Sunday, March 25, 2018

March 23, 2018

NO WORKSHOP MARCH 31. Next meeting April 7, TowerLight (3601 Wooddale Ave, St. Louis Park) 11am-3pm.

Sam's Add-a-Tune: Killer Joe (II-229)

We started with a solid core, and more trickled in during the afternoon. We kicked off festivities with Craig (guitar), Terry (guitar), Steve C (piano), Raphael (bass (and drums)), Waymond (bass and drums), Jack K (trumpet) and Steve H (alto), soon to be joined by Sam (trumpet and trombone), Matt (vocals), Victor (vocals), Annie (vocals), Carl (trombone), and Steve M (alto). Even Jim D stopped by for a visit.

Yours truly called the first tune, It Could Happen To You (II-204). Craig chose the next one, Satin Doll (I-349). Terry changed his original idea to another Ellington favorite, In A Mellow Tone (I-206). Steve C went seasonal with a bouncy Easter Parade (I-126). We changed directions with Raphael's choice of bossa Desafinado (I-108). We had a very soulful ten minutes on Waymond's call, Angel Eyes (I-28). Sam got a chance to get us working on another Latin number, his Add A Tune, The Gift! (II-150), which took us about twenty minutes to actually get to the end of with everyone soloing.

Vocal time started at last with Matt's opener, Fly Me To The Moon (II-135). Victor started his day with the familiar Avalon (II-25). Annie wanted to work some more on Let There Be Love (III-236). Matt had brought in his own music for What'll I Do. Victor was willing to try your scribe's suggestion, Nevertheless (III-300), which suited him well. Annie went to the tearjerker Good Morning Heartache (III-134). An instrumental break, chosen by Steve M, saw us go East Of The Sun (III-104). Matt stuck with the theme by opting for I'm Beginning To See The Light (I-200). Victor closed out the light show with Stardust (II-367). Annie reprised It Could Happen To You (II-204), which actually went better than the earlier version. Last time around, Matt picked It's Only A Paper Moon (II-209). Annie went to God Bless The Child (I-160), and after a few false starts, we got Victor going on After You've Gone (II-12). We finished the afternoon with Matt and Annie combining on vocals and everyone taking a solo on Cheek To Cheek (III-76).

Participant Picks

It Could Happen To You
Julie London
Ryo Fukui
Miles Davis
Eydie Gorme
Frank Wess
Pepper Adams
Diana Krall

The Gift (Recado Bossa Nova)
Eydie Gorme
Lionel Hampton et al

Here Comes Peter Cottontail
Gene Autry
Joan Crowe (jazzy)

Easter Parade
Dave Batholomew and the Maryland Jazz Band
Oscar Peterson
Sant Andreu Jazz Band (these are kids!)
Roy Eldridge


Happy Easter! Enjoy!

--SJH

Sunday, March 18, 2018

March 17, 2018

Next Time: Saturday, March 23, Hook and Ladder, Lake and Minnehaha, 1-5 pm

Add a Tune: The Gift (II-150)

Sure and begorrah and other bits of Irish-sounding stuff. Despite the last minute change, a good crowd showed up on St. Patrick's Day to pack ourselves into the basement theater at TowerLight. On hand were Steve C (piano), Ray (bass and violin), Steve H (alto), Raphael (bass), Jack D (trumpet), Waymond (bass and drums), Terry (guitar), Sam (trumpet and trombone), Steve M (alto), Wes (tenor), Carl (trombone), and Annie (vocals).

We began with Sam's Add-A-Tune for the week, So Nice (Summer Samba) (I-362). Steve M up next chose Lullaby of Birdland (I-256). Terry opted for Black Orpheus (I-49). Next up, Steve C went to one of our standbys, Robbin's Nest (II-330). Jack D got on the board with Autumn In New York (I-38). Over to Waymond, we ran with (but not too fast) Anthropology (I-29). Raphael took us in a simpler direction with his call of Let's Get Lost (II-238). Charlie Parker's My Little Suede Shoes (II-282) somehow kept drifting between Latin and swing, yet somehow we reached the conclusion intact. Yours truly decided to honor the day with How Are Things In Glocca Morra (II-147). Wes wrapped up the instrumental segment with Donna Lee (I-123).

We were a bit behind schedule when we began the vocal segment, but Annie also decided homage was due to the Irish (or at least to Finian's Rainbow) by starting with Look To The Rainbow (III-249). She followed with Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (I-335). Carl directed our instrumental interlude to Blue Monk (I-52). Annie stayed on her Latin theme with Besame Mucho (III-42), though we seem to have gotten a bit lost in there. Things went better with her next call, Why Do I Love You (II-425). Steve M got the choice on the instrumental, I Remember You (II-179). Annie took us down an interesting avenue with a sultry version of Honeysuckle Rose (II-167). She brought us back with a swinging Just In Time (II-222). We polished of the afternoon with Waymond's call, Wes Montomgery's D Natural Blues (I95).

Participant Picks

How Are Things In Glocca Morra
Kitty Kallen
The Hi-Lo’s
Sonny Rollins

Look To The Rainbow
Petula Clark/Fred Astaire
Dinah Washington
Astrud Gilberto

D Natural Blues
Wes Montgomery


Enjoy!

--SJH

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

March 10, 2018

Emergency Change of Plans: March 17 TowerLight, 3601 Wooddale, 11am-3pm

Next Time: Hook and Ladder, Lake St. and Minnehaha Ave., Mpls., 1-5pm.

Add-A-Tune: So Nice (Summer Samba) (I-362)

Another very busy afternoon; the Jazz Workshop in the Park (still our official title) has become the place to be on a Saturday afternoon! Making time to play were Sam (trumpet/trombone), Jack D (trumpet), Jack K (trumpet), Terry (guitar), Steve C (piano), Waymond (bass and drums), Steve H (alto), Ray (violin and bass), Serdar (guitar), Craig (guitar), Wes (tenor), Steve M (alto), Dick (vocals), Kelly (harmonica), and Victor (vocals).

Sam kicked things off with his Add-A-Tune, It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing (I-224). We quickly discovered some electrical/technical problems which slowed things down for a bit, but managed to get in Waymond's choice Bags' Groove (II-30). Once things were more or less settled, we took up Terry's option, Four (I-149). Serdar was partial to something Latin, Blue Bossa (I-50). Jack K suggested we dig into the lesser explored volumes with Smile (IV-  ). Jack D had one he liked, a ballady, lightly swinging version of I Wish You Love (III-172). Wes called Doxy (II-111), which started out a bit quick and took off from there; next time out we'll need to rein that one in. To conclude the instrumental segment, yours truly brought an original, the slow and easy, very-late-at-night Smokey Blues.

Dick got the vocals started with On Green Dolphin Street (IV-321), and followed with a swinging Don't Blame Me (I-121). Craig got to call an intermediate instrumental, and went with It's Too Late (III-218). Dick took two more vocals: There Will Never Be Another You (I-407), and Mean To Me (III-274). Victor was in the house and ready to sing by this time, and went with old standbys All Of Me (I-20) and Avalon (II-22). The instrumental call went to Steve M, a cooking How High The Moon (I-180). Back to Dick, we worked on Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (I-335). Victor took a turn on Stardust (II-367). Out of Nowhere (I-318) was Dick's swan song for the day. We ended the afternoon with and instrumental version of Sam's choice, Jeannine (II-212).

--SJH

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

March 3, 2018

Next Time: Hook and Ladder, Minnehaha and Lake, 1-5pm.


Your scribe (alto, piano) arrived to be available to open the Workshop, only to find three others already inside: Jack D (trumpet), Terry (guitar), and newcomer Ross (tenor, piano), who is clearly no newcomer to his music. Ross had arrived at noon because of some misinformation in a Craigslist ad, so I hope we can get that fixed soon as well.

Also, we were informed that a few weeks back, we had used some of the Hook's electronic equipment improperly, and not returned it to its original status, and so were forbidden to use any of their amps or speakers. We want to apologize to the Hook and Ladder for any mistaken assumptions we made, and hope to be back in their good graces in the near future.

In short order, Raphael (bass) and Waymond (drums, bass, alto) arrived, and while Waymond and this writer got the drums up from the basement, the group began with Jack's pick, But Beautiful (I-62). Yours truly opted for Line for Lyons (III-240), which we did sans piano but a bit swingy. I moved from alto to piano while Terry decided to tackle the straightforward blues tune Freddie Freeloader (I-151). Back to alto for me when Raphael called Mas Que Nada (III-268). Ross managed both piano and tenor, with Waymond moving to bass for his choice, Confirmation (I-87), though we had to ask him to bring it down to mid-speed; he went back to drums for the remainder.  Ross continued on dual duty with his own pick, All The Things You Are (I-22).

Victor (vocals), Craig (guitar), Annie (vocals), and Carl S (trombone) had arrived variously during the instrumental period, and Carl called the last one, Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West (II-408). We lost Ross before the vocals began, which is too bad, because a lot of other good players had yet to arrive: old friends Lachel (trumpet), son Leithieo (trombone), their friend from Texas, Rene (soprano), Carl A (soprano), and finally Sam (trombone, trumpet) and Jim D (clarinet). With the influx of horns, this guy moved permanently to piano.

Annie, as usual, got things rolling vocally, starting with Let There Be Love (III-236). Victor took another swing at Avalon (II-25). Annie pulled out old Ellington standby Take The A Train (I-398). Victor opted for Bye Bye Blackbird (II-73). We took an instrumental break with Jack's choice, a gentle version of It Never Entered My Mind (III-205). Returning to vocals, Annie took on When I Fall In Love (I-439). We turned to All Of Me (I-20) on Victor's next song. Annie went to I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free (I-195). Rene suggested an instrumental version of There Will Never Be Another You (I-406), which played well. A few more vocals were on tap: Annie chose Thou Swell (I-411). Victor and the rhythm section had some trouble finding the groove on In The Still Of The Night (II-198)--sorry, man. Annie finished up singing with Never Let Me Go (III-299). We went out with everyone having a say on Craig's call, Fly Me To The Moon (II-135).

Participant Picks


Line for Lyons
Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker
Billy Taylor and Jimmy Owens

Mas Que Nada
Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66
Al Jarreau


In The Still Of The Night (Cole Porter)
Frank Sinatra
Steve Lawrence