Requisites

The Festival Album ~ The Jazz Crusaders | By Eddie Carter 

This morning’s discussion is a 1966 live album by four friends from Houston, Texas who began performing locally in 1956. After moving to Los Angeles in 1961, they became The Jazz Crusaders, one of the best West Coast jazz groups. I became a fan of their music listening to Chuck Lansing of Cleveland’s jazz station, WCUY 92.3 FM. His opening theme was The Young Rabbits, taken from their second LP, Lookin’ Ahead (1962). The Festival Album (World Pacific Jazz ST-20115) contains two performances from The Pacific Jazz Festival and The Newport Jazz Festival. The quartet consists of Wayne Henderson on trombone, Wilton Felder on tenor sax, Joe Sample on piano, and Stix Hooper on drums.  Jimmy Bond (tracks: A1, A2) and Herbie Lewis (tracks: B1, B2) on bass, complete the group. My copy used in this report is the 1967 Stereo reissue (Pacific Jazz ST-20115).

Trance Dance by Kenny Cox opens Side One with a collective soulful theme.  Wayne goes first with a noteworthy contribution offering a relaxing informality.  Wynton follows with an excellent solo of his own, then Joe gives a spirited closing reading ahead of the ensemble’s reprise and ending. A Summer Madness is the collaborative creation of Sample, Henderson, and Felder.  Wayne leads the quintet on the mid-tempo melody, then entices the listener with a captivating first statement. Wilton builds a satisfying groove with inspired lines next. Joe unfolds the next reading with a mellow tone effortlessly, and Jimmy makes a brief remark into the finale and crowd’s ovation.

Henderson’s Young Rabbits is off to the races from the intensely hot opening notes of the melody. Felder takes the first solo at breakneck speed with electrically charged excitement. Sample steps up next for a high-octane statement. Stix provides an energetic interpretation leading to the vigorous ending. Sample’s Freedom Sound was the title tune of their debut album (1961).  The trio begins this midtempo swinger with a march-like introduction developing into the quintet’s theme. Felder takes the lead with a cheerfully, light-hearted reading. Henderson swings comfortably into the next statement, and Joe wraps the album with a leisurely-paced performance powered by Herbie and Stix’s excellent groundwork.

This was The Jazz Crusaders’ twelfth LP for World Pacific Jazz and Pacific Jazz Records. *They were extremely popular and well known on the West Coast, but their first trip to The Newport Jazz Festival was significant because it introduced them to a whole new group of fans and brought them to the attention of the New York City jazz clubs.  I only wish it would have been released as a two-record set with each festival highlighted on one LP.  The Festival Album was produced by Richard Bock, and the sound quality of each session is quite good with an exquisite soundstage.  For those fans that only know of The Crusaders’ music from the seventies and eighties, The Festival Album shows the group in excellent form live and gives a snapshot of the Hard-Bop sound they created when Jazz was their middle name! ~ *AllMusic Review by Thom Jarek – Source: AllMusic.com

~ Freedom Sound (Pacific Jazz PJ-27/ST-27), Lookin’ Ahead (Pacific Jazz PJ-43/ST-43) – Source: Discogs.com © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Mikio Masuda 益田 幹夫, also known as Mickey Masuda, was born on August 14, 1949 in Osaka, Japan. Largely self-taught, he played bass at the age of 16, before switching to piano and performing in various Osaka clubs. Moving to Tokyo, Japan In 1969 he played around the Japanese jazz scene, notably in a quartet with Motohiko Hino, Shunzo Ohno and Terumasa Hino.

Recording his debut album Trace for East Wind Records in 1974, he followed it with his sophomore jazz-fusion album Mickey’s Mouth in 1976. The following years saw Masuda working with a number of Japanese musicians prior to moving to New York City in 1978. He recorded the album Corazón, and worked in New York City with David Matthews. He recorded the trio album Black Daffodils in 1996 with Ron Carter and Lewis Nash, and Blue Dumplings in 1998 with Ron Carter and Grady Tate.

In the field of jazz he was involved between 1972 and 1998 in 46 recording sessions, most recently with Chie Ayado. Pianist Mikio Masuda continues to be active on the jazz scene.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Michael Joseph Smith was born August 13, 1938 in Tiline, Kentucky. At the age of 6 years, he gave his first concert of original solo piano music in Nashville, Tennessee. After serving in the United States Navy, he studied electro-acoustic music, moving between Boston, Massachusetts and New York City. He became involved with the New England Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School and developed a philosophy and notation form of his original music, titled Geomusic, and composed works with this method for various chamber groups, solo piano, and symphony orchestra.

Embarking on his first European concert tour in 1970, he completed his initial recordings in Italy and developed an interest in Jazz and improvisation. Moving to Paris, France in 1972 he had several concert tours and recordings in Western Europe and America with Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton and others. In 1975 he began recording various albums in Europe and America and toured, mostly solo, Italy, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Western Europe, South America and Scandinavia over the next year. 1977 saw Michael admitted to the Swedish Composers Society andtwo years later he became a member of the International Society for Contemporary Music.

A return to the United States landed a composer-in-residence in Atlanta, Georgia and completed three ballet projects, has been awarded numerous cultural prizes and stipends in Europe and Scandinavia, and has composed scores for films, television projects, and music for 10 major ballet works.

He has lectured in Atlanta, Boston, Massachusetts, Brunswick, Maine and in   Beijing and Xian, China. He has founded three music corporations and has been inducted in the Royal Swedish Academy of Music’s Swedish Musical Heritage project as a “living musical heritage” of Sweden. Pianist and composer Michael Smith, who has released 55 recordings of original compositions in 17 countries and has three film portraits of his life, continues to remain active.

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Taking the high road and staying safe, socially distanced and listening to great music. This week I am choosing A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing is the second studio album by pianist Vince Guaraldi, credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio. It was recorded at Fantasy Recording Studios in San Francisco, California on April 16, 1957 and released in the U.S. the following year on the Fantasy Records label. Ralph J. Gleason wrote the liner notes and in 1994, Phil De Lancie produced the digital remastering.

1. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing (Billy Strayhorn) ~ 5:37
2. Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise (Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg) ~ 3:28
3. Yesterdays (Jerome Kern) ~ 4:00
4. Like A Mighty Rose aka Room At The Bottom (Vince Guaraldi) ~ 4:30

1. Looking For The Boy (George & Ira Gershwin) ~ 4:06
2. Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma) ~ 4:21
3. Lonely Girl (Bobby Troup) 3:23
4. Willow Weep For Me (Ann Ronell) ~ 5:14

• Vince Guaraldi – piano
• Eddie Duran – guitar
• Dean Reilly – double bass

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Andile Yenana was born on August 9, 1968 in King William’s Town, South Africa. His love of music was triggered at an early age and he grew up in a household where music was really loved. His father, Felix Thamsanqa Yenana, had a huge collection of music, ranging from jazz to Motown, and other forms of urban black music and this had a huge influence in his life.

Andile began music studies under Darius Brubeck at the University of Natal’s School of Jazz and Popular Music It was here that he became friends with saxophonist Zim Ngqawana and trumpeter Feya Faku.

Joining the Zim Ngqawana Quartet and worked with Zim on all five of his albums, including San Song recorded with Bjorn Ole Solburg and his Norwegian San Ensemble. He also worked on the Pan-African music project Mahube with saxophonist Steve Dyer and others. He has also worked as arranger for Sibongile Khumalo, Gloria Bosman and Suthukazi Arosi. In 2005 he was selected as the 2005 Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz.

Pianist Andile Yenana, who made an indelible mark on the industry by switching from teaching to studying jazz, continues to perform and record.

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