio session was created for TV broadcast while Thelonious Monk was touring the country,
Evidence was part of that same studio session and featured Monk on piano, Frankie Dunlop drums, Butch Warren playing bass and the incomparable Charlie Rouse on sax. Charlie has the uncanny ability to match Thelonious’ unique style note for note!
This rendition of the Thad Jones standard A Child Is Born is from a French TV Broadcast, La Grande Parade du Jazz, from Nice on July 16, 1978. The great Bill Evans is at the piano with Marc Johnson on bass, Philly Joe Jones playing drums and the perennially underrated Pepper Adams delivering a memorable solo on baritone sax.
Body and Soul is an old favorite with a new twist. Michel’s arrangement is reverent but with serious chops. Petrucciani is joined by bassist Miroslav Viteous and drummer Steve Gadd, two of the best in jazz.
Cantabile is an Italian word that means “singable” or “songlike”. In instrumental music, it is a particular style of playing designed to imitate the human voice. The trio recorded both tunes in Munich during July of 1997.
Natalie Cole is one of only a handful of performers whose apple didn’t fall very far from the tree. In the top video she proves it by singing a duet with Nat that was cleverly constructed in 1991, by mixing his 1951 recording with Natalie’s live performance. It’s Unforgettable … and it really is! Like her dad, she was probably best known for her work in ‘pop’ music but, oh, she could swing!
As for Nat ‘King’ Cole, many who only knew him as a singer didn’t realize that he was one helluva piano player. In fact, some might say he was a great piano player who just so happened to know how to sing. In the bottom video, sample both the voice and fingers of ‘The Velvet Rasp’ himself.
Moment’s Notice is a high-spirited tune written by John Coltrane and recorded by the great McCoy Tyner in 2002 at Jazz Baltica. He is joined by Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Charnett Moffett on bass and Eric Harland cookin’ on drums.
Merry Christmas Charlie Brown! Here’s a medley of tunes from the beloved Charlie Brown Christmas Special, with accompanying video sequences and David Benoit’s magical Christmas fingers in solo performance!
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.
This rare performance of A-Train is from the Legends of Jazz, Piano Masters series with Ramsey Lewis hosting. For the first time in more than forty years, a American national network, PBS, aired a weekly program devoted to jazz. The series aired in 2006 and lasted only 13 weeks, but has become available on both DVD and CD for continuing enjoyment by jazz buffs everywhere.
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