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.

I’ll Remember April / Señor Blues – Phil Woods

by | Jan 10, 2020 | Orchestral, Quartet/Quintet

I’ll Remember April was recorded in 2005 at the Marciac Jazz Festival in France. Phil Woods and his alto are joined by Ben Aronov (piano) Reginald Johnson (bass) Doug Sides (drums) and the lush strings of The Orchestre du Conservatoire National Regional de Toulouse.

Señor Blues is a Horace Silver composition that has become something of a jazz standard.  This recording is from the Legends Of Jazz television series hosted by Ramsey Lewis on PBS in 2006.  This arrangement adds the distinctive sound of David Sanborn to the already solid Phil Woods Quartet.

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.

Wesbound – Lee Ritenour

by | Nov 15, 2019 | Quartet/Quintet

Wesbound was written by Lee Ritenour as a tribute to the late, great guitarist Wes Montgomery.  Lee is joined in this video by the very versatile Patrice Rushen playing keyboards and Terry Crews delivering a driving bass.

Ritenour’s guitar stylings are usually considered to be acid or club jazz, which for the uninitiated is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, soul, funk, and even a smattering of disco.  While it is a bit of a departure from our emphasis on more traditional, straight ahead jazz, I think you’re gonna like what you hear.  Listen for an ear-popping solo by Patrice!

S’ Wonderful – Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis

by | Nov 1, 2019 | Quartet/Quintet

From virtually the beginning of his career, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis achieved one of the main goals of all jazz musicians: to have his own sound. One can always identify “Jaws” within two or three notes. Was he a bop, swing, hard bop or early R&B improviser? Duke Ellington’s phrase of “beyond category” perfectly fit “Jaws” because his highly individual voice always stood apart from everyone else.

S’ Wonderful was recorded in Copenhagen, 1985 with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (TS), Niels Jorgen Steen (P), Jesper Lundgaard (b) and Ed Thigpin (d).

The Sidewinder

by | Oct 25, 2019 | Audio, Quartet/Quintet

The Sidewinder is a tune born in minutes, destined to last a lifetime!  It became one of the defining recordings of the soul jazz genre … a jazz standard that set the tone for an entirely new style of funky jazz that is a driving force even today.

The session was being recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s famous Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey studio.  Although the album was essentially finished, the musicians felt they needed one more song.  Lee Morgan suddenly disappeared into the washroom and emerged about twenty minutes later, passing around a sheet of music with notes on it that turned out to be Sidewinder!

That original date included Lee Morgan playing trumpet, Joe Henderson on sax, Barry Harris at the piano, Bob Crenshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins playing drums.  The album they recorded that day became Blue Note’s best-selling record ever, breaking the previous sales records roughly ten times over!  In addition to the original, two other compelling arrangements of the title tune are presented here by Gene Harris and The Turtle Island String Quartet.

The Sidewinder

by Lee Morgan | The Sidewinder

The Sidewinder

by Gene Harris | Brotherhood

The Sidewinder

by Turtle Island Quartet | Metropolis

String Along With Turtle Island

by | Oct 18, 2019 | Quartet/Quintet

The Turtle Island String Quartet is an unconventional musical ensemble which plays jazz standards and original compositions that cross several styles, including blues, classical, jazz, and world music. Violinist David Balakrishnan got the idea for a jazz string quartet in 1985.

As a child, David was inspired by Jimi Hendrix and later discovered jazz through the music of the David Grisman Quartet.  The group has performed with the likes of Billy Taylor, Manhattan Transfer, Modern Jazz Quartet, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and many others.  Since its founding, TIQ has had many members come and go, but their uniqueness, intensity and musical integrity has always remained.

Blue Rondo A La Turk is a jazz composition in 9/8 time written by Dave Brubeck. It first appeared on his classic Time Out album in 1959.  His choice of rhythm was inspired by the Turkish aksak time signatures.

Moment’s Notice, a John Coltrane composition, was recorded live in Brussels featuring David Balakrishnan playing violin, Mark Summer on cello,  Mateusz Smoczynski also on violin and Benjamin von Gutzeit on viola.

Blues On Sunday / Let It Be – Joshua Redman

by | Oct 5, 2019 | Quartet/Quintet

Blues On Sunday was recorded at the Philharmonic Hall in Munich during the Munich Piano Summer 1994.  Joshua Redman is on saxophone, Brad Mehldau at the piano, Christian McBride on bass and Brian Blade plays drums.

The 1970 Beatles tune Let It Be was performed by the Joshua Redman Quartet in 2013 at Jazz In Marciac.  It features Joshua Redman, saxophone; Aaron Goldberg, piano; Reuben Rogers, contrabass; and Gregory Hutchinson, drums.

Everyday I Have The Blues – Jimmy McGriff

by | Jul 12, 2019 | Quartet/Quintet

Everyday I Have The Blues is a blues song that has been recorded in a variety of styles over the years, with the two most familiar versions by the Count Basie Orchestra and B.B. King.  The McGriff/Crawford arrangement brings it back from a big band setting to it’s funkier roots, opening up with Jimmy uncharacteristically playing piano, along with the more familiar Hammond that is featured throughout.

The tune was recorded in San Diego California in 1989 with Jimmy at the organ, Hank Crawford on alto sax, Bob DeVos on guitar and Jimmy Smith at the drums. You can hear the B.B. King and Basie [with Joe Williams] recordings just below the video.

Everyday I Have The Blues

by B.B. King

Everyday I Have The Blues

by Count Basie/Joe Williams

The Trumpet of Blue Mitchell

by | May 24, 2019 | Quartet/Quintet

Blue Mitchell was the complete trumpet player, with a direct, lightly swinging sound that fit right in with Blue Note records’ musical mindset of the 1960s. That sound comes through loud and clear on “Hi-Heel Sneakers” as he is joined by Junior Cook on tenor sax, Chick Corea piano, Gene Taylor on bass and Al Foster playing drums.

Hi-Heel Sneakers

by Blue Mitchell | Down With It

Mitchell often tends to be overlooked today, perhaps because he spent most of his career as a much sought after side man. Given that he led his own group for only a short period of time, he never really had the chance to stand out in the public eye, despite his considerable talent. Listening to “Park Avenue Petite” it’s easy to hear where he got the nickname “Blue”. Here he’s joined by Wynton Kelly at the piano, Sam Jones on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums.

Park Avenue Petite

by Blue Mitchell | Blue Soul