On May 29, 1965, the Oscar Peterson Trio performed at the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. The set was taped and released as Eloquence on Limelight Records, a subsidiary of Mercury launched by Quincy Jones in 1962. The catalogue wound up with Verve and the Island Def Jam Music Group.
I couldn't find the Limelight release on Spotify and other platforms but I did find Oscar Peterson Trio Live at the Tivoli Gardens May 29, 1965, with the audio tuned up by Roberto Sarfati and Diego Vila's Lantower Records, the Argentinian label.
The tracks are Peterson's Children's Tune, Younger Than Springtime, Erroll Garner's Misty, John Lewis's Django, Peterson's The Smudge, Autumn Leaves, Bobby Timmons's Moanin' and Peterson's Lovers' Promenade.
Each piece performed by Peterson (p), Ray Brown (b) and Ed Thigpen (d) is beautifully structured and the solos are superb. Exemplary are Misty, Django, Moanin' and Lovers' Promenade. The last is particularly gorgeous. [Photos above of Ed Thigpen, Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown by Don Bronstein for the back cover of The Trio]
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Oscar Peterson Trio Live at the Tivoli Gardens May 29, 1965 at Spotify here, and at other streaming platforms.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, few pianists moved as effortlessly and deftly between jazz and pop as pianist Paul Smith. Instrumental pop, as a genre, came into its own after 1948, with the advent of the 10-inch LP. Pop back then still had plenty of swing but was really jazz-light—easy-going music that had a bit of a kick but didn't venture too far off a familiar song's melody.
Pop as a lucrative record-company division emerged then when record buyers could languish on a sofa while record sides played for 15 minutes or longer. Before 1948, listeners had to flip over 78-rpm discs every three minutes or so.
Smith was perfectly suited for the new jazz-pop LP era. Born in San Diego in 1922, Smith was greatly influenced by Nat King Cole's precise, swinging playing style. Smith began taking piano lessons early, served in the Army during World War II, and after the war remained on the West Coast, where opportunities for accomplished musicians and accompanists were plentiful—in recording studios, on movie soundstages and on television.
Throughout the '50s, Smith appeared on many key jazz-pop recordings—Benny Goodman with Strings (1951), June Christy's Midnight Sun (1953), Paul Weston's Mood for 12 (1955), Dave Pell's I Had the Craziest Dream (1955), Anita O'Day with Buddy Bregman's Orchestra (1955), Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (1956) and many of her other songbook albums, Louis Armstrong with Russell Garcia's Orchestra (1957), Louis Armstrong/Ella Fitzgerald (1957), Ella in Berlin (1960) and albums by Billy May, Buddy Bregman, Ray Anthony and Ella Fitzgerald.
Smith also recorded numerous albums leading a trio, quartet and other ensembles that weren't purely jazz but were hardly pop. There was always a skip in his step at the keyboard and a lush, dramatic sensibility on ballads. In a city awash in extraordinarily gifted pianists in the '50s, Smith excelled in Los Angeles studios, on TV and in clubs, winding up as the first choice of singers and bands alike.
Smith's magic was all about taste and how he was able to balance a song on the tips of his fingers while thrilling listeners. He wasn't supper club or lounge, just a player who loved having his way with a melody back when all great jazz and pop musicians were sublime entertainers. [Photo above of Paul Smith]
Paul Smith died in 2013 at age 91.
Let's listen to Smith in action:
Here's Smith on TV's Bing Crosby Show in 1958 accompanying Frank Sinatra, with George Shearing backing Peggy Lee and Joe Bushkin behind Bing Crosby...
Here's Smith with Gisele MacKenzie on her short-lived NBC show in 1958 (click "Watch on YouTube in the embedded box below)...
Here's Smith with a sextet in 1956 playing I'll Take Romance, featuring Julius Kinsler (fl), Ronny Lang (as), Smith (p,arr), Tony Rizzi (g), Sam Chefitz (b) and Irv Cottler (d), from the "Liquid Sounds" series...
Here's the complete Paul Smith Plays Steve Allen..
JazzWax tracks: If you liked I'll Take Romance from Paul Smith's Cool and Sparkling LP,you'll find his four Liquid Sounds albums (1954-1958) on a Fresh Sound two-CD release here.
Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Yair Elazar Glotman for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Yair is an Israeli avant-garde experimental-sound artist and film composer who now lives in Berlin. If you've watched the 2023 murder mystery movie Reptile on Netflix, then you know the power of his electroacoustic score.
Just days remaining to buy loved ones a copy of my new paperback, Anatomy of 55 More Songs, which includes three new hits, bringing the total to 58. Go here.
CBS News in New York had me on-set last week to talk about my book and to give hosts Cindy Hsu and John Elliott a holiday song quiz. Go here...
What I'm watching now. Here's what I streamed last week and really enjoyed (I spare you the junk). Past recommendations appear in the list below the new entries:
The Woman in the Wall (2024)—Powerful upcoming BBC miniseries focuses on an emotionally damaged woman who survived the cruelty of a Magdalene Laundry in Ireland and her search for the child who was taken from her. It begins in the U.S. in January. (Showtime)
The Affair (2014-2019)—TV drama series set in Montauk, N.Y., as a happily married husband with four children has an affair with a local waitress. (Hulu)
Jane Eyre (2006)—TV miniseries adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel. (Britbox)
Past recommendations...
TV series
The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix)
The Crown—(Netflix)
Dark Winds—(2022/AMC)
The Diplomat—(2023/Netflix)
Downton Abbey—(2020-2015/Prime)
Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
Pieces of Her—(2022/Netflix)
Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
Yellowstone—(2018-present/Paramount Network)
Films
The Accountant—(2016/Hulu)
Armageddon Time—(2022/Prime)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs—(2018/Netflix)
The Ballad of Lefty Brown—(2017Netflix)
Eiffel—(2021/Prime)
Enola Holmes 1 and 2—(2022/Netflix)
The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3—(2014-2018/Prime
God's Country—(2022/Hulu)
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
Man on Fire—(2004/Max)
MI-5—(2015/Max)
The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
Nobody—(2021/Prime)
Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix
The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
Spy(les)—(2009/Prime)
The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
Wonder Wheel—(2017/Prime)
Documentaries
Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake—(2022/Netflix)
The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
George Frideric Handel. Following my post on the German composer who invented English popular music, I heard from Jim Eigo:
Marc, check this out. Handel Hendrix House cares for and presents to the public the homes of two of the greatest musicians ever to have lived in London—Handel and Jimi Hendrix. Go here.
Even more Concorde. Last week, following my posts here and here on the Concorde SST, I heard from Malcolm Walker in the U.K.:
Hi Marc. I lived in South West London for over 40 years, in an area called Battersea. We were on the flight path of incoming planes to Heathrow, and sometimes I'd stand in the back garden watching them coming in to land. Quite a good view, one after the other, some noisy but bearable.
One day when I was working as a freelance graphic artist, I got a call for a few days' work from a studio in Twickenham, England, that was much closer to Heathrow. One lunchtime, a few of us were heading for a pub lunch when the most God-awful noise started.
It was completely deafening and quite a scary sensation. It turned out to be Concorde just leaving Heathrow. Such a beautiful looking creature but such a noisy brute.
Barney Wilen. Last week, Carl Woideck sent along a link to a clip by tenor and soprano saxophonist Barney Wilen. Go here...
Jo Stafford. Last week, Bill Pauluh turned me on to Fil Henley, who fronts an English band called Wings of Pegasus. In fact, Fil is the band and handles all aspects of the music, vocals and guitar. He also runs a YouTube channel and does keen analysis of pop, rock and soul songs. [Photo above of Jo Stafford in 1946]
In a recent episode, Fil turns Jo Stafford's approach inside out. Love his passion, his historical curiosity and the technology he uses to breakdown why Stafford was special. He also has a hell of a voice. Thanks to Bill for forwarding. Go here...
Bob Dorough radio. On Sunday, December 17, Sid Gribetz on WKCR-FM New York will present a five-hour tribute to pianist, vocalist and songwriter Bob Dorough on the station's "Jazz Profiles." The show will air from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET). You can listen from anywhere in the world by going here.
And finally, John Oates, of the embattled Hall & Oates, just released Get Your Smile On. It's easy to forget just how good John is on his own. Here's the official music video...
One of my favorite albums by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers has a baffling title. For some reason, Impulse Records decided the title should be Art Blakey!!!!! Jazz Messengers!!!!! The confusing result is that some refer to the album as Impulse!!! or Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers!!! while those in Japan know the album as Alamode.
Whatever title you choose, the album is an explosion of energy and beauty. Recorded in June 1961, the Messengers lineup consisted of Art Blakey (d), Lee Morgan (tp), Curtis Fuller (tb), Wayne Shorter (ts), Bobby Timmons (p) and Jymie Merritt (b).
The tracks are Fuller's À la Mode, Invitation, Bob Russell's Circus,You Don't Know What Love Is,I Hear a Rhapsody and Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You.
In each case, Blakey and the Messengers turn each song inside out with spectacular ferocity. This LP would be Timmons's last recording with the Messengers before being replaced on piano by Cedar Walton.
Here's the complete Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers without ad interruptions...
Unfamiliar with Circus?Here's Chris Connor singing the song in 1956...
Immediately after Berry Gordy founded Motown in 1959, he began loading up the label's roster with staggering talent. When Marvin Gaye joined Motown in 1960, he viewed himself as a mainstream pop singer along the lines of Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. [Photo above of Marvin Gaye]
Unfortunately for Gaye, his voice was a little too high, and his ambitions soon hit a ceiling. Meanwhile, the Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Smokey Robinson and other Motown pop-soul recording artists began having major hits. Marvin shifted his approach.
Yesterday I found this fascinating PBS documentary on Gaye—one of Motown's most versatile and influential singer-songwriters. Here'sMarvin Gaye: What's Going On...
On March 7, 1965, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers appeared on the BBC-TVs Jazz 625, hosted by Humphrey Lyttelton. The video of the performance was recently colorized, which gives the musicians enormous dimension and visual personality. The music was always great. The color just makes the presentation a little greater.
The Jazz Messengers on this date consisted of Art Blakey (d), Lee Morgan (tp), John Gilmore (ts), John Hicks (p) and Victor Sproles (b). [Photo above of Art Blakey by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]
What better way to ring in the holiday season than a BBC documentary on George Frideric Handel, the Baroque composer of Water Music (1717), The Messiah (1742) and Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749). But how exactly did a German composer wind up in London in 1710 and create music that would become the soundtrack for the British royalty? [Oil painting above of George Frideric Handel by Thomas Hudson, c. 1736; in the Foundling Museum, London]
One of Handel's four coronation anthems, Zadok the Priest, has been performed at every British coronation since 1727. The sound of Handel's music instantly makes one think of the British and even the American aristocracy. Over time, Handel's The Messiah would launch the evolution of British popular music, which led to American popular music, dance music and jazz.
In 1759, Handel, who was nearly blind, died wealthy at age 74 and was given a state funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Here's the BBC documentary, The Birth of British Music: Handel the Conquering Hero...
Earlier this year, I posted on Bill Evans: Treasures, a stunning collection of material recorded in Denmark between 1965 and 1969. As I wrote then about the precious material discovered by dogged producer Zev Feldman [photo above of Bill Evans in Milan, Italy, in 1965, by Roberto Polillo]
One of the most important discoveries of previously unissued live performances by pianist Bill Evans was released on Friday. Mind you, most of Evans's live performances qualify as being very good to excellent. But "Bill Evans, Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings From Denmark (1965-1969)" (Elemental Music) is especially spectacular. There was something about Denmark that brought out the best in Evans, who plays on a majority of this two-CD/three LP set with a relaxed, measured calm and a beauty that exceeds most of his other live recordings.
Now comes the sister release from Elemental Music: Bill Evans: Tales - Live in Copenhagen (1964), featuring the pianist with one of his finest trios on two different dates during one of his finest years in a country that loved him best. There's also a bonus track from 1969 in Denmark with a different trio.
As I write in the new release's liner notes:
You're holding in your hands the earliest known recording of Bill Evans performing in Europe. Recorded in the summer of 1964 during his first tour abroad with a trio, these 10 previously unreleased tracks were captured in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. The tracks also are remarkable for being among the very finest work by this ensemble. There's even a standard that was recorded here for the first time and never appeared in the Evans discography again.
If you dig Bill Evans, you're probably most familiar with this Chuck Israels-Larry Bunker trio through the albums The Bill Evans Trio "Live" from May 1964 and Trio '65, along with the video of their March 1965 performance in London on the BBC-TV's Jazz 625, which aired in May 1965. On the new release, 10 of the album's tracks are from August 1964. Chuck joined the trio shortly after Scott LaFaro's fatal car crash in July 1961 and Bunker joined on drums in 1963 after Paul Motian's departure. [Photo above, from left, of Chuck Israels, Bills Evans and Larry Bunker by David Redfern]
On Bill Evans: Tales, we hear Waltz for Debby, My Foolish Heart, How My Heart Sings, Sweet and Lovely, I Didn't Know What Time It Was (the song Evans never recorded again) and Five (Theme), recorded at Danish Radio in Copenhagen on August 10, 1964.
Then we hear My Foolish Heart, How My Heart Sings, Sweet and Lovely and Five (Theme), recorded at TV City in Copenhagen on August 25, 1964.
Finally, there's a bonus track, featuring 'Round Midnight, with Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums, recorded in Stakladen, Aarthus, Denmark, on November 21, 1969.
The 1964 material showcases Evans at his most relaxed and lyrical, with occasional block chords, silky runs, gorgeous chord voicings and intensive, poetic ballads. The ideas seem to pour right out of him in a steady flow. Chuck and Bunker also are superb, and the bonus track 'Round Midnight, is brooding but with just the right sense of nocturnal drama.
Producer Zev Feldman continues to amaze. Thanks to his tireless efforts to tap into his broad global network of collectors and archivists, and his ability to work deals that enable him to share his beautifully mastered discoveries with the world, we are indeed fortunate. Each of these releases has an extraordinary and untold backstory of determination, generosity and mutual compromise. For the fan, it's a glorious time to love jazz.
Bill Evans died in 1980; Larry Bunker died in 2005.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Bill Evans: Tales - Live in Copenhagen (1964) (Elemental Music) here.
And you'll find Bill Evans: Treasures (1965-1969) (Elemental Music) here.
JazzWax tracks:Here'sI Didn't Know What Time It Was...
Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Kwame Onwuachi, chef and proprietor of Tatiana, a restaurant in David Geffen Hall at New York's Lincoln Center and the toughest reservation to get in the city (go here). Kwame specializes in his own Afro-Caribbean cuisine based on dishes he ate as a child and in Nigeria, where he spent two years growing up. I'm eating out in New York since the 1970s, and Kwame easily serves the most exciting and flavorful food I've ever eaten in the city. My meals at Tatiana have even surpassed a five-hour dinner at Per Se. Truly stunning. I've dined at Tatiana twice (on my dime) and plan to go back as soon as possible. [Photo above of Kwame Onwuachi courtesy of Top Chef]
On TV. Last week, Chris Welch, anchor of Fox 5 New York, had me on The Noon to talk about my new paperback, Anatomy of 55 More Songs. Chris is a wonderful, gracious host who brings a gentle, easy-going quality to news broadcasting. Quite a change-up from most anchors, who constantly feel on edge. Here's our live studio chat...
Perfect for the holidays. There's still time to buy friends and family a copy of my new paperback, Anatomy of 55 More Songs, which includes three new additions, bringing the actual total to 58 hits. Go here.
More Concorde. Following my post on the rise and fall of British Airways' and Air France's supersonic Concorde, many readers emailed recollections of the passenger jet that flew twice the speed of sound. Since then, I've found a wonderful four-part documentary on the Concorde that is even more poetic and detailed. Here are the four parts...
Edy Forey—The Fire. In advance of their album Culture Today, due April 5, vocalist Edy Szewy and pianist Guilhem Forey have just released their first single, The Fire. The two artists, known as Edy Forey, are based in Edinburgh. Scotland, and their style is a mash of R&B and jazz. Guilhem's electric piano takes me back to the 1970s and Edy's vocal is fresh. I'm looking forward to hearing the album. You'll find the single here.
Deodato. Of course, after listening to Guilhem's piano, I had a hankering for Eumir Deodato. Here's Deodato (rear) 13 years ago playing bass and harmony on an electric piano with Riccardo Dalli Cardillo on the Fender Rhodes. They're playing Deodato's For Carly and Carole. Go here,,,
Money for music. If you're a jazz recording artist and you want your music heard and get paid when it's used commercially, I may have a solution for you. Ina Dittke, of Ina Dittke & Associates, a major music management agency, has joined forces with a music supervisor in Los Angeles to launch Sync Agency, a one-stop jazz collective specializing in jazz and jazz-related music. Ina mentioned that Mike Barone is one of the artists in this new collective. Learn more by going here. [Photo above of Ina Dittke with the late James Moody]
Donald Byrd radio. A 24-hour tribute to trumpeter Donald Byrd will air on WKCR-FM in New York all day Saturday, December 9. You can listen from anywhere in the world by going here.
Barry Harris radio. WKCR-FM will also present a 24-hour broadcast honoring pianist Barry Harris next Friday, December 15. You can listen from anywhere in the world by going here.
And finally,here's DJ Dimitri of Paris (above, courtesy of BandsInTown) with a fabulous remix of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' The Love I Lost, featuring Teddy Pendergrass on lead vocal. Dig drummer Earl Young's one-two, one-two-three beat...
Who were the musicians in the Brazilian Jazz Quartet? According to Wikipedia, the group featured José Ferreira Godinho Filho "Casé" on alto saxophone, Moacyr Peixoto on piano, Luiz Chaves Oliveira da Paz "Luiz Chaves" on bass and Rubens Alberto Barsotti "Rubinho" on drums.
The reason I pose the question is the remarkable similarity in tone between saxophonist "Casé" and Art Pepper (and at times, Lee Konitz). So much so that only a careful ear can tell them apart. Pepper, of course, had more dexterity and fluidity on solos. But the dry tone, the lyrical exploration of the upper register and the approach on the instrument is uncannily Pepperian. And maybe it's me, but Moacyr Peixoto sounds a lot like Russ Freeman.
Clearly, these Brazilian artists were heavily influenced by Pepper's and Freeman's albums. Further proof of a direct connection between West Coast jazz's relaxed, melodic approach and what would soon become bossa nova in Brazil.
The album I'm showcasing as my ad-free Backgrounder this week is the Brazilian Jazz Quartet's Coffee and Jazz, released by Brazilian Columbia in 1958. See if you hear what I hear. Here's the album...
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.