JazzWax

Laura Nyro: The Sound of the Late 1960s

Yesterday I had a deep yearning to listen to Laura Nyro. One of the first popular singer-songwriters of the rock era, she began recording albums in 1966, before Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon or Carole King. Few singers touch me as deeply or remind me of that period than Nyro, and, like you, I can tell it's her within three chords. Her keyboard phrasing was at once soulful and melancholy, a blend that perfectly mirrored the emotionalism of the times. [Photo above of Laura Nyro from a trade ad for Eli & the Thirteenth Confession]

Nyro's best-known pop songs were And When I Die, Stoney End, Flim Flam Man, Wedding Bell Blues, Blowin’ Away, Sweet Blindness, Poverty Train, Eli’s Comin’, Stoned Soul Picnic and Save the Country. And yet, other artists were the ones who turned those songs into megahits.

In some regards, Nyro's versions were demos, but that's a bit unfair. While she didn't have that extra something to put a song over in the mass market, she was singular, poetic and a distinct voice with conviction that compels you to feel. You have no choice.

Though her first album was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (Nyro died in 1997), she never won a Grammy nor has she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. Even more shocking is that no serious documentary has ever been made of her life and music, to explain the artist behind the work or why the music mattered.

One day, I suppose, a leading jazz singer will decide she's had enough of the American songbook and attempt a credible and empathetic Laura Nyro tribute album. A singer shouldn't attempt imitation, but yearning, pain and a sense of bounding freedom, as if running through a field, are required. One can only hope.

At any rate, here are the precious few video clips available of Nyro in concert along with a few of my other favorites:

Here's a solid CBS Sunday Morning segment from 2001...

Here's Nyro on TV's Kraft Music Hall in January 1969...

Here's Nyro performing at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967...

Here's clean audio from a Fillmore East concert in 1970...

Here's a concert in Pittsburgh in June 1994 (the video is bleary so just let the music play in the background)...

And here's my favorite Nyro album—the complete Eli & the Thirteenth Confession (1968)...

Laura Nyro died on April 8, 1997 of ovarian cancer, at age 49.

A 19 CD set, Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995 Deluxe, was issued by Madfish last year here.

Miles Davis: 'Walkin' and 'Musings'

The 1950s produced two pop superstars—Elvis Presley and Miles Davis. Both began the decade recording for smaller labels and were launched into the mainstream by larger ones—Presley on Sun and then RCA, and Davis on Prestige and then Columbia. Both were perceived as ultra cool and a departure from the norm, both were viewed as sex symbols and both achieved fame through a conversational lyricism—Presley with his vocal approach and Davis with his trumpet.

What's more, both Presley and Davis are still thought of as cultural starting points for their musical realms in the 12-inch LP era. Presley continues to be viewed as the king of rock 'n' roll and Davis is still considered the first jazz superstar. Interestingly, both began their trajectory to fame and fortune between 1954 and '55.

In the case of Davis, two albums he recorded for Prestige offer a glimpse of the trumpet star during his ascent: Walkin' (a compilation of earlier work recorded in April 1954) and The Musings of Miles (his first 12-inch LP recorded in June 1955). Walkin' wouldn't be released until 1957, thanks to a deal worked out between Prestige and Columbia

Eager to sign Davis to Columbia in 1955 with the onset of the 12-inch pop LP, Columbia jazz A&R chief George Avakian convinced Bob Weinstock of Prestige to have Davis record the four remaining albums he owed Prestige all at once over two recording sessions in 1956. 

As George said during one of our many conversations, he told Weinstock that by releasing these four albums slowly along with any other 12-inch reissues, Prestige would be able to boost sales by riding the coattails of Davis's success at Columbia. Weinstock immediately saw the value and agreed. 

Recorded in 1954 but released three years later, Walkin' was a 12-inch LP of material previously issued by Prestige on two 10-inch LPs. The title track, credited to Jimmy Mundy and Richard Carpenter, is often mischaracterized as the first hard bop recording. In fact, that honor belongs to the Lou Donaldson/Clifford Brown Quintet's New Faces, New Sounds album recorded in June 1953.

The first two tracks of Walkin'—Walkin' and Blue 'n' Boogie—feature Miles Davis (tp), Lucky Thompson (ts), J. J. Johnson (tb), Horace Silver (p), Percy Heath (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). The last three—Solar, You Don't Know What Love Is and Love Me or Leave Me—combines Miles Davis (tp), David Schildkraut (as), Horace Silver (p), Percy Heath (b) and Kenny Clarke (d).

The Musings of Miles (recorded in 1955 and released that year) featured Miles Davis (tp), Red Garland (p), Oscar Pettiford (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). This album was the first to provide an inkling of Davis's tender approach that he'd exploit at Columbia starting with 'Round About Midnight, recorded in 1955 and '56 and released in 1957.

The tracks on Musings are Will You Still Be Mine?, I See Your Face Before Me, I Didn't, A Gal in Calico, A Night in Tunisia and Green Haze. 

Now, Craft Recordings has remastered and reissued both albums on 180-gram vinyl with the original cover art and back-cover liner notes by Ira Gitler. The new LPs sound warm and dimensional.

For vinyl fans who want to have fun, listen to Walkin', then The Musings of Miles followed by 'Round About Midnight (Columbia) for a full sense of Miles Davis's chronological evolution, from trumpet innovator in 1954 to stylist in 1955 and '56, and jazz superstar in 1957.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find the LP reissues of Walkin' and The Musings of Miles here and here.

Or listen on all major streaming platforms. YouTube's Musings is streaming here. Craft doesn't seem to have posted a Walkin' album stream on YouTube yet.

JazzWax clips: Here's Walkin', from Walkin'...

And here's Green Haze from The Musings of Miles...

Michael, Roger and Buster

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actor Michael Gandolfini, son of the late James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano on TV's The Sopranos, for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Michael is in Warfare, one of the most powerful and gripping anti-war movies I've ever seen. [Photo of Michael Gandolfini as Lt. McDonald in Warfare, courtesy of A24]

Here's Michael as the teenage Tony Soprano in The Sopranos' prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark...

And here's Warfare...

What I'm watching

Currently...

• The Four Seasons
• Deep Cover
• Mobland
• Bosch Legacy

Worthwhile stuff that has 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 (May 1/Netflix)
• The Better Sister (May 22/Prime)
• Deep Cover (June 12/film)

My favorite streaming series, ranked...

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

Roger Kellaway on Sonny Rollins. Following my post on a new British jazz box from Cherry Red, I heard from legendary pianist Roger Kellaway:

"Hi Marc. I remember playing with several players from the box your posted about along with tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott in the 1960s and '70s at the Half Note in New York. I had this glorious experience again in 1978 when I lived in London for a year.

"I also loved your reference to Sonny Rollins’s Alfie album from 1966—one of my favorites that I had the pleasure of playing on. On the track Transition Theme for Minor Blues, I wound up taking two piano solos when I was just supposed to take one. During the session, I took my first and I could see Sonny from across the room. Sonny then soloed until he suddenly stopped and squatted down, as if to rest. I knew immediately there was going to be dead space on the track, so, I jumped in with another solo. I have no idea why he did that.

"Just after recording Alfie, I was playing a jazz concert at Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall. As I stood backstage, an elevator door opened. The only person in there was Sonny, in the far-left corner, squatting down. I guess he did that a lot either to rest or to think.

"That same year, I was playing a gig at New York's Half Note in Greenwich Village with the Clark Terry/Bob Brookmeyer Quintet. On a break, I was outside the club when an Alfa Romeo pulled up. It was Sonny, wearing a cowboy hat. He looked at me and I looked at him. He said, 'Hey, Kellaway!' I said,'Hi, Sonny.' Those two greetings add up to our entire verbal relationship to this day. The rest was communicated through music."

Here's Transition Theme for Minor Blues, from the Alfie soundtrack, with two solos by pianist Roger Kellaway...

Jimmy Mundy. After my post on swing arranger-composer Jimmy Mundy, I heard from Alan Matheson, a jazz pianist and trumpeter as well as an educator at the University of British Columbia in Canada [photo above of Paul Whiteman]:

"Hi Marc. Many thanks for your great tribute to Jimmy Mundy, an absolute master. Your post included Mundy's arrangement of Tea for Two for Artie Shaw. Listening to it, I realized that Mundy had recycled part of an earlier arrangement for the Shaw chart.

"Back in 1995, we performed Mundy's arrangement of A Zoot Suit during a tribute concert at CBC Vancouver’s Studio One. He had written it for Paul Whiteman in 1942. After listening to the Artie Shaw clip, I realize Mundy had used part of his shout chorus for A Zoot Suit as the shout chorus for his arrangement two years later of Tea For Two.

"By the way, Mundy wrote a number of excellent arrangements for the 1940-42 Whiteman band, including: Tangerine and Take the A Train, which weren’t recorded, and Travelin’ Light and I’m Old Fashioned, which were. Whiteman had hired Mundy to modernize his book of arrangements during this period. We played them all back in 1995, and they sounded great."

[Editor's note: A shout chorus is when the entire band plays together on a chorus, often loud and with high energy.]

Here's Mundy's arrangement of Tea for Two, played by the Artie Shaw Orchestra in 1944 (the shout chorus comes at 2:33)...

And here's Mundy's arrangement of A Zoot Suit, played by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1942 (the shout chorus comes at 2:27)...

Bonus: Here's Mundy's arrangement of Travelin' Light for Whiteman in 1942...

And here's Mundy's arrangement of I'm Old Fashioned for Whiteman in 1942...

Maynard Ferguson. Bret Primack recently sent along a link to a live radio broadcast of the Maynard Ferguson Big Band at Birdland on December 31, 1963 [photo above of Maynard Ferguson]. Go here...

Buster Keaton was one of the funniest and most daring of all the comic silent-film stars. Here's an impossibly clever scene from Keaton's Sherlock Jr. (1924) [photo above of Buster Keaton]...

Julia Child. I can totally relate to the following. I often feel tears coming on when something creative is overwhelmingly beautiful and perfect—whether that's music, writing, acting, art or food. Here's Julia Child (above), choking up and on the verge of crying over a perfect dessert. Watch the entire episode—or move the time bar to 21:12, when Nancy Silverton's tart comes out of the oven...

Charles Mingus radio. WKCR-FM in New York will present its annual Charles Mingus Birthday Broadcast on Tuesday, April 22, presenting the music of the legendary bassist and composer. The radio tribute will last for 24 hours and will start at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday night. You can listen from anywhere in the world by going here. [Photo above of Charles Mingus, courtesy of Spotify]

And finally, move this video clip to 34:30 and enjoy two of the world's greatest jazz-pop vocalists singing together on a duet in London in 1961...