Doc's Jazz Music Reviews

In 1983 Jarrett asked bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette to record an album of jazz standards, simply entitled Standards, Volume 1. The trio has recorded numerous live and studio albums and 25 years later they are still going strong.

Enjoy this longtime trio as they blend and play off of each other. Here are performances of three standards: “My Funny Valentine, Autumn Leaves” and “ All the Things You Are”.


My Funny Valentine



Autumn Leaves



All the Things You Are

Afro Cuban Jazz

There are some talented jazz musicians all around the world and one of the biggest treasures is right off our coast in Cuba. Arturo Sandoval may be the most famous but there are many others. Enjoy!



Afro Cuban All Stars



After the Cuban revolution and the U.S. embargo against Cuba, the cultural exchange between the island and the States had been almost eliminated. The information flow from Cuba was not revived until the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. In the U.S. in the 1960es, Jazz, Soul, and Funk, along with Puerto Rican folklore and the Cuban dance music from the 1950es, were the main musical source that musicians would draw from. North American "Salsa" was rooted in that same soil. Beside the Descarga concept, which could be harmonically as simple as down to a one, two, or three chords, but extremely rhythmical, percussion-heavy, and based on hypnotizing guajeos (montunos) or bass ostinatos, Latin and Afro-Cuban Jazz in the U.S. continued to be primarily rooted in the North-American Jazz tradition, which offered more richness in interesting chord changes. Unlike the Cuban Son, Latin Jazz did not require a Hispanic lead vocalist, because it is largely an instrumental style, apart from occasional chorus shouts.

So, North-American Latin Jazz can typically be played by (North-American) Jazz musicians, with the addition of one Latin-percussionist to make up for the "Latin" component. Ordinary Jazz standards may be played with a Latin rhythm, maintaining the chord structure through the solo chorusses. Brazilian music, especially Bossa Nova, still finds easier acceptance by harmonically oriented Jazz players than Cuban music. Oftentimes, a certain stylistic ignorance is turned into the creative force that merges the wealth of Cuban, Brazilian and other Latin-American styles and rhythms into a new, Western style of Latin music. The percussionists that used to play with the Latin Jazz projects of Cal Tjader, George Shearing and the likes, were Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza, Candido Camero, Francisco Aguabella, Patato Valdés, Carmelo García, Willie Bobo and a few others, among them Ray Barretto.

by Thomas Altmann, 2005

http://www.ochemusic.de/artcujaz.htm

Natalie and Nat King Cole

One of my favorite singers of jazz standards is Ms Natalie Cole. Nat was renowned as a jazz pianist until one day the vocalist didn’t show up and the rest is history.

We have a couple ideas for future series here on Doc’s Jazz Reviews and here is your chance. Give some feedback in the comments.

Eliane Elias

Eliane Elias was born in São Paulo, Brazil and she is a jazz pianist, arranger, vocalist and songwriter. Elias lives and works in New York City ever since she settled there in 1981.

Call Me

Miles on MTV

Here is a little bit of Miles with a whole lot of Kenny Garrett and Marcus Miller.

Mr Pastorius

Diana Krall

Diana Krall is a jazz vocalist and pianist. Her piano playing opened the door for her in jazz circles but it has been primarily her vocal styling of songs that has given her the most commercial success.

The famed bass player Ray Brown (ex husband of Ella Fitzgerald) and Rosemary Clooney were two of her mentors. She has been recording since 1993 and her third album, “All for You”, spent 70 weeks on the Billboard jazz charts and garnered her a Grammy nomination.

A good introduction to Diana Krall may be her 2007 album entitled “The Best of Diana Krall”. On it you will find her singing “The Look of Love” and “Fly Me to the Moon” plus 13 others. This is a well put together collection and I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Diana is a real musical talent and a real asset to jazz music. Here she is performing one of her more popular songs:

Temptation

Roy Hargrove playing “I Remember Clifford”

Clifford Brown was an influential jazz trumpeter who died in 1956 at the age of 25 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He is known for his artistic prowess and also for the intensity of his playing.

Benny Golson wrote "I Remember Clifford" to honor his memory. The piece became an instant standard, as musicians paid tribute by recording their personal renditions of it.

Two of my favorite albums are by these two featured musicians. I love "Clifford Brown with Strings" and Roy Hargrove's "Moment to Moment".

Here is a clip of Clifford Brown followed by Roy Hargrove playing the tune “I Remember Clifford”.

Clifford Brown circa 1954



Roy Hargrove

Billy Holliday

Her life was captured in the movie “Lady Sings the Blues” where Diana Ross gave a gripping portrait of “Lady Day. The movie was based upon her autobiography also entitled. “Lady Sings the Blues”, which is a mixture of fact and fiction.

I thought about finishing up this series on “Female Jazz Vocalists” with a collection of contemporary singers, like Diana Krall and Eliane Elias, to name two, but I had to postpone that to include Billy Holliday in this series.

I must be honest and admit that I never particularly liked her voice, but it was very distinctive, and the way in which she presented a song stands out even to this day. Billy Holliday is almost like a metaphor, a picture of the pain and struggle of many Blacks who buckled under the hostile environment they experienced in early 20th century America. Many others persevered and accomplished great things.

The song “Strange Fruit” is a classic that has subtle references to lynching and racial violence against Blacks. It is a song of the times in which it was written.

Billy Holliday died at age 44 from various complications of abusing her body with heroin and alcohol for many years.

Requiem

God Bless the Child



Strange Fruit

Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson transcends the category of jazz singer but she can still sing jazz. We live in a day when very few singers will allow themselves to be categorized as just jazz singers. Here she is singing a beautiful song that is difficult to categorize followed by a Jazz standard:

Harvest Moon



Round Midnight




Here is a list of the 50 greatest female jazz vocalist of all time. Check it out and see if you agree.

http://www.waer.org/50women.html

Dianne Reeves Again

Dianne Reeves was featured before here on Doc’s Jazz Reviews but I had to revisit her because she is one of the best jazz vocalist of our day. This lady can really sing and phrase a song.

There are so many female jazz vocalist that I can’t feature them all this week but you will see many of them in the days ahead.

Diane Schuur

Diane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist who was blinded at birth. She is a two time Grammy winner and a leading jazz vocalist. Schuur’s debut album named Deedles is also her nickname. I am glad to see her settling down in jazz once again because this is really her forte.

I Just Found Out About Love (with The Count Basie Orchestra)



Love Dance

Ella

Even to this day, when the name Ella is mentioned many think of the singer extraordinaire. I grew up catching glimpses of her on television programs and I was always amazed at how good she could sing and how happy she appeared. If ever there was a person who seemed to enjoy singing then Ella Fitzgerald is that person.

The picture that has stayed with me is Ella in a cowgirl outfit singing on a bus with the rest of the band in a Roy Rogers movie. I think she was singing "A Tisket A Tasket" – whatever that is. But even in the ridiculous environment of a cowboy movie she still sounded pretty good.

Ella could sing Jazz probably better than anyone else. She is definitely the first lady of Jazz.. Here she is with the great Oscar Peterson. Enjoy!

The Female Jazz Vocalist

This week we will be featuring the female jazz vocalist. I have always had great admiration for those who can use their voice like an instrument. It is a treat to hear the various interpretations of great songs by different singers. Unfortunately, the jazz vocalist seems to be a dying breed.

I decided to start with the crème de la crème. In her prime Sarah was the best. Her vocal range went all the way from soprano to baritone and she had a beautiful vibrato.

Like many of her contemporaries, Sarah Vaughan resisted being labeled as a jazz singer to gain greater commercial success. During the sixties she was even invited to sing for Presidents Johnson and Ford.

Unfortunately, Sarah’s lifestyle was full of broken relationships, substance abuse and hard living. She was a heavy smoker most of her life and died in her mid sixties from lung cancer.

Sarah Vaughan singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in 1958



Here is Sarah during the twillight years of her life. This song is more than just a song, it is an opus. Experience the great Sarah Vaughan:

Here is George Benson playing “Stella by Starlight” with the McCoy Tyner Trio. This is Jazz guitar at its finest not to mention the keyboard artistry of the incredible McCoy Tyner.

I love Jazz standards. So much music in our day will not last, it is like smoke that just fades away. You can almost sense the blood, sweat and tears that went into the crafting of beautiful music like this. Maybe it is my bias, but Jazz music really is an American treasure. It takes incredible skill and talent to take a song like “Stella by Starlight” and to reinterpret it into a jazz mood. The arrangements to this song are almost endless.

This song was originally composed by Victor Young who made his name as a film composer. With Edward Heyman he wrote "When I Fall in Love" the timeless classic which has been sung by numerous artists over the years. He wrote the song "Stella by Starlight" with Ned Washington for the movie "The Uninvited”.

After you listen to the first version take the time to listen to another one entirely different. That is Peter Nero on the piano. Enjoy!

George



Peter

Here is John Coltrane along with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison. This group came to be known as his classic quartet and played together on Coltrane’s most famous album, “A Love Supreme”.

Alabama



Here is a little bonus. Enjoy a stroll through Brooklyn to the music of Ravi Coltrane, John and Alice Coltrane’s son.

I Love Brooklyn in the Morning

Christian Scott is an up and coming jazz trumpeter to keep an eye on. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2004 in less than half the time it takes the average student. I love his most recent album "Anthem" and in 2006, he made his major label debut on Concord Records with "Rewind That". Here is a clip:

"'Round Midnight" is a 1944 jazz standard composed by Thelonious Monk. It has been recorded more often than any other jazz standard. Take the time to compare this version to the one done by Keith Jarrett on the March 10th post this week.

It has been said that there is a thin line between genius and insanity. If ever there was a life that illustrated this perhaps more than any other, it was the life of Thelonious Monk.

Although strongly identified with bebop, Monk’s tendency to improvise and to push the bar really put him in a category that was all his own – at least for a time.

There is a dark horse that is frequently associated with Jazz and his name is heroin. He goes by other names on the streets such as smack and scag. Thelonious rode this dark horse for many years and like many other musicians it took its toll.

Round Midnight performed by Thelonious Monk

There is an interesting article on jazz and creativity entitled, "Creativity Jazzes Your Brain" By LAURAN NEERGAARD that I posted today. Here is the link: http://www.drjimcollier.com/

It will be in previous entries - reference todays date.

Take a Vacation and enjoy the powerful sax of Gato Barbieri. One of my favorite songs of all time is Europa written by Carlos Santana. If you ever get a chance to hear the version done by Gato you will become an instant fan.

Gato Barbieri playing Mystica while you look at some travel spots.




http://www.centralentertainment.com/gato/

Keith Jarrett is one of the greatest jazz pianist of our day. If he had a personality like Herbie Hancock he would be twice as famous but unfortunately, he does not. Keith has been known to curse at his audience and voice great displeasure at noise and flash photography when he is playing. This is rather strange since he is known to make noise himself.

I like his music and there is no disputing his talent. Here is a clip of Keith playing beautiful solo piano. The tune is “Round Midnight”, enjoy:




There is a good article on Keith Jarrett over at NPR, just follow the link:

http://www.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles/archive/jarrett_k.html

David Sanborn has an interesting story about how he came to play the sax. He had polio as a child and the doctor recommended to his mother that he play a wind instrument to rebuild his lung capacity. The rest, as they say, is history.

Although identified with smooth jazz, David has some chops and can play all kinds of Jazz. I love the clip previously posted here on this site where he is playing “Flamenco Sketches” with Chris Botti.

If you ever watch the movie “Romancing the Stone”, the sax performance at the very end is David Sanborn.

Chris Botti

Chris is extremely popular on the smooth jazz scene. In the last several years he has been making an attempt to distance himself from the identification of "smooth jazz artist".

On his last album, “Italia”, you can see that he has a broader range. I would like to see him continue this direction because it will extend his career. He can really express a range on his trumpet.

A lot of music is following the same path as the photography scene today. The technology has enabled virtually everybody to take technically great pictures but what about creativity. Who is the real artist?

How often do we have to hear about some pop superstar who is caught lip-sinking? Many of the sounds we hear in contemporary music can be projected out of the keyboard area. I want to hear the real thing. I tip my hat to Chris Botti for playing real music at his concerts. This rendition of "A Thousand Kisses Deep" is far superior to the cut off of his album.

Enjoy but don't forget to check out Leonard Cohen's poem in the clip montage at the end:

Here is a band from the Tampa, Florida area. Every weekend, and sometimes weekdays, there are thousands of bands and performers out there in the trenches. I just want to give them their props.

"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity. -Louis Pasteur ", French Chemist

Why do we do what we do? It takes a certain measure of tenacity to stay at something for years, and sometimes even decades with little of the signs of success.

I was talking to a friend the other day as we prepared to do a radio program/ podcast. Somehow our talk flowed to the need for discipline to be really creative. The thought is that when we begin to master the technical aspects of our craft, only then are we free to flow over into true creativity. Why? Because then we are able to forget about how to play the instrument, or how to get certain sounds out of our voice, and just play or sing. Think about it!

“Over all, I think the main thing a musician would like to do is give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things that he knows of and senses in the universe. . . That’s what I would like to do. I think that’s one of the greatest things you can do in life and we all try to do it in some way. The musician’s is through his music.”
John Coltrane

He also said this: “I’m into scales right now.”

Project Necessary

Jam Session

It is always fun to see well established musicians get together and just jam a little. I looked at some of the comments on Youtube and the discussion digressed into who is the best on sax. Why do we do that - compare one professional with another - or even compare ourselves with each other. A little knowledge can stir up ignorance. It appears to me that they enjoyed hearing each other play.

I am listening to Christian Scott while I type this blog and this young man is awesome. Gifting plus discipline - what an incredible combination. Look for a clip or two of his in the near future. I love his album "Anthem". Well that is for another time, enjoy the jam clip:

Always There

Rick Braun : Trumpet, Kenny Garrett : Alto Sax, Boney James : Tenor Sax, Kirk Whalum : Tenor Sax, Larry Carlton : Guitar, George Duke : Keyboards, Billy Kilson : Drums, Mike Manson : Bass.

1999 Montreux Jazz Fetival

Richard Elliot

Last year my wife and I went to a concert called “Jazz Attack” and she was really impressed with Richard Elliot. The sax he played was almost as big as he, but the sound he got out of it was super big. Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, Peter White and Richard Elliot – what a show.

Richard was part of the horn section for the great band Tower of Power back in the 60’s and 70’s. I love the way a horn section will make an impact upon a tune. One of my favorite gospel artist is Israel Houghton who utilizes a horn section on many of his songs.

Let me warn you about this clip. The camera is moving all over the place but the sound is pretty good. Stick it out till the end and check out the montage and you will find some good music by Mr. Elliot. Enjoy!

Boney James & Rick Braun

Smooooth Jazz - I like this kind of music, it serves a purpose. This week I dedicate the posts to my wife Lin. Sometimes she will hear me listening to some straight up jazz and there will either be silence or a little crinkle on her nose. I know that she likes smooth jazz and can not quite understand my love of the nuance of “real” jazz.

From Wikipedia with the links included: "Smooth jazz, also sometimes referred to as new adult contemporary music is generally described as a genre of music that utilizes instruments (and, at times, improvisation) traditionally associated with jazz and stylistic influences drawn from mostly R&B, but also funk and pop. Since the late 1980s and into the 1990s, it has become successful as a radio format. Despite its apparently large following, there has been something of a backlash against the genre, mostly from jazz purists who consider its recordings bland, overly commercial and not jazz".

Smooth Jazz will only take you so far and no further. I believe the idea is not to challenge you but to soothe you. As I said before, it serves its purpose. As long as you don’t try to turn it into something else, you should be able to enjoy it.

Is some of what passes for smooth jazz trite and canned? Absolutely! It is difficult to explain but you want to experience the creativity of the musician. This will take you into various genres and styles but if the pursuit is good music then you will find it.

Here is a representation of good, enjoyable, and creative smooth jazz:

The origins of the Messengers are in a series of groups led or co-led by Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver, although the name was not used on the earliest of their recordings.

Two of the group's most famous lineups featured Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone. The first was a quintet that existed from 1959 to 1961 and included Blakey, Shorter, Jymie Merritt, Lee Morgan, and Bobby Timmons.

The second (1961–1964) was a sextet that added trombonist Curtis Fuller and replaced Morgan and Timmons with Freddie Hubbard and Cedar Walton, respectively. Shorter was the musical director of the group, and many of his original compositions such as "Lester Left Town" remained staples of Blakey's repertoire even after Shorter's departure. (Other players over the years made permanent marks on Blakey's repertoire — Timmons, composer of "Dat Dere" and "Moanin'", Benny Golson, composer of "Along Came Betty" and "Are You Real", and, later, Bobby Watson.)

Shorter's more experimental inclinations pushed the band at the time into an engagement with the 1960s "New Thing", as it was called: the influence of Coltrane's contemporary records on Impulse! is evident on Free For All (1964), often cited as the greatest document of the Shorter-era Messengers (and certainly one of the most fearsomely powerful examples of hard bop on record)

Night in Tunisia

Jazz Messengers – Wayne Shorter , Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Jymie Merritt, Walter Davis Jr