Legendary Jazz trumpeter Clark Terry passed away on Saturday February 21st, for many, many years I knew the name Clark Terry, but I never listened to this amazing musician, until started this blog, like have with many artists,the first time I explored his music was on his birthday December 14th . From his obituary at the New York Times,
I love blues harmonica! I guess it stems back to listening to guys like John Mayall, Sonny Terry, Paul Butterfield and Sonny Boy Williamson in the 70s. Over the years, the list of my favorite harp players has grown to include: James cotton, Jason Ricci, Kim Wilson, Mark Hummel, Rick Estrin and others. One player who is quickly moving up the ranks of my favorites is Memphis’ Brandon Santini!! With a sound that has been compared to Mister Cotton and Mister Butterfield, this native of the Piedmont region of North Carolina is staking his claim for inclusion among the best!! In my eyes and ears, he already is included! My first encounter with Brandon was when I picked up his 2013 release This Time Another Year which is a great album, but his latest release, Live & Extended! has topped it!
Many times I am drawn to an album by the album cover’s art work. That was the case with the album at #7 on the Zone Music Reporters December Chart, Endless from Rick Sparks. The second thing about the album that caught my eye was that the album is a self-release. It seems I’m always drawn to these albums!. Hurrah for the little guy! But it was the quiet,and relaxing beauty of Spark’s piano playing that ultimately made this one of the most enjoyable New Age albums, I have listened to in a while! The tag line on the album reads “Quiet Piano to Replenish Your Soul”and that’s just what it did for me!
Today is the birthday of the musician whom many people call “the grandfather of the jazz violinists”Stephane Grappelli. Grappelli was born in 1908 and passed away in 1997 at the age of 89! He had performed well into his 80s! Basically, I know of Grappelli through the album Paris Encounter recorded with Gary Burton in 1969 I should now Stephane Grappelli because he founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934! The group was one of the first all-string jazz bands!
Composing music is akin to magic for me, I don’t know how it’s done nor do I care. I just enjoy the ride and the end product! With that said it is safe to say that I am in awe of Emergence the latest release from San Francisco acoustic guitarist Lawrence Blatt.
Jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb turns 86 years young today, January 20, 2015! Cobb is best known for his time with Miles Davis, during which he played on Davis’ Kind of Blue (1959), which is considered by many to be “the quintessential jazz record”. Cobb was a member of Miles’ rhythm section that included: Wynton Kelly on piano and Paul Chambers on bass. Cobb is the last surviving player from that session. Cobb also play on other Miles Davis albums including: Sketches of Spain,Someday My Prince Will Come, Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall, In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete, and briefly on Porgy and Bess and Sorcerer.
I will always remember Jimmy Cobb, along with Kelly and Chambers for their work with Wes Montgomery. Cobb played on the following albums with Wes Montgomery…..
Full House (Riverside, 1962)
Boss Guitar (Riverside, 1963)
Guitar on the Go (Riverside, 1963)
The Alternative Wes Montgomery (Riverside, 1963)
Smokin’ at the Half Note (Verve, 1965)
Smokin’ Guitar (Verve, 1965)
Willow Weep for Me (Verve, 1969)
For the longest time Willow Weep for Me was my favorite Wes Montgomery album and probably still is, but after discovering Full House and Smokin’ at the Blue Note those albums aren’t far behind!!
Jimmy Cobb also played on six releases from John Coltrane and nine discs from the great Wynton Kelly. My favorite of Kelly’s is Kelly Blue, but in fairness to the other eight albums, I have not listened to any of them extensively! Here’s some of the other jazz greats that Cobb has worked with through the years!
So last year the FreeWheelin/ Music Safari discovered that on this date in 1975, a very talented world fusion guitarist, Shahab Tolouie was born! That’s him at the start of this post, he is pictured with a guitar of his creation an instrumentally speaking a very cool guitar. Well technically speaking, it is not a guitar it is a
Things Are Getting Better is the 11th album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, and his second release on the Riverside label. The album was released in 1959, when I was 8, so that explains how I missed it on the first go around… Anyway, I had Things Are Getting Better on in the background this morning as I was working on this blog, so I haven’t really listen that closely to the album. But from what I heard and am listening to now, this one’s a keeper. I first chose Things Are Getting Better because of Milt Jackson‘s presence on the album, but then I saw the other players, i.e Wynton Kelly and Art Blakey and then I knew this was the first album to listen to from Cannonball……
One of my favorite albums over the last month or two is the latest release from Grammy-winning trumpeter, Brian Lynch, Questioned Answered. Actually, I should say the latest from Brian Lynch and up and coming jazz pianist Emmet Cohen. While I love Lynch’s trumpet on this album, its Cohen’s piano, that at least for me, makes this album special. Here’s what Brian Lynch says about his meeting and connection with Emmet Cohen…..
