JazzWax

Linda, Mina and Khatia

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress-singer Linda Lavin for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Linda talked about her childhood in Portland, Maine, and what her musician-singer mother sacrificed by leaving the stage in New York to move north. Linda also talked about her popular late 1970s-'80s sitcom Alice. Linda, as you might imagine from her smile above, is a warm, kind sweetheart. Her new album is Love Notes. [Photo above of Linda Lavin by Bill Westmorland courtesy of Linda Lavin]

Ever the performer, here's Linda at home last October in upstate New York at her new upright piano singing Long Ago and Far Away...

Camille Bertault. Back in June 2019, I featured clips from 2015 of Camille singing John Coltrane's Giant Steps and Hank Mobley's solo on If I Should Lose You. (here and here). [Photo above of Camille Bertault courtesty of Camille Bertault]

Now here's Camille back in October in a video for her album Le Tigre...

For more on Camille, go to her site here.

Jazz From Detroit: Virtual Music Marathon. On Saturday this weekend, from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET), watch live performances by alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, pianist Randy Porter, violinist Regina Carter with pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Robert Hurst’s Black Current Jam; and Balance with Michael Malis on piano and Marcus Elliot on saxophones. Also, see interviews by Mark Stryker, host and the author of Jazz From Detroit (University of Michigan Press). The event will be held at Orchestra Hall, Detroit. [Photo above of Charles McPherson courtesy of Charles McPherson] Tickets are $9 (go here). Performances will be archived for two weeks for on-demand viewing.

Cecil Payne. Last week, Jim Eigo of Jazz Promo Services sent along a link to a rare video of baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne (above) playing All the Things You Are...

CDs you should know about:

Esther Bennett & Terence Collie—Safe Places (TC). This EP features a gorgeous collection of original songs written by English vocalist-lyricist Esther Bennett and pianist Terence Collie in collaboration with various artists. As Esther notes, the music was composed before and during the pandemic and address "life indoors searching for love's fulfillness, the celebration of the free spirit and the rejection of the restraints that society often demands of us." Esther and Terence are joined by bassist Richard Sadler, drummer Sophie Alloway, percussionist Matt Hodge and Duncan Lamont Jr. and Hannah Horton on saxophones and flute. I love the integrity and beauty of Esther's voice. Go here.

Here's End of Summer...

Charlie Porter—Hindsight (Origin). Trumpeter Charlie Porter has just released his third album as a leader. The new album follows Immigration Nation, which was voted by Down Beat as one of the best albums of 2020 and winner of a 2020 Grammy. According to Charlie, the new album contemplates "how we act in hindsight to deal with the collateral damage of progress, including the impact of modernization on the environment and the centuries-old struggles with racism, inequality and corruption." Joining Charlie are pianist Orrin Evans, guitarist Mike Moreno, saxophonist Nick Biello, bassists David Wong and Damian Erskine, Behn Gillece on vibes, drummer Kenneth Salters, along with several guest performers including the legendary n’goni player from Africa, Bassekou Kouyate. What I love most about this album is the emotional depth of Charlie's trumpet and the shifting styles of the original songs. Go here.

Here's a promo video...

And here's the title track...

Old New York. Director Raymond De Felitta sent along a fascinating interactive map. Just click on one of the many red dots on the map to see early photos of that location. If you live in New York or used to live here, it will be quite a revelation to see what your neighborhood looked like nearly 100 years ago. Go here.

Mina. Here's Italian pop star Mina singing You Made Me So Very Happy, in 1972...

If you love Mina as I do, here's the entire concert...

And here's Mina in her prime in 1960, singing Gino Paoli's Il Cielo in una Stanza...

Got 34 minutes? Last week I stumbled across Georgian classical pianist Khatia Buniatishvili performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 1 in C major, Op. 15, accompanied by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Zubin Mehta conducting in July 2015. Astonishing confidence, technique and sensitivity. A classical rock star. Hang in until the very end.

Here she is...

Leonid & Friends: Chicago

The first time I heard Leonid & Friends, I thought for a second they were syncing to Chicago's recordings from the early 1970s. Turns out Leonid & Friends is a Russian-Ukrainian cover band with impeccable ears and talent. Leonid is Leonid Vorobyev (third from left), a Moscow producer, bassist, transcriber and arranger. In concert, the tentet recreates American hits perfectly, but they're probably best known for their precise Chicago covers. What sets them apart is that they work hard to sound exactly like the original recording. They sound just as good on Blood, Sweat & Tears and Earth, Wind & Fire—any pop-rock band with a horn section.

At the dawn of the 1970s, Chicago seemed to be on every AM radio at once. The band produced hit after hit, using a clean wash of acoustic jazz and rock. While jazz-fusion went the electric route, brass-rock bands such as Blood, Sweat & Tears; Tower of Power; Electric Flag; Chase (as in trumpeter Bill Chase); Lighthouse and others relied more heavily on jazz-driven horn sections. Ultimately, Chicago stood out thanks to their songwriting.  

For more information on the Leonid & Friends, go here. To help the performing band survive the current touring crisis caused by the Covid virus, go here. Before Covid, the band toured often in the U.S. It's anyone's guess when people will feel safe enough to return to venue seats.

For now, let's dig Leonid & Friends' Chicago catalog:

Here's Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is...

Here's Beginnings...

Here's 25 or 6 to 4...

Here's Questions 67 & 68...

Here's Make Me Smile...

Here's Dialogue (Part I & II)...

Here's Just You 'n' Me...

Here's If You Leave Me Now...

How would the band sound on Blood, Sweat & Tears? Here's Spinning Wheel...

And here's Earth, Wind & Fire's September...

September featured Leonid Vorobyev (b), Sergey Kashirin (g,lead voc), Igor Javad-Zade (d), Vlad Senchillo (p,el p), Serge Tiagnyriadno (g,backing voc), Ksenia Buzina (backing voc), Maxim Likhachev (tb), Oleg Kudryavtsev (ts), Andrey Zyl (tp), Vladimir Popov (cowbell) and Vladimir Morgovsky (strings group manager).

Buddy Rich on the Road, 1978

The Buddy Rich Big Band was the last great swing orchestra. The band toured relentlessly in the late 1960s, '70s and '80s, up until Rich's death in 1987. The band's ballads and barn-burners were compelling. What's more, the band had its own sound and featured sterling arrangements and captivating soloists. Rich's '78 band was particularly exceptional, especially on the road. 

Here's the Buddy Rich Big Band in Sweden in '78, with special guest soloists Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Harry "Sweets" Edison in Part 2...    

Here's Part 1...

Here's Part 2...

Here's the band at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland in '78...

Here's the band in Nice, France, in '78...

And here's the band at the Umbria Jazz Festival in '78...

Bonus: Here's Buddy Rich's West Side Story Medley in 1968. The arrangement by Bill Reddie was nominated for a Grammy in '67...