The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Having completely adapted to a new modus operandi for living this glorious life, I remain vigilant in my social distancing and reminding myself of music I haven’t listened to in a long time. This week I’m pulling out the late great Roy Hargrove who had the vision to record With The Tenors of Our Time. It’s a 1994 release on the Polygram Record label that was recorded at Teatro Mancinelli and Giani Grascinelli Sound Service with executive producer Richard Seidel. The album’s art direction and design is by David Lau, photography by James Minchin, liner notes by Jimmy Katz.

>Others in the team contributing to the production of this album were Larry Clothier ~ production, engineering, mixing; Ed Rak ~ engineering, mastering, mixing; Robert Friedrich ~ assistant engineering; Troy Halderson ~ mastering; Camille Tominaro ~ production coordination; and Nelly Muganda ~ make-up and hair stylist.

1. Soppin’ the Biscuit (composer Roy Hargrove, featuring Stanley Turrentine) ~ 7:59
2. When We Were One (composer Johnny Griffin, featuring Johnny Griffin) ~ 5:59
3. Valse Hot (composer Sonny Rollins, featuring Branford Marsalis, Ron Blake) ~ 6:57
4. Once Forgotten (composer Pamela Watson, featuring Ron Blake on tenor and soprano saxophone) ~ 5:45
5. Shade of Jade (composer Joe Henderson, featuring Joe Henderson) ~ 5:24
6. Greens at the Chicken Shack (composer Cyrus Chestnut, featuring Johnny Griffin) ~ 5:45
7. Never Let Me Go (composer Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, featuring Rodney Whitaker) ~ 5:36
8. Serenity (composer Joe Henderson, featuring Joe Henderson) ~ 5:35
9. Across the Pond (composer Roy Hargrove, featuring Joshua Redman) ~ 6:47
10. Wild Is Love (composer Robert Mickens and G. Brown, featuring     Stanley Turrentine) ~ 6:50
11. Mental Phrasing (composer Roy Hargrove, featuring Ron Blake, Joshua Redman) ~ 6:25
12. April’s Fool (composer Ron Blake) ~ 3:54

• Roy Hargrove – trumpet, flugelhorn (2,4,7,10), production
• Cyrus Chestnut – piano
• Rodney Whitaker – bass
• Gregory Hutchinson – drums
• Ron Blake – soprano, tenor saxophone
• Johnny Griffin – tenor saxophone
• Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
• Branford Marsalis – tenor saxophone
• Joshua Redman – tenor saxophone
• Stanley Turrentine – tenor saxophone

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

For those of us who foresaw that we would still be social distancing that we would be listening to great music in the safety of our homes. This week I’ve taken the liberty of enjoying listening to Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins on their 1963 album titled Sonny Meets Hawk! Released on RCA Victor. Recorded in the RCA Victor Studio B in New York City on July 15 & 18 1963, the album features some of Sonny’s most avant-garde playing.

The album was produced by George Avakian and marked the first time the two saxophonists recorded studio together, although they had appeared on stage together briefly that same year at the Newport Jazz Festival.

1. Yesterdays (Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach) ~ 5:13
2. All the Things You Are (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) ~ 9:33
3. Summertime (DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) ~ 5:58
4. Just Friends (John Klenner, Sam M. Lewis) ~ 4:40
5. Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)  (Jimmy Davis, Roger “Ram” Ramirez, James Sherman) ~ 8:54
6. At McKies’ (Rollins) ~ 7:03

• Sonny Rollins – tenor saxophone
• Coleman Hawkins – tenor saxophone
• Paul Bley – piano
• Roy McCurdy – drums
• Bob Cranshaw – bass (tracks 1, 2, and 5) – recorded July 15
• Henry Grimes – bass (tracks 3, 4, and 6) – recorded July 18

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Fourteen months and the end of social distancing and mask wearing is not in sight, and remains the fare for the times as does my continual joy of listening to music. So going into my music room I’ve selected for this week’s enjoyment from the shelves the album Good Gracious!. The studio album was recorded on January 24, 1963 at the Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersy and released on the Blue Note label by saxophonist Lou Donaldson. The album was produced by Alfred Lion and released in the early part of June 1964.

If you’re a fan of Donaldson’s you will notice that his tone is richer and fuller than it is on many of his early-’60s records. He connects with the laid-back R&B grooves and soul-jazz vamps and it remains one of his best soul-jazz sessions.

Track List | 41:59

1. Bad John ~ 8:18
2. The Holy Ghost ~ 8:38
3. Cherry (Don Redman) ~ 5:17
4. Caracas ~ 7:19
5. Good Gracious ~ 6:52
6. Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me (Rube Bloom, Ted Koehler) ~ 5:35

• Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
• Grant Green – guitar
• Big John Patton – organ
• Ben Dixon – drums

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

As social distancing and wearing masks continues to be our current state of affairs I had this thought of how this much we have seen in our lifetime, especially those of us who were born in the middle of the 20th century. So going into my music room I pulled down from the stacks Out of This World, a studio album by saxophonist Teddy Edwards. The album was recorded in Denmark on December 5, 1980 for the SteepleChase label. It was originally released with six tracks in 1981, however, the 1995 compact disc reissue added a seventh track. The session was produced by Nils Winther.

Track List: 57:30 All compositions by Teddy Edwards except where noted.

1. No Name No. 1 ~ 6:00
2. April Love ~ 6:47
3. Out of This World (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) ~ 11:07
4. Summertime (George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) ~ 8:29
5. That’s All (Bob Haymes, Alam Brandt) ~ 8:00
6. Cheek to Cheek (Irving Berlin) ~ 6:05
7. Summertime [alternate take] (Gershwin, Heyward) ~ 10:48 Bonus track on CD reissue

• Teddy Edwards – tenor saxophone
• Kenny Drew – piano
• Jesper Lundgaard – bass
• Billy Hart – drums

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Another week has passed and  life goes on. To continually relax in between working on a few projects, I’m kicking back with Blue Light ’til Dawn. This  studio album by jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. Her first album on the Blue Note label, it was released in 1993. It contains Wilson’s interpretations of songs by various blues and rock artists, as well as three original compositions.

The album marked a shift in Wilson’s recording style, mostly dropping the electric instruments of her earlier albums in favor of acoustic arrangements. A critical and commercial breakthrough, the album was re-released in 2014 with three bonus tracks recorded live somewhere in Europe during the Blue Light ’til Dawn Tour. The eponimous single was nominated for the Grammy Award as Best Jazz Vocal Performance.

As of March 1996, the album sold over 250 000 copies. While recording the album, Wilson’s father, jazz bassist Herman Fowlkes, died. In an interview for New York Magazine Wilson explained that the album’s name refers to a certain time of night. Says Wilson “At a party you have a blue light to have a certain vibe. The title refers to that light, that blue, giving way to the dawn. It’s after after hours, the predawn twilight”. The album peaked at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Chart.

1. You Don’t Know What Love Is (Gene DePaul, Don Raye) ~ 6:05
2. Come On In My Kitchen (Robert Johnson) ~ 4:53
3. Tell Me You’ll Wait For Me (Charles Brown, Oscar Moore) ~ 4:48
4. Children Of The Night (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) ~ 5:19
5. Hellhound On My Trail (Johnson) ~ 4:34
6. Black Crow (Joni Mitchell) ~ 4:38
7. Sankofa (Cassandra Wilson) ~ 2:02
8. Estrellas (Cyro Baptista) ~ 1:59
9. Redbone (Wilson) ~ 5:35
10. Tupelo Honey (Van Morrison) ~ 5:36
11. Blue Light ’til Dawn (Wilson) ~ 5:09
12. I Can’t Stand the Rain (Don Bryant, Bernard Miller, Ann Peebles) ~ 5:27

• Cassandra Wilson – vocals
• Olu Dara – cornet
• Don Byron – clarinet
• Charlie Burnham – violin, mandocello
• Tony Cedras – accordion
• Gib Wharton – pedal steel guitar
• Chris Whitley – resophonic guitar
• Brandon Ross – acoustic guitar
• Kenny Davis – bass
• Lonnie Plaxico – bass
• Lance Carter – drums, percussion
• Bill McClellan – drums, percussion
• Cyro Baptista – percussion
• Jeff Haynes – percussion
• Kevin Johnson – percussion
• Vinx – percussion

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