The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

The Jazz Voyager is still taking the variants very seriously and wearing his mask and social distancing as conditions present themselves. There is no evidence that stipulates that this is over and recommendations are still in place to wear your mask when in indoor public spaces.

Standing On The Rooftop is the sixth studio album by jazz vocalist Madeleine Peyroux. It was produced by Craig Street and released on June 14, 2011 on the Decca/Universal record label. All songs except 1, 6, 8, & 11 were written by Madeleine Peyroux 2 to 5, 7, 9, 10, 12 to 15.

The fifteen songs were recorded in February 2011 at several studios – Sear Sound in New York City on February 14~17 and Motherbrain Studio in Brooklyn, NY on February 26th, with additional recording at Downtown Music Studios and Wild Arctic in NYC, Vel Studios~ Brooklyn, Phantom Vox~Los Angeles, The Odd Bedroom, Basement & Garage and Sterling Sound. The mixing was done by Kevin Killen (tracks: 5 to 8), Matthew Cullen (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 9 to 12), and Tony Maserati (tracks: 2, 13 to 15)

This was the first album of Peyroux with Decca Records and her first with producer Craig Street, interrupting her longtime collaboration with Larry Klein. Standing on the Rooftop featured originals, along with three covers, Martha My Dear, I Threw It All Away and Love In Vain, plus Marc Ribot’s Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love. It also paired Peyroux with new songwriting partners.

1. Martha My Dear (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) ~ 2:32
2. The Kind You Can’t Afford (Peyroux, Bill Wyman) ~ 3:59
3. Leaving Home Again (Peyroux, Wyman) ~ 3:35
4. The Things I’ve Seen Today (Peyroux, Jenny Scheinman) ~ 3:44
5. Fickle Dove (Peyroux, Scheinman) ~ 3:28
6. Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love (music by Marc Ribot, lyrics by W. H. Auden) ~ 3:23
7. Standing on the Rooftop (David Batteau, Peyroux) ~ 5:46
8. I Threw It All Away (Bob Dylan) ~ 3:15
9. The Party Oughta Be Comin’ Soon (Peyroux) ~ 5:00
10. Superhero (Jonatha Brooke, Peyroux) ~ 3:21
11. Love In Vain (Robert Johnson) ~ 3:40
12. Don’t Pick a Fight with a Poet (Peyroux, Andy Scott Rosen) ~ 4:28
13. Meet Me in Rio (Peyroux) ~ 3:51
14. Ophelia (Batteau, Peyroux) ~ 5:12
15. The Way of All Things (Peyroux) ~ 4:02

• Madeleine Peyroux ~ vocals
• John Kirby ~ keyboards
• Glen Patscha – keyboards
• Patrick Warren ~ keyboards
• Allen Toussaint ~ piano
• Jenny Scheinman ~ violin
• Christopher Bruce ~ guitar
• Marc Ribot ~ guitar
• Meshell Ndegeocello ~ bass guitar
• Charley Drayton ~ drums
• Mauro Refosco ~ percussion

• Creative Director ~ Pat Barry (3)
• Design Concept [Package Coordination] ~ Rafael Hernandez (2)
• Design [Graphic] ~ Rebecca Meek
• Engineer ~ Matthew Cullen
• Photography By [Cityscape Panorama] ~ Keith Sirchio
• Photography By [Portrait] ~ Mary Ellen Mark

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

James David Hughart was born July 28, 1936 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Fritz and Annette Hughart, the father being bassist with the Minneapolis Symphony and San Diego Symphony. He began studying the bass as a child.

Starting his music career working as a musician in 1953, four years later he received a B.A, degree in Music Composition & Theory, Bass from the University of Minnesota. Following graduation, Hughart was drafted into the Army and for two years, traveled throughout Europe performing with the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra. After his discharge he joined Ella Fitzgerald’s touring band following a recommendation from Ray Brown. During his three years with Fitzgerald, he started his extensive recording career.

A move to Los Angeles, California in 1964 put him imposition to become a very active session musician. He studied electric bass under the veteran session musician Carol Kaye.

He performed as a regular sideman for guitarist Joe Pass and singer Tom Waits. He has participated in over 200 record albums, 300 motion picture scores, and many television shows. Jim has recorded with many artists including Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Frank Rosolino, Paul Smith, Barney Kessel, Milt Jackson and Natalie Cole, as well as Diana Ross, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Barry Manilow,

Double bassist Jim Hughart continues to work locally and resides in Los Angeles.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Einar “Pastor’n” Iversen was born July 27, 1930 in Mandal, Vest-Agder, Norway to a pastor. Raised in Oslo, Norway where he studied classical piano under Inge Rolf Ringnes, Artur Schnabel and Finn Mortensen. He quickly established himself on the Oslo jazz scene in 1949. He released his debut album with Rowland Greenberg’s Orchestra in 1953 and became one of the most respected Norwegian jazz musicians, and ws awarded Buddyprisen at 28 years old.

He played with Dizzy Gillespie at Birdland in 1952, on the America Boat with Anthony Ortega and the Modern Jazz Quartet. He was a regular pianist at Metropol Jazz Club, where he played with Dexter Gordon, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Griffin, Svend Asmussen and Stuff Smith, among other visiting musicians. He recorded an album with his own trio, Me and My Piano, in 1967.

Beyond busy session work Einar led his own “E. I. Trio” with bassit Tor Hauge and drummer Jon Christensen. They released Norways first jazz trio recording in 1967, Me And My Piano, containing Jazz standards. The trio would go on to release on Gemini Records Jazz På Norsk, Who Can I Turn To, Portrait Of A Norwegian Jazz Artist – Einar Iversen, and on Hazel Records, Seaview.

Pianist and composer Einar Iversen, who through more than sixty years played with everyone in Norwegian jazz, transitioned on April 3, 2019, at the age of 88.

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Three Wishes

When Nica broached the subject of three wishes with Mose Allison he had but one reply:

1. “If that ever happened to me, the first would be that every individual would contain his own destructiveness. And if this wish was granted, I wouldn’t need the others.”

*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…

Bob Davis was born on July 26, 1927 in Cosmos, Minnesota and was directly inspired by the efforts of his mother, a pianist who frequently hit the road with touring bands. He began his music career as a drummer and by age 13 had been absorbed into a family band. Leaving home meant not only no longer backing up his mother, but a chance to play piano himself. By the age of 18, his piano styles were ahead of his time and he was playing improvisational jazz with some of the greats.

Davis spent a couple of years gigging with Herbie Fields prior to starting his own group, which was active through the ’50s and recorded for several small labels, The group featuring fellow Minneapolis drummer Bill Blakkestad gigged frequently around the Midwest, including Chicago, Illinois. Though influenced by Oscar Peterson and Bud Powell, he saw advantages in Nashville and established a relationship with guitarist and producer Chet Atkins on the 1953 Jazz from the Hills project that led to other session work.

He recorded three great albums, in addition to recording with Sarah Vaughn, Al Hirt, Dizzy Gillespie. He also was musical director for Playboy Clubs, taught as a music college & high school professor, and was a promoter and agent for music giants such as the Jacksons and Tina Turner. He continued playing jazz and ballads in concerts and clubs into his older years while living most of his life in Miami, Florida. After retiring at the age of 69, Bob continued to play incomparable jazz feats.

In his last days, pianist, educator, promoter and agent Bob Davis retired from music, suffering from bone cancer which robbed him of the joy of playing music.

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