JazzWax

Al Haig: 'Invitation'

Al Haig was a fascinating and mysterious pianist. Haig's style was an elegant synthesis of hard-core bebop and lounge, which means he had an extraordinary technique. And his bop recordings are so early—at the start, in fact—that Haig and Bud Powell most likely influenced each other through mutual visits at Harlem clubs. Today, Haig is largely forgotten, despite his many accomplishments. [Photo above of Al Haig, courtesy of Jan Persson/CTImages.com]

Born in 1922 and raised in Nutley, N.J., Haig was the pianist on Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's first bebop recordings, for Guild, in May 1945. The session included Salt Peanuts, Shaw 'Nuff, Lover Man and Hot House. He went out to the West Coast with the group during their run at Billy Berg's in Hollywood and returned to New York with Gillespie when Parker decided to remain in Los Angeles. [Photo above of Charlie Parker]

In New York, he played and recorded with all of the emerging bebop stars in 1946 and with the Stan Getz Quintet in 1948. He also played and recorded on Parker dates with Miles Davis, was on one of the famed "Birth of the Cool" sessions led by Davis, on other Parker sessions in early 1950s, and he recorded with the Wardell Gray Quartet. [Photo above of Al Haig with Miles Davis on a "Birth of the Cool" recording session, in January 1949]

Haig's 10-inch leadership albums began in the early 1950s and continued on 12-inch LPs throughout the decade. Between 1965 and 1974, as rock evolved to become a highly lucrative recording business, dramatically reducing the number of jazz album opportunities, Haig stopped recording and spent most of his time playing in clubs and cocktail lounges.

In 1974, Haig was invited to tour Europe by Tony Williams, owner of the U.K.'s Spotlite Records. That year, in Europe, Haig recorded two trio albums—Round About Midnight and Invitation—and a quartet album, Special Brew, with guitarist Jimmy Raney.

Invitation is a must own. Recorded in London for Spotlite in January 1974, Haig was backed by Gilbert "Bibi" Rovere (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). The songs were Invitation, Enigma, Sawbo City Blues, If You Could See Me Now, Sambalhasa, Day Dream, Linear Motion and Holy Land. Five additional tracks were issued on a Japanese release of the album in 1990 (go here).

Haig's playing is fluid, lush in places, bop-centered and spirited in others. While his recordings have been uniformly excellent throughout his career, the 1970s were a high point for him in terms of phrasing, his attack and high compositional standards. He was a beautiful player with an abusive temper, most notably with spouses. In 1969, he was acquitted of strangling his second wife, Bonnie, in their home. Haig claimed she was drunk and fell down a flight of stairs. In her 2007 memoir, Death of a Bebop Wife, Grange Rutan, Haig's next spouse, challenged that account. [Photo above of Al Haig]

Al Haig died, in 1982. He was 60.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Invitation, minus the bonus tracks, here.

JazzWax clips: Here's the entire album, including the five bonus tracks...

Five New Dexter Gordon Videos

As jazz musicians go, Dexter Gordon was among the coolest. He walked cool, he talked cool and he played cool. Cool came naturally to him. Perhaps that side of him came from growing up in Los Angeles in the 1930s. Or perhaps it came from meeting all of the cool musicians his physician father treated, including Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. [Photo above of Dexter Gordon in Paris in the early 1960s by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]

Here are five Dexter Gordon videos that recently were uploaded to YouTube:

Here's Gordon in Europe in 1971...

Here's Gordon with Sahib Shihab on flute and Lars Gullin on baritone saxophone in Copenhagen in 1962...

Here's Gordon with Red Rodney (t), Kenny Drew (p), Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (b) and Sven Erik Nørregaard (d) in Copenhagen in 1974...

Here's Gordon playing with kids in Denmark...

And here's Gordon in Belgium in 1964...

Burt Bacharach: Parting Post

My final post on Burt Bacharach will look at one of the lowest points in his life that resulted in a song, a theme for ABC's Movie of the Week and a tragic end. We tend to think of Burt as a guy who had it all—he was a brilliant composer, a stunning arranger and a solid pianist; he was athletic, ruggedly handsome and a soft-spoken, charming man who was as comfortable in his living room as he was on stage in front of television cameras. [Publicity photo above of Burt Bacharach]

But Burt had his blues. Nikki, the daughter he had with his wife, Angie Dickinson (married in 1965, divorced in 1981), suffered from Asperger’s Disorder. The form of autism wasn't well-known in the years immediately after her premature birth in 1966. Unable to figure out the cause of Nikki's emotional issues or how to care for her, Burt and Dickinson sent her away to a special school. Nikki blamed Burt for keeping her away from her mother. [Photo above of Angie Dickinson, Nikki Bacharach and Burt Bacharach courtesy of Wikimedia Common]

In 2007, Nikki took her own life at age 40. When her body was discovered, she had left a note for Burt. As Burt told the Associated Press in 2013: " 'I know exactly what's in the note. I never read the note. I never will,' Bacharach said as his voice cracked. 'There is no need to read it. I already know what she said.' "

When Nikki was born in 1966, Burt wrote, arranged and conducted Nikki, a tender, child-like song dedicated to her and one of his finest instrumentals. Go here...

In 1969, Nikki was chosen for ABC's Movie of the Week by British-American broadcast designer Harry Marks and arranged by Harry Betts, a jazz trombonist and TV and movie composer and arranger. Here's the title sequence designed by Marks and animated by Douglas Trumbull using the same slit-scan process he created for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Go here...

And lastly, here are another bunch of fabulous videos of Burt and his songs:

Here's Burt leading a TV special in 1972 with Anthony Newley, Sammy Davis Jr., Vikki Carr and others...

Here's Dionne Warwick on a rooftop in Paris in 1964 singing Walk On By...

Here's Burt introducing Dusty Springfield in 1965, who sings I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself...

Here's Dionne Warwick singing her Burt Bacharach hits in an intimate club setting in Belgium in 1965...

Here's Dionne Warwick in 1966 singing (You'll Never Get to Heaven) If You Break My Heart...

Here's Jackie DeShannon singing What the World Needs Now Is Love...

Here's the official video for Dionne Warwick and Jeffrey Osbourne's Love Power (1987), with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and music by Burt Bacharach....

And here's the official video in 1982 for That's What Friends Are For, with words by Carole and music by Burt...

Burt Bacharach: Jazz Covers

Songs by the late Burt Bacharach worked neatly as instrumental covers, especially when jazz artists were compelled by labels to record with-it albums of contemporary hits in the 1960s and '70s. Like Henry Mancini's music, Burt's melodies were clean and catchy and weren't tied directly to specific artists, which is what made many rock-artist hits difficult to cover convincingly. [Publicity still above of Burt Bacharach courtesy of eBay]

Here are 12 of my favorite jazz covers of Burt's compositions:

Here's Wes Montgomery playing Wives and Lovers...

Here's Stan Getz playing The Windows of the World...

Here's Shirley Scott playing What the World Needs Now Is Love...

Here's Anita Kerr with and the Anita Kerr Singers on Alfie...

Here's Leon Spencer Jr. playing (They Long to Be) Close to You...

Here's Bobby Timmons playing Do You Know the Way to San Jose?...

Here's Stanley Turrentine playing This Guy's in Love With You...

Here's Bud Shank playing I Say a Little Prayer...

Here's Ahmad Jamal playing The Look of Love...

Here's Sonny Rollins playing A House Is Not a Home...

Here's Charles Earland playing Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head...

And here are the Jazz Crusaders playing Promises, Promises...

Burt Bacharach (1928-2023)

At 10:15 on Thursday morning, I received an email from the Wall Street Journal's Arts in Review editor letting me know that Burt Bacharach had died. He also asked how quickly I could turn around an appreciation essay. I had interviewed Burt at length twice for the WSJ—once in 2011 for a feature and again in 2021 for my "Anatomy of a Song" column on Walk on By. [Photo above of Burt Bacharach with two of his three Oscars courtesy of eBay]

I asked when he needed it. He said between noon and 1p.m. My two-word response was simple: "On it." Deadline writing for major media isn't for the faint of heart but it's exhilarating. You must write fast with an eye on the clock, and the result must be accurate and close to perfect. Faced with a blank page and my adrenaline surging, I set to work and delivered my Burt remembrance at 12:45 p.m. You'll find the result here.

My history with Burt began on an interesting note. In 2011, I flew out to Los Angeles to interview him at home. On the plane, I had a crazy idea. I decided to write the lyrics to a love song. My goal was to show them to Burt and get him to compose the music. All of this was an insane experiment to experience how songwriting with the master feels and to have a great anecdotal intro (or what we call "the lede") should I need it.

After our interview in his cushy, spacious living room, Burt said he knew how much I loved Alfie. He then crossed the room to his grand piano, sat down and played and sang the song. With my two digital tape recorders running, Burt had at it. My eyes swelled with tears. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. It was all too much.

Burt and I returned to his sofa, where we had been seated side by side. Burt liked being close to his interviewers. That's when I took out my lyrics and asked him to have a look. Burt put on his gold glasses, went over them and politely said, "These aren't bad." He noted that he'd probably switch a couple of lines so they'd sing better. Then I asked if he'd add music. Looking over his glasses, Burt said, "You're going to make me work now?"

Undeterred, I begged him to compose some music so I could experience the process. So back he went over to the piano, took out a pencil to switch lines, sang my lyrics and came up with a melody and chords. I nearly went into shock. I had just written a song—or, rather, two clumsy verses and a chorus—with Burt Bacharach. The lyrics had taken me the entire flight to write and edit to a point where I thought they were presentable. His music took all of five minutes. When he finished, he turned around with that Burt smile and softly said, "Not so easy, it it?"

No, it wasn't. But the process was thrilling, and when Burt and I spoke again by phone in 2021, we laughed about that afternoon and my gall. I'd always loved Burt's music and he knew it. But after he graciously indulged my Brill Building fantasy in his living room, I loved the man—the gentle kindness he showed, the generosity and the fact that he didn't toss me out on my ear.

For Burt and his fans everywhere, here are 10 clips that will tell you all you need to know about the man who loved to play tennis, nearly always wore a sweater draped around his shoulders, had the softest, kindest male voice, enjoyed the company of music fans, had a wry sense of humor and personified sexy bachelor cool:

Here's Jackie DeShannon in 1965...

Here's Cilla Black and Burt in early 1966...

Here's Burt, Hal David and Dionne Warwick in 1967...

Here's Dionne Warwick in 1968...

Here's Burt and Dusty Springfield in the late 1960s...

Here's Marilyn McCoo and the 5th Dimension with Bones Howe in the control booth on TV's It Takes a Thief with Robert Wagner in 1969...

Here are Karen and Richard Carpenter in 1970 on the Ed Sullivan Show from Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C....

Here's Burt and Dionne in the studio in 1970...

Here's Burt and Barbra Streisand in 1971 on CBS...

Here's Burt and Cilla Black in 1971...

Bonus: Here's the definitive version of Alfie in 1966...

And here's Burt with Elvis Costello in 1998, with lyrics by Elvis and and music by Burt, who also arranged and conducted...

Backgrounder: Johnny Richards' 'Something Else'

One of my very favorite big band albums is Johnny Richards's Something Else. Recorded for Bethlehem in Los Angeles in August 1956, the album features Richards compositions and arrangements and a band that will make West Coast jazz fans gasp.

Waltz Anyone featured Pete Candoli, Buddy Childers and Maynard Ferguson (tp); Stu Williamson (tp,v-tb); Tommy Pederson, Frank Rosolino and Milt Bernhart (tb); John Cave (fhr); Albert Pollan (tu); Charlie Mariano (as); Richie Kamuca (ts); Ronnie Lang (bar,pic); Bill Holman (bassax); Marty Paich (p); Buddy Clark (b); Stan Levey (d); Lou Singer (perc) and Johnny Richards (arr,cond). [Photo above of Johnny Richards]

The rest of the album's tracks are For All We Know, Aijalon, Dimples, Long Ago and Far Away, Band Aid, Turn Aboot and Burrito Borracho. As for the band's personnel, Shorty Rogers (flhrn) was added, and Don Kelly (b-tb) and Vince DeRosa (fhr) replaced Milt Bernhart and John Cave.

The arrangements are fresh and spectacular, and the solos are sterling.

Here's Johnny Richards' Something Else without commercial interruption...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.

Ted Nash Plays Frank Comstock

Frank Comstock is a name today that has long been forgotten. Many of those who are familiar with Comstock probably associate him with the Hi-Lo's vocal group, for whom he arranged and conducted their first eight albums in the 1950s. Or they know him as the composer of the theme for the Rocky and His Friends TV cartoon series in the 1960s. But Comstock was a much bigger deal. [Photo above of Frank Comstock]

He arranged for Les Brown's cool, contrapuntal band from 1943 to 1955 and is widely considered to be a forefather—with Shorty Rogers and Gerry Mulligan—of the West Coast studio sound. Comstock also played a major role in film. He arranged, orchestrated and conducted scores for Some Like It Hot, The Fortune Cookie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Valley of the Dolls, Finian's Rainbow and Hello Dolly, among others. He also arranged for TV variety shows and composed themes to more than 10 TV dramas and sitcoms. In the Hollywood recording studios of the 1950s, Comstock and his touch were admired by many of his peers.

Two session musicians who took on his music were Tony Rizzi and Ted Nash. I posted about Rizzi's album, Plays the Music of Frank Comstock, in 2020 here. Nash's album, Plays Frank Comstock, was recorded within days of Rizzi's in July 1954, in the same studio and for the same label—Starlite.

Ted Nash was a prolific studio jazz musician who played saxophone, flute and clarinet. His brother was trombonist Dick Nash, also an in-demand session player. The personnel on both albums was identical: Ted Nash (ts,as,fl,pic), Dick Nash (tb), Tony Rizzi (g), Morty Corb (b), Alvin Stoller (d) and Frank Comstock (arr, conductor). [Photo above of Ted Nash]

On the Nash album, Comstock's music and arrangements are gorgeous. And the playing by Ted Nash alone and in tandem with his brother is extraordinary, not to mention Rizzi peeking through on guitar in the gaps. The music is nearly 70 years old and yet sounds as fresh and novel as the day it was recorded. One can only imagine what the busy recording scene must have been like in Los Angeles in the mid-1950s. [Photo above of Dick Nash]

Light traffic on new highways, spacious homes in the San Fernando Valley, kids in the pool, strip malls and large supermarkets just opening up, television and color movies evolving rapidly, weekends at the beach, and musicians recording jazz and pop day and night.

The music on this album will give you a sense of the bliss felt in L.A. at a time when the country for many was shimmering with economic prosperity and possibility. After years spent working on the road in big bands, these musicians now could earn a living on their own, start a family and settle down. The musicians on the Comstock recordings were just five of dozens of talented artists who, all of a sudden, found they had it made.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Ted Nash Plays Frank Comstock paired with Tony Rizzi Plays the Music of Frank Comstock on Fresh Sound here.

JazzWax clips: Here's Teddy Bear. Dig Ted Nash's fluid solo...

And here's Nightfall...

Bonus: Another great album by Ted Nash and Dick Nash is The Brothers Nash, recorded for Liberty in 1955 and 1956. It featured Ted Nash (as, ts, ss, bs, fl, alto fl, piccolo, cl, bass cl), Dick Nash (tb), Jimmy Rowles (p), Tony Rizzi (g), Harry Babasin (b) and Roy Harte (d).

Here's Side 1...

And here's Side 2...

Harvie S and Yukimi M: 'New York Memories'

Harvie S cranks it out. The bassist is either gigging, traveling to a gig or releasing albums as a leader or sideman. I love his energy, his passion for jazz and his music. His latest album, New York Memories, is a beautiful duet recording with his wife, pianist Yukimi Maeda. It's the kind of album that you can listen to all day long, and if you're writing, painting or creating in any way, it's inspiring.

The tracks are splendidly chosen: Bill Evans's Time Remembered, My Shining Hour, Autumn in New York, Harvie's Next Year's Song, All the Things You Are, Tadd Dameron's Hot House, Misty, Harvie's Can't Go Home, I Hear a Rhapsody and Danny Boy (with Sheila Jordan on the vocal).

Harvie and Yukimi are perfect together. Yukimi is a strong, poetic player with terrific bop chops and lush elegance, as you'll hear on Misty (which she plays solo), Time Remembered and Autumn in New York. Throughout, Harvie wraps his marvelous bass around her keyboard as both a musical partner and time-keeper, and his solos are warm and deliberate. Both of Harvie's originals are sublime, and Yukimi plays them with intensity and tenderness.

My favorite track is Time Remembered. Hopefully, Harvie and Yukimi will return at some point with a Bill Evans tribute album. Their depth and magical chemistry on the Evans catalog would be marvelous.

By the way, this is their second album together. The first was Yukimi's I'll Close My Eyes. Harvie played bass and produced the album, and Vince Ector was on drums.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Harvie S and Yukimi Maeda's New York Memories (RVS) here.

JazzWax clips: Here's Time Remembered...

And here's Yukimi playing Misty...

Bonus: Here's Yukimi and Harvie recording Autumn in New York in September 2022 at the Jazz Forum in Tarrytown, N.Y...

Dennis Budimir (1938-2023)

Dennis Budimir, whose credits as a session guitarist on movie soundtracks and rock, folk and jazz recordings rank him as one of the most diverse and prolific in-demand studio musicians in the second half of the 20th century, died in January 2023. He was 84.

On films alone, Budimir reportedly recorded on more than 900 movies from the early 1960s to the 2000s. He also appeared on albums by pop and rock artists ranging from Linda Ronstadt and the Carpenters to Johnny Mathis, George Harrison and Joni Mitchell. In short, if an artist recorded in Los Angeles, the odds were high that Budimir was on one or more of their dates. The reason Budimir was on so many sessions was his razor-sharp sight-reading skills and his glorious taste in chord voicings and fills. The downside, of course, is that he spent his career in the studio shadows accompanying others and recording few leadership albums.

Born in Los Angeles, Budimir played his first paying job at 14. From 1961 to 1963, Budimir was in the military service. Upon his discharge, he became a session player just as pop rock was emerging and in need of skilled musicians who had deep recording experience and could ace rhythm-section master takes fast. But that work didn't change his passion for jazz recording.

Budimir's earliest recording came in the spring and summer of 1958, when he played on a pair of sensational big band albums by Harry James—New James and Harry's Choice. In October, he played on Chico Hamilton's With Strings Attached and in December on Gongs East! Both are with Eric Dolphy and can be found on Fresh Sound here. Peggy Lee, Bud Shank and Bobby Troup with Julie London came next, and Budimir was off to the races.

Here are 10 of my favorite Budimir clips:

Here's Ernie Wilkins's Fair and Warmer, from Harry James's New James in 1958...

Here's Speak Low in 1958 from Chico Hamilton's Strings Attached, with Eric Dolphy (as,fl,bcl), Nat Gershman (cello), Dennis Budimir (g), Wyatt Ruther (b), Chico Hamilton (ds) and Fred Katz (arr,cond) strings...

Here's Nature by Emerson in 1958 from Chico Hamilton's Gongs East!, with the same personnel as above, minus the strings. Dig Budimir comping behind Dolphy...

Here's The Blues, Sprung Free, in 1961, with Gary Peacock on bass and Bill Goodwin on drums...

Here's Budimir in 1964 backing Keely Smith singing You'll Never Know, from The Intimate Keely Smith, her finest solo album...

Here's Budimir on acoustic guitar in 1964 playing the title track from Clare Fischer's album Só Danço Samba...

Here's Budimir swinging behind Peggy Lee on the theme song to TV's Bewitched...

Here's Budimir on Pavane, from Victor Feldman's beautiful The Venezuela Joropo album in 1967...

Here's Budimir playing Workin' on a Groovy Thing in 1968 from Richard "Groove" Holmes's album of the same name...

And here's the entire Julie London Show taped for television in Japan in 1964, featuring Dennis Budimir throughout.

Bonus. For a three-part, on-camera conversation in April 2017 between guitarists Bill Frisell, Bob Bain and Dennis Budimir for The Fretboard Journal, go here, here and here.

A special thanks to Bill Kirchner.

Joe Chambers: 'Dance Kobina'

Drummer Joe Chambers is best known for playing on a long list of critically acclaimed Blue Note jazz albums in the 1960s. These include Joe Henderson's Mode for Joe; Freddie Hubbard's Breaking Point; Dialogue, Components, Happenings and Total Eclipse by Bobby Hutcherson; Tender Moments by McCoy Tyner; Andrew!!! and Compulsion!!! by Andrew Hill as well as All Seeing Eye, Adam's Apple and Schizophrenia by Wayne Shorter. [Photo above of Joe Chambers in the 1960s by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]

He also played on Chick Corea's Tones For Joan's Bones, Woody Shaw's In the Beginning and in Max Roach's M'Boom percussion ensemble and Charles Mingus's groups in the 1970s. In addition to his intricate, sensitive polyrhythmic drum style, Chambers is a gifted vibraphonist and pianist.

His new album is Dance Kobina (Blue Note), proving once again that the 80-year-old percussionist still has it. The album is superb. What's most beautiful about the album and Chambers's playing is that he has retained the flavors of many totemic greats he has played with over the decades.

Produced and arranged by Chambers, the album features him backed by a range of players, depending on the song's rhythmic and modal mood. Here are the nine tracks and personnel for each:

1. This Is New (Kurt Weill)—Joe Chambers (drums, vibraphone and percussion), Richard Germanson (piano) and Mark Lewandowski (bass).

2. Dance Kobina (Andrés Vial)—Joe Chambers (drums), Caoilainn Power (alto saxophone), Andrés Vial (piano), Michael Davidson (vibraphone), Ira Coleman (bass) and Elli Miller Maboungou (ngoma drums).

3. Ruth (Joe Chambers)—Joe Chambers (drums, vibraphone and percussion), Richard Germanson (piano), Mark Lewandowski (bass), Emilio Valdes Cortes (Latin percussion) and Marvin Carter (alto saxophone).

4. Caravanserai (Joe Chambers)—Joe Chambers (drums, vibraphone), Richard Germanson (piano), Mark Lewandowski (bass) and Emilio Valdes Cortes (Latin percussion)

5. City of Saints (Andrés Vial)—Joe Chambers (drums), Caoilainn Power (alto saxophone), Andrés Vial (piano), Michael Davidson (vibraphone), Ira Coleman (bass) and Elli Miller Maboungou (ngoma drums).

6. Gazelle Suite (Joe Chambers)—Joe Chambers (drums), Caoilainn Power (alto saxophone), Andrés Vial (piano and bombos legüeros), Michael Davidson (vibraphone and marimba), Ira Coleman (bass) and Elli Miller Maboungou (ngoma drums).

7. Intermezzo (Joe Chambers)—Joe Chambers (drums, vibraphone and percussion), Richard Germanson (piano) and Mark Lewandowski (bass).

8. Power to the People (Joe Henderson)—Joe Chambers (drums, vibraphone and percussion), Richard Germanson (piano). Mark Lewandowski (bass) Emilio Valdes Cortes (Latin percussion) and Marvin Carter (tenor saxophone).

9. Moon Dancer (Karl Ratzer)—Joe Chambers (drums, vibraphone and percussion), Richard Germanson (piano) and Mark Lewandowski (bass).

What I love most about Dance Kobina is that you can listen to it from start to finish and be completely engaged in the art, one track after the next. It also can be counted among the Blue Note label's standouts, just like the ones listed at the top of this post.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Joe Chambers's Dance Kobina (Blue Note) here.

JazzWax clips: Here's the title track (dig Chambers's polyrhythmic figures)...

Here's City of Saints...

And here's Moon Dancer...