July 18, 2016

A muggy summer evening drew a good crowd. Phil (piano), Steve M (alto), Jack D (trumpet), Tom (drums), Sam (bass), Wes (tenor), and yours truly (alto and soprano) got things going, with Annie (vocals), Carl (trombone) and Dick (vocals) joining in later.

We got rolling with a suggestion from Phil, I'm Old Fashioned (III-186). Next was a surprise call from Steve M, a bit of bop called Barbados (II-35). Jack D took it a bit easier with Yesterdays (I-454). Your scribe slowed it down even more with Hoagy Carmichael's Baltimore Oriole (II-34). Back to bop, only down-tempo, Wes got us to tackle Donna Lee (I-123). 

Annie got the next call, Dearly Beloved (I-103). Dick sang There Will Never Be Another You (I-407).  Back to Annie, we worked on Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You (I-153). Dick called In A Mellow Tone (I-206). For an instrumental break, Tom chose Alright, OK, You Win (I-24), which turned into quite an extended version. Back to the vocalists, we went with Annie's choice of Never Let Me Go (III-299), followed by Dick's pick, Doxy (II-110). Finally getting around to Sam, we tackled his choice, I'm Sitting On Top Of The World (III-187). More vocal fun followed with Annie singing When I Fall In Love (I-439). Dick chose something out of his usual repertoire, I Should Care (I-194). We finished the evening with a call by Phil, My Romance (I-289).  

Participant Picks

Carl

Charles Mingus

Pussy Cat Dues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naeMRd3qmTA

Dick

How High The Moon

Mary Ford and Les Paul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkGf1GHAxhE

June Christy (vocal), Nat King Cole (piano), Mel Torme (drums)

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

Wes

Charlie Parker

Barbados

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0FJ1SdS-ts

Jack

Chet Baker

Alone Together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdDhinO58ss

Phil

Bill Evans

Spartacus Love Theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYcsSZl8-_s

Tom

Herbie Hancock

Watermelon Man

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

Steve H

Hoagy Carmichael

Baltimore Oriole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7bbcjPvhjE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4In4fbaG3Dg

Carmen McRae

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igtxK-MyO3w

Judy Roderick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTsqel8Fvy0

Enjoy!

--SJH

July 11, 2016

After a week off (it was the 4th of July, after all), we convened a fairly sizeable group for our usual Monday shenanigans. Present were Phil on piano, Ray on bass, Tom on drums, Sam and Jack D on trumpet, Bob on trombone, Steve M on alto, Steve H on alto and soprano, and Wes on tenor.

Phil got the first pick, and we kicked off the proceedings with Dream A Little Dream Of Me (I-124). Sam punished us for not letting him go first by calling Dear Old Stockholm (I-102), which held up pretty well until the last couple of choruses. Steve M made the more traditional call of a mid-tempo Autumn Leaves (I-39). We all got a turn to let our bluesy sides out with a relaxed but not too slow Angel Eyes (I-28), Jack's choice. Bob returned to that 60's mood with Call Me Irresponsible (I-67). Your scribe was not quite prepared for his turn, but after a few minutes opted for the always solid Don't Get Around Much Any More (I-122).

Tom took it from there with Blue Monk (I-52). Ray finally got us off Book I by calling Poinciana (III-322). This didn't stop Wes from returning to Book I, but with the challenging Donna Lee (I-123), which we took well down-tempo. Back to Phil, who likes to pull out the unfamiliar tunes, we tried I'm All Smiles (I-198), a complex jazz waltz, but abandoned it in favor of the more accessible Somebody Loves Me (I-369). Sam pulled out another one we had more trouble with than we thought we should, All The Things You Are (I-22), with a Latin beat. We closed out with Steve M's choice, Wave (I-431).

Participant's Picks

Tom: Poinciana

Glenn Miller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D62AYaQ1xbs

Xavier Cugat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FXbkUa_aJE

Jack D: So What?

Miles Davis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylXk1LBvIqU

Wes: Donna Lee

Charlie Parker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02apSoxB7B4

Steve H: Blues for Madeleine

Johnny Hodges and Wild Bill Davis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_G-rLAlUDw

Enjoy!

--SJH

June 27, 2016

We met on a beautiful summertime Monday evening. Participating were Tom (drums), Sam (bass), Steve M (alto), Steve H (alto and soprano), Jack D (trumpet), Wes (tenor), and Dick (vocals).

Things got rolling with Solar (I- ), Sam’s choice. Steve M was up next, and called For All We Know (I- ). Jack D. had an interesting choice, but I forgot to write it down.  After that, we were On A Slow Boat To China (III-309). Wes completely changed the mood with his choice of Boplicity (I-58). Another change of pace came with Sam’s next call, Waltz For Debbie (I-42).

Vocals began with Dick’s choices of A Sunday Kind Of Love (I-392), followed by Fly Me To The Moon (II-135).  Next up was Steve M’s call, I Thought About You (II-180).; Dick joined in. Jack D decided on the classic I Love Paris (I-189). Sam asked that we do a little work, handing out a few tunes in C for us to transpose, Cute (yours truly cheated and moved over to piano for this one) and On The Trail. We struggled with transposition, and decided to close out with a vocal, I Could Write A Book (I-186).

Participant Picks

Sam

Freddie Hubbard, First Light (1971)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zh0-T0efTY

Jack

Chet Baker, My Buddy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfUZomG97pI&index=14&list=PL6MP3z8uuNRIAHXx9jaXmhX7RVm1BYBW-

Wes

John Coltrane, Blue Train (1957)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1GrP6thz-k

Dick

Frank Sinatra, Nancy with the Laughing Face

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

Steve H

Miles Davis, Boplicity

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

Zoot Sims, Wrap Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EioQFr2-LHg

June 20, 2016

A good crowd and some really good playing made for a fun summer evening. Tom (drums), Phil (piano), Jack D (trumpet), Steve M (alto), Bob (trombone), Steve H (alto and soprano), Wes (tenor), and Dick (vocals) joined the party.

As your scribe wandered in, the first five in the list were working on the classic You Took Advantage Of Me (I-460).  Jack D had the next opportunity, choosing a ballad, When I Fall In Love (I-489). Steve M picked a mid-tempo version of Cherokee (I-77), with some nice drumming by Tom.  Next up was Bob’s call, the delightful C’est Si Bon (I-65). Yours truly brought an original based on his time in Rome, Lungotevere. Wes reliably called for Blues For Alice (I-55). Tom, challenged not to request St. Thomas, instead chose My Little Suede Shoes (II-282).

By this time, Dick was set up to sing, and called a couple of old favorites: Out Of Nowhere (I-318) and All Of Me (I-20), with several instrumental solos on each. Phil surprised everyone with the great jazz waltz, Some Day My Prince Will Come (I-367). Dick next wanted to sing a nice, easy version of There Will Never Be Another You (I-407), again with Jack putting some great controlled fills in behind the vocals. Jack D stated the theme solo on Georgia On My Mind (II-145), inspiring some further solos (it was also the hat).  Dick unexpectedly took a swing at Doxy (II-111). Steve H wanted to trot out a tune that doesn’t get out much, and called for Moonlight Becomes You (III-281). An old faithful for Dick, I’m Confessin’ (II-185), followed. It’s Only A Paper Moon (II-209) was Phil’s choice. He also suggested In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (I-260), but the McRae staff had to chase us out before we got through it, because we were having such a good time.

Participant Picks

I’ll try to remember next week to ask the Participants for some favorite recordings. In the meantime, here are some picks of mine.

Some Day My Prince Will Come

Dave Brubeck Quartet (1957)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBFzLEMvi4M

Miles Davis Sextet (1961)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBq87dbKyHQ

Oscar Peterson Trio (released 1975, recorded 1967)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MagwWRV6maE

Enjoy.

--SJH

June 13, 2016

Sorry about not reporting.

We got started an hour late due to a scheduling mix-up at McRae. Tom (drums), Jack D (trumpet), Steve H (soprano), Steve M (alto) and Wes (tenor) played a bunch of songs, most of which I cannot remember.