JazzWax

Michael Abene With the WDR Big Band

There are big bands, and then there are big bands. Among the best in the world now is the WDR Big Band in Germany. The band's roots date back to August 1946, a year after World War II ended. The band played traditional pre-war German music and classical alongside a string orchestra. By the late 1940s, German radio stations with in-house live dance bands were converted into jazz bands as swing declined in popularity. [Photo above of Michael Abene by Lena Semmelroggen]

WDR stands for West German Broadcasting (WDR), which is based in Cologne, Germany. The band is funded by the government and features highly skilled jazz and band musicians. Which is why so many top American jazz artists travel to Germany to perform and record with the band as soloists. If you're an accomplished soloist or arranger, it's a dream aggregation. [Photo above of the WDR Big Band's reed section by Lena Semmelroggen]

Which makes WDR the perfect band for Michael Abene, who conducts as they play his arrangements of nine songs on his new album, Center Stage. Recorded in January and February of this year, the album features a few American guest players and soloists Michael brought along: baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber, organist Bobby Sparks II, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Steve Gadd. Also added on tracks are Bruno Müller on guitar and Simon Oslender on piano and organ.

Here's a list of the WDR's brass and reed sections [photo above of the WDR Big Band by Lena Semmelroggen]...

Andy Haderer, Wim Both, Rob Bruynen and Ruud Breuls (tp); Ludwig Nuss, Raphael Klemm and Andy Hunter (tb); Mattis Cederberg (bass tb); Karolina Strassmayer and Johan Hörlén (as); Malte Dürrschnabel and Paul Heller (ts); and Jens Neufang (bs).

And here are the album's songs and soloists...

1. Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Stevie Wonder), featuring solos by Ronnie Cuber, Simon Oslender and Steve Gadd.
2. Watching the River Flow (Bob Dylan) featuring solos by Karolina Strassmayer, Ronnie Cuber, Bruno Müller and Eddie Gomez.
3. I Can´t Turn You Loose (Otis Redding), featuring solos by Bruno Müller, Bobby Sparks and Ronnie Cuber.
4. Che Ore So (Pino Daniele), featuring solos by Eddie Gomez, Ludwig Nuss and Ronnie Cuber.
5. Them Changes (Buddy Miles), featuring solos by Simon Oslender, Bruno Müller, Paul Heller and Ronnie Cuber.
6. Way Back Home (Wilton Felder), featuring solos by Ronnie Cuber and Steve Gadd.
7. Lucky (Steve Gadd), featuring solos by Eddie Gomez and Ronnie Cuber.
8. Honky Tonk / I Can´t Stop Loving You (Bill Doggett / Don Gibson), featuring solos by Andy Hunter, Ronnie Cuber, Bobby Sparks and Simon Oslender.
9. My Little Brother (Steve Gadd and Richard Tee), featuring solos by Steve Gadd and Ronnie Cuber.

Michael's arrangements are first rate, even on songs you'd think he'd be nuts to take on. After all, an arranger converts Signed, Sealed, Delivered; Watching the River Flow; Them Changes; and Honky Tonk to big-band jazz at his own peril, since updating such pop classics comes with enormous risks. On paper, that is. Michael is so inventive and sly as a swinging fox that his reinterpretations of these songs manage to reach the other side of the cultural mine field unscathed. [Photo above of Ronnie Cuber by Lena Semmelroggen]

For years in the 1970s, bands such as those led by Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton tried to stay relevant and afloat by updating rock and soul hits. Most attempts failed miserably and today are a hoot to see as musicians dressed in paisley shirts and white jeans or Nehru suits perform them on old TV variety shows. Michael's reworks get plenty funky, but they keep their balance with fascinating orchestral twists and turns and avoid the pitfalls. His pen skirts trouble by keeping the heat on and the energy high, enforcing a zero tolerance policy for wheel spinning and repetition. The hungry soloists also give the songs enormous traction and inventive punch. [Photo above of Steve Gadd by Lena Semmelroggen]

Further proof of Michael's gift for turning intimate generational pop songs into stadium-sized, fire-breathing beasts.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Michael Abene's Center Stage here.

JazzWax clips: Here's Way Back Home...

Way Back Home

And here's My Little Brother...

My Little Brother

Eric Ineke 75: Swinging, Boppin' and Burnin'

Drummer Eric Ineke is a swinging jazz giant from the Netherlands who has played and recorded with plenty of serious American cats. The list includes guitarists Jimmy Raney and his son Doug Raney, Pepper Adams, Rob McConnell, Ben Webster, Maynard Ferguson, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Lucky Thompson, Hank Mobley, George Coleman, Al Cohn, Barry Harris, Grant Stewart, Eric Alexander and Phil Woods, to name a handful. If you want the full list, go here. [Photo above of Eric Ineke, courtesy of Eric Ineke]

In other words, if a major American jazz player toured in Holland from 1968 forward, the gentleman laying down the beat on the bandstand was likely Eric. He also has played with every Dutch jazz giant you can think of, including Ferdinand Povel, Pim Jacobs, Rob Madna, Ruud Jacobs, Wim Overgaauw, Rita Reys and Piet Noordijk. The list is much longer, of course.

Eric this year turned 75, and in the jazz world, such birthdays tend to beg for an album. So Eric released Eric Ineke 75: Swinging, Boppin' and Burnin' (Daybreak). The album features Eric with a stellar lineup of talent, both American and Dutch. Recorded live between 1968 and 2007, the tracks swing like crazy, with Eric's drums front and center.

Here are the songs and players:

• Hershey Bar—Eric with Jimmy Raney, Doug Raney, Ruud Brink and Jesper Lundgaard.
• I Thought About You—Eric with Etta Jones, Houston Person, Rein de Graaff and Koos Serierse.
• Ornithology—Eric with Pepper Adams, Rob McConnell, Piet Noordijk, Rein de Graaff and Koos Serierse.
• Easy Living—Eric with John Marshall, Rein de Graaff and Marius Beets.
• Thou Swell—Eric with Frans Elsen and Jacques Schols.
• Tangerine—Eric with Scott Hamilton, Rein de Graaff and Marius Beets.
• Eric's Blues—Eric with Maynard Ferguson, Wim Overgaauw, Ruud Jacobs and Pim Jacobs.
• The Theme—Eric with Ben Webster, Tete Montoliu and Rob Langereis.
• Jotosco—Eric with Rik Mol, Sjoerd Dijkhuizen, Rob van Bavel and Marius Beets.

The album is gorgeous, from start to finish. The jazz workmanship, sidemen and playing are first rate. I should add that Eric is a great guy, a rare combination of superior talent and a gregarious personality. If you want to see a list of Eric's albums and session leaders, check out his discography here. Happy Birthday, Eric! [Photo above of Eric Ineke in the 1970s, courtesy of Eric Ineke]

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Eric Ineke 75: Swinging, Boppin' and Burnin' (Daybreak), go here.

If you want to buy a CD of the album, reach out to Eric directly at his site here.

JazzWax clips: Here's Stan Getz's Hershey Bar...

Here's Charlie Parker's Ornithology...

Here's Thou Swell...

And here's Eric in action, with Eric Ineke & the Frans Elsen Factor (for more on Frans Elsen, see my earlier post here)...

Mel C, Bette and Joyce

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Melanie Chisholm for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). For those unfamiliar with Melanie, she is perhaps better known as Mel C or Sporty Spice to women who grew up in the 1990s and listened to the Spice Girls, a teenage phenomenon and one of pop music's most successful all-female vocal groups of all time. Her memoir, The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl, is worth reading (go here). It's beautifully written, revealing and open. During our Zoom interview, I found Mel down to earth, enormously upbeat and open about the challenges she had to overcome during her childhood. [Signed publicity still above of Melanie Chisholm courtesy of eBay]

Here's Mel's mom, on the left, singing harmony in Petticoat & Vine, an English sunshine-pop group, in 1971...

Here's Mel (in white) with the Spice Girls at their reunion 10 years ago at the 2012 London Summer Olympics...

Here's Mel today with Bryan Adams singing a new version of a hit they first recorded together in 1998. Note that this video was done as a "one shot"—there are no breaks. Similar in spirit to the Steve Allen one shot at NBC Burbank in February 1958...

And here's This Could Be the Start of Something Big, a one shot in 1958 done presumably with a seated cameraman and standing boom team on a flatbed dolly. There are no breaks and no room for mistakes as the action and song unfold live around the soundstage's outer perimeter...

More me. Bret Primack's recent on-camera interview series with me continues with Chapter 4. Go here...

Miss earlier chapters? For the previous three interview installments by Bret, go here.

Holidays are coming. Get your shopping out of the way now by pre-ordering my new book, Anatomy of 55 More Songs, and last year's oral history, Rock Concert. Both are fast and fun reading, and are perfect for anyone who grew up listening to hits on the radio or attending live music. Go here and here. 

Two bits and a shave. Last week, following my week-long series of posts on shaving, I heard from Andrea Baroni in Italy...

Hi Marc. I should like to say that I deeply appreciate your jazz writing and, I must confess, I often link to your posts or take inspiration from them for articles I write in the music magazine I run with some friends here called Tracce di Jazz.

But the reason for contacting you now is your recent posts about the world of shaving. I was aware that all kinds of stuff like double-edge razors and brushes existed, but I thought all of it was totally out of fashion. Instead, I found that a lot of people are still open to handling these tools. This brought me to discover some razors left in my parents' house that I'd like to have revamped to replace my modern Gillette Mach3. So I have to thank you also for this.

In the end, I think that jazz and shaving are a good couple, even if I don't really know why. The photo at the top is of a little shop in Genoa, one of the last to sell special shaving products in this part of the city.

Meanwhile, in Tuscany, Rob Hyman of the Philadelphia band The Hooters is vacationing in Italy with his family and came across the store above in the local village. He emailed me the following:

Greetings from Italy, Marc. Thought this shop display would be right up your alley—the lower half anyway. Iffy weather, but hopefully clearing up soon. Have had some great road trips, food and wine, of course. Ciao for now.

Twyla Tharp. If you missed my Q&A post with Twyla Tharp (above), the famed choreographer (here), you should know that two of her ballets—Nine Sinatra Songs and In the Upper Room—will be performed at the New York City Center from October 19 to 23. For more information and to buy tickets online, go here.

Speaking of Bret Primack, back in 2008, he created a phenomenal video interview series with legendary producer Orrin Keepnews (above) for Concord Records' re-issues of Orrin's Riverside albums. Here's one of Bret's mini-docs with Orrin reflecting on producing Sonny Rollins...

Want more Bret with Orrin Keepnews? Go here.

Jazz at Lincoln Center has a new streaming subscription service, Mark Rabin writes. Now anyone can access the performances, including dates at Dizzy's Club. Go here.

Bette Davis. Last week I came across this rather fascinating interview by Dick Cavett of Bette Davis in November 1971. A bit too much fawning by Dick in places and he perhaps didn't fully realize that Bette was interviewing herself, meaning he could have said less. Yet Dick still managed to get Davis to be herself instead of a character, which is a tribute to his easy-going, curiosity-fueled interview sytle. Go here...

Live jazz on the radio. Last week I heard from Kim Paris of the FM Radio Archive [photo above of Ramsey Lewis courtesy of JazzTimes]:

Hi Marc. In response to your recent JazzWax columns about the passing of several musical giants, here are links to broadcasts by these late greats...

Pharoah Sanders—two concert broadcasts, one in London in 2011 and another in Paris in 1975. Go here.

Ramsey Lewis—a broadcast of his Legends of Jazz radio show on PBS, from 2006. Go here.

Joey DeFrancesco—three broadcast concerts: one in Germany in 2007 (with Bobby Hutcherson), one in New York on NPR in 2019, and one in Sweden in 1993 (with John McLaughlin). For all three, go here.

I also will dedicate 90 minutes of my Sunday "Melting Pot" radio show on Freeform Portland to all three jazz artists above and songs written by Motown's Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, in tribute to the late Lamont Dozier. The show airs online Sunday from 8 to 10 a.m. (PT). To live stream, go here.

For anyone who misses this show when it airs live, it will be posted after the show on MixCloud. Go here.

New from Rio. Far Out Recordings in Brazil has just issued Natureza, by Joyce with Mauricio Maestro. The album was recorded by Columbia in New York in 1977 but never issued. What's more, the album was the brainchild of Claus Ogerman, who arranged, produced and conducted the orchestra. It seems the problem was that Columbia, at the time, wanted Joyce to return to New York to record the lyrics in English for commercial purposes, but Joyce was pregnant with her third child and couldn't leave Brazil. Soon, correspondence between the two parties faded and the project was shelved.

The album's astonishing personnel:

• Joyce Moreno - lead vocals, lead guitar (all tracks, except for ‘Coração Sonhador’ and ‘Ciclo da Vida’), rhythm guitar & vocals on ‘Ciclo da Vida’
• Mauricio Maestro – rhythm guitar & vocals on all tracks, lead vocals and guitar on ‘Coração Sonhador’ and ‘Ciclo da Vida’
• Buster Williams - bass
• João Palma - drums (all tracks except for ‘Moreno’, ‘Pega Leve’ and ‘Descompassadamente’)
• Naná Vasconcelos - percussion
• Tutty Moreno - percussion, drums on ‘Moreno’ and ‘Pega Leve’
• Joe Farrell - flute (except for ‘Pega Leve’)
• Ion Muniz - flute on ‘Pega Leve’
• Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone
• Mike Mainieri – vibraphone
• Warren Bernhardt - Keyboards

You will find Natureza here.

Here's the full album posted on YouTube by Far Out Recordings...

Bob Wilvers. Fishink, a site in England devoted to mid-century graphic design, this week features a post on the art of Bob Wilvers (above). A fascinating essay and artist. Go here.

The year is 1964 and you don't know how to handle marital conflict and a highly emotional spouse. Someone for some reason produced a film that showed viewers the worst and best ways to settle your strife peacefully. My guess is that this film was shown to anger-management groups or couples in therapy. Hard to imagine it running on TV or as a lead-in to a feature film. Caveman stuff from nearly 60 years ago. Here's the how-to instructional...

More Ramsey Lewis radio. Chris Cowles, host of Greasy Tracks, which airs each Saturday starting at 3:30 p.m. (ET) on WRTC-FM in Hartford, Ct., recently devoted a three-hour show to Ramsey Lewis. To listen, go here.

And finally, I had a craving last week to hear Lynn Anderson's hit I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden). Probably because the Ray Edenton, one of country music's top studio guitarists, had passed. he played on the record. Here's Anderson on the BBC's Top of the Pops in 1971 with live strings...

And here's Ray Edenton playing Cincinnati Rag...