In 1975, record and concert producer Norman Granz assembled a sizable ensemble of jazz legends and took them off to Europe. The players on this Jazz at the Philharmonic tour were trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge and Clark Terry; tenor saxophonists Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin and Zoot Sims; alto saxophonist Benny Carter; guitarist Joe Pass; pianists Oscar Peterson and Tommy Flanagan; bassists Keter Betts and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen; and drummers Bobby Durham and Mickey Roker, among others.
In July, the traveling all-star festival played for three nights in Montreux, Switzerland. Gillespie's group was called The Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 and featured Gillespie (tp), Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin (ts); Milt Jackson (vib), Tommy Flanagan (p), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (b) and Mickey Roker (d).
Three days ago, the septet's set from July 16, 1975 was uploaded to YouTube. Here's The Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 playing Lover Come Back to Me, I'll Remember April, What's New? and Cherokee...
Renee Rosnes is one of the most dynamic jazz pianists around today. She is an exceptional composer and an exciting player, and has been recording since Gary Thomas's “Seventh Quadrant” (Enja), recorded in April 1987 and released later that year. Best of all, Renee is breathtakingly sophisticated without leaving the listener behind. Not easy to do.
So when she took on her first full album of Brazilian music recently, the work wasn't going to be a tourist-trap adventure with all of the usual ear-candy bossa novas. Instead, Crossing Paths (Smoke) is a journey through a range of beautiful and emotional songs that are largely off the beaten path. Her piano throughout is a warm and compelling force that's tender, supportive and colorful.
Just so you know, I wrote the liner notes to Renee's album, and I only take on such projects when the music knocks me out. This was certainly the case here. From Renee's choice of songs to the musicians she assembled, her excellent taste is on full display on every track.
Here are my first three paragraphs:
The first Brazilian album that inspired Renee Rosnes wasn’t João Gilberto’s "Chega de Saudade" or "Getz/Gilberto." It was music from Wayne Shorter’s "Native Dancer." That’s how the pianist discovered singer-songwriter and guitarist Milton Nascimento, who wrote or co-wrote five of the nine tracks on the saxophonist’s 1975 LP. Renee, of course, would go on to perform pieces from that record once she joined Wayne Shorter’s band in 1988. [Photo above of Renee Rosnes by John Abbott]
But in Renee’s teens, while listening to "Native Dancer," Nascimento’s songs caught her ear, and down the rabbit hole she went, savoring Brazilian composers, musicians, singers and rhythms. After a career of 18 albums as a leader, seven Canadian Juno Awards and serving as pianist-artistic director of the quintet Artemis, "Crossing Paths" marks her first album-wide tribute to a vast range of Brazilian music—a poetic project that for a long time was just an aspiration.
Ever since the samba and bossa nova became global sensations in the early 1960s, Brazil’s romantic, rhythmic music has been catnip for listeners worldwide. But there’s a catch for artists who take on the genre. Choose too many mainstream hits and you risk winding up with a slick, trite album. Choose too many songs with overbearing rhythms and a lack of lyrical content and the allure will be lost. As you can hear on this album, Renee’s sensitivity, taste and skill produced a mix that’s just right.
What makes Crossing Paths so interesting is that it constantly changes from track to track, like the sunlight playing off the water. Violets turn to orange and blues take on green as the hours pass or clouds filter the light. The same is true here with the ever-shifting moods of the Brazilian songs.
The tracks:
Frevo (Egberto Gismonti)
Pra Dizer Adeus w/vocalist Edu Lobo (Edu Lobo/Torquato Neto)
Trilhos Urbanos (Caetano Veloso)
Canta, Canta Mais w/ vocalist Maucha Adnet (Jobim/de Moraes)
Casa Forte w/ vocalist Edu Lobo (Edu Lobo)
Essa Mulher w/ vocalist Joyce Moreno (Joyce Moreno/Ana Terra)
Amor Até O Fim (Gilberto Gil)
Estórias da Floresta (Milton Nascimento/Fernando Brant)
Melvin Sparks was one of the finest and most important guitarists during the jazz-funk movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. For the Prestige label, Sparks recorded with Lou Donaldson, Sonny Stitt, Leon Spencer Jr., Johnny Hammond Smith, Caesar Frazier and many others. He was known for his Houston shuffle rhythm guitar and funky jazz lines. [Photo above of Melvin Sparks]
Sparks came out of the Houston blues and soul scene in the 1960s and began playing soul-jazz with organist Brother Jack McDuff mid-decade. Next came a year with Dr. Lonnie Smith and then Lou Donaldson. Major jazz-funk albums followed, including Charles Earland's Black Talk! (1969). He also recorded his first leadership album for Prestige: "Sparks!" in 1970, followed by Spark Plug and many others for a variety of labels, including Savant.
As a sideman in th 1970s, he can be heard on a large number of artists' albums, including Rusty Brown's Soul Liberation (1970); four by Lou Donaldson, from 1969 to 1971; Charles Kynard's Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui (1970); Reuben Wilson's The Cisco Kid (1973); and four by Leon Spencer Jr. His recordings into the 1980s and beyond are also extensive.
Here are a few clips by Sparks, followed by a new documentary:
Here's Sparks on the title track of Earland's Black Talk!...
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress Glenn Close for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Glenn is an Emmy- and Tony-winning actress best known for her roles in the films “Fatal Attraction,” “Dangerous Liaisons” and “The Wife.” She talked about her early years, after her parents joined a cult in the 1950s. She explained why they felt the need, the impact it had on her and her sister, and how she finally broke from the group in her early 20s. She also talked about the impact that Dick Cavett's interview with actress Katharine Hepburn had on her. Currently, she co-stars in the Netflix film Back in Action, out now. [Photo above of Glenn Close in Back in Action, courtesy of Netflix]
Here's the Back in Action trailer. If you liked Knight and Day, you're gonna love this one...
And here's Dick Cavett's captivating interview with Katharine Hepburn:
Here's Part I. What I find most interesting about Hepburn, beyond her spirit and stories, is how she was conditioned by the movies to come in with her line on top of the other person's last words. She did that all through her career, most often with Spencer Tracy. Her actress instincts told her exactly when to overlap Dick's last words...
And here's Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in a wonderful scene from Woman of the Year (1942). Perhaps the best "OK" in Hollywood history...
Chuck, Frank and me. Next weekend—on Sunday, January 26, at 2 p.m. (PT)/5 p.m. (ET)—I'll be on Chuck Granata's Sinatra Standard Time for two hours on KSDS-FM in San Diego (streaming live at Jazz88.org). We'll be chatting about a pair of epic Frank Sinatra LPs for Capitol—Songs for Swingin' Lovers and A Swingin' Affair! Both albums will be played in full. Listen next week live by going here.
On Call (2025)—Produced by Dick Wolf (Law & Order) and co-created by his son Elliot Wolf and Tim Walsh, this fictionalized police procedural drama series is riveting. Each episode runs a half hour and stars Troian Bellisario and Brandon Larracuente. The series follows veteran Long Beach, Ca., police training officer Traci Harmon and her rookie partner Alex Diaz as they respond to emergency calls while the department tries to solve the murder of an officer. (Prime Video)
Younger (2015-2018)—I missed this series when it first came out and now can't stop watching it. Pure addiction. Created and produced by Darren Star (Sex and the City, Emily in Paris), Younger's premise is genius. Set in New York City, the comedy focuses on the personal and professional life of Liza Miller (Sutton Foster), a 40-year-old divorcee and mom who has trouble getting back into the workforce—until she says she's 26. The series follows her struggles to hide her real age from her boss, co-worker and to adapt to the lingo and mores of a new and confusing generation. (Netflix)
Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans—(2024/FX, with streaming on Hulu)
Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
Friday Night Lights (2006-2011/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)
Lioness—(2023-current/Paramount+)
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)
The Old Man—(2022/Hulu)
Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
The Perfect Couple—(2024/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)
Voiceless (Bella da morire—(2020/MHz)
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)
Web Therapy—(2011-2015/Fandango)
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)
The Great Lillian Hall—(2024/Max)
The Family Man—(2000/Netflix)
Fury—(2014/Netflix)
God's Country—(2022/Hulu
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
I Used to Be Funny (2023/Netflix)
Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+)
Just My Luck (2006/Paramount+)
Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
Killers of the Flower Moon—(2023 (Apple+)
La Palma (2024/Netflix)
Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
The Little Things—(2021/Netflix)
Lonely Planet—(2024)/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)
Nobody Wants This—(2024/Netflix)
Ordinary Angels—(2024/assorted platforms)
The Pledge—(2011/Peacock)
Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
The Queen—(2006/(Paramount+)
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)
Some Girl(s)—(2013/Amazon Prime)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
Spy(ies)—(2009/Prime)
The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
Up in the Air—(2009/Max)
Woman in Gold—(2015/Max)
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)
Only Girl in the Orchestra—(2023/Netflix)
Suzi Q: Suzi Quatro—(2019/Prime)
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here
Two for the Seesaw. Following my post last week on Two for the Seesaw's theme, also known as Second Chance, Bill Kirchner sent along a link to Jackie Cain (above) singing the song. Go here...
Sid Gribetz sent along a recent version by baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan with the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. Go here...
Artie Shaw interview. Following my post last week on Joe Smith's off-the-record, Library of Congress interview with bandleader Artie Shaw (above), Bob Waldman sent along an informative email:
Hi Marc. Joe Smith’s interview with Artie Shaw is great. Thanks for posting! Have you checked out Joe Smith’s other interviews that he did for his 1988 book, "Off the Record?" He interviewed everyone from Paul Weston to Paul McCartney—225 interviews in all—and they are available for listening online here.
More Artie Shaw. I also received this wonderful email from Francois Zalacain, founder of Sunnyside Records, and a clip:
Hi Marc. In 2002, I attended the International Association for Jazz Education conference held in Long Beach, Ca. All I remember about that event now is the on-stage interview conducted with Artie Shaw. I bought the cassette of the event and I want to share an mp3 with you and you JazzWax readers. Artie was great even at 91.
Dutch treat. Following my post on drummer Eric Ineke's fabulous new album, Dutch singer Louise Alexandra Koopman (above) sent along a selfie of herself with Eric in the Netherlands celebrating his new album. Both are enormously gifted and both are lovely JazzWax friends.
Jack Sheldon. Following my post on Jack Sheldon, Lee Prout sent along the following clip of Frank Marshall talking about the music he recorded that appears now on Chet Baker and Jack Sheldon in Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album (Elemental) on The Paul Leslie Hour. Go here...
Johnny Winter. I interviewed blues-rock guitarist Johnny Winter twice for The Wall Street Journal and wrote the paper's appreciation of him when he died. During that time, I spent a few evenings with him—watching from the audience and the wings and backstage after at New York's B.B. King's. Johnny was astonishing on those nights, even though he was up in age and forced to sit while playing. As I watched, I pitied the poor strings on his Erlewine Lazer guitar as he tore into song after song. He made the instrument sound like a crying saw.
Last week, Brett Lehocky sent along a link to Down and Dirty, a new documentary on Johnny, who died in 2014. Go here...
Here Johnny Winter on TV's Midnight Special in 1973...
Los Angeles AM radio. 93 KHJ ("Boss Radio") was the city's most listened-to AM station in the 1960s and '70s. When you heard the station's jingle—"93 KHJ, Los Angeles," you were in the city that made the music that inspired the youth-culture upheaval—an endless summer of pop and soul, fast cars, surf and going steady. Here are the famed station jingles and a few promos:
And here's how the magic was made in Los Angeles in the 1960s...
Eydie Gormé. Last week, Larry Pluth sent along a link to an interview of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé's son, David, reflecting on his mother's Spanish-language albums and hits, a now-forgotten side of the great singer. Go here...
Bluesette.Here's pianist David Thompson's rendition of Toots Thielemans' Bluesette...
Antonio Carlos Jobim radio. WKCR-FM in New York will present its annual Jobim Birthday Broadcast next Saturday, January 25, playing the singer-songwriter's bossa nova for 24 hours, starting at midnight (ET) on Friday. To listen from anywhere in the world, go here.
And finally, to get you in the mood, here's Antonio Carlos Jobim's beautiful Stone Flower album in full...
Pianist Herbie Nichols has long been considered a Thelonious Monk disciple. In truth, Nichols had his own modernist bag that combined bebop's jagged attack and Dixieland's hard syncopation. A fascinating artist who was largely ignored during his lifetime (1919-1963), Nichols is perhaps best known for penning the jazz standard Lady Sings the Blues. [Photo above of Herbie Nichols by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]
Nichols began recording as a leader in 1955 after begging Blue Note's Alfred Lion to capture him in the studio. On his first albums, The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vols. 1 and 2, he was joined by bassist Al McKibbon and drummer Art Blakey. His third Blue Note album, Herbie Nichols Trio, was recorded in 1955 and '56, with McKibbon and Teddy Kotick, separately, on bass and Max Roach on drums. His last album was recorded in 1957—with George Duvivier on bass and Dannie Richmond on drums.
Many critics complained that one Monk was enough or that Nichols sounded as if he were playing standards backward. Not until his Blue Note recordings were released by Mosaic in 1987 was Nichols reconsidered by a new generation of jazz fans. I love his music. There's a wonderful mix of abstraction and drama in his playing, resulting in a special, singular groove.
Here's 2 1/2 hours of Herbie Nichols without ad interruptions...
I've long known that Artie Shaw was outspoken, mercurial and blunt. As a boy wonder in the band business in the 1930s, Shaw was also temperamental and didn't tolerate boredom or repetition for long. But I didn't realize how outspoken he was until I heard a lengthy interview with Shaw that surfaced last week. [Photo above of Artie Shaw]
Pete Neighbour, a clarinetist and saxophonist, alerted me to it. Interviewed by Joe Smith of the Library of Congress on July 1, 1986, Shaw spoke freely. The comments were considered off the record, but Joe and the Library of Congress allowed it to be uploaded to YouTube just days ago.
What I've always admired about Shaw was his take-no-prisoners position on art (I'm the same way) and his bilious rejection of spin and preening (I'm for that as well). I also love that Shaw confirmed what I've long believed—that his 1949 Thesaurus band was his best.
My one regret as a jazz journalist is that I arrived three years too late on the scene to interview him. Shaw died in 2004. Can't have it all.
So today, let's listen to the two-part interview. When it's over, you'll know exactly who Shaw was and why he was way ahead of his time as a musician and uncompromising and restless artist.
My second-favorite Shaw band was his Musicraft orchestra in 1946 with strings and vocalist Mel Torme, arranged by Sonny Burke. Shaw was at his prettiest here...
And here'sChanging My Tune in 1946, with Torme and the Mel-Tones...
To read my complete 2008 JazzWax interview with Johnny Mandel, go here.
Here's Johnny on Artie Shaw...
JazzWax: Your arrangement of Krazy Kat for Artie Shaw's bop band of 1949? Johnny Mandel: Wow, what a band. Artie picked a bad time to start a band. He had been out of the business for quite a few years. He said that his 1949 band was the best one he ever had. Tadd wrote some of the charts. So did George Russell. I wrote some ballads for him. Gene Roland was writing great stuff for that band, too.
JW: The reeds weren't half bad either. JM: The saxophones were incredible. Zoot [Sims], Al [Cohn], Herbie Steward, Frankie Socolow and Danny Bank. Jimmy Raney was on guitar. Don Fagerquist was on trumpet. Wow, what a player. And Sonny Russo. If I recall, some of the older-sounding arrangements were by Ray Conniff and Roger Segure.
JW: You composed and arranged for that band. What was Artie like? JM: If he liked you, musically, he had a great deal of respect for you. He left me alone. Unlike Benny Goodman, he didn’t pick on his players. Artie molded musicians and taught them how to play better. I don’t know what he saw in me. I suppose he liked what he heard. I never played with him. I’d write the charts and give them to his road manager, Lenny Lewis, who would give them to the copyist. Artie was always up at his Connecticut dairy farm. Lenny was a clarinetist, and he'd hire the band and rehearse it. Then Artie would come down from his farm and weed out the lesser players, some of whom were Lenny's pals. Artie's genius was he knew how to form a band and how to make the musicians play the way he wanted. He was a great bandleader. One of the best. And he could do it without beating up on the guys.
Jazz artists have been recording "at the movies" albums since 1962, when arranger-conductor Manny Albam recorded Jazz Goes to the Movies for Impulse. Jerome Richardson, Eddie Harris, Erroll Garner and even Bill Evans recorded Hollywood compilation LPs along with dozens of other jazz artists.
Prior, there were Broadway, movie and TV show soundtracks centered on one show, film or series. The movies came into vogue as a jazz-album genre when Hollywood shifted away from stuffy Euro-classical scores and toward a cooler, swinging sound in the early 1960s led by Henry Mancini, Johnny Mandel, Andrew Previn, George Duning, Michel Legrand and John Barry.
Now Dave Stryker has thrown his guitar pick into the ring with his superb new album—Stryker With Strings: Goes to the Movies (Strikezone). Dave has a smart, sure attack on guitar that is firm and respectful of space, giving the listener a chance to feel what they've just heard. Letting listeners' ears catch up is so important.
All movie collections are heavily dependent on song choices, and the wrong ones can leave listeners cold no matter how well they are orchestrated. Dave doesn't make that mistake. He made smart choices, and the strings, arranged and conducted by Brent Wallarab, are embracing, stirring and warm without making the mistake of laying the cinematic frosting on too thick. The soloists—Sara Caswell (violin), Greg Ward (as), Jim Pugh (tb) and Mark Buselli (flhn)—also are terrific.
Dave's solos are taut and lovely, with solid lines that straddle jazz and pop neatly. Best of all, I love how he lets notes ring as strings pour in. My only quibbles are that as beautiful as Dreamsville is here, it's from the TV series Peter Gunn, not the big screen. And there are two here from Anatomy of a Murder. I would have dropped Low Key Lightly.
The tracks:
In Your Eyes (from Say Anything)
Cinema Paradiso (main theme)
You Only Live Twice (main theme)
Taxi Driver (main theme)
Theme from Shaft (Shaft)
Cavatina (The Deer Hunter)
Flirtibird (Anatomy of a Murder)
Low Key Lightly (Anatomy of a Murder)
Moonglow (Picnic)
Dreamsville (Peter Gunn)
Edelweiss (The Sound of Music)
Dave's quartet:
Dave Stryker (guitar)
Xavier Davis (piano, Fender Rhodes)
Jeremy Allen (bass)
McClenty Hunter (drums)
The album is so good and seductive that everyone will wish their favorites were included (I would have loved Dave's take on Andre Previn's love theme for Two for the See Saw (known as Second Chance) and George Duning's main-title theme for Any Wednesday). Then again, it's not our album.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Dave Stryker's Stryker With Strings: Goes to the Movies (Strikezone) here or at streaming platforms.
In 1943, the country was coping with a recording ban launched by the American Federation of Musicians in mid-1942. With live music under assault by new technology ranging from records and radio to the jukebox, the union decided to pull the plug on members making records until record companies agreed to pay into a fund to support unemployed musicians.
Technically, it wasn't a strike, since that would have been illegal during World War II. Instead, it was referred to as a ban. Musicians weren't full-time employees of record companies, so the union cleverly dodged the law by simply deciding not to let members be hired to make recordings.
During this period, bands kept in shape by touring relentlessly, and the better ones made short films. One of those bands was led by trumpeter Cootie Williams, who had played most famously with Duke Ellington from 1929 to 1940 and then with Benny Goodman before forming his own band in 1941.
By 1943, Williams was especially popular in urban markets where defense factories operated around the clock during World War II and a jumpier form of dance music was becoming popular among younger listeners. These bands took the blues of the South and gave the form a bigger beat.
Williams was fascinating. He delivered plenty of punch and swing, but he also was one of the forefathers of rhythm and blues. Let's listen to Cootie in the 1940s:
Here's Cootie Williams with his orchestra in 1943 in its sole filmed performance showcase. Watch for the young alto saxophonist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson singing a blues vocal. He was cool, even then...
Here's Williams with Leonard Feather's Esquire All Stars in December 1943...
Here's Williams on 'Round Midnight, in 1944 (with Bud Powell on piano), the first recording of the song, composed by Thelonious Monk but co-credited to Williams who likely made it mandatory if the song was going to be recorded by him...
Here's Williams's band playing You Talk a Little Trash in 1944...
A few years before Artie Shaw returned from a hiatus in Mexico to launch his Frenesi big band in 1940, he fronted a group in 1937 and '38 called the Rhythm-Makers. The band was sub-billed as Art Shaw and His New Music. This is the band that Shaw fronted to record Any Old Time with Billie Holiday.
The early Shaw-led band was a mixed bag, but one of the best recording sessions by this fox-trot ensemble came on October 17, 1937, when it recorded for the NBC Thesaurus transcription service in New York. Thesaurus provided stations with discs of around 17 inches that held upward of 20 songs at roughly 3 minutes each, lasting an hour. A sponsor typically picked up the tab of its broadcast. Transcription discs eliminated the need by stations to change 78s, and the large discs were approved by the musicians union.
Shaw's Rhythm-Makers in October 1937 consisted of Chuck Peterson, Tommy DiCarlo and Malcolm Crain (tp); George Arus and Harry Rogers (tb); Artie Shaw (cl); Les Robinson and Hank Freeman (as); Tony Pastor and Jules Rubin (ts); Les Burness (p); Al Avola (g); Ben Ginsberg (b); Cliff Leeman (d) and Jerry Gray (arr). The vocalists on the following tracks are less clear.
What made this Shaw band special was its cool, swinging approach and a modernism that he would perfect a few years later. In some respects, many of the tracks recorded on the October 1937 session now seem like sketches or demos for Shaw's 1940 vision.
Here are seven tracks from the 1937 Thesaurus session:
JazzWax tracks: You can hear Artie Shaw and the Rhythm-Makers in full across three volumes of The Complete Rhythm-Makers Sessions 1937 - 1938. Or you'll find them on Spotify and other streaming platforms.
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress Julia Stiles for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). She grew up in a loft in Manhattan's SoHo district, and her mom was and is a ceramic artist and novelist. Julia is most famous for her co-starring role in the Bourne film series. Now she has directed Wish You Were Here, a romantic drama film due Jan. 17. She also appeared in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You and and Netflix's Dexter. [Photo above of Julia Stiles courtesy of MTV Films/Paramount]
Here's Julia with Matt Damon in The Bourne Supremacy, one of five Bourne films that changed the action genre. Julia was in four of the five...
Here's the trailer for 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), a hit film that put her on the map...
And here's the trailer for the upcoming film she directed, Wish You Were Here...
My favorite streaming series, ranked...
Babylon Berlin
My Brilliant Friend
Killing Eve
The Crown
The Americans
Band of Brothers
Landman
Friday Night Lights
The Old Man
Feud: Bette and Joan
Downton Abbey
The Blacklist
Goliath
The Gentlemen
Turn: Washington's Spies
Unbelievable
Justified
Voiceless (Bella da morire (2020/MHz)
Black Doves
Web Therapy
Just viewed and highly recommend...
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)—Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film last year garnered 10 Oscar nominations and walked away with 0. An outrage. In this Western about the murders of members of the Osage Nation, who became rich when oil was discovered on their land, Robert De Niro delivers one of his finest career performances. Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio also were deserving. A long film at 3 1/2 hours, it's worth every minute, and you'll never even look at the clock. (Apple TV+)
Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans—(2024/FX, with streaming on Hulu)
Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
Friday Night Lights (2006-2011/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)
Lioness—(2023-current/Paramount+)
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)
The Old Man—(2022/Hulu)
Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
The Perfect Couple—(2024/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)
Voiceless (Bella da morire—(2020/MHz)
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)
Web Therapy—(2011-2015/Fandango)
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)
The Great Lillian Hall—(2024/Max)
The Family Man—(2000/Netflix)
Fury—(2014/Netflix)
God's Country—(2022/Hulu
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
I Used to Be Funny (2023/Netflix)
Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+)
Just My Luck (2006/Paramount+)
Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
La Palma (2024/Netflix)
Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
The Little Things—(2021/Netflix)
Lonely Planet—(2024)/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)
Nobody Wants This—(2024/Netflix)
Ordinary Angels—(2024/assorted platforms)
The Pledge—(2011/Peacock)
Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
The Queen—(2006/(Paramount+)
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)
Some Girl(s)—(2013/Amazon Prime)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
Spy(ies)—(2009/Prime)
The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
Up in the Air—(2009/Max)
Woman in Gold—(2015/Max)
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)
Only Girl in the Orchestra—(2023/Netflix)
Suzi Q: Suzi Quatro—(2019/Prime)
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here
Morgan Ames (above), the great composer and lyricist who has lived in Los Angeles and Palm Desert forever, sent along the following last night after receiving my Jack Sheldon post yesterday:
Marc, thank you especially for the first two paragraphs of your Jack Sheldon post. I read them several times for comfort. L.A. holds my life’s history, other than the New York years.
Many friends in L.A. have evacuated or have suitcases by the door. I've been told by musicians who have lost their homes that everything in Malibu is up in smoke. The winds have been unbelievable.
I live in Palm Desert where this morning the sky was silky blue and the mountains sharp and clear. I feel a California split for the first time. And while I love your optimism, I don’t know. Not just the houses but the landscape is gone and even the roads by the ocean. I’m sad today, but nobody I know is dead, which I'm grateful for given what has been going on.
Thanks for Jack Sheldon, who is synonymous with the West Coast jazz scene. I first met him in Burbank, where we both lived when I was 14. My first big band rehearsal. He was an old dude to me, but he had a pack of Lucky Strikes in the sleeve of his T-shirt, which I thought looked so cool. He was a goofball even then—until he played his trumpet.
Love all your work, every obsessive word about jazz.
Royce Campbell, one of my favorite jazz guitarists and who recorded with Henry Mancini, sent along an email:
Hi Marc: Back in 2007, I recorded a solo guitar CD. For some reason, I got it in my autistic mind that nobody would be interested in a solo guitar CD. So I never promoted it. I didn't even send a copy to radio stations. Recently, I went back and listened to it again. Now I think it's one of the best albums I've done. Fans have told me they like my solo stuff best of all. It does give me a chance to show my knowledge of advanced harmony. I hope you enjoy it.
Here's Royce's wonderful The Art of Chord Solo Guitar. You'll land on the first track, In a Sentimental Mood. Let YouTube play and you'll hear the rest of the songs, which are in the right-hand column. Dig Royce's juicy chords and harmony...
Bess Bonnier was a jazz pianist, composer and educator who was born in Detroit and remained there throughout her career. Blind from birth, she raised three children as a single mother. Bonnier began her recording career in 1958, when her trio was featured on Theme for the Tall One (Argo). She was 30 then and backed by Nick Fiore (b) and Bill Steen (d). Born in 1928, she died in 2011 at age 83.
Last week, Bil Kirchner sent along a link to her marvelous album Love Notes (Noteworks), from 1997, backed by Cary Kocher (vib), Paul Keller (b) and Pete Siers (d). As Bill notes, "Bess was considered a peer by fellow DetroitersTommy Flanagan, Roland Hanna, and Barry Harris." Go here...
Artie Shaw recorded Tadd Dameron's bop-hued composition and arrangement of Fred's Delight, in 1949, with an all-star band: Don Fagerquist, Don Paladino, Dale Pierce and Victor Ford (tp); Sonny Russo, Porky Cohen, Fred Zito and Bart Varsalona (tb); Artie Shaw (cl); Herbie Steward and Frank Socolow (as); Al Cohn and Zoot Sims (ts); Danny Bank (bar); Gil Barrios (p); Jimmy Raney (g); Dick Nivison (b); Irv Kluger (d). [Photo above of Artie Shaw]
If you think this chart is easy to play, listen again and then check out current bands on YouTube trying to play it.
Speaking of Shaw and Chick Webb. In my Chick Webb post, I neglected to mention that Stephanie Stein Crease has authored Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat That Changed America (Oxford/2023), a biography of the drummer that's loaded with information about his brief but influential career and the era in which he thrived.
Also in 2023, Barnett Singer and Jesse Read authored Artie Shaw: Icon of Swing (McFarland), which is less about nitty-gritty biography and more focused on impressions of Shaw's recordings, with Shaw widely quoted from Singer's interviews with the masterful clarinetist, bandleader and arranger.
Music to your eyes. Three videos I came across last week:
Here's Tony Bennett on TV's What's My Line in October 1964...
Here's Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra in the early 1960s. No one, except perhaps Pearl Bailey, beat these two for cracking up during a song and keeping track of the lyrics when they picked it up again a few bars later...
Nat King Cole appeared on the BBC special An Evening With Nat King Cole that aired in the U.S. in October 1963. Composed by Joe Sherman and George David Weiss that year, That Sunday, That Summer was a No. 12 Billboard Hot 100 hit for Cole in 1963. A month later, Kennedy would be assassinated, sending the country into a spiraling depression that wouldn't lift until February 1964, when the Beatles arrived in New York following the release of their album Meet the Beatles during the Christmas holiday week. Music for pre-teens and teens would quickly dominate the marketplace going forward. Go here...
And finally, a tribute to L.A. Here are five trumpet solos that have always reminded me most of Los Angeles and now sound like a fitting salute to the torn city. Heartbreaking to watch on TV and hear about the destruction and loss from friends who live there. [Photo above of Malibu in the 1950s]
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.
