Settings – Ellis Marsalis

by | Sep 6, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Trio

Ellis Marsalis is a father figure of jazz in a number of ways. As a pianist, he was among the first generation of musicians to bring bebop to New Orleans; as an educator, many great musicians came through Marsalis’ tutelage, including Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Donald Harrison, and Nicholas Payton. Ellis is, of course, the headwaters –– the actual father –– of four exceptional jazz musicians: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo, and Jason Marsalis. Here he demonstrates his prowess in three settings, including a quintet, quartet, and trio … equally as masterful in all of them.

Delilah (top) was part of a concert streamed live by WWOZ from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Center in 2018. It features the quintet with Ellis on piano,Gerald Watkins at the drums, Jason Stewart playing bass, Andrew Baham on trumpet, and Derek Douget on sax. In the (middle) is Homecoming, an Ellis original performed with his quartet at his 80th birthday celebration event at Dizzy Gillespie’s Club CocaCola, in New York. Finally (bottom) in 1997 Syndrome, another Ellis Marsalis original, is given the trio treatment in Bern Switzerland.

Sax from the Woods

by | Aug 31, 2025 | Orchestral, Quartet/Quintet

Phil Woods was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. He did it all and did it well! Woods earned the top alto sax player award almost 30 times in DownBeat magazine’s annual readers’ poll. He composed more than 200 songs during his 60 plus year career, and staked his claim to being the finest alto saxophonist in mainstream jazz.

I have to laugh when someone tells me they don’t like jazz. My reply is usually, “Which kind don’t you like?” If you really listen, there’s something for everyone … even ‘pretty’ jazz. Take, for example, Phil’s performance of I’ll Remember April (above) with the Orchestre du Conservatoir National Regional de Toulouse at the Marciac Jazz Festival in 2005. It’s as lush and mellow, as Steeplechase (below) is cookin’! Woods’ famous quartet recorded the tune in 1990 at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France; it consisted of Phil (as), Hal Galper (p), Steve Gilmore (b), and Bill Goodwin (d).

Big Boss Barry

by | Aug 2, 2025 | Big Band, Quartet/Quintet, Tentet

Frisco Club (below top) is the opening sequence from the 1958 film “I Want To Live.” The film score, composed by Johnny Mandel, features the Gerry Mulligan Jazz Combo and has become a classic, grab your socks, soundtrack album … in fact two Grammy Award nominated albums! The players on those recordings include Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, Shelly Manne playing drums, Art Farmer on trumpet, Red Mitchell on bass, Pete Jolly at the piano, Bud Shank playing flute, and Frank Rosolino on trombone. (Below that) Chet Baker joins Gerry for the 1927 Hoagy Carmichael standard Stardust, a blend of heart-felt sound that only these two jazz icons could have created. Henry Grimes on bass and Dave Bailey on drums round out the quartet.

Stardust

by Gerry Mulligan & Chet Baker | Reunion

To the left (Top) Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll is from the quartet’s 1993 Japan concert, with Gerry (bs), Ted Rosenthal (p), Dean Johnson (b), and Ron Vincent (d). (Bottom left) is a Mulligan original, Walkin’ Shoes … cited as one of his most popular compositions. His tentet includes Lee Konitz (as), Art Farmer (t), Rob McConnell (tb), Mike Mossman (t), Ken Soderblom (c), Bob Routch (frh), Ted Rosenthal (p), Dean Johnson (b), and Ron Vincent (d).

The Swingin’ Side of Stan Getz

by | Jul 26, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet

Stan Getz was often called “The Sound” because of his warm, lyrical tone, due largely to the influence of the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. He elicited from his tenor sax a luxuriant tone, which made Stan a natural to spread the sound of cool jazz in the ’50s, and furthered the bossa nova explosion of the ’60s of which he was a centerpiece.

We have become accustomed to hearing a very mellow Stan Getz, as exemplified by his definitive rendition of Desafinado (top right) … bossa nova at its best, with Joanne Brackeen on piano, Clint Houston playing double bass, and Billy Hart on drums. Just (below that) Getz continues in a mellow mood, as he is joined by Chet Baker on Dear Old Stockholm, not too surprisingly recorded in Sweden, in 1983.

A bit less usual Stan swings out on the old favorite Slow Boat To China, with Kenny Barron playing piano, Alex Blake on bass, and Terri Lyne Carrington on drums (just left), performing at the Munich Philharmonie Hall in Germany, in 1990. And, finally, Getz once again lights it up, joined by Chet Baker … also featuring Jim McNeely at the piano, George Mraz on bass, and Victor Lewis playing drums (bottom) on Miles Davis’ Milestones.

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.

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!

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

Brubeck Time

by | Apr 25, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet

Whether solo or with his quartet, Dave Brubeck has become an American jazz icon. His name has become synonymous with unusual time signatures and pure piano excellence. He was also a composer, who delighted in combining different styles and genres, like classic, jazz, and blues … often superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities into his work. In 1951, Brubeck organized the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which featured Paul Desmond on alto saxophone. Eventually, Joe Morello (d) and Gene Wright (b) joined Dave and Paul to form the quartet with which we are most familiar, that sustained through the years, and any number of hit recordings. Above, they perform Brubeck’s own Three to Get Ready … the forgotten little brother of “Take Five.”

Top left is another Brubeck original from a 1962 performance in Sydney Australia, Blue Rondo a la Turk, written in a tricky 9/8 time. Finally, lower left, is the stylistic ‘mother of them all,’ Take Five. This 1972 recording offers a little different cast of characters from the the ones we’re used to –– like Gerry Mulligan (bs), Alan Dawson (d), and Jack Six (b), in addition to Dave Brubeck ℗ and Paul Desmond (as).

N’Orleans Jazz with the PHJB

by | Mar 15, 2025 | Orchestral, Quartet/Quintet, Septet/Octet

Preservation Hall Jazz Band has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, keeping the history they were founded to preserve alive and well. This ageless ensemble has toured the world displaying the unbreakable spirit of New Orleans and sharing the joy of its very special style of jazz. The band consists of Ben Jaffe (one of the original founders), Branden Lewis, Charlie Gabriel, Walter Harris, Kyle Roussel, Ronell Johnson, and Clint Maedgen. The PHJB‘s name and mission are directly tied to Preservation Hall, a venue in the French Quarter that serves as a hub for traditional New Orleans jazz. In 2006, The Band was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence. (Above) they perform Bourbon Street Parade together with the Cincinatti Pops Orchestra in a PBS special “Take Me to the River.”

The video below is bit of a mystery. The group is called The Preservation Hall Jazz Quartet … although they perform at Preservation Hall, I cannot find any information affirming or denying a connection to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The quartet consists of Kevin Louis on trumpet, Lars Edegran at the piano, Haruka Kikuchi playing trombone, and Joe Lastie on drums. The tune is a mystery as well. I don’t recognize it, nor can I find reference to a name anywhere, but one thing is for certain … the sound is pure N’Orleans!

Straight Ahead with the MJQ

by | Mar 7, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet

Continuing with the most well known members of with the Modern Jazz Quartet, once again we have John Lewis at the piano, Milt Jackson on vibes, Percy Heath playing bass and Connie Kay on drums. They were all pioneer bop musicians who early on pursued separate careers; except for Percy Heath, they had played together in the 1948 Dizzy Gillespie big band. In 1952, Heath was added and the Modern Jazz Quartet was born.

These videos serve-up a bit more standard MJQ fare than our feature last week. (Above) is a 1961 rendition of John Lewis’ Bags Groove … written as a tip of the cap to Milt Jackson. “Bags” was a nickname given to Milt by a Detroit bass player, and referred to the bags under his eyes. The name stuck! (Below) is a Milt Jackson original, True Blues, recorded in 1982 at the Alexandra Palace (Capital Radio Jazz Festival) in London.