JazzWax

Fab 50's Vocalist: Vicky Lane

By now I'm sure you know I dig obscure, dynamic female jazz vocalists who recorded in the 1950s. In the past, I've raved about Betty Bennett, Doris Drew, Jane Fielding, Marcy Lutes, Mavis Rivers, Peggy Connelly, Thelma Gracen and Toni Harper. And for your convenience, they're all linked to my posts down the right-hand side, under "Fab '50s Vocalists." Today I want to introduce you to Vicky Lane's I Swing for You (RCA).

The album was recorded in Hollywood in 1959. What makes it extra special is that the combo was arranged and conducted by Pete Candoli. The personnel included Candoli on trumpet, Barney Kessel on guitar, Johnny Williams and Jimmy Rowles on piano, Joe Mondragon on bass with Alvin Stoller, Larry Bunker, Milt Holland, Lou Singer, Ralph Hansell, Johnny Cyr and Gene Estes alternating on drums and a range of percussion instruments, including chimes, xylophone, vibraphone, bongos and tympani.

Born in Ireland (nee Coghlan), Lane was an American actress who was married to Candoli between 1953 and 1958. Her singing voice on this album is deep, melodic, hip and upbeat, akin to Jo Stafford—though Lane's range was a little higher. As Billboard noted in its December 1959 mention of the album, "Watch this girl, she has talent." Oddly, this was the only LP she recorded.

Lane did record two singles with Candoli in 1955 for Sunset Records. The songs were 'S Wonderful backed by I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues, and Global Blues backed by I Love a Parade. Given the odd titles and range here, these were likely made to serve as demos, and Candoli was able to get her some press. As Billboard noted in December 1955 in a squib...

"Pete Candoli backs up his Mrs. here with some wailin' blues trumpet tones. The lady shows some fine feel for the blues idiom on her first outing on wax."

Thanks to Billboard we also know that Lane signed with RCA in February 1959, after Candoli brought her to the attention of Bob Yorke, head of the label's West Coast operations.

All of the tracks on I Swing for You are brightly arranged in the '50s Hollywood vernacular. The 12 breezy tracks are The Trolley Song, Our Very Own, My Romance, You Hit the Spot, Love Isn't Born (It's Made), My Heart Stood Still, They Say It's Wonderful, The Song Is You, Long Ago and Far Away, I Love You, Right as the Rain and This Heart of Mine.

Attention female vocalists: There are a handful of sleepers here that you may want to explore: Our Very Own, You Hit the Spot, Right as Rain and This Heart of Mine.

Also, a word about Candoli's orchestration. As you listen to the clip below, remember how relatively small this combo is. Amazing what you can do with the right core instrumentenation—trumpet, guitar, vibes and drums). Sounds much larger.

Lane died in August 1983 at the young age of 57. Hopefully Tara Candoli, her daughter with Pete Candoli, will reach out. Vicky Lane was a special vocalist, and perhaps in the weeks ahead I can provide more details about her singing career.

JazzWax tracks: Out of print, this album is selling for over $100 as an LP at eBay but for around $14 on CD here. You also may be able to find it at download sites.

JazzWax clip: Here's Vicky Lane singing You Hit the Spot from I Swing for You. Please note that the model who appears on the album cover used for this clip is not Vicky Lane and that Lane's first name is misspelled there. Dig the smart, tight arrangement by Candoli and Lane's intonation throughout as she surfs the tempo...

 

Complete Works of Pepper Adams

If Gerry Mulligan's mannered, contrapuntal baritone saxophone style can be likened to a badminton player, then Pepper Adams' approach can be compared to a street brawler. Born in Michigan, Adams moved as a child with his family to upstate New York and then to Detroit, where at age 16 he took up the baritone sax. His relocation back to New York in the mid-1950s put him in play on the recording scene, particularly with hard bop players.

Adams had the remarkable ability to blow low with enormous power and swing, becoming a hefty addition to big band reed sections. He also was an equally dominant voice in small groups, adding ferocious excitement and stamina. As a songwriter, Adams was lyrical and prolific, composing 43 pieces. 

We know this because jazz historian and album producer Gary Carner [pictured] has long been diligently obsessed with the Adams legacy. While a graduate English student at the City College of New York in 1984, Carner befriended Adams and spent months interviewing him for a paper and biography. Then Adams grew ill with cancer in 1985. Shortly before Adams died in September 1986, Carner ran into pianist Tommy Flanagan, who was Adams' closest friend.

As Carner relates:

"Flanagan told me that Adams was very frail, lapsing in and out of a coma. But once, when he came to, Pepper tried feebly to nudge with his fingers [my manuscript] in Tommy's direction, as if to draw attention to it and give it weight. Adams wanted this material to survive him after his death, and Flanagan made sure that I was aware of it."

Following Adams' death, Carner focused on preserving Adams' work. Twenty-six years later, Carner has collated Adams' papers, lead sheets, photographs and the remains of his estate, establishing an extensive tribute website (go here) along the way. He also painstakingly has assembled Adams' discography. In the process, Carner has compiled the music to all of Adams' compositions.

In 2006, Carner decided to produce an album of musicians playing Adams' recordings. But what began as a notion to record just one CD blossomed into a much more ambitious project that would wind up capturing all of Adams' works and then some. Carner organized recording dates in Chicago, Brooklyn and Tallahassee, Fla.—hiring session leaders and arrangers, the musicians, the studios and the engineers.

Thank goodness for obsessed micromanagers. Joy Road: The Complete Works of Pepper Adams (Motema) is now available, and the five-CD set is a breathtaking and heartfelt interpretive salute to one of jazz's finest and least-known baritone saxophonists and composers.

The first album—The Jeremy Kahn Quartet, with Gary Smulyan [pictured] on baritone sax, Kahn on piano, Rob Amster on bass and George Fludas on drums.

The second album—The Jeremy Kahn Trio (see above).

The third album—The Kevin Bales Quartet, with Bales on piano, Barry Greene on guitar, Rodney Jordan on bass and Leon Anderson on drums.

The fourth album—The Frank Basile Sextet, with Basile on baritone sax, Joe Magnarelli on trumpet, John Mosca on trombone, Adam Birnbaum on piano, Dennis Irwin on bass and Tim Horner on drums.

The fifth album—Alexis Cole sings the music of Adams. Poet/lyricist Barry Wallenstein wrote words to a range of Adams' originals with the help of pianist Adam Birnbaum and vocalist Cole. The musicians backing Cole are Pat LaBarbera and Eric Alexander on tenor saxes, Jeremy Kahn on piano, Dennis Carroll on bass and George Fludas on drums.

So how are the tracks without a baritone saxophone in the lineup? Gorgeous. The interpretations seize on Adams' impatience and drive, creating the sensation that he's present but sitting-out after his solo. What's more, showcasing a baritone sax throughout might have been a bit much, resulting in a wax museum replication. And because the baritone sax is absent on two of the instrumental albums, you actually get to hear the intricacy, grace and strength of Adams' writing.

On each of the tracks, there's Adams' bebop burn and sighing tension that were his compositional fingerprints. Adams was a player of enormous depth and intensity. Through Carner, we also learn he was a kind and gentle soul—despite the tiger-like attack of his blowing.

JazzWax tracks: You have a few choices with Joy Road: The Complete Works of Pepper Adams. Motema wisely offers all five CDs together as a download, several of the individual albums separately, and a single album sampler. For the complete set, go here. You can buy Vols. 1, 2 and 4 separately here, here and here. I Carry Your Heart: Alexis Cole Sings Pepper Adams (Vol. 5) can be found here. For the Joy Road sampler, featuring selections from all five albums, go here.

JazzWax note: Groups and artists who participated in the Joy Road Pepper Adams Project will be touring. For more information, go here.

JazzWax clip: Here's Pepper Adams in London in 1981 playing Bossa Nouveau...

 

Bonnie Bowden & Stevie Wonder

Singer Bonnie Bowden has an interesting background. Today she performs with jazz groups and swing bands on the West Coast. But from 1972 onward into the 1980s, she was a member of Sergio Mendes' "Brasil" groups, which specialized in uplifting, samba-soaked versions of contemporary and bossa nova hits. During this period Bonnie had studio interactions with a range of celebrated artists and composers, including Stevie Wonder and Antonio Carlos Jobim. [Pictured above: Bonnie Bowden today]

In my conversation with Bonnie, she talked about her Mendes years...

JazzWax: What was your role on Stevie Wonder’s Bird of Beauty?
Bonnie Bowden: A few months before the release of Stevie’s Fulfillingness' First Finale album in July 1974, I received a call from Sergio Mendes, who was vacationing in Brazil. We had talked earlier about the verse to Bird Of Beauty that Stevie had wanted him to write in Portuguese. Since Sergio was out of the country, he asked if I would get together with Stevie and teach him the verse.


JW: Did your jaw drop?
BB: It did. Sergio said I should expect a call from Stevie’s office.

JW: After they asked you to come to the studio, what happened?
BB: As I was driving over to the Record Plant in Hollywood, I was so excited. What an all-time thrill to meet Stevie Wonder. I had admired and enjoyed his music for years. I wondered what kind of person he would be.


JW: Were you nervous?
BB: A little. Weighing heavily on my mind, though, was Stevie's auto accident the previous August, when he suffered a serious head injury. The accident was so bad that he was in a coma afterward. I was worried he might not be fully recovered. [Pictured above: Bonnie Bowden with Stevie Wonder]

JW: What happened when you arrived?
BB: I was escorted into the studio by members of Stevie’s staff. They told me he was still suffering from periodic migraine headaches due to his head injury, so he would be arriving a little late. I waited patiently with the engineer and others.  Everyone was friendly and cool. 


JW: What were they doing?
BB: Listening to some of the album’s songs on playback. The tracks were so loud and clear, coming through state-of-the-art speakers. Finally, Stevie arrived. He was very courteous and apologetic for being late. [Pictured above: Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Bowden and Sergio Mendes backstage at Hollywood's Troubadour.

JW: What happened next?
BB: He went immediately to the piano and asked me to sit next to him. After I spoke a few words, he recognized me. He said, “You’re the one who sang the solo with Sergio Mendes on my song If You Really Love Me. I loved it. Your voice was so clear and pure.” That was the moment when I became speechless.


JW: Did you teach him the Portuguese lyrics phonetically?
BB: No, I’ve always stored song lyrics in my head, even foreign-language lyrics. He asked me to stay while he recorded the vocal and to correct him if he made any mistakes. To hear Stevie Wonder asking me if he sounded OK? Wow, that was just too much. I was so charmed by his “American” accent on the Portuguese. [Pictured above: Singers Gracinha Leporace, left, and Bonnie Bowden with Stevie Wonder]

JW: Were the lyrics written out for him in braille?
BB: No, nothing was written out. He listened intently to my Portuguese and repeated it line-by-line as I sang it right in his ear. He picked it up instantly. He was very soft-spoken and kind. One of the great moments of my life.


JW: You must have encountered quite a few songwriters.
BB: One afternoon in 1974, I went to a rehearsal at Sergio’s home studio in Encino, Calif. When I walked in, there was Antonio Carlos Jobim [pictured above] sitting at the piano. I almost fainted. No one told me he was going to be there. 

JW: What was he like?
BB: He was charming, sweet and engaging. He told me that Sergio wanted to record his new song—The Waters Of March, also known as Águas de Março—with Brasil 77. He said he wanted to teach me the lyrics in Portuguese and English.


JW: How did he do this?
BB: There was a portable cassette recorder on top of the piano. I sat next to him on the piano bench and listened to the song. There were so many lyrics. Sergio decided that we would record it in English, but when we performed it live, especially in Brazil, we sang it in Portuguese. 

JW: What were you doing before joining Sergio Mendes? 
BB: I was singing six nights a week with the Sound Castle Ltd., a top-40 band on the Sound Castle Stage in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

JW: How did you wind up auditioning for Mendes?
BB: A friend of Sergio’s who knew that he was looking for a replacement for Lani Hall heard me one night at Disneyland. Sergio called me the next day, and I went to his home in Encino. I was only 19 years old so it was very exciting. [Pictured above: Sergio Mendes]

JW: How did you get the job?
BB: Sergio, his road manager, his secretary and Gracinha Leporace, his wife and the group's other female singer, were all present at my audition. Sergio played the piano, and he seemed very pleased that I knew all of his hits. I had been a fan of Brasil 66 since I was teen back in Texas. For the audition I sang The Look Of Love, Going Out Of My Head and Mais Que Nada.


JW: Was not knowing Portuguese a drawback?
BB: It’s funny, Sergio never asked me if I spoke Portuguese. I had heard Mais Que Nada on the radio many times, so I already knew the lyrics. Sergio was very surprised at that.

JW: But you must have had to learn Portuguese phonetically?
BB: Yes, but fortunately for me it came easily. I just listened to tapes and memorized the lyrics. I had sung opera in school, so I had already performed in other languages and understood the emphasis and inflections needed.


JW: How did you and the other singer rehearse?
BB: In the first few years it was just myself and Brazilian singer Gracinha. We rehearsed in Sergio’s home recording studio. [Pictured above: Gracinha and Sergio Mendes]

JW: What was your first performance with the group?
BB: It was at Caesars Palace in the main room, known as Circus Maximus. It was thrilling. I had been there many times before with my husband, David Amaro, when he played guitar with Andy Williams. I had always dreamed of singing on that stage someday. Opening night was a thrill. My parents drove out from Texas, and  Elvis Presley, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, and Paul Anka were in the audience.

JW: How did the vocal harmonizing work?
BB: Bob Alcivar [pictured] arranged the vocals, and Gracinha and I went to Bob’s home to rehearse.

JW: What was your first recording?
BB: When I joined the group they had already changed its name to Brasil 77.  My first recording was an album called Love Music in 1972, produced by the great Bones Howe. It was recorded on Bell Records at Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood. My first recorded solo was on the title song, Love Music. The first time I heard the record on KGIL Los Angeles, legendary radio host Chuck Southcott said my name. That was very cool.

JW: What were your biggest hits with Mendes?
BB: The group had had its biggest his in the ‘60s, before I joined. Unfortunately we didn’t have any big ones while I was with them. But we sang all of the group’s big hits every night, whenever we performed here and abroad. They included The Look Of Love, Mais Que Nada, Going Out Of My Head, Fool On The Hill, Pretty World, Chove Chuva and so on.


JW: Did you sing soprano?
BB: Yes. I was the lead singer for all the years I was with the group, so I had many solos on our recordings. Some of the most notable ones are on The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Dave Grusin; Double Rainbow by Antonio Carlos Jobim; Put A Little Love Away by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter; All in Love Is Fair, Looking for Another Pure Love and If You Really Love Me by Stevie Wonder; and Love Music by Lambert and Potter.


JW: What was you first TV appearance?
BB: Believe it or not, on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. I have always been very fortunate never to feel nervous. However, I do get extremely excited—elated, really—whenever I’m about to sing, even to this day.

JW: What was your favorite Brasil 77 song?
BB: Pra Dizer Adeus (To Say Goodbye) by Brazilian composer Edu Lobo. It’s a hauntingly beautiful ballad.


JW: Why did you leave the group?
BB: We were on the road constantly—six weeks in Asia, four weeks in Brazil and so on. Every year, we went on the same tours and lived out of suitcases.  That’s the way it was for all the groups back in those days. Some people love life on the road. I needed a sense of home.

JazzWax tracks: My favorite albums featuring Bonnie Bowden with Sergio Mendes include Love Music, Vintage '74 (also known in Europe as Waiting for Love), Homecooking and Sergio Mendes and Magic Lady, found on a single CD.

JazzWax clips: Here's Bonnie and Sergio Mendes in Japan in 1974 singing a duet, Pra Dizer Adeus (To Say Goodbye)...

 

Here's Bonnie Bowden singing Where Is the Love with Gracinha Leporace, Sergio Mendes' wife, and the Brasil 77 off of Love Music...

And here's a German documentary of the 1977 tour, with Bonnie featured throughout...

The Byrds: Who Played What?

Yesterday I posted about a fascinating BBC documentary on the rise of Los Angeles' folk-rock movement—from the Byrds in 1965 to the Eagles in '75. If you haven't viewed it, you should. There's a lot of great information in there about the L.A. scene, told with a clear, dramatic narrative.

But there was something about the documentary's opening that didn't sit right with me. As the introduction unfolded, the BBC seemed to intimate that Los Angeles had been devoid of rock until the Byrds married folk with the electric 12-string guitar. The inference was that something called pop was over here and the upstart folk-rockers from Laurel Canyon were over there—and that the two never overlapped.

All of which sounded a little off to me based on my knowledge of the L.A. music scene at the time. So I reached out to Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine for some insight into the Byrds. Turns out that except for Roger McGuinn, the group didn't play their own instruments on their first hit single, Mr. Tambourine Man. Members of the Wrecking Crew did.

Here's Hal yeseterday on the Byrds's first hit...

"We recorded Mr. Tambourine Man in January 1965 with Roger McGuinn but without the rest of the Byrds [the flip side was I Knew I'd Want You]. I can't recall the other musicians producer Terry Melcher brought in to overdub [see JazzWax note at bottom of post].

"Roger recorded with us on his 12-string guitar, and he was very happy to have me there on drums and Larry Knechtel on bass.

"Terry Melcher [Doris Day's only child] was producing the group. We [the Wrecking Crew] had been doing so much work with him that he reached out to us to record several of their singles. The Byrds overdubbed their vocals, of course, and I'm sure they recorded their instruments on other songs once they became known.

"I recall that the Byrds' drummer Michael Clarke hated that I played on Mr. Tambourine Man. He was probably the only drummer in any band who resented me recording and helping to make their first single a hit.

"Soon after we recorded, Terry nearly lost his life on a motorcycle accident in the Southern California desert. The early prognosis was that he would lose both legs. But his mother contacted the finest orthopedic specialists and Terry was nursed back to health, with many years of therapy after his lengthy surgery. Sadly, Terry passed away in 2004 at age 62 from melanoma.

"Not long ago, Roger McGuinn [pictured above] was in Nashville when Larry and I were inducted into the the Musicians Hall of Fame. Roger was part of our induction ceremony and said on camera that the Byrds might not have existed if not for Larry and me.

"None of this takes anything away from the Byrds. They had a great new sound, their music was special, they sang terrific harmonies and changed the direction of rock. But back in '65, a single had to be tight and jump out of the radio with a crisp pop if it stood a chance of becoming a hit. And studio time was expensive, which is why we were called in. Back then, like today, economics played a significant role in recording as well as the end result. [Pictured above: Hal Blaine]

JazzWax note: Roger McGuinn [pictured above]—easily the most imaginative of the West Coast folk-rock guitarists and the movement's most pioneering artist given the songs written and group's vocal sound—provided a link to the listing of musicians on the Mr. Tambourine Man date. Except for Roger, the balance were all Wrecking Crew hands:

• Roger E. Webster (leader)
• Leon Russell, (piano)
• Laurence W. Knechtel (bass)
• Hal Blaine (drums)
• William Pitman (guitar)
• Jerry Kolbrak (guitar)
• James "Roger" McGuinn (guitar)

JazzWax clip: Here's the Byrds' Mr. Tambourine Man in 1965 with Roger McGuinn and Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew. The Bob Dylan cover changed rock and folk in one fell swoop and ushered in a new era, giving California rock a more laid-back, self-reflective sound and encouraging more artists to write their own songs...

 

Weekend Wax Bits

Mike Stoller, of Leiber & Stoller fame, sent along an email yesterday with a link to a brand new city song he has written for Charlotte, N.C., with Steve Tyrell singing. Charlotte's mayor asked Mike for the song, and Mike, who wrote Kansas City (recorded most famously by Little Willie Littlefield in 1952 and Wilbert Harrison in 1959) was happy to oblige. Best of all, Charlotte can be downloaded now for free by going here. It looks like you can download the video as well. [Pictured above: Steve Tyrell and Mike Stoller]

Here's the song and clip...

 
Readers have, like, a few comments. Following my post last week on the use of the word "like" in common language, readers across the ponds sent along comments. [Photo below: Showroom Girls, Willem Popelier, 2011]

This from William Forbes...

"As a rider of public transport in Manchester, England, I can tell you that the use of 'like' is alive and well here, though it now may be going into decline. It seemed to be habitual last year among 16 to 19-year-olds—irritatingly so!

So 'like' isn't an exclusively American phenomenon, though I concede that when I hear visiting American students, they can 'out-like' everyone else!" [Photo below: Open Air Screen, Palermo by Wim Wenders, 2007]

From Kenny Harris...

"I read with interest your piece on ‘like.’ I live in the U.K. and one word that nearly everyone uses a lot here is ‘brilliant’—and it drives me crazy. It’s used in several radio and television commercials as well. When speaking with people, it's used like this: ‘Oh that was brilliant.’ ‘Wasn’t she brilliant?’ ‘You should buy it, it’s brilliant.’

"On one of the quiz shows I watch occasionally called Pointless (an apt title), the host uses ‘brilliant’ all the time. I counted 14 times on one 45-minute show. On another show, Countdown, the host uses that same word over and over again as well."[Photo below: Luminogramm, Otto Steinert (1915–1978), 1952]

And from Michael Palmer in Australia...

"Use of the word 'like' has reached downunder, mainly with teenage schoolgirls. Take the bus or train at school-out time and all you will hear from the airheads is: 'And she was like, like, y'now and I go, like, etc."

Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine sent along this fabulous street-art project....

 

Revelation Records. Following my post on Forrest Westbrook last weekend, saxophonist Gary Foster wrote...

"I am a daily reader of JazzWax and I enjoy your writing and subject matter very much. I was prompted to write to you after seeing your mention of Forrest Westbrook and the photo of his Revelation LP.


"John William 'Bill' Hardy (a distinguished PhD in ornithology) moved to L.A. in 1960 to work at UCLA. We had been friends at Kansas University, where Bill had encouraged a student band that I had set up with trumpeter Carmell Jones.

"In L.A., Bill made contact with Dick Bock at Pacific Jazz, and over several years in the early 60s, he wrote excellent liner notes for many of Dick’s recordings.

"Back in Kansas, I was finishing graduate school and Carmell had dropped out to became a railroad porter. Bill insisted that Carmell and I make our way to L.A. Carmell came right away and I finished the year at school.

"Bill introduced Carmell to Dick Bock. In his first year in L.A., Carmell recorded with Bud Shank as well as his own first LP for Pacific Jazz. He also made a big band recording for Pacific Jazz with Gerald Wilson. Exactly a year later, my wife and I moved into Bill's house where Carmell was living as well.

"Revelation records came into existence a few years later when Bill started the label. Bill felt that many West Coast artists were not being recorded. There were a total of 48 Revelation LP’s released up to 1986. Bill’s enthusiasm and imagination helped many of us to have a record of our own in that long ago world.

"Guitarist Dennis Budimir and I were on Revelation #1. Other artists Bill recorded soon after were Clare Fischer, Anthony Ortega, Bobby Bradford, John Carter, Joe Albany, Forrest Westbrook, Putter Smith and Alan Broadbent, Jack Reilly, Frank Strazzeri and Jerry Coker to name a few.

"Revelation #12 (Ne Plus Ultra) in 1969 featured a piano-less quartet that Warne Marsh and I had as a working group. It was Warne’s first recording in 10 years. That one is still in bootleg circulation somewhere in the world. At one point, John Horwich became a partner in Revelation, and I believe he is today the custodian of the Revelation master tapes.


"The point of this is simply to reminisce about Bill Hardy, having seen the Revelation LP cover in your post. Bill retired some years ago as curator of the Florida State Museum. He is in severely diminished health and sadly, I feel, barely remembered in the jazz world for what he did for the music except by those of us who were the recipients of his drive and enthusiasm."

Michele Rosewoman radio. Jazz musician Bill Kirchner hosts "Jazz From The Archives" on Sunday on New York's WBGO-FM. This week, he's featuring the music of pianist-composer Michele Rosewoman, whose work often is based around a quintet that includes two expert reed doublers. Tune in on your computer from anywhere in the world at 11 p.m. (EDT) by going here.

Jane Fielding. Following my post on singer Jane Fielding, I received the following from James Harrod of Jazz Research...

"When I interviewed Herb Kimmel, founder of Jazz West, his recollection was that Jane got married and gave up her singing career. Herb said that they had a devil of a time recording that second album (Embers Glow).

"Kenny Drew was tapped by Kimmel for the Jane Fielding recording, using the same musicians on Talkin' and Walkin'—with the addition of Ted Efantis on tenor saxophone, making it a quintet. 

"The February 1956 recording session featured arrangements by Drew, who conducted the group from the piano. Kimmel recalled that they had problems recording Fielding. She couldn’t relax, and her voice became very metallic. 

"They finally solved the problem by removing Fielding from the main studio and placing her in an improvised isolation booth where she could be miked separately from the band.  She could not hear the band and relied on seeing Drew’s hands as he conducted the group. 

"Kimmel felt that the end result was very unnatural which was the opposite of what he strove for in his recordings."

Albums, then and now. Jazz.FM91 CEO Ross Porter sent along a link to an article that features classic rock album covers and what the cover locations look like today. Trust me, you'll dig.

Pops, Bud and Lou. Bret Primack sent along this clip of Louis Armstrong with Abbott and Costello...

 

Don Redman. Don't know much about the bandleader Don Redman? Blogger Armin Buter sent along a link to an in-depth post about Redman's 1946 European tour. Go here.

CD discoveries of the week. I was never a big fan of Thelonious Monk tributes. My feeling is if I want to hear Monk, I'll put him on. But Greg Lewis' Organ Monk: Uwo in the Black cut right through my bias, largely because he doesn't treat this as a "Hey I sound like Monk, don't I?" album. Instead, he turns Monk's tunes into a base for what he wants to achieve—an expressive, swinging, Prestige-like organ date with an edge. On track after track, Lewis, tenor saxophonist Reginald Woods, guitarist Ronald Jackson and drummer Nasheet Waits give Monk new meaning by keeping things loose and wise. Dig Little Rootie Tootie, GCP and Bright Mississippi. This ain't your grandmother's Monk, that's for sure.

Earlier this year, educator, Latin-jazz historian and drummer Bobby Sanabria did the unthinkable: He took on the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for eliminating 31 Grammy categories. In June, Bobby's pressure helped convince the organization to re-instate the Latin Jazz Grammy. On Multiverse (Jazzheads),  Bobby brings the same level of determination and drive to tracks with different potent feels—from Latin-rock fusion to Latin-jazz big band. Sample Jump Shot and Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil. Yow.

Dr. Lonnie Smith is one of the kindest, sweetest guys—but you'd never know it once he sits down behind a Hammond organ. On The Healer (Pilgrimage), you get a taste of his smoldering funk attack and intricate improvisational style, live at multiple venues here and abroad. Lonnie tends to play the organ like a saxophonist, focusing on powerful reedy statements rather than exploding the instrument's entire breadth percussively. Sample Dapper Dan, Chelsea Bridge and the title track.

Adam Glasser plays harmonica and keyboards. On Mzansi (Sunnyside), the South African musician keeps the spirit high and melodic, working through originals and works by other African artists. This is world music of the highest order and fascinating to hear, since so much sounds like church music from across the world. Sample Abdullah Ibrahim's Blues for a Hip King, the gorgeous Silika and the festive Ekhaya.

Sanford & Townsend had one hit, Smoke From a Distant Fire in 1977. The song reached No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Now, the albums Smoke From a Distant Fire and Nail Me to the Wall (Real Gone Music) have been combined on a single CD. Though this is mostly exurban jukebox music, it retains a certain gentle charm—Doobie Brothers-ish vocals with Steely Dan Lite instrumentals. It's the kind of obscure release from blue-eyed Southern soulsters that shouldn't matter, but the more you listen to it, the easier it goes down.

On Unfolding, trombonist Natalie Cressman's debut album with her group Secret Garden, she serves up enchanting originals and a few jazz standards with enormous tenderness. In Cressman's hands, the trombone is a passionate and melodic instrument. As a bonus, she has a beautiful voice, as is evidenced on Whistle Song. And like Chet Baker, she sings and plays  with underrated poetry. Sample Walking, Reaching for Home and Skylight.

Guitarist Mitch Seidman has done his Wes Montgomery homework. On For One Who Waits (Kyran), Seidman along with bassist Jamie MacDonald and drummer Claire Arenius play mostly originals by the group. Each track has a swinging '50s simplicity that lets you hear the rich sound of a vulnerable guitar thinking its way through melodies and improvised harmonies. Dig Arebnius' Movin' On, Seidman's Three and Darn That Dream.

Oddball album cover of the week. Murder Inc. (1960) was Sarah Vaughan's screen-acting debut. Naturally she played a nightclub singer. Except judging by this cover, it's not clear if she's singing out or getting rubbed out by the movie poster.