The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

This week while maintaining social distancing and continued mask wearing I’ve selected the 1974 album Skylark saxophonist Paul Desmond featuring Gábor Szabó. It was recorded on November 27~28 and December 4, 1973 at Van Gelder Sturio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The recording engineer was Rudy Van Gelder, the producer was Creed Taylor, and Don Sebesky wrote all the arrangements. It was released in 1974 on Taylor’s CTI label.

Desmond adapted to the changing times music was facing as did Taylor with his innovative photography used as his covers injected a sense of adventure, a bit of fantasy and a freedom that the 1970s exuded. It’s a change of pace for the saxophonist and a welcomed addition to the label’s stable.

Tracks |53:28
  1. Take Ten (Paul Desmond) ~ 6:08
  2. Romance De Amor (Traditional) ~ 9:40
  3. Was A Sunny Day (Paul Simon) ~ 4:52
  4. Music For A While (Henry Purcell) ~ 6:45
  5. Skylark (Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer) ~ 5:21
  6. Indian Summer (Al Dubin, Victor Herbert) ~ 4:00
Bonus Track On CD Reissue
  1. Music For A While [alternate take] (Purcell) ~ 5:56
  2. Skylark” [alternate take] (Carmichael, Mercer) ~ 5:39
  3. Indian Summer” [alternate take] (Dubin, Herbert) ~ 5:27
Musicians From the original liner note
  • Paul Desmond ~ alto saxophone
  • Bob James ~ piano, electric piano
  • Gene Bertoncini ~ guitar
  • Gábor Szabó ~ guitar (all solos)
  • Ron Carter ~ bass
  • Jack DeJohnette ~ drums
  • Ralph MacDonald ~ percussion
  • George Ricci ~ cello

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,,

TASTE OF 4TH AVENUE JAZZ FESTIVAL

The 19th annual Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival taking place in the Historic 4th Avenue business district.

Free | 12:00pm~8:00pm

Performers:

Chelsey Green ~ Violin, Vocal

Logan The Entertainer ~  Vocal

Official Clutch Band ~ Jazz, R&B, Gospel, Pop…

Deirdre Gaddis ~ Vocal

Vann Burchfield ~ Saxophone

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,

MARIA HOWELL & NOEL FRIEDLINE

Noel Freidline and Maria Howell reimagine Motown. 27 number 1 hits, over 60 top 10 hits. Motown had so many hits that one could put together five separate shows of their music and still have plenty of songs left over.  The exemplary songwriting of Smokey Robinson, Holland/Dozier/Holland, as well as Berry Gordy himself, along with the interpretation by such legends as Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes and many more has left us with a repertoire that is prime for reinterpretation.  Join Noel & Maria as they reinterpret and reimagine the music that defined the 60’s, the Motown Sound!

Personnel:
Noel Freidline ~ Piano
Maria Howell ~ Vocal
Juan Rollan ~ Saxophone
Zack Page ~ Guitar
Justin Varnes ~ Drums

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,,,

JOE GRANSDEN QUARTET & ROBYN SPRINGER

Trumpeter Joe Gransden brings his quartet along with his special guest, vocalist Robyn Springer for a swinging weekend of four performances on Friday and Saturday night.

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,,,

The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

This week we continue to safeguard ourselves from those who consider the variants not a threat but this jazz voyager is opting on the side of caution as we select our next album. I’ve chosen the studio album Devil’s Got Your Tongue by Abbey Lincoln. It’s her fifteenth and her third for Verve Records. It was recorded on February 24 & 25, 1992 at BMG Studios in New York City and released on October 13, 1992. 

The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart on April 10, 1993. Verve allowed this icon of jazz to record nine of her compositions along with two classics for a very gratifying set. 

Tracks | 68:56 All tracks are written by Abbey Lincoln, unless otherwise noted.
  1. Rainbow (with The Noel Singers) (Abbey Lincoln, Melba Liston) ~ 4:42
  2. Evalina Coffrey (The Legend Of) ~ 7:04
  3. Story Of My Father (with The Staple Singer) ~ 5:28
  4. A Child Is Born (with The Noel Singers) (Thad Jones, Alex Wilder) ~ 6:20
  5. People In Me (with The Noel Singers) ~ 6:13
  6. A Circle Of Love (with The Noel Singers) ~ 5:53
  7. Jungle Queen ~ 6:09
  8. The Merry Dance ~ 7:48
  9. Devil’s Got Your Tongue ~ 5:49
  10. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year (Frank Loesser) ~ 7:46
  11. The Music Is The Magic (with The Staple Singers) ~ 5:44
Musicians
  • Abbey Lincoln – vocals
  • Rodney Kendrick – piano
  • Marcus McLaurine – bass
  • Grady Tate – drums (tracks 2–4, 10–11)
  • Yoron Israel – drums (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8–9)
  • James Louis “J.J.” Johnson – trombone (tracks 2, 4, 10)
  • Stanley Turrentine – tenor saxophone (tracks 5, 8, 10–11)
  • Maxine Roach – viola (tracks 2, 6)
  • Babatunde Olatunji – Ngoma, Djembe, Ashiko & Shekere drums (track 7)
  • Kehinde O’Uhuru – Ashiko drum (track 7)
  • Sule O’Uhuru – Agogô bells, Djembe (track 7)
  • Gordy Ryan – Jun-jun drum (track 7)
  • The Staple Singers – backing vocals
    • Pops Staples, Mavis Staples, Cleotha Staples
  • The Noel Singers – backup singers
    • Ivan Archer, Giselle Brown, Queinton Caesar, Ronnie David, Shelby Ellis, Daylene Hunt, Clevie Jordan, Marie Leveque, Lucila Martinez, Jason Moses, Gregory Norman, Leigh-Ann Oadmore, Aleata Prince, Natasha Reeves, Tiffany Rivera, Linda Sanchez, Joann Santiago Sherrille Shabazz, Chante Slater, Karen Thompson, Teddy Turrene, Merlene West, Tasha Woodward
Production
  • Producer – Jean-Philippe Allard
  • Engineer (First Engineer) – Rick Applegate
  • Engineer (Second Engineer) – Jay Newland
  • Engineer (Assistant Engineer) – Doug McKean
  • Engineer (Assistant Engineer) – Sandy Palmer

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,,

« Older Posts       Newer Posts »
© Notorious Jazz 2025