Another great big band album hit my desk a week or so ago: The Dave Robbins Big Band: Happy Faces (Reel to Real). At first I thought it was a new recording, since the cover design looked so contemporary. But the band and sound were so good, I figured it had to have been waxed decades ago. So I grabbed the CD cover and checked the back. I was right. The tracks were recorded in 1963 and 1965.
Who was Dave Robbins? Born in Greensburg, Ind., in 1923, Robbins studied music education at Sam Houston State University in Texas and at USC in Los Angeles. A trombonist, he joined the Marines in the mid-1940s and was stationed in San Diego. After his discharge in 1948, he played and recorded extensively with Harry James's band from 1948 to 1955. [Photo above of Dave Robbins]
Robbins (above) is on several remarkable James sessions, including the original Columbia Ultra recording in 1949 and the live broadcast of the U.S. Navy Presents show in Hollywood that same year, featuring spectacular arrangements by Neal Hefti and others. Robbins also recorded on James's soundtrack for Young Man With a Horn movie in 1949, and appears in a short film with James, Leave It to Harry (1954).
Leadership albums followed, including The Dave Robbins Group (1959), Dave Robbins Jazz Ensemble (1961) and others. Robbins moved to Vancouver in 1951, and became a Canadian citizen in 1965, working as a major force in jazz and classical symphonic groups. He also was an esteemed educator in western Canada.
Here are the album's 1963 tracks and band personnel:
March Winds Blow
Spring Is Here
Sixes & Sevens
Africa Lights
Jazz Workshop Theme (March Winds Blow)
Stew Barnett, Bobby Hales and Dick Forrest (tp); Dave Robbins (tb); Doug Kent (fhr); Dave Quarin (as); Fraser MacPherson (ts,fl); Wally Snider (bar,cl); Chris Gage (p); Paul Ruhland (b) and Al Johnson (d)
Atlantic Raes
Reflections
Canto de Oriole
Stew Barnett, Arnie Chycoski, Carse Sneddon and Don Clark (tp); Dave Robbins (tb); Doug Kent (fhr); Dave Quarin (as); Fraser MacPherson (ts,fl); Wally Snider (bar,cl); Chris Gage (p); Paul Ruhland (b) and Al Johnson (d)
Here are the 1965 tracks and band personnel:
Jazz Workshop Theme (March Winds Blow)
Happy Faces
Playa del Ray
Minority
Have Vine Will Swing
Westcoasting
Stew Barnett, Arnie Chycoski, Carse Sneddon and Don Clark (tp); Dave Robbins (tb); Doug Kent (fhr); Dave Quarin (as); Fraser MacPherson (ts,fl); Wally Snider (bar,cl); Chris Gage (p); Don Thompson (b) and Al Johnson (d)
Dave Robbins died in 2005, at age 82.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find The Dave Robbins Big Band: Happy Faces (Reel to Real) here or on streaming platforms.
Bonus:Here's the Harry James band in 1949 playing Neal Hefti's composition and arrangement of Except February Which Has 28 with Dave Robbins. The band: Harry James (tp); Nick Buono, Pinky Savitt, Ralph Osborn and Everett McDonald (tp); Ziggy Elmer, Dave Robbins and Lee O'Connor (tb); Juan Tizol (v-tb); Eddie Rosa (cl,as); Willie Smith (as); Corky Corcoran and Jimmy Cook (ts); Bob Poland (bar); Bruce MacDonald (p); Tony Rizzi (g); Joe Mondragon (b) / Artie Bernstein (b) and Don Lamond (d)...
And here's the nifty short film, Leave It to Harry (1954). The hip band number in the studio scene is Ultra. Looks like Dave Robbins is playing trombone with James in the last ensemble scene. A note from Bill Kirchner: “Ultra and Don’t Be That Way in the studio include trombonist Juan Tizol, alto saxophonist Willie Smith, drummer Louie Bellson and Dave Robbins on trombone. The Dixieland number is Jazz Me Blues”...
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actor Jason Alexander for my House Call column in the Mansion section. Jason is best known for his roles in Pretty Woman and Seinfeld. He's currently in The Electric State (Netflix). [Photo above of Jason Alexander, courtesy of Boston University]
Also in the WSJ, my monthly Album@50 essay looked at Earth, Wind & Fire's That's the Way of the World, which turned 50 this month. Go here.
What I'm watching
My favorite streaming series, ranked...
Babylon Berlin
My Brilliant Friend
The Promised Life
Killing Eve
The Crown
Mad Men
The Americans
Younger
Fleabag
Band of Brothers
The Sopranos
Enlightened
Friday Night Lights
Justified
Feud: Bette and Joan
The Old Man
Downton Abbey
The Blacklist
Goliath
The Gentlemen
Turn: Washington's Spies
Unbelievable
Landman
Voiceless (Bella da morire (2020/MHz)
Black Doves
Web Therapy
Worthwhile future stuff that has started or will start soon...
Dark Winds S3 (now/AMC)
Long Bright River (now/Peacock)
Good American Family (now/Hulu)
Alto Knights (now/film)
The Better Sister (May 22/Prime)
Recommended series, films and documentaries...
TV series
TheAffair—(2014-2019/Hulu)
Alaska Daily—(2022/Prime)
The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
Anatomy of a Scandal—(2022/Netflix)
Apples Never Fall—2024/Peacock)
Babylon Berlin (2017-2024/MHz via Prime Video)
Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix)
The Bay (2019-current/BritBox)
Black Doves (2024/Netflix)
The Blacklist (2013-2023/Netflix)
Belgravia—(2020/Prime Video)
Blue Lights—(2023/BritBox)
Bosch—(2014-2021/Prime)
Bosch: Legacy—(2022-current/Prime)
The Crown—(2016-2023/Netflix)
Cherif—(2013-2019/Prime)
Dark Winds—(2022/AMC)
The Diplomat—(2023/Netflix)
Downton Abbey—(2020-2015/Prime)
The Dropout (2022/Hulu)
Elizabeth 1 (2005/Max)
Emily in Paris—(2020-present/Netflix)
Enlightend—(2011-2013/Max)
Feud (S1): Bette and Joan—(2017/Hulu)
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)
Il Commissario Manara (Inspector Manara) (2009-2011/MHz)
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/Max)
The Night Agent—(2023-present/Netflix)
1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
The Old Man—(2022/Hulu)
On Call—2025/Amazon Prime)
Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
The Perfect Couple—(2024/Netflix)
Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
The Promised Life—(2018/MHz via Prime Video)
Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
Ripley—(2024/Netflix)
Scott & Bailey (2011-2016/Prime)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
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)
Younger—(2015-2021K/Netflix)
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)
Enrico Piaggio - Un Sogno Italiano (An Italian Dream) (2019/MHz)
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).
Sicario (2015/Netflix)
Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
Some Girl(s)—(2013/Amazon Prime)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
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)
The 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)
Tsunami: Race Against Time—(2024/Hulu)
Lennie Tristano. Following my post on the Lennie Tristano Sextette's Wow, I heard from Carl Woideck [photo above of Lennie Tristano]:
"Marc, the studio version of Tristano’s Wow is indeed perfection. As you know, that’s in part because it was compact to fit on a 78. I’m sure you also know the low-fidelity, live version of Wow. Its expansive length (more than 8 minutes) is in stark contrast to the compression found in the studio version.
"The greatest contrast comes in the solos. Instead of musicians getting a partial chorus, each soloist gets multiple full choruses. Warne Marsh takes two, Billy Bauer gets two, Lee Konitz gets two and Tristano gets a lengthy four.
"Tristano takes full advantage of the added time, starting his solo with a full chorus of block-chords before launching into long single-note lines that sometimes cut across the eight-bar sectional divisions. Wow indeed."
Jazz in the movies.Here's the opening scene of I Want to Live (1958), featuring Johnny Mandel's Frisco Club, with (from left on the bandstand) Art Farmer on trumpet, Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone, Frank Rosolino on trombone and Bud Shank of alto saxophone, with Pete Jolly on piano, Red Mitchell on bass and Shelly Manne on drums...
Joe Pass. Following my post on guitarist Joe Pass, I heard from Mark Trank:
"Hi Marc, thanks for letting your fans know about the reissue of Joe Pass's album Virtuoso. I just placed my order. I have an original Pablo pressing, but I'm eagerly awaiting this one. Like you I really like his renditions of the Rolling Stones songs, several on a 12-string guitar.
"Are you also familiar with the record Pass made with Roy Clark doing Hank Williams songs (Joe Pass & Roy Clark Play Hank Williams)? That’s a great duet. Roy Clark was an accomplished player as well, and their disparate styles meshed well."
Here's a taste, playing Why Don't You Love Me, With Pass, Clark, John Pisano (rhythm guitar), Jim Hughart (bass) and Colin Bailey (drums)...
Horace Silver. Following my post on Horace Silver last week, I heard from Larry Daniels:
"Good morning, Marc. Re: pianist Horace Silver. He was from my home town, Norwalk, Ct., although I don’t recall him getting a lot of attention there. I met him once at a discount record store in lower Manhattan called J&R Music World. This was before CDs, when domestic albums cost $3.69 and Imports were $4.99. I was flipping through a record section when Mr. Silver popped up and faced me eye to eye as he was flipping through a record bin that faced mine. Mr. Silver was very pleasant to me that day. Oh, and J&R's records at that time were not top-quality discs. The domestic albums were often warped. The imports however were just fine."
Spring in Sicily. Last time Marti in Sicily wrote, it was summer of 2023 (go here and here). A week or so ago, a new robust email arrived [photo above of Serradifalco, Sicily]:
"Hi Marc. Finally putting virtual pen to virtual paper. Things are good in Sicily. Winter is over and we are moving into spring. The scirocco winds are bringing us a dose of dust, sand and warming temperatures. The vegetation is lush and the olive trees are wearing a fine crop of basal shoots. They cheer the arrival of spring, waving armloads of silvery foliage at each warming day. Most of the neighbor's almond trees have shed their white flowers. The pink blossoms of peach trees adorn some of the hills now.
"I found Enrico Piaggio - Un Sogno Italiano (An Italian Dream) (2019), the film you recommended about the founder of Vespa, online here. It prompted me to share a couple of local examples of Vespa's motorized products. Rosa Burgio, who owns the Antica Forneria Burgio in Serradifalco, Sicily, bought a Piaggio Ape six or more years ago and had it restored (above). She uses it for catering.
"Our other friend has a late 1970's Vespa (above) and also had it restored. It was among the first models that mixed the fuel and oil automatically.
"I was also struck by your post on the new Scott Lafaro box set (we bought a copy). In the post, you mentioned David Crosby losing his girlfriend, Christine Hinton, and the effect it had on his music and life. That triggered a memory for me.
"In the 1970s, I was living in Corvallis, Ore. There was a lot of folk music being played by friends. I remembered the music of Richard and Mimi Fariña and this song in particular: Reflections in a Crystal Wind. Richard had married Mimi Baez (Joan Baez's younger sister, who died in 2001). Sadly, he perished in a motorcycle accident in 1966 on the day of her 21st birthday. Go here...
"I only mention this because your post made me dig around for some memories that I hadn't thought about for a long time, so thanks for surfacing them. I imagine you are familiar with both of them and their music.
"Enjoy your spring in New York and I look forward to some pictures of that.
"PS: One more thing. I told Rosa that I had recalled her Ape, which made us think of this song, Vieni Via Con Me (Come Away With Me)."
Free live jazz. Last week I heard from Kim Paris of the FM Radio Archive, who put together links to live broadcasts by artists featured at JazzWax recently:
Joe Pass—is featured at the Blue Note Tokyo in a 1991 concert broadcast by NHK in Japan, Go here.
Ray Barretto & His Orchestra—appeared at the 1982 Chicago Jazz Festival in a WBEZ broadcast. Go here.
Gerry Mulligan—has three shows at the archive: a 1972 concert with Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond; Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz in 1987; and a 2008 Jazz Profiles episode with Nancy Wilson. Go here.
Roy Ayers—played with the Robert Glasper Experiment at the 2011 North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. Go here.
Wes Montgomery—has a 1965 European tour show and a 1966 broadcast on KING FM in Seattle. Go here. Who Elvis Idolized. On March 15, Chris Cowles at WRTC-FM in Hartford, Ct., hosted a show looking at the artists who inspired Elvis Presley. In addition to spinning records, Chris interviewed Preston Lauterbach, author of Before Elvis. You can listen to Chris's three-hour show in the archives by going here.
And finally,here are the French Barclay Stars playing Four Brothers in 1966...
Between bebop in the mid- and late-1940s and hard bop in the mid-1950s and beyond, an exciting but short-lived jazz style surfaced known as cool. The movement was a product of formally educated jazz musicians who, at the tail end of the '40s, integrated classical and jazz. The artists had started out in bop but chose to create a form that was independent of the blues. Cool-jazz saxophonists played without vibrato and in the upper register of their instruments for a drier sound.
In 1949, Miles Davis co-formed a cool-jazz nonet with songs arranged by Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan, John Lewis and Johnny Carisi. This group would become known later as the Birth of the Cool band. That same year, pianist Lennie Tristano pioneered a cool approach with a sextet. The group consisted of Lee Konitz (as), Warne Marsh (ts), Lennie Tristano (p), Billy Bauer (g), Arnold Fishkin (b) and Harold Granowsky (d).
Interestingly, Konitz was a member of both the Davis nonet and the Tristano sextet, and led his own quintet.
Recorded in March 1949, Wow was written by Tristano, ostensibly for his sextet recording session for Capitol, produced by Pete Rugolo. Wow is a nifty piece that features Konitz and Marsh playing portions in unison, like fluttering birds. Konitz solos, then Marsh and Bauer, followed by an extended liquid solo by Tristano before Konitz, Marsh and Bauer solo again —all in 3:26, the duration of one side of a 78.
Here's the Lennie Tristano Sextette playing Wow in 1949...
Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...
Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time,go here.
Meredith d'Ambrosio just released Midnight Mood (Sunnyside), her 18th studio album. She's accompanied by Frédéric Loiseau on guitar and Paul McWilliams on piano. Recording since 1978, Meredith has a singing style that is all her own. Her delivery is breezy and intimate and swinging, with a dash of Bill Evans intensity. Today is her birthday, and at 84, her voice is still knowing, distinct and joyously hip.
Meredith is one of the most complete and sensitive jazz artists I know. She's an accomplished singer, pianist, composer, painter, calligrapher and inventor of the eggshell mosaic. Her eggshell mosaic discovery was actually a happy accident. As Meredith told Jazz Improv in 2002, "I discovered the eggshell mosaic after wiping the kitchen counter. Some eggshells were swished into my porcelain sink and sounded like glass. A lightbulb went off in my head. I completed 45 eggshell mosaics from 1958 to 1977." [Photo above of Meredith d'Ambrosio]
How are they assembled? Here's what she told me in 2016: "On a thick wooden board, I make a sketch. After tearing the membrane from white eggshells, I paint the shells, crack them into small tessera [tiles], apply medium-rough mosaic cement in small areas to the board, and one by one, place each small painted eggshell onto the cement using a tweezer. Polyurethane is painted on the back to prevent warpage. The result is an image composed of painted eggshells." [Cover image above that features Meredith's eggshell mosaic]
All of Meredith's albums—except for her second one, Another Time (1981)—featured her paintings or mosaics on the cover. She has always selected superb songs and sidemen for her recordings ( and married one in 1988—pianist Eddie Higgins). In our many emails and phone calls, Meredith has always been transparent and emotionally honest on all subjects. She also is a faithful JazzWax reader and fan, which gives me great pleasure.
She reminds me of autumn in Boston, where I spent the 1970s in college. A New Englander, she was there at the same time I was, though we never met and I never saw her perform, unfortunately. Hence, I didn't discover her LPs until the mid-1980s. But when I heard her voice, I was immediately taken. Who knew that decades later we'd connect.
On Midnight Mood, Meredith's voice is limber and yearning, delivering songs effortlessly with her trademark girlish curiosity and wonderment in the upper register and maternal eloquence in the lower. Her vocals are about feeling, and her voice never comes across as mannered or an attempt to sound one way or another. Instead, they're pure personal expressions, like landscapes or the wind. The beauty of her voice is its all-natural sound and distinct jazz sensibility.
The tracks:
Prelude to a Kiss (Duke Ellington/Irving Gordon/Irving Mills)
The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me) (Irving Berlin)
Beaucoup Kisses (Frédéric Loiseau/Meredith d'Ambrosio)
This Happy Madness (Antonio Carlos Jobim/Gene Lees)
Midnight Mood (Joe Zawinul/Meredith d'Ambrosio)
A Ship Without a Sail (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart)
What's New (Bob Haggart/Johnny Burke)
You Keep Coming Back Like a Song (Irving Berlin)
The Two Lonely People (Bill Evans/Carole Hall)
Whenever Winds Blow (Douglas Cross/George Cory)
Happy birthday, Meredith! Here's to Boston.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Meredith d'Ambrosio's Midnight Mood (Sunnyside) here or here.
To read some of my JazzWax interviews with Meredith, go here, here,here and here.
One of the best-selling jazz guitar albums up to 1974 was Joe Pass's Virtuoso. The jet black LP with Pass on the cover in shadow came out ahead of the December holidays and gave Norman Granz's Pablo label massive visibility. It also motivated a generation of young listeners to take up the jazz guitar. Now Craft Recordings has remastered and released the album as a digital download and a 180-gram LP. So gratifying to hear this music again in sterling shape in both formats.
The album features Pass alone, a daunting task for a guitarist, who must be a peerless improviser and swinger, keep flawless rhythm and fill the empty spaces with a range of enticing arpeggios, figures and chords.
Born in 1929 in New Brunswick, N.J., Pass began playing guitar at age 9 following his Italian family's move to Johnstown, Pa. He practiced prodigiously, listened closely to family friends who played guitar and took weekly lessons. He began gigging professionally in Johnstown at 14 and played in several touring big bands, including ones led by Charlie Barnet and Tony Pastor.
As soon as he was old enough, Pass moved to New York, recorded with Pastor in 1947 and then enlisted in the service in the late 1940s. His rampant drug use began after his discharge and residence in New Orleans, a port city that was a major gateway then for narcotics. Ferociously addicted, Pass served several jail sentences in the 1950s, which is why his discography lacks an entry for the decade and doesn't resume again until 1962.
Early record releases in 1962 were with organist Richard "Groove" Holmes, Johnny Griffin, Les McCann, Gerald Wilson and Bud Shank. He soon became a first-call sideman in Los Angeles and a prolific studio guitarist, recording steadily for World Pacific and Pacific Jazz as a leader.
His remarkable early leadership albums included For Django (1964), A Sign of the Times (1965) and The Stones Jazz (1966), easily my favorite jazz interpretation of Rolling Stones hits. In 1973, Granz started his Pablo label after success with Clef, Norgran and Verve; uniting the American songbook and jazz with artists such as Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald, and producing hundreds of jazz albums.
In 1973, Granz signed Pass to Pablo, whose first album for the label was Duke's Big Four, with Duke Ellington (p), Joe Pass (g), Ray Brown (b) and Louie Bellson (d). Late that year, Pass began recording steadily and exclusively for Pablo.
Virtuoso was Pass's fourth Pablo record and immediately made him a household name in jazz. With the success of the solo model, he would would record an additional five Virtuoso volumes.
The Virtuoso tracks:
Night and Day
Stella by Starlight
Here's That Rainy Day
My Old Flame
How High the Moon
Cherokee
Sweet Lorraine
Have You Met Miss Jones
'Round Midnight
All The Things You Are
Blues for Alican (Joe Pass)
The Song Is You
For Craft's new entry in its Original Jazz Classics re-issue series, the label hired Kevin Gray at Coherent Audio to cut the Virtuoso LP lacquers from the original tapes and had the recording pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. Album jackets reproduce the original artwork and back-cover notes. The music has also been released as hi-res audio for downloading and streaming.
Joe Pass died in 1994 at age 65.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Craft Recording's release of Joe Pass's Virtuoso (Pablo) here.
JazzWax clips:Here'sThe Song Is You (crank it up!)...
Drummer-percussionist, composer-arranger, educator, bandleader and WBGO FM radio host Bobby Sanabria recently led his multi-Grammy nominated Multiverse Big Band in a performance dedicated to the music of Arsenio Rodriguez. It took place at the new Bronx Music Hall (and recorded for release) where he and his wife, the noted folklorist Elena Martinez, are the artistic directors. Bobby refers to Arsenio as "The Godfather of Salsa." [Photo above of Arsenio Rodriguez]
I've known Bobby for many years. He is a leading authority on the history of Latin music and is tireless in his efforts to preserve and celebrate all its forms. His latest album is Vox Humana: Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band was recorded live at Dizzy's in New York, resulting in another Grammy nomination in 2024 (go here).
Intrigued by Arsenio, I asked Bobby to share why he is so fundamental to Salsa's sound and to suggest examples of Arsenio's music that influenced Salsa. For those unfamiliar with technical aspects of Salsa or its history, don't get bogged down. Read and absorb the music and the fascinating complications and energetic and romantic qualities. [Photo above of Bobby Sanabria]
Take it away Bobby—and a warm hug for making the time for me and all of my curious, music-loving JazzWax readers:
***
"It's amazing to me that given Arsenio Rodriguez's importance and influence on Salsa, he remains nearly forgotten. Like Louis Armstrong, Arsenio was transformative. A master of the mandolin-sounding Cuban instrument called the tres, he was the first bandleader to make the conga drum a dominant part of Latin music performance.
This innovation cannot be understated. With the conga as a new tonal center of gravity, the bass and bongó could play with more intensity. He put the African-rooted conga drum front-and-center. Prior, it had been relegated only to the rumba, Afro-religious ceremonies and the Cuban carnival parades in Cuba.
In addition Arsenio was first to add the piano (played in his band by Lili Martinez) to the Son—the Cuban folk song tradition that is at the root of Salsa. Before Arsenio, Son had been played only on guitar and tres. The addition of the piano raised the Son's percussive intensity, both rhythmically and harmonically.
Arsenio also developed the multilayered mambo horn concept, utilizing multiple trumpets with written arrangements. In groups prior to Arsenio's, only a lone muted trumpet would be used playing ad libitum. Thus he created the multi-trumpet "conjunto" ensemble.
Taking pride in his Bantú Congo heritage and West Central African ancestry, Arsenio frequently wrote songs with African-rooted themes using Bantú Congo phrases. In my opinion, his greatest creation was the Son montuno, which is the rhythmic foundation of Salsa.
Born of Bantú Congo descent in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1911, Arsenio was raised with the culture's complex music and religious tradition known as Palo. Thanks to his neighbors, he was also exposed to the Yoruba—Nigerian-rooted Santeria religious and drumming traditions as practiced in Cuba.
And he also experienced the secular rumba of the streets, where the Bantú Congo-rooted conga drum meets vocalists and dancers in a celebratory way. Here, the drum intersected with the rhythms of the yambú, guaguancó and rumba colúmbia. It was this experience that shaped his musical ethos as he learned the tradition of the tres—a guitar with three sets of double strings that's the heart of the Son. Arsenio became the tres's greatest virtuoso.
He brought all of these elements together, forming the template for New York's Salsa movement that began in the early 1970s— hardcore Cuban music played with an intense Puerto Rican ("Nuyorican") attitude. For a time, Arsenio made the South Bronx his home. This is a source of pride for me. Arsenio paid homage to the New York borough's music in his composition El Elemento Del Bronx."
Here are 10 of Bobby's favorite and most important songs that Arsenio made famous, illustrating his contribution to Salsa as outlined above, complete with Bobby's notes. Arsenio died in 1970 at age 59:
Here'sTumba y Bongó. This is Arsenio's celebratory ode to the union of the conga drum, which Cubans call the tumba or tumbadora, and the bongó, which Arsenio initiated on the bandstand. Antolín "Papa Kila" Suárez is on the bongó and Félix "Chocolate" Alfonso is on the congas. The legendary Felix Chappotin is on trumpet...
Here'sBruca Manigua (Harsh Swamp). Composed by Arsenio in 1937, it was recorded and first sung by Miguelito Valdés (the first person to record Babulú before Desi Arnaz did) with the Casino De La Playa Orchestra in Cuba. It became a hit and was the beginning of Arsenio’s rise to stardom. It is in a rhythm rarely heard today called Afro-son. With its “lengua bozal” lyrics (Bantú Congolese mixed with Spanish), the song became part of the “Afrocubanismo” movement that started in Cuba in the 1920s, which acknowledged Cuba’s African heritage. It would in turn inspire the Harlem Renaissance in New York. This 1972 version is by the late NEA Jazz Master Ray Barretto, who Arsenio often invited over to his South Bronx apartment for rumbas.
Here'sNo Quiero (I Don't Want). Arsenio's creation—Son montuno—in its purest form is taken at a medium tempo, is hard driving and in your face. This is a classic Arsenio composition that features another innovation—the use of multiple rhythmic stop-time breaks (cierre’s) to create suspended animation, tension and release. The lyrics are about a person resisting temptation by the devil. Arsenio deftly uses Bantú-based lyrical references, tackling a subject of concern but making you move and groove at the same time. The piece is interpreted by one of Arsenio's greatest admirers—the late pianist and bandleader Larry Harlow, known as "El Judio Maravilloso" or The Jewish Marvel, a tip of the hat to Arsenio's own nickname, El Ciego Maravilloso, or The Blind Marvel. The arrangement is by Marty Sheller and is based on Arsenio's original interpretation but with a unique tres and flute soli interlude written by New Orleans trumpeter Charlie Miller, who actually played the flute part! Junior Gonzalez from Puerto Rico is on vocals.
Here'sAnabacoa. This is one of the songs most associated with Arsenio. The irony is he didn’t compose it. Written by Puerto Rican trumpeter Juanchín Ramírez, it's an up-tempo mambo set to a guaguancó dance style. This combination provides a compelling platform for his pianist, the legendary Lili Martínez, the first Salsa pianist, and explodes in full descarga (jam session) mode. Lili was from Santiago, Cuba, the birthplace of the Son, and it was Arsenio's genius as a bandleader to summon him to come to Havana, thus changing music history. Another legend, Miguelito Cuni, is on vocals...
Here'sPa' Huele. Arsenio's influence on New York Latin musicians was ubiquitous. Beside Larry Harlow and Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri also became an Arsenio devotée. This track is Eddie's cover of Arsenio's rugged Son montuno, Pa' Huele, with Eddie's older brother, Charlie, joining on organ, with Eddie playing Fender Rhodes electric piano. This is from the 1973 In Concert Live at the University of Puerto Rico double album. Check out Ronnie Cuber's funky soprano sax solo and Cuba's Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros soaring on the trumpet. The arrangement captures how bandleaders of that time featured their sidemen as soloists. The vocal is by the late master Sonero (vocal improvisor in the Son tradition) Ismael "Pat" Quintana, who was Puerto Rican, like Eddie, and grew up with him in the South Bronx.
Here'sHachero Pa' un Palo (An Axeman for the Tree). Arsenio frequently would include hidden meanings in his lyrics inspired by his Bantrú Congo heritage. This composition refers to a tree that refuses to be cut down. What type of wood or magical power does it possess to thwart the axeman? Despite 72 tries, he cannot bring it down. This track is a live version interpreted by the legendary Sonora Ponceña from Puerto Rico. Founded in 1954 by Enrique Lucca, the band was modeled after Arsenio's conjunto. The band is led by his son, pianist Papo Lucca, and here features trumpeter Ricky Zayas. It's taken from a concert in Puerto Rico in 1999 celebrating the band's 45th anniversary. Check out Sonero Wito Colón's deft improvs in the montuno (vamp section). He sets it up for guest vocalist Domingo Quiñiones and El Gran Combo's Charlie Aponte to trade four measures each in the spirit of a vocal jam session. It's 10:25 of virtuosity demonstrating the unique kinship that Puerto Rico has always had with Cuba and its music (click on Watch on YouTube)...
Here'sEl Elemento Del Bronx (The Bronx Element). In 1952, Arsenio returned to New York and lived for a short time in Spanish Harlem, eventually making the South Bronx his home. On the weekends, he'd have rumbas at his apartment, recreating what he experienced in his native Cuba. He would invite a select group of Puerto Rican drummers he respected, such as Ray Barretto, Little Ray Romero, Tommy Lopez and Manny Oquendo, to participate with Cuban masters such as Julito Collazo, Mongo Santamaria, Virgilio Marti and Mario “Papaito” Muñoz. He expressed his love for the Bronx in this composition with lyrics on the various rhythms that could be heard in his neighborhood—from guaguancó and Son to danzón and more. Miguelito is on vocals with Felix Chappotin on trumpet...
Here'sDile Catalina (Tell Catalina). This is one of Arsenio's classic compositions. Here, Cuban supergroup Irakere, led by pianist Chucho Valdés puts its spin on the song with Jorge Varona on trumpet and Oscar Valdés featured on vocals, with Carlos Emilio Morales on guitar rocking out...
Here'sLinda Cubana (Beautiful Cuban Woman). Composed by Cuban pianist Antonio Maria Romeu, the song allows Arsenio to display his virtuosity on the tres....
And finally, here'sLa Vida es un Sueno (Life Is but a Dream). Although Arsenio was known for his hard-driving Son montunos, guarachas, rumbas and mambos, he was also a composer of great poetic ballads (boleros). It's no wonder that his greatest composition is this one. Its inspiration was a devastating traumatic event that would cost him his sight. At the age of seven, he was kicked in the head by a mule.
Arsenio lost one eye and the other no longer had vision. In 1947, upon the urging of his friend, Cuban vocalist Miguelito Valdés, Arsenio traveled to New York to be examined by the famed Spanish eye surgeon Ramón Castroviejo. It is said that he told Arsenio, “I’m sorry, maestro. It’s a lost cause.” Upon his return to Cuba, Arsenio wrote these words.
“After one experiences 20 disappointments, what does one more matter? After you realize what life is about, you must not cry. You have to realize that everything is a lie, that nothing is true. You have to live for the moment of happiness. You have to enjoy what you can enjoy. Because taking into account everything, life is but a dream and everything leaves.
"Reality is just birth and death. So why fill it with so much anxiety. Everything is nothing more than eternal suffering and a world with unhappiness. You have to realize that everything is a lie and nothing is real.”
This version is notable because it was done by the father of Afro-Cuban jazz, Maestro Mario Bauzá with his own Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra featuring the legendary Graciela Perez on vocals. The elegant arrangement was done by another native Nuyorican of the South Bronx, Ray Santos. I'm on the drums...
My apologies. TypePad, the platform on which JazzWax sits, experienced server problems and was down yesterday and this morning, keeping me from posting. Hey, it happens. [Photo above of Horace Silver in a publicity still]
Now that it's back up, I'm serving up an hour of Horace Silver and his band at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1994, a video that was only recently uploaded to YouTube. Go here...
InThe Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed actress Amanda Seyfried for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Amanda is currently in a police drama series, Long Bright River. [Photo above of Amanda Seyfried in Long Bright River by Matt Infante/Peacock]
And here's a terrific clip of Amanda with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show recently...
What I'm watching...
Enlightened (2011-2013). In this spectacular, multi-season series, Laura Dern plays an anxious, narcissistic and hyper-empathetic woman who lacks a filter or the ability to think through the consequences of her actions. As a result, she says and does whatever she wishes at her corporate job and in her social life, routinely landing her in trouble and back at square one—living at home with her mother, played by Dern's real-life mother, Diane Ladd. How Dern, Ladd and Luke Wilson failed to win an Emmy for this series is beyond me. All three roles were fascinating and difficult to pull off. The scripts by Mike White and the performances are stunning. Despite all of Dern's cringe-y behavior in character, you wind up loving her and wish her luck would change for the better. A must-watch. (Max)
Worthwhile future stuff that has started or will start soon...
Dark Winds S3 (now/AMC)
Long Bright River (now/Peacock)
Good American Family (March 19/Hulu)
Alto Knights (March 21/film)
The Better Sister (May 22/Prime)
Recommended series, films and documentaries...
TV series
TheAffair—(2014-2019/Hulu)
Alaska Daily—(2022/Prime)
The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
Anatomy of a Scandal—(2022/Netflix)
Apples Never Fall—2024/Peacock)
Babylon Berlin (2017-2024/MHz via Prime Video)
Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix)
The Bay (2019-current/BritBox)
Black Doves (2024/Netflix)
The Blacklist (2013-2023/Netflix)
Belgravia—(2020/Prime Video)
Blue Lights—(2023/BritBox)
Bosch—(2014-2021/Prime)
Bosch: Legacy—(2022-current/Prime)
The Crown—(2016-2023/Netflix)
Cherif—(2013-2019/Prime)
Dark Winds—(2022/AMC)
The Diplomat—(2023/Netflix)
Downton Abbey—(2020-2015/Prime)
The Dropout (2022/Hulu)
Elizabeth 1 (2005/Max)
Emily in Paris—(2020-present/Netflix)
Feud (S1): Bette and Joan—(2017/Hulu)
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)
Il Commissario Manara (Inspector Manara) (2009-2011/MHz)
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/Max)
The Night Agent—(2023-present/Netflix)
1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
The Old Man—(2022/Hulu)
On Call—2025/Amazon Prime)
Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
The Perfect Couple—(2024/Netflix)
Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
The Promised Life—(2018/MHz via Prime Video)
Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
Ripley—(2024/Netflix)
Scott & Bailey (2011-2016/Prime)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
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)
Younger—(2015-2021K/Netflix)
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)
Enrico Piaggio - Un Sogno Italiano (An Italian Dream) (2019/MHz)
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).
Sicario (2015/Netflix)
Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
Some Girl(s)—(2013/Amazon Prime)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
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)
The 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)
Tsunami: Race Against Time—(2024/Hulu)
Rosinha de Valença. Following my post on Rosinha de Valença, I came across a super video of the singer-guitarist. Here's 40 minutes of her performing in front of a live audience on Brazilian television...
Tom Jones and Wilson Pickett teamed up on TV's This Is Tom Jones in October 1969 to sing the Beatles' Hey Jude, the only cover of the song that for me beats the original. Go here..
Gerry and Chet. Looking for something to listen to this weekend? The Complete Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker (1952-1957), studio and live recordings, is up at Spotify, thanks to Argentina's Lantower Records. Roberto and Diego at the label have given the music a cleaner and warmer sound. Go here.
Johnny's Theme. The theme song we know from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson began as Toot Sweet (1958), a Paul Anka composition recorded as an instrumental by Tutti Camarata. A year later, Anka added lyrics, renamed the song It's Really Love and recorded it for a French film while Annette Funicello recorded it in 1960 for the U.S. market.
When Carson needed a theme after taking over the Tonight Show in 1962, he asked Anka for something. Anka sent him a jazzed-up instrumental demo of It's Really Love. Tenor saxophonist Tommy Newsom (above) arranged the song with a slam-bang swinging feel for the Tonight Show band. When Carson went on the air in 1962, the theme was used right out of the gate.
Here's the Tommy Newsom arrangement played on the first night The Tonight Starring Johnny Carson went on the air, on October 1, 1962...
Here's the theme on one of the last nights the show was broadcast from New York, in 1972...
And here's the opening theme on May 2, 1972, when the show began broadcasting from Studio One at NBC Studios West Coast in Burbank, Ca (The November date in the previous clip is correct; the show returned to New York for two weeks.)....
Bonus: The Paul Anka version was featured in the French film, Faibles Femmes (Women Are Weak), released in 1959. When you don't have sand, you make beach movies in a Parisian swimming pool. Go here and move the time bar to 36:46...
Count Basie radio. This Sunday, Sid Gribetz will host Count Basie in the 1950s, a five-hour radio broadcast from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET) on Jazz Profiles on New York's WKCR-FM. Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.
And finally, RIP Gwen McCrae (1943-2025), the queen of early Miami disco. Released in May 1975, her Rockin' Chair was a club hit and came a year after husband George McCrae's bigger hit Rock Your Baby. In 1974 and '75, Miami was ground zero for a new style of dance music with a soul groove and strong beat that would play a big role in launching disco months later. This sound was developed mostly by artists and studio musicians affiliated with Henry Stone's TK Records and was a hit at the city's many gay clubs at the time before going mainstream as disco. Here's Gwen McCrae's Rockin' Chair...
Rosinha de Valença was a Brazilian singer-songwriter and one of her country's finest acoustic guitarists. Born Maria Rosa Canelas in 1941, she learned to play by accompanying music on the radio.
Translated into English, her professional name means Rosinha from Valença, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The name was given to her by Sérgio Porto, a journalist she met after moving into Rio in 1960 in search of gigs. Porto felt as if she captured her entire city's soul on the guitar and introduced her to several major bossa nova artists, including Baden Powell, Sérgio Mendes, Sylvia Telles and Sivuca.
In 1964, she accompanied Sergio Mendes and Brasil '65 to the U.S. and recorded two albums with the band. There, she also played with Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughan and Henry Mancini.
Tragically, her career ended in 1992 after suffering brain damage following a heart attack. She died of respiratory failure in 2004, in her home town, after 12 years in a coma. She was 62.
Here's her first album, the gorgeous Apresentando Rosinha de Valença, (Introducing Rosinha de Valença), released in Brazil in 1964...
Here's Roshina performing on guitar with bossa nova singing star Sylvia Telles in Germany in 1966. It would be Telles's last concert...
By 1966, Sylvia Telles had just spent a chunk of the previous year recovering from an auto accident in Brazil. After this appearance in Germany, she flew back to Rio and soon became romantically involved with Horacio de Carvalho, a wealthy newspaper owner. On December 19, 1966, de Carvalho and Telles were driving on a freeway near Rio when Carvalho reportedly fell asleep at the wheel, resulting in a crash that killed both passengers. Telles was 32.
Frank Sinatra had a soft spot for singer David Allyn. But his affection and assistance with Las Vegas gigs weren’t based on pity. David had suffered psychologically during his service in World War II and went to prison for eight years on drug charges after his attempts to self-medicate led to addiction. Sinatra admired Allyn because he was a superb emotional jazz balladeer who also could swing. But they shared more.
Both singers had major professional turning points at virtually the same time—in early 1940—when Sinatra joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and David joined Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra. They were more companions and brothers in heart than rivals.
To illustrate:
Here's David Allyn in January 1941, singing It All Comes Back to Me Now...
Here's Sinatra in January 1941 with Tommy Dorsey singing I Tried...
In 1962, Allyn was still striving to become a mainstream pop singer after five years of recording a few excellent albums for small labels. Actor Tony Curtis loved his voice and bankrolled an LP for Everest—This Is My Lucky Day, arranged by Bob Florence. One of the tracks, Love Is a Serious Thing, perfectly illustrates David's gorgeous sense of swing. To read my two-part interview with David, go here. David died in 2012 at age 93.
Here's David Allyn singing his own composition (words and music) Love Is a Serious Thing. I so love this track...
Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...
Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time,go here.
Marc Myers writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and is author of "Anatomy of 55 More Songs," "Anatomy of a Song," "Rock Concert: An Oral History" and "Why Jazz Happened." Founded in 2007, JazzWax has won three Jazz Journalists Association awards.
