The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
There’s A Sweet, Sweet Spirit ~ Cyrus Chestnut
Remain safe and healthy and be responsible for your health and others. That is all I request.
This week we listen to the music from There’s a Sweet Sweet Spirit, an album by pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Recorded on February 27, 2017 at Systems Two Recording Studios in Brooklyn, New York, the album was released on the HighNote label on Julyu 14, 2017.
The album was produced by the pianist who pulls from a multitude of generations for his song choices. From Monk and Miles to Chopin, Thom Bell and Linda Creed, blending them perfectly for our listening pleasure.This tight knit group of musicians carry the musical conversation forward never overstepping or interrupting but supporting whoever is speaking.
Tracks | 59:56
- The Littlest One of All (Bobby Hutcherson) ~ 4:20
- Chopin Prelude (Frédéric Chopin) ~ 6:53
- Nardis (Miles Davis) ~ 7:33
- Little B’s Poem (Bobby Hutcherson) ~ 4:50
- Christina (Buster Williams) ~ 4:51
- CDC (Cyrus Chestnut) ~ 6:23
- You Make Me Feel Brand New (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) ~ 6:07
- Easy Living (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin) ~ 8:32
- Rhythm-a-Ning (Thelonious Monk) ~ 4:51
- There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit (Doris Akers) ~ 5:36
The Players
- Cyrus Chestnut ~ piano
- Buster Williams ~ bass (tracks 1–4 & 6–9)
- Lenny White ~ drums (tracks 1–4 & 6–9)
- Steve Nelson ~ vibraphone (tracks 1, 4 & 8)
- Charlotte Small, Djoré Nance, Keesha Gumbs ~ vocals (track 7)
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Charles Louis Domanico, better known professionally as Chuck Domanico, was born on January 20, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois. Settling in Los Angeles, California in the mid-1960s, for nearly forty years, he was a central jazz figure in Hollywood who contributed to many movies and TV programs.
Domanico worked with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Carmen McRae, Joni Mitchell, Taj Mahal, Diane Schuur, Natalie Cole, and The Manhattan Transfer. He participated in instrumental jazz performances by Chet Baker, Henry Mancini, Shelly Manne, Oliver Nelson, John Klemmer, Roger Kellaway, Barney Kessel, and Art Pepper.
His bass can be heard in themes for television shows like M*A*S*H, Cheers and Frasier, and he contributed to the soundtracks of more than two thousand films.
Double bassist and bass guitarist Chuck Domanico, who played on the West Coast jazz scene, transitioned from lung cancer on October 17, 2002 at the age of 58.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Albert “Abbie” Brunies was born on January 19, 1900 in New Orleans, Louisiana into a famous musical family, which counted among its members George Brunies and Merritt Brunies.
He was the leader of the Halfway House Orchestra from 1919 to about 1927, playing at the Halfway House Club in New Orleans. This ensemble recorded for Okeh Records in 1925. Among the musicians who played in this group were New Orleans Rhythm Kings members Charlie Cordella, Mickey Marcour, Leon Rappolo, Sidney Arodin, Bill Eastwood, Joe Loyacano and Leo Adde.
He played in New Orleans into the mid-1940s, after which time he moved to Biloxi, Mississippi. There he played with Merritt in the Brunie Brothers Dixieland Jazz Band. Unfortunately, this ensemble recorded sparsely. Cornetist Abbie Brunies transitioned on October 2, 1978.
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Three Wishes
What Reggie Workman told Nica his three wishes would be were the following:
- “Complete health, which includes peace of mind.”
- “Everlasting happiness with my wife and family.”
- “That the art of jazz will find its rightful place all over the world, which will be a sign of man’s disregarding things that have kept people unhappy.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Steven Mark Grossman was born on January 18, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York to Rosalind, an amateur pianist, and Irving, an RCA salesman and later president of KLH Research and Development Corporation. At 18, he went on to replace Wayne Shorter in Miles Davis’ jazz-fusion band. Then, from 1971 to 1973, he was in Elvin Jones’ band.
In the late 1970s, he was part of the Stone Alliance trio with Don Alias and Gene Perla. The group released four albums during this period, including one featuring Brazilian trumpeter Márcio Montarroyos. The albums also feature an array of other musicians. They went on to release three live reunion albums during the 2000s.
Fusion and hard bop saxophonist Steve Grossman passed away of cardiac arrest in Glen Cove, New York, on August 13, 2020, at the age of 69.
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