Sharky’s Machine

by | Jun 14, 2020 | Soundtrack, Video

Sharky’s Machine is a brutal, hard-boiled crime drama starring Burt Reynolds as a burned-out Atlanta cop transferred to the absolute slime hole of Atlanta’s vice department, after a drug deal turns sour.  It’s a very different role for Reynolds from the more lovable, buffoonish roles we have come to know.  The soundtrack that drives the movie is superb, featuring Randy Crawford, Manhattan Transfer, The Crusaders, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Chet Baker, Peggy Lee and more!

In the top video I’ve combined the opening title sequence for the movie (1981) with a live performance of Street Life, by singer Randy Crawford and The Crusaders in 2003 at Montreux … including founder Joe Sample on piano and Ray Parker, Jr. on guitar.  This is followed by two tunes from the soundtrack album, 8 To 5 I Lose by Joe Wiliams and My Funny Valentine by the very sultry Julie London.  Topping things off is The Manhattan Transfer with, arguably, the most outstanding version they’ve recorded of Route 66.  So, take a listen and get your kicks!

8 To 5 I lose

by Joe Williams | Soundtrack From Sharky's Machine

My Funny Valentine

by Julie London | Soundtrack From Sharky's Machine

D-Day – Danny Boy

by | Jun 5, 2020 | Big Band, Video

On June 6th 1944, 76 years ago, a bunch of mostly American and Brit kids saved the world from Nazism and preserved the freedom we, now, seem so ready to relinquish. Danny Boy seemed the right mood and Glenn Miller the right orchestra for a salute to all those heroic members of The Greatest Generation who so willingly made the ultimate sacrifice for liberty and justice for all.

A Frank, Bing and Kenny Christmas

by | Dec 20, 2019 | Orchestral, Vocal

It’s classic upon classic!  First, Kenny G. takes a walk down memory lane with scenes from classic Christmas movies and his lush arrangement of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.  Then a classic clip from the 1967 Bing Crosby television special featuring a duet of White Christmas with Frank Sinatra, as the magic of the holiday season unfolds.

After that, the only thing left to say is MERRY CHRISTMAS!  I wish you and yours Christmas rainbows all through the new year!

The Fabulous Baker Boys

by | Dec 6, 2019 | Solo/Duo, Vocal

The Fabulous Baker Boys is a movie about two guys and a girl, that play against one incredible jazz-based soundtrack!  Toss in some sibling rivalry and you have a motion picture that feels good no matter how many times you see it.

Michelle Pfeiffer does all of her own singing … and is quite a nice surprise, considering we previously only knew her as a most enjoyable actress.   Jeff and Beau Bridges play some of their own piano, although Dave Grusin does most of the keyboard work with the Bridges brothers very convincingly miming it.

Music flows from one end of the story to the other and the plot is a sound one, especially if you happen to have grown up with an obverse brother or sister … or just had a really close best friend.  Here’s a small sample.

Mary Lou Williams – Pianist’s Pianist

by | Aug 16, 2019 | Solo/Duo, Trio

Mary Lou Williams was one of the few female jazz pianists to achieve fame during the middle of the 20th Century.  She was also a much sought after composer, arranger and mentor. Mary Lou wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and LP versions). Williams wrote and arranged for such bandleaders as Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Three of her compositions were scored for a Carnegie Hall concert played by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1946!

The top video, Willow Weep For Me, is a popular 1932 standard from The Mary Lou Williams Collection 1927-59 and features her trio. The bottom two offerings, The Man I Love (1978) on the left and Mary Lou Plays Some Blues (1980) on the right are live solo performances recorded toward the end of her fabulous career..

WNEW Radio – A New York Institution

by | Jul 5, 2019 | Lighter Side, Stuff

Once upon a time there was a Pop-Jazz radio station in New York City.  It was the station that invented the music and news format as well as the very concept of “DJ” personalities.  This iconic station was called WNEW-AM.  During its 58 year history it developed a nearly cult-like following, becoming the radio home for millions of listeners, entertaining them with air talent that were the very essence of class and decorum … personalities who redefined the image of what a Disc Jockey was supposed to be.

I wish I could say that legacy WNEW went on to live happily ever after, but in 1992 the music died.  The station jingles below were only some that were used on a regular basis between 1958 and 1966 to reinforce the station sound.

Metropolitan Radio Jingle

In the style of Count Basie

In the style of Dave Brubeck

In the style of Charlie Barnet

In the style of Erroll Garner

In the style of Stan Kenton

Some Smooth Jazz

by | Apr 26, 2019 | Smooth Jazz

While the Mark of Jazz usually features more traditional jazz, I believe it is important to understand as many aspects of the genre as possible, and, after all, by any other name good music is still good music!.  Smooth jazz is one of the more recent iterations of the idiom and is represented most ably by award winning composer, producer, music publisher Dimitri K. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Dimitri has written more than 250 songs which can be heard on over 300 radio stations on five continents!  His recorded music is part of the Golden Music Library of the National Radio in Sofia.  His use of instruments not often found in jazz provides a unique musical experience.

Even though he plays violin, as well as some guitar and piano himself, Dimitri prefers to use only top flight soloists when recording his music.  “I Saw Her” features  Alvin L. Guile’s on piano and Jamie Strefeler on oboe; “You’ve Got Me” spotlights Harry Hall playing sax and John Valeri with the guitar; finally, on “A Day In Paris”  we have Konstantin Dimitrov with the violin, Rob Mullins on piano and John Valeri playing guitar.

You've Got Me

by Dimitri K. | Slim Profile

A Day In Paris

by Dimitri K. | 7/8

Makin’ Whoopee – Dr. John & Ricki Lee Jones

by | Apr 12, 2019 | Video, Vocal

Combine some blues with pop, add a dash of jazz, stir in a bit of boogie woogie with a smattering of rock and roll — not to mention the occasional touch of Louisiana voodoo — and you have the recipe for Dr. John!  His music is a perfect example of the influence and integration of jazz with other musical styles, or the other way around if you like.  Serve up Ricki Lee Jones as a delicious side dish to provide the Good Doctor with a gentle counterpoint, and it is impossible to keep your feet still whether you usually prefer Led Zeppelin or Miles Davis!

Five Faces Of Harlem Nocturne

by | Mar 22, 2019 | Big Band, Orchestral

Harlem Nocturne was written in 1939 by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers for the Ray Noble Orchestra, of which they were members at the time.  It quickly became a jazz standard and has since been recorded by nearly 100 artists!  Here are just 5 different versions, including the very first recording of the tune on Columbia Records by Ray Noble.  Then there was a recording by The Viscounts that ran up the Billboard charts, not once but twice … in 1959 and again in1966.  Lyrics were eventually added and in 1963 Mel Torme painted a lonely picture of nighttime in New York.  While many of the others smack of a certain “stripperesque” quality, the fourth arrangement imparts a certain elegance we’ve learned to expect from Duke Ellington.  Finally, a treatment of Harlem Nocturne by Illinois Jacquet that makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand at full attention!

Harlem Nocturne

by The Viscounts | Harlem Nocturne

Harlem Nocturne

by Mel Torme | Songs Of New York

Harlem Nocturne

by Duke Ellington | Blues

Harlem Nocturne

by Illinois Jacquet | Swing's The Thing

Auld Lang Syne – Frank, Dean & Friends

by | Dec 29, 2018 | Lighter Side, Vocal

On New Years Eve everybody sings this tune but most people don’t know what it means.  Actually, it’s an old Scottish folk song and the phrase “Auld Lang Syne” roughly translates to “Times gone by”.  While no one seems to know who wrote it,  a Scotsman named Robert Burns was the first to put it on paper and so is most frequently credited with its composition.  Meanwhile Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and a few friends use it here to help us welcome in 2019 with this compilation of TV and movie scenes … and extend my wishes to you  for a very HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!