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Mulgrew Miller – A Video Memorial

Posted in In Memoriam, Video Vault with tags , , , on June 1, 2013 by curtjazz

mulgrew millerAs most jazz fans know by now, Mulgrew Miller passed away on May 29 at 57, due to complications from a massive stroke he had suffered a few days before.

Though casual jazz fans may not have known his name, he was considered by many (myself included) to be one of the outstanding pianists of his generation.

Much has been written in the last few days about the man and his art by those far more knowledgeable than I, so I will let their words suffice as many of those who have written knew “Grew” personally.

Instead I would like to pay tribute by posting three of the many fine performances that he delivered over the years and a few sage words of wisdom from the man himself, that he shared with some young musicians. I’ve also listed a few of his best recordings as a leader, for those with some catching up to do.

Rest in Peace, Brother Mulgrew. The musical world that was so enhanced by your presence is diminished incalculably by your departure.

Recommended Recordings

Work (Landmark) – One of his earliest dates as a leader with Charnett Moffett on bass and Terri Lyne Carrington on drums. Out of Print and expensive. Grab it if you see a reasonably priced copy.

Hand in Hand (Novus) – My personal favorite. Eddie and Joe Henderson, Steve Nelson on vibes, Lewis Nash on drums, a young Christian McBride and Mulgrew’s compositions and amazing solos. One of the best jazz albums of the ’90’s. Also Out of Print.

The Sequel (MaxJazz) – This was a 2002 revival of Wingspan, a formidable quintet that Miller had originally formed in 1987. This time around they were a sextet with the addition of Duane Eubanks on trumpet. Though the membership is mostly different, they hadn’t skipped a beat in 15 years, due mostly to Mr. Miller’s strong guiding hand. CD is OOP but it’s currently available on mp3 at a very reasonable price.

Live at Yoshi’s – Volume Two (MaxJazz) – This was the second of two excellent volumes that Miller and his trio recorded at the famed Bay Area jazz club in a 2003 session. The reason that I give this set the nod over number one is simple; Volume Two is still available on mp3 for those who want it.

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Male Jazz Singers – Hope for the Future

Posted in The Jazz Continues..., Video Vault, Who's New in Jazz with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2013 by curtjazz

Ori DaganIn 2008 I had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Hendricks for Jazz Inside Magazine. The legendary”James Joyce of Jive” was extremely generous with his time (we talked for over two hours, including his impromptu, a capella performance of his classic lyric to J.J. Johnson’s “Lament”).  He was also not shy about sharing his opinions.

One of the topics we touched on was the dearth of young male jazz singers coming up through the ranks. While we acknowledged the formidable gifts of Kurt Elling and Kevin Mahogany, we lamented the fact that there didn’t seem to be a lot of others. The young women singing jazz seem to outnumber the men by a 20:1 margin.

Mr. Hendricks offered the theory that in our 21st century culture, jazz singing is not considered a “serious profession” even in the entertainment world and that men of all stripes are pushed toward vocations that will “bring home the bacon”. Whether that is the case or not can be debated. The paucity of guys under 40 who are truly singing jazz, cannot.

However as the title of this post indicates, there is hope on the horizon. Over the past three years, there have been a number of younger men that have showed up on the scene who are quite good. Many are as versed in hip-hop as they are in the standards and they bring to the stage a sound that is fresh and promising.

Here are five that I find interesting. These are not the only five good young male jazz singers, just a few who have my ear at the moment. I have also cheated a bit in that one is slightly over 40 but he is too good to pass up because of that minor technicality.

In alphabetical order:

Ori Dagan

Born in Israel and raised in Toronto, Mr. Dagan is also a classically trained pianist. He is the best scat singer of this quintet and his improvisations, which have at times taken him from English to Hebrew and back again, are often a joy for these jaded ears. He has two albums out, which put the fun back in jazz singing: S’Cat Got My Tongue and Less Than Three

José James

The likely breakout star of this group, Mr. James has dropped successful albums on the jazz and the hip-hop sides of the street. His appearances on Letterman, Leno and other mainstream shows have helped to juice his rise. But make no mistake about it. This cat can SANG. Think of the crooning ability of Al Green mixed with jazz sensibility of Bill Henderson and you’re on the right track.  His latest album, No Beginning No End on Blue Note, is a strong mixture of multiple genres. However to really hear José James the vocalist, you should also check out For All We Know, a duet album of standards that he did in 2010 with pianist Jef Neve, on Impulse! Records.

Gregory Porter

Mr. Porter has become an “overnight sensation” at age 41. Though he doesn’t have the mainstream profile of José James, he has turned the jazz world on his ear and with his powerful yet vulnerable tenor voice, he has even made some inroads into the adult R&B world, as evidenced by his 2013 R&B Grammy nomination. His two albums 2010’s Water and last year’s Be Good are standouts, that earned a place on their respective year’s Curt’s Cafe “Best Of” list.

Milton Suggs

Chicago born, Atlanta bred and now living in NYC, Milton Suggs has garnered attention not only for his powerful baritone voice but for his impressive gifts as a lyricist, which he fully  displayed on his latest album, the appropriately titled Lyrical, Vol. 1 ( a Curt’s Cafe Best Jazz of 2012 selection).  Mr. Suggs lyrics evince a fearless creativity that is reminiscent of Jon Hendricks but with a hip-hop undercurrent that should help to keep those of his own generation listening. Definitely someone to watch. Also check out his previous album Things To Come.

Sachal Vasandani

Blessed with boyish good looks and a smooth, crooning vocal timbre. Mr. Vasandani could have easily opted to go the route of slicksters like Michael Bublé. Instead, the fact that he has toured and recorded with Mr. Hendricks and he has appeared as a guest vocalist on recent albums by artists such as Gerald Clayton and Don Braden, says a lot about Mr. Vasandani’s artistic integrity. Yes, he can sing “The Very Thought of You” in a style that is swathed in velvet but then he will turn right around and bop his way through an impressive rendition of “Monk’s Dream”; something that the Bublés of the world wouldn’t even try. Check out his two most recent albums, We Move (2009) and Hi-Fly (2011).

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John Coltrane – My Favorite Things – 1965

Posted in Video Vault on December 10, 2012 by curtjazz

 

As I tweeted a few minutes ago, there are few things in this world that are cooler than John Coltrane playing “My Favorite Things”. For me, the Holidays kicks that up an extra notch.

So for that reason alone, here’s an awesome clip that I found on You Tube of the classic John Coltrane Quartet, playing “My Favorite Things”, live in 1965, not too long before their breakup.

By the way, they’re “smoking” because of the cold, not because they are musically on fire.

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Dave Brubeck – A Video Memorial

Posted in In Memoriam, Video Vault with tags , , on December 5, 2012 by curtjazz

Dave Brubeck (1920 – 2012)

brubeckDave Brubeck passed away today, one day before his 92nd Birthday. 

For a time, Mr Brubeck was one of the most popular jazz musicians in the world. At the same time, he was one of the most critically reviled jazz musicians around. Time heals all wounds and by the time of his death today, love and admiration was pouring in from serious and casual jazz fans alike.

A great deal of his fame stems from “Take Five”, a song first performed in 1959 by his legendary quartet (Paul Desmond, Eugene Wright, Joe Morello and Brubeck). The 45 was the first jazz single to sell a million copies. Though Brubeck was a prolific composer, he did not in fact, write “Take Five”. It was written by Mr. Desmond.

Many critics sniffed back then, at Mr. Brubeck’s music, saying that it was stiff, bombastic and worst of all, unswinging. Though the criticisms rankled at Brubeck, he kept on going, achieving great public popularity, especially  on college campuses, in the late ’50’s and early ’60’s.

I admit that when I was new to jazz, I let the opinions of others keep me from digging Brubeck’s music for a while. However, as I became a big fan of Paul Desmond’s solo work, I made my way back to the source.

I grew to like Brubeck the musician and love Brubeck the composer. His compositions, such as “The Duke”, In Your Own Sweet Way” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk” are stunning in not only for their beauty, but for the complexities that they reveal upon repeated listenings.

Those unfamiliar with Mr. Brubeck’s work should start with the most famous album, Time Out. It’s a virtual greatest hits package and it captures the essence of the famous Brubeck sound.  At Carnegie Hall includes some of the same selections as Time Out, but they are so much better in the live setting.  A personal favorite is The Real Ambassadors, Brubeck’s “protest opera”, which was only performed once, at the 1962 Monterrey Jazz Festival. The music was by Mr. Brubeck and the lyrics by Brubeck and his wife, Iola. The studio album was recorded in 1961 with a “cast” of Louis Armstrong, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross and Carmen McRae and Brubeck. There are several moments of sheer brilliance including Satchmo’s still haunting vocal on “They Say I Look Like God” and his duet with McRae on “You Swing Baby”, which is “The Duke” with added lyrics. And finally an album that I just remembered since I started writing this post; Brubeck and Rushing a meeting of the Brubeck Quartet and the legendary Basie vocalist. It sounds like a train wreck on paper, but I’ll be damned if they don’t all find common ground and pull it off beautifully!

I wrote more than I intended to here. I wanted to let the videos speak for themselves, as I’m sure they will when you watch them. In any case, Rest In Peace to a true jazz giant – Dave Brubeck.

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Father’s Day – My Dad’s Wisdom, Louis Jordan and Integration

Posted in In Memoriam, Uncategorized, Video Vault with tags , , , , on June 17, 2012 by curtjazz

My Dad was the wisest man that I’ve ever known and that I probably will ever know.

He lived 96 years and though his formal education only lasted until the sixth grade, his perpetual thirst for knowledge and insatiable curiosity earned him the life equivalent of a PhD. And as I came into adulthood, I tried to sop up that wisdom like molasses on my Mom’s homemade biscuits.

Dad always kept pen and paper handy, so that if something caught his curiosity that he didn’t know about, he would write it down, so that he could then research it. And this was before the internet age, folks. This continued right up until the end of his life – when I was gathering his effects from his hospice room hours after his death, I found another of those scraps of paper with the name “Jennifer Lopez” scrawled on it in his handwriting (Dad also had good taste in women).

Anyway, though my father was not a big jazz fan, he had an interest in a wide variety of music. It wouldn’t be odd to hear him break out in a bit of a Beatles tune, Stevie Wonder or even Fleetwood Mac (“Don’t Stop”).  When I started to love music in my preteen years, I would constantly play the album from “The Archies” TV show. The song “Truck Driver” became his favorite. 

But as far as John Davenport was concerned, the great Louis Jordan was THE MAN.  My dad was a generally reserved man, so I would always get a kick out of seeing him, out of nowhere, burst into “Caldonia” or “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby”.  He always marveled at the big sound of Jordan’s Tympany Five, which he said could sound bigger than an entire big band.

My dad was born in Mississippi in 1911. It goes without saying that he grew up in a time that legal segregation had a tight grip on his home state.  He then moved to St. Louis (where segregation was more institutional than legal) in his twenties and then to New York just after World War II.  Not too long after arriving in NYC, he heard that Louis Jordan was going to be appearing at the old Paramount Theater on 43rd & Broadway. Of course he bought a ticket and went to the show.

Keep in mind that my Dad had never experienced integrated seating before, so he was going through a bit of a culture shock. The shock turned to overload when a few minutes after he took his seat, a trio of young white girls in bobby socks and poodle skirts bounded into his row and took their seats right next to him. They said “Hi!” and then went about their business, gabbing amongst themselves with excitement about seeing Mr. Jordan.

Dad was a bit nervous at first. Where he came from, something a simple as this was unheard of…White folks, let alone young white women, would never have taken an open seat next to a black man. And if they did, trouble was sure to come for that black man.  He remained in seat, albeit apprehensively, almost waiting for some sort of trouble to come. But it never did.  The girls never said another word to him after “hello”. They were utterly unfazed by his presence.  Which, to Dad, was the most amazing thing of all.

A few minutes later the lights went down and Jordan hit the stage “Caldonia…Caldonia…What makes yo’ big head so hard!!!” As my Dad, the bobby soxers and the rest of the throng responded to Mr. Jordan, in unison, he finally began to relax and feel at home.  Within an hour, people of all races had become one, through their love of “Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens”.

Hey, maybe New York was going to be okay…

Thanks for staying in New York Dad; and thanks for sharing all of that wisdom with me.

Happy Father’s Day to my fellow Dads.

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Video Birthday Tribute – Al Green

Posted in Video Vault with tags , , on April 14, 2012 by curtjazz

“When I got Al Green, everybody else was hot…And I was looking for another sound to get away from all of that.  I said ‘OK, I’m going to give him some jazz chords and see how he works with this’. I got him some Charlie Parker records.” – Willie Mitchell

Al Green is one of the greatest singers alive. Period. Be it Soul, R n’ B or Gospel, Reverend Green is still better now, in the Autumn of his career, than most cats have been on their best day.

Al Green hit his stride after meeting Willie Mitchell in Texas in the late ’60’s. Mitchell had been a moderately successful trumpet player/bandleader.   But when Green’s voice and Mitchell’s production came together, the results were breathtaking.

Mitchell taught Green to approach Soul singing with the cool of Ellington, rather than the grit of say, Otis Redding “I tried to get a top on the music that was pleasant” said Mr. Mitchell. It was a sound like no one else and the public sopped it up like it was sweet molasses on a fluffy biscuit.

Rev. Green still epitomizes a unique brand of Southern Soul, with a little jazz cool on the side. It’s no accident that President Obama chose “Let’s Stay Together” for the public debut of his vocal prowess.  I’ve been a Green fan ever since my early teen years, when my mother would play his version of “For The Good Times” over and over again. However, I moved past that track (which is one of my least favorite Green performances), on the I’m Still in Love With You album and dug “Love and Happiness”; “I’m Glad You’re Mine” and “Simply Beautiful”.

Yesterday, April 13, Reverend Al Green turned 66 years old.  Many have come along since him, but still none can match him.  I hope that you dig these clips of a master, practicing his craft.

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Grammys 2012 Nominees – Best Instrumental Jazz Album

Posted in 2012 Grammys, The Jazz Continues..., Video Vault with tags , , , , , , , , , on February 12, 2012 by curtjazz

This category is also dominated by familiar names; with one very promising newcomer.

The nominees are:

Gerald Clayton – Bond: The Paris Sessions (Emarcy/Decca): Track “If I Were A Bell”

Though this is only Mr. Clayton’s second album as a leader he is a young veteran at 27, having shedded for many years alongside his dad and uncle, in the Clayton Brothers and working with many of the other gifted young cats on the scene.  Bond… is a very good album; with the pianist and his trio seamlessly moving between standards and originals.  It may not be enough in this field laden with transcendent names, but we’ll see.

Corea, Clarke & White – Forever (Concord): Track “Armando’s Rhumba”

Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, the famed rhythm section of ’70’s fusion giants Return To Forever; jamming over 2 discs worth of favorites from their 2009 “RTF Unplugged” Tour. Nothing new here, but what there is, is top notch – a bunch of well known vets, doing what they do best. You would have to consider them one of the favorites to take home the trophy.

Fred Hersch – Alone at the Vanguard (Palmetto)

Fred Hersch was the first pianist to be asked to play a solo gig at the hallowed jazz club in 2005. He has now returned from a life threatening coma in 2009, to record and release this brilliant solo set. Again, he is a relative unknown in this field, but he would be a very deserving winner. (Note:  the accompanying track is not from Alone at the Vangaurd, but features another wonderful Hersch solo performance “Valentine”.)

Joe Lovano & Us Five – Bird Songs (Blue Note)

Another strong contender; Joe Lovano and Us Five brought the goods on this Charlie Parker tribute. It was more than a Bird regurgitation, but a reimaging of some of the tunes that Parker made famous. It was one of our Best of 2011 albums and I personally hope that Grammy rewards them as well.

Sonny Rollins – Road Shows – Vol. 2  (Doxy/Emarcy/Decca)

You know how Grammy feels about legends. And you also know that this album was a brilliant snapshot of Mr. Rollins 80th Birthday concert in 2010 (Another of our Best of 2011). Sonny Rollins is also a name that most of the non-jazz voters have heard of…Translation – like it or not, this is Newk’s award to lose.

Yellowjackets – Timeline (Mack Avenue): Track “Why Is It (Live)”

These cats would normally be in the “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” category, but I forgot, that doesn’t exist anymore (sarcasm).  In any case, Yellowjackets have been doing it for 30 years and they sound better than ever. If there were still two separate categories, they would be hands down winners.

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Grammys 2012 Nominees – Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Posted in 2012 Grammys, The Jazz Continues..., Video Vault with tags , , , , , , on February 11, 2012 by curtjazz

The nominees in this category are mostly familiar names, with the possible exception of Miguel Zenón. Two of the albums here probably ended up in this grouping because of the elimination of the Latin Jazz category.

The Nominees Are:

Randy Brecker with DR Big Band – The Jazz Ballad Songbook (Half Note): Track “All or Nothing at All”

Frankly, this nomination is a bit of a  head scratcher.  Randy Brecker is a gifted musician without a doubt, and the Danish Radio Big Band has done some fine work on many, many recordings.  But the arrangements here border on pedestrian and the whole date feels as generic as its title.  The exception is our feature track, which is first rate.  Still, don’t be surprised if Mr. Brecker wins this award, based mostly on name recognition.

Christian McBride Big Band – The Good Feeling (Mack Avenue)

The finest jazz bassist under 40 has now added a big band to his impressive repertoire. The Good Feeling is a solid first effort with a number of impressive tracks and creative arrangements from Mr. McBride’s pen.

Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra – 40 Acres and a Burro (Zoho): Featured Track: “40 Acres and a Burro”

Arturo O’Farrill continues to do his father’s legacy proud, as he has created another thought-provoking album, that has as much for your mind as it does for your feet. If this album were in the Latin Jazz category, it would be a strong contender. But now, it’s a bit of a longshot.

Gerald Wilson – Legacy (Mack Avenue)

Gerald Wilson has been arranging leading big bands since the days of Basie, Ellington and Goodman and he shows no sign of slowing down at age 93, writing arrangements that are dense, complex, brassy and swinging all at once. This album, Legacy is up to the fine standards that he has been hitting regularly for the past 15 years. A sentimental favorite.

Miguel Zenón – Alma Adentro [The Puerto Rican Songbook] (Marsalis Music)

Another album that would have likely competed in the now defunct Latin Jazz category, Alma Adentro is a stunning work of art. (A Curt’s Cafe Best of 2011) Mr. Zenón is at the top of his artistic game and it shows in the brilliance of his arrangements of these songs by some of Puerto Rico’s most celebrated composers.  Because he is a relative unknown, Zenón is not considered a favorite in the voting, but this is the best album of those nominated. If there’s any justice, Alma Adentro will win.

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Grammys 2012 Nominees – Best Jazz Vocal Album

Posted in 2012 Grammys, The Jazz Continues..., Video Vault with tags , , , , , , , on February 10, 2012 by curtjazz

Okay Jazz Peeps, the Grammys do feel a bit empty this year, after the purge of many categories, including jazz.

However, there are still some fine artists, who did great work over the past year, and whose work has been nominated. These people had nothing to do with the shortsighted decision-making of the NARAS, so I want to take a few posts to recognize them, with a track from their nominated work.  I’ll also include a few brief thoughts about each work. 

We’ll start with Best Jazz Vocal Album

The nominees are:

Karrin Allyson – ‘Round Midnight (Concord Records): Track “Goodbye”

IMO this is not Ms. Allyson’s best work, but she is still one of the best around today.  It’s well sung, as always but the Only The Lonely vibe wore thin after a while.

Terri Lyne Carrington – The Mosaic Project (Concord Records): Track “Transformation” [Vocal by Nona Hendryx]

My hands down favorite among the nominated albums, it’s a mostly vocal effort by Ms. Carrington and a number of other ladies.  One of our picks for Best Jazz Albums of 2011.

Kurt Elling – The Gate (Concord Records): Track “Golden Lady”

Mr. Elling is a perennial nominee in this category, who finally won on his prior nomination for his strong Coltrane/Hartman tribute Dedicated To You.  Though The Gate had some fine moments, I found it overall, to be just “okay”.

Tierney Sutton – American Road (BFM Jazz): Track “Wayfaring Stranger”

This album was a big favorite among the critics and it just may take home the prize on Sunday. Excellent musicianship; I just wished that it swung a little harder.

Roseanna Vitro – The Music of Randy Newman (Motéma): Track “Mama Told Me Not To Come

This is another personal favorite in this category. I’ve long been a fan of Randy Newman’s sardonic wit and wondered when a jazz vocalist would mine the Newman songbook to great extent.  Ms. Vitro seemed at first like an unlikely choice, but she sings the songs as if they were written for her and the arrangements are first-rate. She is a longshot in this category but it would not be at all disappointing to see her win.

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Video Tribute – Art Blakey

Posted in Video Vault with tags , , , , on November 12, 2011 by curtjazz

Art Blakey [Abdullah Ibn Buhaina] 1919 – 1990

Art Blakey of course, will be forever known as  “headmaster” of jazz’s greatest finishing school, the legendary Jazz Messengers.  He was also for a time, the unofficial house drummer for Blue Note Records.  The list of jazz legends who’ve logged time with the Messengers is stunning. Just the trumpet players alone could fill their own wing in the Jazz Hall of Fame (Brownie, Morgan, Hubbard, Wynton and even Chuck Mangione!).

Blakey and the Messengers have been well documented, so instead of repeating any more of their history, I’m going to repeat one of my favorite fables about Blakey, who was known for never missing an opportunity to be an advocate for music he loved:

“Art was driving to an out-of-town job and passed through a village where traffic was completely tied up because of a funeral procession. Since he couldn’t get past the cemetery until the service was over, he got out and listened to the eulogy. The minister spoke at length about the virtues of the deceased, and then asked if anyone had anything else to add. After a silence during which nobody spoke up, Art said, ‘If nobody has anything to say about the deceased, I’d like to say a few words about jazz!”

So here are “Bu” and the boys with a few “words” to say about jazz!

With the incredible 1961 Messengers, on “Moanin”

 The same group on Bobby Timmons’ “Dat Dere”

From the ’80’s, with the Marsalis Brothers on “Ms. B.C.”

And one of the final editions of the Messengers does it right on “Along Came Betty”

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