Chet Baker and Paul Desmond are not a pairing you hear everyday, which is why I wanted to share them here even though the audio-video synchronization seems a bit off. The addition of Bob James on keyboards, Ron Carter playing contrabass and Steve Gadd’s drums round out a combo with a sound that swirls the Autumn leaves to new heights … and is irresistible if your toes or fingers tend to tap!
Whether playing jazz, pop or R&B, flutist Hubert Laws possesses a distinctive, instantly recognizable sound. While he swings with the best of them, his classical roots are evident throughout his music. Laws’ contributions to the Count Basie Big Band, Gil Evans Orchestra and The Crusaders, as well as his own highly successful jazz ensembles, notably place him in the company of the most recognized and respected flutists in the history of jazz,
“Land Of Passion”, a Hubert Laws original, features Hubert on flute, David Budway, piano, Rob Mullins, keyboards, John Leftwich, bass, and Ralph Penland, on drums.
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.
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.
Miles Davis and his band recorded Mr. Pastorius on October 18, 1989 at Chelsea Studios in New York City. The tune was written by Marcus Miller as a tribute to bassist Jaco Pastorius and features Miles on trumpet, Marcus Miller on bass, Kenny Garret playing alto sax, Ricky Wellman drums and Adam Holzman on Keyboards.
Eighty-One is from the 1965 Miles Davis album E.S.P. Call it hard bop, post bop or modal jazz … by any other name, it still features the solid sound of Miles’ trumpet and some of the top musicians in jazz. Wayne Shorter plays tenor, Herbie Hancock is at the piano, Ron Carter is on double bass and Tony Williams plays drums. It was recorded during one of my favorite periods of Davis’ several evolutions.
Three weeks ago, I posted Five Faces of Harlem Nocturne and had several inquiries as to why I left out the original 1955 hit recording by Sam “The Man” Taylor. Sam was a jazz and blues player who set the standard for tenor sax solos in both rock ‘n roll and rhythm and blues … and became one of the most requested session sax players in New York during the 1950s. Since I’ve always considered this to be the definitive version in the first place, I have no excuse. None whatsoever. Here to bail me out is Sam “The Man” with The Sixth Face of Harlem Nocturne.
Sunny Side of the Street is an easy, swinging piece recorded in Belgium in 1958, as were all three selections. After solos by Sonny Stitt and Dizzy Gillespie, they cap it with a rare vocal duet … in fact, this may be a first!
Lover Man [Oh Where Can You Be] has become a standard. Laid back and mellow, Sonny’s solo on this one shows why his playing has frequently been compared with Charlie Parker.
Blues Walk is an uptempo tune that seems to completely absorb Stitt. Everyone is clearly having fun here … watch, particularly, the drummer’s face as Sonny soars and Dizzy patiently waits his turn!
John Coltrane and Stan Getz together is a rare find … especially when performing with a who’s who on the other instruments. Recorded in Germany in 1960, here is just such a combo with Oscar Peterson on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb rounding out the rhythm section on drums. The tune Hackensack is a Thelonious Monk composition, as if you couldn’t tell from the note structure.
Here’s some rare footage of 3 of the top jazz guitarists of all time, Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel and Grant Green. The videos were recorded in 1969 for a French TV show that never aired … along with Burrell, Kessel and Green, are Larry Ridley on bass and Don Lamond on drums. The video TO THE RIGHT features all 3 guitarists with an easy swinging tune of “Rhythm Changes”.
BELOW on the upper left all 3 men again collaborate on the familiar blues theme “Blue Mist”. Although the performance is incomplete, I included it because of some great guitar licks that’ll make you glad you have ears! Upper right Kenny steps forward with “Imagination.” Lower left offers Barney with “I’m Glad There Is You”, while at the lower right Grant dazzles with his virtuosity on “I Wish You Love.”
It’s always a beautiful day in this neighborhood when Wynton Marsalis is in town. A young Wynton lends his trumpet to the mix as he joins the great jazz pianist Johnny Costa, guitarist Joe Negri and drummer Bobby Rawsthone for a memorable rendition of a Mister Rogers classic tune, “Its You I Like,” plus a straight ahead trumpet rendition of “Blue Monk”. Few people realize that Fred Rogers was a hard core jazz buff, composer and actually played the drums quite well!
Henry Jones Jr.(You probably know him as Hank) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer. He has been described by critics and musicians alike as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. Hank recorded more than 60 albums under his own name and countless others as a sideman. Few realize that he was the pianist on May 19, 1962 who played as actress Marilyn Monroe sang her famous “Happy Birthday, Mr. President“ song to President John F. Kennedy.
At the Tokyo Jazz Festival in 2006, he featured fantastic live performances of both old and new stars, including Sadao Watanabe, Chick Corea, Hiromi Uehara, and Austin Peralta, who joined Hank’s trio in a ‘perfect storm’ of past, present and potential future legends of jazz.
On Some Day My Prince Will Come, The Hank Jones Trio consists of John Patitucci on bass and Omar Hakim on drums, with Hank, of course, coaxing the warmth of the piano’s tones from the keyboard.
The addition of Hiromi Uehara, Austin Peralta, Chick Corea and Sadao Watanabe provides a new dimension to Blue Monk, one of Thelonious Monk’s most popular and enduring tunes.
To join our Mark Of Jazz Facebook discussion group.
For more posts and to leave comments on Twitter.
As well as follow and download the Jazz Scene Podcast on iTunes, too!