Wes Montgomery - "Twisted Blues" (1965)

Wes Montgomery on guitar, Harold Mabern on piano, Arthur Harper on bass, and Jimmy Lovelace on drums. Recorded for the television broadcast "Jazz Prisma," at Universal Studio, Brussels, Belgium, March 1965.

This Week in Jazz History: April 15 to April 21

April 15

• Bassist Richard Davis born 1930 in Chicago, IL.
• Vocalist Bessie Smith born 1894 in Chattanooga, TN.
• Trumpeter Miles Davis’s Quintet records In Person: Saturday Night At the Blackhawk, 1961.

 April 16

• Trombonist Benny Green born 1923 in Chicago, IL.
• Pianist Earl Hines records solo piano Plays Cole Porter, 1974.
• Pianist Alice Coltrane records Transfiguration, 1978.

 April 17

• Bassist Buster Williams born 1942 in Camden, NJ.
• Banjoist/guitarist Johnny St. Cyr born 1890 in New Orleans, LA.
• Pianist/composers Mary Lou Williams and Cecil Taylor record Embraced at Carnegie Hall, 1977.

 April 18

• Multi-instrumentalist Sidney Bechet overdubs records a one-man band version of "Sheik of Araby," 1941.
• Pianist Hal Galper born 1938 in Salem, MA.
• Pianist Jimmy Rowles records his last album, Lilac Time, 1994.

 April 19

• Drummer Tommy Benford born 1985 in Chaleston, W. VA.
• The Great Concert of (bassist) Charles Mingus is recorded in Paris, France, 1964.
• Saxophonist Jimmy Greene records Live at Birdland, 1998.

 April 20

• Drummer Beaver Harris born 1936 in Pittsburgh, PA.
• Percussionist/bandleader Tito Puente born 1923 in New York, NY.
• Pianist/composer Sun Ra records The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume 1, 1965.

 April 21

• Trombonist/arranger Slide Hampton born 1932 in Jeannette, PA.
• Pianist Chick Corea records solo Piano Improvisations in Olso 1971
• Guitarist Mundell Lowe born 1922 in Laurel, MS.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz

A Hoot - Fred Jackson

Tenor sax man Fred Jackson released only one album as a leader, but it was a fine one. Jackson got his start playing in Little Richard’s band in the early 1950s. Later, he toured with rhythm-and-blues vocalist Lloyd Price, who was most famous for the single “Stagger Lee,” and he also recorded with B.B King. In 1961, Jackson appeared on Baby Face Willette’s Face to Face for Blue Note Records. His inventive playing on this album - he uses the whole bag of sax tricks available to him - landed him his own date as a leader the following year.
     In February 1962, Jackson stepped into Van Gelder Studio and recorded Hootin’ ‘n Tootin’ with other Lloyd Price veterans – Earl Vandyke on organ, Willie Jones on guitar, and Wilbert Hogan on drums. The result is a bluesy classic. Jackson’s playing is a mix of hard bop, earthy blues, and soul-jazz. The first tune, “Dippin’ in the Bag,” is an uptempo blues with Vandyke comping on organ and Jones and Jackson both taking extended solos. “Southern Exposure” is a more lowdown affair, a slow swinger with Jackson laying down the blues in a quiet wail (if that’s possible). The album continues to vary between swinging and shouting ravers and slower, R&B-inspired jazz, all showcasing Jackson’s searching solos.
     Jackson had a second recording session in April 1962 with the same band, with the addition of Sam Jones on bass. Unfortunately, Hootin’ didn’t sell well and the tunes from the second session weren’t released. Fortunately, for the reissue of Hootin’ in 1998, Blue Note tacked on these seven tracks. Again, it’s a mix of burners such as “Stretchin’ Out” (what’s Jackson got against including final g’s?) and “On the Spot” with more low-down blues such as "Egypt Land" and “Minor Exposure” (my personal favorite of all fourteen tunes).
     Jackson later recorded with organist Big John Patton and then basically disappeared from the jazz scene. His bluesy and inspired playing on the sax from his all-too-brief stint as a jazzman is worth seeking out.

Happy Birthday, Herbie Hancock!

"Cantaloupe Island" (2008) - Herbie Hancock, piano; Bob Sheppard, tenor saxophone; Lionel Loueke, guitar; Marcus Miller, electric bass; Vinnie Colaiuta, drums.

New Release: Lisa Engelken - Caravan

Lisa Engelken is trying to seduce you, and with her latest CD, there's no doubt she'll succeed. Caravan takes us on a journey through the sometimes bumpy territory of love. The first tune, “We’ll Be Together Again,” starts as a sad goodbye between lovers but quickly kicks into an uptempo “see you later” - and so the roller coaster ride begins. Engelken displays a similar playfulness in both vocals and song choices throughout. After a little samba break, the Duke Ellington classic “Caravan” is given a slow, haunting reading as is the little-known Hoagy Carmichael tune “Winter Moon,” my personal favorite on the album. Engelken’s funkier side is on display on Joni Mitchell’s “Trouble Child” and a version of Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay.” On Billy Idol’s seminal “White Wedding,” we hear Engelken’s sinuous tone wind its way around the noirish corners of this tune. The final song, “Detour Ahead,” is a gorgeous ballad to the vagaries of love, where the road to happiness is most definitely still under construction.
     The mix of updated standards, covers of Joni Mitchell and Billy Idol tunes, and a little funk give Engelken a chance to display her athletic vocal technique, from kittenish tease to speedy scatting to full-throated belting. And the often complex arrangements are ably handled by the talented group of musicians working with her. Special kudos go to Adam Shulman on piano and Jon Monahan on guitar. Lisa Engelken is a talented singer who deserves to be heard more widely - listening to Caravan will have you falling under her spell.

This Week in Jazz History: April 8 to April 14

April 8

• Vocalist Carmen McRae born 1920 in New York, NY.
• Trumpeter Tom Harrell records Form with Joe Lovano, Dave Leibman and John Abercrombie 1990.
• Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie’s big band records Benny Goldon’s "Stablemates," 1957.

 April 9

• Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard records Hub Cap with saxophonist Jimmy Heath, 1961.
• Tenor saxophonist Julian Dash born 1916 in Charleston, SC.
• Arranger Gil Evans records New Bottle, Old Wine featuring alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, 1959.

 April 10

• Saxophonist/arranger Fud Livingstone born 1906 in Charleston, SC.
• Pianist Denny Zeitlin born 1938 in Chicago, IL.
• Pianist Count Basie’s band features tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins on "Feedin’ The Bean," 1941.

 April 11

• Trombonist Grachan Moncur III records his Echoes of Prayer with the Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, 1974.
• Guitarist Oscar Aleman records "I’m Beginning to See the Light" in Buenos Aires, 1946.
• Cornetist Nick La Rocca born 1889 in New Orleans, LA.

 April 12

• Pianist Herbie Hancock born 1940 in Chicago, IL.
• Pianist Thelonious Monk records "I Should Care," 1957.
• Clarinetist Johnny Dodds born 1892 in New Orleans, LA.

April 13

• Trumpeter Bobby Hackett records his big band version of "Embraceable You," 1939.
• Saxophonist Bud Freeman born 1906 in Chicago, IL. .
• Pianist McCoy Tyner’s Trio records Infinity with tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker.

 April 14

• Trumpeter/composer Shorty Rogers born 1924 in Great Barrington, MA.
• Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins records "Misterioso" with pianists Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver, 1957.
• Tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons born 1925 in Chicago, IL.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz

Horace Silver - "Senor Blues" (1959)

That's Junior Cook on tenor sax and Blue Mitchell on trumpet.

Shirley Scott - "Queen of the Organ"

Jazz history is riddled with stories about the tragic consequences of drug use. But organist Shirley Scott was certainly the only jazz musician to succumb to the effects of a diet drug.
     Scott was born in Philadelphia in 1934. She played piano and trumpet before settling in at the Hammond B-3 organ. She was an admirer of fellow Philadelphian Jimmy Smith, as were so many other jazz artists. Scott first came to prominence working with  sax great Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis in the late 1950s, particularly on the 1958 hit song “In the Kitchen.” Her style encompassed bebop chordal harmonies with a blues and gospel influenced sense of rhythm; she had a lighter touch but punctuated her playing with the bass pedal (as Jimmy Smith did), epitomizing the soul-jazz organ sound. “On the organ, no one knows how many different sounds you can get. It's an infinite number of tones,” Scott once said. “The only problem is taste. Most people think of electricity as the ability to drown everybody else out. I don't play like that.”

     In the 1960s, Scott teamed up - personally and professionally - with sax man Stanley Turrentine, and this collaboration produced winning music over a number of years. Scott’s 1963 albums The Soul is Willing and Soul Shoutin’ are a great place to hear her play if you don’t know her music (they are available together on a Prestige CD). Turrentine’s Never Let Me Go, Hustlin’ (probably my favorite), and Let It Go are also wonderful albums from this period, mixtures of blues, bop, and pop songs, with great interaction between sax and organ. On her dates from the late Sixties, Scott tended to include a few too may pop tunes, which perhaps tainted her reputation somewhat. Did we really need an organ rendition of “On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)” or The Beatles’ “Something”?
     Scott recorded less in the 1970s as organ combos fell out of favor, but she returned again in the following decade, including on dates with Al Grey, Jimmy Forrest, and Dexter Gordon. She also did some piano recordings in the 1990s. By some estimates, over her entire career, Scott recorded an astounding fifty records as a leader - "Queen of the Organ" indeed! In the mid-1990s, she began taking the diet drug fen-phen, which was later proven to cause damage to the heart. Scott actually sued the manufacturer, American Home Products, and was awarded $8 million by a Philadelphia jury in 2000. But Scott succumbed to heart disease in March 2002.

This Week in Jazz History: April 1 to April 7

April 1

• Saxophonist Harry Carney born 1910 in Boston, MA.
• Trumpeter/bandleader Cootie Williams is the first to record a Thelonious Monk composition, "Epistrophy," 1942.
• Saxophonist John Laporta born 1920 in Philadelphia, PA.

 April 2

• Trumpeter Booker Little born 1938 in Memphis, TN.
• Larry Coryell born 1943 in Galveston, TX.
• Tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, pianist Bud Powell, bassist Oscar Pettiford and drummer Kenny Clarke record All The Things You Are in Essen, Germany 1960.

 April 3

• Composer/arranger Bill Finegan born 1917 in Newark, NJ.
• Bassist Scott LaFaro born 1936 in Newark, NJ.
• Alto saxophonist Charlie Parker rehearses with Gene Roland’s Big Band, 1950. It is issued as The Band That Never Was.

 April 4

• Bassist Gene Ramey born 1913 in Austin, TX.
• Pianist Benny Green born 1963 in New York, NY.
• Trumpeter Booker Little records Out Front with Max Roach and Eric Dolphy in 1961.

 April 5

• Saxophonist Stanley Turrentine born 1934 in Pittsburgh, PA.
• Drummer Stan Levey born 1925 in Philadelphia, PA.
• Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton records "Sweethearts on Parade" featuring tenor saxophonist Chu Berry, 1939.

 April 6

• Saxophonist/composer Gerry Mulligan born 1927 in New York, NY.
• Saxophonist Charlie Rouse born 1924 in Washington, DC.
• Cornetist King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band records "Dippermouth Blues" 1923.

 April 7

• Vocalist Billie Holiday born 1915 in Philadelphia, PA.
• Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard born 1938 in Indianapolis, IN.
• Conga player/bandleader Mongo Santamaria born 1922 in Havana, Cuba.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz