Lazaro Vega

That was fun! Same time next week? Have to work on the 5 month old, though: she wimped out after only one beer. Should have seen the waitress's face when I asked if she could warm it up in her bottle (big tip got her to do our bidding, though. Cool place).

Yeah, this isn't happening. I'll have to wait until you archive it....Updated my Real Player stuff, etc, and this is a new machine, soo

the link for the real one player says it is no longer working...

For what it is worth, guitarist Joel Fass, who's hung out here some, was in a building in New York the other day and ran across a rehearsal for this performance and lo and behold, Ornette was there.

One of my good friends at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, trombonist Richard Goldsworthy was in this band: While in the service and stationed in Germany, he played with the 7th Army Jazz Orchestra, a band that included such musical heavyweights as Don Ellis, Leo Wright, Eddie Harris, Cedar Walton and Lanny Morgan. And he came over to the station with some tapes of he and Menza and Cedar Walton performing at that time: Four Freshman type vocal choruses, but wailing jazz, too.

James record is called "Gardenias For Lady Day," not Flowers.

final version: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=1200

http://www.firstofthemonth.org/culture/cul...te_history.html

For what it is worth I've really been digging Moody's latest on Savoy, especially for the Tony Williams inspired drumming of Anthony Pinciotti, who as a 16 or 17 year old played at Blue Lake with Ira Sullivan. The Main Theme to Glenngarry, Glenn Ross is happening. Upright Bill, might you elaborate on Washington's contribution?

Are you going to go?

Are you going to go?

Walton's second feature number, in the second set, was "I Want To Talk About You" which was also lovely, though the arrangement was a bit more abstracted from the original than his arrangement for "Over The Rainbow."

History Lesson at the Frauenthal: Newport Jazz Festival All Stars salute first 50 years of America’s first jazz festival. By Lazaro Vega Blue Lake Public Radio Monday night at Muskegon’s historic Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts, the Newport Jazz Festival All Stars completed a swing through Michigan with a two and half hour concert that brought to life the repertoire of jazz greats Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Don Byas and Duke Ellington. This performance was unique in that it was free as a gift to the people of Muskegon County from the Collins Fund of the Muskegon Community Foundation, so all 1,700 plus seats were taken. It wasn’t repertoire alone that evoked jazz played on those long July 4th weekends in Newport, Rhode Island, but the way the melodic vocabulary of an era salted Monday night’s improvisations. And, of course, the band member’s introductions – this group used everything in its power to connect with the audience: information, humor, a variety of instrumental settings and most of all music. The band featured a trumpet/two saxophone front-line with a full, i.e. four-man, rhythm section of guitar, piano, bass and drums. Trumpeter Randy Brecker, saxophonists James Moody and James Carter; guitarist Howard Alden; bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash made for the all-star band. Chief instigator of the spontaneous review of jazz vocabulary and popular song favorites was pianist Cedar Walton, who was introduced as the band’s composer as well as pianist (near the end of the concert, the full band played Walton’s "Firm Roots"). When joined by bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash for the feature "Over The Rainbow" Walton improvised a clear, continuos flow of ideas which lingered on that famous rhythmic figure in the bridge to "Over the Rainbow." Walton lightened the mood and seemed to be talking over the fence to his band mates with melodic allusions to "There’s No Business Like Show Business," "Mona Lisa" and a handful of other familiar themes. At one point in James Carter’s tenor sax feature for Coleman Hawkins, "Stuffy," guitarist Howard Alden added a famous riff from the Count Basie band, that (chromatic?) figure leading to Jimmy Rushing singing, "Don’t the moon look lonesome shining through the trees." During the full ensemble opener, "Dig," Miles Davis variation on "Sweet Georgia Brown," James Carter soloing on soprano sax laid in one of Charlie Parker’s recognizable variations on those familiar chords. That sort of stuff went on all-night and there was so much of it woven into the fabric of the music that it became more than just quipping or joking or coasting: it was deep, though playful, homage. The historical terrain of the Newport Festival is the landscape of brilliance and creativity made last century. That the players Monday evening -- young, old and in between -- were able to find so much inspiration from that rich past is testament to the versatility and resilience of jazz and the universal appeal of swing. And that seemed to provide a more entertaining history lesson than musician’s aping styles by the masters of jazz: if individuality was a hallmark of a musician’s greatness in the tradition, then James Moody was there to remind us of it. Sounding like no one else but himself, Moody played an imaginatively taught, melodically sustained improvised performance on "Body and Soul" with just the swinging bass of Peter Washington to set him off. Of course it was a tribute to Coleman Hawkins, and Moody’s brilliantly arppeggiated and extended harmonic lines were in the spirit of Hawk. Yet unlike Hawkin’s famous 1939 recording Moody played the whole tune, and in method was as much informed by the mid to late-1950’s musical extensions of John Coltrane, as he was by the first great tenor saxophonist of jazz. In any case, it was beautiful and a highlight of the concert. Though trumpeter Randy Brecker had a chance to pull a Miles Davis imitation on his feature, "All Blues," Brecker didn’t compromise the brilliance of his sound or the almost lead trumpet register he can dance in during his sped up interpretation of the classic from the record selling album "Kind of Blue." Brecker put some Mile-isms into his first half chorus, then went for himself. Later while he and Moody played a simmering version of Dizzy Gillespie’s "Con Alma," Brecker kept the Gillespie-isms to a gesture, as well, and created a moving original performance. Of course Moody was a regular feature in the Dizzy Gillespie quintet, not only on saxophone, but also flute, and his turn on "Con Alma" Monday showed how he’s still finding ideas to spare in that well traveled terrain. He and James Carter did the tenor battle thing on "C Jam Blues," replete with telescoping chase choruses and a free for all collective improvisation. Moody started off the solo rounds, and it seemed to me he was using some of Carter’s ideas and moves in that opening solo, just not with the forceful textures of Carter’s style. Moody remained tastefully centered, while Carter bedazzled. James Carter, who spent many formative years at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Muskegon County, and played there again last July, was the crowd favorite: he had them by turns hollering questions and retorts at the bandstand, whooping, snickering, laughing, exploding in applause, gasping in appreciation, and abiding the most outrageous sounds of the night. With only guitarist Howard Alden to accompany him, Carter on baritone sax created his only unaccompanied cadenza of the night in introducing "Gloria," the Don Byas number found on Carter's new Columbia Recording "Flowers For Lady Day." While Alden waited patiently, Carter pulled out every trick in his bag, from his signature staccato accelerandos, to high harmonic yaps, to swaths of exciting circular breathing, to blowing whispers of air through the horn without triggering the reed. It was brief and almost an afterthought as he and Alden flowed together into the tune itself and played beautiful music together. After hearing Carter Monday, one might say he’s gaining more control, meaningful musical use, in deploying his fearsome saxophone chops. He summed up the post-Coltrane era of expressionism in jazz saxophone for Monday night’s crowd, and for this tour in general, and made it work within the very traditional settings. The rhythm section was unflagging. Alden took for his feature Barney Kessel’s "64 Bars on Wilshire." Drummer Lewis Nash took a few Max Roach style solo phrases on "Dig," but really let loose in his own manner on "Caravan," a perennial showcase for the jazz drummer, and was otherwise an inventive, constantly interesting presence during Monday’s music. And Walton and bassist Peter Washington found common ground everywhere they went together. Newport thrived on the ‘all-star’ band concept – that is a hand-picked group of sometimes very different musicians who don’t work together regularly put together for a concert set. That the band which came to Muskegon Monday night had played Friday at Michigan State University in East Lansing and Valentine’s Day night at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo helped make it more than a one-off. However short-lived, this is a touring ensemble with an exciting program they’re working out night after night on the bandstand, and recommended to any seeking to hear jazz with a strong connection to the iconic past.

the e-mail feature is not working. anyone in Muskegon who can get a hold of upright bill, please let him know about the above post. thanks, lv

I have a guy who wants a least one ticket if Chuck and Ann aren't up for it -- Far Coston. He's not on the list here, but his e-mail is mfcoston@charter.net and his phone in Spring Lake is (616) 842 - 1305. I hope you can hook up. Please post if you do or don't so I can know. Thanks, Lazaro

Anyone see this concert on Friday at Michigan State, or Saturday in Kalamazoo?

Mating Call was early on (1956) for Trane playing in an exposed, out front lone horn position -- there's not much else to compare it to like that, while his work with Miles at that time was still coming into its own....Love Dameron, but 1958's Soultrane is the killer quartet date before Giant Steps, don't you think? Especially for Good Bait.

Yes, of couse -- he came out of the pit bands of Black theater and always kept an aspect of that in his playing (and on the bandstand).

Your welcome Shawn. Today I went on the air and did an hour on drums because of listening to Webb the other night. Found another essay, I think by Robert Palmer, which discussed how the drum set was established as a reflection of an African, or at least African-American, parade drum ensemble or section, and that with early drummers you had a full percussive element to deal with, all those chimes and gongs and wood blocks, cow bells and paraphenalia. What Webb helped do, to paraphrase this writer, was stream line the drum set and make the rhythm more legato (as opposed to orchestral or even theatrical) in the process. So here's the playlist: Baby Dodds, Spooky Drums #2 Gene Krupa with Benny Goodman, Sing Sing Sing (1937 studio version). Chick Webb Orchestra, Liza (All The Clouds Roll Away), 1938 Sidney Catlett with Lester Young, Afternoon of a Basie-ite, 1944 Sidney Catlett with Louis Armstrong, Steak Face from Satchmo at Symphony Hall, 1947 Cozy Cole, Jerico/Concerto for Cozy/Old Man River (all 1944 with either Ben Webster or Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Guarneri, etc). Sonny Payne with Count Basie, Whirly Bird, 1950's Elvin Jones with the John Coltrane Quartet, The Drum Thing, 1964 (?) Of course we play Jo Jones a lot, whereas Sonny Payne.... Could have played "Cute," but Jaws on Whirly Bird kills me. And wanted to put on Blakey's "Avila & Tequila" to end, but didn't have enough time...

Regarding Webb being recorded -- it is too bad for jazz that he didn't get an extended feature a la Krupa on "Sing Sing Sing" put on record. Liza is as close as we can come to that (and I'm sorry but I don't know how to load mp3's or ram-ify sound clips for the net, but the recording is widely available from Webb's Decca release and in a few Decca anthologies of Big Band Swing). Given that, especially in his 1938 recordings you can hear his swing, fills and beat enough to know where Cozy Cole's sort of chugging rhythm came from. Webb was a commercial success, and maybe if he had lived longer there would have been more of an artistic interest in documenting his solo abilities, a la Baby Dodds. The 1929 Classics sides show Webb was not like earlier drummers who stuck to cow bells and wood blocks, but because of that he's harder to hear. By the mid-30's, though, he was coming through. I don't know if there's any live air shots of the Webb band in extended performance mode from the Savoy. Will look in the discography later tonight....

EKE BBB, thanks for the pic and the diagram. Do you have a Webb fav?

Is there any chance these two CD's or video you've mentioned are in print and available anywhere. Great letter to Cuscuna, and a promising response.

That is so cool. Thanks for the info. I should write for that LP, and I have the complete RCA set at work so I'll delve. I don't know how you could do this project "live," which I didn't mean to infer by asking about the phoners. We do phoners all the time, but our hybrid rots. Just wondered if you caught these folks coming through or if you called. In any case I may have to give up "Alias" for a night (ha!) and catch this. "Jump For Joy." Looking forward to it. Best, Lazaro Blue Lake Public Radio

Glad you made it. Me? no , I had to be on the air playing Horace Tapscott recordings. But was thinking about it, and was wondering if the concert crowd would be tuning in after the hit. Next up, Chicago drummer Paul Wertico at Forest Hills Central High School on Feb. 26th; or The Xavier Davis Trio (Tom Harrell's rhythm section) at the Wealthy Theater on, you guessed it, the 26th. Looking forward to Monday night's concert with the Newport Festival All Stars. Have you heard Moody's new cd on Savoy? Very nice. Savoy used Benny Golson to arrange the Lou Rawls recording of Sinatra tunes, and now Bob Belden to shape the new Moody cd. They're doing more than just throwing some music at the wall to see what sticks.

Which recording on Smithsonian did Patricia Willard write notes for? Very ambitious project. Are the interviews phoners or live? And where did you find the script and the promotional medley? Was recently wondering if Lincoln Center would ever re-launch "Jump for Joy."