The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

The Delta variant is causing a rise in new cases of Covid~19 and is much easier to contract. The modus operandi of the day is continuing my exercise of social distancing, quarantining myself at home and wearing my mask whenever I am in public places. I hope you are doing the same.

I offer up my latest selection is the tenth album and sixth on Concord from Nnenna Freelon. It is her 2005 album Blueprint Of A Lady: Sketches Of Billie Holiday. It was her tribute to the late great vocalist. The album was recorded March~April 2005 at the Fantasy Studio in Berkeley, California, and released on the Concord Jazz label that same year.

Though her arrangements may not reflect the melodies we are historically familiar with, Freelon has an inimitable way of taking us on a journey that brings her own sensibilities to interpret these songs with refreshing renditions that may appeal to old fans and hopefully garner new enthusiasts.

Track Listing | 1:02:46

1. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) ~ 4:18
2. What a Little Moonlight Can Do (Harry M. Woods) ~ 5:13
3. Don’t Explain (Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog, Jr.) ~ 4:03
4. God Bless the Child (Holiday, Herzog) ~ 5:21
5. Strange Fruit (Abel Meeropol) ~ 2:20
6. Willow Weep For Me (Ann Ronell) ~ 2:52
7. Balm in Gilead (Traditional) ~ 4:49
8. Them There Eyes (Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, William Tracey) ~ 5:09
9. Only You Will Know (Nnenna Freelon, Brandon McCune) ~ 3:41
10. You’ve Changed (Bill Carey, Carl Fischer) ~ 5:24
11.  Now or Never (Billie Holiday, Curtis Reginald Lewis) ~ 2:55
12. Lover Man (Jimmy Davis, Roger (Ram) Ramirez, James Sherman) ~ 4:14
13. Left Alone (Billie Holiday, Mal Waldron) – 5:02
14. Little Brown Bird (Interlude) (Nnenna Freelon, Brandon McCune) ~ 1:32
15. All of Me (Gerald Marks, Seymour Simons) ~ 5:53

• Nnenna Freelon ~ arranger, producer, vocals
• Brandon McCune ~ arranger, fender rhodes, Hammond B3, piano, trumpet
• Beverly Botsford ~ arranger, percussion
• Wayne Batchelor ~ arranger, acoustic bass guitar, acoustic bass
• Kinah Boto ~ drums
• André Bush, Julian Lage ~ guitar
• Doug Lawrence ~ tenor saxophone
• Christian Scott ~ trumpet
• Jessica Ivry ~ cello
• Mary Fettig ~ alto flute, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, rhythm arrangements
• John Clayton ~ horn arrangements

• Nnenna Freelon/Ed Keane – producer
• Josiah Gluck – engineer, audio engineer, mixing 
• Jesse Nichols – assistant engineer, mixing
• Nick Phillips – audio production, producer
• George Horn – mastering

• Abbey Anna – art direction
• Terri Apanasewicz – hair stylist
• Rudy Calvo – make-up
• Danielle Brancazio – package design
• Randee Saint Nicholas – photography

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

As the Delta variant cases are increasing and vaccinations have leveled out masking and social distancing remain the modus operandi of the day. In my continuation of revisiting albums I have in my collection. So this week I turn to George Benson and his 1972 recording White Rabbit. It was recorded on November 23, 24 & 30, 1971 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The album was produced by Creed Taylor, engineered by Rudy Van Gelder and Don Sebesky did all the arrangements. The album cover was designed by Bob Ciano and the cover photography was taken by Pete Turner. The original cover photo was of a Pondo tribe woman that he photographed in South Africa in 1970.

Don Sebesky brought the title track to Taylor and Benson’s attention as Benson had never heard of Jefferson Airplane or Grace Slick. However, Benson doesn’t read music, he just heard the song and automatically fell into the groove, proving that music doesn’t exist on the page, only in the air. White Rabbit was his second CTI Records project and his first Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Jazz Performance by a Group. This continues to be one of my road trip albums.

1. White Rabbit (Grace Slick) ~ 6:55
2. Theme From Summer Of ‘42 ( Michel Legrand) ~ 5:08
3. Little Train | from Bachianas Brasileiras (Heitor Villa~Lobos) ~ 5:47
4. California Dreamin’ (John Phillips, MIchelle Phillips) ~ 7:22
5. El Mar | The Sea (George Benson) ~ 10:49

• George Benson ~ guitar
• Jay Berliner ~ Spanish guitar
• Earl Klugh ~ acoustic guitar (5)
• Herbie Hancock ~ electric piano
• Ron Carter ~ electric bass (1, 3), double bass (2, 4, 5)
• Billy Cobham ~ drums
• Airto Moreira ~ percussion, vocals
• Phil Kraus ~ vibraphone, percussion
• Gloria Agostini ~ harp

• Phil Bodner ~ flute, alto flute, oboe, english horn
• Hubert Laws ~ flute, alto flute, piccolo, flute solo (1)
• George Marge ~ flute, alto flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn
• Romeo Penque ~ english horn, oboe, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet
• Jane Taylor ~ bassoon

• Wayne Andre ~ trombone, baritone horn
• Jim Buffington ~ french horn
• John Frosk ~ trumpet, flugelhorn, trumpet solo (1, 5)
• Alan Rubin ~ rumpet, flugelhorn

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Masking and social distancing are still my mantra in maintaining my health and this time has given me a steady flow of opportunities to sit and listen to albums I have in my collection. So this I am revisiting music that was recorded over a quarter of a century ago. This week I turn to tenor and soprano saxophonist Joshua Redman and his 1994 studio album by his quartet titled Moodswing. All compositions on this album are original and released on the Warner Bros. The album was re-released on vinyl in 2009.

1. Sweet Sorrow
2. Chill
3. Rejoice
4. Faith
5. Alone in the Morning
6. Mischief
7. Dialogue
8. The Oneness of Two (In Three)
9. Past in the Present
10. Obsession
11. Headin’ Home

• Joshua Redman ~ tenor, soprano saxophone
• Brad Mehldau ~ piano
• Christian McBride ~ bass
• Brian Blade ~ drums

Recorded on March 8~10, 1994 at the Power Station in New York City. The production team was led by producer Matt Pierson, Jennifer Zeitlin ~ production coordinator, James Farber was the recording/mixing engineer, Greg Calbi and Scott Hull ~ mastering engineers, and Rory Romano, Tony Black ~ engineer assistants. The art direction and design was by Jeri Heiden and Tom Recchion, Jim Merrill did the photography of the band and Marc Hom took the photographs of Joshua. Mary Ann Topper was responsible for management and booking.

1. Sweet Sorrow
2. Chill
3. Rejoice
4. Faith
5. Alone in the Morning
6. Mischief
7. Dialogue
8. The Oneness of Two (In Three)
9. Past in the Present
10. Obsession
11. Headin’ Home

• Joshua Redman ~ tenor, soprano saxophone
• Brad Mehldau ~ piano
• Christian McBride ~ bass
• Brian Blade ~ drums

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Masking and social distancing are still my mantra in maintaining my health and this pandemic has given me a great opportunity to sit and listen to albums I have’nt in a long time. So as I revisit my music collection this week I place on the turntable the 1977 studio album by Sarah Vaughan titled I Love Brazil! If you love Vaughan’s voice and the music of Brazil, you will want this in your collection.

The session was recorded on October 31 ~ November 7, 1977 and was her first album released on Pablo Records. This was Vaughan’s first but not last foray into Brazilian music, bossa nova and mpb. It was followed by Copacabana in 1979, and Brazilian Romance in 1987.

1. If You Went Away | Preciso Aprender a Ser Só (Ray Gilbert, Marcos Valle, Paulo Sérgio Valle) ~ 4:25
2. Triste (Antônio Carlos Jobim) ~ 2:58
3. Roses and Roses | Das Rosas (Dorival Caymmi, Gilbert) ~ 3:23
4. Empty Faces | Vera Cruz (Lani Hall, Milton Nascimento) ~ 6:26
5. I Live to Love You | Morrer de Amor (Oscar Castro-Neves, Luverci Fiorini, Gilbert) ~ 3:54
6. The Face I Love | Seu Encanto (Gilbert, Carlos Pingarilho, M. Valle) ~ 3:29
7. Courage | Coragem (Nascimento, Cootie Williams) ~ 3:42
8. The Day It Rained | Chuva (Pedro Camargo, Durval Ferreira, Gilbert) ~ 4:40
9. A Little Tear | Razão de Viver (Deodato, Gilbert, P.S. Valle) ~ 4:07
10. Like a Lover | Cantador (Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Dori Caymmi, Nelson Motta) ~ 4:45
11. Bridges | Travessia (Nascimento, Fernando Brant, Gene Lees) ~ 4:12
12. Someone to Light Up My Life | Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Vocë (Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Lees) ~ 3:26

• Sarah Vaughan ~ vocals
• Dorival Caymmi – vocals (3)
• Milton Nascimento – acoustic guitar, vocals (4,7,11)
• Dori Caymmi – acoustic guitar, vocals (10)
• Nelson Angelo – electric guitar (4,7,11)
• Hélio Delmiro – electric guitar (1-3,6,8-9,12)
• Danilo Caymmi – flute (4,7,11)
• Paulo Jobim – flute (4,7,11)
• Mauricio Einhorn – harmonica (8)
• Antônio Carlos Jobim – piano (2,12)
• José Roberto Bertrami – electric piano (1-3,6,8-9), organ (4,7,11)
• Edson Frederico – orchestration (1-3,5-6,8-9,12), piano (5)
• Sergio Barroso – acoustic bass (1-2,6,9,12)
• Claudio Bertrami – acoustic bass (3,8)
• Novelli – electric bass (4,7,11)
• Wilson das Neves – drums (1-3,6,8-9,12)
• Robertinho Silva – (4,7,11)
• Ariovaldo – percussion (1-4,6-7,9,11-12)
• Chico Batera – percussion (1-4,6-7,9,11-12)
• Luna – percussion (12)
• Marçal – percussion (12)

• Durval Ferreira – creative director
• Sheldon Marks – design, layout design
• Norman Granz – design, layout design, liner notes
• Mário Jorge Bruno – engineer
• Tamaki Beck – mastering
• Aloísio de Oliveira – producer

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Social distancing and masking are still forefront in the pursuit of health and this time has given me a steady flow of opportunities to sit and listen to albums I played songs from during my tenure at WCLK. This is one of those times that I am rediscovering music that has fed my soul for years. This week I turn to a 1965 album whose title is so appropriate for these times, Lucky Strikes by tenor and soprano saxophonist Lucky Thompson.

Recorded on September 15, 1964 at the Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, it was released on the Prestige record label the following year. The album was produced by Don Schlitten, engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, and the liner notes were written by David A. Himmelstein.

This was his sixth studio recording and of the eight compositions on this date, six are originals by Thompson, and two songs selected by the saxophonist are In A Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington/Irving Mills, and the Bronisław Kaper composition Invitation.

Track Listing | 39:25

1. In a Sentimental Mood ~ 5:49
2. Fly With the Wind ~ 4:01
3. Mid-Nite Oil ~ 5:08
4. Reminiscent ~ 4:04
5. Mumba Neua ~ 4:47
6. I Forgot to Remember ~ 6:36
7. Prey-Loot ~ 4:05
8. Invitation ~ 4:55

• Lucky Thompson – tenor, soprano saxophone
• Hank Jones – piano
• Richard Davis – bass
• Connie Kay – drums

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