What are you listening to? Jazz, World, New Age, Rock, etc.

[Haydnseek]

Several of us here listen to jazz music as well as classical. Someone tried to establish a thread on this music before without much success. Let’s try it again. It would be interesting to know what sort of jazz appeals to the classical fan and read recommendations of good recordings.

I’ve been listening to two trumpet players lately, one contemporary and one from the past.

The contemporary artist is the prolific film composer Terence Blanchard, who also happens to be one of the leading trumpet players of his generation. Blanchard joined the two tracks of his musical career in an album called “Jazz in Film” on the Sony label. He arranged music from jazz influenced film scores for an improvising septet backed by an orchestra. In addition to his own score for Spike Lee’s “Clockers” Blanchard played music by:

Alex North: A Streetcar Named Desire
Jerry Goldsmith: Chinatown
Duke Ellington: Anatomy of a Murder
Bernard Herrmann: Taxi Driver
Elmer Bernstein: The Man with the Golden Arm
Andre Previn: The Subterraneans
Quincy Jones: The Pawnbroker

The septet is distinguished: Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Donald Harrison on alto sax, Steve Turre on trombone, Kenny Kirkland on piano, Reginald Veal on bass, and Carl Allen on drums.

The music is emotional, lyrical and atmospheric - very cool stuff. There is a Film Noir mood to some of the pieces and you could imagine a Robert Mitchum “Out of the Past” voiceover fitting right in:

“I never saw her in the daytime. We seemed to live by night. What was left of the day went away like a pack of cigarettes you smoked. I don't know what we were waiting for. Maybe we thought the world would end. Maybe we thought it was a dream and we'd wake up with a hangover in Niagara Falls. How big a chump can you get to be? I was finding out."

The trumpet player from the past is Bunny Berigan (1908-1942) who was probably the leading swing trumpeter of the 1930’s. Indeed it was Berigan’s solo in “King Porter Stomp” with Benny Goodman’s band at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles in 1935 that ignited the crowd and radio listeners and marked the beginning of the Big Band/Swing craze that swept the world. Later he made one of the greatest swing recordings, “I Can’t Get Started,” with his own orchestra. He had a wonderful tone and a wide range, and he played with great freedom and daring. When you hear him enter your attention is drawn immediately. He was a brilliant original.

My recording is a 5 disc box set from the JSP label that features Berigan as a sideman, often alongside the Dorsey brothers or under their leadership, and as a leader of small groups. His colleagues on these recordings are generally of a high caliber. There are more vocal recordings throughout the set than I would like to have. Some of the singers are weak as are the lyrics they sing, but there are also some first class people like Mildred Bailey, Connie Boswell (alone and with her sisters) and Bing Crosby and Lee Wiley each do a couple of tunes.

"I've always admired Bunny for his tone, his soul, his technique, and his sense of phrasing....To me, Bunny can do no wrong in music." - Louis Armstrong

[BWV 1080]

Good thread

Wayne Shorter: Hear no Evil
Monk: Underground
John Scofield: UberJam
Some cheapo Louis Armstrong CD's

[Ted]

For my money Diana Krall’s piano playing and vocalizing are where it’s at today.
Pianist Bill Charlap and his mother (yes his mother) Sandy Stewart have a new CD that’s worth a listen
I’ve always liked Blossom Dearie, Stacy Kent and Beverly Kenny

[Haydnseek]

For my money Diana Krall’s piano playing and vocalizing are where it’s at today.
Pianist Bill Charlap and his mother (yes his mother) Sandy Stewart have a new CD that’s worth a listen
I’ve always liked Blossom Dearie, Stacy Kent and Beverly Kenny

I enjoy Diana Krall very much. She should have a long career with the best yet to come. I was reading a review of another young woman pianist/singer named Dena DeRose that made me want to hear her work. I haven't heard Blossom Dearie in many years but I remember she had an unusual voice and a lot of wit. Stewart, Kent and Kenny are unknown to me. Charlap appears to be on his way to a major career.

[miranda]

oh man, i love jazz--in all its many forms. today i listened to three cd's from the amazing albert ayler holy ghost box set (on the revenant records label). ayler is definitely weird, avant-garde stuff, but i find his music glorious.

i love blossom dearie, too. my gentleman friend is a beautiful album. for female jazz vocalists, i also love billie holiday, anita o'day, peggy lee, dinah washington, ella fitzgerald, rosemary clooney, sarah vaughn, nina simone, and lorez alexandria.

some of my favorite recordings lately have been:

louis armstrong--the hot fives and sevens, 4-cd set
charles mingus--blues and roots
duke ellington--black, brown and beige
duke ellington--live at newport 1956
duke ellington--new orleans suite
sun ra--nuclear war
archie shepp--blase
miles davis--in a silent way
eric dolphy--a far cry
lionel hampton--tempo and swing
lena horne--stormy weather
alice coltrane--ptah, the el daoud
john coltrane--a love supreme

i could go on and on, but i'll stop for now.

[Haydnseek]

i love blossom dearie, too. my gentleman friend is a beautiful album. for female jazz vocalists, i also love billie holiday, anita o'day, peggy lee, dinah washington, ella fitzgerald, rosemary clooney, sarah vaughn, nina simone, and delorez alexandria.

I concur with you on all of these singers with the exception of Alexandria who I’ve never heard. Do you know the English singer Cleo Laine? I have several of her recordings and heard her in person a couple of times, once singing duets with Mel Torme and another time with the Duke Ellington Orchestra led by her husband John Dankworth.

[miranda]

hadynseek, you can listen to samples of lorez alexandria <a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... c>here.</a>

and this album is definitely worth owning. she was a great singer, and it's a shame she's not better known.

i haven't heard of cleo laine. i'll have to check her out.

[Haydnseek]

Paul Desmond - Easy Living
Art Farmer - Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn

[miranda]

booker little--complete recordings

[Haydnseek]

Woody Shaw: Setting Standards
Joe Henderson: Lush Life

[Gary]

Great thread, Haydnseek!

I've been looking for a jazz version of "What are you listening to?"

Currently, I'm listening to Duke Ellington's jazzed-up versions of The Nutcracker Suite and Peer Gynt Suites No. 1 & 2. The way I see it, it's the best of both worlds!

A third suite on the CD is an Ellington-Strayhorn original, called Suite Thursday.


CD Title: Duke Ellington: Three Suites
Label: Columbia Jazz Masterpieces/Columbia

The Nutcracker Suite:

Overture
Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance of the Reed-Pipes)
Peanut Brittle Brigade (March)
Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy)
Entr'Acte
The Volga Vouty (Russian Dance)
Chinoiserie (Chinese Dance)
Danse of the Floreadores (Waltz of the Flowers)
Arabesque Cookie (Arabian Dance)


Peer Gynt Suites No. 1 & 2

Morning Mood
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Solvejg's Song
Ase's Death
Anitra's Dance


Suite Thursday

Misfit Blues
Schwiphti
Zweet Zurzday
Lay-By

[miranda]

sonny rollins--way out west

[Haydnseek]

Moe Koffman Quintet: Devil's Brew

[Ted]

Haydnseek Wrote:

I enjoy Diana Krall very much.

H My apologies for not replying earlier
Re Diana, this past weekend on the PBS Lincoln Center “Higher Ground” broadcast she performed a terrific version of “Basin Street Blues” The difference was (and I think it significant) she sat on a stool and sang while someone else played the piano.
As far as I know, this is a first for her, then again, as great as she is a jazz pianist, her vocalizing is no less amazing
BTW, if you haven’t heard her perform Joni Mitchell’s “Case of You” (Live in Paris) it’s worth the effort to seek it out

[Haydnseek]

Haydnseek Wrote:

I enjoy Diana Krall very much.

H My apologies for not replying earlier
Re Diana, this past weekend on the PBS Lincoln Center “Higher Ground” broadcast she performed a terrific version of “Basin Street Blues” The difference was (and I think it significant) she sat on a stool and sang while someone else played the piano.
As far as I know, this is a first for her, then again, as great as she is a jazz pianist, her vocalizing is no less amazing
BTW, if you haven’t heard her perform Joni Mitchell’s “Case of You” (Live in Paris) it’s worth the effort to seek it out

Nat Cole played the piano less as his singing career took off but he never gave it up completely. Ever hear his "After Midnight" album from 1956 in which he revisits some of his hits with his trio and guests like Harry Edison? It's a very nice disc.

[Ted]

Nat Cole played the piano less as his singing career took off

He had a very unique style, I love the stuff he did with the trio, BTW Harry “Sweets” Edison is one of the most recorded players in the history of Jazz recordings with Milt Hilton right there with him
Also for got to mention John Pizzarelli ,his wife Jessica Molaskey and Jane Monheit

[Haydnseek]

Nat Cole played the piano less as his singing career took off

He had a very unique style, I love the stuff he did with the trio, BTW Harry “Sweets” Edison is one of the most recorded players in the history of Jazz recordings with Milt Hilton right there with him
Also for got to mention John Pizzarelli ,his wife Jessica Molaskey and Jane Monheit

Pizzarelli is coming to Baltimore in December to perform an all-Arlen program with the symphony. I might catch it.

TGIF. I'm on my own for most of this evening so it's an opportunity to sit back with a glass or two of red wine and blast my favorite modern big band at high volume. Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass was an orchestra from Canada that disbanded not too long ago after some thirty years or more (McConnell leads a Tentet now.) The level of musicianship in this band was very, very high. McConnell is a superb arranger and composer with a distinctive personal style.

[Ted]

Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass

Hay

This is where we differ...
With the exception of his version of “Oh Canada” Rob McConnell’s style is too brassy and too discordant for my tastes.

If you have XM satellite radio or sometimes via online streaming, you should try to catch Jonathan Schwartz (Sat/Sun Noon to 4). (WNYC.org)
He is the ultimate musicologist and keeper of the American Songbook—he plays McConnell rather frequently.
t

[Haydnseek]

With the exception of his version of “Oh Canada” Rob McConnell’s style is too brassy and too discordant for my tastes.

Another modern big band led by a gifted arranger/composer that I am just becoming familiar with is the veteran Bob Florence Limited Edition. Some of their recordings should be arriving in the mail soon.

If you have XM satellite radio or sometimes via online streaming, you should try to catch Jonathan Schwartz (Sat/Sun Noon to 4). (WNYC.org)
He is the ultimate musicologist and keeper of the American Songbook—he plays McConnell rather frequently.

Unfortunately, the website says the Schwarz show is not available for streaming due to contractual reasons.

WYPR in Baltimore has a show called American Songbook every Friday from 8-9pm – Probably just your sort of show. It can be heard through the web.

http://www.wypr.org/

One of my favorite radio programs is the long-running, three hour-long “Hot Jazz Saturday Night” from WAMU in Washington DC. It is also carried on Armed Forces Radio and NPR World. The show has a theme each week and you certainly would have enjoyed the one marking the Dorothy Fields centennial. HJSN can be heard live on the web and is made available for a week after airing as on demand listening.

http://www.wamu.org/programs/hjsn/

[Haydnseek]

Well, there hasn’t been as much interest in this thread as I hoped, but I’ll soldier on a little while longer.

This evening I’ve been listening to



Ellington is often mentioned as a major American composer as well as the leader and pianist of a popular jazz band. This very inexpensive 4 CD set from the British Proper label would be my first recommendation for a classical music lover who wanted to learn what all the fuss was about. You can pick it up at www.daedalusbooks.com for about US$ 20.

Ranging from the primitivism of his early “jungle” style to the urbane sophistication of later pieces this collection will provide a good introduction to the art of Edward Kennedy Ellington.

[Gary]

The Modern Jazz Quartet

Lonely Woman





Fontessa

[Haydnseek]

Parker's Mood: The Roy Hargrove/Christian McBride/Stephen Scott Trio



Hank Mobley: Soul Station



Plus quite a bit of the older stuff like Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti, Bunny Berigan, Lee Wiley.

I was on a Dizzy Gillespie binge for a few weeks not long ago.

[miranda]

and


Lionel Hampton--Tempo and Swing

[Haydnseek]

Miranda,

The Monk/Coltrane 1957 Carnegie Hall Concert Album has been praised very highly in the press for both its music and sound quality. Is it as good as they say?

[rogch]

I have been listening to Charles Mingus lately, the last album i checked out was Blues and roots. If i don't stop this Mingus-thing soon i will be addicted.

[miranda]

Hadynseek: to these decidedly unexpert ears, yes, it is as good as they say, and then some. It's an album well worth owning, in my opinion.

and rogch, Mingus can definitely be addictive. My collection of his albums is testament to that---I currently have 14 Mingus albums, and that's only scratching the surface of the man's recorded output.

[Haydnseek]

Where should one begin with the music of Charles Mingus?

[miranda]

Hadynseek: I'd suggest starting with Mingus, Ah Um. It includes wonderful tributes to both Lester Young (Goodbye Pork Pie Hat) and Duke Ellington (Open Letter to Duke). It was recorded in 1959, but still sounds fresh and spontaneous today. The song title "Better Git It In Your Soul" kind of gives you an idea of what this album is like--bluesy, soulful, and swinging. Plus, it's available on amazon for under ten bucks.

After that, I'd suggest Blues and Roots. If you ever decide to delve deeper into the world of Charles Mingus, there's a *marvelous* album called Weary Blues which features Langston Hughes reciting poetry to Mingus' musical accompaniment. But I digress....

[Haydnseek]

Selections from a superbly remastered 5 CD box set of Jelly Roll Morton's music:

[Haydnseek]

Chet Baker: Young Chet. Recordings of standards mostly from the mid 1950's by the very lyrical trumpeter.

[miranda]

Ooooh, that Chet Baker album looks tempting, Hadynseek. The Jelly Roll Morton stuff looks good as well. Too bad that I already have way too many cd's as it is....

[Gary]

[Haydnseek]

The Wynton Marsalis Septet: The Marciac Suite



The Susie Arioli Swing Band, featuring Jordan Officer: Pennies from Heaven

[Corlyss_D]

Hey, Haydn, I heard your girl Lee Wiley tonight driving home from curling. She has a very cabaret kinda voice. Quite striking.

[Ted]

Lee Wiley is one of Johnathan's faves--mine too
Have you heard Beverly Kenney--Flipped out terriffic
She died (suicide) in the late 50's I belive

Monday, January 31, 2005
Beverly Kenney
To the best of my knowledge, little has been written about the life of the late jazz singer Beverly Kenney. Only Jonathan Schwartz's article in the November 1992 issue of GQ came anywhere close to being comprehensive, and even that left a lot of questions unanswered. Most obviously, still dangling with a big question mark over it, is the cause of her suicide in 1960 when she was, if not THE Girl of the Year, at least A Girl . . ..

And so I set out to see if I couldn't overturn a few more stones regarding the suicide of a woman still in her twenties who seemingly had, if not everything, at least a lot to live for. In the end, however, I'm afraid I didn't come much closer to solving the riddle of her self-willed death than Jonathan Schwartz did.

One thing I did come to sense, though, from talking to a number of friends and professional associates, was that Kenney never really had a chance. The only dissenting voice, in that regard, is one of her closest friends, actress Millie Perkins, who contends that she NEVER saw it coming. Which, finally, makes Kenney's suicide all that much more paradoxical and puzzling.

http://people-vs-drchilledair.blogspot. ... chive.html

[Haydnseek]

Beverly Kenney--Flipped out terriffic

I'd never heard of her - thanks for the tip. A quick search found an album with the wonderful pianist Ellis Larkins as accompanist.

By the way, here is a source for information on the great songwriters:

http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/in ... by_era.asp

[Haydnseek]

Hey, Haydn, I heard your girl Lee Wiley tonight driving home from curling. She has a very cabaret kinda voice. Quite striking.

You're right, she's not really a jazz singer although she was always backed by jazz musicians of high quality. She always sounds like she's singing in a smokey cafe somewhere late in the evening.

The TV ratings for Olympic Curling were surprisingly high - so much that we may see it televised more often. I found it almost addictive to watch.

[Corlyss_D]

Hey, Haydn, I heard your girl Lee Wiley tonight driving home from curling. She has a very cabaret kinda voice. Quite striking.

You're right, she's not really a jazz singer although she was always backed by jazz musicians of high quality. She always sounds like she's singing in a smokey cafe somewhere late in the evening.

Spot on! She was doing a very atmospheric version of I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance. They followed it with a whole album of Sinata from I'd say the fifties with his own version of the same song. It was a nice OTOH that Schwartz is always doing.

The TV ratings for Olympic Curling were surprisingly high - so much that we may see it televised more often. I found it almost addictive to watch.

I found it so addictive I decided to "jine up." About 50 or so people - newbies - turned up for the open house/clinic last night at the Cache Valley Stone Club. I spent a lot of time flat on my ass on the ice, which is surprisingly stable when it's been pebbled. So far I've gotten only 1 stone over the far hog line. Some of the young guys were literally cavorting - running scampering and sliding at will without falling down. It was fun for something so cold. I'm going back next week.

[Corlyss_D]

Lee Wiley is one of Johnathan's faves--mine too
Have you heard Beverly Kenney--Flipped out terriffic
She died (suicide) in the late 50's I belive

I've checked the display many times when she's been singing. I haven't identified any unique characteristics such that I can say of her sound, "That's Beverly Kenny" without looking at the dial. I can identify many singers by now without looking, including one younger singer Brian Ferry, whose sound is straight out of the Rudy Vallee era, including the vibrato. I understand he's a rock singer by trade, but he does very nice covers of Love Me or Leave Me and several others.

There's another young singer that committed suicide in 2002 whose name escapes me - I wonder what's in these singers choice of repertoire that suicide or suicidal behavior seems to mark their bios. I saw a show on Billie Holliday the other night. Wadda life! Who'd want it, just to have a voice like hers? And for the record, I'm one of those Stanley Crouch referred to who prefer her younger sound to her older sound.

[Haydnseek]

I’ve been enjoying a couple of recordings by contemporary musicians who play in the Hot Jazz styles of the 1920’s and 30’s. There is quite a lively scene for this music and there are labels such as Stomp Off and Arbors which specialize in it. I don’t usually buy this sort of thing since it’s so readily available on radio (listeners to the programs A Prairie Home Companion and Riverwalk, Live at the Landing will be familiar with some of the musicians) but these recordings by pianist Keith Ingham, guitarist/singer Marty Grosz and “their Hot Cosmopolites” showcase the music of quintessential 1920’s songwriters DeSylva, Brown and Henderson and Walter Donaldson and I couldn’t resist. The former wrote such hits as “The Varsity Drag,” “Birth of the Blues,” “You’re the Cream in My Coffee,” “Button up Your Overcoat,” and “The Thrill is Gone” which are included on this CD. Brown and Henderson also wrote “Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries”, “Bye, Bye Blackbird”, “Five Foot Two and Eyes of Blue.” Donaldson wrote the tunes “My Blue Heaven,” “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” and “Love Me or Leave Me” heard on the CD plus “My Buddy,” “Carolina in the Morning,” “Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby,” and “Makin’ Whoopie.” These recordings aren’t masterpieces but they're a lot of fun.

[Corlyss_D]

Tempo King. Very reminiscient of Fats Waller, but not.

Haydy, have you ever heard anthing of these guys? There was a tantallizing write up on Amazon.

[Haydnseek]

Tempo King. Very reminiscient of Fats Waller, but not.

Haydy, have you ever heard anthing of these guys? There was a tantallizing write up on Amazon.

Never heard of him; an obscure figure of the 1930's it would seem. The only info I could find was a single recording listed on Amazon which must be what you were referring to. You might enjoy Marty Grosz who I mentioned before. When Terry Gross did an American Popular Song series on her Fresh Air radio program he was the main guest for the show on Fats Waller.

http://www.jazzbymail.com/ViewArtist.as ... %20Friends

[Haydnseek]

The Public Radio show "Hot Jazz Saturday Night" from WAMU in Washington, DC is airing its annual all-Bix Beiderbecke program this evening Saturday, March 11 from 7pm to 10pm EST. You can listen online.

http://www.wamu.org/programs/hjsn/

[Haydnseek]

This weekend, among other recordings, I've listened several times to two very famous albums from the late 1950's: Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's Somethin' Else with Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Sam Jones and Art Blakey. Wonderful arrangements and solos! Very cool!



and Horace Silver's Blowin' the Blues Away with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor and Louis Hayes. Silver is still with us - one of the most original and influential figures in jazz, if not quite a household name. As the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz puts it "He is a prolific composer, and one of very few jazz musicians to record almost exclusively original material; his work consistently combines simplicity and profundity in a rhythmically infectious style which, despite its sophistication, sounds completely natural."

[Corlyss_D]

Haydn, I got one for you. I was watching Rio Grande Saturday and admired the work of Ken Curtis, the lead singer with Sons of the Pioneers at the time the movie was made (1950). Afterward, I watched the special features too, including some wonderful interviews with Ben Johnson and Harry Carey, Jr. In one the speaker noted that when Frank Sinatra left Tommy Dorsey's band, Ken Curtis replaced him. I bout fell out of the chair. I knew Curtis had a lovely tenor voice and had sung with the SOTP but never imagined he had sung the Great American Songbook too. I've emailed Jonathan Schwartz enquiring if he has any discs he could play of Curtis with the Dorsey band.

[Haydnseek]

...when Frank Sinatra left Tommy Dorsey's band, Ken Curtis replaced him.

I suppose the next thing you'll tell me is that Gabby Hayes sang with Jimmy's band.

[rogch]

If you haven't done so already, you should all check out the Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson (1931-1968). He had such a lovely touch in his fingers. He often mixed jazz and folk musik and his most popular record is probably "jazz på svenska" (jazz in Swedish). He is only accompanied by a bass, but the melodies and harmonies make you want to cry. It could perhaps be called blues in Swedish, plenty of northern melancholy. Other albums are "jazz på rysska" (jazz in Russian), and "musik gjennom fyra sekler" (music through four decades) and many more.

Johansson did not only seek inspiration from folk music, he had plenty of original ideas. Once he played the Tahiti Trot backwards, played the recorded version backwords and at the same time played it forwards. The result was a weird duet with himself!

Johnansson was multi-talented. Apart from the piano he also played guitar, organ and accordion. He was working on a larger orchestral work when he died tragically in a car crash in 1968, just 37 years old.

[Haydnseek]

Thanks for the recommendation. "jazz på svenska" (jazz in Swedish) is available from Tower.com so I will listen to the samples this evening.

Scandinavian musicians are quite prominent in contemporary jazz and are taking it in new directions it would seem.

[Corlyss_D]

...when Frank Sinatra left Tommy Dorsey's band, Ken Curtis replaced him.

I suppose the next thing you'll tell me is that Gabby Hayes sang with Jimmy's band.

No, it's true.

Ken Curtis, the son of a Colorado county sheriff, left his home state to seek his fortune as a singer in Los Angeles. He quickly met up with singer Jo Stafford who sent Ken's demo recording to band leader Tommy Dorsey. Dorsey signed Ken as a replacement for Frank Sinatra.

Curtis left Dorsey's band to serve in the Army during World War II. At the end of the war, he sang the tune "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" on Stafford's radio show. The song, an immediate hit, launched his career as a cowboy actor/singer. He subsequently appeared in several John Ford films, including The Searchers, How the West Was Won and Rio Grande. (Ken's ability to land such roles was probably due in part to his 1952 marriage to Ford's daughter, Barbara.)

I see from an appreciation website devoted to him that the association is somewhat ambiguous, but you need to hear the voice before you laff it to derision. Run down to the bottom of the page and click on photo "the singing Ken." The tune Down by the Glenside is from one of the serenade scenes in Rio Grande.

You can rest assured that if I find out Hayes sang with Jimmy, I'll tell you.

[BWV 1080]

The early Ali Farka Toure recordings - sort of a re-Africanized Robert Johnson. Ali Farka Toure grew up in rural Mali listening to Delta blues players and quickly realized, in his words "that music came from here".



Listen here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/world/review ... e_red1.ram

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/world/review ... e_red2.ram