McCoy Tyner & Bobby Hutcherson "Naima"

 

From Jazz Video Guy (Bret Primack), here is video of McCoy Tyner on piano and Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone, playing "Naima", a tune composed and made famous by John Coltrane.  Tyner and Hutcherson are joined in a quintet by Stefano di Battista on alto saxophone, Charnette Moffit on bass, and Eric Harland on drums.  The performance is taken from the JazzBaltica festival in 2002, nearly 20 years ago.  

J.J. Cale "To Tulsa & Back"

 

Somewhere in between a Full Album and Full Concert Friday this week, featuring the 2004 documentary about J.J. Cale called "To Tulsa and Back".  Check it out.

In Memoriam: Dusty Hill

 

The music world, has lost a legend as bassist Joe Michael "Dusty" Hill of the famed rock and roll trio ZZ Top has died at age 72.  Dusty held the groove down in the power trio, which, since 1969 has been known as the "Little ol' band from Texas" and has thrilled audiences and sold millions of records, worldwide.  

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/07/28/zz-top-icon-dusty-hill-has-died-at-the-age-of-72-band-says/

Guitarist Billy F. Gibbons, and drummer Frank Beard send their sympathies to their bandmate and longtime friend, and his family.  To honor Dusty Hill's legacy, click above on ZZ Top's 1980 performance at Rockpalast in Germany, of the blues chestnut which they recorded and covered a lot, "Dust My Broom", a song that can be attributed as performed by blues legends such as Robert Johnson and Elmore James.  

Rest In Peace, Dusty Hill.  The music world and ZZ Top, will never, ever be the same.  So fortunate I had the chance to witness their great music in person, at a 2005 concert at Grand Casino, Hinckley, in Hinckley, Minnesota.  A memory that shall live on with me, forever.  Rest In Peace, Dusty.

Bobby Watson, Javon Jackson, & Michael Mossman "Star Eyes"

 

Another video from Jazz Video Guy, and the 1988 Mount Fuji Jazz Festival.  This is a version of "Star Eyes" recorded at the festival on August 26th 1988 featuring Bobby Watson on alto saxophone, Michael Mossman on trumpet, Javon Jackson on tenor saxophone, Horace Parlan on piano, Kenny Davis on bass, Billy Drummond on drums, and Giovanni Higalgo on conga.  

McCoy Tyner "Mr. P.C."

 

From Jazz Video Guy, another version of "Mr. P.C." by McCoy Tyner.  This is a composition written by John Coltrane in honor of the great jazz bassist, Paul Chambers, hence the initials Mr. P.C."  This performance is from the 1982 Montreal Jazz Festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  The McCoy Tyner Sextet is:

McCoy Tyner: piano

Gary Bartz: alto saxophone

Jeff Lee: guitar

John Blake: violin

Alex Blake: bass

Wilby Fletcher: drums

A Few Words about Rick Laird

 

From Jazz Video Guy.  Memories about Rick Laird, the late, great bassist for Mahavishnu Orchestra.  

Rick Laird, the bassist best known for his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, recently caught a cab. Here, Bret shares his memories of Rick and hearing the band live. Also, check out Rick with Sonny Rollins Live at Ronnie Scott's in 1965:

https://soundcloud.com/gearbox-record...

Note: John McLaughlin played on In A Silent Way. I forgot to mention that! And the pianist I neglected to mention on the Rollins' gig was Stan Tracey.

Bob James & David Sanborn "Moon Tune"

 

The third track on Bob James & David Sanborn's 1986 smooth jazz/jazz fusion record "Double Vision".  This is "Moon Tune".  The band lineup is:

Bob James: piano, synthesizers, programming

David Sanborn: alto saxophone

Paul Jackson Jr.: guitar

Marcus Miller: fretless bass

Steve Gadd: drums

Paulinho Da Costa: percussion

Frank Gambale "Raison d'etre"

 

Another Full Album Friday, and another Frank Gambale album.  This is his 2004 record "Raison d'etre" featuring Gambale on guitar in a trio with bassists Ric Fierabracci and Steve Billman, and legendary drummer, Billy Cobham.  The track listing is:

1. Foreign Country

2. Cachination

3. Bittersweet

4. Table For One

5. Nouveau Vignettes I: Debut Solo

6. Nouveau Vignettes II: Melodique

7. Nouveau Vignettes III: Two Minutes B.C.

8. Kaanapali

9. May The Fourths Be With You

10. Monkey Wrench

11. Smug

12. Complex Emotion

 

Herbie Hancock's Got It Bad, Herbie Hancock covers Stevie Wonder's "You've Got It Bad, Girl"

 

Herbie Hancock and his band covering Stevie Wonder's "You've Got It Bad, Girl".  The video is from Jazz Video Guy (Bret Primack).  The performance is taken from a concert in Japan circa 1996 featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, John Scofield on guitar, Michael Brecker on tenor saxophone, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums.

Marcus King Band "Goodbye Carolina"

 

From the 2019 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival, here is the Marcus King Band with their tune "Goodbye Carolina".  

Tedeschi Trucks Band "Layla" (Live at Lockn' 2019)

 

From the 2019 Lockn' Festival in Arrington, Virginia, here is Tedeschi Trucks Band performing the classic "Layla" which is the cornerstone song for Eric Clapton, and especially for his short lived group, Derek & The Dominos and their 1970 record of the same name, "Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs".  

Mount Fuji Jazz Festival Jam Session 1988 "Au Privave"

 

Another jam session from the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival in Fuji, Japan, via Jazz Video Guy.  This time, it is a jam on Charlie "Bird" Parker's composition "Au Privave" from the 1988 Mount Fuji Jazz Festival, on August 28th, 1988 with featured musicians including:

Bobby Watson: alto saxophone

Roy Hargrove: trumpet

Robin Eubanks: trombone

Johnny Griffin: tenor saxophone

Renee Rosnes: piano

Marlene Rosenberg: bass

Cindy Blackman: drums

Art Blakey Tribute "A Night In Tunisia" Mount Fuji Jazz Festival, Fuji, Japan, August 23rd, 1991

 

From Jazz Video Guy (Bret Primack) here is a tribute to Art Blakey with "A Night In Tunisia", the Dizzy Gillespie composition, perfromed at the 1991 Mount Fuji Jazz Festival in Fuji, Japan, on August 23rd, 1991.  The band lineup is:

Terrence Blanchard: trumpet

Terumasa Hino: trumpet

Shigeharu Muaki: trombone

George Adams: tenor saxophone

Billy Pierce: tenor saxophone

Benny Green: piano

Charnett Moffett: bass

Ralph Peterson: drums

Lewis Nash: drums

  

Frank Gambale "Soulmine"

 

Full Album Friday this week, features Frank Gambale, and his wife, vocalist, Boca Gambale, and their "Soulmine" record which was released in 2012.  The track listing:

1. Love Set Me Free

2. Live Your Dream

3. All In The Game of Life

4. Be The Change

5. Sun Will Shine

6. Forbidden

7. Keep Leadin' Me On

8. Save Me From Myself

9. Enchanted Love

10. Open Your Mind

The band lineup is:

Boca Gambale: lead & background vocals

Frank Gambale: acoustic, electric, & synthesizer guitars, keyboards, & background vocals

Brian Auger: Hammond organ

Otmaro Ruiz: piano

Victor Wooten: bass

Joel Taylor: drums

  

Tedeschi Trucks Band (feat. Trey Anastasio) "Tell The Truth"

 

From their revisiting of the "Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs" record, the famous 1970 album by Derek & The Dominos, recorded on CD and DVD at the Lockn' Festival in Arrington, Virginia, here's Tedeschi Trucks Band and special guest, Trey Anastasio, with the eighth cut off the original record, "Tell The Truth".  

The Crusaders "Whispering Pines"

 

From their 1974 record "Southern Comfort", here are The Crusaders with "Whispering Pines".  The band lineup is:

Joe Sample: keyboards

Wilton Felder: tenor saxophone

Wayne Henderson: trombone

Larry Carlton: guitar

Robert "Pops" Popwell: bass

Stix Hooper: drums

David Sanborn "All I Need Is You"

 

From his 1981 "Voyeur" record, here is David Sanborn with the tune "All I Need Is You".  This is the next to last track on the record.  The band lineup is:

David Sanborn: alto saxophone

Marcus Miller: bass, piano, Rhodes piano, electric guitar, bells

Michael Colina: synthesizers (Oberheim OB X & Prophet 5)

Buzz Feiten: electric guitar

Hiram Bullock: electric guitar

Steve Gadd: drums

Ralph MacDonald: percussion

Lani Groves, Diva Gray, Gordon Grody, & Hamish Stewart: backing vocals

Benny Golson "Five Spot After Dark"

Another video from Jazz Video Guy.  Here is Benny Golson on tenor saxophone, with his composition "Five Spot After Dark" at the 1993 Mount Fuji Jazz Festival in Japan, on August 22nd, 1993.  The band lineup is:

Benny Golson: tenor saxophone

Terumasa Hino: trumpet

Curtis Fuller: trombone

Mulgrew Miller: piano

Ron Carter: bass (upright bass, of course... the legend)

Billy Higgins: drums

Grateful Dead - Weather Report Suite (Winterland 10/18/74)

From their show on October 18th, 1974, at Winterland in San Francisco, California, as the title of the video and the post describes, here is The Grateful Dead with "Weather Report Suite".  

The Crusaders Newport Jazz Festival 1987

 

From the 1987 Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island on July 15th, 1987, here are The Crusaders.  This is the featured show this week for Full Concert Friday.  The set list.

1. Mischievous Ways

2. Chain Reaction

3. Blue Ballet

4. Carmel 

5. Street Life (feat. Rikki Gillory: vocals)

6. The Good Times

7. Way It Goes (feat. Nancy Wilson: vocals)

8. Song Title Unknown

9. Song Title Unknown

The band lineup is:

Eddie Davis: trumpet

John Pena: bass

Scott Peaker: drums

David T. Walker: guitar

Joe Sample: Rhodes piano, keyboards

Wilton Felder: tenor saxophone

Guest Vocalists: Rikki Gillory & Nancy Wilson)

Mahavishnu Orchestra "Lila's Dance"

 

From their February 1975 record "Vision of The Emerald Beyond", here is Mahavishnu Orchestra with "Lila's Dance".  The name of the record comes from a Sri Chimnoy poem of the same name.  "Lila's Dance" is the third track on the record.  The band lineup is:

John McLaughlin: guitar

Jean-Luc Ponty: violin

Ralphe Armstrong: bass

Gayle Moran: keyboards

Narada Michael Walden: drums, Clavinet

Philip Hirschi: viola

Steve Kindler: 1st violin

Carol Shive: 2nd violin

The Marcus Miller Project (feat. David Sanborn) "Snakes"

From the 1992 Live Under The Sky festival in Japan, here is The Marcus Miller Project featuring David Sanborn on alto saxophone with the tune "Snakes".  The band lineup is:

Marcus Miller: bass, bass clarinet

David Sanborn: alto saxophone

Michael "Patches" Stewart: trumpet

Dean Brown: guitar

Deron Johnson: keyboards

Philippe Saisse: keyboards

Omar Hakim: drums

Don Alias: percussion

The Genius of Rahsaan Roland Kirk ("Bright Moments")

 

From Jazz Video Guy (Bret Primack) on YouTube.

Bright Moments (Kirk) - Rahsaan Roland Kirk at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1975 featuring Mr. Kirk on flutes; Hilton Ruiz on piano; M. Pearson on bass; Sonny Brown on drums, and special guest Todd Barkan on percussion.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk (multi-instrumentalist) was born in Columbus, Ohio on Aug. 7, 1935 and passed away on Dec. 5, 1977 in Bloomington, Indiana. Kirk was born Ronald Theodore Kirk, but felt compelled by a dream to transpose two letters in his first name to make Roland. He became blind at the age of two, as a result of poor medical treatment. In 1970, Kirk added “Rahsaan” to his name after hearing it in a dream. He started playing the bugle and trumpet, then learned the clarinet and C-melody sax. Kirk began playing tenor sax professionally in R&B bands at the age of 15. While a teenager, he discovered the “Manzello” and “Stritch” — the former, a modified version of the Saxello, which was itself a slightly curved variant of the B flat soprano sax; the latter, a modified straight E flat alto. To these and other instruments, Kirk began making his own improvements. He reshaped all three of his saxes so that they could be played simultaneously; he’d play tenor with his left hand, finger the Manzello with his right, and sound a drone on the Stritch, for instance. Kirk’s self-invented technique was in evidence from his first recording, a 1956 R&B record called Triple Threat. By 1960 he had begun to incorporate a siren whistle into his solos, and by ’63 he had mastered circular breathing, a technique that enabled him to play without pause for breath. In his early 20s, Kirk worked in Louisville before moving to Chicago in 1960. That year he made his second album, Introducing Roland Kirk, which featured saxophonist/trumpeter Ira Sullivan. In 1961, Kirk toured Germany and spent three months with Charles Mingus. From that point onward, Kirk mostly led his own group, the Vibration Society, recording prolifically with a range of sidemen. Preferring to lead his own bands, Kirk rarely performed as a sideman, although he did record with arranger Quincy Jones and drummer Roy Haynes and had notable stints with bassist Charles Mingus. One of his best-known recorded performances is the lead flute and solo on Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova”, a 1964 hit song re-popularized in the Austin Powers films (Jones 1964; McLeod et al. 1997). In the early ’70s, Kirk became something of an activist; he led the “Jazz and People’s Movement,” a group devoted to opening up new opportunities for jazz musicians. His playing was generally rooted in soul jazz or hard bop, but Kirk’s knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw on many elements of the music’s past, from ragtime to swing and free jazz. Kirk also absorbed classical influences, and his artistry reflected elements of pop music by composers such as Smokey Robinson and Burt Bacharach, as well as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and other jazz musicians. The live album Bright Moments (1973) is an example of one of his shows. His main instrument was the tenor saxophone, supplemented by other saxes, and contrasted with the lighter sound of the flute. At times he would play a number of these horns at once, harmonizing with himself, or sustain a note for lengthy durations by using circular breathing, or play the rare, seldom heard nose flute. A number of his instruments were exotic or homemade, but even while playing two or three saxophones at once, the music was intricate, powerful jazz with a strong feel for the blues. Kirk was politically outspoken. During his concerts, between songs he often talked about topical issues, including black history and the civil rights movement. His monologues were often laced with satire and absurdist humor. According to white comedian Jay Leno, when Leno toured with Kirk as Kirk’s opening act, Kirk would introduce him by saying, “I want to introduce a young brother who knows the black experience and knows all about the white devils …. Please welcome Jay Leno!” In 1975, Kirk suffered a major stroke which led to partial paralysis of one side of his body. However, he continued to perform and record, modifying his instruments to enable him to play with one arm. At a live performance at Ronnie Scott’s club in London he even managed to play two instruments, and carried on to tour internationally and even appear on television. He died from a second stroke in 1977 after performing in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana University Student Union in Bloomington, Indiana.

In Memoriam: Rick Laird

 

Another video from Jazz Video Guy.  We fondly remember the late, great, Rick Laird, bassist from The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Rick Laird played music from a young age and enrolled for guitar and piano lessons. He started playing jazz after moving to New Zealand at the age of 16 with his father. He played guitar in jam bands in New Zealand before buying an upright bass. After extensive touring in New Zealand he moved to Sydney, Australia, where he played with many top jazz musicians including Don Burrows.

Laird moved to England in 1962 and became house bassist at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London, playing with many visiting musicians including Wes Montgomery and Sonny Stitt. With Buddy Rich, he played a residence at The Talk of the Town in 1969. From 1963 to 1964, Laird was at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was recorded on the soundtrack of Alfie (1966) with Sonny Rollins, and played in The Brian Auger Trinity (July 1963-February 1964) and The Brian Auger Group (February–October 1964).

His next step was to go to Berklee College of Music in Boston, US, where he studied arranging, composition and string bass. He then teamed up with John McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra to play electric bass until 1973, when the band broke up. After that, he moved to New York and played with Stan Getz (a tour in 1977) and Chick Corea (a tour the following year). Laird put out one album as a leader, Soft Focus. He was interviewed in Guitar Player in 1980 and Bass Player in 1999. Later in life he was a successful photographer as well as a private bass tutor and an author of a number of intermediate- to advanced-level bass books.

Laird was one of a handful of musicians to play an S. D. Curlee, which was his principal fretted bass. Richard Laird, as he was known in the art world, in March 2009 came across a collection of photographs in a file cabinet that he had taken in years past of legendary jazz artists but had mostly forgotten about. The discovery of these historic photos that feature Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Elvin Jones, Keith Jarrett and many others led to the formation of an online archive[3].

He is survived by one daughter, Sophie Rose Laird, who was born on February 21st, 1988 to his second wife, art lawyer, Jo Backer Laird.

Sonny Stitt “Star Eyes”/“I Can’t Get Started”

 

From Jazz Video Guy, here is jazz saxophone legend Sonny Stitt performing a medley of "Star Eyes" and "I Can't Get Started" live at the 1974 Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy.  Stitt's real name was Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.  The band lineup is:

Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (a.k.a. Sonny Stitt) alto & tenor saxophones

Georges Arivinitas: piano

Jacques "Jacky" Samson: bass

Charles Saudrais: drums

More about Sonny Stitt.

Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording more than 100 albums. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern because of his relentless touring and devotion to jazz. Stitt was sometimes viewed as a Charlie Parker mimic, especially earlier in his career, but gradually came to develop his own sound and style, particularly when performing on tenor saxophone.

Freddie Hubbard Quintet Jazz Fest Berlin, 1985

Full Concert/Full Album Friday this week, featuring the Freddie Hubbard Quintet at the 1985 Jazz Fest in Berlin, West Germany.  

The set list:

1. Thermo

2. Skydive

3. Misty

4. One of A Kind

5. A Ballad For Woody

6. I'll Remember April

7. Bernie's Tune

Correct me if I am wrong, but the band lineup appears to be.

Freddie Hubbard: trumpet

Kenny Garrett: alto saxophone

Donald Brown: piano

Ira Coleman: bass

Carl Allen: drums

Woody Shaw: trumpet

Dizzy Gillespie: trumpet

McCoy Tyner Trio “Latino Suite”

 

From Jazz Video Guy, McCoy Tyner and his trio playing "Latino Suite" at the 27th annual Lujbljana Jazz Festival held at the Krizanke Theater in Lujbljana, Slovenia, on June 22nd, 1986.  The trio includes McCoy Tyner on piano, Avery Sharpe on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums.