The Hammond organ's surging popularity in the 1950s had everything to do with economics and efficiency. Early in the decade, organ models became increasingly compact and more affordable, allowing artists to transport them and clubs to purchase one and store it in a corner. Organists were especially profitable for smaller clubs, since the keyboard could be set with drawbars to sound like an entire orchestra of instruments. Instead of hiring a combo with a horn section, a club needed only an organist and one or two other musicians to sound just as full. What's more, a good organist could handle the bass line with his or her feet working the pedals.
Among the many versatile organists who performed the Midwest club circuit was Hank Marr. Throughout the 1950s and into the '60s, Marr toured and recorded with tenor saxophonist Rusty Bryant. By the mid-'50s, Marr was often recording jukebox singles at King in Cincinnati and touring surrounding cities. In Columbus, Ohio, Marr played often at Club 502, a major jazz venue from 1957 to 1968 at 502 St. Clair Ave. Marty Mellman took over the club in 1961 after a fire damaged the establishment (and destroyed Milt Buckner's organ, according to news clips). [Photo above of Marty Mellman, courtesy of Lori Mellman]
In December 1963, King recorded Marr at Club 502 with Rusty Bryant (ts), Wilbert Longmire (g) and Taylor Orr (d). The gig was released as The Hank Marr Quartette: Live at Club 502. As Gene Redd, King's head of A&R at the time, wrote in the album's liner notes, "This is a lot of sound and a lot of music for four men." Indeed. The tracks are Marr's hit single Greasy Spoon plus One O'Clock Jump, Marr's Easy Talk, Longmire's Freedom March,Just Friends,Hank's Idea,I Remember New York, and Marr and Redd's Up and Down. [Photo above, from left, Marr, Orr and Bryant]
As you'll hear in the clips below, Marr had a tough, soulful sound on the organ that surely influenced organist Charles Earland. Bryant's big, insistent tone on the tenor saxophone was an influence on Stanley Turrentine's sound and was perfectly paired with Marr's bossy attack. Best of all, the soul-jazz energy on this album recorded at the tail end of 1963 provides a snapshot of the organ's sustained prowess in the Midwest.
Hank Marr died in 2004, Ray Bryant died 2011 and Marty Mellman died in 1980.
JazzWax tracks:The Hank Marr Quartette: Live at Club 502 has never been released on CD or as a digital download. I'm not sure who owns the King catalogue these days but someone should re-issue this one. You can find the album on vinyl at eBay for around $75. [Photo above of the Hank Marr Trio with Nat Adderley, second from left, and Cannonball Adderley, second from right, in Atlantic City, N.J.]
JazzWax clips: From the album, here's Just Friends...
Last week I posted on Freedom, a terrific Blue Note album by Kenny Burrell featuring tracks recorded on two different dates in 1963 and '64. To date, it was never released on CD or as a digital download. What's more, Freedom is out of print as a 180-gram vinyl release. Well, here's another Burrell album that's very tough to find: Take It From Me, an album led by Terry Gibbs on which Burrell appears as a sideman. As far as I can tell, it was released on CD only in Japan.
Recorded in January 1964 for Impulse by engineer Rudy Van Gelder for producer Bob Thiele, the Gibbs quartet here consisted of Gibbs (vib), Burrell (g), Sam Jones (b) and Louis Hayes (d). The piano-less group featured mostly Gibbs originals: Take It From Me, El Fatso, Oge, Pauline's Place, 8-lbs 10-ozs and Gee Dad, It's A Deagan. The only soft spots on the album are the two standards—All the Things You Are and Honeysuckle Rose, which aren't nearly as fresh or exciting as Gibbs's originals.
Thiele told Gibbs he could record whatever he wished and pick his own sidemen. Gibbs went with the five originals and two standards. He also chose Burrell, who, like Gibbs, was a composer, technician and multi-instrumentalist. In addition to the vibes, Gibbs could play bass and drums; Burrell could sing and double on bass. Gibbs also brought in Hayes and Jones, who were members of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the time.
Take It From Me and El Fatso are cool, mid-tempo swingers, with the latter packing a Latin feel. Oge has church-like soulfulness, allowing the group to sound a bit like the Modern Jazz Quartet. The track's pace gives us a chance to hear Burrell's chord voicings. Pauline's Place is an up-tempo ode to Pauline Rivelli (above), who at the time was editor of Jazz & Pop magazine.
As far as I can tell, 8-lbs, 10-ozs must have been written by Terry to announce the arrival of his son, Gerry, who was born January 15, 1964—a day before this recording session—and who today is a jazz drummer. Gee Dad, It's a Deagan is a flag-waver that runs just over 6 minutes. Deagan was a brand of vibes and likely the one Gibbs used at Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio. [Photo above of Gerry Gibbs, courtesy of Gerry Gibbs]
What's most remarkable about this album is how beautifully Gibbs and Burrell played together. The sound of Gibbs's vibes and Burrell's guitar working hand-in-hand is breathtaking, and their approach to the music is perfectly synced. Hopefully the Impulse division of Universal will re-issue this one, at least as a digital download.
Three of the four musicians on this date are still with us. Sam Jones died in 1981.
JazzWax tracks:You'll find Take It From Me on CD at eBay via vendors selling the Japanese release. For example, go here.
Sirius XM doubleheader. On Monday, I'll be on the Hoda Kotb Show on Sirius XM from 1 to 2 p.m. (EDT). We'll be chatting about the upcoming paperback release of Anatomy of a Song, which is out on Nov. 21. We'll also be listening to some unusual Halloween-themed hits. You'll find us on Sirius XM's Today show network, at Channel 108.
Then on Thursday, I'll be on Sirius XM's Feedback, with Nik Carter and Lori Majewski to talk about my most recent Anatomy of a Song column for The Wall Street Journal on Charlies Daniels's The Devil Went Down to Georgia. On Sirius XM, you'll find us on the Volume network, from 9 to 10 a.m. (EDT), at Channel 106.
Order your copy now! You can pre-order the paperback of Anatomy of a Song now in the In the U.S. go here; in the U.K. go here; and in Canada go here. The holidays will be here before we know it.
In the WSJ this week, I interviewed singer-songwriter and pianist Regina Spektor, who told me how she went from Russian emigre in 1989 to American pop star today (go here). It's a remarkable story of optimism, determination and talent. Her latest album is Remember Us to Life (Sire). Here's a clip...
Also in the WSJ, my interview with Scottish novelist Graeme Macrae Burnet, who talked about why Johnny Cash's recording of Hurt has special meaning for him (go here). Graeme's latest book is The Accident on the A35 (Arcade). (Photo above courtesy of Graeme Macrae Burnet.) Here's Cash's rendition of Hurt, shortly before his death in 2003...
Fats Domino (1928-2017). I was hard-hit by Fats Domino's passing this week. I interviewed Fats in New Orleans for the WSJ in 2010 (go here). That's me above with Fats tapping out his famed triplets on the back of my hand, so I could feel his early rock 'n' roll touch. Chris Cowles, host of WRTC-FM's Greasy Tracks, sent along the following clip, featuring Fats in 1973 with Roger McGuinn and The Byrds...
Clifford Brown radio. WKCR-FM in New York will present its annual "Clifford Brown Birthday Broadcast" on Monday, October 30, to celebrate the life and career of the legendary trumpeter. The broadcast will begin Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (EDT) and continue until midnight on Monday. To listen from anywhere in the world on your computer or phone, go here.
Tasty organ trio.Here's the mighty Hank Marr on organ with Tom Carroll on guitar and Jim Rupp on drums performing in Columbus, Ohio, in 2001...
Something I found on YouTube last week that I thought you might enjoy, a clip of The Mechanics of History at the Pantheon in Paris by Yoann Bourgeoi...
Free Donna Lee. Laurie Pepper, Art Pepper's wife, is giving away a free track of Art Pepper and Warne Marsh performing Donna Lee in 1974. It's a track off Unreleased Art Vol. 9 (go here). You'll find the track here.
Sixty of the funniest music quotes of all time. Here's one attributed to Bob Newhart: “I don’t like country music, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means ‘put down’.” Jim Eigo of Jazz Promo Services sent this one along. Go here.
What the heck.Here's Brenton Wood singing his hit, Gimme Little Sign in 1968 (thanks to Glen Hartley)...
Oddball album cover of the week.
The dream part comes if you get clocked by one of these earth-bound grands.
Earlier this week, I posted on the tasty genius of organ pioneer Wild Bill Davis. Here are two videos featuring Davis, both with Duke Ellington. On one, he joins the band on Satin Doll. On the other, you get to hear what April in Paris might have sounded like had he made it to the 1955 Count Basie recording session for Verve:
Here's Davis's first recording of Ellington-Strayhorn's Satin Doll in 1959 backed by George Clarke (ts) Bill Jennings (g) and Grady Tate (d)...
Here's Davis with Ellington on Satin Doll—twice in 1969...
Here's Davis's recording of April in Paris at New York's Birdland in 1954, with his "one more time" sequence at the end that Basie picked up when using Davis's arrangement in 1955...
Here's Davis with Duke Ellington in Berlin in 1969 performing April in Paris...
And here's the famed Basie recording of April in Paris in 1955...
Yesterday, I spent the day listening to Jim Hall. You'll find my three-part interview with the late guitar great starting here. And here are three videos of Jim that went up recently at YouTube:
Here's Jim playing I'm Getting Sentimental Over You in 1964...
Here's Jim with Art Farmer (flh), Steve Swallow (b) and Walter Perkins (d) on TV's Jazz Casual in 1964 playing Sometime Ago...
And here's Jim playing All the Things You Are in Germany in 2005 with Geoffrey Keezer (p), Steve Laspina (b) and Terry Clarke (d)...
Before Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott, Big John Patton, Jimmy McGriff, Brother Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes and all the other dynamic organists of the late 1950s and '60s, there was Wild Bill Davis. Born in Missouri, Davis started his recording career in 1945 as organist and arranger for Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five, a leading rhythm-and-blues pioneer. When Davis left Jordan in 1948, he joined Duke Ellington in the early 1950s. He also led a trio and began recording for Okeh. Perhaps his best known recording during that period was April in Paris in 1953. Davis was supposed to record the song with Count Basie's Orchestra in 1955 for Verve, but when he couldn't make it, Basie used Davis's arrangement for his big band and had a huge hit with the recording. Duke Ellington also favored Davis, recording with him for the first time in 1951.
Over the years, Davis recorded frequently with tough tenor saxophonists such as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Arnett Cobb, Buddy Tate, Paul Gonsalves, Sonny Stitt and others. But despite his fondness for the tenor-sax, Davis most often recorded with Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington's romantic alto saxophonist. In all, Davis and Hodges recorded nine album—Blue Hodge (1961), Sandy's Gone (1963), Mess of Blues (1963), Blue Rabbit (1964), Wings and Things (1964), Joe's Blues (1965), Blue Pyramid (1965), Con Soul and Sax (1965) and In Atlantic City (1966).
It's tough to pick a favorite, but a contender for me would be Joe's Blues (Verve). The band featured Lawrence Brown (tb), Johnny Hodges (as), Wild Bill Davis (org), Grant Green (g), Bob Bushnell and Bob Cranshaw (b) and Grady Tate (d). The addition here of Brown and Green binds the sweet high register of Hodges' alto sax to Davis's wide, swinging organ, and you can hear them feeding off of each other as songs progress.
The tracks are Davis's Joe's Blues, I'll Walk Alone, Harmony in Harlem, Warm Valley, Hodges's Wild Bill Blues, Somebody Loves Me, Solitude and Clementine.
There's a solid lineup of Strayhorn and Ellington compositions (four in all) as well as standards and several soulful blues. Most of all, Davis's organ is so unbelievably tasty. Unlike many other players, he used the instrument like a big band—creating sections on the keyboard that delivered call-and-response patterns, hooks, riffs and all the tricks of bands in the swing and R&B eras. If you love the jazz-soul organ, this is the place to start.
Wild Bill Davis died in 1995 and Johnny Hodges died in 1970.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Joe's Blueshere on CD.
JazzWax clips: Here's the title track, Joe's Blues...
In March 1963, guitarist Kenny Burrell was at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in New Jersey to record for Blue Note. For whatever reason, the musicians on the date only could manage to get through three songs, with each one requiring a high number of takes. Burrell returned to Van Gelder's studio in October 1964 to record five more with a completely different group. Here again, a sizable number of takes were needed on most tracks. Long story short, the tapes of the two sessions weren't discovered until 1980, when re-issue producer Michael Cuscuna found them in the Blue Note vaults.
The lost material was then cobbled together for a Blue Note album called Freedom but released only in Japan. My guess is that Capitol EMI, which owned Blue Note at the time, was too busy investing in re-issues of existing Blue Note releases to bother with scraps for the U.S. market. So Michael wisely cobbled them together for Japan, where the demand for top-quality jazz was stronger. The States would have to wait until 2011, when Freedom was re-issued on 180-gram vinyl.
In his 1980 liner notes, Bob Porter surmised that the material probably was recorded originally for release as singles in the early '60s. It's hard to know for sure, since only Loie and The Good Life were issued on a 45. Listening to the melody-rich, swinging album yesterday, I found it hard to believe that producer Alfred Lion had singles in mind beyond the first session or why he decided to shelve the tapes of the second date. Equally puzzling is why this album hasn't been reissued and why it's so hard to find today. Thanks to Michael Cuscuna, Freedom is a groovy tiger from start to finish and features superb sidemen and songs.
The 1963 recording session included The Good Life, Stairway to the Stars and Burell's Loie and featured Seldon Powell (fl,bar) Hank Jones (p, org) Kenny Burrell (g) Milt Hinton (b) and Osie Johnson (d).
The 1964 session included Edmund Goulding's Love, Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere; Burrell's sassy Freedom; Lonesome Road; Burrell's G Minor Bash and his K Twist, and featured Stanley Turrentine (ts); Herbie Hancock (p); Kenny Burrell (g); Ben Tucker (b); Bill English (d) and Ray Barretto (cga).
We'll never know why Lion made the business decisions he did so many years ago. He obviously had something in mind when Burrell came in initially to record but changed his mind along the way, which was the case with several artists whose tapes gathered dust until Michael arrived. Perhaps Burrell asked Lion not to release the material, or maybe Lion decided that Grant Green was all the guitar he needed on the label and didn't want Burrell's recordings eating into Green's market share. Or they were nice tries and it took someone like Michael to arrive years later to see their potential combined.
Interestingly, Burrell didn't record for Blue Note between the two sessions above except as a sideman on Stanley Turrentine's Hustlin' in January 1964. He also wouldn't record as a leader for the label ever again, preferring to stick mostly with Verve and Prestige during the period.
JazzWax tracks: Sadly, Kenny Burrell's Freedom (Blue Note), released only on vinyl, remains difficult to find. You'll find the album on LP at eBay. Fortunately, the album's hippest track, Freedom, is available as a download here and at Spotify.
Back in September, I posted about the V.I.P. Trio, a group featuring Cedar Walton (p), Pat Senatore (b) and Billy Higgins (d) that recorded two superb albums of standards for Japan's California Breeze label in Los Angeles in 1988. Though the albums were released only in Japan, they recently were re-issued worldwide by Fresh Sound on two CD volumes. You'll find Vol. 1here or here, and Vol. 2 here or here.
Pat is the sole surviving member of this trio. In addition to being a superb bassist, Pat managed Pasquale's, a jazz club in Malibu that overlooked the Pacific from 1978 to 1983. More recently, Pat recorded two excellent albums for Fresh Sound—Ascenscione and Inspirations. The former was recorded in 2008 and 2012 and featured Josh Nelson on piano and Mark Ferber on bass. The latter was recorded in 2016 and included Tom Ranier on piano, Christian Euman on drums plus special guests Larry Koonse on guitar and Herb Alpert, an old pal, on trumpet.
Born in Newark, N.J., Pat attended high school with saxophonist Wayne Shorter. In high school, Pat began playing baritone horn before switching to trombone and then to bass in his senior year. After he graduated, he studied at the Julliard School of Music.
I recently had a chance to catch up with Pat:
JazzWax: How did you come to play and record with Stan Kenton in the early 1960s? Pat Senatore: When I moved to Los Angeles in 1960, the musician’s union was very strict. You had to establish residency for six month before you could work. During that stretch, I got a job at Wallich’s Music City (above, in 1966) selling records and working as the night manager. This left me free to hang at the union during the day and play in rehearsal bands and meet cats. One of these guys was Jules Chaiken, a great lead trumpet player who was at the beginning of his long career as one of L.A.'s top contractors. Once six months had passed, I was able to work. Jules asked if I wanted to go with Stan Kenton. When I asked if I had to audition, he assured me that they already knew about me. Being 25 years old and still considering myself a student of the bass, I was intimidated at the thought of playing with a band that I had long dreamed about growing up.
After nine months on the road with Stan, we came back to L.A. and recorded for a week at the Capital Tower in Studio A. I didn’t realize the magnitude of this studio until much later, when I recorded there with other artists. Bill Holman wrote most of the arrangements for Stan at the time, and they were all masterpiece. But my favorite was The Blues Story, written by Gene Roland, for Adventures in Blues. It was a blues album, and Stan always told me it was my album because the bass was featured and recorded out front. Gene’s charts weren’t as complex as Bill’s, but Gene liked the bass to set the groove. At the time, getting a groove was my strongest asset and the reason for most of my successes in the business.
JW: You were the bassist in the Tijuana Brass. Was the brass underestimated? PS: I think so. Herb handpicked the guys, and each one brought a strength to the band. The rhythm section was guitarist John Pisano, drummer Nick Ceroli and myself. We could always get a groove going and that’s why we were there. As far as the arrangements go, when we recorded, Herb brought in chord charts and told us the feel he wanted. Other than some of the standards we recorded, we had no idea what the tunes would be. They were mostly originals written by a number of different guys Herb knew and liked. Most of the tunes we recorded were done in one take. Herb would then take the tracks and work his production and trumpet-playing magic. Five or six months later, the albums would be released and we'd be surprised at what he did. The material then became part of our repertoire on the road.
My musician friends had no idea what the Tijuana Brass was at first, nor did I. We were all hardcore jazz guys and never listened to pop radio. Herb had two or three LPs that were great successes before he put our band together. All of these early albums were recorded with session guys. After he put the band together, we did all the recording and touring.
JW: How did the idea for the V.I.P. Trio albums come about in '88? PS: Producer Ken Akimoto was a big fan of Pasquale’s, my club in Malibu. He’d fly in from Japan and often come directly from the airport to my club. As a result, we became good friends. After the club closed in 1983, I lost contact with him. About five years later, he called me and said he had some partners in Japan who had a new process for recording high-resolution CDs that sold for $40 each in Japan. He said he wanted to record at least 10 albums to demonstrate this new process. He wanted me to do two trio albums and gave me a list of pianists that included George Cables, Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones and Cedar Walton. I didn’t know Cedar but I had worked with George and Tommy. Only Cedar could make it. When I called him, Cedar said, "Sure, I have no problem being a sideman." But I said, “No, we’ll call it the V.I.P. Trio.” Billy was no problem because we were great friends. He was my house drummer at Pasquale’s for years. In any case, I certainly wasn't going to be the leader with those two greats.
JW: Was Cedar at first reluctant to play standards? PS: Not at all. Cedar wanted to do all standards. We conferred and chose the tunes. We did 11 songs in 22 hours at Mad Hatter Studios with Bernie Kirsch, who ran the studio for Chick Corea, the owner. Bernie was also Chick’s sound cat on all his live performances and recordings. In my humble opinion and experience, he was one of the greatest jazz engineers and a beautiful guy.
JW: From your perspective on bass, what made playing with Cedar and Billy particularly special? PS: They had played together so often and were so easy to work with in every way. I was amazed at how at how at ease I was playing with them, especially with Cedar, because I had never met him before the sessions. He was together and incredibly creative. We didn’t rehearse and didn’t have charts. Cedar would just make up the arrangements as we played, and Billy was so musical that his ideas with Cedar were automatic. I just had to fill in the bottom. One of my strengths was knowing a ton of standards. Growing up, I listened to Frank Sinatra and all the great crooners of my youth. I also was a singing bass player in New Jersey after I got out of high school. I probably could have had a career as a singer. But I promised myself when I came to L.A., in order to be taken seriously as a bass player, I'd give up singing, even though I loved it.
JW: What don’t most people know about that V.I.P. Trio recording session? PS: The sessions were relatively straightforward without pressure. As they went on, Cedar and I became more friendly. Eventually, he moved to L.A. for quite a while. He said I was responsible for him moving here and buying a Steinway and a Volvo, but that was a great exaggeration. Ken and his partners in Japan were pretty generous. I paid Cedar and Billy well. We did four, three-hour sessions in two days. The studio had three great pianos that belonged to Chick: a Bosendofer, a Steinway and a Fazioli. Cedar had his choice and liked the Steinway best.
I was so proud to record with these guys, and really think I held my end up pretty well. In order to play with them, you had to have something to offer. Billy (above) was my friend for years before these sessions, and he continued to be so until his death in 2001. He was the best drummer I ever played with, and I played with all the greats. If you couldn’t get a groove going with Billy, you didn’t belong playing jazz. Cedar was the kind of cat who could scare you if you didn’t have your stuff together. But he was so kind and gentle with me that I was overwhelmed. We remained friends until his death in 2013. I loved Cedar and Billy dearly.
JW: When you listen to these albums today, what goes through your mind? PS: When I listen back, I think of the nerve I had to play with these cats. At first, I was afraid to listen to the CDs. But now, I’m proud of how I played. It was so natural and organic. I’m also proud of the fact that you can never take back what has been done. Thanks to California Breeze and now Fresh Sound, I’m not gonna die wishing people had been able to hear these album. I thank Ken for feeling that I was at that level when he asked me to do it. Long after I’m gone, I hope I’ve left something for people to listen to and enjoy. And if there's a hereafter, Cedar and Billy will be some of the cats I'll get to play with again.
JazzWax clip:Here's Pat Senatore with the Tijuana Brass listening back to their playing on Lollipops and Roses in 1966. Pat is in the green shirt...
And here's Pat on his album Ascensione, playing Dizzy Gillespie's Con Alma, with John Nelson (p) and Mark Ferber (d)...
Now in paperback. On Nov. 21, my book, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Ionic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop (Grove), will be available in paperback in the U.S. (here) and the U.K. (here). A literary jukebox, just in time for the holidays. Be sure to go to Spotify and type "Anatomy of a Song" into the search bar. You'll find all of the book's songs on a special playlist in the same order as they appear in the book's table of contents. Read 'n' roll!
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins for my "House Call" column (go here). Billy talks about what he saw as a child in New York's East River that inspired him to write poetry. Billy's terrific new collection, The Rain in Portugal, is now in paperback (go here).
Also in the WSJ, I interviewed astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year at the International Space Station, about Coldplay's Speed of Sound for my "Playlist" column (go here). Scott took the song up with him to the station and listened early each morning while looking down at Earth. Scott's new book is Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery (go here).
Bill Holman. Last week, after my post on arranger Bill Holman, I received this email from John Edward Hasse, curator emeritus of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution:
"Hey Marc. Good to see you paying tribute to Bill Holman. In case you and your readers were unaware, the Smithsonian has a substantial collection of his scores—88 boxes (go here). There's also an oral history with him from 2010 that runs 84 pages (go here)."
Clifton Anderson, a superb trombonist, has launched a crowd-funding campaign to help pay for his next recording. Please watch his video and donate something if you love what you hear. Clifton is one gorgeous player and a great guy. Go here.
Aretha Franklin. In November, Rhino Atlantic is releasing A Brand New Me: Aretha Franklin with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The label just posted a cool clip featuring a track from the album synced with footage of Aretha in concert singing Respect...
Marty Paich was an extremely busy arranger in the 1950s and '60s. So busy, that he sometimes used similar charts of the same song on two different dates. Frank Farnham wrote me recently to point out that Paich's arrangement of Something Happens to Me for a Jesse Belvin recording at RCA was tweaked for Peter Brady's Capitol album, which I posted about recently (go here). This isn't a knock, just a fun observation for those who love Paich and arranging. Here's the Belvin recording from December 1959...
And here's Paich's arrangement of the same song for Peter Brady in January 1964...
And here's Paich's arrangement of Squeeze Me for Joannie Sommers in June 1959...
And here's Paich's arrangement of the same song for Ethel Azama in November 1959...
What the heck.Hereare the Dramatics singing Watcha See Is Watcha Get on Soul Train in 1972...
Oddball album cover of the week.
The words "hi-fi" and "children" in one sentence is enough to make anyone move their vinyl collection to a very high shelf. Judging from the kid's "dad, do we have to listen to this again?" expression, my guess is Stan Kenton's City of Glass was on the turntable. A special thanks to Michael Bloom for sending along the cover.
And on this final day of my four-part series of tributes to Dizzy Gillespie, I saved the best for last: In November 1966, Jazz at the Philharmonic was in London. In the following video, we get to hear producer Norman Granz introduce the first jam-session septet (and oh was a group): Dizzy Gillespie (t), James Moody (as, fl), Clark Terry (flh), Zoot Sims (ts), Teddy Wilson (p), Bob Cranshaw (b) and Louie Bellson (d), plus T. Bone Walker (g) added on three songs.
The songs are Ow!; a medley of Star Dust, Yesterdays and You Go to My Head;Tin Tin Deo; Woman You Must Be Crazy, Goin' to Chicago Blues and Stormy Monday (T. Bone Walker); The Champ;Undecided, I've Got the World on a String and Love (Wilson, Cranshaw and Bellson).
Then Granz brings out Benny Carter (as) and Coleman Hawkins (ts). They play Blue Lou; Carter plays I Can't Get Started, Hawkins plays Body and Soul, they both play Bean Stalkin', with a spectacular drum solo by Bellson; and, finally, The Real BBC Blues.
No finer way to end the week than and to make yourself a cup of tea and listen and watch Dizzy and friends for an hour and a half. Dig the superb sound of this ensemble—their relaxed style together and the soulful and distinct expression of each artist.
Marc Myers writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and is author of "Anatomy of 55 More Songs," "Anatomy of a Song," "Rock Concert: An Oral History" and "Why Jazz Happened." Founded in 2007, JazzWax has won three Jazz Journalists Association awards.
