JazzWax

Danish Radio Big Band Box

In the years before World War II, the powerful American Federation of Musicians prohibited records from being played on the radio in the States. The union had no problem with records being sold to consumers or being played on jukeboxes. Consumers paid for the right to play them at home as often as they wished, and jukeboxes required nickles each time records were played. The union received a piece of that action. 

Radio airplay, however, was a problem, since money and clout were at stake. The union's contention was that musicians were paid only once to make a record. Yet playing that record over and over on the radio for free while collecting ad dollars was unfair. Neither the musicians nor the union benefited from the records' repeated broadcast. That was the money side of things. As for clout, the airplay of records would eliminate the need for radio stations and venues to hire musicians. Unemployed musicians depressed union membership and dues, which in turn would compromise the union's financial standing and its bargaining power in Congress.

By default, prohibiting the airplay of records forced radio stations in the pre-war years to employ orchestras to provide listeners with music. Not until the settlement of two recording bans in 1944 and 1948, when the union was paid a percentage of sales by record labels, were radio stations free to play recorded music. As the airplay of records increased in the late '40s and '50s, the need for musicians playing in radio studios declined and radio orchestras fizzled out b the late 1950s.

In Europe, however, particularly in Germany and Scandinavia, where radio was controlled by the government and jazz was admired, radio orchestras grew in popularity once post-war economies were back on their feet and government-controlled stations received subsidies.

One of Europe's finest radio jazz orchestras is the Danish Radio Big Band. Founded in 1964, the band has had a rich and glorious history. Not only are the musicians first rate but the band frequently collaborated with American jazz expatriates and musicians passing through Denmark on tour. A six-CD set, The Danish Radio Big Band: A Good Time Was Had By All (Storyville), illustrates the band's recording legacy. The set features a sampling of tracks from many of the band's previously released albums on the Storyville label.

Here's how the box's six CDs stack up...

• The Early Years: 1964-1974
• Thad Jones 1978-First U.K. Tour 1987
• At Home and Abroad 1991-1996
• Django Bates, Bob Brookmeyer & Elaine Elias, Australia 1997
• Silvana Malta, Niels Jørgen Steen, Martial Solal 1997-1999
• Thomas Clausen, Palle Mikkelborg, Jim McNeely & Michel Camilo 1999-2001 & 2014

The recordings include guest turns by Stan Kenton, Ben Webster, Thad Jones, Ernie Wilkins, singer Georgie Fame, Bob Brookmeyer,  Art Farmer, Eliane Elias, Phil Woods, Martial Solal, Michel Camilo and others. Particularly noteworthy are the Webster tracks—Things Ain't What They Used to Be, Cry Me a River, Stompy Jones, Webster's Did You Call Her Tonight, Old Folks and Bojangles. Webster's breathy, sobbing tenor saxophone combined with the sensitivity of the band's arrangements were a perfect match.

Among the other highlights are the Thad Jones tracks, which shimmer with his arrangements' brassy sophistication. Also spectacular is Eliane Elias's One Side of You, with Elias on piano backed by Bob Brookmeyer's arrangement. Another favorite is Bill Evans's Show-Type Tune played by pianist Jim McNeely and the orchestra. The latter track comes from The Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra and Jim McNeely Play Bill Evans.

The only problem with this fabulous box is that you may want to buy several of the individual albums from which these tracks originated. There's worse ways to spend money.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find The Danish Radio Big Band: A Good Time Was Had By All (Storyville) here.

You'll also find the set as individual albums at Spotify.

JazzWax clips: Here's Ben Webster soloing on Cry Me a River...

Here's Eliane Elias playing Bob Brookmeyer's arrangement of Just Kiddin'...

And here's pianist Jim McNeely playing Bill Evans's Show-Type Tune...

The Eclectic Elek Bacsik

Elek Bacsik was a Hungarian Gypsy jazz guitarist who today is virtually unknown. The cousin of Django Reinhardt, Bacsik was born in 1926 and began playing the violin at age 4. After studying at the Budapest Conservatory in the '40s, he taught himself the guitar, playing Gypsy and classical music. In the post-war 1940s, he left Hungary for Vienna and then Switzerland. In Bern, he played in light-music groups fashionable at the time in cafes, returning to Hungary to record in the late 1940s.

In 1949, Bacsik discovered bebop and bought all of the Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie records he could find. Throughout the 1950s, he played his way through Lebanon, Spain, Portugal and Italy. In 1959, he moved to Paris, where he gigged at many of the city's Left Bank jazz clubs. He also recorded in Paris as a sideman on albums led by Art Simmons, Clark Terry, Kenny Clarke, Lou Bennett and others. In February 1962, he recorded his first album as a leader in Paris. That summer, he played with Gillespie at France's Antibes Jazz Festival and recorded on Dizzy on the French Riviera (Philips).

Bacsik moved to the States in 1966 with hopes of making a name for himself as a jazz musician. But with a name difficult to pronounce or remember and little in the way of mass-market recognition, his dream was increasingly tough to realize. Instead, he disappeared with his violin into the Las Vegas pit orchestras, resurfacing in the 1970s to record two jazz albums on the violin and the electric violin—I Love You in 1974 with Hank Jones and Bird and Dizzy/A Musical Tribute, featuring Med Flory and Warne Marsh in 1975. Those would be his last jazz recordings. Sadly he never again would reach the status he had achieved as a jazz musician in Paris years earlier.

Listening back to his leadership albums recorded in Paris, one realizes immediately that Bacsik was exceptional and a forceful, swinging player. He had an aggressive attack and improvised beautifully, letting notes ring. On his first leadership album, The Electric Guitar of the Eclectic Elek Bacsik (Fontana), later released as Jazz Guitarist, he was joined by two different bassists and drummers over the two recording sessions:

On the first, he was backed by Pierre Michelot (b) and Kenny Clarke (d) on Take Five, Blue Rondo a la Turk, Willow Weep for Me, My Old Flame, On Green Dolphin Street and Milestones. On the second session, Bacsik recorded with Michel Gaudry (b) and Daniel Humair (d) on Nuages, Angel Eyes, Godchild and Opus De Funk.

Sadly, we don't have nearly enough recordings by Bacsik, who arrived in the States at exactly the wrong moment in jazz history. Elek Bacsik died in 1993.

JazzWax tracks: Jazz Guitarist is out of print, but you'll find all of the tracks on Jazz In Paris: Nuages here. This release combines Jazz Guitarist with four bossa nova tracks recorded the same year.

You'll find his Jazz Conceptions (1963) on Jazz in Paris: Jazz Conceptions here.

Bacsik also recorded a superb, little-known album with Serge Gainsbourg in 1963—Gainsbourg Confidential. You'll find the album at Spotify. [Photo above, from left, Serge Gainsbourg, Elek Bacsik, Michel Gaudry]

JazzWax tracks: Here's Bacsick on Godchild...

Godchild

Here's Bacsik on Conception...

Conception

And here's Serge Gainsbourg's Chez les Ye-Ye...

Chez les Ye-Ye

A special thanks to Tom Fine.

Teddy Wilson: 1934-1942

In 1935, clarinetist Benny Goodman asked pianist Teddy Wilson to join his newly formed trio with drummer Gene Krupa. The move came at Columbia producer John Hammond's urging and it made Wilson one of the first African-American musicians to break the performance segregation barrier in the 1930s. Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton would up the ante when he joined the group a year later followed by guitarist Charlie Christian in 1939.

But as Mosaic Records' new box, Classic Brunswick & Columbia Teddy Wilson Sessions 1934-1942 shows, Wilson is known for breaking another barrier. He was the Swing Era's bridge between the syncopated stride players of the late 1920s and early '30s and the progressive conversational pianists of the late 1940s and beyond. Virtually all post-war keyboard players, from Erroll Garner and Bud Powell to Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans, were students of Wilson's elegance and accompanist approach.

The seven-CD box features only the Wilson-led Brunswick and Columbia sessions, which means there are no Benny Goodman Trio sides here. There also are zero Wilson orchestral leadership sessions backing singer Billie Holiday. The box's producer notes say that they all have been issued widely on other sets and there wasn't much point including them given the already-sizable number of CDs in this box. Which is completely understandable, even if it leaves the Wilson evolution during this period with gaps.

What we do have is a carefully chosen 169 tracks featuring Wilson in a wide range of studio settings, including dazzling solo recordings, dates where Goodman, Ben Webster, Harry James, Roy Eldridge and other jazz greats were members of his groups, and vocal dates with Helen Ward, Midge Williams, Nan Wynn, Lena Horne and others. So while you shouldn't expect this box to deliver the complete Wilson output during this nine-year period, you do wind up with a splendid trail that provides exquisite examples of Wilson's evolution as a solo pianist and accompanist.

As I noted in my Wall Street Journal review that went up online on Friday (go here), my favorite tracks are the solo recordings Wilson made for Columbia at engineer Bill Savory's (above) Chicago studio in April 1941. We hear multiple takes of I Know That You Know, Love Me or Leave Me, Them There Eyes, China Boy (seven takes), I Surrender Dear (nine takes), Body and Soul, and I Can't Get Started. What's fascinating about these was Wilson's high standards for himself. Even though to the naked ear each take sounds like a masterpiece, Wilson wasn't happy with introductions or thought he could do better. And what sounds effortless clearly wasn't effortless at all when it came to satisfying his goals for the finished product. Listening to this Savory session is like looking at drafts for the Mona Lisa. Art in Wilson's hands included the process of inching toward perfection.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Classic Brunswick & Columbia Teddy Wilson Sessions 1934-1942 (Mosaic Records) here.

JazzWax clip: Here's the master of I Surrender Dear from April 11, 1941...

I Surrender Dear

Joseph, Teddy and Marcos

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed British actor Joseph Fiennes for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). We talked about why his seven-sibling family moved 14 times when he was little. And how his parents managed to instill discipline in what should have been a chaotic childhood. Joseph starred in Shakespeare in Love and currently stars in The Handmaid's Tale, the Hulu streaming series that won eight Primetime Emmy Awards last year. The show's second season begins April 25. Here's a preview...

And for the Arts in Review section, I reviewed the new Classic Brunswick & Columbia Teddy Wilson Sessions 1934-1942 seven-CD box from Mosaic Records (go here). I'll have my JazzWax review on Monday. Here's one of the great jazz trios in 1960...

Here's Marvin Gaye singing Ain't That Peculiar in 1965 on TV's Hullabaloo...

Bonnie Bowden & The Angel City Big Band: Livin' the Canary Life. On this album, West Coast vocalist Bonnie Bowden has teamed with The Angel City Big Band, a 17-piece Los Angeles swing orchestra that has been performing since 2009 under the direction of saxophonist Tim Miller. Bonnie has a beautiful, warm voice and friends in high places. As she mentioned to me: "Arthur Hamilton is a dear friend. He and Patrick Williams have been close friends and music collaborators for many years. A few years ago, Arthur introduced me to Patrick by bringing him to one of my gigs. Patrick gave me his big band arrangement of their new song Livin’ the Canary Life. I fell in love with the song immediately and wanted so much to record it. It has never been released until now. After performing the song live, Tim Miller, the leader and producer of the Angel City Big Band, thought it would be a cool title song for a new CD we were working on." Arrangements are by Williams, John Clayton, Sammy Nestico, Jerry Nowak and Myles Collins. Go here.

Here's Bonnie singing Patrick Williams's arrangement of Cry Me a River...

Cry Me A River

Marcos Valle. I just heard from producer Pat Philips that she's bringing bossa nova legend Marcos Valle back to New York's Birdland from May 29 to June 2 with special guests vocalist Paula Morelenbaum and cellist Jaques Morelenbaum. I can't wait. Here's Part 1 of Marcos with Merv Griffin in Brazil on Sugar Loaf Mountain in the 1990s...

Here's Part 2...

What the heck. Here's Harry James in the 1950 film, I'll Get By, playing Once in a While...

And here's James on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967, with a stupendous and daring drum solo by Sonny Payne (thanks to Hans Doerrscheidt)...

Oddball album cover of the week.

Wow. Let's count the offenses. She's eating on the floor, she's clearly ticked-off about it, the pot she's eating out of looks gross and, according to the album title, somewhere in the room or in the pot is whiskey. But perhaps most disgusting of all is that the pasta is overcooked.

Harry James in 10 Clips

Harry James is one of the most underappreciated bandleaders of the late 1940s, '50s and early '60s. While plenty has been written about bands led by Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Les Brown and Maynard Ferguson during this period, James has received little or no praise or recognition. Maybe it's because his band sounded so much like Basie's in the LP era, thanks to his passion for Ernie Wilkins's arrangements. Or perhaps it's because he clung to his stodgy 1940s hits far longer than most bandleaders. Or maybe it's because the former circus trumpeter had the same sound on his horn on virtually everything he recorded. Hard to tell. What we do know is that he was an extraordinary power player and had a knack for consistently assembling superstar bands and commissioning hair-raising arrangements.

Rather than go on about James, let me illustrate the quality of his bands, arrangements and trumpet in 10 audio clips. Again, listen to the bands and the arrangements first, then his trumpet:

Here's Neal Hefti's Leave Us Leap-like arrangement of Or Words to That Effect in 1949...

Here's Hefti's blistering arrangement of Except February, Which Had 28 in 1949...

Here's Wilkins's arrangement of Blues for Harry's Sake in 1957...

Here's Wilkins's arrangement of Just for Fun in 1958...

Here's Wilkins's arrangement of Fair and Warmer in 1958...

Here's Wilkins's arrangemetn of One on the House. in 1958..

Here's Bill Holman's arrangement of Here's One in 1958...

Here's Bob Florence's arrangement of Eyes in 1960...

Here's Neal Hefti's arrangement of Hot Pink in 1961...

And here's Wilkins's arrangement of A Swingin' Serenade in 1962...

Jackie DeShannon: Capitol Album

You probably know Jackie DeShannon best for her song, Put a Little Love in Your Heart, a #4 Billboard hit in 1969. Or her hit rendition of Hal David and Burt Bacharach's What the World Needs Now Is Love. What you may not know is that Jackie was one of the first female singer-songwriters in the pop-rock era and one of its most prolific composers. She was born and raised in Kentucky before her family moved to Illinois. In her sophomore year of high school in the lte 1950s, she left to become a professional singer and recording artist. Initially considered a country singer, her regional singles caught the ear of Eddie Cochran, who brought her out to Los Angeles to meet his girlfriend at the time, singer-songwriter Sharon Sheeley, who would co-create the jukebox TV show Shindig! The two women formed a writing partnership in 1960 and wrote a bunch of hits.

Jackie was soon signed to Liberty Records. She co-wrote and recorded the hit Needles and Pins (1963) and wrote and recorded When You Walk in the Room (1963). In February 1964, Jackie joined the Beatles on their first North American tour and appeared in a few beach movies. She also wrote or co-wrote dozens of hits recorded by other artists, including Marianne Faithful's Come and Stay With Me (1965) and Kim Carnes's Bette Davis Eyes (1981).

Now, Real Gone Music has released a fascinating album: Jackie DeShannon: Stone Cold Soul: The Complete Capitol Recordings. Sixteen of the songs on the album were recorded at producer Chips Moman's American Recording Studios in Memphis. Recorded in December 1970 and January 1971 after Jackie left Liberty, the album was shelved by Capitol after executives became uncertain about its commercial viability. Several months later, Jackie went back into Capitol to record again. The Hollywood sessions produced enough material that, when combined with some of the songs from the Memphis sessions, resulted in Songs, Jackie's sole Capitol release.

Stone Cold Soul unites all of Jackie's Capitol material, and the album is absolutely wonderful. Jackie has a warm twang and a powerful yearning in her voice. Her four originals—West Virginia Mine, Now That the Desert Is Blooming, Salinas and Bad Water—are cozy Americana pieces. Other songs include the soulful title track by Mark James and George Klein, Van Morrison's And It Stoned Me, Bob Dylan's Lay, Lady, Lay (which Jackie sings as Lay, Baby, Lay) and Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn's Sweet Inspiration. [Photo above of Jackie DeShannon playing Monopoly with George Harrison in 1964 while on tour with the Beatles]

The best way to listen to the album is barefoot. Only then will you fully feel the moods in Jackie's voice and the splendor of the material chosen. I also advise you leave the album on replay a couple of times. The music grows on you.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Jackie DeShannon: Stone Cold Soul: The Complete Capitol Recordings (Real Gone Music) here.

You'll also find it on Spotify.

JazzWax clips: Here's the title track...

Here's Jackie in 1964 singing When You Walk in the Room...

Here's Jackie in 1965 singing What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love...

Here's Jackie in 1965 singing Feel So Good...

Here's Jackie singing Put a Little Love in Your Heart in 1969...

And to read my WSJ interview with Jackie in 2013, go here.

PS: Jackie will be inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame on May 11. For more information about tickets, go here.

Zoot Sims and George Handy

Tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims recorded just two albums with pianist George Handy (and a third that Handy composed and arranged). You may recall that I last posted about Handy back in March, when I explored his two orchestral albums. His two albums with Sims are extraordinary and give us a chance to hear Handy in action in a combo setting. But these albums offer more, since we also hear Handy's compositions and his arranging.

The first album was Zoot!, featuring Nick Travis (tp), Sims (ts, as-), Handy (p,arr), Wilbur Ware (b) and Osie Johnson (d). It was recorded for Riverside in December 1956. What makes the album special are the songs by Handy—Why Cry?. Echoes of You, Swim Jim, and Here and Now. Of the remaining three, two are the standards—Fools Rush in (Where Angels Fear to Tread) and Taking a Chance of Love—and the last is Osmosis by drummer Osie Johnson. Handy's writing had a catchy, lyrical bounce and plenty of velocity. All four of Handy's songs were perfect platforms for Sims and Travis to play pretty and go at each other. As for Handy, he offers up compelling chords and plays them hard and with zest behind Sims and Travis throughout.

The second Sims-Handy album was Zoot Sims Plays Four Altos. It features Sims multi-tracked on four altos—which means he recorded his main part and then recorded three additional harmony parts right on top. He was joined by Handy (p), Nabil "Knobby" Totah (b) and Nick Stabulas (d). The album was recorded In January 1957 for ABC-Paramount and was produced by Creed Taylor.

This is an extraordinary album. Essentially it's a Zoot Sims alto-sax section arranged by Handy, who composed all of the songs. I'm guessing that the success of the multi-tracking experiment here that allowed Sims to play all four sax parts helped pioneer the concept for Lambert, Hendricks and Ross's Sing a Song of Basie, also produced by Creed in late '57. [Photo above of George Handy by William P. Gottlieb]

Plays Four Altos is a knockout reed feast. Handy's songs and arrangements are sterling, and Sims's playing is absolutely sublime. Best of all, the reeds are tightly scored, so Sims's smooth tone and swinging feel are captured four times. And then there's Handy's urgent piano playing, which supports and pushes Sims along. A shame Sims, Handy and Creed didn't record another one or two of these. Years ago, saxophonist Hal McKusick (and Handy's pal) told me, "George's charts for Zoot Sims Plays Four Altos were outstanding and good forever!”

And how. 

The third album, Zoot Sims Plays Alto, Tenor And Baritone, doesn't feature Handy on piano but it includes his compositions and arrangements. It was recorded for Creed's ABC-Paramount in 1956.

Zoot Sims died in 1985 and George Handy died in 1997.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Zoot Sims's Zoot! and Zoot Sims Plays Four Altos on one Fresh Sound release here or here.

JazzWax clips: Here's Why Cry? from Zoot!

Why Cry?

And here's J'espère Enfin from Zoot Sims Plays Four Altos. Be sure you're sitting down before you start this clip. You're going to be blown away...

J'espère Enfin

Warne Marsh & Kenny Drew

In the spring of 1980, during a swing through Norway, Sweden and Denmark, tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh ran into pianist Kenny Drew in Copenhagen. Drew had moved permanently to Paris from the States in 1961 and relocated to Copenhagen in '64. On April 21, Marsh and Drew performed on a Danish Radio broadcast with Bo Stief on bass and Aage Tanggaard on drums. The broadcast's recording was put out by Storyville in 1999.

Except for the title song, the tracks were a mix of American Songbook and bebop standards: Marsh's I Got a Good One for You (based on It's You or No One), Sophisticated Lady, On Green Dolphin Street, Sippin' at Bells, Every Time We Say Goodbye, Little Willie Leaps, Easy to Love, Body and Soul, Ornithology, Star Eyes and Softly as in a Morning Sunrise.

Marsh always had a soft spot for Charlie Parker and admired how the alto saxophonist could get to the point when he played. Drew, of course, played with Parker in 1950, when trumpeter Red Rodney was in the group. So a hefty helping of bop was ideal for this broadcast. As for the sidemen, Stief remains one of Denmark's most prominent jazz bassists and has played with Drew, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Ben Webster and many other artists. Drummer Tangaard has worked with pianist Duke Jordan, Stan Getz, Ernie Wilkins, Paul Bley, Lee Konitz and plenty of others. [Photo above of Kenny Drew]

In reading the liner notes, I had no idea Marsh was independently wealthy. His father had been a senior cameraman in Hollywood and had left money in a trust for his kids. As a result, Marsh had the luxury of playing where and what he wanted without letting financial pressures dictate the jobs he took. [Photo above of Warne Marsh by Frans Schellekens]

On this album, Marsh and Drew have an interesting symbiosis. Marsh's dry tone and inclination toward cool jazz is offset by the heat of Drew's bop chops. What's most interesting is how little of Lennie Tristano's influence can be heard here. Instead, the session feels more like a tribute to Bird with a few Broadway hits thrown in.

The standout exception is Star Eyes, which Marsh plays as a slow ballad. His colorless, elegiac tone is matched by Drew's near-homesick chords and bright solo lines. It's one of the finest versions of this song after Parker's.

Warne Marsh died in 1987; Kenny Drew died in 1993.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Warne Marsh and Kenny Drew's I Got a Good One for You (Storyville) here.

You'll also find it at Spotify.

JazzWax clip: Here's Star Eyes...

Star Eyes

Cecil Taylor (1929-2018)

Cecil Taylor, a jazz pianist who spent nearly his entire recording career absorbed by the dark whimsy and splendid torment of abstraction and created a new musical language that was as jagged as it was dramatic, died April 5. He was 89.

There is no listener entry point for Taylor's leadership albums. From his earliest release, Jazz Advance, recorded in September 1956, Taylor abandoned all of jazz's established styles. Instead, he chose a free expression that seemed to capture the chaos and uncertainty of life's struggles through a fractured cubist lens. Joined on his first album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, bassist Buell Neidlinger and drummer Denis Charles, Taylor insisted that listeners absorb his music differently. For many listeners, Taylor's abstraction could grate on the nerves. At first listen, his piano seemed more like a fire hose of random notes and noise than structured music, even by jazz standards.

Bur for sophisticated listeners who could hear Taylor's artistic core, the jumble and jangle of percussive notes was a rich tapestry of emotions shaken together with a formal technique. More than any other jazz artist, Taylor was determined to combine atonal modern classical music with the playfulness and syncopation of jazz.

Taylor's music wasn't designed to be easy to listen to, even by today's standards. Instead, you fall into the music as your ears become accustomed to Taylor's approach and hypnotized by his sonic attack. Many people still have a negative reaction to Taylor's playing style, feeling as if they're being put-on. But the more you just listen rather than scoff and resist, the more you find yourself understanding what you're hearing. Eventually, you heart realizes you're experiencing the very depths of an artist's soul, uninhibited by convention or contrivance, and the voice of someone determined to say something new, income and popularity be damned.

It's also important to note that Taylor's earliest recordings marked the beginning of a robust artistic commitment to free jazz and was a critical influence on Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Don Cherry and many others who explored the style with the same passion.

Here are a handful of my favorite Cecil Taylor clips that you may find challenging at first, but I'm sure they will grow on you:

Here's You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To from Jazz Advance (1956)...

You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To

Here's Jumpin' Punkins (1961) from the Mosaic box, Cecil Taylor And Buell Neidlinger: The Complete Candid Recordings...

Jumpin' Punkins (Take 4)

Here's African Violets from Looking Ahead! (1958)...

African Violets

Here's Steps from Unit Structure (1966)...

Steps

And here's a fascinating clip: Cecil Taylor with John Coltrane in 1958, with Kenny Dorham (tp), Coltrane (ts), Taylor (p), Chuck Israels (b) and Louis Hayes (d). They're playing Like Someone in Love. Listen to the pressure Taylor is placing on Coltrane on this standard...

Like Someone In Love

Bernie, June and Maynard

Several weeks ago, I flew out to Los Angeles to interview Bernie Taupin for my "Anatomy of a Song" column for The Wall Street Journal (go here). Bernie, of course, wrote the lyrics to nearly all of Elton John's songs. Specifically, we talked about his lyrics for Rocket Man (1972), how he worked with Elton John, and his take on the president's use of the song title last fall to chide the leader of North Korea. It was a fun morning. Bernie is a gentle, unassuming guy who is open about his feelings and loves to laugh. Here's Elton singing Rocket Man just before it was released in the spring of 1972...

Also in the WSJ this week, I interviewed golf legend Jack Nicklaus for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Jack talked about how his father's ankle injury changed his life and golf history.

Three more: Yep, a busy week. In case you missed JazzWax this week, I reviewed the new Miles Davis & John Coltrane—The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 box set for the Arts in Review section (go here). I also interviewed mystery writer Martha Grimes for my "Playlist" column in the Review section on how she came to the music of Lou Reed as an adult (go here). And I wrote a piece for the Review section on the now-forgotten go-go dancing craze of the mid-1960s and how it intersected with the women's liberation movement (go here).

Sirius XM alert. I will be joining Feedback co-hosts Nik Carter and Lori Majewski (above) on Tuesday, April 10, from 9 to 10 a.m., to talk about my "Anatomy of a Song" column on Rocket Man. We'll also be chatting about why Sister Rosetta Tharpe is being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame next weekend. Tune in on the VOLUME network, channel 106.

Speaking of the Rock Hall. Bill McCann of WCDB0 in Albany snapped the image above of my book, Anatomy of a Song, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's gift shop. Thanks, Bill!

Big, big band. There are large jazz big bands and then there's the Eddy Louiss & Le Multicolor Feeling Orchestra in France. Here's a sample...

L.A. in 1965 epitomized the future. Nowhere else in the country was the line between the old guard and youth culture and fashion more pronounced. In mid-decade L.A., many of Billboard hits were recorded there, cars looked like they could take off and fly, and the styles in clothing, hair and just about everything else were cutting edge. Here's an 8 1/2-minute short on the Hollywood scene in '65...

Maynard and Buddy! Rick Megahan sent along a link to audio from a tribute concert for manager Willard Alexander at Buddy's Place, Buddy Rich's New York nightclub circa 1975. The gig featured the major big-band leaders of the day along with Rich's band. Trumpeter Maynard Ferguson plays with Rich starting at about 1:26. Here's the clip...

Two CDs you should know about...

Fanny Walked the Earth (Blue Élan ). Back in 1969, Fanny was one of the first all-female rock bands. The group was led by sisters June (guitar) and Jean Millington (bass). They had moved with their family from the Philippines to Sacramento, Calif., in 1961. In high school they formed an all-girl band called the Svelts. Well, they're back, better than ever, with a new album. It's a rocker that shows off June's wailing electric guitar and lead vocals, and the voice and thump of Jean's bass. Go here.

Here's a teaser for the album...

And here's a clip of When We Need Her...

Roberto Magris Sextet; Live in Miami at the WDNA Jazz Gallery (CD Baby). Recorded in 2016, this album by Italian pianist Roberto Magris features a Miami hard-bop sextet with Latin influences. The group includes trumpeter Brian Lynch, tenor saxophonist Jonathan Gomez, pianist Roberto Magris, bassist Chuck Bergeron, drummer John Yarling and percussionist Murphy Aucamp. Under it all is Roberto's seductive and percussive piano. Go here.

Here's their ballad, April Morning...

April Morning

Coney Island. Jimi Mentis sent along a link to a haunting 1991 documentary by Ric Burns on the early development of Coney Island. At the turn of the 20th century, New York's grand-scale amusement park was like today's Internet. One price bought you access to the world's wonders. Until, that is, the three parks burned down at different points in time. Here's Coney Island... 

Rhode Island jazz. For information on the history of Rhode Island jazz, co-author Tom Shaker alerted me to his book, A Treasury of Rhode Island Jazz & Swing Musicians. It includes over 600 profiles of jazz musicians who hail from this tiny New England state. Go here.

In New York on April 14? Bassist John Menegon will be at Kitano Jazz with his new group, Quartet East, on April 14. He will be presenting original compositions as well as works by the late bassist Charlie Haden. Sets are at 8 and 10 p.m. There's a $34 cover and $20 minimum for food or drink. For more information, go here.

What the heck. I have no idea what movie this clip is from (a Greek film?), but there's something about it that's so gentle and spring-like. And wow, what incredible surf! The footage is set to organist Walter Wanderley's Beach Samba...

Oddball album cover of the week.

This cover has its '60s suburban priorities straight: Grill in focus, guests blurry. Even our model in the pink-striped dress has her eyes on the prize.