JazzWax

Perfection: Count Basie - 'Blues in My Heart' (1969)

One of Count Basie's most powerful arrangers was Chico O'Farrill. Born in Havana, O'Farrill's father was from Ireland and his mother was of German descent. Sent to a Georgia military school, O'Farrill learned to play trumpet. Back in Cuba in his late teens, he couldn't get enough of Havana's night life.

O'Farrill moved to New York in 1948 and became one of the fathers of Afro-Cuban jazz. He had a way of turning up the brass section's heat and producing exciting arrangements that were as explosive as they were seductive. His work for Benny Goodman's Capitol band in the late 1940s was terrific. For more on O'Farrill's arranging for producer Norman Granz in the late 1940s and early '50s, I highly recommend Cuban Blues: The Chico O'Farrill Sessions on Verve. For more, go here.

For Basie, O'Farrill arranged Basie Meets Bond (1965), a wonderfully inventive album that maximized the band while retaining Bond's cool persona; Basie's Beatles Bag (1966); Broadway Basie's Way (1966); Basie's in the Bag (1967); The Happiest Millionaires; Count Basie and His Orchestra (1967); Annual Report with the Mills Brothers; Standing Ovation (1969), on which he shared arranging credits with Sammy Nestico; Basic Basie (1969); and Count Basie and His Orchestra (1970).

Among them, my favorite is Basic Basie. Don't get me wrong, I love many of the others but this one is special. I first discovered it in 1972 as Evergreen, on Sonny Lester's Groove Merchant label. The album was so good I purchased a second one soon after. Despite the quality of my Dual turntable, I knew I was going to wear it out, and I did.

As Tom Lord's online Jazz Discography notes:

The album appears not only MPS but also on Groove Merchant GM2201 entitled "Evergreens"; this release is listed in Chris Sheridan's Basie discography as the first issue for this session. That's not accurate. Groove Merchant's founder Sonny Lester was the producer of the Basie session, but his oversight was for the MPS label, not Groove Merchant. Groove Merchant GM2201 was published in 1972, a year after the original release of MPS (G)15264, which was published in 1971.

The band: Gene Goe, Oscar Brashear and Sonny Cohn (tp); Waymon Reed (tp,flh); Frank Hooks, Melvin Wanzo and Grover Mitchell (tb); Bill Hughes (b-tb); Marshal Royal (as,cl); Bobby Plater (as,fl); Eric Dixon (ts,fl); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (ts); Charlie Fowlkes (bar); Count Basie (p,org); Freddie Green (g); Norman Keenan (b,el-b); Harold Jones (d); Chico O'Farrill (arr) on all titles except Eric Dixon on I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You.

The album is perfect from start to finish. To give you a taste, here's Blues in My Heart...

And here's the full album's tracks with ads...

Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...

• Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time, go here.
• John Coltrane: You Say You Care, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Funk Junction, go here.
• Art Farmer's Work of Art, go here.
• Miles Davis: A Gal in Calico, go here.
• Gene Krupa: Mulligan Stew, go here.
• Dave Brubeck: The Duke, go here.
• Horace Silver: The Back Beat, go here.
• Horace Parlan: Up & Down, go here.
• Dexter Gordon: Society Red, go here.
• Barney Kessel: You Go to My Head, go here.
• Count Basie: Corner Pocket, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Manteca, go here.
• Donald Byrd: Bronze Dance, go here.
• George Shearing: I'll Be Around, go here.
• Ammmons & Stitt: You Talk That Talk, go here.

Crown Sessions: Buddy Collette & Teddy Edwards

The West Coast produced a sizable number of gifted jazz tenor saxophonists in the late 1940s and '50s who either were born there or settled there. Among them were Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Bill Holman, Harold Land, Bill Perkins, Bob Cooper and Jack Montrose. Two other exceptional West Coasters were Buddy Collette and Teddy Edwards. A new album from Fresh Sound features both artists leading separate quartets for Crown Records.

Collette was an accomplished and prolific multi-instrumentalist who recorded as a leader and a sideman and appeared on many Hollywood pop recording sessions, including those by Frank Sinatra. Teddy Edwards also worked steadily, composed and was the first saxophonist in the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet in 1954. [Photo above of Buddy Collette]

What gave these two their "jump" were gigs in the mid- and late 1940s in R&B bands and orchestras and Los Angeles bebop groups. Many of the clubs on L.A.'s Central Avenue sought out players who could solo for extended periods and thrill audiences. [Photo above of Teddy Edwards]

Crown Records was a subsidiary of the Modern label run by Saul, Jules and Joe Bihari. Why did two superb players wind up on a budget label? Probably because the Bihari brothers let them record what they wanted. By the late 1950s, other labels were either pop-minded or jazz specialists run by founders with a vision and under pressure to turn a profit.

This album features both Collette and Edwards in a freewheeling jump-blues groove with a bop overlay. The music is superb all the way through. Uniting the musicians' Crown recordings on a single CD was very clever of Fresh Sound's Jordi Pujol.

The tracks:

1. What's Up?
2. Hideaway
3. Reunion
4. Joggin'
5. Evergreen
6. Bye Bye
7. The Groove
8. Lucky Me
9. Miss Beat
10. The Grind Part 1
11. The Grind Part 2
12. Across Town

(1-8) The Buddy Collette Quartet, with Buddy Collette (ts), Gerald Wiggins (p), Joe Comfort (b) and Bill Douglass (d)

(9-12) The Teddy Edwards Quartet, with Teddy Edwards (ts), Joe Castro (p), Leroy Vinnegar (b) and Billy Higgins (d)

As you listen, pay careful attention to the pianists—Wiggins and Castro. Both are superb here.

Buddy Collette died in 2010 at age 89; Teddy Edwards died in 2003 at age 78.

Note: To read Part 1 of my five-part interview with Buddy Collette, go here (a link to additional parts can be found above the red date at the top).

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Buddy Collette and Teddy Edwards Quartets: The Crown Sessions (Fresh Sound) here.

If you buy, don't forget to use the code (JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT) to cut your price by 8%.

JazzWax clips: Here's the Buddy Collette Quartet playing Hideaway...

Hideaway

And here's the Teddy Edwards Quartet playing Miss Beat...

Miss Beat

John Fedchock: 'Justifiably J.J.' (2024)

Back in June, I reviewed trombonist Nick Finzer's tribute to trombonist J.J. Johnson, with Renee Rosnes on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. Now John Fedchock, another terrific trombonist, has released his own salute to Johnson.

The album is Justifiably J.J., and features pianist Steve Allee, bassist Jeremy Allen and drummer Sean Dobbins. Recorded live at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, Ind., the album has a studio sound, with the audience in the distance.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, John joined Woody Herman's band in 1980 and was the band's featured soloist. He arranged and went on tour with Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band, the Louie Bellson Big Band, the Bob Belden Ensemble, the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He also has performed at jazz festivals and concert halls around the world in small groups and his big band. [Photo of John Fedchock]

On his new album, John showcases Johnson's fat tone and pushy attack; Allee is spectacular on piano, gliding around effortlessly; Allen's bass is big and pronounced in the ensemble and on solos; and Dobbins' drums are crisp and alive. All of the album's songs are by Johnson except Lullaby of Jazzland, which was by Manny Albam.

The Tracks:

• Naptown USA
• Short Cake
• Lullaby of Jazzland
• Kenya
• Say When
• Lament
• Minor Mist
• Ten 85

A beautiful tribute from start to finish of a singular soloist who came up in the bebop era and always sounded like he was moving furniture around a room to create the most exquisite interior. Kudos to John for celebrating J.J. in his centenary year. [Photo above of J.J. Johnson by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]

JazzWax tracks: You'll find John Fedchock's Justifiably J.J. (Summit) here or on streaming platforms. 

JazzWax clips: Here's Say When...

Here's Lament...

Bonus: So you have the sound of Johnson's horn in your head, here's Lovely, from J.J.'s Broadway (1963)...

Gérard Gustin With Trio and Chet Baker

Gérard Gustin isn't very well known by American jazz fans. The French jazz pianist is best known for accompanying Chet Baker on the second Chet Baker Quartet album for the French Barclay album while Baker was in Paris in October of 1955. Now Fresh Sound records has combined that album with Trio Gérard Gustin for Barclay in 1956, on a remastered release.

Gustin wasn't as well known as many other French 1950s jazz pianists such as Martial Solal, René Urtreger, Antoine Hervé, Eddy Louiss and Henri Renaud, but that was largely due to his brief jazz career.

A student at the Nice Conservatory after World War II, Gustin fell in love with jazz after hearing records by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell. By 1949 and '50, he was gigging on the French Riviera. He went into the French Army in the early 1950s.

Stationed in Marseilles for 18 months, he performed in clubs nightly and became friendly with many French jazz musicians in the city. Throughout the early 1950s Gustin went where there was work in France. In March 1955, he settled in Paris, where he worked and met Chet Baker, who asked him to record with him on his second 12-inch Barclay LP.

The following year, Eddy Barclay decided to record Gustin with his trio on a 10-inch LP. The group featured Sacha Distel on guitar and Gilbert Gassin on bass. Nearly two years passed before the album was released, in the fall of 1957. By then, jazz was no longer a career path for Gustin. Instead, he leaned into French pop by playing piano for three years in Aimé Barelli's orchestra, which accompanied many marquee U.S. pop singers on tour in Paris.

From 1963 to 1971, Gustin collaborated with Sacha Distel, who by then had put down his guitar for a successful singing and hosting career. Gustin accompanied Distel on tours and was the musical director of Distel's weekly television program, Le Sacha Show. He also composed upward of 450 French songs.

Chet Baker Quartet featured Chet Baker (tp), Gérard Gustin (p), Jimmy Bond (b) and Bert Dahlander (d). The tracks are:

• Autumn in New York
• Lover Man
• There's a Small Hotel
• These Foolish Things
• I’ll Remember April 
• Summertime
• You Go to My Head
• Tenderly

The Trio Gérard Gustin album featured Gérard Gustin (p), Sacha Distel (g) and Gilbert Gassin (b). Note the originals by Gustin and his Horace Silver influence. The tracks are:

• Y'a qu'ça de Vraie (Gérard Gustin) 
• Equation (Gérard Gustin) 
• For You, for Me, for Evermore (George Gershwin) 
• “Greek” Gone Crazy (Gérard Gustin) 
• Lookin' for A Boy (George Gershwin) 
• Romano's Dilemma (Gérard Gustin) 
• Autumn Nocturne (Joseph Myrow) 
• Somebody Loves Me (George Gershwin) 

Gustin had an interesting way of opening many songs on his trio album with a classical baroque approach before springing into swing. He also had a nice touch with Baker.

Gérard Gustin died in May 1994.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Gérard Gustin With His Trio and the Chet Baker Quartet 1955-'56 (Fresh Sound) here.

If you buy, don't forget to use your code for the 8% JazzWax discount (JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT).

JazzWax tracks: Here's I'll Remember April from Chet Baker Quartet...

I'll Remember April

Here's Tenderly from the same album...

Tenderly

Here's Autumn Nocturne from Trio Gérard Gustin...

Autumn Nocturne

And here's Somebody Loves Me from the same album...

Somebody Loves Me

Justine, John and Artie

In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed actress Justine Lupe for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Justine now co-stars in the runaway hit (can't say I didn't tell ya), Nobody Wants This, a Netflix rom-com series with Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. Justine plays Kristen's sister and pulls off a superb performance. [Photo of Justine Lupe courtesy of IMDb]

Here's a scene from the series...

And here's Justine in a clip and an interview...

Film and TV Recommendations

Top 16 favorite streaming TV series, ranked...

1. Babylon Berlin
2. My Brilliant Friend
3. Killing Eve
4. The Crown
5. The Americans
6. Band of Brothers
7. Landman
8. Feud: Bette and Joan
9. Downton Abbey
10. The Blacklist
11. Goliath
12. The Gentlemen
13. Turn: Washington's Spies
14. Unbelievable
15. Justified
16. Voiceless (Bella da morire (2020/MHz)

Viewing now...

The Blacklist (2013-2023)—I'm still working my way through 10 seasons of this spy-thriller series. James Spader is fantastic as the man who knows where the bad guys are. (Netflix)

Up in the Air (2009)—This drama-comedy stars an impossibly handsome George Clooney along with Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. Clooney plays a seasoned consultant who companies hire to fire employees. Kendrick is a tech-centric hire who becomes a Clooney protege. Like Clooney, Farmiga is a frequent business flyer, and their comet-like schedules intersect every so often, allowing them to hook up. Great script, terrific casting and plenty of twists. (Max)

Here's the trailer...

What coming that's worthy...

Woman of the Hour, Elsbeth, Landman and Interior Chinatown.

Previous recommendations...

TV series

• The Affair—(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)
• 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)
• 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)
• The Gentlemen—(2024/Netflix)
• Godless—(2017/Netflix)
• Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
• The Gilded Age—(current/Max)
• High Water—(2022/Netflix)
• Homeland—(2011-2020/Showtime)
• Jane Eyre—(2006/Britbox)
• Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
• Killing Eve—(2018-2022/Netflix)
• Life & Beth—(Seasons 1& 2, 2022-present/Hulu)
• Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
• Loudermilk—(2017-2020/Netflix)
• MI-5, the Series—(2002-2011/BritBox)
• Monsieur Spade—(2024/AMC)
• Murdaugh Murders: The Movie, Parts 1 and 2—(2023/Lifetime)
• My Brilliant Friend—(2018-current)
• 1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
• 1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
• Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
• Pieces of Her—(2022/Netflix)
• Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
• Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
• Ripley—(2024/Netflix)
• Scott & Bailey (2011-2016/Prime)
• Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
• Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
• Under the Banner of Heave—(2022/Hulu)
• Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
• 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)
• 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) 
• The Bricklayer—(2024/Netflix)
• The Commuter (2018/Netflix)
• The Dig—(2021/Netflix)
• Eiffel—(2021/Prime)
• Enola Holmes 1 and 2—(2022/Netflix)
• The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3—(2014-2024/Prime)
• Fury—(2014/Netflix)
• God's Country—(2022/Hulu)
• Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
• Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+) 
• Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
• Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
• Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
• Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
• The Little Things—(2021/Netflix)
• Man on Fire—(2004/Max)
• Manchester by the Sea—(2016/Prime Video)
• MI-5—(2015/Max)
• The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
• The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
• Nobody—(2021/Prime)
• Nobody Wants This—(2024/Netflix)
• Ordinary Angels—(2024)
• Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
• The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
• Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
• Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
• Ruthless—(2023/Hulu)
• The Secret: Dare to Dream—(2020/Netflix)
• Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
• Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
• Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
• The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
• Spy(les)—(2009/Prime)
• The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
• Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
• The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
• Wonder Wheel—(2017/Prime)

Documentaries

• Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake—(2022/Netflix)
• The Beach Boys—(2024/Disney)
• Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023/PBS)
• The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
• Cunk on Earth—(2022/Netflix)
• Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing—(2023/Paramount+)
• Facing Nolan—(2022/Netflix)
• Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
• Jane Fonda in Five Acts—(2024/Max)
• Kate Hepburn: Call Me Kate—(2023/Netflix)
• Suzi Q: Suzi Quatro—(2019/Prime)
• The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
• 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here

Shirley Bassey. It turns out diamonds are actually forever. Sotheby's is auctioning off jewelry once owned by British power singer-entertainer Shirley Bassey. Leslie Westbrook sent along this clip...

You Talk That Talk. Following my Perfection post last week on Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt's 1971 album You Talk That Talk, Mike Lynch sent along a link to the full album as well as Ammons's Black Cat, from the same year. Go here...

John McNeil (1948-2024), a trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer who played with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, the Horace Silver Quintet and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan in the 1970s, and led his own bands starting late in the decade, died on September 27. He was 76. You can read his obit in Downbeat here. [Photo above of John McNeil]

Here's McNeil's composition, Greenwich, from his first album, Embarkation, with John McNeil (tp,flhrn), Bob Berg (ts), Joanne Brackeen (p), Rufus Reid (b) and Billy Hart (d)...

Here's McNeil with Horace Silver live in 1979 playing The Mohican and the Great Spirit, featuring Horace Silver(p), John McNeil (tp,flhrn), Larry Schneider (ts), Todd Coolman (b) and Harold White (d)...

And here's Antonio Carlos Jobim's Look to the Sky, the title track on this 1979 album, featuring John McNeil and Tom Harrell (tp,flhrn), Kenny Barron (p), Buster Williams (b) and Billy Hart (d)...

David Weiss Sextet—Auteur (Origin). Wow, talk about a smashing hard bop album. David is a sizzling, solid trumpeter-composer who fronts a solid band joined by Myron Walden (as), Nicole Glover (ts), David Bryant (p), Eric Wheeler (b) and E.J. Strickland (d). If Blue Note were still under the command of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, this is what their output would sound like. Five of the seven tracks are by David. The remaining two—Rebop and One for Bu—are by Freddie Hubbard and Slide Hampton, respectively. Most intriguing is that those two tracks have never been recorded before. A solid record with muscular music and sublime solos. To buy, go here. To listen, go here or to any streaming platform.

Here's Too Little, Too Late...

Sam Donahue. Artie Shaw enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and remained there for 18 months, leading a band on par with Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band. Exhaustion and the trauma of war zones in the Pacific created enormous anxiety for Shaw, who returned to the States and recuperated at a Navy base before being discharged. So what happened to the band Shaw led? Saxophonist Sam Donahue took over and gave the band a nifty sound.

Here's a taste...

And here's Convoy. One wonders whether this 1945 swinger influenced Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride in 1946...

Thelonious Monk radio. On October 10, WKCR-FM in New York will play Thelonious Monk's recordings for 24 hours (ET) in celebration of the pianist-composer's birthday. To listen from anywhere in the world, stream starting at 11:59 p.m. (ET)on Oct. 9 by going here.

And finally, Artie Shaw (above) in 1940 playing This Is Romance, co-arranged by Lennie Hayton and Shaw. Shaw's massive big band-orchestra: Billy Butterfield, Jack Cathcart and George Wendt (tp); Vernon Brown and Jack Jenney (tb); Artie Shaw (cl); Les Robinson and Neely Plumb (as); Bus Bassey and Jerry Jerome (ts); Johnny Guarnieri (p); Al Hendrickson (g); Truman Boardman, Ted Klages, Bill Brower, Bob Morrow, Alex Beller and Eugene Lamas (vln); Allan Harshman and Keith Collins (viola); Fred Goerner (cello); Jud DeNaut (b) and Nick Fatool (d). Go here.

Backgrounder: Sandy Mosse - 'Relaxin' With...'

Over the years, many jazz scribes have written that tenor saxophonist Sandy Mosse's sound was influenced by Lester Young. To me, that's not nuanced enough. Dozens of tenor saxophonists adopted Prez's easy-going style. I find that Mosse's true influence was Stan Getz. I can't think of any other player who comes as close to Getz's playing profile.

Getz, of course, was a disciple of Lester Young's approach, but he had his own forceful sound in the higher register. This is where Mosse also did most of his business. In 1958 and '59, Mosse recorded Relaxin' With... for the Argo label in Chicago, giving us a chance to compare the two.

Sandy Mosse died in 1983 at age 54.

The tracks:

• Fools Rush In (A)
• I'm Old Fashioned (A)
• Birks Works (A)
• Stella by Starlight (B)
• Love Is for the Very Young (B)
• Speak Low (B)
• My Man's Gone Now (B)
• Coconut Sweet (B)

The musicians:

(A) Sandy Mosse (ts), Junior Mance (p), Bob Cranshaw (b) and Marty Clausen (d)

(B) Sandy Mosse (ts); Eddie Higgins (p); Art Tabachnik, Carl Racine and George Palermo (vln); Harold Kupper (viola); Harry Wagman (cello); Bob Cranshaw (b); Marty Clausen (d) and Bill McRae (arr,cond) 

Here's the complete Relaxin' With... without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
• Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.
• The Return of Art Pepper, go here.
• Benny Golson and the Philadelphians, go here.
• Moacir Santos: Coisas, go here.
• Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Lock, the Fox, go here.
• Tony Bennett: The Movie Song Album, go here.
• Thad Jones/Mel Lewis: Consummation, go here.
• James Moody: Return From Overbrook, go here.
• Barry Galbraith: Guitar and the Wind, go here.
• Count Basie: With Quincy Jones and Neal Hefti, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Walk Softly, Run Wild!, go here.
• Dave Pike: Bossa Nova Carnival, go here.
• Clare Fischer: Só Danço Samba, go here.
• Reggie Johnson: First Edition, go here.
• John Graas: French Horn Jazz, go here.
• Eddie Lockjaw Davis & Johnny Griffin: Tough Tenor Favorites, go here.
• Bill Perkins: Bossa Nova With Strings Attached, go here.
• Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, go here.
• Pepper Adams Quintet, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plus 4, go here.
• Coleman Hawkins: Desafinado, go here.
• Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays, go here.
• Paul Quinichette: Moods, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest: Forrest Fire!, go here.
• Brazilian Jazz Quartet: Coffee and Jazz, go here.
• Art Blakey!!! Jazz Messengers!!!, go here.
• Sidney Bechet/Martial Solal, go here.
• John Carisi: The New Jazz Sound Of "Show Boat," go here.
• The Marty Paich Quartet, Featuring Art Pepper, go here.
• João Gilberto, 1998, go here.
• Bobby Timmons: Soul Time, go here.
• Gerry Mulligan: Jeru, go here.
• Ray Bryant: Alone With the Blues, go here.
• Leon Spencer Jr.: Bad Walking Woman, go here.
• Jimmy McGriff: Step 1, go here.
• Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Breakout, go here.
• Oliver Nelson: Taking Care of Business, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Americans in Paris, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Tune-Up!, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Yardbird Suite, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Twilight Time, go here.
• Lou Levy Quartet: Jazz in Four Colors, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Rapaz de Bem, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Poppin', go here.
• Barney Kessel: Kessel's Kit, go here.
• Larry Young: Into Somethin', go here.
• Henry Mancini: The Jazz Sound From Peter Gunn, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Night Crawler, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Around the Horn, go here.
• Frank Rosolino: Franky Speaking!, go here.
• Ben Webster: King of the Tenors, go here.
• Kenny Dorham: Una Mas, go here.
• Gigi Gryce: Nica's Tempo, go here.
• Charlie Parker With Strings: The Master Takes, go here.
• The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn Jr., go here.
• The Complete Chet Baker Sings, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Courts the Count, go here.
• Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19, go here.
• Kenny Burrell, Jazzmen - Detroit, go here.
• Bill Watrous, In Love Again, go here.
• Gene Ammons, Boss Tenor, go here.
• Roy Eldridge: The Strolling Mr. Eldridge, go here.
• Clifford Brown and Max Roach with Sonny Rollins, go here.
• Fats Navarro: Nostalgia, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Hank Mobley Quintet, go here.

Perfection: Ammons & Stitt - You Talk That Talk (1971)

1971, tenor saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons came together for one of their finest albums. The title track of You Talk That Talk is a blues composed by Leon Spencer Jr. The Prestige session featured Gene Ammons (ts), Sonny Stitt (ts), Leon Spencer Jr. (org), George Freeman (g) and Idris Muhammad (d).

The first tenor solo is by Ammons and the second by Stitt. Both are solid and tough. I only wish the full album was up online ad-free. This one would have been a Backgrounder. For now, the title track will have to do.

Here's You Talk That Talk...

Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...

• Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time, go here.
• John Coltrane: You Say You Care, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Funk Junction, go here.
• Art Farmer's Work of Art, go here.
• Miles Davis: A Gal in Calico, go here.
• Gene Krupa: Mulligan Stew, go here.
• Dave Brubeck: The Duke, go here.
• Horace Silver: The Back Beat, go here.
• Horace Parlan: Up & Down, go here.
• Dexter Gordon: Society Red, go here.
• Barney Kessel: You Go to My Head, go here.
• Count Basie: Corner Pocket, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Manteca, go here.
• Donald Byrd: Bronze Dance, go here.
• George Shearing: I'll Be Around, go here.

Glenn Miller Part 2: Videos

Fortunately for us, Glenn Miller made two jukebox films before he went into the Army in 1942—Sun Valley Serenade (1941) and Orchestra Wives (1942). Fortunately because his band was featured in both.

While they weren't playing live to camera (songs in films typically were recorded earlier and played through monitor speakers while the band played along on film). This avoided the risk of errors and retakes while filming and allowed actors' "vocals" and "trumpet solos" to be overdubbed by pros.

For example, on the female vocal side in Sun Valley Serenade, the voice you hear belongs to Pat Friday, who overdubbed for actress Lynn Bari's vocals. Here are videos from both films:

Here's Moonlight Serenade, the band's theme, and I Know Why and So Do You from Sun Valley Serenade (colorized). Bill Kirchner sent this clip along yesterday, which shows the reed configuration for the Glenn Miller sound...

Here's In the Mood from the same film...

Here's It Happened in Sun Valley from the same film...

Here's At Last from Orchestra Wives...

Here's Serenade in Blue from the same movie...

And here's I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo from the same film...

Glenn Miller: Chesterfield Broadcasts, 1940-'42

If you want to know what America's home front felt like during World War II, listen to Glenn Miller. I know that's an odd thing to say, but that's what an old timer told me one afternoon when my parents had a party at our house. I had mentioned my interest in the big bands, and that's what he said. It wasn't until several years later, in the late 1960s, when I was buying RCA double albums of the major orchestras of the period, that I understood what he meant.

Unlike other bands of the period that showed off the prowess of one instrument or another or a featured star singer, Miller was shooting for a collective mood. Often, that mood was calming, like a friend's gentle hand on your shoulder to settle you down. Miller's greatest strength was that he was gorgeously square. I wasn't around back in 1940, '41 and '42, obviously, but I know plenty about the period through reading and watching movies and documentaries. But the feel was missing until I listened at length to Miller.

Now, a new carefully mastered and curated two-CD set of radio broadcasts by Glenn Miller is out. Produced by Chuck Granata, Glenn Miller, The Historic Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade Broadcasts, Vol. 1, 1940-1942 has been released by the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society in Clarinda, Iowa. All of the tracks are drawn from previously unissued CBS broadcasts sponsored by Chesterfield smokes. These live on-air appearances were from the band's weekly live appearances.

The music is positively marvelous. First, the fidelity is stunning, and so are the tracks, complete with Miller banter interspersed. Second, the liner notes run 22 pages and feature commentary by Rob Ronzello and Karl Pearson, respected Miller aficionados and researchers. The booklet is loaded with archive photos.

The music gives you a feel for pre-suburban America, when the rural countryside began 20 minutes outside of any major city, work meant using your hands and back, and people traveled long distances by train and locally by bus. In those days, a house out of town usually meant a working or retired farm, a dirt road leading up to it and a "woody" sitting out front. Isolated, people clung to their radios for news and music, and bands had to record upbeat music and romantic ballads that slid between the tastes of adults and teens.

This new collection features Miller's stateside band in all its glory. His unique sound was achieved by arranging the clarinet to play in unison with the second tenor saxophone, an octave below, while the two altos and the first tenor played inner harmony above the second tenor's line. Of course, pianist George Shearing would create his famed sound based on pianist Milt Buckner's locked-hands piano style and Miller's reed voicings. [Photo above of Glenn Miller]

There are 60 tracks in all on the new set, including Miller's banter and dialogue. Many of the Miller hits are here, along with vocalists Marion Hutton, Bob Eberle and the Modernaires. Songs include In the Mood, Moonlight Serenade, I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo, Stardust, Anvil Chorus, American Patrol and Tuxedo Junction.

But there are sleepers as well, such as These Things You Left Me, Chip Off the Old Block, Always in My Heart, My Devotion and Sweet Eloise. The only two I wish were on the set are Blue Rain and At Last.

This is a rewarding release for anyone who digs Miller, for those curious about the band and want to get a sense of what the period felt like—just before the war and just after its start—and for those sitting in front of a fireplace. The music is what many American households listened to as global news worsened and America entered the war.

Miller would enlist in the Army in the summer of 1942 and began serving in October. He bacame a major and formed his Army Air Force Band with a bigger, more jumpy sound. Before he left, during his final Chesterfield broadcast, he announced that Harry James would be taking over his on-air slot. That famed announcement is included on this set.

Glenn Miller was declared dead on December 16, 1944 after hitching a ride in a Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman plane flying from England to France. The plane went into the English Channel the previous day before reaching France. The plane has never been found.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Glenn Miller: The Historic Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade Broadcasts, Vol. 1, 1940-1942 here.

Note: If you're a former smoker or trying to quit, unclick all the spoken-word tracks. The show really hawks the sponsor's product.

JazzWax clips: Here's These Things You Left Me...

These Things You Left Me

Here's In the Mood...

In the Mood

And here's Moonglow...

Moonglow

Bonus: Here's what the Miller band's sound looked like, from Sun Valley Serenade (1941)...

A special thanks to Dennis M. Spragg, Chuck Granata and Bill Kirchner.

Leo Wright: Suddenly the Blues (1962)

When he wasn't playing and recording in the 1960s with Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron, Milt Jackson and others, alto saxophonist and flutist Leo Wright recorded a handful of albums as a leader. One of the best of these was Suddenly the Blues. Recorded for Atlantic in April 1962, Wright's quartet included Leo Wright (as,fl), Kenny Burrell (g), Ron Carter (b) and Rudy Collins (d).

The album was his second studio recording as a leader, the first being Blues Shout for Atlantic in 1960. You'll notice that Suddenly the Blues does not have a pianist on board. It was a daring move by Wright, a concept guaranteed to give Burrell elevation, since he was the musician who would have to share solos and fill empty spaces. According to Gary Kramer's original liner notes, the risk Wright took worried him.

As Kramer writes:

The great pleasure given by an album like this is it lets you in on a musician's inner feelings and thought-processes to an extent impossible when he is soloing in a bigger and gaudier ensemble. "It is so easy to overdo," Leo says. His conscious aim, in both his playing and his writing, is "to express myself with simplicity and directness, minus clutter and pretense. From studying the records of Charlie Parker and from working with Dizzy Gillespie, I learned that simplicity, clarity and economic organization of musical materials are the marks of really great jazz performance, and not just being able to play very difficult music.'

By favoring power on the higher register of his instrument, Wright's sound on the alto saxophone probably sits somewhere between Jackie McLean and Sonny Criss. His clean, mellifluous flute can be compared to Bobby Jaspar's. The album's best tracks are Wright's own compositions and Schifrin's Dionysos. The real treat throughout is hearing Burrell comp with chords, as on Willow Weep for Me. [Photo above of Leo Wright]

The tracks:

• A Felicidade (Antonio Carlos Jobim)
• Greensleeves (Traditional)
• Gensel's Message (Leo Wright)
• The Wiggler (Wright)
• Tali (Tommy McIntosh)
• Dionysos (Lalo Schifrin)
• Sassy Lady (McIntosh)
• Willow Weep for Me (Ann Ronell)
• Suddenly the Blues (Wright)

Leo Wright died of a heart attack in 1991 at age 57.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Leo Wright's Suddenly the Blues (Atlantic) here with Blues Shout, and at major streaming platforms such as YouTube (here).

JazzWax clips: Here's Gensel's Message...

Here's Tali...

And here's Dionysos...