JazzWax

Backgrounder: Charles Earland

Maybe you're cooking today for the holiday weekend. Or perhaps you're driving a long distance to attend a family gathering or visit the house of a friend. Or you may just be going for a long bike ride or working over the long weekend. How does three hours of uninterrupted Charles Earland sound to you? I thought so.

Known as the Mighty Burner, the Philadelphia soul-jazz organist began playing the Hammond in 1968 and went on to form some of jazz's finest high-energy organ combos. Earland was best known for stirring keyboard riffs into a searing frenzy and then building to a tremendous keyboard crescendo before winding down and out.

Here's a whole hot mess o' ad-free Charles Earland...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Charles Earland, go here.

Rhoda Scott: Live in Hungary

Rhoda Scott is a marvelous organist who's still on the scene today. When I interviewed her in 2011 (go here), she talked about starting out "tickling the keys" of an organ at home and in church and falling in love with the instrument. In 1967, she moved to France and performed mostly in Europe, returning to the U.S. only intermittently. In 1972, she appeared behind the organ in Budapest on Hungarian television when the country was still behind the Iron Curtain. Here's her performance...

Backgrounder: 'Ella Swings Lightly'

One of my favorite Ella Fitzgerald albums is Ella Swings Lightly. Recorded for Verve in November 1958, the album was arranged by Marty Paich and features his Dek-tette backing Ella on a bright batch of songs outside the realm of her weary American songbook fare.

Paich's all-star Hollywood 10 included Don Fagerquist and Al Porcino (tp), Bob Enevoldsen (vtb, ts), Vincent DeRosa (frh), Bud Shank (as), Bill Holman (ts), Med Flory (bar), Lou Levy (p), Joe Mondragon (b) and Mel Lewis (d). Ella, for her part, is in fine form, and you can almost hear her joy being liberated from the dusty confines of Porter, Weill, Gershwin, Rodgers and the rest. [Photo above of Marty Paich]

Here's the complete Ella Swings Lightly without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.