On june 11th, 1976 a very special concert took place in the studios of the Dutch TROS tv-programme "Music all Inn". The audience witnessed a great concert of Gladys Knight and (her family group) the Pips, and as a special guest starred Al Foster, the drummer who played for a long time with Miles Davis. Here Gladys performs "Midnight train to Georgia". Songwriter Jim Weatherly created this song, that was originally titled "Midnight plane to Houston". Starlett (and the later actress) Farah Fawcett was on the phone with Jimmy, when she suddenly said she had no time, because she had to take the plane to Houston"... The song was inspired by the story of Fawcett and her friend/husband Lee Majors. Short story: a girl comes to L.A., doesn't make it and takes a plane home. The guy accompanies her. The song was an instant success but became really famous when Gladys Knight and the Pips recorded it as "Midnight train to Georgia".
On December 12th, 1976, the famous Dutch tv host Willem O. Duys introduced a remarkable jazz musician, and personal friend of himself in his famous programme “Voor de vuist weg”. It was Svend Asmussen, a Danish jazz violist. Born as Svend Harald Christian Asmussen in 1916 in Copenhagen, where he grew up, he was a rising star in the late ‘30s. In the second World War, he was arrested by the Nazi’s and transported to Berlin, because they didn’t want him to play “American style jazz”. After the war he continued to play, mostly in Denmark, but he also was a guest at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1976.
He sang and played vibraphone as well, but he was most famous by playing the violin, in a jazzy way, sometimes with similarity to the great Stephane Grapelli. He played with stars like Benny Goodman and the Mills brothers and composed several songs. The one he plays here, “A Fiddler in Rio”, was written by himself. Asmussen passed away in 2017 in Denmark.
Muddy Waters was born in 1913 as McKinly Morganfield in a small town in Mississippi. As a young child, he loved to play in a river near his home, that’s why his grandmother nicknamed him “Muddy Waters”. He started to play the blues harp when he was 7 years old and only at age 17, he started to play the guitar, which finally brought him fame throughout the world. With his electric guitar he founded the base for the so called “Chicago Sound”. The song “Hoochie Coochie man”, written by Willie Dixon, was first recorded by him in 1954. “Hoochie coochie” used to be 19th century Afro-American slang for sex and alcohol.
Mel Tormé (USA, 1925 - 1999) is one of the most versatile jazz artists ever. He composed and arranged songs, he was a drummer as well as a movie and tv-show actor. Long ago he starred in sitcoms with Judy Garland and Lucille Ball, more recent in the popular series Night Court and Seinfeld. But he became really famous with his special voice. He was rewarded the nickname “Velvet Fog”, because of his high tenor and smooth style of singing. And singing that was what he did. 200 concerts a year was no problem for him. And he had his radio shows and his own tv-show in the '50’s.
In our archives, we found a performance of Mel in the famous Dutch programme Music All In, recorded 19-03-1976. Host Pim Jacobs accompanied him on piano at several songs, and the big orchestra was conducted by the great Rogier van Otterloo, known as composer from box office movie soundtracks like “Soldier of Orange”.
It’s widely known that Tormé wasn’t a big fan of rock and roll music, which he once called “three tone manure”, but although he loved classical music, he also liked some pop songs. Here we see him perform “Love will keep us together”, that Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield composed in 1973.
In this REMASTERED clip we are witness of a great performance of "Flyin' Home" by Sid Robin, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman. Three of the all-time greatest jazz guitarists perform their unique skills on the guitar:
Barney Kessel, born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA on October 17, 1923, was known for his chord-based melodies and was a prolific member of the so-called ‘Wrecking Crew’ group of musicians that accompanied and played on records as diverse as The Mamas & Papas, Sonny & Cher and The Beach Boys.
He was voted best guitarist in Down Beat Magazine in 1956, 1957 and 1958 and recorded numerous albums. The Gibson Guitar Corporation introduced the Barney Kessel model guitar in 1961 to honour his skills. Barney died on May 6, 2004.
Herb Ellis was an American guitarist who probably was best known as member of Oscar Peterson’s Trio in the 1950’s. He was born on August 4, 1921, as Mitchell Herbert Ellis. He played with Jimmy Dorsey’s band and played on numerous Verve records supporting jazz giants like Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Herb died on March 20, 2010.
Charlie Byrd was one of America’s greatest guitarists. Born on September 16, 1925, in Suffolk, Virginia, he was strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt’s style and Brazilian bossa nova.
He played in Woody Herman’s band in the late 1950’s and recorded ‘Jazz Samba’ with Stan Getz. Also he recorded the famous bossa nova albums with João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Byrd died on December 2, 1999. The three great guitarists are accompanied by Joe Byrd, Charlie’s brother, on bass and Chuck Redd on drums.
Bigband leader and pianist Stanley Newcomb “Stan” Kenton (1911-1979), a progressive and back in the 50’s also a controversial musician, is nowadays looked upon as one of the biggest bandleaders of all time. Already in the 40’s he toured around the world, and he gave his famous Concert in Progressive Jazz in Carnegie Hall. In the early fifties he founded a 43-member orchestra, Innovations in Modern Music. After two tours it seemed financially not possible to continue this project.
He also recorded lots of albums, and in 1970 he started to co-operate with the “creative world” label. This led to several concerts around the world, including the performance in Rotterdam. In this material we also recognize:
Bass: John Worster Drums: John von Ohlen Trumpet: Dick Shearer Percussion: Ramon Lopez
Kenton is also known for his talent scouting and his “nose” for talent, he worked with big shots like Maynard Ferguson and Stan Getz. The song here performed is “Take the A-Train” a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn, that became the signature tune of Duke Ellington. A-train refers to a subway service in New York.
Ramon “Mongo” Santamaria Rodriguez (07 April 1922 - 01 February 2003) was born in Havana, Cuba and became throughout the years world's most famous conga player. After spending 30 years of his life in Cuba, in the early fifties he fled to New York. He started to play in the band of Tito Puente, that he left after about a year. He developed a music style that mixed Afro Cuban rhythms with jazz and soul. His song “Afro Blue”, written in 1958, is commonly referred to as jazz standard, and was recorded by a lot of artists, e.g. John Coltrane. Mongo’s version of Herbie Hancock's “Watermelon Man” was also a worldwide success.
In 1981 he played in the Congeshal in The Hague at the North Sea Jazz Festival. The song and the lyrics of the number “Come Candela” are written by Mongo Santamaria himself. In the band we mean to recognize Trevor Gale on drums, Tony Villarini on trumpet and Doug Harris on flute. Please inform us if you have more information.
Riley Ben King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015) was known professionally as B.B. King, B.B. meaning “Blues Boy”.
In this recording from 1992 we see him playing in the pleasant, cozy studio of the famous dutch “TROS TV Show”. His interaction with the audience is great.
B.B. King was one of the most famous rhythm-and-blues artists of all time, who most of the time played on Gibson guitars, which he all called “Lucille”. Being an American blues singer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and record producer, King introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that influenced many later electric blues guitarists like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards.
King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues". In this clip we mean to recognize Caleb Emphrey Jr. on drums, James Bolden on trumpet, Melvin Jackson on sax, and Leon Warren on guitar.
“SWING”, written in capitals: The Deep River Quartet. Dutch close harmony group, that played swing, jazz, soul, blues and more. In this clip we see founder, bass vocals (and contrabass player) Sybrandus ‘Siebe’ Finck, 1st tenor vocals Dick Rietveld, 2nd tenor vocals Kees Hendriks, and baritone vocals and guitar, Wout Bijker. They were inspired by “The Ink Spots”, “The Golden Gate Quartet” and “The Mills Brothers”, and in the ‘90’s they were extremely popular in the Netherlands and abroad. At the “Platengala” at 13-10-1984 in the AHOY concert center in Rotterdam, they brought a very swinging version of “Mr. Paganini”, written by Sam Coslow, that became a key song for Ella Fitzgerald. The Deep River Quartet performed from 1971 - 2014.
It's time for yet another Sunday Special, continuing the theme of celebrating and looking at the jazz piano playing of Dr. Billy Taylor. From Bret "Jazz Video Guy" Primack. A couple of excerpts from Dr. Billy Taylor and Ramsey Lewis and a videotape or program called "Counterpoint" playing both jazz and blues influenced tunes alike. As I have said, you cannot have jazz without blues. The two genres and styles really go together.
Dave Liebman’s Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody
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Dave Liebman Teaches and Plays
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David Liebman performs the classic standard, via the influence of John Jazz Video Guy Recommends
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John Coltrane - His Life and Music
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Michael Brecker - Ode to a Tenor Titan
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Saxophone Colossus - The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins
https://amzn.to/3CDQ5JK with Vic Juris on Guitar, Tony Marino on bass, Jamey Haddad on drums.
This week's Sunday Special post. Savoy Brown performing their song "Tell Mama" on The Midnight Special music television show, in 1973. The tune was recorded and released on their 1971 record "Street Corner Talking". The band lineup is:
Kim Simmonds: lead & rhythm guitars, & lead vocals
Paul Raymond: rhythm guitar, keyboards, & background vocals
A live television performance on ABC network circa 1997 featuring Pat Metheny on acoustic guitar, the late, great David Sanborn on alto saxophone, and the late, great Charlie Haden on double bass.
The date; December 18, 1999. The place: Birdland, New York City. The group: The Saxophone Summit. The composition: All Blues. The soloist: Michael Brecker. Phil Markowitz, piano; Rufus Reid, bass and the great Billy Hart on drums.
Song For My Father (Silver), Montreux '96 featuring the Horace Silver Septet: Ron Stout, trumpet; Steve Baxter, trombone; Doug Webb, tenor sax; Phil Vieux, baritone sax; Horace Silver, piano; Bob Maize, acoustic double bass; Harold Mason, drums.
December 18, 1999, Birdland, The Saxophone Summit play John Jazz Video Guy Recommends
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John Coltrane - His Life and Music
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Michael Brecker - Ode to a Tenor Titan
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Saxophone Colossus - The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins
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John Coltrane - His Life and Music
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Michael Brecker - Ode to a Tenor Titan
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Saxophone Colossus - The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins
https://amzn.to/3CDQ5JK. With Phil Markowitz, piano; Rufus Reid, bass; and the incredible Billy Hart on drums.
Note: I will post the complete version when I find it.
By the way, I think I have posted the complete version of this concert. If you go back through the archives in the sidebar menu on the right side of the blog page, you should be able to find it, or type into the search box, Birdland 1999 saxophone summit or something along those lines.
This week's Sunday Special. From Bret "Jazz Video Guy" Primack.
Live from Mr. Kelly's in Osaka, Japan on March 31, 2023. Dreamweaver (Bartley) Patrick Bartley - Alto Sax; May Inoue - Guitar; Takafumi Suenaga - Piano/Keyboards; Yuji Ito - Bass; Hiro Kimura - Drums
On December 18, 1999, during the intermission between sets of the Saxophone Summit Live at Birdland, the webcast on GMN, I interviewed Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman. We lost the intro, but here's what survived. Grover Washington, Jr. passed away the day before so my first question was about Grover. Many thanks to Louis Gerrits for the color correction.
Saxophone Summit Live at Birdland, 1999, featuring Michael Brecker, David Liebman and Joe Lovano with Phil Markowitz, Rufus Reid and Billy Hart Jazz Tenor Piano Bass Drums
Dave Liebman’s Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody
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Dave Liebman - How to Approach Standards Chromatically
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The saxophonist David Liebman has all the credentials of a major eminence in modern jazz. In the 1960's he worshiped at the altar of John.
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https://amzn.to/3CDQ5JK; in the 1970s he toured with Miles Davis. He has led a handful of fine ensembles through the years, and toiled as a sideman in many others. Among fellow saxophonists and fellow educators, his reputation is ironclad.
http://www.jazzvideoguy.tv presents the remarkable saxophonist David Liebman, performing "Sun King."
For more Lieb, please visit: http://www.davidliebman.com
Beirut (Loeb, Brecker, Mainieri, Erskine, Bailey), Live in Japan 1986, Mike Mainieri (vibes), Michael Brecker (EWI)), Mike Stern (guitar).Darryl Jones (bass), Steve Smith (drums)
Dave Liebman’s Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody
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Dave Liebman Teaches and Plays
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Dave Liebman - How to Approach Standards Chromatically
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David Liebman - Soprano Saxophone, Joey Calderazzo - Piano, Dave Holland - Bass, Jack DeJohnette - Drums
David Liebman was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 4, 1946. He began classical piano lessons at the age of nine and saxophone by twelve. His interest in jazz was sparked by seeing John Coltrane perform live in New York City clubs such as Birdland, the Village Vanguard and the Half Note.
Throughout high school and college, Liebman pursued his jazz interest by studying with Joe Allard, Lennie Tristano and Charles Lloyd. Upon graduation from New York University (with a degree in American History), he began to seriously devote himself to the full-time pursuit of being a jazz artist.
In the early 1970s, Liebman took the leading role (as President) in organizing several dozen musicians into a cooperative, Free Life Communication which became an integral part of the fertile New York "loft" jazz scene in the early 1970s and was funded by The New York State Council of the Arts and the Space for Innovative Development.
After one year spent with Ten Wheel Drive, one of the early jazz fusion groups, Liebman secured the saxophone/flute position with the group of John Coltrane's drummer, Elvin Jones. Within two years, Liebman reached the zenith of his apprenticeship period when Miles Davis hired him. These years, 1970-74, were filled with tours, recordings and the incredible experience gained by being on the band stand with two masters of jazz. At the same time, Liebman began exploring his own music-first in the Open Sky Trio with Bob Moses and then with pianist Richie Beirach in the group Lookout Farm. This group recorded for the German based ECM label as well as A&M Records while touring the U.S., Canada, India, Japan and Europe. Lookout Farm was awarded the number one position in the category "Group Deserving of Wider Recognition"in the 1976 Downbeat Magazine's International Critics' Poll.
In 1977, Liebman did a world tour with pianist Chick Corea followed up the next year by the formation of the David Liebman Quintet with John Scofield, Kenny Kirkland and Terumasa Hino as featured sidemen. After several world tours and recordings by the quintet over three years, he reunited with Richard Beirach. They began performing and recording as a duo, as well as creating the group Quest in 1981. Beginning with bassist George Mraz and drummer Al Foster, the group solidified when Ron McClure and Billy Hart joined in 1984. Through 1991, Quest recorded seven CDs, toured extensively and did many workshops with students worldwide.
Liebman's present group formed in 1991 includes guitarist Vic Juris, bassist Tony Marino and drummer Marko Marcinko. With these musicians he has pursued an eclectic direction in recording projects that has ranged from jazz standards to Puccini arias, original adaptations from the John Coltrane and Miles Davis repertoires, original compositions in styles ranging from world music to fusion, always maintaining a repertoire that balances the past, present and future.
Over the past several decades, Liebman has often been featured with top European musicians such as Joachim Kuhn, Daniel Humair, Paolo Fresu, Jon Christensen, Bobo Stenson and in the World View Trio with Austrian drummer Wolfgang Reisenger and French bassist Jean-Paul Celea. His reputation in Europe has led to big band and radio orchestra performances, such as with the WDR in Koln, Germany, the Metropole Orchestra of the Netherlands and the new music Klang Forum in Vienna, Austria playing music specially commissioned to feature Liebman's unique soprano saxophone style. He has consistently placed among the top finalists in the Downbeat Critics' Poll since 1973 in the Soprano Saxophone category. As of the present, David Liebman has been featured on nearly 300 recordings, of which he has been the leader and/or co-leader on nearly 100. Well over 200 original compositions have been recorded. His artistic output has ranged from straight ahead classic jazz to chamber music; from fusion to avant garde.
For all things Lieb, please visit: http://www.davidliebman.com
The Saxophone Summit LIve at Birdland, December 18, 1999.
Michael Brecker, David Liebman, Joe Lovano - Saxophones
Phil Markowitz - Piano
Rufus Reid - Bass
Billy Hart - Drums
