Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Adam Cohen was born on March 12, 1963 in Queens, New York but would soon find Los Angeles, California home when his parents moved to the West Coast. His musical foundation was built upon the piano lessons introduced to him at the age of six by his father Irwin, an accomplished pianist & composer. However, it would be the sounds of Earth, Wind & Fire, The Beatles, Chicago, Tower of Power, and Stanley Clarke that lured him to the low end. Add the influences of Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, Paul Chambers, and Dave Holland and lessons on both the upright and electric bass commenced.
Playing both acoustic & electric bass, Cohen has led him to work with Ernie Watts, Ray Charles, The New York Voices, Phil Upchurch, Taylor Dayne, Engelbert Humperdinck, David Benoit, Maxine Nightingale, Eric Benet, and Mark Isham, among others.
Having found his voice, he has become a ubiquitous presence on the Los Angeles scene and a leader in his own right with two albums, Gig Bag and Ritual, along with many compositions to his credit. Bassist Adam Cohen continues to move forward and reach upward, teaching privately and fueling his desire to make a positive impact on the musical situation at hand.
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
It is amazing but not surprising how people want to get back to the same old routine they were in before the pandemic instead of inventing themselves anew. As I move around my city I see more and more people not wearing masks in enclosed spaces. I am not surprised by the robotic sense of normalcy by society.
This week I have selected an album by the underrated and often unappreciated vocalist Irene Kral. The younger sister of pianist Roy Kral, I discovered her towards the end of her career in 1977 when I heard her album Where Is Love. I was enamored by her voice and the quiet understatement of her singing. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to hear her live as she transitioned the followin year in August.
The album I present today is her third studio session, Better Than Anything, recorded on June 17 & 18, 1963 at the World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles, California. It was produced by Joe Burnett, engineered by Richard Bock and released the same year on Äva Records and distributed by MGM. Making up the quartet with Irene is the Junior Mance Trio.
The cover design was by Richter & Mracky Design Associates, the photography by Fred Seligo and the liner notes were written by Tommy Wolf.
Track List | 29:24
- Better Than Anything (David “Buck” Wheat, Bill Loughborough) ~ 2:21
- The Touch Of Your Lips (Ray Noble) ~ 2:22
- The Meaning of the Blues (Bobby Troup, Leah Worth) ~ 3:11
- Rock Me To Sleep (Benny Carter, Paul Vandervoort II) ~ 2:20
- No More (Tutti Camarata, Bob Russell) ~ 3:10
- Passing By (Laurent Hess, Charles Trenet, Jack Lawrence) ~ 1:54
- It’s a Wonderful World (Jan Savitt, Harold Adamson, Johnny Watson) ~ 2:34
- This Is Always (Mack Gordon, Harry Warren) ~ 3:23
- Just Friends (John Klenner, Sam M. Lewis) ~ 2:40
- Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) ~ 3:35
- Nobody Else But Me (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) ~ 1:54
- Irene Kral ~ vocals
- Junior Mance ~ piano
- Bob Cranshaw ~ bass
- Mickey Roker ~ drums
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Anat Fort was born March 8, 1970 near Tel Aviv, Israel. She studied music at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey and moved to New York City in 1996 to develop her skills in jazz improvisation under the guidance of pianist Paul Bley and study composition with Harold Seletsky before releasing her debut self-produced album Peel in 1999.
Signing with ECM Records, her first album A Long Story, released in 2007 arose from an association with drummer Paul Motian. This was followed by And If in 2010, the first album with her regular working group, the Anat Fort Trio.
Pianist and composer Anat Fort has recorded several acclaimed albums, has performed across Europe and the United States, and continues to pursue her jazz endeavors.
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
This week another great album is being featured for us to listen to titled Street of Dreams recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on November 16, 1964 by jazz guitarist Grant Green. The album was produced by Alfred Lion, however, wasn’t released until August 1967 on the Blue Note label. The photograph used on the album cover features street signs that are at an actual street corner in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California.
The conversation between these four giants of jazz is comfortable and easy. They play off one another, adding to the strength of the album. Consisting of a mere four songs, one can hear the short story they create.
The album includes Billy May’s Somewhere in the Night, which was the theme of the television program Naked City, and Lazy Afternoon, from the 1954 musical The Golden Apple. On the whole, this is an enjoyable thirty-three minutes of mid~tempo jazz. While you’re listening, think about protecting your community as we continue to experience the ravages of this pandemic… which, by the way, although it may feel like it, hasn’t gone away yet people!
Track List | 33:34- I Wish You Love (Léo Chauliac, Charles Trenet) ~8:46
- Lazy Afternoon (John La Latouche, Jerome Moross) ~ 7:44
- Street of Dreams (Victor Young, Sam M. Lewis) ~ 9:03
- Somewhere in the Night (Billy May, Milt Raskin) ~ 8:01
- Grant Green ~ guitar
- Bobby Hutcherson ~ vibes
- Larry Young ~ organ
- Elvin Jones ~ drums
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Iain Ballamy was born Guildford, England on February 20, 1964. Taking piano lessons from age of 6 to 14, he received further education at George Abbot School from 1975 to 1980. He went on to study Musical Instrument Technology from 1980 to 1982 at Merton College.
Discovering the saxophone in 1978 with three lessons, his first professional gig was in 1980, playing Ronnie Scotts as the Iain Ballamy Quartet at age 20. He was a founding member of Loose Tubes in 1984. His first recording was with Billy Jenkinsthe following year, and his first solo album, Balloon Man, was released in 1988.
During his career, his performances and recording sessions reads like a who’s who list, including but not limited to Gil Evans, Hermeto Pascoal, Carla Bley, Dewey Redman, George Coleman, London Sinfonietta, Françios Jeanneau, Randy Weston, Clare Martin, Charlie Watts Orchestra, Jeremy Stacey, Jane Chapman, Bryan Ferry, Everything But The Girl, Ian Shaw, Slim Gaillard, Ronnie Scott, Gordon Beck, and one of his closest musical collaborators, Django Bates.
In 1999, Ballamy founded the record label Feral Records, in partnership with graphic artist and filmmaker Dave McKean. He composed the musical score for the movie MirrorMask and the score for the film Luna, both directed by McKean.
Bellamy is currently a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire, Trinity College of Music, and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Modern saxophonist and composer Iain Ballamy continues to explore jazz.
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