Requisites
Bud Powell ‘57 ~ Bud Powell | By Eddie Carter
I wanted to hear something soothing after dinner a few nights ago, so I chose one of my favorite records by pianist Bud Powell. This morning’s album from the library comprised three sessions and was initially released as Jazz Original in 1955 and reissued two years later as Bud Powell ’57 (Norgran Records MG N-1098). He’s leading two trios in a program of nine standards. Percy Heath (tracks: A1 to A3), Lloyd Trotman (A4, B2 to B5) on bass, Max Roach (tracks: A1 to A3), and Art Blakey (A4, B2 to B5) on drums. My copy is the 1981 Verve Original Jazz Classics Japanese Mono audiophile reissue (UMV 2571) by Polygram Records.
Deep Night, by Charles E. Henderson and Rudy Vallée, opens the album and is introduced by Bud, then Percy and Max join him to complete the melody. Powell is the song’s only soloist and gives a briskly efficient interpretation complimented by the rhythm section’s compelling understructure leading to the climax. Next, the trio takes on That Old Black Magic by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. It made its debut in the 1942 film Star Spangled Rhythm. The trio opens the song with a deceptively simple melody before Bud makes a tremendous statement toward the ensemble’s exit.
‘Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams, and Bernie Hanighen is one of the most recorded compositions in jazz. Powell opens with a hauntingly beautiful introduction which grows into the trio’s gorgeous melody. Bud has the spotlight and demonstrates delicacy over Percy and Max’s subtle accompaniment ahead of a pretty ending. Thou Swell by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart comes from the 1927 musical, A Connecticut Yankee. The trio picks up their pace to a medium tempo, and Powell leads Trotman and Blakey in the melody. The pianist feeds off their energy and does an excellent job freshening up this old chestnut with a bright performance.
Side Two starts with Like Someone in Love by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, a solo performance by Bud that premiered in the 1944 film Belle of The Yukon. Powell has the showcase alone here, and right from the song’s entrance, he brings out its warmth of lyricism, tenderness, and sincerity in one of the album’s prettiest performances. Someone To Watch Over Me by George and Ira Gershwin is from the 1926 musical, Oh, Kay! Initially known as a torch song, the group’s interpretation is performed flawlessly, with Powell showing the utmost respect during the melody and in his solo. Trotman and Blakey anchor him politely, preceding the closing chorus.
The tempo moves upward again for Lover Come Back To Me by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II. It appeared first in the 1928 musical, The New Moon, and it’s a catchy tune beginning with the threesome’s lively opening chorus. Bud opens the song’s only solo at a brisk gallop, complemented by Lloyd and Art leading to the trio’s finale. Tenderly by Walter Gross and Jack Lawrence is an enchanting song about finding love. Powell’s piano makes the introduction which grows into a delicately gentle theme; then Bud reminisces nostalgically in an excellent interpretation preceding the ending.
The album ends with How High The Moon by Morgan Lewis and Nancy Hamilton. It’s an infectious tune with a driving beat that takes off after Bud’s introduction. The pianist swings to Lloyd and Art’s zesty foundation into the theme’s reprise and climax. Norman Granz supervised the initial album, and it’s unknown who was the recording engineer. However, the reissue’s sound quality is excellent, with a stellar soundstage that brings the musicians into your listening room with incredible clarity. The record is pressed on virgin vinyl and silent until the music starts. If you’re in the mood for a relaxing album to enjoy after a long day or week, I offer for your consideration Bud Powell ’57. It’s an endlessly satisfying trio album that I’m sure you’ll enjoy!
~ Jazz Original (Norgran Records MG N-1017) – Source: Discogs.com ~ How High The Moon, Like Someone In Love, Lover Come Back To Me, ‘Round Midnight, Someone To Watch Over Me, Tenderly, That Old Black Magic, Thou Swell – Source: JazzStandards.com ~ Deep Night – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter
More Posts: choice,classic,collectible,collector,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Terence Lightfoot was born on May 21, 1935 in Potters Bar, Middlesex, England. He started his musical career as a vocalist during early school life, singing popular songs with a small amateur variety group. In 1949, he came to jazz while at Enfield Grammar School in Enfield Town, London, England. He changed from playing the trumpet to clarinet to meet the needs of the traditional Dixieland jazz band of his friends. After leaving school, he formed his first jazz band, the Wood Green Stompers.
In 1955 he formed the band Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazzmen. In the Sixties they had three minor hits in the UK Singles Chart in 1961 and 1962, True Love, King Kong and Tavern in the Town. The group made regular Sunday night appearances at the Wood Green Jazz Club.
Clarinetist Terence Lightfoot transitioned from prostate cancer in Milton Keynes General Hospital on March 15, 2013 at the age of 77.
More Posts: bandleader,clarinet,history,instrumental,jazz,music
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rod Cless was born George Roderick Cless on May 20, 1907 in Lenox, Iowa. He began playing in bands in college including the Varsity Five, darlings of Iowa State University. In the mid-’20s he relocated to Des Moines, Iowa where he first came into contact with an important influence, bandleader Frank Teschemacher, known as “Tesch” to his musical cohorts. The two went to Chicago, Illinois together and began playing with groups such as the orchestra of Charlie Pierce.
The late ’20s saw Cless touring in the south with Frank Quartell’s Band, including his first journey to New Orleans, Lousiana. Back in Chicago he squatted at the Wigwam Club and enlisted with the combo of Louis Panico, a fairly calm bandleader despite contrary indications suggested by his surname. During this time Rod began playing more saxophone and took part in gigs with a less pronounced jazz content. Extended club residencies and stay-at-home employment allowed him to expand his clarinet instruction.
By the spring of 1939 he returned to pure jazz work joining up with Muggsy Spanier’s band the Ragtimers, followed by two years with pianist Art Hodes. Other gigs in the ’40s included work with Marty Marsala, Ed Farley, Georg Brunis, and Wild Bill Davidson as well as Bobby Hackett. In 1944 he played with Max Kaminsky at New York City’s Pied Piper Club. when Cless suffered catastrophic injuries toppling over the railings of an apartment, subsequently surviving for only four days in the hospital. ~
Named George Roderick Cless, he was related by marriage to the much better-known reedman Bud Freeman, but certainly had a respectable career in the Dixieland ensembles of leaders such as Muggsy Spanier and Bobby Hackett.
After walking home the last night of a gig at the Pied Piper in New York City, clarinetist and saxophonist Rod Cless, who recorded with Muggsy Spanier tunes for Bluebird Records, fell several stories over the balcony of his apartment and transitioned from the fall four days later on December 8, 1944 at the age of 37.
More Posts: clarinet,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Johnny Alf was born Alfredo José da Silva on May 19, 1929 in Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and began playing piano at age 9. His father died when he was 3 and was raised by his mother, who worked as a maid to raise him. He attended Colégio Pedro II, receiving support from his mother’s employers who had appreciation for music. He was enrolled at the IBEU, Instituto Brasil-Estados Unidos, and it was there that he received his first formal musical training, studying classical piano with instructor Geni Bálsamo.
Influenced by Nat King Cole and George Sheaing, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Brazilian born Dick Fame, he eventually gained membership into the Sinatra~Farney Fan Club, a performers collective. Alf’s membership allowed him regular access to a piano as well as a group of musically sympathetic peers with which to play and experiment. They would finally get the payless opportunity to play in a few well known venues.
By 1950 he was pursuing a professional musical career and received his first professional break in 1952 when he was hired as the pianist at the newly inaugurated Cantina do César, owned by the popular radio host César de Alencar. With free musical reign. Johnny would receive frequent visits from pianist João Donato, vocalist Dolores Duran, and guitarist/vocalist João Gilberto who would sit in on the way to their gigs.
He would begin to combine Samba-cançãoes and foxtrots with American jazz styles. He would go on to record his first two albums, however, the recordings garnered no more than a pittance of recognition for Alf at the time, but would later in the early Sixties be hailed as the progenitors of the Bossa Nova style.
He continued to find nightly work in the Rio clubs and work with musical companions João Gilberto, João Donato, and the young pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim, all following him from venue to venue provided they could afford the cover fee. By 1954 he was performing regularly at the Hotel Plaza nightclub. Due to its haunted reputation Johnny was able to play his own compositions plus hold early evening jam sessions and these improvisatory collaborations that the harmonic and rhythmic structures eventually blossomed into the style now known as Bossa Nova.
Moving to Sao Paulo in 1955 he became the house pianist at a new club, Baiúca and formed a short-lived duo with double-bassist Sabá. Unfortunately the group only established a moderate following before Baiúca was closed down for health-code violations. In 1961 he declined the invitation to play at Carnegie Hall’s historic Bossa Nova Festival because he didn’t like the connotation bossa nova brought with it. That decision sent him towards obscurity and very little was heard from Alf, although he infrequently produce albums throughout the 60s and early 70s. He would continue to collaborate, record and perform to earn a living and eventually landed a position at a local conservatory of music.
Pianist, vocalist, composer and educator Johnny Alf, who is widely considered the Father of Bossa Nova, transitioned from complications caused by prostate cancer on March 4, 2010 in Santo Andre, just outside São Paulo, Brazil. This was his home for the last fifty years of his life. He left no immediate survivors.
More Posts: bandleader,club,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,vocal
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nabuko Kiryu was born on May 18, 1968 in Tokyo, Japan and grew up in a musical family. Her mother and stepfather both are jazz pianists and a brother plays classical trumpet. The daughter of Toshiko Kiryu, a classically trained pianist who has performed at Carnegie Hall, she learned an appreciation for music early. However, her stepfather Kanji Ohta, was the one who inspired her movement toward jazz.
She started singing jazz in 1990 in Japan after graduating from Shobi Junior College of Music with a degree in composition. But her musical career began much earlier. Since her arrival in New York City in 1996, she has been performing in restaurants, cafes, and jazz clubs such as Blue Note, Lenox Lounge, and Showmans. She completed her B.A. in jazz vocal performance from City College of New York in 2001 and also graduated with her M.A. at Queens College in 2004.
Nabuko has performed with jazz giants such as Jimmy Heath, Grady Tate, Earl May, and Jimmy Lovelace, the last two of which appear on her latest What’s New Records release titled Singing Love. She studied with Sheila Jordan and has participated in the Barry Harris Jazz Vocal Ensemble.
Vocalist Nabuko Kiryu continues to perform and record as she explore the jazz idiom.
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,vocal