October 10, 2015

Lots of people, lots of tunes. Sam was back on the bass after a lot of absences for all kinds of reasons. Jack, whom we haven't seen all summer, was back on trumpet. Lets of regulars as well: Gene (drums), Steve M (alto), Wes (tenor), Tom (drums), Carl (trombone), Annie (vocals), with Joe (trumpet) and Elmer (tenor) rounding out the group. Oh, and me (alto).

It took us until almost noon to get rolling, but Sam finally called the first tune, Bye Bye Blackbird (II-73). Steve M was next up with Look for the Silver Lining (II-249). I got the next pick, and chose It Could Happen To You (II-204). Wes was next up, and decided on Caravan (II-77), flipping back and forth between Latin and swing. Jack decided to give Birk's Works (II-48) a go; we gave it the works. Tom chose a favorite of his, a very crisp rendition of St. Thomas (II-339). Gene went with something less obscure than usual, but tricky: A Night in Tunisia (I-302). Joe wanted to stick with the back and forth between swing and exotic, but chose to do so on My Little Suede Shoes (II-282). Elmer changed things up entirely by reaching back to Earl "Fatha" Hines' Rosetta (II-332).

Now it was singing' time, and Annie got things going with the classic ballad Body and Soul (I-57), followed by a mid-tempo Dearly Beloved (I-103). Sam, seeing his opening, looked back to the page before and chose Dear Old Stockholm (I-102) as an instrumental. Two more for Annie: So In Love (III-362), and On A Clear Day (III-308). For the instrumental break, Steve M suggested How High The Moon (I-180); even Annie took a chorus. The Party's Over (III-313) and I Could Write A Book (I-186) were Annie's next choices. Carl picked the next instrumental, Blue Monk (I-52). We wrapped things up  with a vocal on I Wish You Love (III-172).

Participant Picks

Sam’s come up with a long one: Stan Getz and Chet Baker live in Stockholm in 1983. However, it contains interviews and footage as well—in Swedish. So be prepared. But dig the music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqQWVrfjatA

Annie asked for Gypsy In My Soul. Here are three:

Ella Fitzgerald

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2wsT9YowBY

Anita O’Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIsjzUe_6JA

Connie Evingson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94rC63vF54s

Tom asked for Song For My Father by local artist Laura Caviani. Couldn’t find that one, and I put up the Horace Silver version not too long ago, so I picked these two versions:

George Benson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy1PbjbDTpM

Dee Dee Bridgewater

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gSpatsBDdk

Wes put in a word for Caravan, no particular version. Check out these.

Duke Ellington (Juan Tizol on valve trombone) 1952

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAeEhTD1xhU

Michel Petrucciani

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06_uCl_Bovs

Dizzy Gillespie 6 (1987)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIzV0RRM0As

Enjoy.

--SJH

October 3, 2015

We were a bit thin on personnel when this week’s workshop began: Wes (tenor), Gene (drums), Steve M (alto) and yours truly. So we dragged the piano out and I plunked out some chords until someone else came along who could do it better; no one did. Soon enough, Tony brought his bass, and we had a regular quintet. Steve M. called for one we had looked at the week before, Hoagy Carmichael’s bluesy Baltimore Oriole (II-34). We moved to Wes’ pick, the more mid-tempo Out of Nowhere (I-318). Because it was on the next page, I started doodling on Paper Doll (I-319), until others joined in. We then went with a sort of mid-tempo version of Cherokee. Looking for things I already had chord changes written out for, I asked for Here’s That Rainy Day. Wes wanted something a bit more bouncy, so we turned to Red Top (III-332). Gene the Obscure came up with No Moon At All (III-303), which we all enjoyed. Robbin’s Nest (II-330) was Wes’ next choice.

At this point, your scribe had to leave, but Steve M kept tabs on the remaining tunes. Lullaby of Birdland (I-256) from Wes, Straight No Chaser from Tony, and When Sunny Gets Blue (I-440) from Gene.

Participant Picks

This week we mourn the passing of alto saxophonist Phil Woods on 9/29/15. Here are two bits, one from early, one from late.

Phil Woods 1960

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5t21rZH94

Phil Woods Master Class, 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SJxmCzYpoo

Enjoy.

--SJH

September 26, 2015

When I arrived, there sat Steve M, all alone in the day care room. We waited together for awhile, until I suggested that I drag the piano out of the closet and through the rec center so I could play some chords and he some alto. As I was writing out some chord changes to Charlie Parker's Barbados (II-45), Wes (tenor) arrived, followed shortly by Ahmed, an old friend who hasn't brought his trumpet around for some time. He was in turn followed by Gene and his drums. We tried out Barbados a few times, then Early Autumn (II-##). A guy we've never met, and whose name I did not catch, came by to play some tunes with us, but we couldn't find the right instrument for him. Perhaps he'll return next week with his own rig. We tried C-Jam Blues (II-##), and were about to move to Lullaby of the Leaves (III-260), when Ken stopped in, saving everyone from my pianorific ministrations. He even had his own piano.

We did Lullaby of the Leaves right after the arrival of Annie (vocals) and Carl (trombone). Annie called for Cole Porter's All of You (I-71). Around this time, not only did Dick (vocals) arrive, but Joe (trumpet) and Elmer (tenor) to round out the group. Dick had us dig in to In a Mellow Tone (I-206). Ahmed and Wes asked for All Blues (I-18) as an instrumental. We moved on to Dick's vocal on Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (I-3##); Annie took a turn on September Song (II-345). Elmer thought Birk's Works (II-48) would be fun, and it was. I Should Care (I-194) was one I had not heard before, but it sounded good when rendered by Dick. Annie then called for It Could Happen To You (II-204).  We took an instrumental turn with Blue Bossa (I-50). Dick's last turn came with Have You Met Miss Jones (I-172), and Annie finished things out with a sultry version of Honeysuckle Rose (II-167).

Will we have as big a crowd next week? We hope so!

Participant's Picks

Annie (song) and Gene (artist)

Damita Jo

It Could Happen to You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QfpZ5TewZo

Wes

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

Along Came Betty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTzRHq_cH5E

Ahmed

Miles Davis

Yesterdays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpzwuXn9bog

Elmer

Stan Getz and J. J. Johnson at the Opera House

(with Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis)

Billie’s Bounce

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZzXZ-dR5cs

Joe

Clark Terry

Mumbles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxOXqFDIrUA

Steve H

Fats Waller

Your Feet’s Too Big

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRC16gBAwck (original release)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in1eK3x1PBI (movie version)

Enjoy!

--SJH

September 19, 2015

At noon on Saturday, proclamations from the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul were read in Minnehaha Park declaring the day Freedom Jazz Festival Day, and "the best little jazz festival in the Twin Cities" began with a set from the members of our Workshop.

We began our set with an instrumental original by yours truly, "Bean's Blues," named not for the other Bean, Coleman Hawkins, but my granddaughter. (Any resemblance between her and Mr. Hawkins is purely coincidental.) Solos all around. Annie introduced us, and then sang "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You," with a smooth tenor solo by Wes. Next up, Dick took a turn on "Out Of Nowhere," with  Steve M. taking an alto chorus as well. Next we took on Sonny Rollins' "Doxy," with horns and guitar soloing. Carl's trombone led the horns on John Lewis' blues, "Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West." Next up, Dick returned to offer a bouncy rendition of "All Of Me"; both Serdar and Steve M. added solos on guitar and alto, respectively. Annie came back for some sweet singing on Dr. Ronnell Bright's "Sweet Pumpkin," while I added 16 bars of solo. We finished up with "Yardbird Suite," though our time ran out and we had to stop at the end of Steve M's tasty solo.

All in all, a fun half hour, and we were honored to kick off this year's Freedom Jazz Fest. We hope we can do it again next year.

The Workshop returns to its usual time (Saturday's, 11-3) and format on September 26.

--SJH

September 12, 2015

ONE WEEK TO THE 
FREEDOM JAZZ FESTIVAL
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Noon
Minnehaha Falls Pavillion

The Jazz Workshop gets the festivities kicked off just after noon! (Obviously we will not be holding regular workshop hour; we return to regular format September 26.)

Others to appear during the day:
Three Women of Jazz: Debbie Duncan, Yolande Bruce, Linda Sloan
George Scott Trio
The Tangents
Walker-West Music Academy Jazz Band
Chip Minor and Friends
The Capri Big Band

Parking may be a bit tricky, so get there early.
See you then. Enjoy!

--SJH

August 31, 2015

Sorry. I've been a bit lax in getting out the weekly report on our workshop. So, two announcements:
1. Members of the Workshop will be appearing at the
FREEDOM JAZZ FESTIVAL
Saturday, September 19, 2015, 12 Noon
Minnehaha Falls Pavillon
2. This was our last week of our Monday night summer schedule.
Starting September 12, we meet Saturday from 11:00am to 3:00pm.
(Obviously, we will be preparing for the Festival on that first Saturday, and will be in Minnehaha Park the following Saturday. But after that, we'll be back to normal.)

This past Monday, most everyone who will be playing in the Festival was present: yours truly (alto), Gene (drums), Wes (tenor), Carl (trombone), Annie (vocals), Tony (bass), Serdar (guitar) and Steve M (alto). Tom even came, not to play drums, but just to help out by timing our set.

Wes and I played Yardbird Suite and Doxy while we waited for Tony and Serdar to get set up, then we tried Ceora as the remaining people came in. After that, we worked on the set for the show. We only get a half hour, so timing is important. We had some bugs to work out, so we worked hard in the heat. With about a half hour left to go, we just had some fun playing such tunes as Time After Time, Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps), and Put On A Happy Face.

After the Jazz Fest appearance, I'll get back to the Participant's Picks.

Hope to see you in Minnehaha Falls Park on Sept. 19 at noon.

--SJH