The History Book Club discussion

From one of the greatest Jazz albums ever: Somethin' Else

Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Sam Jones, Art Blakey:

Autumn Leaves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFKBLK...

Cannonball Adderley:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvTiTi...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScTalG...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HSFhi...

Bob Baldwin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE8PvT...

This looks interesting, particularly for fans of New Orleans jazz:

by Harold Battiste Jr. wtih Karen Celestan
"The writing is where I dump my downs...The music is where I dump my ups."

In this heartbreakingly honest memoir, acclaimed jazz musician Harold Battiste Jr. revisits the highs and the lows of an unparalleled career. Born and raised in New Orleans, Battiste has served as an ambassador for the city's jazz tradition—and the African-American artists at the heart of that tradition—from East Coast to West, classroom to studio, soundstage to set.

A producer, Battiste launched the careers of Dr. John, Sonny & Cher, Sam Cooke, Joe Jones, and Barbara George. Unfinished Blues introduces an array of jazz luminaries and pop stars: Duke Ellington, Ornette Coleman, Cannonball Adderley, Barry White, the O'Jays, and Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.

A businessman, Battiste founded All for One (AFO), the nation's first African-American owned and operated record label—and recorded the first wave of contemporary jazz artists in New Orleans, including clarinetist Alvin Batiste, drummers Ed Blackwell and James Black, saxophonists Nat Perrilliat and Alvin "Red" Tyler, and pianist Ellis Marsalis

An educator, Battiste worked alongside Ellis Marsalis to build the world-renowned jazz studies program at the University of New Orleans. He can count among his protégés many of today's leading young jazz musicians—a "next generation" of artists keeping the New Orleans sound alive.

A community leader, Battiste has served on the Louisiana State Music Commission; the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation School of Music; the Louisiana Jazz Federation; and the Congo Square Cultural Collective.

A sense of urgency propels Battiste's journey: "The old cats who gave us our roots are dying," he senses. "And the new cats in N.O. can't absorb the full heritage because too many of us are not there or have quit playing or caring." And so he keeps playing, keeps caring. Keeps writing too—dumping the downs, lifting us one and all with the ups. Unfinished Blues begins as his story but ends as a communal story of struggle, strength, and renewal.

The bass man himself.....Ray Brown and his trio doing "Blue Monk"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYWHMF...

Harold Battiste Jr.!!!! Fantastic, Alisa!
Here are two nice interviews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pfbTq...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjzJhc...

Harold Battiste Jr. wtih Karen Celestan

Sam Cooke - with Harold on Piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stMV1Z...

The 5th Dimension (arranged by Harold)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPnaZK...

(just two examples of his talent and work. The man was about everywhere....!)

Jill wrote: "The bass man himself.....Ray Brown and his trio doing "Blue Monk"

Niiiiice, Jill!

Ray Brown & John Clayton having some fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDHPK4...

Ray Brown

Ron Carter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfUqgg...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4n8fL...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-_iBh...

Ron Carter

Thank you for the adds Andre.

Bentley wrote: "Thank you for the adds Andre."

Always a pleasure, especially with Alisa and Jill adding two Greats!

Check out Dizzy Gillespie's daughter Jeanie Bryson, a very talented jazz singer. She is a gem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zxtBi...

Talking about Lady singers?

Here's Catherine Russell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdFi1a...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ursgV...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blm5Sh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI-7em...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3rmAZ...

Shirley Horn
(I know I posted some of her work before - but, hey, she's just so F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.!!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSL5AH...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnB7lC...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dDb22...

I love Shirley Horn........sooooo good. Her "Once I Loved" is just exquisite. Thanks, Andre.

Let's uhm change the setting:

Ocean's Eleven Main Title Theme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llRmyR...

by David Holmes

The smoothest of the smooth.......Wes Montgomery with "Round Midnight".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOm17y...

My favorite Montgomery album is "Booze and Cigarettes" LP, which spawned a 1000 covers of "Aint No Sunshine" and "We all need Somebody to Lean On" We sang that last song in church once !

Thanks Jill and Scott (Jill, since your link is not accepted in Europe I post another version).
I also adore Wes Montgomery, his "jazzy" side (as opposed to the "Windy" - Pop-style):

Wes Montgomery:

Round Midnight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOm17y...

Blue Monk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLdcBq...

Body and Soul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5124n...


Wes Montgomery

If you like bluesy jazz, check out the Jana Nyberg Group CD "Fever". Jana sings the title piece with a controlled burn. She is also a teacher at the new Minneapolis School of the Performing Arts. I found the CD on Amazon, but could not access it by clicking "add book/author". Any suggestions on adding references to CD's ?

Thanks for the add, Scott.
The best thing to do is to look up the artist at Youtube and add the song you like here.
If we would start adding links to CDs and where to get them we turn into a sales club - which we cannot do.

Hello,

Andre is correct Scott. What we usually do is simply find the song on youtube and add it.

I found the same group singing Baby I Love You - Jana Nyberg Group

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JoeAM...

And another at their recording session

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCYGwy...

Compliments of Andre:


Kermit Ruffins

Drop Me Off In New Orleans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6hAa3...

Bye & Bye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EXINR...

To me what today is referred to as "Smooth Jazz" most often leaves me with a shallow taste of middle-of-the-road-let's-please-everybody kind of melodies. Lulling sounds for airports, shopping centers, dentists, elevators etc.

One exception from before people called anything "Smooth":

George Howard with the album A Nice Place To Be (1986)

What is it? Throw in Jazz, salt it up with a spoon of fusion and funk, juice it up with "smooth" melodies, stir it, shake it - and there you go, you get this album: FINE STUFF!



George Howard (from A Nice Place To Be):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqy24b...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWwG8x...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__ptlj...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4H8AY...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSs24b...

once more A Nice Place To Be, live this time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdaWOO...

Teddy Charles, a jazz vibraphonist who performed with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and other bebop-era jazz greats died Monday in New York. He was 84.

His website: http://teddy-charles.com/

Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Ch...

"Just One of Those Things", Teddy Charles Quartet (with Charles Mingus on bass), 1956

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI9nlJ...

"Vibrations", Teddy Charles Tentet, 1953

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owHvoP...

Contemplating the relationship between Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, have any of you Jazz Fans read this book? A couple of years ago, I saw the author speak. What an amazing relationship these two men had.

by David Hajdu

I have not read that book, Joanne but it looks interesting. Billy Strayhorn was one talented fellow and I love Take The "A" Train, which he wrote.

Jill wrote: "I have not read that book, Joanne but it looks interesting. Billy Strayhorn was one talented fellow and I love Take The "A" Train, which he wrote."

I LOVE the story of how he wrote "Take the 'A' Train."

Cuttin' Up: How Early Jazz Got America's Ear

Court Carney

Synopsis

The emergence of jazz out of New Orleans is part of the American story, but the creation of this music was more than a regional phenomenon: it also crossed geographical, cultural, and technological lines. Court Carney takes a new look at the spread and acceptance of jazz in America, going beyond the familiar accounts of music historians and documentarians to show how jazz paralleled and propelled the broader changes taking place in America’s economy, society, politics, and culture.

Cuttin’ Up takes readers back to the 1920s and early 1930s to describe how jazz musicians navigated the rocky racial terrain of the music business—and how new media like the phonograph, radio, and film accelerated its diffusion and contributed to variations in its styles. The first history of jazz to emphasize the connections between these disseminating technologies and specific locales, it describes the distinctive styles that developed in four cities and tells how the opportunities of each influenced both musicians’ choices and the marketing of their music.

Carney begins his journey in New Orleans, where pioneers like Jelly Roll Morton and Buddy Bolden set the tone for the new music, then takes readers up the river to Chicago, where Joe Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, featuring a young Louis Armstrong, first put jazz on record. The genre received a major boost in New York through radio’s live broadcasts from venues like the Cotton Club, then came to a national audience when Los Angeles put it in the movies, starting with the appearance of Duke Ellington’s orchestra in Check and Double Check.

As Carney shows, the journey of jazz had its racial component as well, ranging from New Orleans’ melting pot to Chicago’s segregated music culture, from Harlem clubs catering to white clienteles to Hollywood’s reinforcement of stereotypes. And by pinpointing specific cultural turns in the process of bringing jazz to a national audience, he shows how jazz opens a window on the creation of a modernist spirit in America.

A 1930 tune called “Cuttin’ Up” captured the freewheeling spirit of this new music—an expression that also reflects the impact jazz and its diffusion had on the nation as it crossed geographic and social boundaries and integrated an array of styles into an exciting new hybrid. Deftly blending music history, urban history, and race studies, Cuttin’ Up recaptures the essence of jazz in its earliest days.

This book is part of the CultureAmerica series.

And if you have ever been to Preservation Hall in New Orleans, you can hear this music up close and personal. It is like taking a step back in time.

Jill wrote: "It is like taking a step back in time..."

Preservation Hall's a M.U.S.T.!!!!!

I stayed for two sets and the tourists looked at us funny...duh, good music.

I saw that you had a link earlier to wwoz, so I am adding this streaming Jazz site as well.
Jazz Radio
I miss actual radios, but have to get used to this internet radio concept.

G wrote: "I saw that you had a link earlier to wwoz, so I am adding this streaming Jazz site as well.
Jazz Radio
I miss actual radios, but have to get used to this internet radio concept."

Internet radio confuses me - call me old school - but WWOZ is totally worth it. Great stuff!

I love the saxophone, but not always Sonny Rollins. The short clip at the end of the article reminds me that the instrument is magnificent and even better in the hands of a master. I've got to look for the film. I've never heard him live, unfortunately.
Article on Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins

There's No Greater Love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJaF12...

There Will Never Be Another You:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv92fH...

Don't Stop The Carnival:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPRik0...

André wrote: "Sonny Rollins

There's No Greater Love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJaF12...

There Will Never Be Another You:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv92fH...

Don't Stop The Car..."

Thank you so much for these! And then there is the great alto player Paul Desmond, here with Dave Brubeck (Charlie Parker is in a league of his own) .

http://youtu.be/7ak2aOWiYUo

Now I've just spent more money in iTunes.

G wrote: "Now I've just spent more money in iTunes..."

G - I don't know how you listen to music, but in case you have a more or less decent stereo set it might also be an idea to get a CD here and there.
I doubt the compressed iTunes deliver like the remasters f.e. Impulse and Blue Note brought out.

As to the Paul Desmond/Dave Brubeck version of Stardust: hmmm, pure delight!!!!

I agree with Andre regarding the sound quality of CDs vs iTunes. With that said, I must admit that I also have lots of vinyl which I treasure as well. With a good needle and an unscratched record, the sound is terrific. Call me old fashioned!!

Kermit Ruffins is a New Orleans trumpeter influenced by Louis Armstrong. Here he is at the famous Tipitinas in the Big Easy, with his version of one of Cab Calloway's signature songs. Feelin' good!!

St.James Infirmary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-atDxm...

Jill wrote: "Kermit Ruffins is Feelin' good!..."

Jill, check posts 122 and 124 for more of Kermit...

I usually go back and review the posts before adding, but I guess I missed that one. But he is worth repeating, isn't he.

Jill wrote: "I agree with Andre regarding the sound quality of CDs vs iTunes. With that said, I must admit that I also have lots of vinyl which I treasure as well. With a good needle and an unscratched record, ..."

Ah well. Transitions happen. I have a great old Thorens belt drive just waiting for a good new sound system, and hundreds of lps waiting to be played. I agree about iTunes, but it is certainly better than nothing!

And then there is YouTube. I have this on vinyl - somewhere, adding Gerry Mulligan to the saxophone mix.

http://youtu.be/nhMUnYM2UPg

Jill wrote: "Kermit Ruffins is a New Orleans trumpeter influenced by Louis Armstrong. Here he is at the famous Tipitinas in the Big Easy, with his version of one of Cab Calloway's signature songs. Feelin' good!..."

closing out the sax circle on this - when I listened to this a few minutes ago, I saw the side bar with Van Morrison doing St. James (and renditions from a few other people). Amazing song.

G wrote: "...I have this on vinyl - somewhere..."

Terrific, G. Time to dust off those fine albums, don't you think?

Jill wrote: "...But he is worth repeating, isn't he."

Anytime, Jill.

I found this book at the library sale for $1.00. Although it is not exactly about jazz, it is close as it deals with the great swing bands, performers, and the best swing recordings. I am looking forward to reading it.

by Scott Yanow

Dave Brubeck

Take Five:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJE92...

The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Basin STreet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv95n6...

another "live" TV show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l1gI7...

In your Own Sweet Way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aHGMD...

Nice selection, Andre. What a legend. The great thing about musicians is that their artistry lives forever.

Always one of my favorites on that album of albums:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=kc34Uj...

Blue Rondo a la Turk. Interesting comment by chadquest.

Still amazed that these rather geeky/nerdy looking guys could play such cool jazz - they dressed that way for concerts, too, I've heard. And you are right, Alisa - the artistry lives on. I am glad he had a good long life.

G wrote: "still amazed that these rather geeky/nerdy looking guys could play such cool jazz..."

G - what do you imagine a great jazz player should look like?
Beethoven hmmm - the haircut reminds me of Robert Plant - or the other way around... you think he looks less geeky? Also made some great music....
Then - what is a geek - and what great music....?!?