This past week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed actress Kerry Washington for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Kerry, who stars in Hulu's comedy series UnPrisoned, talked about growing up in the Bronx, why she felt her parents always were slightly distant and the family secret they kept from her for 40 years. Kerry's new memoir, Thicker Than Water, is here. [Photo above of Kerry Washington courtesy of Hulu]
Here's Kerry as Anita Hill in Confirmation (2016)...
Ray Brown. Following my post on the Oscar Peterson-Ray Brown Duo in 1950, I heard from singer, bassist and songwriter Tammy Burdett (whose album is here), who was friends with Brown:
Hi Marc. The duo sessions reflect a side of Oscar that's new to me—more mellow and fewer displays of his massive technique. In that photo you featured of Oscar and Ray, they looked so young, and I guess they were. The closeup of Ray playing the bass was on the cover of his "Bass Method" book, which I still have. It’s full of very helpful runs, scales, arpeggios and other playing secrets from Ray in easy and difficult keys. There also are photos of hand positions and how to pluck the strings.
By the way, I can tell by the hole in the peg near Ray’s temple that this instrument was his full-size bass. I could hardly reach the half position on it. Almost all bass players play a three-quarter size instrument. A few symphony players may use a full size for certain things. I assume it has a deeper, more masculine tone.
When I got Ray's book, he told me he had more than one student who had come to him with the hope that he'd show them how to play the bass the way he does. During their lesson, Ray would show them his book and suggest a couple of Franz Simandl bass books to buy and always listen to good players.
With disappointed faces, they'd say: “Scales and all this exercise stuff isn’t what I want to learn. I want to learn to play like you." Ray would tell them, "But this is how I learned to play like me!"
And I heard from Tom Elliot...
Ray Brown is almost my patron saint. On "Tenderly," those two had it going on. The Oscar-Ray version of the song is particularly dear to me. Years ago, a staple of my practice routine was the transcription of the song by Sacramento, Calif., pianist Jim Martinez. Go here...
A couple of weeks ago, at one of my regular gigs, somebody called "Tenderly" in 4/4. Boy was I ready! I drove it but, due to my excitement, a blister emerged far beneath the well-developed callus on my plucking finger. I was pleased to show it off to my "big brother," John Clayton, at the Monterey Jazz Festival last weekend. He said, "You're a real man." You can't buy that.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Following my post last weekend, I heard from Jim Eigo of Jazz Promo Services and Original Vinyl...
Hi Marc. Rahsaan was a big vinyl collector. When I ran the jazz department at Happy Tunes Records on 8th St in New York's Greenwich Village, Rahsaan would come in with his wife, Dorthaan, and his percussionist Joe Texidor. I waited on him many times. His first stop was always the Duke Ellington bin. I'd read him the back of every album. What an education. Then it was off to the classical department for any classical saxophone music.
Rahsaan was very generous. Whenever he played the Village Vanguard, he invited me to attend. One time at Slugs, he played everything from New Orleans 2nd line to Coltrane and beyond. He'd march through the club out onto the street, where some local cats were playing congas. He'd bring them back in as part of the parade.
Later I saw him on a double bill at Carnegie with pianist McCoy Tyner. His last tune of the show was "Passion Dance." They killed it. Shortly after, he had a stroke and later said he'd never play again. Miraculously, he made a brief comeback at the Vanguard, playing "Giant Steps" on two horns with one hand. Bright moments!
September in the Rain. Thanks to you for your concern yesterday via email about the flooding in New York. I'm safe and dry, fortunately. But watching the crowd of drops gather on the windows made me think of an appropriate song to offer in appreciation. Let's listen to three great versions:
Here's Sue Raney...
Here's Sarah Vaughan (nobody beats Ronnell's piano intros!)...
And here's Frank Sinatra with Nelson Riddle's arrangement and Harry "Sweets" Edison on muted trumpet...
Roger Freundlich—Smooth Talking (Presence). Jazz from Finland never sounded so good. This new album, from composer and New Yorker Roger Freundlich, features a superb quintet recorded in Helsinki in 2022: Tero Saarti (tp), Joonatan Rautio (ts), Markus Niittynen (p), Ari-Pekka "Ape" Anttila (b) and Ville Pynssi (d). Roger's originals are all lyrical and smart, and the blowing is tight and driven. Tracks that shine are uptempo and mid-tempo, including Fly By Day, Smooth Talking, All In a Day's Work and Sons of the Poets. I've never been to Scandinavia, but when I hear jazz like this, I want to take the next flight over. Based on my readers there, great food and beautiful, kind people await. Plus plenty of jazz. A superb album of passion and energy that sounds like New York at night. You'll find the album here (at Spotify) and here.
Here's the title track...
And here's Sons of the Poets...
Alan Matheson and Wade Mikkola—Rainy Night in Helsinki (Atro Mikkola). Alan Matheson is a jazz pianist and trumpeter as well as an educator at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Wade Mikkola is a Finnish bassist who spent 14 years on the East Coast of the U.S. before returning home in 1997. The pairing of Alan and Wade is remarkable. A gorgeous duo of the highest order. Songs have a Finnish folk lilt but all swing smoothly and pull you in. Alan's piano is gorgeous. He has a delicate, poetic touch while Wade's bass is fully engaged and anticipates Alan's every move. One song is prettier than the next, and the music is perfect for autumn—bright and reflective with just the right level of moodiness and a touch of introversion. Again, the originals by Alan and Wade place me emotionally in Helsinki. I've never been but this duo makes you feel the city's soul and spirit. You'll find the album here (Spotify) and here.
Here's the title track...
And here's 75th Street Swing...
Harvie S has a new podcast called Harvie's Corner, which he hosts at Kolstein's, New York's leading store for orchestral string instruments. On the podcast, Harvie interviews fellow bassists. You'll find episodes here. Here's Harvie interviewing jazz bassist Noriko Ueda...
David McCallum, who died on September 25, was best known as Illya Kuryakin on TV's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. But he also had a brief recording career. Last week, director Raymond De Felitta posted on McCallum's second album, Music: A Bit More of Me (1967), featuring the Scottish actor conducting an orchestra playing pop hits of the day arranged by H.B. Barnum. McCallum played the oboe in grade school and was educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where he studied acting. Two of the songs on the album were by McCallum—Isn't It Wonderful and Far Away Blue. You can listen to the album here and read Raymond's post here.
And finally, here's an 18-minute extended mix of Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra playing the little-known instrumental Forever in Love...
