The Golden Striker is a tune by John Lewis of MJQ. This arrangement has Ron Carter on double bass, Mulgrew Miller on piano and Bobby Broom playing guitar. The trio was recorded at Jazz Sous Les Pommiers in Caen France, June 3, 2011..
Want to hear an amazing bass line? Here’s My Funny Valentine with Ron Carter performing the jaw-dropping bass chores, Art Farmer guesting on trumpet, Billy Higgins on drums and Cedar Walton playing piano at Sweet Basil in 1990.
When you say the word “piano” you might as well say “Bill Evans” because they are one in the same. The only criticism I’ve heard of Bill is that he didn’t have “chops” … obviously uttered by someone who hadn’t heard Someday My Prince Will Come.
Forming the trio on Waltz For Debby, as well as on ‘Prince’ is Bill Evans playing piano, Larry Bunker on drums and Chuck Israels on bass. Waltz for Debby is one of those tunes almost as closely associated with Evans as the word “piano’!
As one of the unsung heroes of the tenor sax, Houston Person’s role in life seems to be as a show stopper and spotlight stealer, whether performing live or recorded. Eric’s Gale is one of those occasions. His silk and cement style added to the likes of Lonnie Smith on organ, Ron Carter at the bass and Grady Tate on drums makes you want to say “Wow!” and play it again, just to make sure Houston really did that.
Moonlight In Vermont is a standard but Houston Person‘s incredible solo is anything but! It may be Joey’s album but, that evening, Person was once again a thief in the night. In 1993 at The Five Spot Cafe in New York, he joined Joey DeFrancesco at the organ, Paul Bollenback with his guitar and Byron “Wookie” Landham playing drums to make a statement that teases legendary status. Personally, I’ve always liked what Houston has had to say.
Bud Powell once performed an entire set using only his left hand, after being criticized for relying too much on his right. In tribute to Bud’s influence, Phineas Newborn performs “Blues For The Left Hand Only”.
“The New Blues” is a laid back blues number also featuring Newborn’s trio, with Al McKibbon on bass and Kenny Dennis playing drums. Both videos are from the 1962 Jazz Scene TV series, with Oscar Brown, Jr.
In 1972 two stars collided to make wonderful music together! Of course, they didn’t do it alone. The great Ben Webster on tenor and the incomparable Oscar Peterson playing piano were joined in Hannover, Germany by Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen (Aka The Great Dane with the Never-Ending Name) with his bass, and Tony Inzalaco on drums. Here is just a sample of the results. It’s called Poutin’ … but it left the crowd smilin’ and wanting more.
On March 2nd 2000, The Billy Taylor Trio played this soulful but swinging arrangement of “Body and Soul” live at the Manchester Craftsman’s Guild in Pittsurgh, Pennsylvania. Featured on piano was the great Dr. Billy Taylor, Chip Jackson was on bass and the amazing Winard Harper played drums. Dr. Taylor became the most prominent spokesman for the virtues of jazz and was the first to describe it as “America’s Classical Music”.
Late Lament has become something of a standard that was first popularized by Paul Desmond. The Jarret rendition isn’t quite as mellow as Desmond’s and features the gold standard of trios, with each member in clear communication with the other. Keith Jarret is probably the most ‘athletic’ piano player ever to caress a keyboard. He gets a real workout with Rider, which also features Gary Peacock on bass and Jack Dejohnette on drums. Sometimes I wonder how Keith can make so many moves and still maintain contact with the piano!
Blues in B-Flat was recorded by The Barry Harris Trio live at Dizzy’s in New York, during June of 2017. At the age of 90 he is still going strong both performing and teaching. When he is not on the road, Harris holds weekly music workshop sessions in New York City for vocalists, students of piano and other instruments. Alongside Barry in the trio are bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Leroy Williams.
Squatty Roo was recorded in 2002 at the Bern Jazz Festival by the Ray Brown Trio. It’s a kicky little tune written by Johnny Hodges, with Ray of course on bass, Larry Fuller at the piano and Karriem Riggins playing drums.
Five O’Clock Whistle is an exercise in “lyrical bassism” (My term, not theirs). John Clayton joins Ray Brown in a duo setting that will have you wide-eyed and keen-eared from beginning to end. This is something you just never hear … but here it is!
Tin Tin Deo was written by Gil Fuller and Chano Pozo … first recorded by James Moody and His Bop Men. The song has become a jazz standard but I’ve often wondered, “What does it mean?” It could be an eggcorn of “te entiendo” which is Spanish for “I understand you.” Granted, that may be a bit of a stretch but lots of old jazz men named their songs based on what they heard rather than what may have been grammatically correct. It’s no farther out than Charles Mingus’ “Ecclusiastics” or Miles Davis’ “Solar” which many people pronounce so-LAR instead of soler. This recording features Tommy Flanagan on piano, George Mraz on bass and Lewis Nash drums.
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