Ira Gitler turned me on to Italian jazz pianist Roberto Magris in 2008. Roberto's superb album, Il Bello Del Jazz, with alto saxophonist Herb Geller, had just reached the U.S. after being released in Italy in 2006. Over the years, Roberto and I have remained in touch, with Roberto sending along his latest releases. All have been superb, especially his Lee Morgan Rewind Vols. 1 and 2.
His latest album, World Gardens, was just released on the JMood label, and it's excellent. The songs were recorded in 2015 and 2016 and feature Roberto backed by Dominique Sanders (b), Brian Steever (d) and Pablo Sanhueza (congas and percussion).
Here's Roberto in his liner notes on the meaning of the album:
"I wanted to pick some beautiful flowers from my musical garden for your listening pleasure. I chose a colorful variety from different places in the world that have a special meaning to me. As a musician and world traveler in search of answers, I have experienced a multitude of people, languages and cultures. I have brought home many different seeds to help my garden grow in a richness of shapes and colors. As a jazz pianist, I enjoy looking at the present and new directions in all types of music, but I never forget my roots in the jazz tradition."
Tracks on the new album include the pop hit Never Can Say Goodbye (the Jackson 5 and Gloria Gaynor); Pilgrim; Blue Bamboo; Roberto's Another More Blues, Song for an African Child and Blues at Lunch!; and All the Most Beautiful Flowers; High Priest; I'm Glad There Is You; and Stella by Starlight.
Roberto plays lyrically but with conviction and power. He has a strong, hungry attack but poetry always plays a key role. So does a dash of beauty and abstraction. I love his sound.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Roberto Magris: World Gardens (JMood) here.
Each December for the past 11 years, I've carefully chosen a different album for inclusion in my annual JazzWax Vintage Holiday Album Hall of Fame. I established this yule honor in 2008 to steer you to great seasonal favorites that may be unknown to you or merely forgotten.
My induction this year is Gap Mangione's Family Holidays. Recorded in 2005 at three different studios in Upstate New York for the Josh label, the album features Dennis Tribuzzi, Jeff Jarvis, Jack Schantz and Pat Carney (tp,flhrn); Mark Kellogg and John Hasselback (tb); Bob Kalwas (b-tb); Gerry Niewood (as,sop,fl); Andy Weinzler (ts,as,sop); Pat LaBarbera (ts,sop); Ed Xiques (bar,sop); Gap Mangione (p,keyboards); Grant Geissman (g,synt,perc,vcl); Neil Swainson and Tony Levin (b) on different tracks; Steve Gadd (d) and Cindy Miller (vcl). [Photo above of Gap Mangione courtesy of Gap Mangione]
The album swings from start to finish and will put you in the jazz holiday spirit. Kudos to Gap for his knock-out big-band arrangements. [Photo above courtesy of Gap Mangione]
Here's Gap's Bellezza (Italian for beauty), featuring solos by Gerry Niewood (as), Mark Kellogg (tb) and Andy Weinzler (ts)...
You'll find Gap Mangione's Family Holidays (Josh) here or here.
Now meet the rest of the JazzWax Vintage Holiday Album Hall of Fame, in order of their induction, with links to buy (most are probably available at Spotify as well)...
2015—Two albums with the same name: Bobby Timmons' Holiday Soul and Don Patterson's Holiday Soul. Both trio albums were recorded for Prestige in Nov. 1964—the former on the 24th and the latter on the 25th.
Here are albums that have already been inducted into the JazzWax Holiday Album Hall of Fame... - See more at: http://www.jazzwax.com/2012/11/duke-pearson-merry-ole-soul.html#sthash.V0RZmXiQ.dpuf
This week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Howie Mandel for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Howie talked at length about his childhood passion for TV's Candid Camera as well as his ongoing battles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. An open and touching conversation. Howie started out as a frenetic standup comedian and then landed roles in movies and TV, including St. Elsewhere. Now he's back on TV in the new Deal or No Deal game show on CNBC. What I find fascinating is how a hyperactive brain can snap into sharp focus when in front of the camera. If you watch Howie on TV—on talk shows or on Deal or No Deal—his delivery is flawless. He thinks in unbroken ribbons of thought without having to stop and think. Howie said he doesn't know why his thought process works that way, but it does. He may be a fast thinker but he's also really, really funny. When the interview was over, my face hurt from laughing.
And here's Howie on Ellen a couple of weeks ago...
SiriusXM. Last Thursday, I was on SiriusXM's Feedback (ch. 106) with Nik Cohen and Lori Majewski to talk about the history of the saloon song and Frank Sinatra's perfect recording of Angel Eyes on Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958), now out from Capitol/UMe in a first-time stereo mix and original mono. If you missed the show, go here.
Speaking of Sinatra, director Raymond De Felitta sent along a link to a post at his blog, Movies 'til Dawn, featuring a video interview he conducted with Harlan Ellison, who died in June. The video is an outtake from Raymond's 2006 documentary, Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris. In the clip, Ellison tells a good Sinatra story. Go here.
Dave McKenna. Following my post on Dave McKenna, Tom Shaker sent along this email:
"Hi Marc. Just wanted to let you know how thrilled I was to read your recent post about Woonsocket, R.I.’s own Dave McKenna. My (co-written) book, A Treasury of Rhode Island Jazz & Swing Musicians (available here) has a nice little anecdote about the late pianist along with his biography. The 2000 photo above features Dave with another Woonsocket native, the wonderful cabaret singer-pianist Daryl Sherman."
Tessa Souter radio. The singer will be interviewed and showcased on Sunday, December 9, at noon (EDT) on WBGO-FM in New York. She'll be interviewed by Michael Bourne on his Singers Unlimited show. Tessa also will sing three songs live. You can listen from anywhere in the world on your phone or computer by going here.
Les McCann radio. Chris "King" Cowles hosted a four-hour tribute to pianist Les McCann on December 1 that included an interview with McCann. You can listen to a Soundcloud of Chris's Greasy Tracks show an hour at a time on WRTC-FM in Hartford, Conn., here.
New Year's Eve. Singer JaRon Eames (above) is opening the parlor space of his home on Manhattan's Upper East Side on New Year's Eve to entertain and feed guests. There will be live jazz and dinner—BBQ chicken, red beans and rice, hot-buttered cornbread, creole rice, Louisiana seafood gumbo, green salad, wine, Champagne and dessert. The tab is $50. The evening starts at 9 p.m. and runs until 1a.m. For more information and reservations, email JaRon directly at jaroneames@gmail.com. Here's a view of JaRon's parlor...
What the heck.Here's flugelhornist Art Farmer and guitarist Jim Hall in 1964...
Oddball album cover of the week.
Late hours? How about dawn. The milk bottles and paper have already been delivered (left, front). What's more, our female model seems about to keel over or she's just really done with her date. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, the most beautiful girl in the world. Got it. Listen, if I don't go in there and get some sleep, I'm gonna drop right here."
Trudy Pitts wasn't as well known or as prolific as Shirley Scott, but the organist was a tasty player just the same. Sadly, she didn't record nearly enough, releasing just seven leadership albums starting in 1967 compared with Scott's several dozen albums beginning in the late 1950s. To be fair, Scott's recording career goes back even further, to the late 1940s, leaving Scott plenty of time to establish herself as a name player. Pitts came up in the late 1960s, when recording opportunities were drying up, especially for women in jazz. To read blogger Doug Payne's appreciation of Pitts after she died in 2010, go here. My brief appreciation is here. A special thanks to Andrew J. Sordoni III, who sent along a link to the first video below. I added a few:
Here's Trudy Pitts and her husband, Bill "Mr. C" Carney ...
On Joe Henderson's 1965 album In 'n Out, the listener enjoyed five giants for the price of one. The tenor saxophonist and trumpeter Kenny Dorham were joined by powerful cookers: pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones, who were two-thirds of John Coltrane's rhythm section, and bassist Richard Davis, who had just recorded with Eric Dolphy on Out to Lunch (1964). Recorded for Blue Note in April 1964, In 'n Out features three Henderson originals and two by Dorham. This is a perfect album, so it's tough to pick a favorite, but Punjab is a tiger. Henderson's modal composition is stormy and swishes restlessly between bright and dark tones. The music here is a reflection of its times—lyrically hopeful but fed up with the era's racism. The brilliant cover design was by Reid Miles.
As a bonus,here's baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams with Zoot Sims (ts), Tommy Flanagan (p), Ron Carter (b) and Elvin Jones (d) recording the song on Encounter! on December 11 or 12, 1968, 50 years ago. Interesting how they slowed it down by half...
Following my post on Joe Mooney's Wait Till You See Her a week ago, I received a high level of emails from readers who didn't know much about Mooney but loved what they heard. The same was true at Facebook, where there was quite a bit of traffic in favor of the lounge singer-organist-accordionist. [Photo above of Joe Mooney in 1946, by William P. Gottlieb]
Since so many of your are Mooney fans now, I figured I'd turn you on to some research I did nearly 10 years ago on Mooney's five little-known, sublime sides he recorded with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra in 1952 and '53.
But first, let's travel back to the early 1950s, when big-band arrangers Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan formed the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. Their aim was to have superior studio musicians play near-symphonic jazz scores using a seemingly endless combination of instruments. While the results sounded somewhat pop and, at times, unashamedly corny, the instrumental sophistication was not lost on a younger generation of arrangers, including Gil Evans, Nelson Riddle, Johnny Richards and Billy May.
Originally conceived strictly as an instrumental aggregation, Sauter and Finegan agreed in the fall of 1952 to add vocalists. The move most likely came after pressure from their label, RCA, which wanted to give the somewhat wooden format a more human touch and pop appeal.
Remember, this was the pre-rock era of earnest vocal groups such as the Ames Brothers, the McGuire Sisters, the Four Aces and the Four Lads who appealed largely to the rapidly expanding white suburban market with a car radio and home radio-phonograph console.
When Joe Mooney arrived to record with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra in late 1952, he was there to provide vocals that wouldn't overshadow the band's six-lane orchestrations. Backing Mooney on the tracks were two different vocal groups: the Ray Charles Singers: Gene Lowell, Artie Malvin and Steve Steck; and the Doodlers: Sally Sweetland and Lillian Clark. The tight choral parts were written by veteran vocal arranger Ray Charles.
The first track Mooney recorded on November 3, 1952 was Nina Never Knew, a song written by Louis Alter and Milton Drake. The gorgeous melody came with lyrics that are somewhat creepy now about the seduction of a girl who didn't know much about love but does when the song is over. The arrangement featured the wandering trombone of Bill Harris Also recorded that day was Love Is a Simple Thing, a song with a bouncy melody that had had its debut months earlier in New Faces of 1952, a popular Broadway revue.
Soon after Nina Never Knew was released, the song became a jukebox hit, reaching #13 on the Billboard charts by December. The song would be the orchestra's second biggest seller after Midnight Sleighride, which had peaked at #12 that August.
Mooney returned to the studio on November 18 to record Hit the Road to Dreamland, a mid-tempo tune that leaned heavily on novelty instrumentation but had a gorgeous arrangement.
After touring with the orchestra for several months, Mooney and the band went back into the studio on April 6, 1953. The first tune recorded that day was Time to Dream, with female vocalist Florence Fogelson singing wordless soprano mood notes. The next track recorded that day was, Pale Moon, featuring Fogelson alone, without Mooney.
A third track was recorded that day—It's Mutual—a lovely tune Mooney co-wrote. This third track was something of an anomaly. For one, recording sessions typically captured an even number of tracks to complete sides of singles. For another, there was no choir arranged behind Mooney. Which leads me to believe that It's Mutual might have been a demo or try-out to show RCA executives what Mooney could do as a lead singer on his own.
In 2009, I spoke to Stanley Cooper about these recordings. Stan was one of my favorite 1950s music-industry sources. A retired Brill Building executive, Stanley worked for Redd Evans Music and later Barton Music as a song-plugger, pitching tunes the music publishers owned to pop singers Stan believed could make them hits. When I called Stan to ask him about Mooney and the Sauter-Finegan sessions, I was shocked. Stan replied in his Runyonesque New York accent: "Did I know Mooney? I was the one who brought Nina Never Knew to RCA's attention in 1952 and requested that Mooney sing it." Pay dirt! [Photo above of Joe Mooney]
Stan's story below, in his words, sheds some light on Mooney's It's Mutual, a song that was issued only once in 1956 on a Sauter-Finegan LP and to this day has never appeared on CD. Here's Stan:
"Back in '52, I was a fan of Joe Mooney's. I knew his work well. He had a great sound. Soft, but smart. When Redd Evans of Redd Evans Music picked up the rights to Nina Never Knew, he asked me to find a singer who could make it a hit. The first person I thought of was Nat [King Cole]. Nat was the nicest guy in the world. But when I asked him to record the song, he initially turned it down. Nat said he didn't like the name Nina. I have no idea why. Maybe he once had a girlfriend named Nina or something. I don't know. [Photo above of Nat King Cole by William P. Gottlieb]
"So I shopped Nina Never Knew around to different A&R men. When I reached Dave Kapp, the head of A&R at RCA at the time, he loved the song right away. Most music publishers who went to Dave brought along sheet music and demos by the pound. I never did that. When I went to see him, I brought only two songs, and usually just one. Dave knew that if I had a song I liked, he could figure out fast whether or not he liked it and which of his artists should record it. So he liked me. [Above, an ad for the single in Billboard in November 1952]
"Dave said the best he could do was have the newly signed Sauter-Finegan Orchestra record it. I said fine, but the song had to have a vocalist. Dave asked me who I thought would be ideal. I said. 'Joe Mooney.' I chose Joe because he had a voice that was closest to the singer I originally wanted—Nat King Cole. The song needed that savvy, jazzy, relaxed sound. Dave liked the idea and sent for Joe.
"When Mooney came into the RCA studio that day, he and I spoke briefly. I told him how much I liked his voice and why I wanted him for the date. He thanked me. He was a very pleasant guy. Then I went into the [engineer's] booth with the A&R men and my boss, Redd Evans, to listen to the recording. [Image above of Billboard's "Disc Jockey Pick" chart the week of December 6, 1952]
"When the band started and Mooney began to sing, I couldn't believe my ears. As soon as I heard the first four bars, I knew right away that I was right about matching Mooney with Sauter-Finegan and that the song had a real shot. It was like being in a trance listening to that sound. I recall that Mooney [who was blind] went off-mike a few times so they had to start again and bring him back in. But that's all I noticed with my eyes. My attention was my ears. Listening to that sound for the first time was amazing.
"I don't know why Mooney never recorded more with Sauter-Finegan or on his own with RCA. It was a natural fit. I do know that RCA offered him a multi-record deal with the label and that there was some disagreement over money. Dave Kapp was the kind of guy who made an offer and if you didn't take it, he never came back to you with it. A lot of people didn't like him because he was a cold fish. I liked him because he was a good music man. He truly liked music people. I guess that's what happened with Joe. It's a shame really. They sounded perfect together. The Sauter-Finegan band was easy-going but square. Joe was easy-going and hip. He gave them a little more edge. I can only imagine how great the music would have been had they recorded more sides together.
"If you listen to Sauter-Finegan's recordings from the early 1950s, the orchestra was way ahead of its time. It was in the same league as Boyd Raeburn's band of the mid-40s, in terms of experimentation. Joe warmed them up tremendously. And I have no idea why It's Mutual was never released. I'm listening to it with you now for the first time and it's wonderful. I didn't even know the track existed someplace. It's clearly a beautiful record." [Photo above of Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan]
Shame on Dave Kapp for not seeing the value in Joe Mooney's vocal with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. Or, shame on Kapp for being a jerk about the offer. It's hard to imagine Mooney wanted that much more than Kapp was willing to shell out. Or Kapp stupidly may have viewed Mooney's blindness as a pop and touring limitation. I, for one, could dig another 20 songs like these five, and Mooney's inclusion may well have made Sauter-Finegan a bigger popular success.
Eddie Sauter died in 1981; Bill Finegan died in 2008; Joe Mooney died in 1975; and Stanley Cooper died in 2016.
JazzWax tracks: Here are the five sides Joe Mooney recorded with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra in the early 1950s, including the rare It's Mutual. The arrangements are delightfully smart, and Mooney's singing is pure ear candy:
Here'sNina Never Knew recorded November 3, 1952...
Here'sLove Is a Simple Thing recorded November 3, 1952, with a drop-dead arrangement...
Here's Hit the Trail to Dreamland recorded on November 18, 1952...
The Count Basie Orchestra was one of the most influential bands in jazz between 1938 and 1978. Basie pioneered the sound of hardcore and minimalist swing, and his arrangers specialized in a style in which the band's sections—trumpets, trombones, saxophones and rhythm—seemed to converse with each other. Virtually all top post-war jazz musicians and big-band arrangers admired Basie, and tribute albums over the years were fairly common. They included Shorty Rogers's Shorty Courts the Count (1944), Oscar Peterson Plays Count Basie (1955), Francis Bay Plays Count Basie (1961), Frank Foster's No Count (1956), Maxwell Davis's Compositions of Count Basie and Others (1959), Gene Harris's Tribute to Count Basie (1987) and Jesper Thilo's Don't Count Him Out (1993).
Here's another one that's lesser known: André Persiany Joue Count Basie. Recorded in Paris for French Columbia in January and February 1958, the tracks were One O'Clock Jump, Shorty George, Blue and Sentimental, Miss Thing, Swinging the Blues, Jive at Five and Topsy. For the January session (featuring the first four songs listed above), the band was comprised of Fernand Verstraete, Lucien Juanico and Georges Gay (tp); Bill Tamper and Claude Gousset (tb); Ted Hameline, Rene Godard and Michel Attenoux (as); Armand Conrad and Georges Bessieres (ts); Robert Bagnieres (bar); Andre Persiany (p); Pierre Cullaz (g); Paul Rovere (b) and Christian Garros (d). For the February session, the band was the same, except that Pierre Thibaud (tp) and Sandy Fall (tb) replaced Fernand Verstraete and Claude Gousset.
It's interesting to hear a French jazz interpretation of Basie. Songs have all the might and drive of the original, but there's a magical elegance to the playing, especially with Persiany's tinkling crystal-like top notes on the piano. It's as if the arrangements were written in French.
All seven Basie tracks originally were on a French EP and now appear on the CD André Persiany and His Orchestra Featuring Guy Lafitte (Fresh Sound). Two other Persiany big-band albums from June 1954 and May 1955 appear on the same CD. The songs and arrangements have an Ernie Wilkins bounce throughout. Pure swinging joy with a French twist. Killer stuff.
André Persiany died in 2004.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find André Persiany and His Orchestra, Featuring Guy Lafitte (Fresh Sound) here.
And here's Two Cats and a Piece of Lung, with Guy Lafitte on the tenor sax solo and Michel de Villers on baritone. Try to keep your feet from moving around...
As someone who writes on classic rock, pop, soul and jazz for The Wall Street Journal, I'm the recipient of an enormous amount of CDs, vinyl, music videos and books. The volume is particularly high in the fall, when labels and publishers typically gear up for the holidays. Here are my pop favorites that are ideal gifts for friends, family or yourself this coming season:
Bob Dylan—More Blood, More Tracks, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 (Columbia/Legacy). Given Bob Dylan's voluminous bootleg output from Columbia over the years, one might assume the glorious link between folk and rock never saw the light of day. Towers of rehearsals and outtakes amounting to tons of recorded material. And so much of it staggeringly great. The new Volume 14 is among the finest in the series, though it's hard to feel shortchanged by any of the previous 13 sets. Culled from Dylan's Blood on the Tracks sessions in 1974, the six-CD set holds a treasure trove of Dylan, including the entire New York recording sessions and five Minneapolis recordings. If you think of Dylan's sprawling career as a mountain range with summits, valleys and ridges, this material makes up one of his highest peaks. Thoroughly enjoyable and delightfully tranquilizing as you feel yourself downshifting and listening to lyrics for a change instead of beats and shredding guitars. Go here.
The Beatles—The White Album (Capitol/UMe). While in India in March and April 1968, the Beatles wrote a ton of new music. When they returned to Abbey Road Studios at the end of May, they insisted on recording much of it. Producer George Martin did his best to dissuade them, preferring a single album, but the lads insisted. The result was The White Album, a Montana-sized expanse of varying styles, emotions, melodies, instrumentals, reverbs, layers of vocals, and music. Now Capitol/UMe has released three 50th anniversary White Album sets, including a 6-CD box with a book, a four-LP vinyl set and a smaller CD package. A spectacular journey loaded with surprises in the session outtakes, including the saxy instrumental track for Savoy Truffle, Paul's robust piano and backing vocals on Martha My Dear, Paul's piano track on Lady Madonna recorded before the band left for India, and takes 7 and 14 of John's vocal on I'm So Tired. I was 13 when the album came out in November 1968. An awakening for me. For the super-deluxe package, go here. For the 3-CD package, go here.
John Lennon—Imagine: The Ultimate Collection (Capitol/UMe). If you still aren't sure which Beatle was the more interesting songwriter, John Lennon or Paul McCartney, this deluxe set offers an opportunity to hear Lennon isolated in 1971, a year after the Beatles' breakup. While both Lennon and McCartney had a taste for snarky music hall, Imagine documents Lennon in a liberated phase with wife Yoko Ono. There are hits and misses here, but overall it's a fascinating concept after years of Fab Four dependency. His previous three albums were more experimental. The 61 tracks on the new Imagine box provide an opportunity to hear Lennon developing music free of McCartney and George Martin. Gems include the title track, How, Power to the People, God Save Us, Happy Xmas, Gimme Some Truth and others. Phil Spector co-produced with John and Yoko. For the six-disc set, which includes four CDs and two Blu-Ray discs, go here.
Elvis Presley—68 Comeback Speical (50th Anniversary Edition) (RCA/Legacy). At five CDs and two Blu-ray discs plus an 80-page book, this boxed set is as definitive as it gets short of traveling back in time to NBC studios. All previously released audio and newly restored video from the TV special's taping is now in one place. One of the audio discs features just the sessions recorded with the Wrecking Crew studio musicians, and there are multiple takes of If I Can Dream, the show's dramatic high point. Go here.
Amy Winehouse—Back to Black: The Real Story Behind the Modern Classic (Eagle Rock). Before Lady Gaga, Cardi B. and about 200 other female singers with a bad-girl sneer, there was Amy Winehouse. I discovered her music during a trip to London in 2003, when her first album, Frank, was released there. I heard it at an HMV and bought several copies to give to friends when I returned. Then Back to Black came out in the U.S. in the fall of 2006 and became a massive hit. What we didn't know is that the Winehouse phenomenon was a suicidal opera being played out in real time. She died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 after years of heartbreak, depression, media hounding and drug and alcohol abuse. This Blue-ray/DVD disc gets into the nitty-gritty of the music written and recorded. It's less a bio doc and more studio quarterbacking about what the producers and musicians did to make the album a ska/girl-group opus. An in-depth look at a prophetic masterpiece. Go here.
The Lost Beatles Photographs and The Lost Rolling Stones Photographs (The Bob Bonis Archive, 1964-1966) (Dey St.). When the Beatles and Rolling Stones hit the States for tours between 1964 and '66, Bob Bonis was the one who met them at the airport. Bonis was the go-to road manager for both groups, providing transportation, logistics and security. Fortunately, Bonis always carried his camera and he wasn't shy. These two books are loaded with color and black-and-white candid images of Britain's two leading super-groups. Artists at play, artists at rest and artists behaving badly. It's all here, providing insights into musicians in their 20s who were at the top of the world and paving the way for everyone who would come after them. Text in both books by Larry Marion. Go here and here.
Stax '68: A Memphis Story (Craft Recordings). This explosive, action-packed five-CD box virtually jumps up and down. The box features the Stax label's music starting in 1968 after the plane-crash death of Otis Redding in December 1967. In 1968, Stax not only lost its biggest-selling artist but also parted ways with Atlantic, which owned the rights to its pre-1967 material and had distributed its records. On its own, Stax, under the direction of Al Bell, re-invented soul with a funkier, big-beat socially conscious sound. No matter where you double-click on this set, the music is all action and pure joy. There's no fat or wheel-spinning. Go here.
David Bowie—Loving the Alien (1983-1988) (Parlophone). This set of 11 CDs/15 vinyl LPs is the fourth in a series of boxes spanning the singer-songwriter's career. The new box includes the remastered albums Let's Dance, Serious Moonlight (Live '83), Tonight, Never Let Me Down, a new 2018 previously unreleased version of Never Let Me Down, Glass Spider (Live Montreal '87), Dance and Re: Call 4 (a collection of singles remixes and rare sides). Go here.
Jimi Hendrix—Electric Ladyland Deluxe Edition 50th Anniversary Box Set (Sony/Legacy). Electric Ladyland was the third and final album by the band the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The result was one of hard rock's turning points. Released in October 1968, the double-album produced by Hendrix included Gypsy Eyes (more than 50 takes were recorded), House Burning Down and All Along the Watchtower. This set features three CDs and a Blu-ray video. The first CD is the original album remastered; the second CD are early takes; and the third is The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At the Hollywood Bowl. Everything your ears want to hear if you dig Hendrix. Go here.
Rolling Stones—Voodoo Lounge Uncut (Eagle Rock). The Rolling Stones released Voodoo Lounge in July 1994 and then went out on tour. In November '94, the Stones were professionally and officially filmed performing in Miami. This set features the restored, remixed and remastered film, 10 previously unreleased performances from Giants Stadium in New Jersey, and an audio CD of the concert. Guest appearances by Sheryl Crow, Robert Cray and Bo Diddley. Go here.
Gary Giddins—Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star, the War Years (1940-1946) (Little, Brown). Bing Crosby, the recording artist, is largely forgotten today. The only time he surfaces is when you're flying through the channels on your TV set and Crosby appears on a variety show from the 1960s or '70s, or there's some dopey movie airing with him and Bob Hope. But during World War II, Crosby's relaxed sound and soft swing steadied the country's nerves. Giddins, a masterful jazz writer, takes on Crosby's professional and personal life during these crucial years, when his buttermilk sound ended the operatic pop style of most male vocalists and paved the way for the easy ethnic confidence of Frank Sinatra. Go here.
Tony Bennett: Onstage and in the Studio (Sterling). This coffee-table book written by Dick Golden is loaded with never-before seen color and black-and-white images. Great to read while Tony's albums are spinning. Go here.
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress Christine Lahti for my "House Call' column in the Mansion section (go here). Christine currently is playing Gloria Steinem in Gloria: A Life, an Off-Broadway play in New York. Christine talked to me about growing up in Michigan and the power of her mother's smile and what it masked in terms of frustration. [Photo above of Christine Lahti at her home in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village by Brad Trent for The Wall Street Journal]
Here's Christine with Al Pacino in the film ...and Justice for All (1979)...
SiriusXM. If you missed me on Feedback (Volume, Ch. 106) last week talking about Todd Rundgren with Nik Carter and Lori Majewski, you can listen at your leisure here...
Next week on SiriusXM, I'll be on with Feedback's Nik and Lori on Thursday, December 6, at 9 a.m. (EDT) to talk about Frank Sinatra's perfect recording of Angel Eyes on his 1958 album Only the Lonely. Dig Feedback on the Volume network (Chanel 106).
Bill Evans. This past week, I sat down with producer Zev Feldman to talk about pianist Bill Evans for an upcoming Resonance album project due next year. I also was able to catch up with bassist Eddie Gomez, who played with Evans for years. Watch this space for more details on the project. As you can see, a fun time with Zev the Great.
Gene Russell. Back in the 1970s, I loved the Black Jazz label. Here's a track from Gene Russell's Talk to My Lady, with a pure '70s Fender Rhodes sound on Stevie Wonder's You Are the Sunshine of My Life...
Todd Rundgren. Following my WSJ "Anatomy of a Song" column on Todd Rundgren's Hello It's Me, Steve Waters sent along the following email...
"Hi Marc. I really enjoyed your article today in The Wall Street Journal. Thanks for taking the time to write it. As I read the story behind Hello It’s Me, I couldn’t help recalling an incident that happened to me when I was in high school. Todd Rundgren graduated from high school in one suburban Philadelphia high school and I graduated from high school one ‘burb over. I was a big fan of Todd’s group Nazz and played their albums incessantly, especially their second one, Nazz Nazz.
"One summer day, I was listening to Nazz Nazz and the song Meridian Leeward was playing on the turntable. About half way into the song, the door to my bedroom smashed open and my dad, without saying a word, stormed into my room, ripped the album off my turntable, broke it over his knee, splitting it in two. Then he opened the window and threw the pieces out. Turning to me, he glared and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
"It’s pretty safe to say that Dad wasn’t a fan. My Dad would have also turned the garden hose on him. Many years later, when my dad retired, I was asked to say a few words at his retirement party. I decided to tell the story about Nazz Nazz. At the time I told that story, the album had become a bit of a collector's item and, in front of his coworkers, I told my dad that he owed me about $300. Unfortunately, I checked eBay this morning and you can buy a pristine copy of the album now for around $30.
"I’m happy to say that dad did laugh at my story. But no, I never did get that $300 check! My dad passed away in 2005, and I miss bantering with him.
"My grandfather actually was my musical guide. Before the Depression, he was a professional trumpet player. He even did a gig with the Marine Band playing under John Philip Sousa. Unfortunately, the Depression forced him to take over the family business, and he became a florist. He had a fantastic LP collection and was the one who introduced me to the music of Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, Crazy Otto (a German honky-tonk player) and many, many more. Grandpop, although bald, was the one that would have had the long hair!
"I never did get the chance to meet Todd, but I still enjoy his music. His last album, White Knight, is terrific."
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis.Here's Davis playing Nina Never Knew from his terrific Lock the Fox album for RCA in 1966 with Les Spann on guitar...
Meredith D'Ambrosio.Following my post on pianist Dave McKenna, I received a lovely email from one of my favorite singer-pianists, Meredith d'Ambrosio (a gifted painter, the cover art above also is by Meredith):
"Hi Marc. It's so nice to finally see something about Dave McKenna at Jazzwax! He was a genius. If it were not for him, my lyric to his melody, Shadowland, would never have been written. I first heard his song on one of his albums as a haunting, pure jazz piece. He was very kind to me and accepted my lyric. I think it was his best composition. You brought back memories. Because of him, after his stint at the Copley Plaza Hotel, he spoke to the powers that be to hire me for a year to play and sing there. After that, I was suddenly in New York. Much love, Meredith."
And here's Meredith singing her lyric to Shadowland backed by husband Eddie Higgins in 1992...
And here's Dave McKenna being interviewed by Monk Rowe...
Shirley Scott. Following my post last week on pianist-organist Shirley Scott, Peter Nevraumont sent along a link to Scott playing 'Round Midnight on piano from Blues Everywhere, a 1991 piano album with bassist Arthur Harper and drummer Mickey Roker recorded live at Birdland...
Moving essay. Alex Belth at Esquire Classic sent along a link to an article he wrote for the December issue of Men's Health on his wife Emily, her struggle with a chronic illness and the role he plays in making sure she's cared for. Go here.
What the heck:Here's David Ruffin and the Temptations in 1965 singing My Baby...
Oddball album cover of the week.
Looks like the early 1970s based on the hair band and "burnt orange" jumpsuit. The album must have been released in Europe, where the English verb "go" wound up a "gutter ball" in Polydor's marketing department. A special thanks to Michael Bloom Media Relations.
Posting about Shirley Scott earlier this week left me hankering for video of great Hammond organ players. [Photo above of Jimmy McGriff] On the last Friday in November, here are six clips:
Marc Myers writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and is author of "Anatomy of a Song" (Grove) and "Why Jazz Happened." Founded in 2007, JazzWax is a three-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association's best blog award, including 2018.
