JazzWax

Lee Konitz in Spain, 2018

On March 26-28, 2018, Lee Konitz was in Almeria, Spain, on a limited 12-day tour of Europe. He was 90 and starting to feel the effects of his age and fatigue. But that didn't stop him. Like all great artists, Lee was determined to power through and create and explore until the very end, leaning into life's winds. [Photo above of Lee Konitz in 2018 courtesy of Lee Konitz and Jazz in Europe]

In Spain, Lee spent time at the residence of the Valparaíso Foundation in Mojácar. While he was there, Manuel Rubio filmed a 34-minute documentary while Lee played with Marco Mezquida (p), Bori Albero (b) and Ramon Prats (d). What we see and hear is a jazz lion in winter, struggling to get his hands and mouth to play what he's thinking and remain relevant. A fascinating film. Lee died in April 2020 after contracting Covid-19.

Here's Lee Konitz in Spain...

A special thanks to John Klopotowski.

Miles Davis: Will You Still Be Mine?

Written by Matt Dennis and Tom Adair, Will You Still Be Mine? was first recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra in February 1941, with an arrangement by Axel Stordahl and a vocal refrain by Connie Haines. There were roughly seven jazz versions between Dorsey's and the definitive version by Miles Davis in 1955. Davis's rendition appeared on Musings of Miles and featured Davis (tp), Red Garland (p), Oscar Pettiford (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). Will You Still Be Mine? still sounds great and is one of those songs that's impossible not to love. Here are nine versions between 1941 and '55, plus a few bonus tracks:

Here's Tommy Dorsey in 1941...

Here's Ahmad Jamal in 1951...

Here's Buddy DeFranco in 1951...

Here's Matt Dennis in 1953...

Here's Erroll Garner in 1953...

Here's Benny Carter in 1954...

Here's Pete Jolly in 1955...

Here's Tal Farlow in 1955...

And here's Miles Davis in 1955. Now that you've heard a bunch of jazz versions, listen how Davis takes the song to a different level with his dry tone, sterling improvisation and tentative, shy feel that perfectly captures the lyric's big unanswered question. The contrast between Miles's vulnerability and Garland's driving piano is divine...

Bonus tracks: Here's the Red Garland Trio in 1957...

Here's the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1962...

And here's vocalist Monica Ramey with the Beegie Adair Trio recently with Denis Solee on tenor saxophone and George Tidwell on flugelhorn. Dig Beegie's solo...

Lennie Tristano: Duo Sessions

In 1968, pianist Lennie Tristano stopped touring. Traveling had become too much for him and he preferred to focus on teaching. During this period, he recorded with students at his home studio in his loft apartment at 317 East 32nd Street. Tapes he made playing with three of his students appear on an album called The Duo Sessions (Dot Time), released last year.

The students were saxophonist Lenny Popkin, pianist Connie Crothers and drummer Roger Mancuso. Popkin's October 1970 tracks are Out of a Dream, Ballad, Chez Lennie, Inflight, Ensemble and Melancholy Stomp. Crothers' tracks in 1976 are Concerto: Part 1 and Part 2. And Mancuso's tracks, circa 1968, are Palo Alto Street, Session, Changes, My Baby, Imagery, That Feeling, Minor Pennies and Home Again. 

The material here is for Tristano fans who will appreciate the dry and free-form competition between student and teacher. Listening to these recordings is like watching a champion handball player take on younger players in a glassed in court. [Photo above of Lenny Popkin]

Tristano remains one of the most intriguing and underrated jazz pianists of the post-war period. From his 1945 recordings onward, Tristano, who was blind, had a magical sense of swing, whether playing bebop or his modernist cool while headiing a trio, quartet, quintet or sextet. His playing never ceases to dazzle and raise hairs. [Photo above of Connie Crothers and Lenny Popkin]

Lennie Tristano died in 1978, Connie Crothers died in 2016. [Photo above of Connie Crothers and Roger Mancuso]

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Lennie Tristano: The Duo Sessions (Dot Time) here.

JazzWax clips: Here's Imagery with Lennie Tristano and Roger Mancuso...

Here's Ensemble with Tristano and Lenny Popkin...

Bonus: Here's Tristano's first recording, Tea for Two, in June 1945, with Marky Markowitz (tp), Earl Swope (tb), Emmett Carls (ts), Lennie Tristano (p,arr), Chubby Jackson (b) and Don Lamond (d)...

Here's Blue Boy in May 1947 with Lennie Tristano (p), Billy Bauer (g) and Bob Leininger (b)...

Here's Tristano playing solo piano on Just Judy in September 1947...

And here's the Lennie Tristano Sextet in May 1949 playing Marionette, with Lee Konitz (as), Warne Marsh (ts), Lennie Tristano (p), Billy Bauer (g), Arnold Fishkin (b) and Denzil Best (d)...

Helen, Shirley and Bill

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress Helen Hunt for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Helen, of course, co-starred on Mad About You, a wildly successful sitcom in the 1990s. She is so closely identified with that show that many may forget she won an Oscar for Best Actress in As Good As It Gets, opposite Jack Nicholson, in 1997. [Photo above of Helen Hunt courtesy of Helen Hunt at Twitter]

Here's Helen and Jack Nicholson in the movie...

David Crosby has a new album coming, For Free, that includes Rodriguez for a Night, a song that Donald Fagen wrote for him. Take note Steely Dan fans. Here's the song, with fascinating results...

The Poll Winners. Bruce Forman, John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton have started a Kickstarter campaign to raise enough money to put out an album that pays tribute to their mentors and their original instruments. Their mentors are guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, and the album they love is The Poll Winners, released in 1957. You'll find Bruce Forman's Kickstarter video and a fast way to donate here.

Quincy Jones. After my post last week on Quincy Jones's big band of 1960 and a French video, I received the following from Claude Neuman:

Hi Marc, You’ve most probably read the book, but just in case, chapter 11 of Phil Woods’ autobiography "Life in E Flat" is an account of his time in Europe with the "Free and Easy" company and Quincy’s band.

Thomas Jefferson was a New Orleans trumpeter few jazz fans know much about. Janina sent along an email last week with recollecitons:

Hello Marc, I had the privilege of meeting Thomas Jefferson in the summer of 1975. I took a hiatus from college that year and lived in New Orleans from January until the end of August, when I returned to school. Mr. Jefferson and his jazz orchestra performed six nights a week at Maison Bourbon, which stood on the northwest corner of Bourbon and St Peter streets.

Back then, I lived with my boyfriend, later to become my husband, in a third-floor walkup apartment on St. Peter between Royal and Bourbon. What a block! From our back fire-escape, we could sit and listen to incredible music. On that one block between Royal and Bourbon was the Preservation Hall, Pat O’Briens bar and Maison Bourbon with Thomas Jefferson.

Across the street from Preservation Hall was Johnny White’s Bar and Grille. In the front was an illegal money card game going all hours. Its doors to the street were always open so local police could keep an eye on the game and make sure no one tried to rip off the "pot." In the back were tables for food and drinks.

Mr. Jefferson would come in occasionally and was always happy to share his table and conversation. He was well spoken and impeccably dressed. He talked about growing up in New Orleans and playing in funeral processions as a young boy. He said he even played with Louis Armstrong at funerals. And he always spoke about his wife and what a wonderful woman she was. Here's his bio.

Here's Jefferson and His Dixieland All Stars in 1974 playing If I Could Be With You...

And here's Jefferson in 1975...

McCoy Tyner and Bobby Hutcherson. After my concert video post last week featuring these two great artists, I received the following from Kim Paris of the FM Radio Archive [Photo above of Bobby Hutcherson by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]:

Marc, Your readers may be interested in the audio of two later performances. First is the McCoy Tyner Trio with special guests Gary Bartz and Bill Frisell at Jazz Open Stuttgart in July 2009, broadcast on German TV station SWR BW. You'll find it here.

Second is the Bobby Hutcherson Quartet at JazzBaltica in Kiel, Germany, on the Baltic Sea, broadcast on German public TV channel 3sat in 2007. This performance includes an interview with Bobby. You'll find it here.

Color photography in 1923? That's right. Photographer Gilles D'Elia in Paris told me all about it:

Dear Marc, I recently discovered photographer Jules Gervais-Courtellemont quite by chance. His color images are the result of a primitive screen-plate process called Autochrome, invented in 1903 by France's Lumière brothers! Learn more about the process here. Check out his breathtaking color photos:

Jazz in July is held each year at 92Y, one of New York's oldest and most prominent cultural institutions. This year, you can experience the concerts two ways—live in the seats of 92Y's theater or via livestream online, which you also can view for up to 72 hours after the performance.

On July 20, you can see singer Kurt Elling perform with pianist Bill Charlap, alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist David Wong and drummer Carl Allen. On July 27, you can see singer Dianne Reeves with the Bill Charlap Trio. For more information and tickets, go here.

Shirley Scott radio. This Sunday (June 27), from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET), Sid Gribetz will present a five-hour radio broadcast celebrating the career of jazz organist Shirley Scott on WKCR-FM's “Jazz Profiles.” Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.

And finally, in April, Classic Hits uploaded a video of one of the greatest ballad hits of the 1960s, the Righteous Brothers performing You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. Here it is...

Think you've got the chops to sing like Bill Medley? Give it a try. Here's what Bill heard in his headphones when producer Phil Spector recorded him and Bobby Hatfield singing in October 1964 (if you need the words, go here)...

Elizete Cardoso: Canção do Amor Demais

Elizete Cardoso is widely considered Brazil's first popular bossa nova singer. She started singing early and was discovered at age 16 in 1936. Her first recording was issued in 1950. Between 1950 and 1958, she released more than 35 singles and albums, establishing her as a prominent artist. In 1958, emerging lyricist Vinicius de Moraes asked her to record an album of songs he wrote with composer Antonio Carlos Jobim. Elizete agreed.

The result was Canção do Amor Demais. Though her voice tended to sound operatic and earnest on the material, the album is credited with giving Brazilian listeners their first taste of the music by the new bossa nova songwriters. Released on the small Festa label, Canção do Amor Demais gained traction in Brazil. Cardoso landed an opportunity to sing the original version of Manhã de Carnaval on the Black Orpheus soundtrack.

But her album would quickly be eclipsed. A year later, in 1959, João Gilberto released Chega de Saudade on the more prominent Odeon label. Gilberto's album became an international pop sensation, promoting the bossa nova worldwide. By comparison, Gilberto's voice was dry, confidential and upbeat—a new contemporary sound that was perfect for the music's lyrical minimalism. What's more, his sensitive voice on the album was supported by his hypnotic acoustic guitar and fresh chord voicings, all framed by Jobim's soaring arrangements.

Elizete Cardoso died in 1990.

Here's Elizete Cardoso's groundbreaking Canção do Amor Demais in 1958...

For more, here are links to the other female Brazilian singers I've covered in this ongoing series: Syliva Telles, Beth Carvalho, Nara Leão, Eliana Pittman, Elis Regina, Ana Mazzotti and Maria Creuza.

Video: Quincy Jones Big Band in France

Quincy Jones had a sterling jazz career in the 1950s, arranging and conducting for top jazz recording artists. He also recorded leading his own band. By 1959, Jones decided to invest in a touring production of Harold Arlen's jazz musical Free and Easy. He assembled a band and created arrangements for 18 musicians instead of a full orchestra. Jones's Free and Easy premiered in Amsterdam on December 7, 1959 and continued pre-opening performances in Brussels, Amsterdam again and Sweden in late 1959 and early 1960. On January 15, 1960, the musical had its official premiere in Paris at the Alhambra Theatre to rave reviews. But marketing efforts flopped and attendance died off fast. The production folded in February.

Feeling enormous guilt over miscalculating and stranding so many American player-friends abroad, Jones formed a big band with the show's musicians. Stuck in Paris, the band was featured on French TV in two separate programs. Late last year, Trent Bryson-Dean untied the two halves into one. Here's the Quincy Jones Big Band in Paris shortly after Free and Easy folded and Jones repurposed the group as a concert band.

The personnel featured Clark Terry (flg hrn); Floyd Standifer, Lennie Johnson and Ernest Vally (tp); Melba Linston, Quentin Johnson, Ake Persson and Jimmy Cleveland (tb); Julius Watkins (Fr hrn); Phil Woods and Porter Kilbert (as); Budd Johnson and Jerome Richardson (ts); Sahib Shihab (bs); Patti Bown (p); Les Spann (g); Buddy Catlett (b) and Joe Harris (d). The tracks are Birth of a Band, Moanin', The Gypsy, Cherokee, Walkin', Big Red, Ghana, The Phantom's Blues, I Remember Clifford and Doodlin'.

Talk about a comeback. In 1961, Jones returned to the States and became vice president of Mercury Records, arranged and conducted for Frank Sinatra on two albums and became an in-demand studio arranger-producer and prolific movie soundtrack composer-arranger before pivoting to soul-pop in the late '60s.

Here's the Quincy Jones Big Band in Paris in early 1960...

Tony Scott's Centennial

June 17 was the 100th anniversary of Tony Scott's birth. The clarinetist, baritone saxophonist, leader and arranger was born in New Jersey and attended Manhattan's Juilliard School of Music from 1940 to 1942. He began recording as a sideman in 1945 before leading his first band backing Sarah Vaughan in '46. He also played clubs with Charlie Parker in the late 1940s and backed Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Jackie Paris and other vocalists throughout the '50s. He also recorded extensively as a sideman and leader for Brunswick and RCA during the decade.

In the early 1960s, he toured in Asia and set to work recording World music on albums such as Music for Zen Meditation (1964), Djanger Bali : Tony Scott and the Indonesian All Stars (1967), Music For Yoga Meditation And Other Joys (1968) and other albums with musicians from other nations and cultures. In the 1970s and '80s, Scott recorded mostly in Europe after relocating to Italy. Tony was born Anthony Joseph Sciacca in Morristown, N.J.

Scott is an acquired taste. While Benny Goodman's clarinet was juicy and centered on upbeat swing, Artie Shaw's had a deep, ruminating romanticism and Buddy DeFranco's always had a bebop sensibility, Scott's clarinet had a dryer, almost squeaky tone, and he frequently mixed abstraction into his solos. Scott also tended to team up with cutting-edge New York jazz artists who were on his wave length, including Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro, Paul Motian, John Carisi, Gunther Schuller, Dick Katz, Jimmy Nottingham and others.

Scott died in 2007. In tribute to his centennial, here are 10 clips:

Here's the Tony Scott Quartet in 1953 playing Sweet Lorraine...

Here's Glad to Be Unhappy in 1955 with a septet...

Here's the Tony Scott Quartet playing Everything Happens to Me in 1956...

Here's Scott leading an all-star big band in 1956 on I'll Remember April, arranged by John Carisi...

Here's the Tony Scott Quartet in Sweden in 1957 playing Moonlight in Vermont...

Here's the Tony Scott Quartet (Scott, Bill Evans on piano, Milt Hinton on bass and Paul Motian on drums) playing If I'm Lucky in 1957...

Here's Scott on TV's The Subject Is Jazz in 1958 playing Blues for an African Friend...

Here's Tony Scott in Czechoslovakia in 1968 playing Autumn Leaves...

Here's Scott playing baritone saxophone on 'Round Midnight in 1973...

And here's Scott in Rome in 1973 with two other Italian jazz masters. First up is Conte Candoli on trumpet playing Darn That Dream, followed by Frank Rosolino on trombone playing Sweet and Lovely and then Scott on baritone saxophone playing Sophisticated Lady. Rosolino and Scott join for a blues and a terrific bop scat session...

A special thanks to Giovanni Zanoni in Italy.

Concert: McCoy Tyner in 2002

Two musicians who arguably had the biggest impact on the jazz piano in the 1960s were Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner. They not only came from different backgrounds and experiences but also from different directions. Where Evans was lyrical, delicate and poetic, Tyner was percussive and stormy, using modal scales and chords to whip up drama and furiously rock the listener's boat. [Photo above of McCoy Tyner by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]

Here's Tyner in concert in 2002 with Bobby Hutcherson (vib), Stefano di Battista (as), Charnett Moffett (b) and Eric Harland (d)...

Anthony Weller: Courageous Guitar

Guitarist Anthony Weller, who worked with Herb Pomeroy, Don Shirley and Stéphane Grappelli among others and was a novelist, passed away June 3 at age 63. Anthony was a passionate JazzWax reader and ardent pen-pal, even when an email would take him up to an hour to write. Anthony had been suffering from primary progressive MS, which he had been battling since 2006. PPMS slowly interferes with your brain's ability to control your body, and in Anthony's case, it was disabling, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down since 2010. For an obit in The Goucester Times, go here. For an article on his family's fight to care for him in The Patriot Ledger, go here. And here is his Wall Street Journal essay from 2015. Anthony was creative and courageous. I can't find another word to describe someone who remained upbeat and engaged with humanity in the face of the hand he was dealt. Though sapped of his physical ability, his inner strength remained remarkable. 

Despite his discomfort, Anthony's emails were always kind, gracious and filled with gratitude for my posts. Last week, I was in touch with Anthony's wife, Kylée Smith, whose efforts these past years to care for her husband and raise funds has been loving and heroic...

Anthony died as he lived: with grace, courage and beauty. He loved life—and to let go of this treasure was undoubtedly his most courageous act. If you listen to him sing with his guitar, you'll hear a complete portrait of him: his heart, his mind, his soul.

Here are six clips by Anthony over the years. Miss you, Anthony:

Here's Anthony with the Jon Jarvis Trio and swing violinist Stéphane Grappelli on Louise in 1995...

Here's Anthony with the Jon Jarvis Trio—Jon Jarvis (p), Anthony Weller (g) and
Bob Nieske (b)—on Hear No Evil, playing Frank Foster's Shiny Stockings in 1998...

Here's The Look of Love featuring Anthony and woodwinds player Mike Rossi...

Here's Anthony as a member of the Herb Pomeroy Trio from Live At Cafe Beaujolais playing Stella By Starlight in 2000...

Stella by Starlight

Here's Anthony playing Emily as part of the Herb Pomeroy Trio in 2003...

Emily

And here's Anthony in the Herb Pomeroy Trio in 2006 playing My One and Only Love from Live at 75 Chestnut...

My One and Only Love

Imelda, Julian and Jackie

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Irish pop star Imelda May for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Imelda grew up in Dublin with a large loving family. The spirit of that family remains with her today and in her powerful voice. Imelda's new album is 11 Past the Hour. [Photo above of Imelda May courtesy of Imelda May]

Here's Imelda in action...

Houston Person. Earlier this month, Houston was at pianist Emmet Cohen's apartment with Russell Hall on bass and Kyle Poole on drums. Emmet's Place, a gig stream, can be viewed live along with past streams. Go here. [Photo above of Houston Person by Alexey-Karpovich]

Here's Just the Way You Are...

Eduard Ninck Blok. Last week, after my post on Dutch pianist Frans Wieringa, I heard from Eduard Ninck Blok, who played on Jazz From Holland:

Dear Marc. Here's additional information on the LP. It was recorded on November 4, 1968 in Dorplein, a little village near the Belgian border. It was released on Europa Music (#7719). The personnel was Frans Wieringa (p), me on cornet and flute, Ruud Voordes (b) and Ton van Steenderen (d). My name was misspelled on the cover. Totally unrehearsed, we went into the studio of Johnny Hoes and made the LP in one day. It could have been better, but I still like "Work Song." Three years later, I had my masters in psychology at Groningen University and started working there after graduation. I continued to play trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn. In the '80s I had the Amstel Octet and we made two records. The second featured Chet Baker.

Mose Allison. Following my post last week on John Chin and Mose, I heard from Mark Rabin:

Hi, Marc. How Orwellian is it to hear Mose Allison's incisive lyrics from the year 1984? Between 1984 and '86, Mose was on "The Ocean Limited," a CBC program hosted by Bill Stevenson. This two-part program features 20 of Mose Allison's greatest hits recorded live in October 1984 at Pepe's Upstairs in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Pepe's was reported to be one of only two clubs in Halifax paying jazz musicians to perform in the mid-80's, so this must have been a special evening for local jazz fans. To listen to the radio show, go here.

I also heard from Pam Oberman in Australia:

Hi Marc. Loved your descriptive words used in your post about the latest album to cover Mose's music and vocals. "Rural wisdom," "jagged bluesy piano," "Moseville," "Mose art attack" and his "quiet hipster ethos," "barefoot wisdom" and "funky jazz yowl & rock." Playing the album very loudly down here in Australia at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday.

Julian Lage—Squint (Blue Note). The guitarist has a new album out, his first on Blue Note. Joined by bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King, Lage has a jazz-rock sound that is probably closest to John Scofield's taut, ringing attack. What I love most on this album is that each track has a different metallic personality held together with the same warm spirit. Saint Rose, for example, has a funky country feel while Day and Age features a slow shuffle and Quiet Like a Fuse is soft and soulful. And then there's Emily, the Johnny Mandel movie theme, which gives jazz heads a clear benchmark that illustrates how Lage rolls. What's also interesting is how Lage's abstraction interacts with his lyricism, like different colored oil undulating fluidly on the surface of water. Also fabulous throughout is the sound of Lage's Collings 470 JL guitar, an instrument Collings made in collaboration with Lage. It has the bite of a Telecaster and the romance of a Gibson. Go here.  

Brian Charette. I last posted about the organist in March. For those of you in New York this weekend, stop off at 55 Bar on Sunday from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. Brian will be backed by Ari Hoenig (d) and Gilad Hekselman (g). Here's the trio in action on Standing Still in 2018...

To view Brian's solo electronica streams every Tuesday at 9 p.m. (ET), go to his Facebook page here. Here's a recent stream...

Eddie Jefferson radio. Sid Gribetz will host a five-hour tribute to vocalist Eddie Jefferson on Sunday, from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET). To listen from anywhere in the world, go here.

Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter radio. Up now at FM Radio Archive are two concerts featuring Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter together, backed by different bands. The first is VSOP live in Japan in 1977, including Ron Carter, Freddie Hubbard and Tony Williams. The second is the all-star jazz quartet known as HSHB04, with Dave Holland and Brian Blade, live in the French Alps in 2004. You can find both here. [Photo above of Herbie Hancock by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]

And finally, Jackie Trent singing This Time in 1966, the British B-side to Love Is Me, Love Is You. Little known in the U.S., Trent was a power pop star in the U.K. in the '60s and beyond. She also was a fabulous lyricist who teamed with husband Tony Hatch, who composed most of Petula Clark's hits. Trent (above) specialized in deeply passionate love songs either about getting together or breaking up. Here's This Time, with words and music by Trent and Hatch...

One more? Here's Trent singing You Baby, written by Phil Spector, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann for Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes...