Requisites
The Great Jazz Trio At The Village Vanguard | By Eddie Carter
This morning’s subject submitted for your consideration is a recent addition to the library by one of the quintessential small groups in jazz. The Great Jazz Trio At The Village Vanguard (East Wind EW-8053) is the first of three live albums by Hank Jones on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums recorded over two nights at the venue in 1977. My copy used in this report is the 1978 US Stereo release (Inner City Records IC 6013).
Side One starts the set with a speedy rendition of Moose The Mooche by Charlie Parker. The trio takes off on a lively opening chorus, succeeded by Hank who accelerates quickly on the first solo. Tony takes over for the closing statement with a fierce attack of intense heat preceding the trio’s swift climax.
Up next is Naima, John Coltrane’s beautiful ballad named for his first wife. The trio’s rendition begins with a delicately graceful piano introduction segueing into a breathtaking collective theme. Jones opens the first solo luxuriously, gaining momentum into an enticing ending. Carter displays his abundant skills on a delightful finale complemented by Williams’ gentle brushwork leading to a warm, expressive exit.
Side Two gets underway with a pretty tune by Claus Ogerman, Favors. The ensemble begins with an easygoing midtempo opening chorus. Hank is up first and lets his ideas unfold at a leisurely pace. Ron follows with a relaxing message on the second solo, then Hank and Tony share a carefree conversation leading to the ensemble’s theme reprise and soft close.
The set closes with a blues by Ron Carter, 12 + 12. After the ensemble’s happy melody, Jones kicks off the solos with an utterly joyful performance. Carter also says plenty on an impressively buoyant statement, followed by Williams who speaks last in an exchange with Jones into the theme’s reprise and Tony’s introductions of the group. The album was produced by Kiyoshi Itoh and Yasohachi Itoh. Co-Producer David Baker also was the recording engineer. He’s done a phenomenal job because the sound quality is splendid with an exquisite soundstage placing the listener’s sweet spot in the crowd as the trio’s performing. The only issue is a small typo appearing on the back cover and the Side Two record label of both the Japanese and US releases, Claus Ogerman’s name is mispronounced.
Hank Jones was regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the most gifted musicians in jazz with an extensive discography and a career lasting sixty-six years including thirty-six as a member of The Great Jazz Trio. He passed away on May 16, 2010, at age ninety-one. Ron Carter is a living legend and the most recorded jazz bassist in history. He also plays the cello, is still performing and recording, and just celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday. Tony Williams was one of the best drummers in jazz and for five years provided the power behind The Miles Davis Quintet. He passed away at age fifty-one on February 23, 1997; but leaves a lasting legacy of music as a leader and sideman. If you enjoy live jazz and are a fan of these great musicians, I invite you to check out The Great Jazz Trio At The Village Vanguard. It’s a terrific jazz album with superb performances that is sure to please novice and seasoned jazz fans alike!
~ The Great Jazz Trio At The Village Vanguard, Volume 2 (East Wind EW-8055), ~ The Great Jazz Trio At The Village Vanguard Again (East Wind UCCJ-4001) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Naima – Source: JazzStandards.com ~ Moose The Mooche – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2022 by Edward Thomas Carter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John Calvin Jackson was born May 26, 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a concert singer mother. He played piano from childhood, taking lessons with a private teacher. He went on to study at Juilliard and New York University.
At the beginning of his career Jackson worked with Frankie Fairfax. Moving to Los Angeles, California from 1943–47 he worked in Hollywood as an assistant director of music for MGM on productions including Meet Me in St. Louis and Anchors Aweigh.
1947 saw Calvin recording with Phil Moore and also as a solo pianist for Discovery Records. The following summer he played with singer Mildred Bailey and dancer Avon Long at Café Society in New York City. In 1950, he moved to Toronto, Canada where he often played on television and radio. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s he released several LPs for labels such as Columbia Records.
Returning to Los Angeles in 1957 he resumed work as a composer and orchestrator for television and hit musicals like Where The Boys Are and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, which was Oscar-nominated for best adapted score. Occasionally he could be seen on screen as a piano-playing character.
Jackson arranged for Ray Charles at one point, receiving an arrangement and co-producer credit for Charles’ 1964 release Sweet & Sour Tears . By the early 1980s, he moved to San Diego County, where he lived in semi-retirement where he gave music lessons on a piano in his apartment. In 1984 he sat in as a guest at the Sunday night jam sessions Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham hosted at the Bahia resort on Mission Bay, playing piano and harmonica between sets and occasionally with the band.
He was working on arrangements for a 31-piece concert jazz orchestra in Point Loma when he developed a heart ailment and was taken to the hospital. Pianist, composer, and bandleader Calvin Jackson transitioned on December 9, 1985 at age 66.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Richard Alan Beirach was born on May 23, 1947 in New York City, New York and initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist Lennie Tristano. He later studied at the Berklee College of Music, however, after one year he left and began attending the Manhattan School of Music. While there, he studied with Ludmilla Ulehla.
In 1972, graduating from the Manhattan School of Music he took with him a Master’s Degree in Music Theory and Composition. Beirach’s style is influenced by Art Tatum, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, and Chick Corea along with his earlier classical training and many touches of his individualism all its own.
He recorded 57 albums as a leader and as a sideman with George Adams, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, Chet Baker, Dave Liebman, Jeremy Steig, Steve Davis, Laurie Antonioli, and the Ron McClure Trio he recorded 17. Pianist and composer Richie Beirach continues to perform, compose and record.
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
If you don’t know what to do by now to keep yourself and your family safe and healthy, there’s nothing else I can say to change your perspective. So, with that said, this week the Jazz Voyager is pulling from the stacks a 1965 hard bop studio album titled Spunky released by Monty Alexander. The session was produced by Richard Bock and recorded at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles, California and Plaza Sound Studios in New York the year of its release. It was offered on Pacific Jazz LP record ST-20094 in stereo and PJ-10094 in mono.
- Monty Alexander: piano (all tracks)
- Victor Gaskin: bass (all but 4, 6)
- Bob Cranshaw: bass (tracks 4, 6)
- Paul Humphrey: drums (all but 4, 6)
- Bruno Carr: drums (tracks 4, 6)
- Gene Bertoncini: guitar (tracks 4, 6)
- Scott Turner: guitar (track 9)
- Cover design by Woody Woodward
- Cover Photography by Les McCann
- Back Cover Photography by Eddie Rio
- Liner Notes written by Paul Compton
- Spunky (Monty Alexander) ~ 2:39
- Naturally (Nat Adderley) ~ 3:35
- Jamaica Shake (Monty Alexander) ~ 2:25
- Heart Strings (Milt Jackson) ~ 3:33
- Taggie’s Tune (Junior Mance) ~ 4:14
- Rattlesnake (Monty Alexander) ~ 2:30
- Whisper Not ( Benny Golson) ~ 3:58
- I’m An Old Cowhand (Johnny Mercer) ~ 2:32
- Little Children Of Peru (Scott Turner) ~ 2:50
- Spirit Of Foo (Monty Alexander) ~ 4:45
- Monty Alexander: piano (all tracks)
- Victor Gaskin: bass (all but 4, 6)
- Bob Cranshaw: bass (tracks 4, 6)
- Paul Humphrey: drums (all but 4, 6)
- Bruno Carr: drums (tracks 4, 6)
- Gene Bertoncini: guitar (tracks 4, 6)
- Scott Turner: guitar (track 9)
- Cover design by Woody Woodward
- Cover Photography by Les McCann
- Back Cover Photography by Eddie Rio
- Liner Notes written by Paul Compton
Tracks | 33:10
- Spunky (Monty Alexander) ~ 2:39
- Naturally (Nat Adderley) ~ 3:35
- Jamaica Shake (Monty Alexander) ~ 2:25
- Heart Strings (Milt Jackson) ~ 3:33
- Taggie’s Tune (Junior Mance) ~ 4:14
- Rattlesnake (Monty Alexander) ~ 2:30
- Whisper Not ( Benny Golson) ~ 3:58
- I’m An Old Cowhand (Johnny Mercer) ~ 2:32
- Little Children Of Peru (Scott Turner) ~ 2:50
- Spirit Of Foo (Monty Alexander) ~ 4:45
- Monty Alexander: piano (all tracks)
- Victor Gaskin: bass (all but 4, 6)
- Bob Cranshaw: bass (tracks 4, 6)
- Paul Humphrey: drums (all but 4, 6)
- Bruno Carr: drums (tracks 4, 6)
- Gene Bertoncini: guitar (tracks 4, 6)
- Scott Turner: guitar (track 9)
- Cover design by Woody Woodward
- Cover Photography by Les McCann
- Back Cover Photography by Eddie Rio
- Liner Notes written by Paul Compton
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Allen Nicholas Farnham was born May 19, 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts and first played piano when he was 12. In 1983 he graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio.
Moving to New York City in the following year Allen freelanced before signing with Concord Records in 1986. Between 1986 and 1990 he led his own quartet, with either Joe Lovano or Dick Oatts on saxophone and Drew Gress and Jamey Haddad filling out the rhythm section and from 1990 he was pianist and music director for Susannah McCorkle.
He has produced more than fifty albums, is on the faculty of New Jersey City University and has recorded several albums under his own name. Pianist, record producer, educator, composer and arranger Allen Farnham continues to pursue all his musical endeavors.
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