Astrud Gilberto, who as the wife of Brazilian singer João Gilberto was urged to record The Girl From Ipanema and Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars in English in March 1963 because he didn't speak the language and whose hits sent the bossa nova into the pop stratosphere and made her an unlikely star, died on June 5. She was 83. [Photo above of Astrud Gilberto by Hank O'Neal]
Gilberto would go on to record numerous bossa nova and pop albums. Rather than return to Brazil with her husband in the mid-1960s, she reportedly had an affair with Getz, which led to her divorce and U.S. residency. As a single woman and an unintended sex symbol, she found herself thrust into the public light. Not a natural or trained singer or performer, Gilberto feared the exposure. I recall multiple attempts to gain an interview with her without success. Her most recent interview was conducted decades ago and her hermetic personal life was topped only by Bobby Gentry for her unwillingness to engage the media on her past artistic accomplishments. [Photo above of Astrud Gilberto]
Accounts vary as to whether her English vocal on the Verve album Getz/Gilberto was a spur of the moment decision by producer Creed Taylor in the recording studio or if she already expected to record the English vocal and had rehearsed days earlier at Stan Getz's house when she and her husband stayed with the tenor saxophonist and his wife. Either way, the vocal she delivered was groundbreaking. It was innocent, sexy and nonchalant—all of which was in sync with the times.
By 1963, the American female ideal had shifted from the bombshell of the 1950s to the doe-like waif embodied by Jean Seberg, Lee Remick, Shirley Knight, Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn among others. Gilberto was the first in the 1960s to project this innocent, sensual image and persona in pop music. Blossom Dearie, of course, had already pioneered the high-voiced, relaxed style in jazz-pop recordings and performances in the 1950s.
In many respects, Gilberto's life story was both a joyous and a sad one. Joyous for how her unassuming clarinet-like voice inspired generations of female singers such as Sade, Basia and Stacy Kent. Sad in that she hadn't planned to be a stage or recording artist, and that being forced to sing to earn a living, she endured ridicule for her untrained voice and harassment and abuse by men who held power over her.
Here's the only video you really need to watch of Astrud Gilberto, who was most at ease in the Netherlands with Pim Jacobs on piano, Rudd Brink on tenor saxophone, Wim Overgaauw on guitar and Don Un-Romeo on drums in October 1965 on NCRV-TV...
Here's one of my favorite Gilberto albums, with organist Walter Wanderley, from 1966...
Here'sLook to the Rainbow in 1966, arranged by Gil Evans...
Here's her Windy album, from 1968, with arrangements by Don Sebesky, Eumir Deodato and Pat Williams...
And finally, here's Gilberto on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1970 singing a bossa nova medley...
Hip shtick has its merits, but sometimes it overshadows genius. In the jazz world, Slim Gaillard had several club gimmicks that over time eclipsed the fact that he was a virtuoso pianist and guitarist. In the swamp jazz category, Dr. John stood out with his colorful and flamboyant New Orleans costumes and patois, but they tended to drown out the fact that he was a sterling jazz pianist.
Like Leon Russell, who was one year younger, Dr. John was a long-time session pianist and Wrecking Crew member who was called into studios for impromptu roadhouse and honky-tonk piano flavor. Born Malcolm "Mac" Rebennack, Dr. John gravitated to earthy music from the start in New Orleans. At 13, in the 1950s, he began playing with Professor Longhair and soon sat in with every leading piano roller in the city's clubs and joints. He was a quick study, and his keyboard sound was natural and spectacular.
I know this firsthand. Back in 2014, I flew down to New Orleans for The Wall Street Journal to interview Mac at his home across Lake Pontchartrain. After sitting outside for a spell, with an eye on the nearby foliage and the threat that alligators might emerge from the thick bush, we talked about his career and West Coast jazz for about a half hour.
Shocked that I knew what he was talking about and that I could finish his sentences when he drew a blank on the names of 1950s jazz musicians, Mac took me inside, sat me down next to his piano and proceeded to illustrate every conceivable New Orleans piano style. As you can imagine, it was an unforgettable pinch-me private performance.
To hear just how special Dr. John was, you have to listen to Dr. John: The Montreux Years, a new two-CD set released last week by BMG. The 15-song live collection recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1986 and 2012 is a rambunctious Cook's Tour through Dr. John's career, from jazz and soul to the blues, funk and rock. The tracks are...
Professor Longhair Boogie
You Ain’t Such a Much
Sick and Tired
Stack-a-Lee
Accentuate the Positive
Right Place, Wrong Time
Rain
Going Back to New Orleans
Makin’ Whoopee
Big Chief
In a Sentimental Mood / Mississippi Mud / Happy Hard Times (Medley)
Love for Sale
Let the Good Times Roll
Good Night Irene
It's unfortunate that a great jazz producer didn't have the good sense to bring together Dr. John and Leon Russell for an album or performance. That I would love to hear.
Dr. John died in 2019.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Dr. John: The Montreux Years (BMG) here.
JazzWax clips:Here's Dr. John at Montreux in 2004 performing his hit, Right Place, Wrong Time...
In May 1963, pianist Thelonious Monk gave five concert performances in Japan, backed by Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone, Butch Warren on bass and Frankie Dunlop on drums. On May 21, the quartet performed at Sankei Hall in Tokyo, which resulted in the Columbia release Monk in Tokyo. Two days later, they appeared on Japanese TV.
The music taped from the television show was released in Japan, first on Baybridge Records and then on East Wind, followed by a string of other labels, including Candid in 2006. The sound was never great. Last week, the newly revived Candid label re-issued the recording remastered by engineer Bernie Grundman. The fidelity of the new release is first-rate—warm, deep and clear. The five tracks are Epistrophy, Bolivar Blues, Evidence, Just a Gigolo and Blue Monk.
The classic Thelonious Monk Quartet with Rouse was formed in 1958 and featured Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. They recorded first at the Five Spot in the fall of that year. In 1959, Sam Jones was on bass and Art Taylor was on drums. By 1960, John Ore was on bass and remained while the drum chair was shuffled among different players. In 1961, Frankie Dunlop was the drummer. Then Ore left in April 1963 and was replaced by Butch Warren for the Japan tour. [Photo above of Charlie Rouse by Francis Wolff, courtesy of (c)Mosaic Images]
Here is the Japanese TV show, with the audio that appeared on previous releases...
Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed comedian-actor Ana Gasteyer for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). The Saturday Night Live alum stars in the NBC sitcom American Auto, which follows the employees of Detroit-based Payne Motors and its the struggles after a new CEO who knows little about cars is hired from the pharmaceutical industry. Ana, of course, is the oblivious CEO. [Photo above of Ana Gasteyer, courtesy of Ana Gasteyer]
And here's Ana on Craig Ferguson in 2011. Note how fast their repartee is...
Bill Le Sage. Following my post on Bill Le Sage last week, I heard from British composer-arranger and pianist John Cameron (above):
Hi Marc. Lovely to read that Bill Le Sage’s live Directions in Jazz recordings have been re-issued. I have fond memories of Bill. He Ron Ross, Art Ellefson, Spike Heatley and Tony Carr were the house band at the Take One in London where I made my debut as a solo cabaret artist in 1965. I loved his cello quartet writing. Bill was absolutely inspirational to me as a writer and arranger, and in fact worked on a whole load of projects with me once I hit my straps as an arranger and then movie composer. In fact, he took over conducting of BBCs "Once More With Felix" for me when I was struck down by a car in Munich. Bizarre memories of handing over scores for the show while being wheeled off the plane and carted off to hospital! And such a lovely guy. Fond memories.
And from Michael Rose in the U.K....
Hello Marc. The new RnB Records release features Bill Le Sage's broadcasts. Sadly, the commercial recordings have never been reissued in any form. The group made two albums for Philips: "Directions in Jazz" (1964) and "Road to Ellingtonia" (1965). The pity is that both were only released in mono, although it is likely that the original masters were stereo. This was at a time when record companies (certainly in the U.K.) were issuing albums in double inventory, i.e. mono and stereo. If an album was considered to be less than commercial, no stereo version was issued.
This happened with Bill Russo's second London Jazz Orchestra album "Stonehenge." The first side, Richard Peaslee's "Stonehenge" suite was later reissued on Gunther Schulller's GM label in stereo. But with the exception of a mono rip of the original album on the now-defunct Britjazz blog, side 2 has never again seen the light of day in any form. The same fate originally befell Neil Ardley's first New Jazz Orchestra album (on British Decca) "Western Reunion", but this was later reissued, again in stereo, by Mike Dutton's Vocalion label and demonstrated how superior a great stereo recording is against a pretty dull mono issue.
Stan Tracey's "Under Milk Wood Suite" was also issued only in mono, but on that occasion, there was a clamor for a stereo release and EMI finally bowed to public demand and issued a stereo version. It's now considered a classic and has been reissued many times, most recently by Stan's son Clark on his ReSteamed label (also in a vinyl version). [Editor's note: see my post here]
As for the Le Sage albums, it's unlikely that Universal, which owns the masters, would consider them worth reissuing in any form (even to stream), so it looks like they have been consigned to the dusty vaults of history. That's a sad fate for albums that should be considered classics of a time when British jazz could hold its head up high for its creativity and individuality.
Rock Hall '88. In 1988, after the inductions of the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Drifters, Bob Dylan and the Supremes, many of the artists came together on stage along with those who inducted them and other music stars for a performance. Noticeably absent from the Beatles was Paul McCartney (and John Lennon, of course, who was killed in 1980). [Photo above of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Nathalie Wright]
McCartney released the following statement at the time to explain his decision to pass:
After 20 years, the Beatles still have some business differences which I had hoped would have been settled by now. Unfortunately, they haven't been, so I would feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion.
Here's the performance (note the interesting competitive chemistry between Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen...
Steely Dan heads up. If you're a Steely Dan fan and unaware of what's going on, Geffen/UMe has begun releasing remasters of the band's nine albums on ABC and MCA, between 1972 and 2003. The remastering is being done by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes. In November, Can't Buy a Thrill was issued. Released on May 26 was Steely Dan's second album, Countdown to Ecstasy. Keep an eye out for the rest of the catalog.
The LPs are being issued on 180-gram black vinyl at 33 1/3 rpm. Additionally, the album has just been released as a limited-edition premium 45 rpm version on Ultra High-Quality Vinyl (UHQR) from Analogue Productions, the audiophile in-house reissue label of Acoustic Sounds. Analogue Productions is also releasing this series of titles on Super Audio CD (SACD).
Some of you may be scratching your heads. For years, a rumor circulated that all of the Steely Dan master reels were destroyed in the 2008 Universal warehouse fire. This rumor was codified when the New York Times Sunday Magazine printed a piece in 2019 that included a list of artists whose masters were lost. Steely Dan was inaccurately among them. This isn't true.
The original master tapes of Steely Dan’s albums delivered to Universal by the band at the time were secured in the company’s archives and remain there today. The original tapes for Aja and Gaucho, however, were never delivered to the record label and are presumed to no longer exist. Why they weren't delivered and what happened to them is unclear.
Aja will be mastered from an analog, non-EQ’d, tape copy, and Gaucho will be sourced from a 1980 analog tape copy originally EQ’d by Bob Ludwig.
In the liner notes for the 1999 CD reissue of Aja—nearly a decade before the fire—the band asked fans for help locating some of the missing multi-tracks. You can read more about that here.
You'll find the 180-gram Countdown to Ecstasyhere.
Ronnie Cuber. Following my post on the roots of swing, bebop and rock 'n' roll, Roberta Arnold, manager of the late Ronnie Cuber, sent along a link to a clip of Ronnie, with the Rein de Graaff Trio, performing Stompin' at the Savoy in Belgium in 2013. [Photo above of Ronnie Cuber]
Elizabeth Montgomery of Bewitched fame hosted TV's Hollywood Palace in October 1966, at the height of the sitcom's popularity. Here she is in a dance number... [photo above of Elizabeth Montgomery courtesy of IMdb]...
Mike Melito—To Swing Is the Thing (Cellar Music). Mike Melito is a driving force on the drums and in the classroom as an Eastman School of Music faculty member. Mike has released five albums of his own and appears on more than 25 albums as a sideman. He just released his sixth, and it cooks. He's backed by tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart, trumpeter and flugelhornist Joe Magnarelli, Jeb Patton on piano and Neal Miner on bass. A majority of the tracks are up-tempo hardbop pieces, like Tommy Turrentine's You Said It and Big Red, Johnny Ellis's A Bee Has Two Brains, John Coltrane's Straight Street, Grant's Three for Carson and Miner's Locke Bop. Dig Mike's solo on Three for Carson. Says it all. Go here.
West Coast in Amsterdam (Netherlands Jazz Archief). Amsterdam's Concertgebouw was and is the Netherlands' premiere concert space. Between 1958 and 1960, West Coast jazz stars appeared on stage to thrilled audiences. In this three CD set, Stan Kenton played there in April 1956; Bud Shank and Bob Cooper played in March 1958, followed by June Christy on the same bill; Shelly Manne and His Men were there in February 1960 and the Jimmy Giuffre 3 with Jim Hall appeared in May 1959 and in February 1960. The album is interesting since it features the West Coast jazz movement in its last years. The Beach Boys would emerge in 1962 along with a vast West Coast pop rock movement that would send many of the jazz musicians into TV work in Hollywood. The album doesn't ship outside of Europe. Go here.
Here's Stan Kenton playing Bill Holman's arrangement of Polka Dots and Moonbeams, with Carl Fontana on trombone...
Lorraine Desmarais Jazz Trio—Street Beat Suite (Analekta). This superb French-Canadian pianist and composer with 10 CDs recorded has been teaching music at the college level since 1985 and was appointed the Order of Canada in 2012. On her new album, she plays an eight-movement work that is a sheer delight. Lorraine plays with elan and confidence, so it's no wonder that fellow Canadian Oscar Peterson was one of her inspirations. Each movement is a different adventure, moving gracefully and with depth, as her hands fly over the keyboard with enormous sensitivity. Lorraine is backed by Alec Walkington on bass and Camil Belisle on drums. Go here.
Also, check out Bleu Silence, another spectacular album by Lorraine recommended by Bill Kirchner. Go here.
Los Van Van is a leading group in Cuba that was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Nelson Diaz, a painter and a dear friend, sent along a link to a terrific album by Los Van Van—Juan Formell y Los Van Van Vol. III, released in Havana in 1974. Here's the album Just let it play...
And finally,here's Archie Bell & the Drells singing I Just Want to Fall in Love, in 1969...
Horace Parlan is probably best known as the pianist on Dexter Gordon's 1961 Blue Note album Doin' Allright. It's hard to imagine anyone but Parlan playing on that record, adding dramatic zest to songs like Doing All Right,For Regulars Only and Society Red. He also played piano on Charles Mingus's Mingus Ah Um (1959) and Roots & Blues (1959). Stylistically, I'd place his groove between Red Garland and Kenny Drew.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pa, Parlan recorded for Blue Note until 1963, when he the played as a sideman on other artists' recordings for different labels. As work evaporated and the music changed, he moved to Denmark in 1973, married and recorded and performed there until his death in 2017.
His first album as a trio leader was Movin' & Groovin'. Recorded and released in 1960, the LP featured Parlan, Sam Jones on bass and Al Harewood on drums. Of the eight tracks, only one was composed by Parlan. [Photo above of Horace Parlan by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]
Here's the complete Movin' & Groovin', without ad interruptions...
If British pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, composer and bandleader Bill Le Sage had an American counterpart, that musician would probably be Mundell Lowe. Like Mundy, Le Sage (pronounced like massage) was exemplary on his instruments, and he arranged and composed for groups of all sizes and wrote for TV and the movies. [Photo above of Bill Le Sage]
Le Sage was so busy with projects that he didn't get around to recording as a leader until 1963, when he was 36. He directed a group called New Directions in Jazz, a fascinating ensemble akin to what cellist Fred Katz in the U.S. was doing at the time. The group's recordings are now on a terrific two-CD set called New Directions in Jazz (RnB Records). The music is absolutely fascinating and cool, with a feel in places reminiscent of Gerry Mulligan, early Gil Melle and Lyle Murphy.
The first CD consists of two live performances at NDR Funkhaus in Hamburg, Germany, in December 1963 and February 1964. The group featured Johnny Scott (fl,as,cl), Bob Burns (cl,as), Ronnie Ross (bar,as), Bill LeSage (p,vib,ldr), Spike Heatley (b), Tony Carr (d) and Maurice Westerby, Francis Gabarro, Freddie Alexander, William DeMont (cello). Many of the songs are Le Sage originals, and all have a sophisticated sass.
The second CD features the group on a BBC-TV jazz show in October 1964 presented by Humphrey Lyttelton. There are also are two tracks from the BBC's Jazz 625, presented by Steve Race, in June 1964. And finally, there are an additional three tracks from the February 1964 performance at NDR Funkhaus in Hamburg.
The music here is easily among the most inventive jazz being recorded in the U.K. at the time. Compositions and arrangements are breezy and complex, with gorgeous woodwind and cello textures. And all of the songs swing. This double album is a must own.
Bill Le Sage died in London in October 2001.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find New Directions in Jazz (RnB Records) here.
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.
