Requisites

Swiss Movement ~ Les McCann and Eddie Harris | By Eddie Carter

This morning’s record from the library is an exceptional live album by Les McCann and Eddie Harris. They performed a spontaneous concert at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival. Their set, which became the highlight of the three-day event, was a testament to the quintet’s exceptional musicianship. Swiss Movement (Atlantic SD 1537) immortalizes this incredible performance. The ensemble consists of Benny Bailey on trumpet, Eddie Harris on tenor sax, Les McCann on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Donald Dean on drums. My copy is the original 1969 U.S. Stereo release.

The opener, Compared To What by Gene McDaniels, is a poignant reflection of the sentiments of many Americans towards the Vietnam War and the President of the United States. McCann’s vocals, which delve into the pressing issues of the time, add a layer of historical significance to the song. Les starts things with a spirited introduction, setting the stage for a lively dialogue when Donald joins in. Leroy and Eddie add to the jubilant theme with McCann’s vibrant vocal choruses. Benny follows with a zestful solo, and Les returns for another round of swinging. He then lets his fingers do the talking with exhilarating energy. Eddie takes the performance to a whole new level next, leading to an electrifying climax, the audience’s thunderous applause, and McCann’s quintet introduction.

Cold Duck Time by Eddie Harris slows the pace to medium speed, opening with Les McCann’s introduction to the crowd. Leroy and Donald build the song softly to the quintet’s relaxing theme. Eddie starts the soloing with a nice, easygoing groove. Benny delivers the following solo with thoughtful construction and captivating lines. Les ends with a contagious swing on the closer, which cooks to the finale. Kathleen’s Theme by Les McCann ends the first side with Harris leading a quartet performance. Eddie delivers a feisty reading with a spirited momentum fueled by the rhythm section’s groundwork, which receives a well-deserved ovation from the Montreux audience at its conclusion.

Les McCann’s You Got It In Your Soulness opens Side Two with the trio’s festive introduction to Les scatting along in the background of the melody. He continues taking care of business on the first solo. Eddie launches a funky, firm-toned attack next. Benny responds with energetic verses in the following reading, and Les puts the exclamation point on the solos with intense heat, which glows brightly into the close. The Generation Gap by Les McCann starts with the trio’s introduction and melody. Eddie begins with a velvety, smooth opening statement. Les delivers a stimulating workout before the trio’s gentle ending.

Nesuhi Ertegün and Joel Dorn produced Swiss Movement, and French recording engineer Pierre Grandjean crafted the album with meticulous diligence to detail. The album boasts an excellent soundstage with a “you are there” feeling, immersing the listener in the Montreux Jazz Festival audience as the group performs. The record is also quiet until the music begins. As for the music itself, Swiss Movement by Les McCann and Eddie Harris is a testament to the highest standards of jazz, a live performance that rocked the house that night and continues to captivate audiences today. If you’re a soul jazz or post-bop fan, it’s a must-have for your library!

~ Compared To What – Source: Wikipedia.org

© 2024 by Edward Thomas Carter



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Jazz Poems

CHASING THE BIRD

The sun sets unevenly and the people

go to bed.

The night has a thousand eyes.

The clouds are low, overhead.

Every night it is a little bit

more difficult, a little

harder. My mind

to me a mangle is.

ROBERT CREELEY

from Jazz Poems ~ Selected and Edited by Kevin Young

SUITE TABU 200

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Requisites

Introducing Carl Perkins ~ Carl Perkins | By Eddie Carter

One of my favorite things to do after a long day is listening to a piano trio album when reading. I first heard Carl Perkins on Harold In The Land of Jazz and You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce. Introducing Carl Perkins (Dootone Records DL-211) is a 1956 release and his only album as a leader. He began playing professionally with Tiny Bradshaw and Big Jay McNeely in the late forties, then became a unique talent in the fifties. Despite polio afflicting his left arm, he developed a piano technique that was all his own. Leroy Vinnegar joins him on bass, and Lawrence Marable on drums completes the trio. My copy is the 1984 U.K. Mono reissue (Boplicity Records BOP-8).

Side One opens with Way Cross Town, the first of five Carl Perkins originals. The melody’s opening notes give the song a lively bounce. Carl is up first and delivers the lead solo with great spirit. Leroy takes a nice leisurely walk next, and then Lawrence has a short conversation with the pianist ahead of the closing chorus and abrupt stop. You Don’t Know What Love Is by Gene de Paul and Don Raye begins with a lovely solo introduction by Perkins, segueing into the trio’s pretty melody. Carl performs beautifully and sincerely as the song’s only soloist, culminating with a gentle theme reprise and climax.

The Lady Is a Tramp by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart moves the beat to mid-tempo for the trio’s opening chorus. The mood is joyous from the start of the threesome’s theme. Carl delivers the song’s only interpretation with a carefree zest, leading to the theme’s restatement and close. Marblehead by Carl Perkins begins with the trio taking it easy on the opening ensemble. The pianist steps into the spotlight first to dispense a little home cooking. Vinnegar takes his bass for a short walk next, then Perkins returns to make a final comment preceding the ensemble’s theme restatement and ending.

Woody ‘n’ You by Dizzy Gillespie is among his most ageless compositions. The trio begins the jazz standard with a relaxing Latin-flavored melody. Carl has the solo showcase alone and keeps close to the bluesy spirit as his interpretation unfolds, while the rhythm section perfectly complements him into the ending theme and fade-out. Westside by Carl Perkins is a happy little tune that gets underway with the trio’s cheerful theme. The pianist is up first with an attractive reading, and then Vinnegar comes in for a buoyant walk. Marable applies a marvelous touch to the closer before the trio’s out-chorus.

Side Two starts with Just Friends by John Klemmer and Sam M. Lewis. Lawrence introduces the song with a short introduction that segues into the trio’s joyful melody. Carl leads the way and works his magic in the opening solo, then engages in a brief conversation with the drummer, leading to the closing ensemble. It Could Happen To You by Jimmy Van Heusen, and Johnny Burke is a beautiful song from the forties. Perkins’s lovely introduction sets the mood for the trio, showing its sentimental side in a tender melody. The pianist delivers the only solo with great sensitivity and delicacy ahead of the group’s gorgeous finale.

Why Do I Care by Carl Perkins is a much happier song than its title suggests, as exhibited in the trio’s medium groove on the theme. Carl takes the lead and constructs the opening solo effectively. Leroy comes in next to take a short walk, and Leroy returns for the theme’s reprise and close. Lilies In The Rain by Peter DeRose and Mitchell Parish is a lovely ballad that begins with an unaccompanied piano introduction to the trio’s gorgeous melody. In the song’s only solo, Perkins presents a thoughtfully tender presentation matched by the rhythm section’s elegant support until the trio’s return for a gentle ending.

It’s finger-popping time for the album’s final track, Carl’s Blues by Carl Perkins. The trio sets the scene with their easygoing opening chorus. The pianist approaches the first statement more relaxed, and then Leroy briefly walks in a splendid performance. The ensemble reassembles for the closing chorus and a final thought by the leader and bassist into the climax. Dootsie Williams supervised the original session, but it’s unknown who the recording engineer was for the date. The album’s sound quality is quite good, with a solid soundstage that transports the trio to your listening room with stunning fidelity.

Carl Perkins played with some of the elite jazz musicians in a short career but left the jazz world with a void when he died tragically from a drug overdose on March 17, 1958, at age twenty-nine. His untimely death was a loss to the jazz community, a reminder of the fragility of life and the enduring power of his music. If you’re a piano trio fan like me and in the mood for a terrific jazz album, I invite you to consider Introducing Carl Perkins on your next trip to your favorite record store. It’s a feast for the ears and a fascinating album that glimpses a talented pianist who was beginning to make a name for himself but left us far too soon!

~ Harold In The Land of Jazz (Contemporary Records C3550/S7550), You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce (Contemporary Records C3539/S7539) – Source: Discogs.com

~It Could Happen To You, Just Friends, Woody ‘n’ You, You Don’t Know What Love Is – Source: JazzStandards.com

~Carl Perkins, The Lady Is a Tramp – Source: Wikipedia.org

© 2024 by Edward Thomas Carter



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Jazz Poems

CHARLIE PARKER BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK

I was telling you about that junkie wannabe

from Wall Street who OD’ed last week

on Explosion 2000 on that street corner

right over there when KABOOM! You kissed me

smack on the lips just as “Confirmation” kicked in.

Just as Venusin two-toned dreadlocks and a skin-tight

smock danced from the band shell with her pet python,

Bodyguard, to “All the Things You Are.”

Just as punk rockers rocked, in-flowered on sheets,

sipped smoothies and smoked,

Their hair spirited to pastel auras, rosehip,

Island lime, a shade of blue just washed by rain.

Just as Ukraine checkmated, as twins seesawed,

As bikers cracked smiles in the Hari-Hari, the slap-

tongue of sax. At the mommies and the poppies. Just as.

And they were doing the brothers in descending order.

The three brothers Heath: Percy, Jimmy, call him “Little Bird,”

And Albert “Tootie” Heath. With Milt Jackson on vibes,

three score and twelve, and still working. Two boys in love

Grooved, one in white pants and sailor hat,

the other in a buffalo nickel belt that bedazzled.

They sat on the park bench eating falafel.

A man with one leg sold charms for a dollar. For luck.

For the music that day and the light, you could say it

was all bell-bottomed and swaybacked. Young-like.

And your kiss. All at once I was riding a sparkling gold Schwinn bike.

Something in my head went from full torpor to starburst:

as if whetted by some wild vibranto, your kiss,

the vibes’ licks cleared my vision of fizz for an instant.

What had been all Midnight Dragon was now

a Tropicana-Pure-Premium-sharpened C

delivered as of this morning to the Santa Barbara Deli

and Superetti down the street. Just like that.

In your arms and the music and the light, I thought I might

>go plumb or Penteostal, lay down on the grass, recite

Kahlil, take up knitting, eat pickles and marry you–

Tell that priest to stop playing Frisbee with the lab

so we can say our vows right here and now before “Tenor Madness”

ends! Opps! I forget we’re already married! Just as.

CATHERINE BOWMAN

from Jazz Poems ~ Selected and Edited by Kevin Young

SUITE TABU 200

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Requisites

Mulligan Meets Monk ~ Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan | By Eddie Carter

This morning’s record from the library, Mulligan Meets Monk (Riverside RLP 12-247/RLP 1106), is an excellent quartet date that brings together two giants, Gerry Mulligan and Thelonious Monk, for their only collaborative album. Their influence on bop and cool jazz is immeasurable. It hit the stores in 1957, and the personnel are Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, Thelonious Monk on piano, Wilbur Ware on bass and Shadow Wilson on drums. My copy is the 1975 Victor Musical Industries Japanese Stereo reissue (Riverside SMJ-6107).

‘Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams, and Bennie Hanighen is one of The Great American Songbook’s most beautiful and recorded jazz tunes. It opens the first side with the quartet’s elegantly tender theme. Gerry delivers a mesmerizing first solo. Thelonious is next and gives a beautifully constructed reading ahead of the theme’s reprise and climax. Thelonious Monk’s Rhythm-a-ning picks up the pace with a lively introduction by Wilson segueing into the foursome’s spirited melody. Mulligan is up first with a statement of dynamic energy; then Monk speaks assertively in the second reading. Gerry returns with an excellent improvisation ahead of the theme’s restatement.

The group’s unique and refreshing approach to Sweet and Lovely by Gus Arnheim, Jules LeMare, and Harry Tobias starts with Gerry and Thelonious’ delicately graceful theme. Monk shows a considerable amount of respect in the opening solo. Mulligan’s exquisite softness in the closer precedes a gorgeous conclusion. Decidedly by Gerry Mulligan begins Side Two with a two-instrument dialogue between Gerry and Shadow, extending into the quartet’s brisk theme. Mulligan functions most effectively in the opening statement. Monk unwraps a pleasant surprise next. Wilbur takes a short, impressive walk, Gerry takes over briefly, and Shadow wraps things up before the close.

Straight, No Chaser is one of Thelonious Monk’s perfectly structured originals. The foursome’s bluesy theme sets up Gerry’s inspired opening statement. Wilbur’s bass goes to work next in a short reading, and then the pianist sums everything up nicely before the closing chorus and finale. I Mean You by Thelonious Monk and Coleman Hawkins begins with the pianist’s introduction, leading to the ensemble’s opening chorus. Monk steps into the spotlight first, cruising comfortably, and then Mulligan puts together a few good ideas in the second solo. Ware rounds out things with a breezy walk before the group reassembles to take the song out.

Mulligan Meets Monk was produced by Orrin Keepnews and recorded by Jack Higgins. The album’s sound quality is top-notch, with a superb soundstage that makes it feel like the quartet is performing right before you. Whether you’re a bop or cool jazz fan or new to the music of Gerry Mulligan and Thelonious Monk, Mulligan Meets Monk is a must-listen on your next record-shopping trip. It’s a delightful addition to both musicians’ discographies, showcasing their talents in a way that might make it a favorite in your library!

~ ‘Round Midnight, Straight, No Chaser, Sweet and Lovely – Source: JazzStandards.com

© 2024 by Edward Thomas Carter

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