Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Cecilia Wennerström was born on April 21, 1947 in Stockholm, Sweden and studied saxophone at the music academies in Malmoe and Gothenburg. In 1997 she released her first self-titled album as a leader, Cecilia Wennerström/Minor Stomp on the Four Leaf Records label. Joining her were Ann Blom on piano, Filip Augustson on bass, and Henrik Wartel on drums. Enjoying the small group format she explores classical, bebop/cool-oriented jazz.

Cecilia is currently a member of the Wennerstrom Larsson Explicity with her husband Sven Larsson, who released their first album Tussilago in September 2011. She is also part of the octet LARS 8 which plays compositions by Lars Gullin and other Swedish jazz icons.

In 2013 she released her fourth solo compact disc Lydian Mars with pianist Maria Kvist, bassist Filip Augustson, and drummer Jonas Holgersson. The band on the recording session evolved into the Cecilia Wennerström New Quartet with Chris Montgomery replacing Holgersson on drums.

Saxophonist, flutist, and composer Cecilia Wennerström continues to compose, perform, and record.

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Requisites

The Sermon! is a 1959 album by jazz organist Jimmy Smith. It was produced by Alfred Lion for the Blue Note record label. The album was recorded at The Manhattan Towers Hotel Ballroom on August 25, 1957 (#2) and February 25, 1958 (#1, 3). The engineer, Rudy Van Gelder, used the ballroom as a recording studio for ensembles to large for his parents’ Hackensack, New Jersey home studio where he recorded artists for Blue Note. Reid Miles designed the cover, Francis Wolff took the photograph and Ira Gitler wrote the liner notes.

Track Listing | 40:10

1. The Sermon (Jimmy Smith) – 20:12
2. J.O.S. (Jimmy Smith) – 11:56
3. Flamingo (Edmund Anderson, Ted Grouya) – 8:02

Track 1 ~ Jimmy Smith – organ, Lee Morgan – trumpet, Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone, Tina Brooks – tenor saxophone, Kenny Burrell – guitar, Art Blakey – drums

Track 2 ~ Jimmy Smith – organ, Lee Morgan – trumpet, George Coleman – alto saxophone, Eddie McFadden – guitar, Donald Bailey – drums

Track 3 ~ Jimmy Smith – organ, Lee Morgan – trumpet, Kenny Burrell – guitar, Art Blakey – drums

As Johnny Hodges, Charlie Parker and Sonny Stitt were to the alto sax; Clifford Brown, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie to the trumpet; John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins to the tenor sax; Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell were to the piano; Jimmy Smith was to the Hammond B-3 organ.  From his 1956 Blue Note debut, A New Sound, A New Star until 1962 when he left the label moving to Verve Records and throughout the remainder of the decade, any release by the organist was praised as a major event in Jazz. Smith’s contributions to the development of modern jazz on the organ are as many fans and critics alike called him, “incredible”.  An accomplished pianist originally, he didn’t begin playing the organ until he was twenty-eight years old but established and personified a jazz language for the instrument by mastering his approach of playing chords with his left hand, harmonic and rhythmic lines with his right hand while walking bass lines with his left foot.

I began my love affair with Jazz at the age of eight and my education into this extraordinary music on Jimmy’s 1959 LP, The Sermon (BLP 4011).  It’s the companion to Houseparty, recorded at the same session but released a year earlier in 1958! The all-star group supporting Smith are Lee Morgan on trumpet (tracks: A1, B1, B2); Lou Donaldson (track: A1), George Coleman (track: B1) on alto sax; Tina Brooks on tenor sax (track: A1); Kenny Burrell (track: A1, B2), Eddie McFadden (track: B1) on guitar; Art Blakey (tracks: A1, B2), Donald Bailey (track: B1) on drums.  My copy used in this report is the 1992 Toshiba-EMI Limited Japanese Stereo reissue (BST 84011-BN 4011). Jimmy begins the sidelong title tune (dedicated to label mate, Horace Silver) at a bluesy groove with a cool lyricism introducing the melody tastefully supported by Kenny and Art. Smith sustains the momentum on the opening solo at a low flame, building each phrase gradually and enveloping each beat to a marvelous conclusion.  Kenny imprints his unmistakable stamp on the next reading with emphasis. Tina is beautifully captured on the third performance with considerable zest and joyous feeling. Lee preaches the next statement of this marathon jazz service with an exquisite interpretation. Lou taps the same impeccable vein on the final solo with a sinuous blues workout into the sextet’s collective summation and Jimmy’s slow fade into nothingness.

Smith opens Side Two, hitting a lively beat that doesn’t let up on his uptempo composition, J.O.S., titled for his full name, James Oscar Smith.  Jimmy’s trio of Eddie McFadden and Donald Bailey sets the tone with a high-spirited introduction, blending into the opening statement by Coleman who cooks with boundless energy that’s rocking all the way.  Morgan elevates the next solo with the burning intensity of a raging inferno fueling the rhythm section into a high-octane culmination. McFadden is given plenty of space on the next reading and doesn’t disappoint with electrically charged energy that pulls no punches.  Smith cooks so hard with a sweltering, soulful closing performance so infectiously swinging, he’s almost unstoppable preceding the ferocious climax. The LP concludes with the lovely ballad, Flamingo by Edmund Anderson and Theodor Grouya, a favorite tune and regular feature of bandleader Duke Ellington.  Lee leads the quartet on the theme, setting down a subtle melody that’s absolutely gorgeous. He also reveals his more lyrical side on the first statement with an intimate interpretation, succeeded by Kenny who gives a brief, elegantly articulated reading over Jimmy and Art who anchor with reflective tenderness into the theme’s reprise and finale.  These are three excellent reasons why the jazz world referred to him as “The Incredible Jimmy Smith”. His highest praise came from Miles Davis who after hearing him, paid Jimmy the greatest compliment by saying, “this cat is the eighth wonder of the world”. The sound quality is superb with a brilliant soundstage throughout the treble, midrange, and bass spectrum that puts your sweet spot in the center surrounded by the musicians enjoying their music first hand.  The Sermon is a must for anyone who loves jazz organ, and an essential acquisition for your jazz library that’s perfect to experience on Sunday, or any other day of the week!

After Smith’s enormous hit of Walk on The Wild Side from his Verve Records debut, Bashin’, Alfred Lion capitalized on his popularity by issuing nine albums by the organist from 1962 to 1968.  Jimmy Smith Plays Fats Waller came out in 1962; Back At The Chicken Shack, and Rockin’ The Boat in 1963; and Prayer Meetin’ hit the stores in 1964! The other five titles were previously unissued because of his healthy Blue Note catalog of LP’s that was still selling well: Softly As A Summer Breeze came out in 1965; Bucket and Open House in 1966; I’m Movin’ On in 1967 and Plain Talk in 1968!  In 1979 as a reissue label under United Artists Records, Blue Note Classic released Confirmation and Cool Blues in 1980 and On The Sunny Side in 1981! King Record Company released a Japanese Mono compilation album of 45-rpm records titled The Singles. In 1984, Blue Note released another Japanese album consisting of unreleased tracks, Special Guests. Jimmy eventually resigned with Blue Note after the label’s resurgence in 1985, recording four studio albums and two live performances, Go For Whatcha Know in 1986; *The Master in 1994; *The Master II; *Standards in 1998; *Six Views of The Blues in 1999 and the final Blue Note album, *Straight Life was released in 2007, two years after his death in 2005!

~ A New Sound, A New Star (Blue Note BLP 1512-BST 81512/BLP 1514-BST 81514); Back At The Chicken Shack (BLP 4117/BST 84117); Bashin’ (Verve Records V-8474/V6-8474); Bucket (BLP 4235/BST 84235); Confirmation (Blue Note Classic LT-992); Cool Blues (LT-1054); Go For Whatcha Know (BT-85125); Houseparty (BLP 4002/BST 84002); I’m Movin’ On (BLP 4255/BST 84255); Jimmy Smith Plays Fats Waller (BLP 4100/BST 84100); On The Sunny Side (LT-1092); Open House (BLP 4269/BST 84269); Plain Talk (BST 84296); Prayer Meetin’ (BLP 4164/BST 84164); Rockin’ The Boat (BLP 4141/BST 84141); Six Views of The Blues (CDP 21435); Softly As A Summer Breeze (BLP 4200/BST 84200); Special Guests (BNJ-50101); Standards (CDP 21282); Straight Life (Blue Note Connoisseur Series CDP 85192); The Master (CDP 30451); The Master Two (CDP 554662); The Singles (K18P-9280) – Source: Discogs.com

*CD-albums ~ Flamingo – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2020 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Phillip Robert Lee was born on April 8, 1943 in London, England and studied guitar with Ike Isaacs as a teenager. He was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, including their performance in the 1960 Antibes Jazz Festival. By the 1960s he was playing with John Williams and Graham Collier, was resident at Ronnie Scott’s Old Place, and in a band that included Bob Stuckey, Dudu Pukwana, and John Marshall.

During the 1970s, he played in jazz-rock bands such as Gilgamesh and Axel with Tony Coe and with Michael Garrick, Henry Lowther, and John Stevens. He recorded Twice Upon a Time in 1987 with Jeff Clyne.

Later in his career, he worked with Gordon Beck, Andres Boiarsky, Benny Goodman, Lena Horne, Marian Montgomery, Annie Ross, Dardanelle, Harry Edison, Ken Peplowski, Eddie Daniels, Jimmy Smith and the London Jazz Orchestra.

Phil Lee began playing jazz in the 1960s and. Since then he has recorded and appeared live with a vast range of musicians. including Pat Smythe, Duncan Lamont, Norma Winstone, Michael Garrick, Jimmy Hastings and Martin Speake. Phil has toured with Charles Aznavour, Michel Legrand, Gordon Beck and recently Jessye Norman.

In the 1970s he was a member of the fusion band Gilgamesh. His musicianship is held in high regard not only by fellow jazz players but also by musicians in other genres. His film credits include brief appearances in Eyes Wide Shut and Alan Plater’s TV film Misterioso and his playing featured in The Last of the Blonde Bombshells. Guitarist Phil Lee continues to perform, record and tour.

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Requisites

East Coasting is an album by Charles Mingus, recorded in New York City on August 16, 1957 for the Bethlehem record label and released later the same year. All of the songs were composed by Mingus except where noted.

TRACKLIST | 38:49

1. Memories of You [Take 7] (Eubie Blake, Andy Razaf) – 4:27
2. East Coasting [Take 4] – 5:13
3. West Coast Ghost [Take 6] – 10:2
4. Celia [Take 5] – 7:54
5. Conversation [Take 16] – 5:28
6. Fifty-First Street Blues [Take 4] – 5:48
7. East Coasting [alternate take] – 5:30
8. Memories of You [alternate take] (Blake, Razaf) – 4:42

PERSONNEL

• Charles Mingus – bass
• Clarence Shaw – trumpet
• Jimmy Knepper – trombone
• Shafi Hadi – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Bill Evans – piano
• Dannie Richmond – drums

East Coasting ~ Charles Mingus | By Eddie Carter

This next LP from the library is one of the underrated jewels in the discography of jazz legend, Charles Mingus.  A distinguished bandleader, bassist, civil rights activist and composer, Mingus played on and produced some of the greatest albums during the fifties.  He founded an independent record label, Debut Records in 1952 with his first wife, Celia, and drummer Max Roach. Charles also recorded for several record labels throughout his career, Atlantic, Candid, Columbia, Impulse, Mercury and United Artists Jazz.  For his autobiography, Beneath the Underdog: His World as composed by Mingus, co-written with Louis Lomax, the bassist worked for nearly two decades writing the book until it was published in 1971. The original manuscript totaled nearly fifteen-hundred pages, but the published copy was reduced by nearly two thirds.  The album offered now for your consideration is East Coasting (Bethlehem Records BCP 6019), released in 1957. It comes four years after Jazz at Massey Hall and two years before his 1959 Post-Bop masterpiece, Mingus Ah Um. The lineup is Clarence Shaw on trumpet; Jimmy Knepper on trombone; Shafi Hadi on alto and tenor saxes; Bill Evans on piano and Dannie Richmond on drums.  My copy used in this report is the 2014 Pure Pleasure UK Mono Audiophile reissue (PPAN 6019).

The album opener is the 1930 song, Memories of You by legendary jazz, ragtime pianist Eubie Blake and Andy Razaf.  Shaw on muted trumpet and Mingus present the introduction affectionately preceding the sextet’s tender melody. Evans takes the first solo with a brief reading of elegant sincerity, revealing a glimpse of what he would play two years later on Kind of Blue.  Knepper is up next, caressing each note with a lushness and warmth conveying his deepest feelings and roots in a personal expression that will linger long after the song ends. Hadi opens things up on the song’s final interpretation with a short tenor solo of potent playing that’s superbly matched by Richmond’s pensive brushwork into the ensemble’s melodic closing chorus.  The title tune is a lighthearted medium tempo swinger and the first of five originals by Mingus making up the remainder of the album. The solo order is Knepper, Evans, Shaw, Hadi and opens with the sextet’s spirited theme treatment. Jimmy is up first with a vivaciously spirited opening statement swinging smoothly to a splendid climax. Bill makes the next solo his own with an exceptional performance that’s completely infectious.  Clarence also captivates with a reading that bounces along off the rhythm section’s supplement.  Shafi, still on tenor, takes the stage last, wailing on a bewitchingly delightful presentation into a dazzling ending.

West Coast Ghost ends the first side with a distinctive mixture of bop and the blues bringing to mind the street musicians march through the French Quarter in New Orleans.  Mingus describes the tune as himself because while living in New York, many of his peers thought him to be an East Coast musician exclusively. That wasn’t the case; Charles saw himself as a West Coast bassist because he also had a home in California and spent a lot of time there also.  Clarence leads off with a bright, relaxed interpretation. Shafi soars seamlessly on the next solo, holding no punches with a stimulating sound that’s irresistible. Bill communicates his points well on a luminous performance, then Jimmy hits a splendid pace on the fourth interpretation with imposing authority.  Charles puts an exclamation point on this enjoyable tune, casting his spell with a gripping presentation before the reprise. Celia, a poignantly beautiful ballad by Mingus named for his wife opens the second side. She was a producer of documentaries and they were married from 1951 to 1958. The song starts with a gentle introduction by the trio possessing a quiet fire that glows deeply into Clarence’s dreamy muted trumpet for the opening and closing melody.  Shafi leads off this time on alto with a soft, sensuous interpretation. Jimmy comes next, delivering an affectionately delicate message. Bill follows him with an intimately lyrical performance that’s stunning. Clarence takes the final bow with the mute off for an enthralling performance before the tender-hearted coda.

The sextet carries on a medium tempo dialogue for Mingus’ Conversation, opening their chat with a bluesy melody in unison led by the front line.  Clarence, Jimmy, and Shafi, back on tenor speak individually for one chorus each, then join forces for a three-instrument talk on the next two verses.  Bill sums up the song and discussion nicely with an effective solo performance preceding the ending. The closer is Charles’ Fifty-First Street Blues named for the street he and Celia lived on at the time.  She gave the song its name and it’s presented with a relaxed beat. Shafi goes to work first with a splendid opening statement, Clarence takes a brassy bite out of the second reading, then Jimmy gives an utterly charming reading exhibiting his rhythmic flexibility very effectively.  Bill eases into the final interpretation as mild as a smooth sherry propelled by the sweet beat of Charles’ bass and Dannie’s drums.

The personnel on East Coasting were all members of The Jazz Workshop at the time it was recorded except for Bill Evans and Clarence Shaw.  This is also the only time I know of that Evans and Mingus appeared together on an LP. Clarence Shaw comes from Detroit and played with Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Wardell Gray, and T-Bone Walker among others.  Jimmy Knepper was born and raised in Los Angeles, he was a significant musician in the orchestras of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, and Claude Thornhill, and also played with alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. Shafi Hadi, born Curtis Porter comes from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but grew up in Detroit gaining several years of rhythm and blues experience as an alto saxophonist, before embarking on a jazz career also playing the tenor sax.  Bill Evans joined The Miles Davis Sextet in 1958, appearing on the album Jazz Track and Miles’ timeless classic, Kind of Blue a year later. After leaving Davis, he formed a trio that would become the gold standard for all piano, bass, drums groups that would follow and hailed as one of the greatest ensembles in jazz. Dannie Richmond who I became acquainted with on the 1960 album, Jenkins, Jordan, and Timmons was born in New York and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina.  He began as a rhythm and blues tenor saxophonist but would abandon both the instrument and the music in 1956 to become a jazz drummer. The sound quality of this Mono reissue is breathtaking with crystal clear transparency throughout the highs, midrange, and low end. The remastering by Ray Staff also makes this album, a serious choice to consider auditioning for your library. If you’re a fan of Cool Jazz and Hard-Bop, East Coasting is an excellent and quite intriguing example of both styles by one of the best musicians in jazz, Charles Mingus! 
~ Jazz at Massey Hall (Debut Records DEB-124); Jazz Track (Columbia CL 1268); Jenkins, Jordan, and Timmons (Prestige New Jazz NJLP 8232); Kind of Blue (Columbia CL 1355/CS 8163); Mingus Ah Um (Columbia CL 1370/CS 8171) – Source: Discogs.com 
~ West Coast Ghost, Fifty-First Street Blues, Personnel – Source: Album liner notes by Nat Hentoff
~ Memories of You – Source: JazzStandards.com
~ Remastered by Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London
Charles Mingus, Debut Records, Beneath the Underdog – Source: Wikipedia.org

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

John Bishop was born in Seattle, Washington on April 5, 1956 and raised in Germany, Washington, DC, San Antonio, Texas and Eugene, Oregon. He started playing drums at 9 in Washington, DC with the Patriots drum corps and performed regularly throughout high school and college in Oregon, studying with Mel Brown and Charles Dowd. Attending the University of Oregon, he later transferred to the jazz program at North Texas State University.

Moving to Seattle in 1981 he had an extended engagement with the band Glider and never left. An unusually creative and fertile scene at the time, the city offered performances with top touring artists and the opportunity to create long and substantial musical relationships with inspired Northwest musicians. 1983, saw Bishop helping to form the fusion group Blue Sky, which released two national Top 10 albums and toured throughout the west coast and Canada over the next 9 years.

He was a twenty-year member of the piano trio New Stories with pianist Marc Seales and bassist Doug Miller, releasing 4 CDs of their own, 6 with the late be-bop saxophonist Don Lanphere, and Song for the Geese with Mark Murphy. They were a house trio for 17 years at Bud Shank’s Pt. Townsend Jazz Festival, headlined the 1993 JVC Jazz Festival in Vladivostok, Russia, appeared in concert with Tom Harrell, Julian Priester, Charles McPherson, Vincent Herring, Nick Brignola, Conte Condoli, Bobby Shew and Larry Coryell.

They regularly appeared around the country by themselves or touring with Mark Murphy, Ernie Watts or Don Lanphere. He has performed in concerts and clubs with Lee Konitz, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, George Cables, Kenny Werner, Bobby Hutcherson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sonny Fortune, Herb Ellis, Buddy DeFranco, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Locke, Jerry Bergonzi, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Larry Coryell, and countless others.

John has taught drums privately for forty years, was on the faculty at the University of Washington from 2005-2009, regularly holds drum and jazz workshops throughout the country with the Hal Galper Trio, and co-founded The Reality Book, a web-based, HD Video Play-Along education system for jazz musicians of all levels.

Drummer, educator, record label owner, graphic designer, and festival presenter John Bishop continues to perform, record, tour and educate. has been one of the primary voices in Northwest Jazz for over 35 years. He’s appeared on more than 100 albums, was inducted into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame in 2008, and was named a “Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2019.

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