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Lockjaw Meets Gonsalves, 1968
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I love the three albums that tenor saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis recorded for RCA in the mid-1960s. They maximized his badness perfectly, surrounding him with enormously talented artists and arrangers and songs that were perfectly suited to his take-charge sound. The first was Lock the Fox (1966), the second was The Fox & the Hounds (1967) and the third was Love Calls (1968). The wild part is that all three were produced by Brad McCuen, a leading RCA producer from ...
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Sal Salvador: Colors in Sound
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Sal Salvador is best known as Stan Kenton's guitarist from 1953 to 1955, at which point he left the band to work as a freelance small-group leader and studio musician. In the late 1950s, with the advent of stereo, Decca signed him for a pair of big-band albums that took advantage of the new format's sound separation and wide, dynamic presentation. The Dauntless label tapped Salvador for a third album. Dauntless was a subsidiary of Audio Fidelity Records and managed ...
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Gisele, Burt and Miles
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed supermodel Gisele Bundchen for my “House Call" column in the Mansion section on her childhood in Brazi (go here). She talked about growing up with five sisters remai best friends today. Her parents did something right. Gisele was discovered by a model scout in a Brazilian mall when she was 14. While I had her, I asked Gisele for two Brazilian album recommendations. Here's Tribalistas (2002)... And here's Maria Gadú (2009)... ...
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MJQ: On the Road, 1964 + '61
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The Modern Jazz Quartet wasn't big on obvious excitement. They tended to be subtle and hushed, more introspective than explosive. But the more carefully you listen, the more you'll hear the tender swing and beauty of pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Connie Kay. Here's the MJQ in London in April 1964... And here's the MJQ abroad in the 1960s, thanks to Milan Simich. I can't confirm that this is 1961 or Japan, given that ...
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Shirley Horn: Bern, 1990
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Happy New Year to all of my JazzWax readers around the globe and to my Facebook friends and 10.7K Twitter followers! As a New Year's Day treat, I'm sharing a link that pianist Leslie Pintchik sent along featuring the splendor that was Shirley Horn. In the video, she sings and plays at the International Jazz Festival in Bern, Switzerland, in 1990, backed by bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams. Part 1 leads into the next five parts. So just ...
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Chet Baker: '60s, '70s & '80s
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The last day of the year always feels exhilarating and melancholy. Exhilarating, because we're on the threshold of a new year fresh with promise and hope. Melancholy, because another year is sliding from the present to the past, becoming a memory rather than a real-time experience. It's a day of sighs. The horn that sounds most to me like December 31st is Chet Baker's. It's innocent and melodic but there's enomrous sadness in there, too. Chet Baker died in 1988. ...
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Rare Docs: Goodman and Byas
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Two rare videos surfaced this week. The first is The Art of Performing, taped for television in 1967. It features Benny Goodman (cl), Clark Terry (tp,flglh), Zoot Sims (ts), Hank Jones (p), Gene Bertoncini (g), Milt Hinton (b) and Ed Shaughnessy (d). Earlier versions of this taping were bottle green and largely unwatchable. The second is a Dutch documentary called Homecoming, focusing on tenor saxophonist Don Byas and his one-time return to New York in 1970. The artist who Byas ...
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Billy Eckstine: Mr. B in Paris
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of the least known albums recorded by singer Billy Eckstine is one of his best—Mr. B in Paris. Recorded for Britain's Felsted label while Eckstine was on tour in Europe between releases for Roulette, the album features the baritone singing 12 songs in French backed by the Bobby Tucker Orchestra. Mr. B in Paris was produced by Quincy Jones and arranged by Jones, Billy Byers and Bobby Tucker. The orchestra was recorded in Paris in 1957 while Eckstine's vocal ...
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