Jazz in February Day 25

Today my selection is definitely not going to be classified as easy listening as I open up the divisive can of worms that is the avant-garde and Free Jazz. Main players in this genre included Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett and that most curious figure in Jazz, Sun Ra. First up: Ornette …

Jazz in February Day 24

Today my selection is going to solo tracks, and by this I mean simply one musician on their own with no accompaniment or over dubs/multitracks. This approach tends to be favoured by pianists/keyboard players and guitarists but not exclusively as we shall see. First up we have the Grandfather of the modern Jazz Saxophone Coleman …

Truthful Tuesday

Like mein host, I am a little late with this Truthful Tuesday due to a combination of reading some HG Wells, playing the classic video arcade game Burger Time, and a bit of late night exercise (no, not a euphemism). When was the last time you had well thought-out plans that got dashed to pieces …

Jazz in February Day 23

There appears to be a hashtag on twitter declaring that it is Trad Tuesday. I have a distinct feeling that it is a tag for folk music but what's the point of a good tag if you can bend it to your needs... So today is Trad Jazz Tuesday, and I am avoiding the obvious …

Jazz in February Day 22

Today's choices are a bit different, these are vocal versions of tracks more commonly known as instrumentals. First up with have the vocal trio of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross tackling "One O'clock Jump", best known as one of the signature tunes of the Count Basie Orchestra. https://youtu.be/5cME67_pX0k Next up is Anita O'Day with a vocal …

Share Your World 22nd February 2021

Have you ever ‘butt dialed” someone?  (‘butt dialed’ means have you ever made a phone call that you weren’t aware of making, because the buttons on the phone got pushed by your sitting on them (in your pocket) OR having something in your handbag press against them?) In the early days of smartphones yes, but …

Jazz in February Day 21

Today I am looking at examples of the fusion of Jazz and Rap, something which might seem an unlikely combination to some, but it is worth remembering that Rap and Hip-Hop grew from the jazz-funk foundations of Gil Scott-Heron in the 70s. Here is Birmingham (West Midlands, not Alabama) based saxophone player and rapper Soweto …

Jazz in February Day 20

For Today's selection I am to select a famous jazz short called Jammin' the Blues which features a number of jazz giants including Lester Young, donning his trademark porkpie hat and showing the unusual way he held his sax https://youtu.be/ohCOIPjyXZM

Jazz in February Day 19

Since today is my birthday here are what I will call my origin tracks... My first "proper" exposure to Jazz was through a radio comedy series from the 1950s called The Goon Show, which I would listen to regularly thanks to my dad, and each episode would have musical interludes from the Ray Ellington Quartet …

Jazz in February Day 18

Today I am going to be selecting some Brits abroad, celebrating the rare occasions when some of the big players from Blighty got to join sessions with some of the American giants. First up is the multi-instrumentalist Tubby Hayes who made a couple of sessions in New York, here he is playing alongside the great …