Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Arvell Shaw was born on September 15, 1923 in St. Louis, Missouri and learned to play tuba in high school, but switched to bass soon after. In 1942 he worked with Fate Marable on the Mississippi riverboats before serving in the Navy from 1942 to 1945. After his discharge he played with Louis Armstrong in his last big band, from 1945 to 1947. He and Sid Catlett then joined the Louis Armstrong All-Stars until 1950, then he broke off to study music. Returning to play with Armstrong in 1952, he performed with vocalist Velma Middleton, and in the 1956 musical, High Society.

He then worked at CBS with Russ Case, did sometime in Teddy Wilson’s trio, and played with Benny Goodman at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. After a few years in Europe, he played again with Goodman on a tour of Central America in 1962. From 1962–64 Arvell again joined Armstrong, and occasionally accompanied him through the end of the decade. The Seventies saw him mostly freelancing in New York City.

Bassist Arvell Shaw, who recorded only once as a leader, a live 1991 concert of his Satchmo Legacy Band, kept playing until he passed away on December 5, 2002 in Roosevelt, New York.

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Three Wishes

When Pannonica inquired about three wishes if given to Art Simmons he answered with his the following: 

1. 1. “Sex.”
   2. “Music. I can’t think of anything else but those two!Well, there really isn’t anything else but those two. What else is there?”
   3. “Music takes more than just music: to me it’s God! What is God? All the beauty there is in the world. All the love. God is music, and sex, too! I don’t mean sex the way Americans mean it _ not the rabbit kind. The Americans don’t understand about sex, not the way they do in France. I very soon found that out. Sex and music, and everything that is beautiful, it is all the same thing, really.And that is all that matters.”

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

William Richard Berry was born on September 14, 1930 in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The son of a bass player in a touring dance band, he spent his early years traveling with his parents sleeping in the bass case under the bandstand when he was only a few months old. From the age of five, he took piano lessons at home in South Bend, Indiana. In high school in Cincinnati, Ohio he switched to trumpet, and played in a Midwest band led by Don Strickland, after which he served four years in the Air Force.

He studied at the Cincinnati College of Music and Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts then played trumpet with the Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson orchestra. In 1961, he became one of the Duke Ellington orchestra’s first white members. After his working with Ellington, he played with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and led his own big band in New York.

In 1965 he joined The Merv Griffin Show, where he remained for fifteen years, moving to Los Angeles, California with Griffin and reforming his group as the L.A. Big Band in 1971. Among the most successful of his own 1978 recording Shortcake, an album of jazz for small groups in the Ellington style. He appeared on many albums by other musicians, including Rosemary Clooney, Scott Hamilton, Jake Hanna, and Coleman Hawkins.

He recorded four albums as a leader and fifty-five as a sideman with Frank Capp, Duke Ellington, Maynard Ferguson, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Ruth Brown, Benny Carter, Ray Charles, Chris Connor, Randy Crawford, Bing Crosby, Dave Frishberg, Woody Herman, Earl Hines, Johnny Hodges, Milt Jackson, Irene Kral, Trini Lopez, Johnny Mathis, Gary McFarland, Dave Pell, Herb Pomeroy, Jimmy Rowles, Jack Sheldon, Patty Weaver, and Joe Williams.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Alex Riel was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 13, 1940. His career began in the mid-Sixties when he got the house drummer position at the club Montmarte in his home city with bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, and pianists Tete Montoliu or Kenny Drew. They accompanied visiting American musicians Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Dorham, Johnny Griffin, Don Byas, Donald Byrd, Brew Moore and Yusef Lateef.

Among those mentioned above he also worked with Ray Brown, Don Cherry, Art Farmer, Stéphane Grappelli, Hank Jones, and Thad Jones. He formed a renowned jazz ensemble with bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Kenny Drew.

Riel has recorded thirteen albums as a leader and another twenty-five as a sideman with Drew, Gordon, Webster, Kenny Werner, Bob Brookmeyer, Thomas Clausen, Bill Evans, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Ken McIntyre, ​​ Archie Shepp, Lars Gullin, Sahib Shihab, Thorgeir Stubø and Jackie McLean.

Delving into rock music, in 1968 Alex was a founding member of the Danish rock group The Savage Rose. His album The Riel Deal won a Danish Grammy Award Jazz in 1996.

In September 2010, Riel turned seventy years old and the milestone was celebrated at the famed Jazzhus Montmartre. The event was broadcast live with the title Celebration of a Living Jazz Legend by the Danish national television station TV2 which was also showing rare photos depicting Riel with Duke Ellington, Ben Webster, Bill Evans and The Savage Rose.

His first group Alex Riel/Palle Mikkelborg Quintet won the Montreux Grand Prix Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968. Over the course of his career drummer Alex Riel has founded several groups and continues to advance the music.

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Requisites

My Funny Valentine ~ Miles Davis In Concert | By Eddie Carter

Miles Davis opens this morning’s discussion with a concert promoting a worthy cause. On February 12, 1964, his quintet of George Coleman on tenor sax, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums played a benefit performance for the registration of black voters at Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall. The concert was sponsored by the NAACP Defense Fund, the Congress for Racial Equality, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, resulting in two albums, ‘Four’ & More (1966) and My Funny Valentine (Columbia CL 2306/CS 9106), released in 1965. Their performance broke several records for a benefit concert with ticket prices reaching $25 and $50, resulting in Standing Room Only. It also emphasized Miles’ solidarity with these organizations and the people fighting racism in the south. My copy used in this report is the 2016 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Stereo audiophile reissue (MFSL 1-431).

My Funny Valentine by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart opens Side One with a gentle introduction by Herbie. Davis states a delicate melody and paints an unforgettable haunting portrait on the lead solo. Miles later attributed his sound during their performance to reflecting his deeply personal reaction to President Kennedy’s death the previous November. George gives a nostalgic, reflective reading next. Herbie turns in an alluringly gentle statement. Ron and Tony provide an exquisite foundation into Miles’ profoundly moving ending. The quintet moves to mid-tempo for All of You by Cole Porter. Davis opens the melody and first solo with a deliciously inventive performance. Coleman sails into a blissfully, soulful groove. Hancock gets a momentary spotlight, and Miles concludes with a few final verses preceding a subtle finale receiving appreciative applause from the audience.

Side Two starts with Stella By Starlight by Victor Young and Ned Washington, one of the most beautiful standards in jazz. Herbie opens with a lovingly picturesque introduction. Miles, Ron, and the ensemble soar briefly on the melody, then the leader goes first, showing expressive beauty. George executes the next reading thoughtfully and Herbie follows with a touching performance. Miles ends with a tender display of romantic lyricism into a lovely climax. The lone up-tempo tune is Miles’ All Blues from Kind of Blue (1959). With a rapid snap of the leader’s fingers, Carter and Hancock start a scintillating introduction. Then comes Coleman, Williams, and Davis who starts the muted melody calmly then attacks ferociously on the opening statement with the mute off. Hancock builds the next reading into an energetic climax. Coleman takes the last solo for a brisk workout before the front line’s vigorous reprise and exit.

Miles and the trio open I Thought About You by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer with a graceful theme. The leader then moves to mid-tempo for a gorgeous opening statement. George responds with a stunning solo, then Herbie performs with heartfelt sincerity. Ron comes in next with a wealth of ideas, and Miles returns with warm sweet sounds on the closing chorus, ending one of his most outstanding performances. The sound quality of this MOFI reissue is superb with an extraordinary soundstage and incredible definition.  If you’re a fan of jazz trumpet or only know of the fusion or contemporary albums by Miles Davis, I offer for your consideration, My Funny Valentine. It’s an hour of absolute perfection that belongs in every library and transports you back in time to enjoy a definitive performance with each listen!

~ ‘Four’ & More (Columbia CL 2453/CS 9253), Kind of Blue (Columbia CL 1355/CS 8163) – Source: Discogs.com

~ My Funny Valentine, All of You, Stella By Starlight, All Blues, I Thought About You – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter

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