Baroque Jazz – Claude Bolling & Jean-Pierre Rampal

by | Jul 27, 2018 | Quartet/Quintet

On my “What About Dat?” page, I talk about the development of jazz and its shared influences with other types of music.  Pianist Claude Bolling and flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal provide classic — or should I say classical — examples of just such a blending of genres in these two ‘grab your socks’ pieces.  Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano was Rampal’s first non-classical recording, although he had been an avid jazz enthusiast for years. The two friends’ intricate performances raised a few eyebrows at CBS records at first, but the result was a popular album with universal appeal.

Baroque and Blue

by C. Bolling & J.P. Rampal | Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano

Fugace

by C. Bolling & J.P. Rampal | Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano

Blues Walk – Lou Donaldson

by | Jul 13, 2018 | Quartet/Quintet

Blues Walk, from the album of the same name, is a Lou Donaldson original recorded at Town Hall in New York City on February 22, 1985. It features Lou Donaldson on alto sax, Jimmy Smith on the Hammond B-3, Kenny Burrell playing guitar, and Grady Tate on Drums.

Joy Spring / Laura – Clifford Brown

by | Jun 29, 2018 | Orchestral, Quartet/Quintet

Clifford Brown, also known as “Brownie”, is often regarded as the finest jazz trumpet player to ever perform on the American music scene. Certainly he is the benchmark against whom all others are judged.  Brownie died tragically at the age of 25 in a car accident on a rainy night in Pennsylvania, leaving behind a recorded legacy that spans a mere four years. He profoundly influenced later jazz trumpeters including Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, and the great Lee Morgan.  He was also a composer of note, with two of his compositions, “Joy Spring” and “Daahoud” becoming jazz standards.

Joy Spring

by Clifford Brown | Jazz Immortal

Laura

by Clifford Brown | Brown With Strings

From Warsaw To Saratoga – Stéphane Grappelli

by | Apr 27, 2018 | Quartet/Quintet

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).

Carmen McRae, Count Basie & Dizzy Gillespie – Rare Birds

by | Mar 30, 2018 | Vocal

This performance of Bye Bye Blackbird is a rare appearance of Carmen McRae with the Count Basie Orchestra.  It’s from a Japanese broadcast in 1974 and Carmen was in her prime.  Well, if you care to figure out which prime that was!

It’s Carmen McRae and Dizzy Gillespie live in concert … two jazz legends performing one classic standard. Dizzy’s gentle backing is second only to Carmen’s incredible phrasing of The End Of A Beautiful Friendship!  Like fine wine, she just got better with age as her voice mellowed.

Terry Gibbs – Now And Then

by | Mar 16, 2018 | Quartet/Quintet

At age 91 Terry Gibbs has a few friends over to jam in the living room of his home, Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea.  Lucky neighbors!

Back in 1987 Terry’s vibes and Buddy DeFranco’s clarinet take some Giant Steps, with John Campbell on piano, Todd Coolman on bass, and Gerry Gibbs playing drums.

The Flying Scotsman / Wallflower – Gerry Mulligan

by | Jan 26, 2018 | Quartet/Quintet, Video

Brilliant performance of The Flying Scotsman at the 1990 International Jazz Festival in Bern Switzerland … featuring Gerry Mulligan (bs), Bill Charlap (p), Dean Johnson (b) and David Ratajczak (d).

Gerry Mulligan is at his soulful best as the quartet performs Wallflower at the 1990 Jazz Festival in Bern. The first festival took place in 1976 and has been thrilling fans with world class jazz every spring since.

The Summer – Salut Salon

by | Nov 17, 2017 | Lighter Side, Quartet/Quintet

Competitive Foursome

While this is technically chamber music, they do blow some jazz … and anyone who has even a glimmer of musical savvy will appreciate their performance.  The Salut Salon Quartet, from Hamburg Germany, is comprised of Angelika Bachmann (violin), Iris Siegfried (violin), Anne-Monika von Twardowski (piano) and Sonja Lena Schmid (cello). They have been called “the Harlem Globetrotters of string quartets.”  Here, “The Summer” composed by Antonio Vivaldi, becomes the stage for a musical competition with a special sense of humor and musical dexterity!  

Skylark – Dianne Reeves

by | Nov 3, 2017 | Vocal

Dianne Reeves was born into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle was a bassist and her cousin is George Duke.  Although she was born in Detroit, she was raised in Denver … and in 1971, Dianne started singing and playing piano. She signed with Blue Note Records in 1987, staying with the label until 2009 when she moved over to Concord.  Performance here is at the JazzBaltica Jazz Festival in 2004.