duaneiac

What say you, Bobby Hutcherson? “Orrin was always going like a house on fire, coming up with new ideas and recording people so they could be heard,” says Hutcherson, the great jazz vibraphonist who lives in Montara and was the first artist Mr. Keepnews recorded when he started Landmark in 1980. “He was quite a guy,” says Hutcherson, who would dine with Mr. Keepnews and his late first wife, Lucy, at their Richmond District flat —appropriately located on Parker Street, as in the jazz comet Charlie Parker — and go over a few details about a forthcoming session. “Orrin would call a few days later, and you’d go into the studio and he had everything arranged. All you had to do was play.” Although not a musician, “he had ears,” Hutcherson adds. “He could hear harmonies. He could listen to an ensemble and tell you what needed to be tightened up.” Hutcherson recalls Mr. Keepnews asking Tyner if the pianist could keep a track to about five minutes so it could work on radio. “Sure enough, when the record came out, that was the tune on the radio all the time.” http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Deaths-Orrin-Keepnews-giant-of-the-jazz-world-6108907.php

Wish I could find a larger image. I have this CD.

Well, I trust every one who has been horribly offended by the life and work of Orrin Keepnews will now go out and burn every recording they have on which his name appear. That'll learn the sumbitch! I mean after all, jazz is certainly no place for a contentious or egotistical person to be. (I'm lookin' at you , Jelly Roll!) So far as I know, Mr. Keepnews paid the musicians he recorded what they were due, both in salaries and royalties. It's not like the man was Herman Lubinsky or something. If all he did for the recordings on which his name appeared was get the money together to pay for the studio time and the musicians recording time, to pay for pressing the albums, to pay to have them distributed and promoted nationally -- that's a hell of a lot of work itself. Do I care if he possibly/probably inflated his role in the music making process? Not really. I'd rather not waste any time stewing over that when I could be listening to some Thelonious Monk albums or Cannonball Adderley albums or Wes Montgomery albums . . .

Ok, Keepnews was obviously an important individual in some ways, but calling him a "towering figure" (side by side with Sonny Rollins!) is absurd. (GA, sorry about the harsh wording. No offense intended.) No problem, Guy! It seems to me that the founders/co-founders of Blue Note, Prestige, Riverside, Pacific Jazz and Contemporary were all towering figures of '50s jazz. And perhaps Verve and Fantasy as well? In my earlier list I neglected to mention Lou Donaldson and Benny Golson, both pretty important figures in the 50's. Jack Sheldon, while perhaps not towering, was still a notable musician in the 1950's and he's still with us. Probably the most towering musical figures of the 1950's who are still around today are from outside the world of jazz: Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino -- and from the opposite end of the musical spectrum, Doris Day!

Guess it depends on how you define "towering". Jimmy Heath, Kenny Burrell, Bill Holman, Dave Pell, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross are still alive and kicking

Not sure if this one was used before

I have a lot of Orrin Keepnews produced recordings in my collection, from Riverside to Milestone to Landmark, by every one from Thelonious Monk to Wesla Whitfield. He was a presence here in the SF Bay Area jazz scene and I saw him at a few concerts -- sometimes to introduce the evening's performer, sometimes just as an audience member. He will be missed. May he rest in eternal peace.

Is this a drawing or photo? The liner notes say it is an illustration done by Alan Nahigian, so I guess it is based on one of his photos.

Can't tell if this one is for Apple or for Android developers. Just goes to show you how language -- even slang language -- changes. Since State Farm Insurance was the sponsor of Jack Benny's TV show at the time, this promotional album was distributed to State Farm agents. It was meant to be music to fill out customer's applications for insurance.

Rosemary Clooney was one of the most "natural" performers I've ever seen. I got to see her in concert twice in her later years, the last time being just a couple of weeks before what was recorded and released as her final concert. Granted, her vocal range had diminished some in her later years and even moreso by the time of that final concert, yet she was such an engaging presence and such an excellent interpreter of lyrics, that one was more than willing to overlook any vocal shortcomings. She did a lot of banter between numbers, probably to catch her breath and give her singing voice some rest, but whether it was tale about meeting the Pope, driving through the streets of San Francisco with Bing Crosby behind the wheel or a story about one of her grandkids, she was warm and funny and "real". Two of my favorite songs by her from her later years -- http://youtu.be/R7NWxLUHFlA A wonderful version as one would expect from an Irish lass. Whether you are Irish or not, take a few minutes to listen to that and visit your own private Glocca Morra. http://youtu.be/Db1dt7pqioQ Any of you 20-something wannabe jazz singers, please do NOT attempt this song. You haven't lived enough to sing it yet.

I think lots of songs from the Golden Age of the American Songbook also had poorly written or ambiguous lyrics. It's just that most of those have been forgotten over time and only the better songs remain performed today. There's an interesting CD put out by Sony many years ago now and likely OOP. I guess back in the 1920's songwriters, or their publishing houses, had stricter control over their works and they would not permit a single alteration to their lyrics. So if a song was sung from a feminine point of view, a male vocalist who chose to sing/record that song could not change the pronouns to make it more "appropriate". I have this CD somewhere, but my collection is not well organized so I can't find it right now. Or like Peter Allen marrying Liza Minelli. One of Peter Allen's finer songs was "I Honestly Love You". There is no clear definition in the song of who "you" is, male or female. The song was recorded by Olivia Newton-John in a rather saccharine arrangement and became a huge hit, with of course, the assumption being that the song dealt with a male and female situation. But knowing of Peter Allen's life, when listening to his own recording of the song, it becomes a much more poignant experience. His version has kind of a slow, boozy, after hours feel to it, and it comes across as a very intimate, heartfelt moment: Maybe I hang around here A little more than I should We both know I got somewhere else to go But I got something to tell you That I never thought I would But I believe you really ought to know I love you I honestly love you Now there is a huge difference between a woman saying those words to a man and a gay man saying those words to a straight man. A whole new world has been entered in that situation. While in the male/female relationship, there is at least the chance that the feeling will be reciprocal. In the gay/straight scenario, that chance does not even exist, yet that does not make the love and longing felt any less sincere or painful. You don't have to answer I see it in your eyes Maybe it was better left unsaid In the male/female reading, there's not much at stake here beyond, "I'm sorry, let's just be friends, shall we". That look in the eyes just probably says that romantic feeling is not mutually shared. In the gay/straight reading, there is a whole lot at stake. That look in the eyes could be one of embarrassment, shock, disgust, anger. The friendship itself may be ended, hurtful words may be said, violence may even erupt. There's just a whole lot of dramatic context taken away from the song in the version recorded by Ms. Newton-John.