JazzWax

Mini-Doc: Meredith d'Ambrosio, 1988

Meredith d'Ambrosio and I have been pals for nearly 15 years, when I first interviewed her for JazzWax. Truth be told, we go back even further, to the days when I was in Boston at college in the 1970s and she was performing around town. Though we never crossed paths in Boston, sadly, I knew from the moment I heard her voice on It's Your Dance that we must have met. Today, only albums by Meredith and Steely Dan take me back to my college years. But while Steely Dan stirs up memories of campus friends, Meredith reminds me of me, alone, on blustery fall afternoons, my thick pea-coat collar up-turned emerging from the "T" subway in Harvard Square to buy jazz records at the Harvard Coop. [Photo above of Meredith D’Ambrosio at Boston's Scullers in 1996 by Alan Nahigian]

I can't tell you why Meredith's voice is like Proust's madeleines for me. Meredith would tell you it's because we've always known each other. I would tend to agree. For me, hearing Meredith's voice on albums transports me back in time to solitary walks on Boston's Fenway, sitting on a bench along the Charles River, a snowy trek along Charles Street in Beacon Hill, or just staring at the John Hancock Tower, which is best viewed on days when an emotional sky is reflected on the building's highly reflective, massive glass facade. It's something in her voice.

A month or so ago, Meredith sent me a French TV segment on her from 1988 that was taped in Collias, France, after a 1988 performance in Avignon, which also is featured in the video. She asked if I would post it to my YouTube channel so all could enjoy. By the way, if you're in Boston in June, Meredith will be giving a rare vocal performance on Sunday, June 12, at the Zuzu Music Room in Cambridge, Mass., from 7 to 9:30 p.m. She'll be backed only by Chris Taylor on piano. I'm hoping someone will video her and put it up on YouTube. For ticket information, send an email to jaw@jazzboston.org. More info appears on this site here. And don't forget, Meredith has a new album out—Sometime Ago (Sunnyside) here. [Album cover painting above by Meredith d'Ambrosio]

Here's the mini-doc of Meredith in 1988. If someone out there can clean up the image and sound a bit with software, please email me...

To read my 2009 JazzWax interview with Meredith, go here (Remember, this is Part 1 of five parts; the link to subsequent parts can be found by scrolling up above the red date.)

Color Video: Bill Evans Trio, Helsinki, 1970

In 1970, the Bill Evans Trio visited the home of Finnish composer Ilkka Kuusisto for a private performance and conversation. The event was taped for Finnish TV. Kuusisto is a classical composer who was the conductor at the Helsinki City Theater and later general manager of the Finnish National Opera. His house at the time was on Lauttasaari island in Helsinki, about five minutes west of the city center.

For years, tape of the visit by the trio—Evans on piano, Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums—was up on YouTube in pieces and in black and white. With the raw weather outside the windows, there was a gloominess about it. Now, the film has been colorized and there's a completely different feel. Turns out the sun came out from behind the clouds at times. I'm guessing the visit took place in late February, when the trio was in Finland before or after performing in Lund, Sweden.

Here's the full, half-hour film, in color...

Backgrounder: Ray Brown Trio - 'Don't Get Sassy'

On April 21 and 22, 1994, the Ray Brown Trio went to studio A at Signet Sound in West Hollywood to record an album called Don't Get Sassy for Robert Woods and Jack Renner's Telarc label. The trio was comprised of Benny Green on piano, Ray Brown on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums, and there appears to have been an audience on hand in the studio.

This trio had been recording together since 1991, when they backed James Morrison on Two the Max. Bass Face was next in 1993, followed by It's a Wonderful World backing vocalist Allan Harris with Claudio Roditi (tp,flhrn) and Tom Varner (fhr) and Mark Whitfield (g) joining in 1995. That same year, drummer Gregory Hutchinson replaced Hamilton, and other albums were recorded in 1995 and in 1996. In 1997, the trio was joined by Oscar Peterson on Oscar & Benny. [Photo above, from left, Jeff Hamilton, Ray Brown and Benny Green at Bermuda Onion Club in Toronto by Barry Thomson]

On Don't Get Sassy, the album not only features a powerful Ray Brown mixed hot but also showcases Benny, whose towering playing is magnificent, with Peterson's inspiration and influence on glorious display. The album is a knockout all the way through, so I figured I'd post it today as a Backgrounder—an album you can enjoy uninterrupted without ads. If want to own it, you'll find Don't Get Sassy here as a CD and digital download.

Here's the album...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in this 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.