Three Wishes
When asked by Pannonica of his three wishes Hall Overton responded with:
- “To be able to do what I want to do musically – in composition and so on.”
- “Something that would be on my mind would be that there should be no more wars.”
- “That music should become more important to everyone.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats – Complied and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Requisites
Larry Young’s Fuel is a jazz fusion album by organist/keyboardist Larry Young, recorded and released on the Arista Records label in 1975. The cover photography was provided by Benno Friedman with art direction and design by Bob Heimall.
The composers on the album included Young, Philips, Santiago Torano, Laura Logan and Fernando Saunders. The album is comprised of seven compositions Fuel for the Fire, I Ching (Book of Changes), Turn off the Lights, Floating, H + J = B (Hustle + Jam = Bread), People Do Be Funny and New York Electric Street Music.
The players on this session were: Larry Young – keyboards, Santiago Torano – guitar, Fernando Saunders – bass and background vocals, Rob Gottfried – drums and percussion, and Laura “Tequila” Logan – vocals
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Three Wishes
Responding to the question of three wishes by the Baroness Gene Taylor said:
- “Money.”
- “Health. That’s all there is.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats – Complied and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Requisites
Black Christ of the andes is a 1963 recording from Mary Lou Williams on the MPS label. Photographer Charles “Chuck” Stewart provided the original cover image for designer Gigi Berendt, however, there was a second image provided for the 2004 reissue. In the mid-to-late 1950s, the jazz composer and pianist retired from public performance for nearly four years. During her hiatus she converted to Catholicism, and the first record she made after her return was a marked departure from her previous work: it was a mass.
In 1962, the Catholic Church canonized a new saint: A Peruvian brother of the Dominican Order named Martin de Porres, the son of a freed slave named Ana Velazquez and a Spanish gentleman who refused to recognize him because he was born with his mother’s dark features. St. Martin de Porres was a gifted healer who was dedicated to the poor — today, he is the patron saint of those who seek racial harmony.
The fourteen tracks on the album are St. Martin de Porres, It Ain’t Necessarily So, The Devil, Miss D. D., Anima Christi, A Grand Night For Swinging, My Blue Heaven, Dirge Blues, A Fungus Amungus, Koolbonga, Forty-Five Degree Angle, Nicole, Chunka Lunka and Praise The Lord.
The opening hymn, “St. Martin de Porres,” begins with a choir singing a cappella. The chords — dense and full of satisfying tensions — showcase Williams’ previously underutilized aptitude for vocal arrangement. As they sing the saint’s name, the choir slows down, masterfully swelling on the vowels as if to prove their devotion. When Williams finally enters on the keys, she does so with an Afro-Latin groove, perhaps a nod to the heritage of the hymn’s subject.
Williams, a leading exponent of stride piano, a difficult style of playing similar to ragtime, was developed in New York City’s Harlem during World War I. As one of the most influential women in jazz, she was a mentor to the likes of Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk.
Mary Lou Williams’ Black Christ of the andes is jazz for the soul and an overlooked choral masterpiece that should be a part of every collection.
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Three Wishes
Doug Watkins was asked for his three wishes by Nica and his answers were:
- “To be rich, prosperous, and a millionaire. Oh! I didn’t know you were serious. Change that – change that! To really be able to play.”
- “To live as a man should live.”
- “I want to go to Japan.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats – Complied and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
Doug Watkins: March 2, 1934 – February 5, 1962 / Bass
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