Stylistically, guitarists Jim Hall and Ireland's Louis Stewart had much in common. Both embraced edge in their playing, both were unconventional in their attack, both could swing and both were vastly respected jazz virtuosos by their peers and countrymen.
On December 26, 1982, Jim and Louis came together for a concert at Dublin's Maccabi Hall. The concert was recorded but only just released as Louis Stewart & Jim Hall: The Dublin Concert (Livia).
The concert tapes were discovered in 2022 and have been lovingly digitized and mastered and is now the only known recording of Jim and Louis performing together. The recording's material and sound are terrific.
Jim and Louis first met in 1981 during Louis's residency at Bechet's in New York, a restaurant and jazz club on Third Avenue near 75th Street. Louis was big admirer of Jim, particularly the duet albums he had recorded with Bill Evans. Louis also recorded in duet settings. [Photo above of Jim Hall]
That December, as Jim vacationed in Ireland, a concert was hastily set up in Dublin. "Look at what Santa brought us for Christmas" is how Louis introduced Jim. There was just one mic for each guitarist.
The music consisted of mostly standards, but the staid songs are deconstructed and given enormous life. As one guitarist soloed or took the lead, the other played rhythm. For those unfamiliar with the styles of these guitarists, I'll keep it simple for you: Louis is the heavier player. [Photo above of Louis Stewart]
Interestingly, there are no flashy attacks to show off virtuosity. What you hear are two extraordinary guitarists engaging in musical conversations and having loads of fun.
The tracks:
Stella By Starlight (Victor Young)
2 Degrees East, 3 Degrees West (John Lewis)
But Beautiful (Jimmy Van Heusen)
St. Thomas (Sonny Rollins)
All the Things You Are (Jerome Kern)
My Funny Valentine (Rodgers and Hart)
How Deep Is the Ocean (Irving Berlin) ....
In a Sentimental Mood (Duke Ellington)
Among my many favorites here are But Beautiful, an astonishing ballad in their hands; St. Thomas, with a unique approach and easily one of the finest covers of this Sonny Rollins composition; and My Funny Valentine, which they gloriously re-invent.
Jim Hall and Louis Stewart were JazzWax readers, and I miss them both. Jim Hall died in 2013 at age 83; Louis Stewart died in 2016 at age 72.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Louis Stewart & Jim Hall: The Dublin Concert (Livia) here and on most major streaming platforms. To learn more about Livia Records, the Irish jazz label, go here.
On July 17, 1974, Sonny Rollins performed at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London—two years after his 1972 comeback following a lengthy sabbatical. At the time of his gig, a film was shot, then shelved and now, for the first time, it has been cleaned up and is up online.
Sonny's band at Ronnie Scott's featured Sonny Rollins (ts), Rufus Harley (ss,bagpipes), Yoshiaki Masuo (el-g), Bob Cranshaw (el-b) and David Lee (d).
Songs featured were The Cutting Edge,Don't Stop the Carnival,A House Is Not a Home, Dearly Beloved, Sais,East Broadway Rundown and his Alfie movie theme, among others.
Here'sSonny Rollins: Live at Ronnie Scott's 1974, a film newly posted to YouTube four days ago, on Sonny's 94th birthday...
Sérgio Mendes, a Brazilian jazz and hard-bossa pianist-arranger who relocated to the U.S. in 1964 and launched his Brasil '65 and '66 pop groups, kicking off the sunshine pop movement, died in Los Angeles on September 5 of complications from long Covid. He was 83. [Photo above of Sergio Mendes, left, and Antonio Carlos Jobim in New York in 1964]
Mendes first performed in the U.S. at the famed Bossa Nova at Carnegie Hall concert in late 1963 and remained here the following year. Like many Brazilian musicians who became expatriates in America, Mendes felt he could be more successful in the U.S. than under the newly installed regime in Brazil following the country's March-April 1964 military coup.
His first two albums in the U.S. were recorded as Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65, for Capitol and Atlantic Records. Both bombed. Fortunately for Mendes, A&M Records had begun to dominate the young-adult pop market.
Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss—the label's A and M—had already figured out that an upbeat, sophisticated sound akin to the one used by the Tijuana Brass could be money-makers for other groups they signed. At the time, the gentle, cool tastes of dating young adults weren't being met by the British Invasion, emerging psychedelic rock bands or easy listening strings. For A&M, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 was a perfect fit, thanks largely to Mendes's breezy vocals of two female singers and his textured, soft-samba arrangements.
The group's first major single, a cover of Mas que Nada, by Brazilian composer Jorge Ben, reached No. 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Billboard Easy Listening charts. But it was the group's 1968 single, The Look of Love, the Burt Bacharach and Hal David theme for the film Casino Royale, that put them on the map after being performed during the Oscars and peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Going forward, the group focused on giving pop hits a sensual, swinging bossa nova makeover.
In tribute to Mendes, here are seven video clips of his Brasil '66 hits:
Dan Morgenstern, an eight-time Grammy winner for his album liner notes, former director of Rutgers University's Institute of Jazz Studies, author and a "jazz advocate," as he liked to be called, died on September 7. He was 94.
Despite all of those titles and honors, Dan was the music's most modest and well-regarded historian and paternal figure among writers and critics. But despite his seniority and in-depth, first-hand knowledge of post-war jazz, he never lost his wit, passion or ability to put the jazz story's pieces together.
Soft-spoken and humble, Dan had an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz from its earliest days, and his sober analysis came through in his writing. He also was generous with his time.
Shortly after I started this blog in 2007, he invited me out to Rutgers for a tour of the IJS. There, he let me hold the "bones" of jazz—one of Lester Young's tenor saxophones, a trumpet played by Miles Davis and other instruments donated to the IJS by their estates. For a post on my time there, go here.
In tribute to Dan, here is my 2007 interview with him:
JazzWax: Dan, you’ve won multiple Grammys for your album liner notes. What are you working on now? Dan Morgenstern: I’m writing the liner notes for a double CD of Louis Armstrong recordings from a 1937 NBC radio show. It’s a very exciting set. Many of the 24 tracks on the first CD have never been released before in any format—not even as bootlegs. The second CD features home recordings from Louis’ private tapes, including some music and conversation. The set is due early next year from Music Masters and will feature great big-band material. Some of the songs in the set were never recorded by Armstrong—not before 1937 or after.
JW: Where were these recordings hiding? DM: They were in Armstrong’s own personal collection in the Louis Armstrong Archives at Queens College. The masters were Louis' private recordings of a weekly radio show he hosted in the spring of 1937. The recordings were taken off the air and cut onto 12-inch acetate discs.
JW: Just in the spring? DM: For three months in 1937, Armstrong was the temporary replacement for singer Rudy Vallee, who was on holiday in Britain. Louis subbing for Rudy Vallee isn’t as surprising as you’d think. Vallee was a big fan of Louis and even wrote the introduction to Louis’ first autobiography in 1936, Swing That Music.
JW: Who was the show's sponsor? DM: In 1937, Vallee's longstanding weekly radio show on the NBC radio network was sponsored by Fleischmann’s Yeast. When Louis took over the show, it was called Harlem and featured Louis and his band, a comedy team and changing cast of musical guests. These recordings represent the first time a black artist was host of a nationally sponsored radio show. The sound quality is excellent thanks to a fine restoration job by Doug Pomeroy. What has been eliminated for this CD set is the show banter. You just hear Louis and his band.
JW: How do you approach writing liner notes? DM: As a writer, the most important challenge I face is to say something that will enhance the listeners’ enjoyment of the music. The key is the right mix of biographical and musical information and what’s taking place on the recordings. For the biographical section, I like to write about what the artist was doing at the time the recordings were made. As for the performances, I always try to write about things that the listener might not immediately notice.
JW: Is it still a thrill to see your notes on an album? DM: Oh, yes. One of my great pleasures as a writer in general is for someone to tell me that something I wrote—a book, an article, liner notes—exposed them to a specific artist or jazz in general. These days, I usually hear this from people of a certain age [laughs].
JW: For example? DM: Recently someone came up to me and said, "When I was in college, I read your Down Beat review of Dexter Gordon’s The Panther, and it opened a lifelong involvement in jazz." That was gratifying to me. Disc jockeys also tell me that they find my liner notes useful because the notes tell them who's soloing on tracks, if a song is slow or fast, and other details helpful in programming.
JW: What about research? DM: I often do quite a bit of research on the artist and the moment in time when the recordings were made. I have an advantage, in that I’m here at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, where reference materials are at my fingertips. If I’m doing the liner notes for an album of a contemporary musician, then I want to interview the artist and/or people who know the artist well.
JW: Did you ever write a review or interview that angered a jazz musician? DM: Actually, I’ve been kind of lucky in that regard. I’ve always tried to be careful not to misrepresent what musicians say for the sake of a catchy headline. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, that was difficult, since magazines were trying to stand out and anything controversial made for good copy.
JW: How did you handle that? DM: When I spoke with jazz musicians back then, invariably something would be said during the interview that was an aside or said in a certain context. If I had taken those comments out of context and put them in print to boost a magazine’s visibility, it would have annoyed or frustrated the artist, which is unfair.
JW: No one ever became angry? DM: There were only two instances. The first occurred in the 1960s, after I reviewed the Newport Jazz Festival and noted that Elvin Jones’s drumming was too loud. The next time I saw Elvin, he cornered me. He was big and could look fierce with those funny teeth that made him look like a dragon.
JW: What happened? DM: After he expressed his displeasure, I told him that he indeed sounded loud and that maybe he wasn’t aware that the people doing the sound put too much juice on the drums and that I probably should have worded it that way. Elvin understood. Afterward we were the best of friends again. I’ve found that artists don’t bear grudges when you explain to them why you were critical.
JW: What was the second instance? DM: It occurred in May 1965, when George Russell returned to New York between stays in Europe. We talked about what was going on in contemporary jazz here and abroad. George was a serious composer who had developed his own concept of Lydian tonality and was an intellectual about the concept of freedom in jazz. During the interview, he expressed certain reservations about the new free-form jazz. After his comments appeared in Down Beat, some avant-garde jazz musicians must have hit on him, complaining that it was hard enough to attract audiences without those kind of remarks.
JW: Why, what happened? DM: To appear politically correct, George accused me in a letter to the Down Beat editor of misquoting him, which wasn’t true. I was pretty upset about it, and my editor, Don DeMichael, backed me up when printing George's letter. It's all water under the bridge now.
JW: Did you ever worry that becoming too close with jazz musicians could compromise your objectivity? DM: You have to be very careful not to let the bonds between you and musicians cloud what you’re saying. If you’re a writer, your responsibility always is to the reader or listener. If you shortchange your audience, you’ll lose your credibility. I tried to avoid such conflicts by simply not writing about bad performances unless I had to. At that point, I’d always frame my remarks by saying that the artist didn’t have a particularly good night rather than completely trashing him.
JW: Isn't that pulling your punches? DM: Not at all. It's being honest. As a writer, you always want to remain a certain distance from the artist so your objectivity isn't clouded. Or you need to be frank upfront with the reader by saying from the outset, "This is someone I know well." Again, how the reader perceives you and your agenda means everything to your integrity and reputation.
JW: Why did so many jazz artists turn to drugs in the 1940s and 1950s? Was it fear of improvising in front of live, critical audiences? DM: That anxiety played a role, but there were many other factors. Drugs in jazz probably started during World War II, with the easy accessibility of morphine. Before World War II, there was little drug availability or drug use among jazz musicians. There was plenty of pot smoking and drinking, since many musicians during prohibition played in speakeasies. Playing jazz is very strenuous and challenging, and booze and pot were there to take the edge off.
JW: What role did World War II play? DM: Hard-core drug use started after guys who had become addicted to morphine came out of the service. Maybe they had received a shot of morphine for pain or illness and got used to it. If you were in the war, there were always ways to get more morphine from medics to ease such problems. As these servicemen were discharged, they returned to society. It takes only one or two people to get anything started.
JW: And Charlie Parker? DM: He was the one who got the drug scene started in jazz, and his talent and drug use affected a lot of younger players who admired him. They thought using drugs would help them play better, even though Parker discouraged other musicians from using drugs. Drug use also was a social thing for musicians at the time. It had to do with the feeling of being an outsider, of not being accepted by the public, and being in an insular, closed community of musicians.
JW: But there were other reasons for drug use beyond trying to be like Bird, yes? DM: Other musicians used drugs so that when they played in a club situation, they could distance themselves from the tension of performing and close themselves off from mainstream audiences. Or from personality problems. Everyone who started taking drugs thought they could deal with it. No one took drugs thinking they would ever get hooked. But most of them did, and many died too soon.
JW: You were the editor of Metronome, Jazz and Down Beat magazines in the 1960s, when rock took hold. How did that happen? DM: Jazz was already facing problems by the time rock really started to win over large numbers of young listeners starting in 1964. There was a time in this country when jazz was part of the popular music mainstream. It was played by big bands, and people danced to it. People who weren’t really jazz fans consumed the music and enjoyed it. In addition, great American composers wrote terrific songs for shows that were easily adapted by jazz bands.
JW: What changed? DM: During and after World War II, jazz became more complex—and more demanding for the listener. Audiences began to shrink. Even within the jazz-listening fan base, there was a deep split between the 'moldy figs,' those who loved swing, and the radical bepoppers. The rivalry between these two camps became quite intense, and the battle turned off many people unnecessarily and made them less open-minded to the new jazz.
JW: How did jazz lose its young fans? DM: Jazz musicians stopped playing for dancers, and they lost gigs—and an even larger slice of their audience. By the early 1950s, R&B, followed by rock in the mid-1960s, started capturing more young listeners who wanted music to dance to and no longer identified with jazz. Also, a racist attitude toward jazz was emerging that didn’t exist before. By 1964, jazz was already weakened by internal and external changes, and it didn’t take much for rock to become more popular, especially with teens.
JW: How were jazz magazines affected? DM: In 1967, when I took over as editor of Down Beat, the magazine was being reshaped by these changes. Curiously, the pressures we faced at the magazine didn’t come from our jazz readership. Circulation was flat but it wasn’t declining. Instead, it was the advertiser base that was changing. As rock records became hot sellers, record companies devoted fewer ad dollars to their jazz labels. We became more dependent on ads from the makers of instruments and accessories.
JW: What was the result? DM: Advertisers put pressure on us to feature more rock coverage in our pages. We had no choice but to make changes. After all, a magazine pays its bills with advertisers’ dollars, not subscription checks. But when we tried to cover rock seriously, our jazz readers threatened to cancel. So we tried to find people who could write about rock intelligently. And we covered bands like Blood Sweat and Tears and Chicago that were influenced by jazz. Eventually readers came around.
JW: Which jazz albums still move you most today? DM: I listen to a lot of contemporary recordings as well as reissues. What I keep coming back to is the music I grew up with in the 1930s and '40s. These recordings are musts for anyone's collection:
Billie Holiday and Lester Young: A Musical Romance (Sony) features the best of the beautiful Columbia recordings these two made together.
The Tatum Group Masterpiece (Pablo)are fantastic. They capture Art Tatum with Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge and many other superb musicians.
Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald together were extraordinary. The best of their Verve recordings are available on The Best of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (Polygram). Or you can buy The Complete Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (Polygram). The sessions combine the most beautiful American songs with the most beautiful treatments. And Louis is so great on there.
The Duke Ellington band of 1940-1942—also known as the Blanton-Webster band—is timeless and immortal. Their recordings are on a four-CD set, Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band (RCA).
Count Basie’s recordings with Lester Young still swing. This material includes Basie’s output for the Decca and Columbia labels. You’ll find these recordings on Count Basie: Complete Original American Decca Recordings (Definitive Classics) and Count Basie: The Complete 1936-1941 Columbia Recordings (Definitive Spain).
And finally, Charlie Parker's Savoy and Dial recordings are fantastic. All of these sessions have been combined on several different boxes, including Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (Savoy).
JW: What three jazz musicians have been overlooked and are worthy of greater listener attention? DM: I’d have to say clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, pianist Jimmy Rowles and Tony Fruscella, a wonderfully fluid trumpet player who had terrible trouble with narcotics. He left the jazz scene in the 1960s and died young in 1969. Fruscella’s recordings with Stan Getz in 1955 and his Atlantic album, Tony Fruscella, are excellent. They are available separately—or together on the box, Tony Fruscella: The Complete Works (Jazz Factory).
JazzWax clip:Here's Dan and me weighing in on the birth of the extended LP solo on Zoot Sims's Zoot Swings the Blues for a docu-clip by Bret Primack for Prestige about 10 years ago...
This past week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed actor Don Johnson for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Don, of course starred in TV's Miami Vice and Nash Bridges and now he's in the Netflix film Rebel Ridge. [Photo above of Don Johnson in Miami Vice, courtesy of Universal TV]
Here are my first two paragraphs based on our Zoom conversation...
When you come from an incredibly dysfunctional and abusive childhood as I did, you learn to embrace challenges.
My parents were very young when I was born—my mother was 16 and my father was 19. In effect, we grew up together.
Here's the trailer for Rebel Ridge...
What I'm Watching
Top 11 favorite series, ranked...
Babylon Berlin
My Brilliant Friend
Killing Eve
The Crown
The Americans
Band of Brothers
Downton Abbey
The Gentlemen
Turn: Washington's Spies
Unbelievable
Justified
The Blacklist
Viewing now...
Voiceless (Bella da morire) (2020—This Italian miniseries features English subtitles and, for a change, you'll see actors you won't know. It centers on a female detective and her partner as they try to solve a murder in Italy's Lake District. A big thanks to Don Frese for turning me on to it. (MHz)
Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans—(2024/FX, with streaming on Hulu)
Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
The Gentlemen—(2024/Netflix)
Godless—(2017/Netflix)
Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
The Gilded Age—(current/Max)
High Water—(2022/Netflix)
Homeland—(2011-2020/Showtime)
Jane Eyre—(2006/Britbox)
Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
Killing Eve—(2018-2022/Netflix)
Life & Beth—(Seasons 1& 2, 2022-present/Hulu)
Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
Loudermilk—(2017-2020/Netflix)
MI-5, the Series—(2002-2011/BritBox)
Monsieur Spade—(2024/AMC)
Murdaugh Murders: The Movie, Parts 1 and 2—(2023/Lifetime)
My Brilliant Friend—(2018-current)
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)
Ripley—(2024/Netflix)
Scott & Bailey (2011-2016/Prime)
Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
Under the Banner of Heave—(2022/Hulu)
Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
The Watcher—(2022/Netflix)
The Way Home—(2023-current/Peacock)
Who Is Erin Carter—(2023/Netflix)
The Woman in the Wall—(2024/Showtime)
The Veil—(2024/Hulu-FX)
Wilder—(2017-current)
WPC 56—(2013-2015/Britbox)
Yellowstone—(2018-present/Paramount Network)
Films
The Accountant—(2016/Hulu)
American Gangster—(2007/Max)
Armageddon Time—(2022/Prime)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs—(2018/Netflix)
The Ballad of Lefty Brown—(2017/Netflix)
Blackout (2022/Netflix)
TheBricklayer—(2024/Netflix)
The Commuter (2018/Netflix)
The Dig—(2021/Netflix)
Eiffel—(2021/Prime)
Enola Holmes 1 and 2—(2022/Netflix)
The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3—(2014-2024/Prime)
Fury—(2014/Netflix)
God's Country—(2022/Hulu)
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+)
Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
The Little Things—(2021/Netflix)
Man on Fire—(2004/Max)
Manchester by the Sea—(2016/Prime Video)
MI-5—(2015/Max)
The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
Nobody—(2021/Prime)
Ordinary Angels—(2024)
Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
Ruthless—(2023/Hulu)
The Secret: Dare to Dream—(2020/Netflix)
Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
Spy(les)—(2009/Prime)
The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
Wonder Wheel—(2017/Prime)
Documentaries
Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake—(2022/Netflix)
The Beach Boys—(2024/Disney)
Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023/PBS)
The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
Cunk on Earth—(2022/Netflix)
Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing—(2023/Paramount+)
Facing Nolan—(2022/Netflix)
Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
Jane Fonda in Five Acts—(2024/Max)
Kate Hepburn: Call Me Kate—(2023/Netflix)
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go h
Herbie Mann. Following my post on the flutist, I received the following from Bill Kirchner on baritone saxophonist and bass clarinetist Danny Bank:
Hi Marc. On this track, "Manteca," Danny Bank played baritone saxophone, not bass clarinet. I sat next to Danny in saxophone sections and he was a superb player of both instruments—and one of the loudest. Which is why Gil Evans used Danny on bass clarinet, not baritone, on the Gil Evans-Miles Davis albums. Gil knew that Danny’s bass clarinet could cut through the entire band—unusual, because bass clarinet is usually a mezzo forte instrument at most.
Paul Quinichette. Following my post, I received the following from bassist Brian Torff, best known for his 3 1/2 years with George Shearing and his many other albums:
Hi Marc. Thank you for this piece on Paul Quinichette. I was lucky to work with Paul at the West End Cafe in the 1970's near New York's Columbia University. Paul was a gentle and kind man with a beautiful sound.
More Paul Quinichette. Jan Olsson in Sweden sent along the above photo that he took, and he wrote the following:
Hi Marc. Thank you for your fine Paul Quinichette reminder! Above is a photo I took at jazz club Gungan in Malmö, Sweden, in 1976. It's Paul (left) with Dexter Gordon, who lived in Copenhagen at the time just a half hour from Malmö. All the best from the Kingdom of Sweden (we have a King but no Prez in our country). [Photo above of Paul Quinichette and Dexter Gordon by Jan Olsson]
Gene Ammons. After I posted about Gene Ammons (above), I heard from photographer Norm Snyder:
Hello, Marc. As always, you came up with some gems. It incentivized my digging though files of my old negatives looking for a shot I remembered taking of Gene Ammons at The Minor Key in Detroit in 1961.
I was still in high school, and this was the first jazz performance I'd ever photographed. If I recall correctly, since not everyone was old enough to drive, a buddy took his dad’s car and we went, as he was the only one if my friends who had a driver’s license.
It was a late-night place, but nobody bothered us kids, since they realized we were there to hear the music. Some great bands came through that club.
I’m uncertain of the personnel in the above photo, but I think that’s Doug Watkins on electric bass and perhaps Richard Wyands on piano. I'm not sure who the trumpeter is. The drummer is hard to make out (Art Taylor was with the band during that period, I know, but I am not sure that’s him).
You can see the ringside tables were right at the foot of the stage, and I recall audiences being very much engaged in the performances I attended there.
One O'Clock Jump. Following my post last week featuring Paul Quinichette soloing in an all-star band playing O'Clock Jump, I figured you should hear the real deal in 1965. A monster band in London. Go here...
Frank Rosolino. Last week, as I was rummaging around YouTube and came across a most astonishing audio clip from 1968. At the site, Elaine Mylius, the person who posted it, wrote:
Frank Rosolino is one of my favorite trombonists of all time, and this recording has been a huge part of my life for several years. A trombone player gifted me this CD which had "Frank Rosolino Navy Pool of Mucus... (Huh?) 1968" written on the front. I hope you enjoy listening to this recording as much as I do!
Be sure you're sitting down when you listen to the band's ferocious arrangement by Phil Field. Go here...
Jacqueline François (above) was a French pop star in the 1950s and '60s. Here she is on French TV in 1966 signing Lola, a French take on Lullaby of Birdland...
More?Here she is singing L'âme Des Poètes in 1956...
Greg Reitan—The Bounding Line (Sunnyside). On his new album, recorded in 2023, jazz pianist Greg plays with bassist Jack Daro and drummer Dean Koba. The Path, Summer Days, The Bounding Line, Starting Point and Rock Hill are by Greg; My Love Is an April Song is by Earl Zindars; Rising Sun is by Dave Brubeck; Love No.1 is by Keith Jarrett; and Down a Country Lane is by Aaron Copland. All three musicians exhibit enormous sensitivity and skill. And Greg's originals are wonderful. A beautiful introspective album for this time of year. To listen to the tracks, go here.
Here'sMy Love Is an April Song. For me, the true quality of a jazz pianist is always tested on songs by Earl Zindars, and Greg passes with flying colors...
Free music. Kim Paris of the FM Radio Archive send along links to artists I've written about in the past week:
The Average White Band—is featured in Ellis Hall at Boston College in 1978, in a WBCN broadcast. Go here.
Tessa Souter—performed at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest in 2016, in a KCSM broadcast shared by Mark Rabin. Go here.
Count Basie—has two recordings on FMRA, at the 1981 Chicago Jazz Festival and a NPR Jazz Profiles episode, hosted by Nancy Wilson. Go here.
Russell Malone—(above) is featured with the CTI All Star Band in a concert at Jazzwoche Burghausen in Germany in 2010. Go here.
And finally, a look at an Italian song that was a huge hit in Italy in 1957—Come Prima. As readers know by now, I love French and Italian pop before pop-rock and yé-yé singers took over.
Come Prima (in English, As Before) was composed by Vincenzo Di Paola and Sandro Taccani with lyrics by Mario Panzeri. The power ballad was first made popular by Tony Dallara in Italy in 1957, but it was recorded by dozens of Italian singers.
Here's Dallara in 1966 singing his breakthrough hit. Makes me wish Tony Bennett had recorded an album of Italian love songs...
And here's Dalida in 1958 covering the song after Dallara's hit. What a captivating voice and range she had...
Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded several live club albums with Clifford Brown and Max Roach, but only two were done in the studio—At Basin Street and Sonny Rollins Plus Four. Though the former LP's title (for EmArcy) infers they recorded live at New York's Basin Street (not Basin Street East, which wouldn't open until 1959), they actually were at New York's Capitol Studios.
Sonny joined the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet in late 1955. In January and February 1956, they recorded At Basin Street. Sonny Rollins Plus Four was recorded the following month for Sonny's label, Prestige. Clifford Brown and Bud Powell's brother, Richie, would die in a car crash in June.
At Basin Street features extraordinary hard-bop playing by all: Clifford Brown (tp), Sonny Rollins (ts), Richie Powell (p,arr), George Morrow (b) and Max Roach (d).
Here's the superb At Basin Street without ad interruptions...
Herbie Mann was a fascinating artist. Not only was he a masterful jazz flutist but he also crossed over to Latin, funk, soul, bossa nova and rock, and he pioneered world music. His curiosity and ability to adapt to various styles was almost unrivaled during the 1960s and '70s.
One of his most popular Latin-jazz albums was Latin Mann: Afro Bossa to Blues. Recorded in 1965 for Columbia, the album featured Oliver Nelson's Latin-jazz arrangement of Manteca, co-composed by Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo and Gil Fuller in 1947.
The ferocious big band that's backing Mann included Carmell Jones, Jerry Kail, Joe Newman and Ernie Royal (tp); Quentin Jackson (tb); Tony Studd (b-tb); Jimmy Heath (ts); Danny Bank (bs); Jose Mangual (bgo); and Willie Bobo, Tommy Lopez and Willie Rodriguez (perc).
The track is perfect in terms of arrangement, energy and execution, and Mann's blowing is superb.
Here's Herbie Mann's Manteca without ad interruptions...
Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...
Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time,go here.
Jim Rotondi, a prolific hard-bop jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, arranger, educator and conductor, whose horn appears on more than 80 recordings and 15 leadership albums, died on July 8 in Le Crest, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. He was 61. [Photo above of Jim Rotondi]
Born in Butte, Montana, in 1962, Rotondi was the youngest of five siblings. All were given piano lessons by their mother. At 12, he switched to classical trumpet. Since Butte wasn't a major stop for touring jazz musicians, Rotondi picked up the feel of jazz from albums. The Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet LPs on EmArcy were favorites when he was 14.
For college, Rotondi attended the University of North Texas and performed in the renowned One O'Clock Lab Band in 1984. After his graduation in 1985, he moved to New York, where he began his professional jazz career.
In tribute to Rotondi, here are 10 audio clips:
Here'sA Peck a Sec from Introducing Jim Rotondi in 1997, with Jim Rotondi (tp,flhrn), Eric Alexander (ts), Larry Goldings (p), Dwayne Burno (b) and Billy Drummond (d)...
Here'sDavis Cup from Reverence in 2000, with Jim Rotondi (tp,flhrn), Mike DiRubbo (as), Anthony Wonsey (p), John Webber (b) and Willie Jones III (d)...
Here's Benny Golson's Park Avenue Petit from Destination Up!, with Jim Rotondi (flhrn), Joe Locke (vib), Mulgrew Miller (p), Peter Washington (b) and Joe Farnsworth (d)...
Here's Neal Hefti's Repetition from Iron Man in 2005, with Jim Rotondi (flhrn), Jimmy Greene (ts), Steve Nelson (vib), Doug Weiss (b) and Bill Stewart (d)...
Here'sLonely Avenue from Blues for Brother Ray in 2008, with Jim Rotondi (tp), Eric Alexander (ts), Mike LeDonne (org), Peter Bernstein (g) and Joe Farnsworth (d)...
Here's1,000 Rainbows from the album of the same name in 2008, with Jim Rotondi (tp), Joe Locke (vib), Danny Grissett (p), Barak Mori (b) and Bill Stewart (d)...
Here'sFor Cedar from The Move in 2010, with Jim Rotondi (tp,flhrn), Mike DiRubbo (as), Ralph Bowen (ts), David Hazeltine (p), John Webber (b) and Joe Farnsworth (d)...
Here'sOur Day Will Come from Dark Blue in 2015, with Jim Rotondi (tp,flhrn), Joe Locke (vib), David Hazeltine (p), David Wong (b) and Carl Allen (d)...
Here'sJim's Blues from Over Here in 2023, with Jim Rotondi (tp,flhrn), Rick Margitza (ts), Danny Grissett (p), Joshua Ginsburg (b) and Vladimir Kostadinovic (d)...
And here'sNew Time from my favorite Jim Rotondi album (EP), Bluesbag, released this year, with Jim Rotondi (p,b,org,tp), Vid Jamnik (vib), Danny Ziemann (b) and Vladimir Kostadinovic and Oleg Markov (perc)...
Bonus:Here's Interlude from Finesse, also released this year, with Jim Rotondi (flghn) backed by a huge orchestra in Vienna, Austria in 2021...
Paul Quinichette doesn't get much ink in the jazz world these days. The reason is largely because the tenor saxophonist sounded very much like Lester "Pres" Young. So much so that he was nicknamed "Vice Pres." As a result, he's now viewed merely as a clone. Why bother with a sound-alike when you can listen to Pres himself, right?
Not so fast. A new two-CD box from Fresh Sounds with terrific liner notes will remove that stigma from Quinichette. The set—The Vice Pres: Paul Quinichette, Legendary Sessions 1951-1954—is a feast for the ears, featuring the saxophonist Young fondly called Lady Q. Throughout this new leadership set, Quinichette is backed by incredible sidemen.
Quinichette was born in Denver in 1916 and started on clarinet before switching to tenor saxophone. He graduated from Denver University with a music degree and toured regionally before cutting his teeth in the mid-to-late 1940s with two major jump-blues bands—the Johnny Otis Orchestra in Los Angeles and Louis Jordan's band in New York. [Photo above of Paul Quinichette]
In 1951, Quinichette joined Count Basie, who had just assembled a big band after leading a combo without much commercial success. That same year, Quinichette began recording as a leader for the newly formed EmArcy label, a jazz offshoot of Mercury.
Unclear is whether Quinichette set out to model his style after Young's airborne approach or he inched closer to it to remain in demand by record labels and on the radar of leading jazz critics. While many tenor saxophonists adapted Young's sound—Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn and Dave Pell to name a handful—Quinichette was much closer to sounding like Young, right down to the light, fluid playing style and swinging improvisational skills.
This new box covers a special period for Quinichette. His sound and control were remarkable, and a careful ear can tell him apart from Young. Quinichette tended to cling to the melody a bit more and featured his jump-blues bounce while Young was a swing player and filled all available space.
The new box is exceptional. Quinichette's sound is soft and caressing, and keeps your foot tapping. You never feel you are listening to Young, just a different saxophonist with a Youngian blowing approach.
Paul Quinichette died in 1983 at age 67.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find The Vice Pres: Paul Quinichette, Legendary Sessions 1951-1954 (Fresh Sound) here.
Discount. Be sure to take advantage of your JazzWax 8% discount. Simply enter the code JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT in the space provided on the Fresh Sound payment page.
JazzWax clips: Here's Paul Quinichette's Bustin' Suds in 1952, with mostly a Count Basie crew: Joe Newman (tp), Henry Coker (tb), Marshal Royal and Ernie Wilkins (as), Paul Quinichette (ts), Charlie Fowlkes (bar), Bobby Tucker (p), Freddie Green (g), Jimmy Lewis (b) and Gus Johnson (d). Wow, Quinichette actually originated the bridge of Corner Pocket that Freddie Green then picked up and turned into the song...
Here's I Can't Give You Anything But Love in 1954, with Paul Quinichette (ts), Jimmy Golden (p), Skeeter Best (g), Jimmy Richardson (b) and Les Erskine (d)...
Bonus: Here Paul Quinichette in 1958 playing One O'Clock Jump, with Buck Clayton, Carl Severinsen and Carl Pool (tp); Benny Morton and Jimmy Cleveland (tb); Tony Scott, Sid Cooper, Ben Webster and Paul Quinichette (reeds); Billy Taylor (p), Eddie Safranski (b), Mundell Lowe (g) and Ed Thigpen (d). Solos: Billy Taylor, Paul Quinichette, Benny Morton, Tony Scott, Buck Clayton and Eddie Safranski. One wants to strangle the producer for cutting away from the monster reed section as they all stand to play at the end...
Though the calendar says summer, our souls tell us it's early autumn. So in the spirit of the shifting sunlight, darker mornings and cooler air, here's the story behind the jazz standard Early Autumn followed by 10 sterling instrumental versions [photo above of Ralph Burns by William P. Gottlieb in April 1947]:
The story...
In 1946, the classically inclined arranger Ralph Burns brought a three-part neo-Impressionist suite to bandleader Woody Herman called Summer Sequence. As Gary Giddins notes in his superb book, Visions of Jazz (Oxford), Herman recorded the three parts in September 1946, when saxophonist Flip Phillips was the band's chief saxophone soloist. But in the 78 era, three parts of anything was ill-fated. You needed four parts to fill four sides of two records. So Columbia, Herman's label at the time, tabled the masters.
A year later, in the fall of '47, Herman overhauled his band, commissioning arrangements that emphasized his saxophones. Herman's newly revamped reed section initially featured Sam Marowitz (as), Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward (ts) and baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff. When Marowitz left shortly after, Herman stepped in to play the alto part.
Burns was then commissioned to write Part IV of Summer Sequence, which the band recorded on December 27, 1947, just days before the start of the second American Federation of Musicians' recording ban. My guess is that with a paralyzing recording ban bearing down on the music industry, Columbia exhumed everything it had in the vaults and prepared it for market. This included Summer Sequence, for which Burns had now added a fourth part.
The big surprise in Part IV came two minutes into the recording, when Getz (above) took a beautiful, yearning eight-bar solo that was considered revelatory at the time. And the melodic reed writing by Burns that followed Getz's solo hinted at a new song waiting to be born.
By the time the recording ban ended in the fall of 1948, Herman had left Columbia for Capitol. Struck by the second portion of Summer Sequence Part IV, Herman had Burns re-arrange it as a new reed-centric song called Early Autumn. Getz was the featured soloist. The result was the enduring jazz standard, Early Autumn.
The tracks...
Ten versions that will get you in the mood for sweater weather:
Bonus:Here's Woody Herman's Summer Sequence Part IV, composed and arranged by Ralph Burns, with Stan Getz's solo fragment and Burns's sax section writing that spawned Early Autumn...
About
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.
