Thursday, August 25, 2016

August 22, 2016

Another warm summer evening, another good crowd. On hand were Sam (bass and trumpet), Tom (drums), Ray (bass), Phil (piano), Steve M (alto), Jack D (trumpet), Steve H. (soprano and alto), Wes (tenor), Carl (trombone), Annie (vocal) and Dick (vocal).

Sam got us started with Once I Loved (I-311). We next took up Phil’s pick, My Shining Hour. Steve M pulled out another good tune that doesn’t get enough air time, The Touch of Your Lips (III-413). Ray had joined us by this time on bass. Jack D. discovered the nickname of Milt Jackson with Bags’ Groove (II-30). Your truly went back in history a bit for Three Little Words (III-406). Wes pulled us back to the bop era by calling Donna Lee (I-123).

With the arrival of Annie, Carl and Dick, our group was complete, and we got rolling on vocals. Annie requested It Never Entered My Mind (III-205). Dick chose Latin with Corcovado (I-335). Annie changed the mood by calling Put On A Happy Face (III-328). Dick strode along on a swingy version of Don’t Blame Me (I-121). We took an instrumental break with Tom’s pick, a peppy Blue Monk (I-52).

We accomodated Annie again with The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (I-301). Dick chose old reliable In A MellowTone (I-206). Back to Annie, who did a rendition of Let There Be Love (III-236). Dick got one last stab, calling Out Of Nowhere (I-318). We finished up with Annie’s suggestion of It’s DeLovely (III-213), and everyone took a chorus.

Participant Picks

Phil
Bill Evans Trio, The Two Lonely People

Dick
Antonio Carlos Jobim and Shirley Horn, Once I Loved

Steve M
Chet Baker, The Touch Of Your Lips

Annie
Carmen McRae, The Night Has A Thousand Eyes

Ray
Dizzy Gillespie, No More Blues

Carl
Serge Chaloff, Body and Soul

Jack
Miles Davis, So What

Wes
Freddie Hubbard, Birdlike


Steve H
Toots Thielemans (in memoriam), Bluesette


Enjoy.

--SJH

Thursday, August 18, 2016

August 15, 2016

We ended up out in the lobby of McRae because the floors were being waxed, and a decent summer crowd attended: Sam (bass), Tom (drums), Phil (piano), Wes (tenor), Steve H (alto and soprano), Steve M (alto), Jack D (trumpet), Annie (vocals). Dick came by briefly, but his throat was out of sorts. And Carl stopped by from a gig that didn’t work out to play euphonium.

Sam kicked things off with a tune Gene (RIP) used to like to call, Nostalgia in Times Square (I-306). Over to Phil, who has a penchant for jazz waltzes, and we went with Waltz For Debby (I-432). Wes surprised everyone with his pick, Wave (I-431).  Yours truly called the next one, I’ve Got The World On A String (III-189).

Since we were a bit tardy getting started, Annie has already arrived at this point, and we got the vocals going with It Never Entered My Mind (III-205), then contradicted herself with Georgia On My Mind (II-145). Dick sounded good on The Nearness Of You (II-285), but then had to bail out after Fly Me To The Moon (II-135). Since Jack had to leave soon, Steve passed to him, and we played Every Time We Say Goodbye (III-113).

Back to vocals, Annie took two more with the deceptively tricky A Sleepin’ Bee (III-357) and Dearly Beloved (I-103). Tom passed the pick to Sam, who called Django Reinhardt’s Nuages (I-307). More vocals, this time The Birth of the Blues (II-49) and You Made Me Love You (III-459). Carl got a chance, and took us Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West (II-408). We finished off with Annie’s last call, Time After Time (III-408).


Participant Picks

Sam
Giants of Jazz
An hour of live music with Theolonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Kai Winding, Al McKibbon and Art Blakey

Phil
Bill Evans Trio
Waltz for Debby
About forty minutes for the whole album

Steve H
Phil Woods
A Sleepin’ Bee


Enjoy.

--SJH

Thursday, August 11, 2016

August 8, 2016

Sorry about the last two weeks. One week, I forgot to take notes, and the other, I lost the notes from the session before I got around to setting them to binary code.

This week, though, we had Sam (bass), Phil (piano), Steve M (alto), Jack D (trumpet), Wes (tenor) and yours truly (soprano and alto) to get started. Carl (trombone), Annie (vocals) and Dick (vocals) came in after an hour.

We got rolling with Sam’s starter for the week, a medium Latin version of Tangerine (II-386). Phil sent us in a different direction with Miles’ Tune Up (I-418). Taking a left turn off that, Steve M chose Stella By Starlight (I-382). Jack D called one of his favorites (and who doesn’t like it?), Cry Me A River (III-89). Your scribe pulled up one that doesn’t get out too often, Ellington’s I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But The Blues (III-152).

We didn’t get all the way around to Wes when it was time for vocals. Annie got first crack with the ballad The Nearness Of You (II-285). Dick was ready to go with Nature Boy, which turned out to be on the facing page (II-284). We took an instrumental moment, and Wes decided to continue our work on Donna Lee (I-123).  Several more vocals followed: Annie called for It Never Entered My Mind (III-205); Dick pulled out an old favorite, I Could Write A Book (I-186). Then Annie suggested a duet, and Dick decided it was Just Friends, a version Dick had among his musical effects. For the instrumental break, Carl asked for Charlie Parker’s My Little Suede Shoes (II-282). We finished out the evening with two more vocals for Annie: Blame It On My Youth (II-51) and I’m Old Fashioned (III-187).

Particpant’s Picks
People playing at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club

Winton Marsalis Quartet, Delfeayo’s Dilemma

Ronnie Scott Orchestra, Ting-A-Ling

Oscar Peterson Trio

Anita O-Day

Lots of people

Enjoy.

--SJH