Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...
It was time to put up a new post. With a house full of guests, ideal summer weather and the attractions of all outdoors, I looked for an easy out. The solution begins with a perfect trumpet chorus, then gets better.
The gorgeous arrangement was by Russell Garcia.
Ron Miles: Quiver (enja yellow bird)
Miles’s playing on “There Ain’t No Sweet Man Worth the Salt of My Tears” draws 21st century Denver and 1928 Chicago close. Some of his flurries of wildness on this album are as daring as the work of any modern trumpeter, but the Bix Beiderbecke lyricism in Miles’s soul extends into everything he plays. With just Bill Frisell’s guitar and Brian Blade’s drums, Miles may seem to be operating lean. No, there is richness in their harmonic inventiveness and rhythmic compatibility. The nine pieces are not officially a suite, but unity of conception runs through the performances. This is a satisfying album.
Heather Masse And Dick Hyman: Lock My Heart (Red House)
With The Wailin’ Jennys and the Wayfaring Strangers and appearances on radio’s Prairie Home Companion, Heather Masse has attracted a following among folk and bluegrass fans. This album of duets with master pianist Dick Hyman discloses the jazz foundation that has long been evident in her singing. Their treatments of Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing” and Buddy Johnson’s “Since I Fell For You” are ballad perfection. In their delightful “I’m Gonna Lock My Heart and Throw Away the Key,” she manages to combine Billie Holiday and Marilyn Monroe. Hyman’s accompaniments and solos are reminders that this 86-year-old wonder is one of the most interesting pianists alive.
Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 (Columbia/Legacy)
This three-CD, one-DVD set finds the trumpeter fomenting even more dramatic change than usual. The first volume in the so-called bootleg series of Davis concert recordings found his primarily acoustic 1967 quintet already tending toward electronic music and rock. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter remains from that band. Here, the transition intensifies. Electric pianist Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette accelerate the shift Davis initiated with In A Silent Way. The repertoire is redolent of Davis’s Bitches Brew period. We hear the headiness, excitement and—sometimes—the aimlessness of newfound freedom. The DVD’s superb sound and picture bring the band alive.
Bill Frisell, The Disfarmer Project (La Huit)
Belgian filmmaker Guillame Dero captures the eclectic guitarist Frisell, violinist Carrie Rodriguez, guitarist Greg Leisz and bassist Viktor Krauss in a live performance set to portraits by the 1950s Arkansas photographer Mike Disfarmer. Some of the music was on a 2009 CD mentioned in this Rifftides post. Hearing it in new versions with Disfarmer’s eccentric and vaguely disturbing photos looming over the band is an adventure. Watching interaction and reaction among the quartet increases the fascination. Frisell salts his original compositions with songs by Hank Williams, Arthur Crudup and Cliff Friend.
Paul de Barros, Shall We Play That One Together? The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland (St. Martin’s Press)
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band, Santa Monica 1960 (Fresh Sound)
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
Russell has been getting a lot of attention lately, and is still a vibrant 95 year old living in New Zealand. He is still active there, composing and giving concerts.
I love it when one of my heroes is still around to feel and receive the warmth and love of his fans, colleagues and peers. Garcia is a fantastic musician, and has been responsible for many top arranger/composers via his own teaching and his fabulous books. It is a true tribute that one of his texts, published in 1954, is still required reading for arranger/composers and has not dated one bit.
Thanks for sharing this, Doug.
Mr. Sultanof’s comment prompted me to add a link to Russell Garcia’s Wikipedia entry. To read about him, click on his name in blue in the post above.
The Los Angeles Jazz Institute ‘West Coast Sounds event in October will include an hour-long “Russ Garcia Big Band” concert on Sunday, October 23rd. Garcia is also directing his “Wigville Ensemble” in an hour-long concert at the same event on Saturday and will be participating in a Panel discussion with Bill Holman, Gerald Wilson and Johnny Mandel prior to his Big Band concert on Sunday.
Full details at http://www.lajazzinstitute.org
The arrangement’s fine, but Armstrong’s statement of the melody is so beautiful! Oh my, words can’t do it justice.
Thanks a lot for posting this indeed perfect version of probably the most played jazz standard of all.
Listen, how Pops is bending the notes, how he is stretching the melody, slightly pitched too high, which makes his trumpet sound so yearning. — Ella’s & Louis’ vocal duet is just a wonder, it all fits together: Her melody statement, and his little remarks.
I have posted my 4th playlist with mostly jazzy & instrumental versions of Gershwin’s & Du Bose Heyward’s folk song today.
Yes, it became a folk song (“Volkslied”, in German) in the word’s best meaning, or as Mozart has put it about his own music (quoted from memory): ‘I want to write music which could be whistled by every Viennese cabby, but which is still sophisticated enough for the lovers of the fine arts.’