HERBIE HANCOCK

Herbie Hancock Celebrates Miles Davis Centennial

This concert features some of the biggest names in jazz, including two of Miles’ former bassists—Ron Carter, who was a member of the legendary Miles Quintet with Herbie, as well as Marcus Miller, who produced Miles’ electric band classic, Tutu, Grammy winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, former Miles Davis saxophonist Kenny Garrett, esteemed bassist Christian McBride, and conductor, arranger Vince Mendoza. All told, that’s 45 Grammys on one stage honoring an absolute titan of music.

The program will feature music from throughout Miles’ career, including his collaborations with Gil Evans on the landmark albums Miles Ahead and Porgy and Bess, as well as a reimagining of his iconic late ’60s quartet and his fusion era.

Tickets: $39.00 ~ $759 (fee included)

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Requisites

Central Avenue Reunion ~ Art Farmer, Frank Morgan, Lou Levy, Eric Von Essen, Albert “Tootie” Heath | By Eddie Carter

It’s wonderful to be back with you all after some time away to recuperate from two surgeries earlier this month. This morning’s album from the library, Central Avenue Reunion (Contemporary Records C-14057) spotlights two of my favorite artists, Art Farmer and Frank Morgan. Recorded live in 1989 over two memorable nights at Kimball’s East, it reunites Art Farmer on both flugelhorn (tracks: A2, A3, A4, B1) and trumpet (A1, B3), and Frank Morgan on alto saxophone (A1, A2, A4, B1 to B3). An outstanding rhythm section joins them: Lou Levy on piano, Eric Von Essen on bass, and Albert “Tootie” Heath on drums. I own the 1990 U.S. stereo release.

The set opens with Star Eyes by Gene De Paul and Don Raye. Art sets the solos in motion on muted trumpet, leading the group through the relaxing melody. Frank takes flight first with a spirited solo that’s crisp and precise. Art takes the second statement with smooth efficiency. Lou takes a cheerfully appealing turn, and Eric follows with a short walk towards the restatement of the theme. Farmer’s Market by Art Farmer takes off at a fast gallop for the quintet’s opening ensemble. Frank gets right down to business first, then Art sustains the momentum with passionate fire next. Lou follows with a vigorous statement, then all the soloists share a brisk exchange before the closing ensemble comes to a dead stop.

Art and the trio pay homage to George and Ira Gershwin with Embraceable You, opening with a gorgeous melody. Art begins with the first of two exceptionally gentle interpretations, showing off his sentimental side. Lou follows with a short solo filled with warmth and sensitivity. Art returns with a thoughtfully graceful reading, leading back to the soothing theme. Blue Minor by Sonny Clark brings the ensemble back for a medium-tempo melody. Frank sets the pace with a wailing opening statement. Art takes the wheel next and continues with a jubilant reading. Lou has the last word and neatly wraps up the solos before the theme returns.

I Remember You by Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer begins with Lou’s lovely introduction, which segues into the quintet’s lively melody. Art is in top form first, with a good-hearted swing. Frank works out a few intriguing ideas next, then Lou’s piano flows like cool water in a relaxing river stream. Art and Frank share a brief conversation into the closing chorus. Don’t Blame Me by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields is a beautiful ballad from the thirties that begins elegantly, with Frank and the rhythm section’s melody moving like a couple’s Sunday evening stroll. He continues approaching the song’s only solo from the heart, anchored by the trio’s subtle support, into a gorgeous reprise and ending.

Sonny Clark’s Cool Struttin’ brings the set to a close with the ensemble’s collective midtempo theme, setting a good tone. Lou comes in first and skillfully navigates the rhythm section. Art takes the next spot on muted trumpet with carefree enthusiasm. Frank sparkles next with steady sureness, and Eric delivers a delightful finale before the group’s theme restatement earns the audience’s approval. Helen Keane produced Central Avenue Reunion. Danny Kopelson managed the recording console, and George Horn mastered the album. The sound quality is exceptional, placing the listener in the audience as the musicians perform.

If you’re searching for an exhilarating hard-bop live session to listen to after a long day, evening, or week, I invite you to join Art Farmer, Frank Morgan, Lou Levy, Eric Von Essen, and Albert “Tootie” Heath for a Central Avenue Reunion the next time you’re out record shopping. It’s a lively, spirited performance of standards and originals, with thoughtful arrangements and inspired solos that offers many hours of listening enjoyment and shouldn't be missed for a spot in your library!

~Donna Lee, Don’t Blame Me, Embraceable You, I Remember You, Star Eyes – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2026 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Eddie Gale was born Edward Gale Stevens Jr. on August 15, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York. Early in life, he studied trumpet with Kenny Dorham. In the early 1960s he was introduced to Sun Ra by drummer Scoby Stroman and spent many hours exposed to Sun Ra’s philosophy about music and life. That experience has enabled him to play ideas he could have never imagined or find in extreme books. Throughout the Sixties and Seventies Eddie toured and recorded extensively with Sun Ra until Ra’s death in 1993.

Helping to bring jazz into the 21st century, the trumpeter made numerous appearances with Oakland hip-hop outfit The Coup, whereby Gale’s trumpet could be heard engaging with the music’s break beats and turntables. In the late 1990s Eddie Gale also held regular creative music workshops at the Black Dot Café, an Oakland grassroots performance space ran by artist/activist Marcel Diallo and his Black Dot Artists Collective.

Trumpeter Eddie Gale, known for his work in free jazz, has recorded five albums as a leader and also recorded and performed as a sideman with Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Larry Young, Elvin Jones, John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Booker Ervin and Illinois Jacquet among others. He continued to perform and record until his death on July 10, 2020, at the age of 78.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Benny Bailey was born Ernest Harold Bailey on August 13, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. Having some training in piano and flute in his youth, he switched to trumpet, concentrating on the instrument while at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was influenced by his hometown colleague, Tadd Dameron, seven years his elder, and subsequently had a significant influence on other prominent Cleveland musicians including Bill Hardman, Bobby Few, Albert Ayler, Frank Wright and Bob Cunningham.

In the early 1940s he worked with Bull Moose Jackson and Scatman Crothers.  He later worked with Dizzy Gillespie, toured with Lionel Hampton and while on the European tour with Hampton, decided to stay and spend time in Sweden. This Swedish period saw him working with Harry Arnold’s big band. His preference for big bands over small groups associated him with several European big bands including the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band.

For a while her worked with Quincy Jones returning to the States briefly in 1960. During this time, he worked with Tony “Big T” Lovano and recorded with Freddie Redd’s sextet invited to the studio as part of Freddie Redd’s sextet on the Blue Note Records album Redd’s Blues. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Europe first to Germany, and later to the Netherlands where he would settle permanently.

In 1969 he played on the Eddie Harris/Les McCann project Swiss Movement, recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival that included a memorable unrehearsed solo on “Compared To What”. Then in 1988 he worked with British clarinetist Tony Coe and kept producing albums until 2000 when he was in his mid-70s. He recorded 18 albums as a leader and another half-dozen as a sideman working with such luminaries as Eric Dolphy, Benny Golson, Randy Weston and Jimmy Witherspoon.  Bebop and hard bop trumpeter Benny Bailey died at home in Amsterdam on April 14, 2005.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Idrees Sulieman was born on August 7, 1923, in St. Petersburg, Florida. He studied trumpet and music at the Boston Conservatory, and gained early experience playing with the Carolina Cotton Pickers and the wartime Earl Hines Orchestra in the early Forties.

Sulieman was closely associated with Mary Lou Williams, worked with cab Calloway, John Coltrane, Count Basie and Lionel Hampton. He recorded with Coleman Hawkins and gigged with Randy Weston in the 50s, toured with Oscar Dennard through Europe in 1961, and then settled in Stockholm, moving to Copenhagen in 1964.

A major soloist with The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Band in the mid-’60s through 1973, and frequently worked with radio orchestras. Idrees recorded as a leader for Swedish Columbia and SteepleChase, he played in the 1985 big band of Miles Davis on the album “Aura,” which was released in 1989. He worked and recorded some twenty-two albums as a leader and sideman with Teddy Charles, Mal Waldron, Lester Young, Cedar Walton, Sam Jones, Billy Higgins, Horace Parlan and Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson among others.

Hard bop trumpeter Idrees Sulieman’s career slowed down considerably in the ’90s as he aged and he died of bladder cancer on July 23, 2002 at St. Anthony’s Hospital in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida.

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