Requisites
Lucky Strikes is an album led by saxophonist Lucky Thompson recorded on September 15, 1964 at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The session was produced by Don Schlitten as well as the cover design and photograph. The album was originally released in 1965 on the Prestige label.
Eight songs made up the 39 minutes and 25 seconds playing time with all compositions by Lucky Thompson except In a Sentimental Mood (Ellington & Mills), Fly With the Wind, Mid-Nite Oil, Reminiscent, Mumba Neua, I Forgot to Remember, Prey-Loot and Invitation (Bronisław Kaper)
The quartet was comprised of Lucky Thompson – tenor and soprano saxophone, Hank Jones/piano, Richard Davis/bass, and Connie Kay/drums.
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The Jazz Voyager
Wally’s Cafe Jazz Club at 427 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02118 is the next landing for this Jazz Voyager. As one of the oldest family owned and operated jazz clubs in existence, it was founded in 1947 by Barbadian immigrant Joseph L. “Wally” Walcott, originally across the venue at 428. Featuring live music 365 days a year, the club is fortunate to be surrounded by some of the nation’s most acclaimed institutions for educating musicians. The bands featured nightly at the club are made up of musicians from these institutions, practicing and perfecting their craft.
Considered the training ground for some of the nations most talented young aspiring musicians for seven decades it has dedicated its space as a forum for musicians to perform and the community to listen. Jam sessions run from 6:00p – 9:00p followed by blues on Monday, funk on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, Latin Jazz Salsa on Thursday and jazz performances on Friday and Saturday running from 9:30p – 2:00a depending on the night. For more information on who will be performing each night the number is 617-424-1408.
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Three Wishes
When Nica asked Bill Hardman what his three wishes were he told her very simply:
- “To play the horn.”
- “A crazy old lady.”
- “Money.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats – Complied and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter”
Bill Hardman: April 6, 1933 – December 5, 1990 / Trumpet
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Requisites
On February 14 and 19, 1969 at RCA Studios in New York City, tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders brought ten musicians together to record his seminal free jazz album Karma. During this time of social and political upheavals of the Sixties, Sanders was just one of the musicians who was a major factor in the emergence of a new stylistic trend in jazz, variously called “free jazz”, “the new thing”, or “energy music”. It was recorded and released for the Impulse! label.
This was the third album by Sanders as a leader and just one of the spiritually-themed albums of the period. The cover design was by Barbara and Robert Flynn and the cover photograph was taken by Charles “Chuck” Stewart. The album had only two compositions by composers Sanders and Thomas: The Creator Has A Master Plan (32:46) and Colors (5:37).
The personnel was Pharoah Sanders, percussionist and vocalist Leon Thomas, Julius Watkins on French horn, James Spaulding on flute, pianist Lonnie Liston Smith, bassist Reggie Workman, Richard Davis and Ron Carter, drummers Billy Hart and Freddie Waits and Nathaniel Bettis on percussion.
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Hollywood On 52nd Street
Guess Who I Saw Today is a popular jazz song composed by Murray Grand with lyrics by Elisse Boyd. The song was originally composed for Leonard Sillman’s Broadway musical revue New Faces of 1952 in which it was sung by June Carroll.
The revue opened on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on May 16, 1952 and ran for 365 performances. It was produced by Leonard Sillman, directed by John Murray Anderson and John Beal with choreography by Richard Barstow. The sketches were written by Ronny Graham and Brooks. The songs were composed by, among others, Harnick, Graham, Murray Grand and Arthur Siegel.
The cast featured Graham, Kitt, Clary, Virginia Bosler, June Carroll, Virginia De Luce, Alice Ghostley, Patricia Hammerlee, Carol Lawrence, Paul Lynde and Bill Milliken. De Luce and Graham won the 1952 Theatre World Award. The revue marked Kitt’s Broadway debut, singing a sultry rendition of “Monotonous”, about how boring a life of luxury was.
Two years later, the name was abridged to New Faces and was adapted into a motion picture filmed in Cinemascope and Eastmancolor and was released by 20th Century Fox on March 6, 1954. It helped jumpstart the Hollywood careers of several young performers including Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Carol Lawrence, Ronny Graham, performer/writer Mel Brooks (as Melvin Brooks), and lyricist Sheldon Harnick.
