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