Though I never intended my previous post to be a comprehensive record of fine jazz artists who passed away in 2013, I realize after reviewing JazzTimes‘ list that there were so, so many that I left out.
So although this is still far from all-inclusive, here’s another video clip memorial to some of the fine jazz musicians who left us in 2013.
Many of these names are not as familiar as the ones from Part I, but if you’re not familiar with them, it will be worth your while to do some research.
The masters are leaving us very quickly friends, please support and appreciate them while they are here.
As 2013 draws to a close, I want to look back and remember some of the wonderful jazz artists we lost this year. Some had long, illustrious careers, others were cut down in their musical primes. In either case we are so grateful that they were here long enough to share some of their art with us. We are grateful to live in an age where video makes it possible to always have great memories of how their music touched us.
My wife and I were fans of the television series “Living Single” back in the 90’s. We always felt that “Friends”, which premiered a year later, was a poor copy of “Living Single” but that’s a story for another post.
I first heard actor T.C. Carson (aka Kyle from “Living Single”) sing a little jazz during an appearance on Arsenio Hall’s original show around 20 years ago. He was no dilettante. He demonstrated a solid sense of jazz timing and a good way with a lyric. On top of that, Carson appeared to be truly enjoying himself, continuing to jam as the band came back from commercial breaks.
A short time after that, I heard him dabbling in jazz singing on a couple of “Living Single” episodes; most memorably singing “My Funny Valentine” to his on again/off again paramour on the show, Maxine Shaw (Erika Alexander). I remember remarking to my wife that I hoped that Mr. Carson would take it further and record a jazz album one day.
The show came to an end in 1998 and save for a few supporting roles, some game voice work (notably Kratos in the “God of War” series) and an R&B album (Truth) that had its moments, we unfortunately have not heard a lot from Mr. Carson in the last decade. Sometime within the last few years, T.C. Carson appeared on a show called LA JAZZ and recorded an impressive jazz set on which he sounds like a baritone Al Jarreau.
This is a sequel to my Halloween Jazz post of a couple of years ago. Though to my knowledge no jazz artist has recorded an album of tunes related to this spookiest of holidays, there are some tracks whose titles, if nothing else, lend themselves to a celebration of All Hallows Eve. Here are four more:
“Be My Monster Love” – David Murray [From Be My Monster Love– Motema Records – 2013]
The title track to saxophonist David Murray’s latest album is pure scary perfection thanks in part to the creepy and witty lyrics by Ishmael Reed that are given a letter-perfect reading by Macy Gray. Ya gotta love a tune with a line like “Suck me until I’m anemic/Until I can’t get out of bed/Until the doctors give me up for dead”. And the tune swings like mad too, which adds to the fun. Ms. Gray has said that she dabbled as a jazz singer prior to embarking on her successful pop career. She sounds right at home here and we’d like to hear more. Marc Cary is right on the money on piano and Mr. Murray, known mostly for his avant-garde work, is terrific on this fairly mainstream number.
“Dracula” – Grant Green [From Green is Beautiful– Blue Note Records – 1970]
Another performance that celebrates a groovin’ Prince of Darkness. This one is from the great guitarist’s 1970 album Green is Beautiful. By now Green was firmly entrenched in the funky sound that would dominate his latter years. Written by organist Neal Creque this track is elevated by the first-rate solos of the sidemen, including Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Claude Bartee on tenor and Emmanuel Riggins on organ. Green doesn’t solo until about three minutes into the track and his statement is way too brief but it does demonstrate that the master still had plenty left in the tank at this point in his all too brief career.
“Frankenstein” – Jackie McLean [From One Step Beyond– Blue Note Records – 1963]
Now this is what I’m talking about! McLean was starting to dabble in free jazz by this point and those experiments inform this performance. He still hasn’t broken free of the conventional boundaries but his movement toward them is strong enough to give this track a bit of a scary vibe. It’s jazz with a nice infusion of the macabre. I would have loved to have heard this cut on the soundtrack of a really hip Frankenstein movie, with maybe Lenny Bruce as The Doctor and Godfrey Cambridge as The Monster. Nice solos from McLean, trombonist Grachan Moncur III (who wrote the tune) and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes.
The most prominent jazz organist of our time dropped a tribute disc to the music of “The King of Pop” a couple of years ago. It was honestly a hit and miss affair but quite a bit of it worked, such as this track. My only quibble is that I would have perhaps liked a guest vocalist instead of Joey D on the Vincent Price “rap” but hey he was in the groove and it was his date so who was going to stop him. Besides, his organ solo is a killer, which is no surprise. A lot of fun and a Halloween no brainer.
I’ve done a bunch of these birthday video tributes over the years but I somehow missed Birks. Well, let’s rectify that now.
People who know nothing about jazz know his name, his signature bent trumpet and his iconic “puffy cheeks” when blowing his trumpet. He influenced so many who came behind him. There would be no Miles, Hub, Morgan, Shaw, Wynton or Hargrove without Dizzy.
Born on October 21, 1917 in Cheraw, SC, today marks the 96th Anniversary of his birth.
But you didn’t come here for the history lesson, you came for the clips, so here are a few choice ones of the legend at various stages of his illustrious career.
Today, September 23, 2013, marks another birth anniversary of John Coltrane (87, if you’re keeping track). I noticed that ALL of the videos in my prior birthday tribute to Trane have been deleted by copyright owners; anxious to protect whatever profits that they feel would be irreparably harmed by allowing the public to see the clips, without lining their pockets first.
So here I am again with another tribute to the Greatest Of All Time. Please enjoy these clips for as long as they are available.
Let’s start with a powerful albeit truncated live version of “Resolution” from A Love Supreme
“Equinox” from Coltrane’s Soundis one of my all time favorite Tranes. It was recorded in 1960 and remained in the Atlantic Records vaults until 1964.
Charlie “Bird” Parker, Dinah Washington and Michael Jackson were all born on August 29th. That they were all extremely influential musical talents who died way too young, is obvious. All I want to do today is post a clip from each of them in performance which will attest to their greatness.
Charlie Parker (1920 – 1955) / With Coleman Hawkins “Improvisation”
There aren’t too many film clips of Bird playing live. This one with Coleman Hawkins is pretty good. Even on an off day, Charlie Parker was better than most cats on their best day.
Dinah Washington (1924 – 1963) – “Send Me to the Electric Chair”
Like Bird, there aren’t a lot of Dinah Washington clips out there. Also like Bird, she never made it to 40. She should have been a bigger star. Born Ruth Jones, she has always held a special place in my heart because my mom was one of her biggest fans.
Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) – “Who’s Loving You” / “Remember The Time”
And of course, there’s Michael Joseph Jackson. He called himself “The King of Pop”. I was never fond of that moniker but I always admired his brilliance. He gets two clips; one from the beginning and the other from later in his career, of a song (and video) that I always liked.
I mean how can you not love Eddie , Iman, Magic and Michael in the same video!
You know what y’all? There are a lot of good saxophonists playing under the radar these days. As I set out to write this piece, I planned to scribble a few names down, pare it down to four and get it done. But a strange thing happened, as I scribbled the list just kept growing and growing. Long story short, there were so many that we’re splitting this first go around into alto and tenor saxophonists. Alto this week and tenor next.
So here in alpha order are four fine alto saxophonists who should get a wider hearing:
I first heard T.K. Blue (aka Talib Kibwe or Eugene Rhynie) several years ago when he was playing on a session by a drummer whose name I now forget. As I now recall, Mr. Blue was the only redeeming thing about that session. I’ve kept up with his work from that point on and he has continued to impress me both as a sideman and on his own releases. Like many alto saxophonists, Mr. Blue has been strongly influenced by Charlie Parker but his Caribbean roots add another layer to his sound that makes him unique. I strongly recommend his two most recent projects: Follow The North Star, a fascinating musical retelling of the story of Solomon Northup and his book Twelve Years a Slave and Latin Bird, which as you may have guessed is a Latin and Caribbean tinged romp through the music of Charlie Parker.
This Oklahoma City native got her big break when she sat in at a New Year’s 2008 jam session in NYC. She followed Roy Hargrove and Antonio Hart’s solos on “Be-Bop”. She acquitted herself so well that Hargrove and Jimmy Heath, who was in attendance, both asked Ms. Cassity to join their big bands on the spot. In addition to stints with both of those bands, this graduate of The New School and Julliard has appeared with the Diva Big Band, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, Mark Whitfield and many others. Her greatest triumph though has been Relentless, her critically acclaimed 2009 disc. We expect to hear much more from Ms. Cassity in the future.
Like this writer, Tim Green was “raised in the church”; like me, he also was influenced by all kinds of music, secular and Christian. The Baltimore native, who finished 2nd in the 2008 Monk Saxophone Competition, has played and recorded with a wide range of artists from Kirk Franklin to Kenny Burrell to Donnie McClurkin and Hubert Laws. His work on the alto has been lauded by musicians of all stripes and Jazz Times has called Green ” a player to watch”. His most recent release Songs From This Season, has been heralded by the critics and will likely end up on a number of this year’s “Best Of” lists. Mr. Green is not likely to be under the radar for long, be the first on your block to ‘discover’ him.
A melodic alto player out of the Cannonball Adderley school, Mr. Irby has been around for the better part of 15 years; as a solo artist as well as a sideman for Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Marcus Roberts and others. He released a couple of strong albums for Blue Note in the late ’90’s, Full Circleand Big Mama’s Biscuitsbut they got lost in the glut of “New Young Lions” releases of that era. Of late, Irby has been a member of Wynton’s Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra and produced some very strong work on his own Black Warrior record label, of which two albums, Black Warriorfrom 2006 and 2011’s Live at the Otto Club, are standouts.
Be sure to use the links throughout this post to get more info about the artists whose music you enjoy and most importantly, support them by attending their concerts if they come to your area and buying their CDs or legally downloading their music.
It’s funny sometimes how a search for one thing can lead to another. During the May edition of THE JAZZ ROOM here in Charlotte, I was introduced to the talents of tenor saxophonist Phillip Whack, who was playing with Mark Rapp during the Miles Davis tribute. Mr. Whack turned in an impressive performance that night that arguably stole the show.
I spoke to Phillip after the show and found out a little about his background. He is a Carolinas native, that unfortunately he does not have any available recordings at this time and that he has spent a bit of time touring with Fred Wesley, the legendary trombonist of the J.B.’s; James Brown’s backup band.
Phillip Whack
I was inspired then to go to YouTube in search of some footage of Whack and Wesley. I found a good bit of it but I also made another discovery; on the bandstand during several of the performances was a young woman next to Whack, playing alto sax. The fact that she is fairly easy on the eyes is immediately apparent. The next thing you notice is that she is a very good saxophonist and her presence on the stand is by no means a novelty. Her name is Susanne Alt.
This led me to widen my search for more information concerning Ms. Alt. She was born in Germany and is now based in Amsterdam. She has released five albums as a leader, which range in styles from post bop to house to J.B.’s style funk. She has her own YouTube Channel, Venustunes where you can view and hear copious evidence of her musical talents. I can recommend a trio of her albums – Nocturne, her straightahead 2004 recording debut; On Tracka funk steeped 2009 release that features Mr. Wesley and Live at Bimhuis from 2011, which covers all facets of her musical personality.
So here you have two gifted saxophonists that you’ve probably heard not a lot about, Phillip Whack and Susanne Alt. The two-part video clip included here features a dynamite performance of “Chameleon” from a Fred Wesley and the New J.B.’s club date at JazzClub Minden in Minden, Germany, that was featured on Venustunes. This was the set opener so everybody gets a turn. Alt starts at about 5:25 of Part 1 and takes it to the end. Whack opens Part 2 and shows that he will not be outdone.
It’s great funk from some master musicians and a chance to make a few new discoveries. Enjoy!
If you’re familiar with my Twitter Feed, you know that on Mondays (#MusicMonday as it’s known in the Twitterverse), I usually at some point during the day will ask followers to check out the music of a living, working musician that they are unfamiliar with.
I do that because as much as I love the jazz classics, I realize that if this music is to have any hope of a future it will come not at the hands of Miles, Monk and Diz but with the musicians who are out there today, working and creating music that is influenced not only by the past masters but by what is happening out there now. So if by dropping that little reminder each Monday, I can get someone to dig and then support ($) someone new, maybe I will have done a little something.
As I’ve done this, I’ve had people reply with the request that I give them a few suggestions of artists to familiarize themselves with. Those who are playing and recording great music but have managed to miss the general attention of much of the jazz public.
So even though this is a Wednesday, I’m going to start what I hope to make a Monday tradition – “Jazz Under the Radar”; in which I’ll suggest a few artists who might have missed your attention but are definitely worth checking out.
We’ll start with a few trumpet players and we’ll switch the categories up each week. There will be a video clip and a link to the artist’s website, if any, and to an album or two that you can currently purchase. Here are four, in alphabetical order:
A protegé of the late tenor giant Joe Henderson, Ms. Franks (or “Coupe” as she is often called) has been on the scene for over 20 years, logging credits with Henderson, Kenny Barron and Herb Ellis among others. She first caught my ear on My Appreciation, a 1991 studio jam session that was released under Bill Cosby’s name. She has released a number of albums over the years, including Suit of Armor, her solid 1992 debut as a leader, which featured Henderson and her most recent, Two Oceansa two disc set on which she is backed by Luis Perdomo, Mimi Green and Rodney Green.
Check out the clip below and “Coupe” might just catch your ear, too.
When have been sought by artists from Jay-Z to Fred Hammond to Maxwell to Charles Tolliver, to perform on their projects, you know that you’ve got it going on. And Mr. Harrold certainly does. He counts Eddie Henderson and Jimmy Owens as teachers and Wynton Marsalis and Tolliver as mentors, so his knowledge of jazz traditions is excellent but since he’s in his early 30’s hip-hop has also had a strong pull. His technique is very strong, with the power of Morgan and the swagger of Hubbard. Harrold has one album to his credit as of today, 2009’s Introducing Keyon Harrold on Criss Cross. Rest assured, you will hear more from him.
The 2011 Atlanta Jazz Festival had just begun. Vocalist Audrey Shakir was about 15 minutes into her set, when her trumpet player stepped forward to deliver a killer solo on the song that they were playing and then another on the next tune. I had never seen this young man before and his name wasn’t immediately announced so I put out an APB into the Twitterworld: “who is the young cat playing trumpet with Audrey Shakir? He is the real deal!” A few minutes later the answer came – Melvin Jones. At about the same time, Ms. Shakir disappeared from the stage for the rest of the set. We later found out that she had wilted under the blazing Memorial Day weekend sun. Mr. Jones and the band picked up the ball and ran with it. Most of the audience barely noticed the singer’s absence.
Melvin Jones returned with his own set for the 2012 AJF. As you will hear in this clip that I recorded then, the previous year was not a fluke. The Atlanta-based Memphis native has one album out. The title is Pivot. It is worth checking out.
By the way, the saxophonist in the clip is Mace Hibbard, another very good musician who’s under the radar.
This Seattle-based cat is like Ms. Franks, a 20+ year veteran of the jazz wars. He’s a fine soloist with a buttery middle tone and an easygoing swing. He writes memorable compositions that tend to stick with you after hearing them just once. He’s also a compelling writer, having written extensively about his musical life in his blog “One Working Musician”. His recorded work reflects the indie spirit of Mr. Parker’s hometown and it’s refreshingly unconventional. I suggest that you start with the most recent two: No More, No Less, which was a Curt’s Cafe Best of 2009 selection and Five Leaves Lefta distinctive Nick Drake tribute from 2011.
But don’t take my word for it, just listen to “Bashert”. Then try to get that subtly beautiful melody out of your head afterwards.
Well, those are four but there are many more. If you’re familiar with all of them, then count yourself fortunate and look for others. If one of these names is new to you, check them out. Support the music of living, working musicians.
Curt's Jazz Cafe 