Memphis doesn’t get enough props for producing high quality jazz musicians, but there have been more than few. Players like Harold Mabern, Booker Little, and George Coleman all hailed from one of the greatest of all R&B and Rock & Roll cities. Another player who seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle is saxophonist Frank Strozier. Check recordings by the Modern Jazz Quartet, Miles Davis, Roy Haynes, and Chet Baker and you’ll see his credits.

Fifty years ago, fresh from the MJQ dates, he recorded for the Vee-Jay label, setting up two sessions, one in New York City, the other in Chicago. The first of those took place on December 9, and included Miles Davis’ rhythm section of Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) backing Strozier (alto sax) and Booker Little (trumpet). Click here to listen to a Strozier original composition, “Runnin’”

This is one of those recordings that make me ask how it is I’ve never come across it before.  Strozier released 5 albums between 1960 and 1962, and then fundamentally disappeared until the early Seventies. He reappeared in New York with the New York Jazz Repertory Company and on sessions with Horace Parlan, but never received the acclaim that was his due.

If it's classic jazz vocals and swinging that your crave for your Christmas party, then you've got to get your hands on Capital Records' "Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails" series of CDs. Over three CDs, you get certified classics like June Christy's "The Merriest", Stan Kenton's "What is a Santa Claus?", Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song" and a pair of Nancy Wilson gems, "The Christmas Waltz" and "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?".

The Hot Sauce Lounge is one of my favorite spots on the internet to go for great jazz and top selections from other genres. They've got the three volumes up for the taking, so hurry on over!

This has been an exceptionally good year for books about jazz, so if you have a fan on your list (hint, hint, honey!) think seriously about grabbing one of these titles:

Ellington Uptown: Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, and the Birth of Concert Jazz by John Howland. The writing is a bit studious for the casual fan, but it tells a fascinating story of a time when jazz was on jukeboxes, the pop charts, and in the concert halls.

Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout. The critic and bassist has written what may be the definitive tome on the most important jazz musician of the Twenties and Thirties, tracing his life from brutal poverty in New Orleans to his trailblazing playing and singing to becoming on of the great good-will ambassadors of the world.

But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz by Geoff Dyer. Dyer co-wrote the Ken Burns series on jazz, and here he mixes fact and fiction is covering key moments in the lives of jazz musicans like Chet Baker, Lester Young and Duke Ellington.

Jazz by Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux. Giddins is my favorite critic and writer about jazz, and in collaboration with historian DeVeaux he tries - and succeeds - in covering the sweeping history of the music, from New Orleans backstreets to Smooth Jazz on the radio. Don't miss the mult-CD companion set for the book as well.

The Jazz Ear: Conversations over Music by Ben Ratliff. My second-favorite critic and writer about jazz collects conversations he had with contemporary jazz greats about what makes the music they love so great.

Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life by Wynton Marsalis. Marsalis mixes biography, criticism and philosophy in what has been called "a master class on jazz and life". If you think he's pompous in the press, you might want to skip this one.

The Ghosts of Harlem: Sessions with Jazz Legends by Hank O'Neal. As much a history of uptown New York as it is of the musicians who made it their home and musical stimping grounds.

From Jazz Funk & Fusion To Acid Jazz: The History Of The UK Jazz Dance Scene by Mark Cotgrove. Mark "Snowboy" Cotgrove takes you on a tour of the history of the British jazz scene, concentrating on the sounds that became the "acid jazz scene" of the seventies and eighties.

My friend Mary Lou sent me this link, which must be shared with all:

A pair of Johns Hopkins and government scientists have discovered that when jazz musicians improvise, their brains turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition, and turn on those that let self-expression flow.

The joint research, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, and musician volunteers from the Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute, sheds light on the creative improvisation that artists and non-artists use in everyday life, the investigators say.

It appears, they conclude, that jazz musicians create their unique improvised riffs by turning off inhibition and turning up creativity.

The scientists from the University’s School of Medicine and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders describe their curiosity about the possible neurological underpinnings of  the almost trance-like state jazz artists enter during spontaneous improvisation.

“When jazz musicians improvise, they often play with eyes closed in a distinctive, personal style that transcends traditional rules of melody and rhythm,” says Charles J. Limb, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a trained jazz saxophonist himself. “It’s a remarkable frame of mind,” he adds, “during which, all of a sudden, the musician is generating music that has never been heard, thought, practiced or played before. What comes out is completely spontaneous.”

Though many recent studies have focused on understanding what parts of a person’s brain are active when listening to music, Limb says few have delved into brain activity while music is being spontaneously composed.

 

Read the full article at Science Daily.

We all have much to be thankful for today, and so let us begin the day by sharing the sentiment of this song, written by Irving Berlin and sung by Erin Bode, the Official Song of Thanksgiving Day:

When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

 

Twenty-four hours to go before the big Thanksgiving feast! What would go better with some turkey than some "Giblet Gravy" courtesy of George Benson.

Those who only know Benson from his smooth jazz or Top 40 recordings don't realize that he was one of the funkiest and fastest guitar slingers in his early days. Here he plays with a team of top notch musicians in 1968 sessions, including Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Certer (bass), Pepper Adams (sax) and Billy Cobham (drums). It's worth noting that three of the four - and Benson as well - are all Miles Davis Alumni.

Click here for a tune well suited to those last minute preparations around the ktichen. Cue it up and let the gravy fly!

 

 

How’s this for a swinging session? Fifty years ago today, Dizzy Reece (trumpet) Hank Mobley (tenor sax) Wynton Kelly (piano) Paul Chambers (bass) and Art Taylor (drums) cut six tracks at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in New Jersey that would make up the album Star Bright.  All of the players were band leaders in their own right, and Chambers and Kelly had played instrumental roles (pardon the pun) on Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue earlier in the year. Click here to listen to the 22^nd take of the day, the aptly titled Reece composition called “Groovesville”.

Born in Jamaica in 1931, Reece spent much of the Fifties in Europe, recording with English musicians and never really getting much buzz in the States. He moved to New York in 1959, fresh from playing with Donald Byrd and cut the first of four well-received albums for Blue Note. A true hard bop trumpeter, he never became as well-known as peers like Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, and recorded few sessions as a bandleader after 1962. Check out the terrific Mosaic Select collection of Reece’s Blue Note recordings to get a feel for how talented he really was.

I couldn’t let the 40^th anniversary of “Sesame Street” go by without dropping in a list of famous jazz musicans who have swung through the block during the venerable show’s time on PBS:

 

Ray Barretto: Appeared in the mid-‘70s to explain Latin rhythm.
Tony Bennett: Taped an appearance in '95 singing a remake of "Little Things" with Lexine.
George Benson: Made several appearances in the early ‘80s, performing "A Friend for All Seasons" (with Olivia), "The Greatest Love of All" and "The Alphabet Song."
Cab Calloway: Appeared in several clips that debuted in '81 including "Hi-De-Ho Man" with the Two Headed Monster and “I Want to Count" with The Count.
Herbie Hancock: Made an appearance in the ‘80s in which Maria and the kids visit him in the studio. The segment closes with a rendition of the "Sesame Street Theme" as played by Hancock.
Diana Krall: Performed "Everybody's Song" with Elmo and a group of Muppets in '01.
Branford Marsalis: Appeared in the role of Forrest Wimbledon, a jazz musician who plays at Birdland with Hoots the Owl.
Wynton Marsalis: Appeared multiple times in the ‘80s. In one segment, Hoots gets into a musician's duel with Marsalis; in another, Marsalis performs at Birdland with Duck Ellington and the Sesame Street All-Animal Jazz Ensemble
Tito Puente: Guest starred in ’93 in multiple segments, including one in which his dance music eventually wins over Oscar the Grouch. Years later, he was parodied as Tito, the world's greatest timbale-playing bat.
Diane Schuur: Appeared in '96 singing “From Your Head" with Elmo.

One of the greatest jazz appearances – a Buddy Rich versus Animal drum duel – did not appear on “Sesame Street”, but on “The Muppet Show”, making it ineligible for inclusion.

For me, the best musical moment came when Hoots the Owl schooled Ernie on what it takes to play the saxophone. Click here and enjoy the video of “Put Down the Duckie”. How many celebrities can YOU name making cameos in the clip?

Old friend (and bass master) David Chevan dropped me an email this week to remind me of another major project making its premiere this weekend:

This coming Saturday and Monday, The Afro-Semitic Experience
will be premiering our new work, "The Road That Heals the Splintered Soul" in Hartford and Kalamazoo.  This extended work was composed by the group over the past year and a half.  We have been rehearsing, revising and getting things ready and we are very excited about these two  premieres.  I think this is some of the most energetic, melodic, fun, and simultaneously spiritual and contemplative music we have ever created—but I leave that for you to judge.  I do know that the process has made us tighter as a band—musically and spiritually. 

As a bonus for his friends and fans, David has given us an mp3 of a track not included on the CD, which can now be ordered from Amazon. Click here to listen to "Heaven's Gate", and prepare for another exciting and moving release from an unjustly underrated band.

In case you haven't read the New York Times story today, Wolfgang's Vault, the wonderful online resource for concerts recorded during or by Bill Graham's staff and consultants, has begun streaming music from the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival. Performances available so far include sets by Count Basie, singer Dakota Staton and Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, featuring Lee Morgan.

More is to come soon, as are famous performances like Miles Davis' legendary set at Tanglewood in 1970 when he shared a bill with Santana.

Visit early and often to listen to these unearthed gems.

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers were in a state of flux in late 1959. Bobby Timoons, the piano player who wrote the iconic "Moanin'" for their 1958 release had left the band to go on the road with Cannonball Adderly. Benny Golson was also gone, after having contributed "Along Came Betty" to the Moanin' album. Replacing him was the 25 year old Wayne Shorter, who had been making a name for himself in Maynard Fergusons band.

Blakey brought Shorter, trumpeters Lee Morgan and Dizzy Reece and bassist Jymie Merritt to Rudy Van Gelder Studio, in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, fifty years ago today. Behind the ivories was Walter David, Jr. who was fresh from a truimph in Donald Byrd's group in a series of shows in France.

Davis stayed only briefly with the Jazz Messengers, replaced by Timmons and Cedar Walton through the mid-sixties glory days of the band. Davis woudl retire briefly during this time to work as a tailor, before returning for a series of albums with Sonny Rollins in the 1970's.

Click here to listen to the title track of the album, "Africaine". That's Reece playing congas on the track, working clsoely with the indominatble Blakey as a pair of percussionists.

Since his debut in the late 1980’s, Kurt Rosenwinkel has emerged as one of the finest jazz composers and soloists of the day. Rosenwinkel’s recorded music has gone from standards and bop-influenced stylings to eletronica touched with hip-hop influences over his almost fifteen year career as a leader. His latest release finds him returning to classic tunes in a trio setting for the first time in a decade.

Born in Philadelphia, Rosenwinkel dropped out of Berklee in 1990 to join vibraphonist Gary Burton’s band, following in the footsteps of guitar gods like Larry Coryell, Pat Metheny and John Scofield. Tenure as a sideman for drummer Paul Motian allowed him to further develop his unique guitar style, which merges a sustained, legato sound with a full, deep tone.

It was his time playing at Small’s, a Greenwich Village nightclub that was a veritable incubator for jazz talent in the 1990’s that propelled him to a greater following. There Rosenwinkel played (and later recorded) with artists who are now recognized as the very best at their craft, including pianist Brad Mehldau, drummers Brian Blade and Jorge Rossy, saxophonist Joshua Redman, organists Sam Yahel and Larry Goldings, bassists Larry Grenadier and Avishai Cohen, and especially saxophonist Mark Turner, with whom he has had a long collaborative relationship.

Joining Rosenwinkel on tour for hte album will be Eric Revis (Branford Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo)  on bass and Rodney Green (Diana Krall, Greg Osby) on drums. Revis and drummer Eric Harland recorded Kurt Rosenwinkel Standards Trio Vol. 1: Reflections with him in New York over three days in June. That album, overdue at this point, will be mostly classic ballads like “You Go to My Head” and “More Than You’ll Know” and compositions by jazz legends like Thelonious Monk.

Reflections will appear on the wommusic imprint, an extension of the partnership between Rosenwinkel and his manager, Anders Chan-Tidemann. Rosenwinkel has explored a number of innovative ways to get his recorded music to the public. Selling primarily through digital portals like his website, iTunes and eMusic, he emphasizes forging direct relationships with his fans. This process began successfully last year when his critically acclaimed double live CD “The Remedy” was released on the innovative Artistshare.   He has also recorded as a leader for traditional jazz labels like Criss Cross and Verve.

Rosenwinkel left New York behind in 2003 to serve as a professor at the Jazz Instute Berlin. He now lives in Switzerland with his wife and small child. His stated musical influences include Keith Jarrett’s “American Quartet” with Dewey Redman, Miles Davis’ Second Quintet with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, and Ornette Coleman’s 1962 Trio. Interestingly, none of these groups had guitar players.

Nancy and I are spending a wonderful weekend in Manhattan. We're going to see Leonard Cohen at Madison Square Garden, eat at some top restaurants, catch an exhibit at the Guggenheim, and see "A Steady Rain" on Broadway so she can drool over Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig.

Yes, the soundtrack would have to be "Autumn in New York".

The song was composed by Vernon Duke in 1934 for the Broadway musical "Thumbs Up!" which opened on December 27, 1934 and was sung by J. Harold Murray. It's become a jazz standard, with a  who's who of jazz greats recording it from time to time.

Click here to listen to Billie Holiday's version of the song, which for my money is the best. It comes from her Solitude album, which featured a backing band of Flip Phillips (tenor saxophone); Charlie Shavers (trumpet); Oscar Peterson (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Ray Brown (bass); and Alvin Stoller (drums).

I celebrate my 50th birthday last month, and my brother and sisters presentd me with an area of gifts that turned out to be items that first appeared in 1959. So, I got a cool Barbie Doll, some Jiffy Pop Popcorn, the first season of "The Twilight Zone" on DVD and a burned CD of songs that were on the pop charts at that time.

Music was a little less parochial in those days. The songs making up the top 25 were country, rock & roll, blues, R&B, easy listening, and some oddities in foreign languages. There were, of course, some jazz as well, and so I present the excitement of finding that Sassy herself, Miss Sarah Vaughn, was on the pop charts in the fall of 1959.

 "Broken Hearted Melody" , recorded with the Ray Ellis Orchestra, was her first gold record, and a staple of her concert set lists for years to come. Despite all this success, she allegedly didn't care much for the tune, calling it "corny".  It would be one of her last recordings for Mercury, as she signed with Roulette Records and became, over the next few years, one the label's biggest stars. Her 1960 sessions for Roulette included The Divine One, arranged by Jimmy Jones and a session with Count Basie Band featuring such talents as trumpeters Thad Jones and Joe Newman and saxophonists Frank Foster and Billy Mitchell.

The music was written by Sherman Edwards, and the lyrics by Hal David. David had been writing popular music lyrics since the 1940s for band leaders like Sammy Kaye and Guy Lombardo. In 1957 David met Burt Bacharach at Famous Music in the Brill Building in New York. and began a thirty year partnership, writing some of the most enduring songs in American popular music.

“Ready Freddie” Washington has a resume that would take most artists two lifetimes to accumulate. As a sideman, he’s held down the bass duties for a who’s who of  R&B (Commodores, Stevie Wonder, Isley Brothers), Rock (Elton John, Steely Dan, Leonard Cohen), Jazz (Ramsey Lewis, George Benson, Kirk Whalum), and everyone else in between, including artists as different as Barry Manilow and The Tubes.

 

It’s because he is so obviously in demand and held in high esteem by his peers that his solo CD, In the Moment, is so disappointing. Simply put, its smooth jazz that never shows any real spark, much less blazes with the kind of sounds Washington can lay down. 

Washington wrote or co-wrote almost all the tunes on the CD, which may account for some of the problems. His all-star guests, like Joe Sample, Patrice Rushen and Gerald Albright, have their talents wasted with bland material, and cluttered by unnecessary background vocals. 

Click here to listen to “Freddie’s Groove”, one of the few tracks that cooks with any real energy. Washington’s bass is out in front, popping and laying down the groove, while Ray Fuller (guitar) and Michael Paulo (sax) take hot solos. By the time the tune is fading out, the synthesized instruments have taken us to the funky place for which we had hoped. 

Maybe Washington needed to get this one off his chest after thirty years of being a stalwart part of other performer’s recordings. Let’s hope it won’t take that long for him to get his groove on with something more memorable.

Poncho Sanchez just turned 58, so he can be forgiven if he wants to spend some time reminiscing about his youth. Psychedelic Blues, his latest release, is a nostalgic look at some of his jazz influences and favorite songs while growing up in the Southwest. He reinterprets material written by John Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard, Horace Silver and others in a decidedly funky manner.

Sanchez, an ace conga player, works with his usual band mates here, including trumpeter Ron Blake. In an effort to shake things up a bit, he recruited Andrew Synowiec, the guitarist from the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band, an LA based group that plays everything from funk to big-band charts to bebop. 

Given the high level of the material here, and an ensemble that’s tight as can be, it’s no surprise that the CD is a winner. It’s impossible not to enjoy Sanchez’s tribute to Willie Bobo, a medley of three of the legendary percussionist’s songs, highlighted by a Santana-esque solo by Synowiec and vocals by Joey DeLeon. Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” is given a Latin shuffle beat and a tasty guitar solo that serve as a tip of the hat to El Chicano and Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers, great Latin stars who covered the song before Poncho. The title track was written by Sonny Henry, best known for “Evil Ways”, perhaps the penultimate Latin cross-over song of the Sixties.  

Click here to listen to “Slowly but Surely”, a John Hick composition recorded by Art Blakey in the mid-60’s. The percussion sets a deep groove and soon it’s the pulsating horns of saxophonist Javier Vergara, trumpeter Blake, and trombonist Francisco Torres that drive the song along. Blake’s solo is particularly memorable. 

There is no new ground broken here, but it hardly matters when the band is cooking like they are here. This is one to bring some heat into a cold October evening, a Mojito in hand.

Jackie McLean was approaching the top of his game when he went into Rudy Van Gelder Studio, in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, fifty years ago today. He was leading a quartet that day composed of McLean on alto sax, Walter Bishop Jr. on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Art Taylor on drums.

He had graduated from Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1957, and was a sought after sideman, working with Sonny Clark (the classic Cool Struttin'), Donald Byrd, Mal Waldron, and starring on Charles Mingus' seminal Blues and Roots, all over the previous 18 months. He was a rising star on Blue Note Records.

The October 20, 1959 sessions (whihc resulted in the album Swing, Swang, Swingin') featured jazz standards ("Stablemates") and standards, like "Let's Face the Music and Dance". Click here to listen to McLean's version of "What's New?", a ballad composed by Johnny Burke and Bob Haggart twenty years earlier. The song had been introduced by Bob Crosby and His Orchestra with vocalist Teddy Grace that year, rising to number ten on the pop charts. Bing Crosby would take it to number two the same year.

Four months later, McLean would enter the same studio with Freddie Redd to record the music most closely associated with the first part of his career, Music from "The Connection", an off-Broadway play which featured McLean playing and acting onstage.

Sidemen sometimes just don’t get their due. Plenty of the best jazz musicians in the world are constantly in demand by headliners for their recording sessions or concert tours, but to the average jazz fan, they labor in relative obscurity.  Luckily, every once in a while they get that chance to step out and draw some attention to themselves. Case in point – Mark Soskin, who shines on his latest release as a bandleader, the aptly entitled Man Behind the Curtain.

His list of credits as a sideman reads like a who’s who of jazz from the last forty years – Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Randy Brecker, Billy Cobham, Stanley Turrentine, Herbie Mann, John Abercrombie, and Gato Barbieri, just to name a handful. Soskin has a strong feel for Latin Jazz, having been an integral part of Azteca, a group in which Soskin's keyboard, writing, and arranging talents were showcased, and trumpeter Tom Harrell and percussionists Pete and Sheila Escovedo was the core. 

Soskin has spent 14 years with Sonny Rollins, and still found time to release seven CDs as a leader. The new CD is a top notch quartet session, featuring Ravi Coltrane on tenor and soprano sax, Siskin on piano, Jay Anderson on bass and Bill Stewart don drums. Five covers, including classics like “Heather On the Hill”, vie with three Soskin originals for the listener’s attention. All are exceptional performances. 

 

Click here to listen to “Little One”, the Soskin composition that ends the CD. His piano languidly begins over slow cymbals from Stewart, leading to a give and take between the two musicians. Coltrane enters a minute later, playing a gentle melody that is accented by the rhythm section with subtle but definite flourishes. Slowly Coltrane’s sax begins exploring new ground, and then Stewart’s cymbals signal a solo for Soskin, a greater part for bassist Anderson, and then a group resolution. All in all, a lovely ending to a notable album.

Ramsey Lewis hasn’t recorded in a true piano trio format for almost five years. Not that he hasn’t been busy, mind you. Instead, he has worked with vocalist Nancy Wilson (Meant to Be and Simple Pleasures), redone some of his hits with a supplemented group (Time Flies), recorded a terrific live gospel album (With One Voice), and dabbled in funk (Don’t It Feel Good). He also recorded with his smooth-jazz band Urban Knights, leaving after their fifth record was released in 2003.

Songs from the Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey marks a return to the instrumental format that made him a cross-over hit in the 1960’s. However, this music couldn’t be further from the R&B influenced sound of “The In Crowd” or “Wade in the Water”. Collaborating with his long-time sidemen Larry Gray (bass) and Leon Joyce (drums), the album marks the recorded debut of music Lewis composed for two collaborative concerts he played at the Ravinia Festival just outside of his hometown of Chicago. Eight of the pieces come from the score he wrote for the Joffrey Ballet Company, while the remainder was created for and performed with the Turtle Island Quartet in a concert entitled “Muses and Amusements”.

The CD is not an inconsiderable statement from Lewis, who many – this listener among them – saw treading water after a lengthy career of making exceptional music. Instead, this is trio music at its highest level. A band together this long works almost telepathically at their best moments. Listen to Joyce’s drum work near the end of “To Know Her is To Love Her”, or how he colors “Sharing Her Journey” with cymbals. Or how Gray works his bass in and around the others on “Touching, Feeling, Knowing”.

Lewis steps out alone on four tracks, most notably the romantic “The Glow of Her Charm”. At the age of 74, he has lost none of his ability to play long, melodic lines without becoming saccharine. At the same time, Lewis isn’t afraid to move into darker territory on “Exhilaration”, where he begins with a Monk-like piano line and then plays off the rhythm section with grace.

Lewis and his new label, Concord Jazz, are to be commended for making sure that this music is recorded for posterity, allowing an audience outside of the Windy City to enjoy it. Here’s hoping that Lewis will continue this level of artistic output, and that we haven’t heard the last of this trio.

John Abercrombie’s latest quartet recording is fairly typical of the legendary “ECM Records Sound”. What is that? As one article suggests, that sound “creates a sense of space, contemplation and nuance”. It also rarely swings, making it an acquired taste.

That’s what’s good and bad about Wait Till You See Her. The lead performer in the quartet is violinist Mark Feldman, a partner with Abercrombie for over ten years. A one-man string section, Feldman alternately lilts and drives home melodic touches, moving the music into upper octaves as the improvisation of the four members of group takes off for point unknown. 

Joey Baron, a veteran of avant-garde sessions with John Zorn, Dave Douglas and Arthur Blythe, is perfect for this sort of music, and he provides a valuable sense of direction to some of that more wandering tunes. However, he and bassist Thomas Morgan can never seem to bring the tunes into sharp focus. 

Abercrombie, who wrote most of the songs on the album, has to take responsibility for this contemplative, but often unfocused music. A guitarist of his stature and experience should be able to reign in the improvisations to prevent a sense of aimlessness, bringing it closer to a sense of introspective. Occasionally like on "Out of Towner" (click here) his leadership shines through and the results are gentle and shimmering. When he misses,  the quartet is headed for places I’d just as soon not visit.

There are new arrivals in my home – the above pictured puppies are Hamish and Angus, a pair of mini-dachshunds Nancy and I brought home this weekend. 

I had to share this picture with you, and post the only song that would do – Sonny Rollins’ composition “Doxy” as recorded by Miles Davis on his Bag’s Groove album. A jazz classic, Rollins wrote the song by adapting the chords from “Ja-Da (Ja Da, Ja Da, Jing, Jing, Jing!)”, a hit song written in 1918 by Bob Carleton. 

In a recent interview, Rollins rememberd writing the tune:

Actually I think I was institutionalized when I wrote “Doxy.” The gory details…well it was back at a time when I was hooked on drugs, and while I was institutionalized my mind turned to music, and I had an opportunity to play with a band, a sort of Protestant Chapel Band – we played hymns and such. It’s not a pleasant memory. But it’s fruitful in that I was able to overcome those problems. I wrote “Doxy” during that time.  

Apparently the song has no real bad memories for Sonny – when he eventually established his own record label, he named it Doxy Records.

I’ve blogger before about the intersection of hip-hop and jazz among some of the more adventurous African-American musicians on the scene today. Robert Glasper’s latest release, Double-Booked, attempts to blur the line between the two genres by producing a  recording in two parts, one by a straight-ahead trio and the other by the electric “Robert Glasper Experiment”.

The first half of the record shows why Glasper is rapidly becoming one of the finest pianist on the scene. Along with bassist Vincente Archer and drummer Chris Dave, Glasper creates elegant trio music, making classic’s like Monk’s “Think of One” sound fresh, and originals like “Yes I’m Country (And That’s OK)” seem like songs you want to hear again and again. 

Glasper is less successful in the mish-mash that is the second half of the album. The Experiment swerves between jazz-funk, hip-hop and soul ballads, with a lack of direction that makes it seem – well, experimental. I look forward to when Glasper collaborates with a hip-hop producer or DJ who can turn his ideas into something more concrete and exciting. Perhaps the great jazz hip-hop album we’ve been waiting for is just around the corner.

From September 22 to 26, superstars and local artists will come together in free and ticketed offerings that have drawn upwards of 70,000 people of all ages from every neighborhood in Boston and all over New England. Now in its 9th year, the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival - Boston's most popular and largest outdoor festival - has expanded to five days and seven stages at locations in Boston and Cambridge; and has named world-renowned drummer and Berklee professor Terri Lyne Carrington its new artistic director.

The festival's largest roster yet will feature performances by 20 bands and over 130 musicians at the Berklee Performance Center (BPC), Scullers Jazz Club, Berklee's Cafe 939 and David Friend Recital Hall, and outdoor stages along Columbus Avenue. The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival is sponsored by Target and Dunkin' Donuts. For a complete list of all events, venues, and performers, visit http://www.beantownjazz.org.

Local venues will host performances by Ahmad Jamal, Branford Marsalis and Kurt Elling, with a special blues tribute performance by David Sanborn and vocalists Amina Claudine Myers and Kevin Mahogany set for Friday evening.

On Saturday, September 26, the free Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival will take place from noon to 6:00 p.m. on three stages over six blocks on Columbus Avenue, starting at Massachusetts Avenue, with major artists including Donald Harrison, Jane Bunnet, Yoron Israel, and Joe Louis Walker will perform on three stages. The full schedule can be seen at
http://www.beantownjazz.org/schedule.html.

Watch this blog for interviews with Terri Lynne Carrington and Yoron Israel, as well as musical selections from artists performing in the festival.

Tickets for all shows are on sale, Monday June 8, at 10 a.m., and will be available at the BPC box office, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, through Ticketmaster 617 931-2000, and at http://www.ticketmaster.com. Call 617 747-2261 or visit http://www.berkleebpc.com for more information.

Piano trios are renowned for interpreting and reinterpreting popular songs. Whether you prefer the standards that Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett captured so wonderfully, or Brad Mehldau and  Ethan Iverson deconstructing Radiohead, there is no doubt that the give and take of piano, bass and drums lends itself to exploring the harmonic and melodic possibilities of songs that we all know and love. 

Add Kevin Hays’ trio to the list of piano trios that reinterpret both old and new material with panache. Hays has played with bassist Doug Weiss and Bill Stewart for almost ten years, and their interplay is almost telepathic at times. Their latest album, You’ve Got A Friend, reimagines pop hits like Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and the title track, concentrating not on their memorable melodies, but rather on the way they can present classic material in a new and different way. 

The same holds true for the group’s presentation of classic jazz written by Thelonious Monk (“Think of One”) and Charlie Parker (“Cheryl”). These tunes could be hot, but clichéd if taken as others have. Here, these are revisionist versions that get more than we might expect from be-bop era material. The rhythm section shines brightest on “Sweet and Lovely”, with Stewart creating a dramatic setting for the Harry Tobias standard. 

Since today is Beatles Hype Day, the day that the stereo remasters and “Rock Band” game are released to adoring consumers,  you can click here and listen to a sly and subtle rethinking of Lennon and McCarney's "Fool on the Hill".

Blue Note made a business decision a few years back that seems to be reaping dividends for the label and it's fans. By signing non-jazz artists like Van Morrison and Al Green, the august jazz label increased it's exposure to rock and soul fans, added some much-needed cash flow, and in the process, created some pretty darn good music. Morrison's What's Wrong With this Picture was one of his jazziest releases, with a killer versions of "Saint James Infirmary" and the jump-blues of "Stop Drinking".

Willie Nelson joins that label for American Classic, a sequel of sorts to his 1978 release, Stardust. Backed with a top-notch band of Mickey Raphael (harmonica), Joe Sample (piano), Christian McBride (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums), the Red Headed Stranger tackles eleven songs from the Great American Songbook, plus a new take on his own hit "Always On My Mind". The result is almost always a treat.

At this point in his career, Willie's phrasing is nothing short of exemplary. He rarely drags notes out, and his direct and honest reading adds to the strong melodies. His gentle reading of "Fly Me to the Moon" reveals a sense of whistful wonder that gets lost in more bombastic versions, and "Because of You" and "The Nearness of You" are given faithful presentations.

His duet with Diana Krall on "If I Had You" is fine, but seems more likely an attempt at giving Willie "jazz cred". Another duet, with Norah Jones on the holiday season staple "Baby It's Cold Outside" fails not due to the recording, but rather to an unavoidable sense of creepiness. I simply couldn't get past a man in his late seventies singing songs of seduction with a female coutnerpart young enough to be his granddaughter

 The University of South Florida Center for Jazz Compositionbegan a program to focus attention on the compositions of a great jazz artist while stimulating new works back in 2006. Saxophonist Michael Brecker came on board to assist with the project, but passed away in January 2007 before the project could come to fruition.

Brother Randy Brecker stepped in, and we now have The Comet's Tail, an inspiring large ensemble work presented by the CJC's director Chuck Owens. His group, the Jazz Surge, is aided by soloists like Brecker,  guitarist Mike Stern and saxophonists Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman. Brecker compositions receive new arrangements by his former collaborators  Gil Goldstein and Vince Mendoza, and international contest winner Fred Stride arranged "Peep", a rousing number that opens the CD.

This is a modern big band sound, and it's always a pleasure to hear that venerable style made more modern. Owens' group shwos off a serious range, particularly on some of the more frenetic moments.

Brecker was an underrated composer, and this CD shows off some of his best material. He was also a killer tenor saxophone player, so it's only natural that some of the best tracks come from two sax legends.  Liebman delivers a terriffic solo in "Sumo", a piece from Brecker's Steps Ahead period. Lovano takes center stage on two tracks, the bluesy "Take a Walk" and the dramatic closing piece "Everything Happens When You're Gone".

Red Garland was taking it a bit easier than in the past in 1959. The 36 year old pianist had come off one of the busiest years in jazz history, having participated in sessions for John Coltrane and Donald Byrd; Miles Davis with Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly; "Jazz From Carnegie Hall" with J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Lee Konitz, and Zoot Sims; as well as sessions for a trio and quartet under his own name.

No wonder it wasn't until August that Garland entered Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey to wrotk with the elgendary Coleman Hawkins and a new trio. Doug Watkins was on bass and Charles "Specs" Wright was the new drummer. They recorded five tracks for what was released as Coleman Hawkins with the Red Garland Trio, and then cut six more as a trio. Those tracks ended up ebign scattered on albums from Prestige and Fantasy Records like Satin Doll, Stretching Out, Soul Burnin' and the compilations Rediscovering Masters.

Click here to listen to the "A Little Bit of Basie" from those sessions. Garland lays down a boogie-woogie entry before heading off on one long solo that attempts to capture the spirit and fire of the one and only  Count Basie. His cohorts Watkins and Wright barely have time to do anythign else but keep the beat, although Wright caps things off with some crashing drums.

As I pointed out in my podcast last month, the Hammond B-3 organ is no longer the exclusive plaything of American jazz artists. From Japan to Europe, men and woman are picking up the mantle of the great players of the past and working out on the venerable B-3.

Another candidate for Hammond Hero has come from Germany. Jermaine Landsberger's North American debut Gettin' Blazed shows he has the chops, and is not afraid to try some things differently.

While the classic Hammond lineup is organ-guitar-drums, Landsberger has assembled a full band, adding Andreas Oberg on guitar, James Genus on bass, and session veteran Harvey Mason on drums. Gary Meek's sax and flute add additional color, and are particularly funky on Horce Silver's classic "Filthy McNasty".

The real coup here is Landsberger's landing of guitar player Pat Martino. A veteran of Hammond sessions himnself, Martino's "Three Base Hit" is a thrilling duet, as the pair push one another through exciting solo after solo. Martino also lends spice to "Sno' Peas" and the terrific "Brazilian People".

Landsberger shows himself to be a formidable player, and his originals hold up well against other tunes, particularly "Valse Manouche" which showcases Oberg's guitar. The cover of Stevie Wonder's "Another Star" gives him a top-notch solo. At the age of 36, Landsberger has proven he is ready to be crowned a Hammond Hero.

Listening to Kyle Eastwood's latest CD, Metropolitan, is like listenign to your iPod on shuffle - you're just not sure what's going to come up next. You're pretty sure it will be pretty good, since you put it there in the first place. But whether it will be loud, soft, fast, slow, modern, classic - well, you're not sure at all.

The title track is a slick piece of contemporary jazz with shimmering piano by Eric Legnini and wordless vocals by Camille. But if you're expecting that to be the norm, then you'd be mistaken. Guest trumpeter Till Bronner brings a nice ballad in "Bold Changes" and "Song for You" is also enjoyable, but "Hot Box" is a relatively listless Stanley Clarke-like workout and "Live for Life" is run of the mill jazz-funk. "Rue Perdue" tries for tension and atmosphere and fails.

What's missing here is any kind of cohesive sound, which is surprising given that for the rhythm section of Eastwood on bass, Legnini onpiano and organ and Franck Aguhon on drums is a constant. Perhaps its the guest appearances by Bronner or the vocals, but "Metropolitan" feels put uneven and missing a unifying sound and signature.

Click here to listen to "Song For You", my favorite track from the CD. A collaboration between Eastwood, guitarist Michael Stevens, pianist Andrew McCormack, electric pianist Legnini and Till Bronner on trumpet. A peaceful, lightly shifting composition, it possesses more of feeling and tension than most of the other tracks. One hopes that Eastwood will build his next album around his core band's considerable talents and create a solid listening experience.

Tribute CDs can be a dime a dozen. However, when an artist like Steve Kuhn decides to record Mostly Coltrane as a tribute to John Coltrane, we're advised to sit up and take notice.

Kuhn played with Coltrane at a pivotal moment in Trane's career. Preparing to leave the Miles Davis Quintet, Kuhn was the piano player the great saxophonist tabbed to fill out a band that included Steve Davis on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums. In a mostly successful effort to recall those days, Kuhn added the talents of Joe Lovano on tenor sax to the long-time trio of Kuhn on piano, David Finck on double-bass and a thundering Joey Baron on drums.

The song selection is stellar, as Kuhn wisely avoids cliched Coltrane covers like "My Favoirte Things" or "Naima" in favor of the songs he played with Coltrane ("Central Park West", "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes") and leser known tunes like "Configuration".

Lovano never tries to mimic Coltrane, nor is he so respectful that he misses the chance to put his imprint on the songs. He really shines on  the avant-garde "Configuration", and takes a wonderfully mellow solo on "Central Park West". Kuhan is wonderfully understated, able to hold the group together with his playing, and take a solo that is memorable without the need for flashiness. He can slash and burn with the best of them ("Configuration") or  take it down on the gentle "Trance".

My end of the year CD review includes a category for best tribute album of the year. I don't think I'm going to have to look too much further than Mostly Coltrane for this year's winner.

 Trumpeter Rod McGaha isn't out to break any new ground on his latest CD, A Gentle Man. He'd rather take on some of the classic tunes of the past, and like Marcus Roberts on his latest work, think those sounds through via his contemporary viewpoint. The result is an enjoyable string-filled CD.

McGaha knows his sources well. He will channel Louis Armstrong on "Honeysuckle Rose", recall Clifford Brown's With Strings sessions on "I'm Confessin That I love You" and bring a Chet Baker sound to "When I Fall In Love". He's not afraid to show these influences; rather, he tips his cap to them, and plays on.

The arrangements by pianist Jeff Steinberg are not all faithful, however. He runs "Happy Together" through a string arrangement that recalls "Eleanor Rigby", and compliments that sound with Chris Wolters' organ. The title track is an original composition by Steinberg, and McGaha gives a sensitive reading to the ballad in a way that would make his old mentor, Clark Terry, smile.

 Click here to listen to the "How Long Has This Been Going On" to hear a lovely string section set up McGaha for a plaintive rendition of the bluesy standard.

Deeply introspective and impressionistic, and yet willing to dance the night away when called upon, Mario Grigorov's latest CD, Paris to Cuba takes the listener on an imaginary trip from the City of Lights to the Caribbean. After the opening solo piano theme of "Ice Hotel" set the stage, "Cuban Soil, Cuban Sun" features sultry guitars and horns to let you know you're heading for some tropical heat. You're more than happy to tag along with this talented pianist and his collabroators.

Grigorov has worked with Brazilian master Oscar Castro-Neves before, so his sense of Latin music is filtered through that calmer sensibility, recalling the swaying sound of Rio rather than fire of Havana. Vocalist Melissa Newman's fine contributions to "I See" and "Every Little Movement" add to the sense of romance.

A big-beat version of "Ice Hotel" and the driven "Snake Eyes" let us know it's not all siesta time for Grigorov and his band, as Bob Dobrow's drums and Jeff Hill's bass lay the foundation for some dance tunes.

This is a CD for the late days of August, while enjoying a cold libation on the deck. In fact, I'm going to try that right now.

My wife Nancy celebrates her birthday today, so it's time for my annual posting of a version of the song "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)". This year the track comes from Kurt Elling's latest album, Dedicated to You.

Since my old blog site has disappeared as of late, let me re-post one version of the story of this song, as reported by Ida Zeitlin in Modern Screen magazine in 1946.

She came running in, her face lighting up as always when she sees her father. Frank scooped her into his arms. “Here’s Nancy with the laughing face—”
    “Hey, that’s a cute song title,” said Phil Silvers, who’d dropped in at Frank’s with Jimmy Van Heusen. Jimmy was doodling at the piano. “Lemme write a lyric and run the pros out of town—”
    He didn’t mean it. Phil’s that unique bird who doesn’t want to write a lyric. All he wants is to be an employed actor. This lyric he wrote in spite of himself. Because Jimmy grinned up at him and went on doodling, and out of the music little Nancy’s face laughed again, and words began forming inside Phil’s dome.
    When it was finished, he sang it for big Nancy, who got all choked up and made the boys send it to Frank in New York. He read it and gulped and introduced it on his next broadcast. Maybe he sang it three times altogether before leaving with Phil and the rest of the gang for the ETO. No one expected the song to be commercial. The boys had written it for their buddy, Frank had put it on the air for Nancy, and now it could be retired to private life.
    So they go overseas and the song’s forgotten and comes time for Frank to do his request numbers. “What’ll it be, fellas?”
    Twenty thousand guys yell: “Nancy with the Laughing Face—”
    Frank looks at Phil and Phil looks at Frank and they’re both thinking: “Wise guy! You put ’em up to this—” But it wasn’t a rib. The Armed Forces Radio Service had taken the song off the air and recorded it on V-discs. It was No. 1 in the Stars and Stripes Hit Parade.

Happy Birthday, Nancy! And thanks for marrying me.

Today is Bastille Day, the French national holiday, commemorating the storming of the Bastille, which took place on July 14, 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Although the Bastille only held seven prisoners at the time of its capture, the storming of the prison was a symbol of liberty and the fight against oppression for all French citizens.

So I've dug through my music collection for French jazz musicians, and therefore, today we have....pianist Michel Petrucciani.

His is certainly one of the strangest and most inspirational stories of jazz musicians. Born with the disease osteogenensis imperfecta, a bone disease that greatly stunted his growth, he started by playing in the family trio with his father on guitar, brother on bass, and him on the piano. At the age of 15 he had the opportunity to play with expatriates Kenny "Kloop" Clarke and Clark Terry, and at 17 he made his first recording.

His best group recordings came with his involvement with Charles Lloyd (he may have brought Lloyd out of retirement single handedly) and a stunning live recording appropriately entitled The Power of Three in 1986 with guiatrist Jim Hall and saxophonist Wayne Shorter at Montreux. Click here to listen to Shorter's compostion "Limbo", that kicks off the album.

A little man with a big sound, he passed away of a pulmonary infection on January 6, 1999.

The loss of Freddie Hubbard last year was deeply felt in the jazz world, even more so since the noted trumpeter had just begun a return to playing music after the forced silence of lip-damage. While that album was acceptable, the newly found recordings from 1969 dates in England and Germany released by Blue Note as Without A Song - Live in Europe 1969, remind us of why Freddie was so important.

Although forty years old, the recordings show improvisational jazz played at the highest level. The band is nothing short of sensational - the often underrated Sir Roland Hanna on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Louis Hayes on drums. Hanna lends a certain darkness to much of the moods, playing complex chords before opening up for scintillating solos, often reminiscent of Thelonius Monk. Hayes' cymbal work is particularly notable, and Carter is - well, Ron Carter at his best.

Hubbard, who at one time was seen as one of the logical successors to Miles Davis as a straght-ahead jazz trumpeter, is uniformly great. "Body and Soul" comes across as a great balad, but there is room for more than afew Hubbard solos taken at lightning speed. The opening "Without A Song" is similarly fine. Hubbard could take a familar tune and spin in into something exciting, and this is a great example of that skill.

Click here to listen to the closing "Hub-Tones", one of Freddie's signature tunes. Hayes kicks it off with a short drum solo, before Hubbard comes blazing in. From there its a group triumph, with Carter and Hanna seemily competing for space, as Hubbard plays with speed, feeling and excitement.  By the time Hayes stretches out for another solo, there's a sense that everyone needed to come up for air. And then its off to the races again, as Hubbard takes the tune home.

Freddie, we'll miss you. And with this CD of music seeing the light of day, we'll always be able to remember why.

Frank Zappa, gone for almost sixteen years now (is it possible?) is getting a full summer review of his work - rock, jazz, orchestral, what have you - on the blog Bird With Broken Wings. Of particular interest to me is the analysis of his jazz material, which comes with a must have collection entitled "Jazz Noise and Randomonium" available for download.

Be sure to click here  to visit the jazz posting, and download songs that pushed the boundries between jazz, rock and anarchy like "Twenty Small Cigars", "The Grand Wazoo (Parts 1-4)" and especially "Waka Jawaka". Missing from the collection - perhaps because its just so popular - is the seminal instrumental from Hot Rats, "Peaches En Regalia". Check it out here.

There's a previous posting on the blgo giving Carla Bley similar treatment. That's well worth grabbing, too.

Diana Krall's onstage persona has been rather chilly at times - her small talk banal, her introduction of musicians limited, and at times, it even seemed that she would just as soon rush through her set as entertain her audience.

However, if the set she performed at Tanglwood on July 4 was any sort of indication she has come into her own as a performer and jazz musician. Her ninety minute set was supported by a fine backing trio, and supplemented at times by an orchestra, conducted by the pianist Alan Broadbent.

Miss Krall (should I say Mrs. Costello?) charmed the audience with her self-deprecating stories of her two children, her marriage to a rock star, and her childhood growing up on Vancouver Island. Her musical selections were equally beguiling, opening with her now traditional "I Love Being Here With You", and including several Brazilian-tinged tracks from her latest album, Quiet Nights.

Her singing skills have been well documented, but it takes a concert setting to see just how accomplished a pianist Ms. Krall has become. "Deed I Do" and "Cheek to Cheek" were exception, showing her sense of timing, rhythm and speed. The band was cooking so hot on the latter, that Ms. Krall almost forgot to sing. "Frim-Fram Sauce" in particular was a joy, with Ms. Krall allowing herself some vocal growling and boogie-woogie piano.

Her band - Anthony Wilson on guitar, Robert Hurst on bass, and Jeff Hamilton on drums - is a perfect foil for her playing. When she chooses to be soft, or play minimalistically, Hamilton is there with his brushwork. When its time to kick it up, Hurst and Wilson are ready to raise the stakes, pushing Ms. Krall along and taking their solos with glee.

By the time Ms. Krall had encored with a string soaked "The Look of Love", there were few disbelievers among the 15,000 fans in the shed and lawn of bucolic Tangelwood. How about an Elvis Costello-Diana Krall double bill next year? Or maybe a special taping of Elvis' talk show "Spectacle" using Tanglewood as a stage. Food for thought.

July 4 - Independence Day. We celebrate with cookouts, fireworks and concerts, but often fail to recall the brave words that were written by our forefathers in Philadelphia in 1776:

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

The official Straight No Chaser song of Independence Day is Ray Charles version of "America the Beautiful". It seems strangely appropriate that we in the 21st century are able to listen to a recording made in the 20th century, featuring a blind black man singing a song with lyrics by a white woman (Katherine Lee Bates) , with melody based on a 19th century hymn written by a white man (Samuel Ward). Enjoy!

"Best of" collections are often problematic when attempting to create an overview of a jazz artist. Since jazz musicians often change backing groups, styles, instruments and numerous other aspects of their performance, an attempt to collect a representative cross-section of their careers.

The most extreme example I can think of is The Essential Miles Davis, a two CD retrospective from Columbia a few years back. Given the length and breadth of his career and artistry, any collection that includes the modal jazz of Kind of Blue, experimental quintet work of Sorcerer and the fusion of Bitches Brew cannot allow someone to truly understand his music. Think of it as the Blind Men and the Elephant for music - whatever track you hear gives you a picture of what an artist is like, and it inevitably fails to give an accurate one.

Two of our finest female singers have released compilation CDs that for the msot part, succeed in showing off their artistry. By Request: The Very Best of Karrin Allyson draws on ten of her albums, along with a previously unreleased gem. Many of these were "theme albums", whether it was taking the music of Brazil, or covering blues, standards or Coltrane's Ballads.  As a result, each one of those releases served as a self-contained offering by the singer expressing her artistry at that moment. Here, the tracks are merely selections on the compilations, and while they are without exception fine recordings, you can't help but feel that the singer is better represented by the original CD as a whole.

Footprints was one of Ms. Allyson's best CDs, as she took isntrumental jazz classics and had lyrics added to the tunes. "Next Time Around(Soultrane)", is a Tadd Dameron composition that couldn't get cleared for inclusion on Footprints, but now serves as a terrific example of how talented singers can take memorable tunes and with the assistance of lyricists like collaborator Chris Caswell, being new and even deeper feeling to the piece. Click here to listen to her lyrics added to Duke Jordan's "Jordu", in a new version entittled "Life is a Groove".

Cassandra Wilson often peppers her albums with stripped down, reimagined version of rock classics. With Closer to You: The Pop Side, she collects eleven of those songs from six of her prior albums. Ms. Wilson has become perhaps our finest interpreter of popular songs today, and her versions of songs by the Monkees ("Last Train to Clarksville"), U2 ("Love is Blindness") and The Band ("The Weight") attempt to recreate songs that may have become jukebox favorites. As a result, this CD succeeds where many other compilations fail, since it creates a thematic whole.

Two songs on the CD, "Harvest Moon" and "Tupelo Honey", are among the strongest ballads written by Neil Young and Van Morrison, respectively. Ms. Wilson manages to make them very much her own, particularly the latter, stripping away any excess and leaving only her voice, Brandon Ross' steel guitar, Lonnie Plaxico's bass and percussion from Kevin Johnson and Lance Carter to carry the song. Charlie Burnham's violin plays the familiar beginning and adds tension on the instrumental breaks, but its the spareness of the arrangement, and Ms. Wilson's desky vocal, that makes it so memorable.

 It takes a bold man to attempt a tribute album to one of the best loved and most unique albums in jazz history. The 1963 session between the John Coltrane's Classic Quartet and journeyman singer Johnny Hartman has become the stuff of legend, and for this reviewer's ears, remains the best collaboration between a singer and major instrumentalist in jazz history.

Kurt Elling is that bold, however, and we are the luckier for it. The rich baritoned singer from Chicago, backed by strings and his longtime piano playing partner Laurence Hobgood, has shown with Dedicated to You that it is possible to record music associated closely with another artist, and turn it into your own.

 All six tracks that graced the orginal album are performed here, along with a five songs recorded by Coltrane on his classic 1962 album Ballads. The material is perfect for Elling, a master of using all aspects of his range to bring across a song, sometimes in one phrase. His version of "Lush Life", for example, takes a slighter slower pace than the original, and stretches out some words, while moving from lower to upper range in one line, all to great dramatic effect. Hopgood's piano is also worth noting here, deviating from the more traditional approach McCoy Tyner took forty-five years ago.

Elling tells the story of the sessions in his poem "A Poetic Jazz  Memory", which merges with "It's Easy to Remember". This serves to set the scene extremely well, and reminds us how grat art can appear when we least expect it, when talent, material and timing all merge.

The string section adds much to the material as well. From the pizzicato opening to the title track, or the coloring added to "Lush Life" and especially "My One and Only Love", these arrangements swirl around Elling and show another side to the familiar material. Only the Coltrane quartet backed Hartman on the original. 

Ernie Watts joins Elling on saxophone, and while his playing is more than acceptable, he plays it far too safe to stand in Trane's shoes. The sole instrumental on the album, "What's New", gives Watts a chance to show his stuff, but he never really shows the kind of playing he contribtued to Charlie Haden's Quartet West.

Dedicated to You won't ever replace the warmth and intimacy that John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman still bring every time it's played, but it doesn't try to. Instead, it joins CD's like Karrin Allyson's Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane and Branford Marsalis' Coltrane's A Love Supreme as current artists winningly taking the classic music of John Coltrane and making of it not only tribute, but triumph.

It's a real delight to welcome Christan McBride back into acoustic jazz. I've been a fan of the great bassist since his debut as a leader in 1994. Since then, he has been more than a little busy, lending his extensive talents to varying projects and combos, including the R&B tribute A Family Affair and the sprawling 3 CD set Live At Tonic, which found McBride adding violin, turntable and perhaps the kitchen sink to his basic group on long, meandering jams.

Kind of Brown  (a tip of the cap to his mentor Ray Brown) finds McBride back on his acoustic bass, playing as part of a quintet called Inside Straight. It's a winning hand, primarily due to the high quality of his collaborators and seven strong McBride compositions.

Drummer Carl Allen teams seemlessly with bassist McBride, creating a rhythm section that can keep the time with the best, but doesn't hesitate to step out and take control as well. Listen to McBride's solo on "Rainbow Wheel" to see that he can play the upright bass with the best.

Saxophonist Steve Wilson lends a warm sound to tracks like "Starbeam" and really stretches out on Freddie Hubbard's "Theme for Kareem". I'm a huge vibes fan, so its great to see McBride incorporating Warren Wolf, Jr. into the band. He contributes a lightning solo to "Kareem", and a tasteful run on pianist Eric Scott Reed's composition "Pursuit of Peace". The lilting "Uncle James" shows that Wilson and Wolf and slow it down as well, contributing tasty sounds to the piece.

McBride was wise to tap Reed for his pianist bench. A veteran of Wynton Marsalis and Freddie Hubbard's bands, he is a great foil for McBride, weaving in and around the bass player here and there.

 In short, Kind of Brown is the kind of CD that reminds us why we like acoustic jazz - its short on bombast, long on style and substance. With Inside Straight, Christian McBride has reclaimed his position as one of our finest upright bass players.

Sunday June 28, 2009 -

A particularly strong lineup for the Gazebo Stage brings me across the park for the start of Day Two. Trumpeter Ralph Alessi’s This Against That band performed a set of complex Downtown new York influenced jazz, with the small confines of the staging allowing for an intimate and challenging performance. Pianist Matt Mitchell was particularly strong, playing off a solid rhythm section and allowing the trumpet and sax solos of Alessi and Tony Malaby to take center stage.

Speaking of piano, SNC favorite Aaron Parks followed, leading his trio through a fluid, melodic set. Parks’ sound is well suited for the smaller stage, as he plays with great grace and passion. The band ended with a cover of Robert Wyatt’s “Sea Song”.

The still underrated George Coleman and his quartet provided a Main Stage set of straight-ahead jazz, with Coleman showing he can still play long, soulful melodies. His song list was spiced by a tribute to the late Freddie Hubbard (“Up Jumped Spring”) and a wonderful group workout on the R&B classic “Where is the Love”. The great Harold Mabern gave the band a real lift during his solos, and played off Coleman like the wily veteran he is.

Nothing could have prepared the crowd for Bonerama, a highly energetic, exciting band from New Orleans fronted by three trombone players. Their set, which mixed blues (“Big Fine Woman”), New Orleans R&B (Fats Domino’s “I’m Walking”) and improvised jazz, was a wonderful gumbo of power-packed horns, spiced with organ and a kicking rhythm section. The set’s highlight began with unearthly sounds being rung from a trombone and turned into a mind-blowing version of Led Zeppelin’s take on “When the Levee Breaks”, with the three horns channeling Zep’s mighty guitar power chords.

The energy didn’t dip when Bettye Lavette made her upstate New York debut with her band. She came out rocking, and quickly moved through a set that included the soulful “Choices”, a pounding take on Dolly Parton’s “Little Sparrow” and a thrilling medley of her early songs that ended with “Let Me Down Easy”, a song she called “her mantra”. A veteran of a 48 year career that only recently has caught fire, Miss Lavette raised the hair on the back of the neck when she performed “A Change is Gonna Come” as she did at the Inauguration Concert on the Mall this past January. She encored with a stirring acapella version of “I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got”.

Dave Brubeck earned a standing ovation merely by taking the stage for his set, which honored the 50^th anniversary of his classic Time Out album. Regally dressed in white dinner jacket, the frail Brubeck’s age seems to slip away when he begins to play with his quartet, and this set was no exception. Beginning with a Duke Ellington medley that finished with Brubeck swinging along with the group, the set really caught fire with “Unsquare Dance” a tune written in 7/4 that allowed drummer (and son) Danny Brubeck and veteran bassist Michael Moore to push saxophonist Bobby Militello on to greater heights. Militello brought a little extra panache to “Take Five”, pushing the solo into different terrain than did Paul Desmond in the iconic original. I couldn’t help but feel that if this is the final time the great Brubeck hits this stage, he left his fans still wanting more.

George Benson ended the festival with a split set. The first portion, backed by a 28 piece orchestra, a chorus and his band, was a tribute to Nat “King” Cole. Benson, who successfully brings out Cole’s vocal trademarks, stuck primarily to the “pop years”, allowing Nelson Riddle’s arrangements to buoy songs like “Too Young”, “Unforgettable” and “Mona Lisa”. There is not a little irony that Benson chose this part of Cole’s repertoire to perform – just as Cole left his days as the leader of a swinging piano trio for mainstream success as a singer, so has Benson abandoned his years of being “most wanted” for greasy guitar-organ combos for thirty years of hits with smooth jazz and crossover R&B sounds.  Pianist and Orchestra conductor Randy Waldman (who has performed similar duties for Barbra Streisand) led the group through the classic sounds, and added his own arrangement to a moving “Smile”.

The “Benson party” he called for ended the set, as he and his backing performed his funky take on Cole’s “Nature Boy”, segueing into hits like “This Masquerade”, “Give Me the Night” and the encore, “On Broadway”.  The crowd danced their way out, ready to make plans for 2010.

(Note - the two live tracks posted here are NOT recorded at SPAC this weekend, but are from other venues intended to give you an idea as to what went down.)

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Day One of the 32^nd annual Freihofer’s Jazz Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York may have been married by passing showers, but the weather didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the enthusiastic crowd the filled the rolling grounds of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (“SPAC”). Producer Don Melnick clearly had diversity as one of the hallmarks of the show that day, and the crowds were treated to two stages of the many facets of jazz music.

From Brazilian to Latin Jazz, Acoustic to Electric sounds, and veteran and new faces, the talent roster was impressive. As in previous years, a main Stage in the large amphitheatre and a Gazebo Stage across the park allowed both current stars and up and coming talent to perform.  It was a sumptuous musical buffet, and the hungry jazz fans were feasting all day.

As with any buffet, not all the offerings are going to be at the gourmet level, Kendra Shank’s early set suffered from the large main stage setting; she performed a more intimate set later in the day on the gazebo stage. Mark Morganelli’s Jazz Forum Project Brazil played a solid if unspectacular set of Tom Jobim covers, gaining some needed lift when vocalist Monica Olivera guested on vocals.

The mid-afternoon music made the day truly memorable, 80 year old Jimmy Cobb was nothing less than sensational as he gathered an all0star group to create the “So What Band” and salute the 50^th anniversary of Miles Davis’ modal jazz classic Kind of Blue. Trumpeter Wallace Roney seemed prepared to channel the spirit of Miles, taking the stage clad in a natty large pattered lapel less jacket and shades that recalled late period Davis. Roney has been called upon by Herbie Hancock to play Miles’ parts in a 1992 concert reuniting the Second Great Quintet, so there could be little doubt about his ability to tackle the material. Roney wisely chose not to mimic the muted notes and minimalistic solos of the 1959 recording note for note, instead bringing new and exciting tones to familiar material.

 Javon Jackson and Vincent Herring had the task of taking spots occupied by John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly, respectively, but more than held their own, with Herring’s solos particularly notable. The fire of the band came from pianist Larry Willis, whose energetic chords and forceful solos pushed songs like “All Blues” and “Freddie Freeloader” up and onward. Each song earned a standing ovation. Cobb is the sole living member of the band from those famous sessions, and the band set him up for a furious solo to end the set. They left the stage with the audience begging for more.

 The crowd didn’t get an encore, but they did get Gary Burton’s much ballyhooed Quartet reunion, featuring guitar ace Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow and Antonio Sanchez. Playing songs from their stellar new live album; the band was in peak form on up-tempo numbers like “Sea Journey” and Metheny’s “Question and Answer”. Burton continues to wield his four mallets like a wizard, whether on the ballad “Coral” or Steve Swallow’s intricate “Falling Rain”.

Latin Jazz too often gets overlooked in major festivals, but a real coup was achieved by grabbing the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra before they headed off on their European tour. The band is a dozen strong, with a percussion section to match any in the business, and they had the crowd up and dancing, providing some needed hip-shaking to the soggy early evening.

Regrettably, the closing acts couldn’t match the group’s fire. The Stanley Clarke-Marcus Miller-Victor Wooten bass troika known as SMV proved to be a better idea on record than on stage. The CD Thunder allowed for overdubs and production detail, but performing live, they were backed only by keyboard and drums. Miller surprised the crowd with his sax solo on “When I Fall In Love” and bass clarinet on “Tutu”, but for the most part, their set seemed an exercise in bass-head flash. I must concede that it is unlikely I will see this many masters showing off their tricks and talents on one stage again, too often the feeling was of a series of master classes or private “cutting sessions” than a group performance of any real soul or grit.

Patti LaBelle, who closed the evening, showed soul and grit to spare, but her performance was sadly lacking in well-thought out and detailed presentation. She sadly seemed to take the Las Vegas approach of dripping a verse here and allowing a backup singer to take her leader there. “Lady Marmalade” was cut unforgivably short for audience participation shenanigans. A medley of “When You Wish Upon a Star” and “Over the Rainbow” ended her set with real feeling, but I couldn’t help but feel that Miss Patti had more with which to leave us.

 On Monday, June 22 at 8pm, NEA Jazz Masters: Paquito D'Rivera, Barry Harris, Jon Hendricks, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron and Jimmy Cobb along with jazz luminaries: John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Ray Drummond, Leroy Williams, Lou Donaldson, Louis Hayes, George Coleman, George Mraz, Al Foster, Donald Harrison, Rufus Reid, Claudio Roditi, as well surprise guests will be celebrating the legacy of the Jazz Forum in a spectacular, one-night-only event, JAZZ FORUM@30

JAZZ FORUM@30 celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Jazz Forum lofts, where some of the greatest jazz artists performed between 1979 and 1983. More than twenty stellar musicians will reconvene for one special evening beginning at 8pm on Monday, June 22, 2009 at Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY or Purchase Tickets online

Mark Morganelli began presenting concerts in his first Jazz Forum loft at 50 Cooper Square in June 1979. By the time the second Jazz Forum loft closed its doors in April 1983, recordings, videos, films and radio broadcasts had documented performances by Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, Woody Shaw, Red Rodney, Carmen McRae, Barry Harris, Max Roach and others.

Mark Morganelli established the Jazz Forum at 50 Cooper Square in New York City's East Village in June of 1979 to provide opportunities for emerging and established artists and their groups to perform in a relaxed loft-setting. He emphasized jazz education by renting his loft to Detroit piano icon Barry Harris, whose legendary classes grew from 25 to 150 students every Monday night for three years, before Dr. Harris relocated to his own Jazz Cultural Theatre. Weekly large ensemble presentations of Chuck Israel's National Jazz Ensemble, Jaki Byard's Apollo Stompers, and Charli Persip's Superband also happened at the Jazz Forum. There were also weekly jam sessions led by drummer Jo Jones, Jr. During the period when the second Jazz Forum operated at 648 Broadway at Bleecker Street, from 1981 to 1983, the loft played host to many benefits for ailing musicians, several National Public Radio broadcasts, a few celebrated recordings, and the award-winning film "Music In Monk Time," featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, Milt Jackson, and Jon Hendricks

By the time you've read this posting, the Summer Solstice will have occurred. For those scientifically inclined, that's the moment when  the sun's apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of summer solstice,  the sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer. Or, you can simply say it's the first day of summer.

So let's celebrate this day with the appropriately titled song "Summer Solstice", the title track from saxophonist Azar Lawrence. Lawrence has been  unjustly ignored in recent years, given his strong  background. Beginning at the age of 19, he has been supporting acts as diverse as Woody Shaw (he played on "The Moontrane"), War, Earth,Wind & Fire and Ike & Tina Turner. He played sax for Elvin Jones for two years, and was part of McCoy Tyner's band for another five years.

His most notable recording as a sideman came when he was chosen by Miles Davis to perform with his band at Carnegie Hall, concerts that would eventually be released on album as Dark Magus.

As a leader, Lawrence has released six albums, most notably his tribute album to John Coltrane in 2007, Legacy and Music of John Coltrane. Lawrence and his quartet will concentrate on that material when he performs on the closing evening of the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz July 19, 2009.

It may have been thirty-plus years since Gary Burton's Quartet included guitar hero Pat Metheney, but you couldn't tell it from their performance at Northampton Friday night. Opening the third leg of their reunion tour at the venerable Calvin Theatre, the Burton Quartet was received with the adulation often reserved for rock stars, and they rewarded the audience with a memorable two hour show.

Playing mostly material included on their live reunion CD recorded last year, Burton, Metheney, bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Antionio Sanchez never failed to dazzle, deftly integrating Burton's vibes and Metheney's familiar upper register guitar for a sound that could swing, bounce, rock or float, depednign upon the mood and song.

Burton was in fine form, wielding his four mallets in his inimitable style. As Metheney commented, Burton's great virtues are not limited to his viruosity on the vibes, but include an unerring sense of what tuens to include in the set. The Quartet inclued material written by Carla Bley("Olhos del Gato"), Chick Corea ("Sea Journey"), and Keith Jarrett (a moving "Coral"), along with their own compositons. Particularly memorable were Metheney's rousing "Question and Answer", which showed off the guitarist's fiery side,  and Swallow's playful "Hullo, Bolinas".

The show reached an unexpected highlight when Swallow and Sanchez laid out for three songs. Metheney and Burton dueted on two acoustic numbers, including "Summertime", before returning to an electric sound. Metheney even trotted out a 42-string multiplenecked guitar that created a sound recalling Burton's collaborations with guitarist Ralph Towner.

Sanchez is too young to remember the first recordings made by the Quartet in the early 1970's, but he held his own with the three veterans, filling in spaces with rhythm, and letting loose with two drum solos that elicited a loud response from the crowd and beaming smiles from his bandmates.

The crowd demanded encores, and the Quartet obliged with two uptempo numbers that ended the evening on a high note. The Quartet is off on the Festival circuit for the summer, so don't miss this rare opportunity to see a reunion that is far more than mere nostalgia.

Consider Wynton Marsalis. Talented trumpeter, equally adept at playing classical music and jazz music. Grammy award winner in both categories. Household name.Now consider Joey Pero. Talented trumpeter, equally adept at playing classical music and jazz music. Relatively unknown. For now.

Why? Because Joey mixes and melds the two styles together to create a constantly fascinating album entited Resonance. He plays Bach's "Goldberg Variations" and moves effortlessly to a funky "Palladio". He'll turn Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" into a tour de force for guest Daryl Sherman. He'll whip up the hip-hop influenced "Defying Gravity", that turns into a ballad before returning to a percussive, upper register throw down. At times, there seems to be little he CAN'T do.

Pero has studied with Wynton Marsalis at Juilliard, and he plays a Monette trumpet that was a gift from his teacher. He's cut his teeth at the Rochester Philharmonic, and playing with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band.

This is his debut CD, and its an impressive one. Click here to listen to his version of "Blue Rondo", a tune familiar to Dave Brubeck fans. Pero is on trumpet, with Adam Nussbaum on drums, Andy Snitzer on tenor sax, Artie Reynolds on bass, Paul Livant on guitar and Peter Firsh on piano.

Legendary drummer and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, Jaimoe and his Jasssz Band play what can truly be called "American music". They combine elements of Jazz, Blues, Rock-n-Roll, and R&B into a unique blend that captures the spirit and stirs the soul. Their repertoire ranges from new interpretations of classic tunes, as well as original songs that are classics in the making. They might go from Coltrane to the ABB's "Dreams", the hot funk of New Orleans' The Meters to the cool of Miles Davis.

Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band features as its core Jaimoe on drums, Junior Mack on guitar and vocals, Dave Stoltz on bass, and Mathais Schuber on keyboards. A rotating series of some of the finest horn players of our time, including Jay Collins, Frank Kozyra, Paul Lieberman, Kris Jensen and Richard Boulger, have joined the band from gig to gig.

The Jasssz band plays the Majestic Theater at nearby West Springfield on Saturday night, June 20, 2009. To get you in the mood for what will surely be a memorable night, click here to listen to the jazz classic "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise". The track opened up a concert dedicated to the memory of the legendary jazz drummer Ed Blackwell in 2007. The CD is available here. 

Another summer movie remake opens today, with Tony Scott's redo of "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3". The original film debuted thirty-five years ago, and starred Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw in a thriller involving the hijacking of a New York City subway car. Times being what they are, I suspect the sense of dread that existed in the early seventies involving the subways has somewhat dissipated, removing some of the overall tension that made the original film memorable.

Another reason the original film was memorable was its soundtrack, which has been described by Allmusic.com as "one of the best and most inventive thriller scores of the 1970s". Written by veteran film composter David Shire ("Norma Rae", "The Conversation", "Farewell, My Lovely" and most recently "Zodiac"), the score was heavily polyrhythmic, with horn sections building tension and delivering payoffs to drive along the action. Shire utilized the 12-tone method of composition, a technique devised by Arnold Schoenberg in the early 20th century in a theme is created by using 12 pitches in a specific order, and then other theems are created by playing that "row" backwards, upside-down, backwards and upside-down, or transposed.  Click here to listen to the "Main Title", a good example of the overall soundtrack.

 Unfortunately, the new film reportedly has abandoned any attempt to rewrite or pay homage to the original score, relying on Rap Music ("99 Problems" by Jay-Z or Alternative Rock (A Perfect Circle) for a more contemporary sound. Imagine if a Christian McBride, Terence Blanchard or even the hip-hop influenced D.J. Logic could have been brought in to re-image this classic score!

Kenny Rankin, the renowned singer, songwriter and musician, died from complications of lung cancer at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles on June 7.  He was 69.

Rankin's music career spanned 50 years beginning with a handful of singles for Decca Records in the late 1950's.  A few years later he signed with Columbia Records and found himself playing guitar on Bob Dylan's landmark 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home.  Soon after, The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson became such a fan that Rankin was invited to appear on the show more than 20 times. Carson also contributed liner notes to Rankin's 1967 debut LP Mind Dusters, which included his much covered pop standard "Peaceful."

Growing up in the multicultural hotbed of New York's Washington Heights neighborhood, he absorbed a broad array of musical influences, from Afro-Cuban to Top 40 to Jazz to Brazilian.

Rankin's supple pristine tenor earned him status as a singer's singer, while his songwriting talents have been widely recognized by his peers.  Some of his earlier compositions include Peggy Lee's "In The Name Of Love" as well as versions of  "Haven't We Met" performed by Carmen McRae and Mel Torme.

Rankin's own unique gift for reworking classic songs such as The Beatles' "Blackbird," which he recorded for his Silver Morning album, so impressed Paul McCartney that he asked Rankin to perform his interpretation of the song when McCartney and John Lennon were inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

The much acclaimed The Kenny Rankin Album was recorded in 1976 live with a 60-piece orchestra, arranged and conducted by the legendary Don Costa, creating what many now consider the first contemporary "torch" album.

He is survived by his son, two daughters and granddaughter. Funeral arrangements are pending, and a memorial service in Los Angeles is being planned.

I'm a big fan of the ROIOs (Recordings of Indetermined Origin) posted on the Big O website (those are bootlegs to you and me). I've picked up some high quality recordings made by rabid fans of all kind of music, from a recording of Philip Glass' opera Appamattox to concerts from Todd Rundgren, Bob Dylan and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Posted today is a recording of an FM radio broadcast on March 1, 2009 from Paris, France of a L’Orchestre National De Jazz tribute to Billie Holiday on the 50th anniversary of her death. The recording, entitled Broadway in Satin: Billie Holiday Revisited, features many of the songs Holiday made famous, including Karen Lanaud singing "Skylark" and Ian Siegel channeling TomWaits doing "Solitude".

As the notes on the recording indicate:

For the 50th anniversary of Billie Holiday’s death, Daniel Yvinec’s L’Orchestre National Du Jazz had Alban Darche compose new arrangements for Holiday’s classic songs. So "Skylark" is given an Asian flavour in the instrumental colours of Chinese cymbals and gongs, while "You’ve Changed" and "God Bless the Child" are given avant-garde arrangements.

Visit the posting here.

 

Podcast 115 - Just Add Words - features recordings where lyrcis have been added to existing jazz tunes. Listen to Eddie Jefferson tackle "Bitches Brew", Abbey Lincoln on "Afro-Blue" and more.

A look at Italian jazz musicians and music recorded in Italy. Ciao!