Thelonious Monk Palo Alto

Thelonious Monk
Palo Alto
Impulse!

Much has been written about the circumstances that led Thelonious Monk to perform at a California High School while Monk and his quartet were appearing at a San Francisco club. You can look up stories in the New York Times and other sources, or the liner notes for this fascinating 1968 Concert recording that has been released after a short delay. In any event, Monk was with his quartet of Larry Gales on bass, Charlie Rouse on tenor sax and Ben Riley on drums for an afternoon set.

A gorgeous rendition of "Ruby My Dear" opens and the highly underrated Rouse sounds wonderful as Monk lays down his unusual accompanying accents and unique solo. This is followed by a length rendition of "Well You Needn't" that Rouse opens with a lengthy solo. Monk follows with a solo displaying his distinctive note and chord placements while Riley dances with the groove before soloing himself. It is an exhilarating performance followed Monk playing a remarkable solo piano rendition of "Don't Blame Me," that displays his stride piano roots. The full Quartet returns for a swinging, "Blue Monk," the afternoon's lengthiest performance with all the members soloing. A crisply, energetic "Epistrophy" follows before the concert (and this recording) closes with a lovely solo piano rendition of "I Love You Sweetheart of All My Dreams."

This must have been a wonderful afternoon (the full details are included in the accompanying booklet) and the music still sounds fresh and contemporary 52 years after it was performed. Monk lives.

I received a download to review from a publicist. Here is the Thelonious Monk Quartet from another performance playing "Round Midnight."

Take 5 - Happy Birthday Thelonious Monk

Today we celebrate the 103rd Anniversary of the birth of Thelonious Monk. This Take 5 of course represents only a small sampling of Monk's music. First up is "Ruby My Dear," with John Coltrane on tenor sax.

Next is a live performance of "Evidence."

Let us savor "Rhythm-a-ning" from "Live at the 5 Spot" with Johnny Griffin on tenor sax.

We follow that up with a solo performance of another gorgeous Monk ballad, "Reflections."

We close with another Monk solo performance. This time it is a live performance of Duke Ellington's "Solitude.

For more Monk, WKCR in New York City (wkcr.org) is playing Monk's music all day today October 10, 2020 until midnight EDT.

The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

The legendary photographer, W Eugene Smith, in the fifties through the early 1970s when he was evicted after a dispute with his landlord, rented floors in a Sixth Avenue building in the 'Flower District' of Manhattan. Smith had been a famed photo journalist for Life Magazine and is renown for his pictures of Pittsburgh. Through the mid-fifties until the mid-sixties, his space became a focal point for jazz musicians as well as Smith's own photography. This documentary from WNYC Films and directed by Sara Fishko, and available on DVD from FilmBuff, follows up a coffee table book from Sam Stephenson, and a WNYC radio series (that I believe Ms Fishko produced) to tell this fascinating story of this photographer and the space that was both home and his work space.

Jazz musicians then, and now, continue to struggle in funding places to play and rehearse, as well as live. When Smith moved into his loft in the mid-fifties, others were doing the same thing, illegally setting up homes and work places in  a commercially zoned area of New York City. Smith had been famous for his photo stories in Life Magazine, but with an obsessive nature, including his desire to control the layout of his photo stories, eventually became estranged from Life. In the fifties, when he was associated with the Magnum Agency, he was contracted to do a book of 100 pictures in Pittsburgh. He ended up taking thousands which he then tried to go through in the home about an hour up the Hudson from New York City.

With slow progress on a book getting done, and Smith failing to pay taxes, he moved away from his family and the house to the Manhattan loft. He set up a dark room, started shooting out the window, and started recording not only the music played by musicians, but his phone calls and the like as he spread out proofs on the walls and more. and word got out about his loft and musicians of all stripes would play there. He even drilled holes in the ceiling to place mikes on the floor above to capture the music. Obsessive about documenting everything, he had many reels of tape as well as his photos he took. 

Musicians like Freddie Redd, Ronnie Free, Gerry Mulligan and others were there and can be seen in some of the photos. Free even started living there as well as often serving as house drummer, and one of the other musicians he met then introduced him to heroin. He went on the road with Sarah Vaughan, but his habit made him so unreliable, he returned to the loft not long after. 

 

 Bill Crown is among those interviewed and here is a clip of him interviewed for the film

Smith's focus on his photography (and there is considerable discussion about his skills not simply in capturing the moment, but his darkroom and printing skills) and recording the music and all the goings on in the loft sometimes had him forget mundane things like paying the rent (or paying back someone like Hall Overton who lent him money (and is supposed to have threatened Smith with pinning him to the wall if he did not repay). 

Overton is another central figure besides Smith. On the faculty at Julliard, he was equally comfortable in either classical and jazz contexts and at the loft,m started teaching composition and other matters with students including Carmen Moore, Carla Bley and Steve Reich. Besides this, he also collaborated with Thelonious Monk on Monk's Town Hall concert which was significant in that at the time Monk had lost his cabaret card and unable to play in Manhattan clubs, but could play concerts. 

 Here is a CNN documentary on The Jazz Loft Project

A mix of rehearsal tapes, photos of the two working together take us from Monk teaching Overton how to play his music to working out concepts and arrangements of the music that would be performed. We hear from Harry Colomby, who was Monk's manager at the time, participants in the concert like alto saxophonist Phil Woods and french horn player Robert Northern about the experience, and the rehearsals with commentary from Monk's son T.S. Monk, monk biographer Kelley and the prominent contemporary pianist Jason Moran. One hears Phil Woods discuss the difficulty of the music, and  Robert Northern mention how Monk helped him get beyond simply his academic treatment of the notes to get the rhythmic feel down. The results of the three odd weeks of rehearsal was a musical triumph.

Here is a brief overview of Eugene Smith's contribution to photography

Nothing lasts forever, and the eventual demise of Smith's loft is discussed. Throughout this documentary, Smith's photographs and audio from the performances as well as his own life are skillfully weaved in with the interviews with musicians and others making for some fascinating viewing. This is a superb film that will intrigue those into either/and jazz and photography. I purchased this as a download although it is available on DVD and can be rented if one does not wish to purchase. For more information visit http://www.wnyc.org/jazzloftthemovie/ which includes a trailer for the film. Finally we have a clip of Sara Fishko and Calvin Skaggs discussing the film at Docs NYC in 2015.

John Coltrane Trane 90

John Coltrane
Trane 90
Acrobat

Issued to coinide with the 90th Anniversary of the birth of John Coltrane, Acrobat's public domain 4-CD small box "Trane 90," provides a brief survey of the bulk of John Coltrane's astonishing musical career. It doesn't fully cover Coltrane's career because of changes in copyright law in Europe made the original studio recording of "My Favorite Things" (issued in the UK 1964), along with "A Love Supreme" and his last (free jazz) recordings including "Interstellar Space," unavailable.

I trust most of those reading this will be aware of a fair amount of Coltrane's recordings, so a brief summary describing each disc will probably be most helpful. Disc 1 is subtitled "Stablemates - Coltrane the Sideman" and includes Coltrane as a member of assorted Miles Davis groups along with a couple of performances with Thelonious Monk. Included in the selections on this disc includes "Stablemates," the composition by Coltrane's close friend Benny Golson, with Miles and other selections with Miles include Stan Getz's "Dear Old Stockholm," Monk's "Straight No Chaser," "So What" from "Kind of Blue," and a live performance of "On Green Dolphin Street," along with "Monk's Mood" and "Trinkle Tinkle" with Monk himself.

Disc 2 is titled "Straight Street - Coltrane the Leader" and opens with "Straight Street" from an early Prestige date, followed by "Moment's Notice" from his Blue Note album "Blue Train" with a terrific band that included Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. Other noteworthy tracks include "Giant Steps,""Naima," and "Blues For Bechet," in which we see the evolution of Coltrane's quartet (except Steve Davis is on bass on this last number). This disc concludes with the lengthy "Africa" with the classic quartet with orchestra and the spectacular live "Chasin' the Trane" that is almost a duet with drummer Jones.

Disc 3 is "Just Friends - Coltrane Collaborations" and opens with his guest appearance on Sonny Rollins' "Tenor Madness." Noteworthy here is Tadd Dameron's "Soultrane" from a Dameron led prestige date, "Two Bass Hit" from a Red Garland recording, his participation in a George Russell Orchestra date that produced "Manhattan," playing on a Cecil Taylor date for "Just Friends," A session with Milt Jackson that produced "Bags & Trane," and his own "Grand Central," from a Cannonball Adderly session with Miles Davis' then rhythm section.

Disc 4, the final disc is titled "Impressions - Coltrane broadcasts and private tapes," has some fascinating selections starting with Trane with Dizzy Gillespie and Johnny Hodges, then a performance with Miles that was on the Tonight show hosted by Steve Allen in 1955 and another with Miles in 1956 from Philadelphia. The disc and the music closes with classic Coltrane performances of "My Favorite Things" from Newport, "Impressions" from Finland and "Body and Soul," from Birdland in 1962.

As an be seen, there is a generous amount of Coltrane, including some material that most may not be familiar with (thinking about the early live performances on Disc 4). In addition to the four hours and 45 minutes of music, the set comes with a booklet with a fascinating essay by Simon Spillett that discusses Coltrane's legacy, the controversies his music generated and the veneration he still hold over us today. This is very reasonably priced and likely would make a wonderful gift (or stocking stuffer) for a novice jazz listener.

I received from Clint Weiler at MVD Entertainment and this was published in the 2016 Jazz & Blues Report Megal Gift Guide that can be found at jazz-blues.com.

Matt Lavelle and Joe Pietaro Harmolodic Monk

Matt Lavelle is a reed and brass player who has studied with Ornette Coleman while John Pietaro is a percussionist and the two have collaborated on duos for ten compositions of Thelonious Monk approached from the musical philosophy of Ornette Coleman. The resulting recording on Unseen Rain is “Harmolodic Monk,” that provides intriguing and in some cases radical deconstruction and rebuilding of some of Monk’s celebrated compositions. Lavalle is heard or cornet, flugelhorn and alto clarinet while Pietaro plays vibraphone, bodhran, congas and percussion.

The unusual nature of their approach can be heard on the opening rendition “Epistrophy” taken at a slower temp than usual with the development of the performance in art involving breaking down the composition and reconstructing it. In addition to his percussion coloring his alto clarinet, Lavelle's employs the vibraphone to offer his own musical construction. Lavelle’s alto clarinet is also featured on “Pannonica” with swoops, leaps and bluesy cries suggestive of Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet while Pietaro’s vibes  provides a shimmering musical underpinning and takes a reflective solo followed by Lavelle returning on cornet to restate the theme.

It is fascinating to hear Lavelle’s machine gun brass blasts on “Green Chimneys” matched by percussion and congas while Pietaro states the theme of “Round Midnight” before Lavelle enters at an unhurried tempo on alto clarinet. “Ruby My Dear” is a performed as a solo interpretation by Pietaro. Pietaro's vibes then open ”Let’s Cool One,” serving as an intro before the entrance of Lavelle’s cornet playing which is mostly unaccompanied. “Blue Monk,” another brass-vibes duet, does not seem as satisfactory a performance until Lavelle transitions into “Straight No Chaser.” Overdubbing may have employed to enable Lavelle play alto clarinet and brass on “Monk’s Mood.”

Monk’s compositions seem to work especially well with spare instrumentation (including the absence of piano) and the imaginative playing of Lavelle and Pietaro intrigue listeners while the familiarity of the compositions provide a foundation to engage those who listen. “Harmolodic Monk,” is a fresh, imaginative approach to one of modern music’s iconic composers of considerable merit.

I receive my review copy from a publicist. Here are the two playing "Blue Monk."

 

Greg Lewis' Organ Monk and American Standard

Greg Lewis’ Organ Monk, an organ led group that has focused on the music of Thelonious Monk, has an unique focus in their third album, American Standard (self-produced). While previous recordings have interpreted Monk’s compositions, American Standard plays songs that Monk did not write but did perform. Those who have heard Monk’s renditions of songs from Duke Ellington as well as songs such as Liza, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Dinah and Just a Gigolo know how distinctive Monk's renditions of these songs are. Lewis takes Monk’s renditions as inspiration and a starting point for his group’s performances on this recording.

For this recording, organist Lewis’ Organ Monk includes tenor saxophonist Reggie Woods, guitarist Ron Jackson, drummer Jeremy "Bean" Clemons and trumpeter Riley Mullins. This writer is familiar with some of Monk's recordings of these standards with his angular lines, his spare phrasing and what he omits in his stride-rooted piano. The Hammond B-3 does not lend itself to such an attack, but the group does provide distinctive renditions in the performances heard here.

I was very impressed by the playing throughout. Lewis is a strong organist with a punchy attack on Nice Work if You Can Get It, that also displays gritty tenor sax by Reggie Woods. Mullins displays fire on Lulu’s Back In Town, while he takes a bit softer and rounded approach on “Dinah” before Woods plays in a bit more gut-bucket manner. The ballad, “I Should Care,” is a showcase of Mullins as well as for the leader. “Tea For Two,” in contrast is a trio number that showcases the nimble, fleet guitar of Jackson. On “Everything Happens To Me,” Woods helps construct the mood with some bluesy-playing against the leaders organ backing. 

Drummer Clemons sounds heavy handed at a few points, but it is not a serious issue on this strong, fascinating organ jazz recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Available from cdbaby.com, this has a street release date of January 7, 2014. Here Greg Lewis talks about this project.

Paul Motian's Monk In Motian

On Monk in Motian, the late drummer Paul Motian is heard leading a combo with guitarist Bill Frissell and saxophonist Joe Lovano with guest appearances by Dewey Redman and pianist Geri Allen. There is no bass on this, and with the exception of the tracks with Allen are piano-less as well. The CD was originally issued on the German JMT label in 1988 and reissued in 2002 on the Winter and Winter imprint, which I recently purchased from JazzLoft.com.

I really like the open feeling of the performance which the lack of piano contributes to as does Frissell’s really nice guitar. Frissell’s chords and riffs form the anchor of these performances which Motian and Lovano playing off of. There are a number of familiar Monk classics including Evidence, Bye-Ya, and Epistrophy. The ambience is somewhat similar to School Days, the wonderful Steve Lacy-Roswell Rudd group devoted to Monk’s music.

This is packed in a hardback styled cover. It is, as indicated above, not a new release which I purchased it from jazzloft.com.

The Bass Clarinet of Jason Stein Tells The Story This Time

After starting on rock and blues guitar, Jason Stein has focused his musical career on the bass clarinet. In this respect he differs from a variety of multi-instrumentalists such as Bernie Maupin, Eric Dolphy, James Carter and David Murray who have made major statements on the instrument, but not play it exclusively. His Chicago quartet is heard on his Delmark release, The Story This Time, and includes Keefe Jackson who plays mainly tenor saxophone but also doubles on contrabass clarinet here, bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Frank Rosaly. Jackson’s use of the contrabass clarinet also serves to provide a deep bottom on the selections he employs it on.

The eleven performances here include five originals along with three compositions from the Lennie Tristano school and three from Thelonious Monk. The choice of compositions from Tristano along with Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz are reflected in his interaction with Jackson throughout. Their playing is akin to the interplay of Konitz and Marsh on Tristano’s classic oeuvre and provides a feeling of the suspension of time, although the two generally eschew the tonal purity of the Konitz-Marsh front lines.

Marsh’s Background Music opens this with some heat and bebop flavor as Stein quickly displays a strong attack followed by Jackson’s hot tenor as the two weave in and out of each other’s lines while the rhythm keeps the tempo heated. It is followed by Stein’s, Laced Case, which suggests free jazz in the vein of Ornette Coleman. The two play in a bluesy vein as the rhythm embellish Stein’s growls and then provide provide a base for the swinging groove of by the leader and Jackson. There is a lively opening to Stein’s Little Big Horse, which makes use of the contrast in pitches and tonalities between tenor sax and bass clarinet. The three interpretations of Monk’s music also provides an interesting rhythmic approach. Unlike Steve Lacy’s explorations of Monk’s music which were quite close to Monk’s conceptions of his songs, Stein and his band provide a rhythmic feel that I suggest is akin to the Tristano school with its rhythmic static-ness as on Skippy.

This overview of several of the performances hopefully will give a sense of the performances on this. Some might describe this as free jazz, but that may refer to the looser musical structures they build their improvisations and with few exceptions do not relate to frenzied or frenetic playing (although the two reeds sound a bit abrasive at the beginning of Konitz’s Palo Alto), and certainly will not sound too out for those who have listened to a broad spectrum of contemporary jazz. Stein has put together a fine band for the musical explorations heard on this very absorbing recording.

I received a review copy from Delmark Records. Here is Jason Stein rehearsing Monk's "Skippy."

Nica's Dream Is Fascinating Story of the Jazz Baroness

Nica’s Dream: The Life and Legend of the Jazz Baroness
David Kastin
New York: WWNorton

Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter played an intriguing, even crucial role, in New York City’s jazz scene in the fifties through the eighties. A member of the Rothschild family, Nica, as she was known, was a patron to a number of the most significant jazz artists of the time including Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Barry Harris, Mary Lou Williams, and Thelonious Monk. She was, in the eyes of some, a controversial and scandalous figure as some of the tabloid sheets wrote about her and the death of Charlie Parker. David Kastin has attempted to separate fact from myth in providing her story, one he was able to cast from news accounts and interviews with many of the musicians who knew her as well as published interviews with her. Unfortunately limited assistance were provided by her children who have generally held to Rothschild family custom of not talking about family matters. Still Kastin weaves a fascinating portrait


Kastin provides a background in the history of the Rothschilds, including the immediate ancestors and siblings of Pannonica which include individuals who would be viewed as eccentric as she would. Her early life, including the somewhat sheltered life she had, her marriage and her experiences as part of the French Resistance in World War II are described as is her introduction to jazz while living in Mexico with her husband, who was a diplomat, when she heard excerpts of Duke Ellington’s “Black, Brown & Beige.” She had met Teddy Wilson in Europe and started making forays into New York City with Wilson, who in his Harlem apartment played Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight,” which would prove pivotal.


Estranged from her husband who tried to have a very controlling relationship, she moved to New York beginning a remarkable life over several decades where she befriended and hosted so many famous musicians at the Stanhope Hotel, and two other hotels . She outwore her welcome in each because of her relationship with musicians coming in at all hours. Eventually, she had a home in New Jersey, overlooking Manhattan known as the Cathouse because of the countless felines that lived there along with musicians who would come by at all hours (like they had when she was at a hotel). Kastin weaves in a history of big band jazz, bebop along with other progressive artist groups like the beats and painters like Jackson Pollack.


She was able to develop a relationship with musicians of totally different circumstances who learned that she appreciated them as artists and did not regard them as exotics. She also appreciated their music and they learned to value her opinions as well, advice and patronage. Charlie Parker took ill, but not wanting to go to a hospital, she had her personal doctor look after him. He died watching television at her Stanhope hotel suite leading to scandal in the papers (the white rich woman and black jazz artist) and leading her husband to finally file for divorce, although the scandal was more of ‘no good deed going unpunished.’


Other jazz greats would have lengthy associations with Nica, but none more importantly than Thelonious Monk. There relationship was of strong, close, platonic friends and Monk’s wife Nellie also became a good friend. A good portion of this book is the story of Nica and Monk’s relationship, and how she fostered and supported his music and person. The affection Monk had for her is reflected in the two compositions he wrote for her, “Pannonica” and “Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lue-are.” The latter tune refers to the Hotel Bolivar, where she moved after the Stanhope management made it clear she was no longer welcome them. Monk was not alone in celebrating Nica. Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Drew, Gigi Gryce, Freddie Redd, Barry Harris, and Horace Silver also wrote memorable compositions in her honor.


The lengthy discussion of Monk and Nica complements that in Robert Kelley’s superb biography, “Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of An American Original.” Kelley in fact provides a blurb praising this book as “a stunning cultural biography of New York City and a riveting portrait of one the most fascinating figures of the twentieth century.” Kelley’s succinct comments summarize my feelings about this volume on a lady who made substantial contributions to the jazz scene of the fifties through eighties without playing a note. Her story will captivate any fan of this music as it did me.


I purchased this book.

"School Days" Contains Classic Interpretations of Monk's Music

School Days is the somewhat legendary recording made by the quartet of soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, trombonist Roswell Rudd, bassist Henry Grimes (and other bassists) and drummer Dennis Charles. This was a band with a repertoire of Thelonious Monk plus a few tunes from Cecil Taylor and Kurt Weill. While they recorded two studio albums, one of which was issued by Cuneiform decades later (and the other lost), this live performance from Phase Two in New York City from March 1963 was initially issued in 1975 and surfaced over the years. Emanem has just reissued it for the first time in the order the music was performed that evening. The original CD is augmented by two 1960 recordings Lacy made while he was in Monk's Band (the only known documentation of Lacy's time with Monk).


Lacy had already recorded several albums by the time this quartet was recorded, including the first album devoted to Monk's tunes by someone other than the pianist-composer himself. There is a playfulness to the performances here, from the opening Bye-Ya to Skippy. Grimes is not on Bye-Ya or Pannonica, the first two tunes of that evening. The interaction between the players, whether Lacy and Rudd ("Bye-Ya"), or the two horns trading fours with Charles (whose own playing throughout is responsive to the horns), or Grimes taking a solo (Monk's Mood), the music is spirited and very suggestive of Monk's own performances. Six of the seven performances of the quartet are full performances with only Pannonica being heard in an excerpt.


All four were in terrific form at Phase Two back in 1963. One can easily imagine if Monk had sat in with the quartet, him adding a few chords here or there without much changing. This was recorded by a single mike and is only in mono, but the recording captures the remarkable music they produced. The two fine performances of Monk during Lacy’s tenure with them, Evidence, and Straight No Chaser, are with a band that included Charles Rouse on tenor, John Ore on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. While these selections were previously issued under Monk's name, this reissue of theme is stated to have has much better sound for those two performances.


Martin Davidson provides an overview of the recording while saxophonist Evan Parker recalls hearing this performance, an interview by Davidson with lacy from 1974 and an excerpt from a 1961 piece on lacy by Ira Gitler. The quality of the supporting materials is on the level of the wonderful music here.


This was a recent purchase from jazzloft.com. 

Memphis vocalist Joyce Cobb's Diverse Set of Tunes

Memphis based vocalist Joyce Cobb has been a part of that city’s scene for decades, first signing with Stax, later having a hot for Cream Records (later Hi Records) and shared stages with numerous musical legends. Her rhythm ’n’ blues stylings decades ago was always imbued with jazzy elements and in more recent years her focus has been more on the jazz side. She has a fascinating new release on Archer Records, the eponymous Joyce Cobb with the Michael Jefry Stevens Trio, Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens is a New Yorker who moved to Memphis and his trio consists of Jonathan Wires and drummer Renardo Ward.

Thee may be some who may find Ms. Cobb’s vocals, described on the publicity materials as “honey sweet,” an acquired taste with her sometimes less than precise diction. Her vocals here suggest was Jimmy Scott and if the performances may not quite pull at the heart strings as much as Scott, her performances still struct these ears in a most positive fashion. It helped that the Stevens Trio provide excellent support and Stevens takes any number of fine solos in addition to his harmonious accompaniments.

She sings classic standards mixed with vocal-ese adaptations of jazz classics including Bobby Timmons’ Moanin’, Fats Waller’s Jitterbug Waltz, Hoagie Carmichael and Johnny Mercer’s Skylark, the juxtaposition of I’m in the Mood For Love with Moody’s Mood For Love, the Ellington-Strayhorn ballad Daydream, and My Heart Belongs to Daddy. Cobb contributes some atmospheric bluesy harmonica, before launching into Moanin’, delivering the Jon Hendricks lyrics with her overdubbing a backing vocal chorus that perhaps lends a sense that her vocal should have been a bit looser. Jitterbug Waltz is a delightful performance with Stevens accenting her horn like delivery of the lyrics with Wires taking a solo. Skylark opens with several choruses from Stevens in a reflective, lyrical mode before Cobb wistfully sings about her yearning for her lover. Like a horn, she chants Jon Hendricks’ lyric for Thelonious Monk’s Well That Was a Dream, capturing the angular aspects of Monk’s tune.

A bit more mainstream vocally is her rendition of My Heart Belongs to Daddy, with the trio’s delicious tango accompaniment. There is a delightful extending of the lyrics of I’m in the Mood For Love which deftly transitions into Moody’s Mood For Love, with a more staccato, trumpet-like vocal delivery. Another delightful medley is Blues Skies and In Walked Bud, with a peppy delivery of Blues Skies with bass and piano solos followed by the concise rendition of In Walked Bud. If You Know Love, is a marvelously delivered lament. followed by a wistful If You Never Come to Me, from the pen of Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. The rendition I Thought About You, opens pensively before before the tempo and vocal heat up. She delivers a hauntingly beautiful vocal on the Ellington-Strayhorn Daydream, before closing with another playful nod to Thelonious Monk, It’s Over Now (Well You Needn’t).

It is an ambitious and diverse group of songs/tunes that Joyce Cobb has selected here for a strong vocal jazz compilation on which she reveals how comfortable she is with a ballad as with Jon Hendricks lyrical adaptation to a classic Thelonious Monk number. Joyce Cobb has a myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/joycecobb and the label has a website http://archer-records.com from which this may be purchased as well as from cdbaby.


This review first appeared in the March 15-May 1 2011 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 334). I received my review copy from a publicist.

Butch Warren's French Album Debut

I have become aware that Butch Warren, a bassist who was a Washington native, who five decades ago was a vital part of the New York City and a regular on Blue Note album dates along with pianist Sonny Clark and drummer Billy Higgins (think about some sessions by Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Booker Ervin, Jackie McLean, Kenny Dorham and McCoy Tyner), was playing regularly in the area, although having a number of issues including spells of homelessness. Pianist Peter Edelman has been part of groups that featured Warren at Washington.

Giovanni Russonello, at the excellent DC jazz website, www.capitalbop.com had a review of several recent releases by DC area artists and Warren’s first date as a leader, French 5Tet (Black & Blue) was one of them. The album was a result of French saxophonist Pierrick Menuau, in Washington for a concert at the French Embassy, catching Warren playing at a club and then putting together a brief tour of France including a a public concert for Radio France that was broadcast and then issued on French 5Tet.

Menuau and Warren are joined on this recording by Jean-Phillipe Border on guitar, Pierre Christophe on piano and Mourad Behammou on drums. The recording has the same flavor as those classic Blue Note recodings warren was just a part of. it opens up with Warren’s bass on the original, A Little Chippie, before Menuau displays a strong fluid tenor sax style (and like Dexter Gordon inserting some musical quotations) followed by some fleet guitar as the rhythm section swings. Hank Mobley’s East of The Sun follows with nice cymbal work by Benhammou, and then the classic ballad Laura with more lovely tenor (Menuau perhaps sounding some like Long Tall Dexter).

There are three more Warren originals and one might wonder whether the performances titled I Remember Monk and Eric Walks are correctly titled. The tune labelled I Remember Monk is somewhat suggestive to these ears of Mingus’ So Long Eric, while Eric Walks is a swinging performance that kicks off with terrific guitar before another nice sax solo.  Really nice sax in the vein of Booker Ervin on I Remember Monk. I enjoyed the other original, Barack Obama, apparently a more recent composition of Warren with a samba tinge. Giovanni Russelonello was disappointed in the performance, and references a performance by Warren with a group that included pianist Freddie Redd (another Blue Note legend) and drummer Nasar Abadey, noting “With a talented three-saxophone line carrying Barack Obama’s melody, the band sauntered and flowed, swinging deeply and proudly through the brief “B” section.” I certainly appreciate Russenello’s perspective and one certainly echoes his hope that Warren have a chance to record it again. It was Kenny Dorham who took Warren out of Washington and to New York and after a brief statement of The Theme, the 5Tet concludes with the classic Blue Bossa, another classic Warren played on the original. This is a thoroughly enjoyable recording and it is worth seeking out. It certainly is heartening that it is available and perhaps a domestically produced follow-up will be coming shortly.


The Capital Bop review is at http://www.capitalbop.com/2011/05/12/album-review-the-debut-of-a-legend-butch-warrens-french-5tet/. Information on ordering can be found at http://concertsonthehill.info/bw/index.html and for US orders, $18.00. One can send payment through PayPal to the address concertsonthehill@gmail.com. One can also send email questions to that address and request an invoice and it is available at amazon but perhaps through the same source.


As a bonus from youtube, here is Butch Warren and his French FTet performing Blue Bossa, from his tour of France.

Capital Bop will be presenting The DC JazzLoft series as part of the upcoming DC Jazz Festival, http://www.capitalbop.com/dcjazzloft/ which folks can support through Kickstarter, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/capitalbop/capitalbops-dc-jazz-loft-series-at-the-dc-jazz-fes.

Cyrille Aimée's Captivating Jazz Voice

Watching the recent Thelonious Monk Institute Vocal Competition on a webcast, I was very intrigued by one of the finalists, a lady originally from France by the name of Cyrille Aimée. Shortly thereafter there was a New York Times story about her appearing at the Greenwich Village, NYC club Smalls Jazz Club. The story focused on her duets with pianist Spike Wilner who I believe is responsible for programming music at Smalls. He is the main person behind the club’s label, Smalls Live which has issued a number of live recordings from the club and amongst the latest releases is Cyrille Aimée & Friends Live at Smalls”

Wilner is the producer of this disc which was recorded late September 26 and 30, 20l0, and anchored the band that includes bassist Philip Kuehn, drummer Joseph Saylor, tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, and trumpeter Roy Hargrove. There is a playful informality about the performances that add to its appeal. In the New York Times piece, Ben Ratliff described Ms. Aimée, “She’s alert and thoroughly engaged in the logic of moving harmony when she improvises, one of those singers whom nonsinging musicians call “a musician.”

From the opening notes of September In the Rain, she impresses despite (or perhaps because of) a somewhat limited vocal range (suggestive of Billie Holiday, but no way imitative of Lady Day) with horn like phrasing both in delivering the lyrics and scatting. And the band is terrific with Frahm shining on September, while Hargrove embraces the melodic qualities of Que Reste-t’il, which many of you will know from the English rendition, I Wish You Love. It should be noted that, unlike Roberta Gambarini whose vocals usually display no trace of her native Italian, Aimée’s French accent is evident, but adds delightful flavoring to her voice.

After the initial verse of a brisk Yesterdays, she takes a scat solo followed by Frahm and then Wilner, before she scats fours with drummer Saylor who sounds like he is using brushes. Ellington’s I Was Beginning to See the Light” starts as a duet with bassist Kuehn before Frahm enters on tenor for a solo followed by Kuehn’s solo. When Aimée returns with her vocal codaFrahm softly caresses her vocal. Love For Sale, opens with a drum intro with Kuehn joining in to set a second-line styled groove, followed by a brief call and response by Hargrove and Frahm. AImée enters at home with the lively groove “advertising her love” and her scatting set off by nice cymbal work by Saylor. Hargrove takes a nicely focused and short solo, followed by Frahm who is rocking and wailing. This is the longest track but seems to go so quickly. Other highlights include her rendition of Monk’s I Mean You, and the closing Stand By Me, where it sounds like she is joined by several other voices who are not identified.

Since first downloading this recording (I received the hard copy a few days later, along with several other Smalls Live CDs that I have purchased), I have found myself completely captivated by Cyril Aimée and this recording. There is a wonderful mix of material and a freshness to her treatment of the most familiar numbers. I trust you can sense my enthusiasm this recording, and look forward to the opportunity to see her in person (have to figure how to get to New York perhaps). This is available from the Smalls Live website, www.smallslive.com as either a download or hard copy (which includes the download).

Roy Haynes. Still Hip After All These Years

Roy Haynes is of course one of the greatest drummers in the history of jazz who has about played with everyone the past 60 odd years. In the March 2008 issue of Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 302) I reviewed the Dreyfus Jazz Box Set, A Life in Time: The Roy Haynes Story.  This fabulous set is still available.  My review, from three years ago, follows.

This writer can still remember that weekend in late fall 1976 in Buffalo when this publication’s editor brought Roy Haynes & the Hip Ensemble in to the original Tralfamadore Cafe, a basement jazz room that featured fine local talent as well as brought in a variety of jazz greats of the time. Haynes led a terrific band that included Marcus Fiorello on electric guitar and Hannibal Marvin Peterson on trumpet. What sticks out in my memory over three decades later was not only the sheer joyfulness of the music, but the joyfulness that Haynes played with. I have remarked over the years that if I were a young boy who had been at the gig with my parents, I would have wanted a drum kit the next day.


Dreyfus Jazz, Haynes label for the past 15 years, has just issued this box set with 37 performances (over 3 and 1/2 hours) over three discs with a bonus DVD of interview and performance. Starting with 1949 recordings with Lester Young and Bud Powell, the music on the box takes us up through his contemporary recordings with his Fountain of Youth quartets in 2006. One wonders if even a decade ago one company would have found other recording companies cooperating and licensing the material for this set. Through the musical journey we find him with nearly every major jazz performer of the past six decades including Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughan, Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Jack DeJohnette, Stan Getz, Roland Kirk, Eric Dolphy, Chick Corea and Andrew Hill; as well as see him nurse such young talents as Hannibal Marvin Peterson, George Cables, Donald Harrison, and Christian McBride. It perhaps should not be surprising that when Rollins wanted a drummer to help him celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his Carnegie Hall Debut, he called on Haynes to fill that chair; or that he was John Coltrane’s drummer of choice when Elvin Jones was unavailable.


As for the music, what can one say listening to his sizzling cymbal work behind Lester Young on the opening Ding Dong, or his crisp work on the classic Bouncin’ with Bud, and the call and response type playing behind Coltrane in Newport on My Favorite Things. And while that track, like Monk’s Rhythm-A-Ning from Monk’s Live at the Five Spot (with Johnny Griffin on tenor sax), and Oliver Nelson’s Stolen Moments from The Blues and the Abstract Truth will be familiar to many, there are sure to be surprises like the marvelous 1997 reunion with Gary Burton (and Dave Holland and Chick Corea) Question and Answer, or the support behind vocalists Sarah Vaughan (How High the Moon) and Etta Jones (her original Don’t Go the Strangers). The more recent recordings include a remarkable rendition of Greensleeves by his Fountain of Youth Ensemble. The DVD includes a video from an Ashley Kahn interview of Haynes who talks about his drum sound, playing with Coltrane and other matters of interest followed by a marvelous video of Haynes and his Fountain of Youth Ensemble in performance followed by Haynes doing a drum solo from a 1973 Highlights of Jazz Concert.


Ashley Kahn provides succinct and astute commentary in the accompanying booklet. Perhaps the only negative may be the folding digipak for the CDs which feels a little flimsy, but otherwise this collection provides us with an overview of one of the premiere drummers of the past several decades and is highly recommended.

I received a review copy either from Jazz & Blues Report or a publicist for the record label.

After Hours in Harlem With Hot Lips Page

In the liner notes of “After Hours in Harlem” (High Note), a compilation of Hot Lips Page recordings culled from recordings made on a wire recorder in the 1940s by Jerry Newman, Dan Morgenstern declares, “If ever there was a musician who represented the spirit of the jam session, it was Oran Hot Lips Page. It can only be said that Lips was the spirit of the jam session incarnate … .”

Page was from Dallas, Texas and raised on T.O.B.A. theater tours with Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. He later joined the band of his half-brother Walter Page, the legendary Blue Devils which also included the legendary alto saxophonist and arranger, Buster Smith and made a pair of legendary recordings of "Squabblin’” b/w “Blue Devil Blues” for Vocalion that also included vocalist Jimmy Rushing and Count Basie on piano. The Blue Devils however broke up and members of the band including Page, Rushing and Basie found themselves in Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra, and Lips page’s trumpet was an important part of the Moten Band’s celebrated recordings “Moten Swing,” “Lafayette,’ and “Blue Room.”

Page was with Count Basie’s Orchestra at the time when the Band was about to go national, but Joe Glaser, Louis Armstrong’s manager signed him to a solo management contract which turned out to be a commercial mistake. Instead of having the limelight as such legends in the Basie Orchestra as Lester Young, Sweets Edison and Buck Clayton, Page's decision to go solo with Glaser as manager turned out as commercially disastrous for Page. He did make a number of fine recordings as a leader for RCA/Bluebird and later Columbia, before recording for a variety of labels including Commodore, Apollo, Continental, Savoy, Remington and others before passing in 1954 at the age of 46.  Yet he never came close to the profile of Armstrong.

His recordings have been reissued on a number of releases, including several in the low out-of-print Classics label. There is also an excellent collection, “ Shoutin’ the Blues” that compiles Page’s accompaniments to singers Mabel Smith (Big Maybelle), Wyonnie Harris (including Harris’ recording of “Good Rockin’ Tonight”) and Marion Abernathy. I do want to place the spotlight on an excellent new release, “Roll, Roll Roll: The R&B Years” but wish to point out one other release of merit.

The afore-mentioned “ After Hours in Harlem” (HighNote) is a valuable document of the uptown music scene in 1940 and 1941. In includes four lengthy jams from a house party at Jerry Newman’s pad with Page, tenor saxophonist Herbie Fields and pianist Donald Lambert. Lambert was one of the unsung masters of stride piano who did not record that much so his presence on “I Got Rhythm,” “I’m in the Mood For Love,” “Dinah,” and “Tea For Two” is most welcome. Fields can get somewhat vulgar on tenor while LIps is a marvel is his mix of daring blasts mixed with and long swooping lines while Lambert’s piano provides the foundation as well as his rollicking stride as evident on “I Get Rhythm.”

The remainder of this disc was recorded at Minton’s and includes trumpet battles between Lips and Joy Guy. On “ I Found a New Baby,” they are joined by guitarist Tiny Grimes,” whose single note lines are very horn like in construction. Page, playing with a mute, takes the solo after Grimes. The rendition of “Sweet Georgia Brown,” has Thelonious Monk on piano and his playing displays a strong two-handed style that as Morgenstern observes shows that Monk’s piano style developed by artistic choice, not lack of technique. Lips Page follows with choice hot open trumpet. Page scats a bit on “Old Yazoo,” a jive novelty lyric and Rudy Williams is the saxophonist, and this is a pretty strong vocal with Guy, according to Morgenstern, likely the trumpet player. This is followed by “Topsy” with Monk again on piano, and Lips standing out here with his rhythmic attack and interplay with the drummer. “Konk” is a fast Kansas City styled blues that gives Lips Page plenty of space to rip. It ends a recording of considerable importance and not simply because the two tracks with Monk are his earliest recordings. I had this on vinyl and purchased it again on CD and it should be readily available.

Bobby Broom's Guitar Meets The Music Of Thelonious Monk

Having spent the past few years in Sonny Rollins Band, guitarist Bobby Broom certainly had a certainly pronounced visibility. It was his second stint with the jazz titan, and certainly establishes his credentials as a musician. He has a recent (2009) trio album as a leader “Bobby Broom Plays For Monk” (Origin Records) where he is joined by Rollins drummer, Kobie Watkins and bassist Dennis Carroll. As the title in dictates, this album is devoted to the music of Thelonious Monk with renditions of eight Monk compositions and two numbers that Broom associates with Monk. This Monk tribute album even has the cover art as a take-off on the cover of the classic album, “Monk’s Mood.”

This is an album that it pays to listen to attentively and appreciate how beautifully recorded it is and some of the subtleties in the performance and the interaction between the three. Broom plays pretty straight here without any feedback or other guitar effects. Broom’s approach to Monk’s music is with an ear to the melodies and the performances likely will not appeal for those looking for high energy guitar. This approach works best with certain of Monk’s melodies like “Ruby, My Dear,” where his deliberate use of chords and single notes runs heightens the beauty of Monk’s music. Broom will quote other songs in his solos like “Chicago, Chicago” during “In Walked Bud.” He softly comps behind bassist Carroll on the latter solos while Watkins keeps the steady pulse. “Lulu’s Back In Town” is as good an example of his tone and their is some trading of fours with Watkins. Most of the compositions, such as “Bemsha Swing,” and “Evidence," should be familiar to many and the least familiar composition by Monk on this is “Work,” with some intricate playing. “Work” is followed by a lively rendition of “Rhythm-a-ning.” The album concludes with Bobby solo on "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes."

This is a splendid, thoughtful treatment of Monk’s music by guitarist Broom and his trio Bobby Broom is performing as part of the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival just outside of Washington, DC during President’s Day weekend and I look forward to catching his performance at that event.

Bobby Broom has discussed Monk's music on a short video which the Jazz Video Guy has uploaded on youtube.

I purchased this CD.

Taeko's Intriguing Vocal Stylings

I have been listening to many jazz vocalists lately. the following is a review that first appeared in Jazz & Blues Report. 



Born in Japan, yet assimilating American Jazz and singing it with few indications of her origin, Taeko brings a variety of influences into a varied musical program for what is her second recording, “Voice” (Flat Nine Records). She is backed by a group led by co-producer, drummer Doug Richardson (he also is heard on melodica) with Greg Lewis on organ, Lou Rainone on piano, Kevin McNeal on guitar, and Gaku Takanashi on bass and wah wah guitar. Its a band that can lay down some funk as well as dreamy romanticism.

Opening up is a vocal adaptation of Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” “Get Up,” with lyrics from Juanita Fleming, Taeko hiply delivers the lyrics against the familiar music, followed by her singing and scatting the Jon Hendricks lyrics for the Monk-Hawkins collaboration, “I Mean You (You Know Who).” “Soochow Serenade,” was a 1940’s hit in Japan and she delivers the Japanese in a lovely fashion with Rainone’s effective, spare piano. She whispers and cajoles the meaning out of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,” in an understated manner. I should not imply she is a sultry singer, because she can belt out a lyric and moan, scat like a Rex Stewart trumpet solo with all sorts of half valve effects. She scats and trumpets out the lyrics of “A Clear Day,” before a swinging, rolling piano solo, followed by her original, “Spring Nocturne,” where she goes from a whisper to an all out delivery, followed by her cooing of the Doug Carn lyrics to the Brazilian samba tinged Wayne Shorter composition, “Infant Eyes,” as she entreats the one with infant eyes “To make your dreams come true,” with a lovely guitar solo. “Biwako,” a folk song about Japan’s largest lake and her home town is heard in both Japanese and English renditions is handled with a mid-tempo backing with Richardson taking a melodica solo. Greg Lewis’ organ sets the tune for Ted Daryll’s lyrics to Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar” (with its refrain, “he’s sugar to me”), followed by an Ellington indigo ballad, “I Didn’t Know About You,” accompanied by McNeal’s lovely guitar. “Stand,” showcases her ability to provide a jazzy interpretation to the Sly Stone stone soul funk classic with her horn like scatting.

An intriguing recording by a vocalist who displays considerable vocal range as well as her choice of material.

The review copy for this was provided by the publicity firm handling this recording.