Requisites

Something Cool: June Christy established her reputation fronting the Stan Kenton Orchestra at the same time that Pete Rugolo was composing and arranging. Her voice was ideal for the high-art ambitions of the progressive jazz movement. Her diction was impeccable, her phrasing often inspired, and as this reissue of her classic Something Cool -augmented by another 12 tracks recorded between 1953 and 1955–so ably demonstrates, her technique was extraordinary, allowing her to navigate the most abstract melody with accurate pitch and rhythmic confidence.

Personnel: June Christy – vocals, composer, arranger and bandleader Pete Rugolo and His Orchestra

Record Date: 1953

Songs:  Something Cool, It Could Happen To You, Lonely House, This Time The Dreams On Me, The Night We Called It A Day, Midnight Sun, I’ll Take Romance, A Stranger Called The Blues, I Should Care, Softly As In A Morning Sunrise, I’m Thrilled

(Re-mastered CD has the same songs both in Mono and Stereo)

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Michel Camilo was born on April 4, 1954 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and as a young child showed aptitude for the accordion but it was his grandparents’ piano that sparked his interest. At age 9 he asked his parents to buy him one, they first send him to the Elementary Music School of the National Conservancy, and a year later to grant his wish.

Camilo learned to play in the classical style and by 16 was playing with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic. During his 13 years of study at the National Conservatory, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Horace Silver, Errol Garner and Scott Joplin influenced him. Moving to New York in 1979 he studied at Mannes College and Julliard, and broke onto the international stage in 1983 with Tito Puente.

Michel became a star with his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1985, toured Europe with Paquito D’Rivera and recorded his first album “Why Not?” that same year. His debut release on the Sony label, Michel Camilo, held the top jazz album spot for ten consecutive weeks.

He has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Tania Maria, Stanley Turrentine, Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, David Sanchez, Leny Andrade, Roy Hargrove and Billy Taylor on the very short list, recorded twenty-three albums, has written film scores for several Spanish films, has won an Emmy, a Grammy for the Live at the Blue Note album, and Best Latin Jazz Album at the Latin Grammy Awards for Spain. Pianist Michel Camilo holds honorary degrees at Berklee College of Music, continues to tour extensively, lecture in Europe, the US, and Puerto Rico.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Marilyn Crispell was born March 30, 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studied classical piano and composition at the New England Conservatory of Music. She discovered jazz through the music of John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor and other contemporary jazz players and composers like Paul Bley and Leo Smith.

For ten years Marilyn was a member of Anthony Braxton’s Quartet and the Reggie Workman Ensemble. She has worked with the Barry Guy New Orchestra as well as a member of the Henry Grimes Trio, the European Quartet Noir and Anders Jormin’s Bortom Quintet.

A resident of Woodstock, New York since 1977 when she came to study and teach at Karl Berger’s Creative Music Studio, in 2005 she performed and recorded with the NOW Orchestra, a year later she was co-director of the Vancouver Creative Music Institute and a faculty member at the Banff Centre International Workshop in Jazz.

Crispell has performed and recorded nearly two-dozen albums as a soloist and leader of her own groups as well as with John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Robert Cogan, Pozzi Escot, Manfred Niehaus, Larry Ochs, Reggie Workman,Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton,  Steve lacy and Anthony Davis with the New York City Opera, among numerous others.

Pianist Marilyn Crispell, the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, continues to perform, record and teach throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada and New Zealand, and collaborate with videographers, filmmakers, dancers and poets.

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Requisites

The Complete Vee-Jay Recordings: The reissue of these 1959, 1960 and 1961 dates boasts thirty-nine tracks of some of jazz’s most famous songs by one of the idioms few male jazz singers. Though Henderson never made it big, he emerged onto the scene and recorded these compositions at the young age of 29 to 31. On these sessions he swings lightly while squeezing out honest emotion from his ballads.

Personnel: Bill Henderson – vocals, Ramsey Lewis & Tommy Flanagan – piano, Booker Little – trumpet, Yusef Lateef & Eddie Harris – tenor saxophone, MJT +3, Count Basie band & combos, and string orchestras.

Arranged by: Benny Golson, Frank Wess

Record Date: Volume I – October 26, 1959 – November 21, 1960 / Volume II – December 5, 1960 – April 4, 1961

Songs: Disc I – Bye Bye Blackbird, Joey Joey Joey, Free Spirits, Sweet Pumpkin, Love Locked Out, It Never Entered My Mind, My Funny Valentine, Moanin’, Bad Luck, The song Is You, This Little Girl Of Mine, You Make Me Feel So Young, Without You, Sleepy, I Go For That, Sleepy (alt. take) Kiss And Run, A Sleepin’ Bee

Disc II – Never Kiss And Run, A Sleepin’ Bee, Don’t Like Goodbyes, Old Country, Slowly, Opportunity, Never Will I Marry, My How The Time Goes By, Hooray For Love, Skylark, Royal Garden Blues, Twelfth Of Never, Love Is A Bug, Bewitched Bothered And Bewildered, The More I See You, I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Ac-cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive, Yes Indeed, Please Send Me Someone To Love, Sweet Georgia Brown, Am I Blue

Each LP had two different covers – the one shown here and one shown in the video.

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Jazz In Film

The Unsuspected: This 1947 film directed by Michael Curtiz, starred Claude Rains, Joan Caulfield, Audrey Trotter and Constance Bennett follows the story of a girl that has been murdered. A woman cannot remember a man who claims to be her husband. Her uncle hosts a radio murder mystery show called “The Unsuspected”. Who killed the girl? Why? And who is this mystery husband? Are all question to be answered.

This highly polished and thoroughly enjoyable thriller includes a chilling performance by Rains and features a nightclub sequence with drummer Jo Jones leading the group performing “I Got Rhythm”.

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