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Backgrounder: The Complete Chet Baker Sings
The first songs trumpeter Chet Baker recorded on which he sang were I Fall in Love Too Easily and The Thrill is Gone in October 1953. What struck listeners then and now was his vulnerable articulation, the humid romanticism and relaxed androgyny of his voice. Previously, no male singer had approached vocalizing this way. What made ...
Eight New Joan Chamorro Videos From Spain
This holiday weekend, a special treat. Instead of my usual post of WSJ links and rounds-ups, I have a wonderful surprise that I'll tell you about momentarily. We'll return to the usual weekend format next week. Nearly a month ago, Jordi Pujol, owner of Fresh Sound Records, shared with me eight videos he made when he ...
Backgrounder: Phineas Newborn's Great Jazz Piano
Following my post on Howard McGhee's 1961 album, Maggie's Back in Town, I received many emails asking me to feature Phineas Newborn Jr. This week's Backgrounder speaks volumes about his technique and touch. If I played this album as a blindfold test, many might guess s young Oscar Peterson. Born in Whiteville, Tenn., in 1931, Newborn ...
Perfection: Art Farmer's Work of Art
Trumpeter Art Farmer's first album as a leader was The Art Farmer Septet, recorded for Prestige on July 2, 1953—71 years ago. The lineup was Art Farmer (tp), Jimmy Cleveland (tb), Oscar Estelle (as,bar), Clifford Solomon (ts), Quincy Jones (p,arr), Monk Montgomery (el-b) and Sonny Johnson (d). The entire album is quite good, but the song ...
Backgrounder: Bird With Strings: The Masters
In yesterday's post, I looked at Ken Peplowski's new album, Unheard Bird, featuring arrangements for Charlie “Bird" Parker with strings that were never recorded by the alto saxophonist. The natural followup for today's Backgrounder is the complete Charlie Parker With Strings: The Master Takes. This album gathers together all of the master takes of Bird's string ...
Perfection: Quincy Jones - Funk Junction
On December 7, 1954, Quincy Jones was conducting a band playing his arrangements backing vocalese artist King Pleasure. During the session for Prestige, two Jones instrumentals were slipped in—"You're Crying" and “Funk Junction." The additions were either needed to complete the album because there weren't enough King Pleasure tracks—or there was time remaining on the session ...
Nick Finzer: A Celebartion of J.J. Johnson
J.J. Johnson was one of the most admired jazz trombonists of the post-war years. In addition to playing with a superb technique and tone, he brought a certain elegant soul to the instrument as a solo artist. Johnson began recording in 1942 with the Benny Carter Orchestra, and then had a stint with Count Basie in ...
Backgrounder: Gigi Gryce's Nica's Tempo, 1955
Gigi Gryce was one of jazz's most sensual arrangers. Like Billy Strayhorn, Tadd Dameron, Quincy Jones, Benny Golson and others, Gryce favored a cool sophistication in his compositions and arrangements. He was so exceptional as an orchestrator that it's easy to forget he was also a terrific alto saxophonist. One of Gryce's finest albums and a ...
Pat Britt: Jazz From San Francisco, 1966
If alto saxophonist Pat Britt hadn't stolen bologna from a Bay Area supermarket in 1958, we might never have known his name or his role in helping to found the Bach & Dynamite Dance Society, a jazz club still operating today on Miramar Beach in Half Moon Bay, Ca. The beach-house club became Half Moon Bay's ...
Perfection: John Coltrane's "You Say You Care"
Continuing my new series called Perfection, today's sublime track is John Coltrane's cover of Jule Styne's composition You Say You Care, which Styne wrote for Broadway's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949). The song is from Coltrane's Soultrane album, which features John Coltrane (ts), Red Garland (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Art Taylor (d). Recorded in February 1958 ...
