JazzWax

Will, Harold and Rosemary

For The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actor-comedian Will Forte for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Will is best known for his years on Saturday Night Live and the sitcom The Last Man on Earth. He now co-stars in the new Netlfix series The Four Seasons as Tina Fey's husband. [Photo above of Will Forte in The Four Seasons by Jon Pack/Netflix]

Here's the trailer...

What I'm Watching

Watched and liked this past week...

• Anna (2019)—Action thriller (Tubi)
• The Bletchley Circle (2012)—Mystery drama series set in 1952 (Tubi/Britbox)

Worthwhile stuff that started or will start soon...

• Bosch Legacy S3 (Prime)
• 1923 (Paramount+)
• Mobland (Paramount+)
• Dark Winds S3 (AMC)
• Long Bright River (Peacock)
• Good American Family (Hulu)
• Alto Knights (film)
• The Four Seasons (Netflix)
• Words of War (theaters)
• The Better Sister (May 22/Prime)
• Deep Cover (June 12/film)

My favorite streaming series, ranked...

1. Babylon Berlin
2. Adolescence
3. My Brilliant Friend
4. The Promised Life
5. Killing Eve
6. The Crown
7. Mad Men
8. The Americans
9. Younger
10. Fleabag
11. Band of Brothers
12. The Sopranos
13. Enlightened
14. Friday Night Lights
15. Justified
16. Good American Family
17. Feud: Bette and Joan
18. The Old Man
19. Downton Abbey
20. The Blacklist
21. Goliath
22. Julia
23. The Gentlemen
24. Turn: Washington's Spies
25. Unbelievable
26. Landman
27. Voiceless (Bella da morire)(2020/MHz)
28. Black Doves
29. Web Therapy

Past recommended series, films and documentaries...

TV series

• The Affair—(2014-2019/Hulu)
• Alaska Daily—(2022/Prime)
• The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
• Anatomy of a Scandal—(2022/Netflix)
• Apples Never Fall—2024/Peacock)
• Babylon Berlin (2017-2024/MHz via Prime Video)
• Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix) 
• The Bay (2019-current/BritBox)
• Black Doves (2024/Netflix)
• The Blacklist (2013-2023/Netflix)
• Belgravia—(2020/Prime Video)
• Blue Lights—(2023/BritBox)
• Bosch—(2014-2021/Prime)
• Bosch: Legacy—(2022-current/Prime)
• The Crown—(2016-2023/Netflix)
• Cherif—(2013-2019/Prime)
• Dark Winds—(2022/AMC)
• The Diplomat—(2023/Netflix)
• Downton Abbey—(2020-2015/Prime)
• The Dropout (2022/Hulu)
• Elizabeth 1 (2005/Max)
• Emily in Paris—(2020-present/Netflix)
• Enlightened—(2011-2013/Max)
• Feud (S1): Bette and Joan—(2017/Hulu)
• Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans—(2024/FX, with streaming on Hulu)
• Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
• Friday Night Lights (2006-2011/Netflix)
• The Gentlemen—(2024/Netflix)
• Godless—(2017/Netflix)
• Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
• The Gilded Age—(current/Max)
• High Water—(2022/Netflix)
• Homeland—(2011-2020/Showtime)
• Il Commissario Manara (Inspector Manara) (2009-2011/MHz)
• Jane Eyre—(2006/Britbox)
• Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
• Killing Eve—(2018-2022/Netflix)
• Life & Beth—(Seasons 1& 2, 2022-present/Hulu)
• Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
• Lioness—(2023-current/Paramount+)
• Loudermilk—(2017-2020/Netflix)
• MI-5, the Series—(2002-2011/BritBox)
• Mobland—(2025/Paramount+)
• Monsieur Spade—(2024/AMC)
• Murdaugh Murders: The Movie, Parts 1 and 2—(2023/Lifetime)
• My Brilliant Friend—(2018-current/Max)
• The Night Agent—(2023-present/Netflix)
• 1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
• 1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
• The Old Man—(2022/Hulu)
• On Call—2025/Amazon Prime)
• Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
• Protection—(2024/S1/BritBox)
• The Perfect Couple—(2024/Netflix)
• Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
• The Promised Life—(2018/MHz via Prime Video)
• Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
• Ripley—(2024/Netflix)
• Scott & Bailey (2011-2016/Prime)
• The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
• Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
• Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
• Under the Banner of Heave—(2022/Hulu)
• Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
• Voiceless (Bella da morire—(2020/MHz)
• The Watcher—(2022/Netflix)
• The Way Home—(2023-current/Peacock)
• Who Is Erin Carter—(2023/Netflix)
• The Woman in the Wall—(2024/Showtime)
• The Veil—(2024/Hulu-FX)
• Web Therapy—(2011-2015/Fandango)
• Wilder—(2017-current)
• WPC 56—(2013-2015/Britbox)
• Yellowstone—(2018-present/Paramount Network)
• Younger—(2015-2021K/Netflix)

Films

• The Accountant—(2016/Hulu)
• American Gangster—(2007/Max)
• Armageddon Time—(2022/Prime)
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs—(2018/Netflix)
• The Ballad of Lefty Brown—(2017/Netflix)
• Blackout (2022/Netflix) 
• The Bricklayer—(2024/Netflix)
• The Commuter (2018/Netflix)
• The Dig—(2021/Netflix)
• Eiffel—(2021/Prime)
• Enola Holmes 1 and 2—(2022/Netflix)
• Enrico Piaggio - Un Sogno Italiano (An Italian Dream) (2019/MHz)
• The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3—(2014-2024/Prime)
• The Great Lillian Hall—(2024/Max)
• The Family Man—(2000/Netflix)
• Fury—(2014/Netflix)
• God's Country—(2022/Hulu)
• Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
• I Used to Be Funny (2023/Netflix)
• Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+) 
• Just My Luck (2006/Paramount+)
• Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
• Killers of the Flower Moon—(2023/Apple+)
• La Palma (2024/Netflix)
• Life or Something Like It—(2002/Netflix)
• Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
• Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
• Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
• The Little Things—(2021/Netflix)
• Lonely Planet—(2024)/Netflix)
• Man on Fire—(2004/Max)
• Manchester by the Sea—(2016/Prime Video)
• MI-5—(2015/Max)
• The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
• The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
• 99 Homes—(2014/Roku)
• Nobody—(2021/Prime)
• Nobody Wants This—(2024/Netflix)
• Ordinary Angels—(2024/assorted platforms)
• The Pledge—(2011/Peacock)
• Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
• The Queen—(2006/Paramount+)
• The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
• Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
• Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
• Ruthless—(2023/Hulu)
• The Secret: Dare to Dream—(2020/Netflix).
• Sicario (2015/Netflix)
• Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
• Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
• Some Girl(s)—(2013/Amazon Prime)
• Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
• Spy(ies)—(2009/Prime)
• The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
• Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
• The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
• Up in the Air—(2009/Max)
• Woman in Gold—(2015/Max)
• Wonder Wheel—(2017/Prime)

Documentaries

• Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake—(2022/Netflix)
• The Beach Boys—(2024/Disney)
• Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023/PBS)
• The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
• Cunk on Earth—(2022/Netflix)
• Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing—(2023/Paramount+)
• Facing Nolan—(2022/Netflix)
• Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
• Jane Fonda in Five Acts—(2024/Max)
• Kate Hepburn: Call Me Kate—(2023/Netflix)
• The Only Girl in the Orchestra—(2023/Netflix)
• Suzi Q: Suzi Quatro—(2019/Prime)
• The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
• 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here)

Greg Abate. After my post last week on alto saxophonist Greg Abate, he reached out to chat and sent along a link to a recent full live gig at Smalls in New York. Go here and move the time bar to 40:30...

Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival will run this year in Ystad, Sweden, from July 30 to August 2. Among the artists who will be performing are guitarist Mike Stern, vocalist Catherine Russell and pianist Jan Lundgren. Jan will be with bassist Anders Jorman and drummer Wolfgang Haffner playing a tribute to Bill Evans. (Wish I were there for that, Jan. I hope someone is recording for future release.) For artist and ticket information, go here. [Photo above of Ystad]

More from Sweden. The Swedish broadcasting company Sveriges Radio/Jazzradion has posted a long list of amazing jazz performances. Go here. For starters, check out baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin and tenor saxophonist Rolf Billberg performing in 1964 here. Thanks, Itta! [Photo above of Lars Gullin]

New music of note

Mafalda Minnozzi—Riofonic (MPI). Italian singer-guitarist Mafalda is proficient in classical, jazz and bossa nova, and she brings them all together on her new album. After performing in Rio de Janeiro in 1995, she remained in Brazil for a year recording and touring. She also has performed regularly in New York. Her new album was recorded in Rio and produced by Paul Ricci, who plays guitar and arranged many of the album's songs. Mafalda's voice and the music have a beachy feel, so much so you can imagine sand underfoot. When I searched for the album on Amazon to add a link, it was surrounded by sponsored ads for suntan lotions. Go figure! It's not a stretch to say she's the Italian-Brazilian Blossom Dearie. Buy here.

Here's Roberto Menescal and Ronaldo Boscoli's Rio... 

Albare—Eclecticity (ALFI). Albare is the stage name of Albare Dadon, a guitarist born in Morocco and raised in Israel and France. His new album is intoxicating largely because he's one of a kind. Songs are lyrical and fusion-esque, building to a crescendo with a guitar-noir quality. Albare plays unlike anyone else, and all of his tracks are thought out and intended to steal your heart. That's why I love his new album. It gets under your skin fast. Listen to it here.  

Ray Barretto—Barretto (Craft Recordings). The Craft Recordings label is doing an amazing job reissuing salsa masterpieces. Most jazz fans know Ray Barretto as the session musician who was brought in to play congas and bongos behind artists on recording sessions since the early 1950s. Jazz musicians who have recorded with him include Red Garland, Neal Hefti, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Lou Donaldson and virtually everyone else. On his own in the late 1960s and '70s, Barretto was a salsa monster, recording numerous albums. Craft has just re-issued Barretto (1975), remastered on 180-gram vinyl. It sounds fantastic. Buy here.

Here's Guarare...

Harold Mabern radio. WKCR-FM's Sid Gribetz will present a five-hour tribute to the pianist on Sunday, May 18, from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET) on “Jazz Profiles.” Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.

And finally, to wind up on live TV in the mid- and late-1950s, you had to be exceptionally talented. To have your own show, you had to be flawless. Here's Rosemary Clooney and the Hi-Lo's singing a swinging rendition of Don'cha Go 'Way Mad (move the time bar to 14:55) [photo above of Rosemary Clooney]...

Backgrounder: Grant Green and Sonny Clark

Throughout jazz history, there have been magical pairings of musicians in  recording studios. Sometimes the union was established jointly by the two musicians. At other times, producers brought them together. These couplings include Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden, Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Shirley Scott and Stanley Turrentine, Sonny Stitt and Don Patterson, and Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams. 

Add to the list guitarist Grant Green and pianist Sonny Clark. Their souls were in the same groove and they played off each other neatly. They also had a terrific juxtaposition—Green's pronounced, pointed attack pressed against Clark's smoothed out elegant approach. Both could swing.

They recorded four albums' worth of material together in 1961 and '62. The shocker is that none of the tracks were released by Blue Note until the 1980s. Which is baffling and criminal. The albums are Gooden's Corner (recorded in 1961 and released in 1980), Nigeria (1962/1980), Oleo (1962/1980) and Born to Be Blue (1962/1985). We can thank the late Michael Cuscuna, the Blue Note reissue producer in the late 1970s and '80s, for bringing these to light.

How about all the Green-Clark quartet collaborations?

Here's Grant Green: The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark, without ad interruptions... 

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays, go here.
• Paul Quinichette: Moods, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest: Forrest Fire!, go here.
• Brazilian Jazz Quartet: Coffee and Jazz, go here.
• Art Blakey!!! Jazz Messengers!!!, go here.
• Sidney Bechet/Martial Solal, go here.
• John Carisi: The New Jazz Sound Of "Show Boat," go here.
• The Marty Paich Quartet, Featuring Art Pepper, go here.
• João Gilberto, 1998, go here.
• Bobby Timmons: Soul Time, go here.
• Gerry Mulligan: Jeru, go here.
• Ray Bryant: Alone With the Blues, go here.
• Leon Spencer Jr.: Bad Walking Woman, go here.
• Jimmy McGriff: Step 1, go here.
• Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Breakout, go here.
• Oliver Nelson: Taking Care of Business, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Americans in Paris, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Tune-Up!, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Yardbird Suite, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Twilight Time, go here.
• Lou Levy Quartet: Jazz in Four Colors, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Rapaz de Bem, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Poppin', go here.
• Barney Kessel: Kessel's Kit, go here.
• Larry Young: Into Somethin', go here.
• Henry Mancini: The Jazz Sound From Peter Gunn, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Night Crawler, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Around the Horn, go here.
• Frank Rosolino: Franky Speaking!, go here.
• Ben Webster: King of the Tenors, go here.
• Kenny Dorham: Una Mas, go here.
• Gigi Gryce: Nica's Tempo, go here.
• Charlie Parker With Strings: The Master Takes, go here.
• The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn Jr., go here.
• The Complete Chet Baker Sings, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Courts the Count, go here.
• Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19, go here.
• Kenny Burrell, Jazzmen - Detroit, go here.
• Bill Watrous, In Love Again, go here.
• Gene Ammons, Boss Tenor, go here.
• Roy Eldridge: The Strolling Mr. Eldridge, go here.
• Clifford Brown and Max Roach with Sonny Rollins, go here.
• Fats Navarro: Nostalgia, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Hank Mobley Quintet, go here.
• Sandy Mosse: Relaxin' With..., go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: A Message From Newport, go here.
• Jimmy Raney: Two Jims and Zoot, go here.
• Zoot Sims Plays 4 Altos, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest: Out of the Forrest, go here.
• Jazz Studio 2, From Hollywood, go here.
• Billy Taylor: My Fair Lady Loves Jazz, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Soul Station, go here.
• Sylvia Telles, Lúcio Alves and Roberto Menescal: Bossa Session, go here.
• Horace Silver: The Horace Silver Trio, go here.
• Walter Davis: Davis Cup, go here.
• Wynton Kelly: Kelly at Midnite, go here.
• Jack Sheldon: Jack's Groove, go here.
• Herbie Nichols: Complete Masters, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Hank Mobley Quartet, go here.
• Mundell Lowe: Satan in High Heels, go here.
• Hal McKusick and Art Farmer: Quintet Sessions, go here.
• Os Poligonais: Os Poligonais, go here.
• Buddy Fite: Tasty, go here.
• Al Sears: Swing's the Thing, go here.
• A.K. Salim: Complete Savoy Recordings, go here.
• Rosinha de Valença, go here.
• Remo Rau, Evening at Cafe Africana, go here.
• Georgie Auld, Plays the Winners, go here.
• Complete Oscar Pettiford Orchestra, go here.
• East Coast - West Coast Scene, go here.
• O'Donel Levy: Black Velvet, go here.
• Sonny Rollins: Alfie, go here.
• Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By, go here.

Perfection: Jimmy Forrest - 'Soul Street' (1960)

Dial Records initiated the "tenor battle" concept in 1947 when the label brought bebop saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray into the studio to record Gordon's composition The Chase. Prestige Records then perfected and exploited the dueling-tenors format, starting in 1950, with Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons recording of Blues Up and Down and other 78 sides. 

Among Prestige's series of tenor pairings between 1950 and '60 were Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane playing Tenor Madness (1956); Very Saxy in 1959 with tenor saxophonists Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Buddy Tate, Arnett Cobb and Coleman Hawkins; Tenor Conclave (1956) with Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Zoot Sims and Al Cohn; Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins on Sonny Side Up (1959) and "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin on Battle Stations (1960). Many more would follow.

One of the baddest, "boss tenors" tracks recorded by Prestige during this 10-year period was Jimmy Forrest's original Soul Street. The earthy blues was captured during Prestige's Soul Battle recording session in September 1960, featuring tenor saxophonists Jimmy Forrest, King Curtis and Oliver Nelson. The LP wasn't released until 1962.

Too long for the album at 9:06, Soul Street turned up instead on a Forrest compilation LP of the same name, also in 1962. The rhythm section backing the three tenors featured Gene Casey (p), George Duvivier (b) and Roy Haynes (d). Sheer perfection!

Here's Soul Street, with Forrest taking the first solo, Curtis the second and Nelson the third...

Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...

• Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time, go here.
• John Coltrane: You Say You Care, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Funk Junction, go here.
• Art Farmer's Work of Art, go here.
• Miles Davis: A Gal in Calico, go here.
• Gene Krupa: Mulligan Stew, go here.
• Dave Brubeck: The Duke, go here.
• Horace Silver: The Back Beat, go here.
• Horace Parlan: Up & Down, go here.
• Dexter Gordon: Society Red, go here.
• Barney Kessel: You Go to My Head, go here.
• Count Basie: Corner Pocket, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Manteca, go here.
• Donald Byrd: Bronze Dance, go here.
• George Shearing: I'll Be Around, go here.
• Ammons & Stitt: You Talk That Talk, go here.
• Count Basie: Blues in My Heart, go here.
• Moonlight in Vermont, go here.
• Johnny Griffin / Matthew Gee, Here, go here.
• Jimmy Smith / Stanley Turrentine, When I Grow Too Old to Dream, go here.
• Chet Baker: Estate, go here.
• Jazz Studio 1: Tenderly, go here.
• Herb Pomeroy: Down Home Outing, go here.
• Frank Sinatra: There's a Small Hotel, go here.
• Bill Harris Herd: Blackstrap, go here.
• Gerry Mulligan: Westwood Walk, go here.
• Red Garland/Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: We'll Be Together Again, go here.
• Bill Evans: Reflections in D, go here.
• Ted McNabb & Co.: Mountain Greenery, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Fox Hunt, go here.
• Serge Chaloff & the Herdsmen: The Most!, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Starfire, go here.
• Urbie Green, Please, go here.
• Machito, Conversation, go here.
• David Allyn, Love Is a Serious Thing, go here.
• Lennie Tristano, Wow, go here.
• Teddy Charles, Borodin Bossa Nova, go here.
• Gerry Mulligan, Night Lights, go here.
• Tommy Flanagan, In the Blue of Evening, go here.
• Stan Getz, Stella by Starlight, go here.
• Erroll Garner, It's the Talk of the Town, go here.
• Sonny Stitt, Miss Ann, Lisa, Sue and Sadie, go here.